Chapter 31: Lady Su, you wouldn't want it to be like this, would you?

Chen Jie rushed home. For some reason, after hearing about Cui'er from Shangtao Village jumping into a well, he had a bad premonition.

He didn't even finish his meal at the Bai family's house before hurrying back.

Sure enough, before he even reached his front door, Chen Jie saw a large crowd gathered around his house.

Chen Jie was startled. *Could something have happened?*

Thinking this, Chen Jie ran toward his home as fast as he could.

Meanwhile, in the small courtyard of Chen Jie's house, Ma Liu sat in a chair, his eyes scanning Su Yunjin without restraint.

*I must say, she is truly a woman worthy of the young master's eye; she's quite stunning.*

Even in her worn-out clothes, her beauty could not be hidden.

*If I could just play with her a bit, it would be pure bliss. I wonder if the young master will let me "review" after he finishes his morning lessons? If he does, I'll gladly give up my reward for the morning lesson.*

*I really don't understand why such a beautiful woman would follow a waste like Chen Jiusi. Moreover, Chen Jiusi treats her with nothing but blows and insults, acting as if he despises her. What a waste of natural beauty!*

Ma Liu continued to ogle Su Yunjin shamelessly.

Su Yunjin felt extremely uncomfortable and stepped in front of Little Douding. The child was so frightened that he had already shrunk behind Su Yunjin, not daring to move.

Seeing this scene, Uncle Erba, who had rushed over to investigate, stepped forward and asked, "Ma Liu, what are you doing?"

Ma Liu glanced at Uncle Erba and said, "Oh, it's Limping Chen. I'm here to collect a debt! Where is Chen Jiusi? Tell him to get his ass out here."

"Ma Liu, how can you speak like that? My father is of the same generation as your father; you should at least call him Uncle!" Xiaohu demanded angrily upon hearing Ma Liu's words.

Ma Liu ignored him and looked at Chen Erba. "You want to be my uncle? Fine. Call Chen Jiusi over, have him pay the money so I can go back and report that the job is done, and then you can be my uncle. Otherwise, forget being an uncle—I won't even recognize you as my own father!"

"You!"

Chen Erba was infuriated by Ma Liu, but Ma Liu then turned his gaze to Su Yunjin and said, "Sister-in-law, tell Chen Jiusi to come out. I've been waiting for half an hour already."

Su Yunjin replied, "I already told you, he went to Physician Bai's house to be an apprentice."

"Heh, him being an apprentice to Physician Bai? Him? Alright, stop lying. Just pay the money back quickly. He can be whatever he wants—even if he wants to be a turtle, I won't care. Isn't that right, brothers?" Ma Liu turned to the several lackeys behind him.

"Right!" the lackeys responded in unison.

...

Watching the commotion in the courtyard, the onlookers outside began to whisper among themselves.

"What's going on?"

"Debt collectors. It seems Chen Jiusi owes high-interest loans from outside."

"That can't be right. Hasn't Chen Jiusi reformed?"

"Hmph, as if he could reform."

Listening to the discussions, Chen Sanliu stood by with his arms crossed, watching the spectacle with a look of schadenfreude.

*Serves him right. You've been acting too cocky these past few days; here comes your retribution.*

Not far away, Lu San, who had a limp, was also watching the commotion while being supported by Lady Lu. Upon hearing that Chen Jie was in trouble, Lu San's back stopped aching and his legs stopped hurting; he could leap a hundred meters in one breath without effort.

He was currently perched on a wall watching the scene, his eyes filled with hatred. *Chen Jiusi is finally getting what he deserves.*

As the crowd grew larger, Su Yunjin's expression turned grim. *Chen Jiusi just started reforming; has he turned bad again?*

But their peaceful days had only lasted two days. If this was a dream, it was far too short. *Am I about to fall back into hell?*

"Sister, Brother-in-law, he..." Little Douding clutched his sister's sleeve.

Chen Erba looked at Su Yunjin and said, "Yunjin, Jiusi hasn't had time for gambling these past few days, so it shouldn't be a recent debt. Don't worry yet, let me ask first."

With that, Uncle Erba approached Ma Liu and asked, "Ma Liu, when did Jiusi incur this debt?"

Ma Liu replied, "About one or two months ago."

Hearing this, both Chen Erba and Su Yunjin breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't from the last couple of days, it meant Jiusi's reformation was real and he hadn't been deceiving them.

Uncle Erba asked, "Then exactly how much does he owe?"

"What, are you two planning to help him pay it?" Ma Liu looked at Uncle Erba.

Uncle Erba replied, "Yes."

Ma Liu pulled out an IOU to show them. Uncle Erba looked at Su Yunjin, as he was illiterate.

Su Yunjin stepped forward to take a look and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"How much, girl?" Uncle Erba asked.

Su Yunjin's face brightened as she said, "One tael of silver."

"One tael? Good. Hu-zi, go home and get the money."

"Yes, sir!" Hu-zi responded.

Su Yunjin added, "Uncle Erba, we don't need that much. I have eight mace; you just need to lend me another two mace."

"Oh, alright then," Uncle Erba said, preparing to send Hu-zi to fetch the money.

Seeing the two of them like this, Ma Liu burst into laughter. "Haha! One tael of silver? You... you don't actually think it's just one tael, do you?"

"Look closely. This IOU was written on the second day of the third month in the ninth year of Zhizheng. It's now May. Two months' worth of interest." Ma Liu stared at Su Yunjin and Uncle Erba.

The two froze. Uncle Erba looked at Ma Liu and asked, "Then... then how much is it now?"

Ma Liu grinned. "Not much. With interest compounding on interest, it's... twenty taels!"

"How much?!!"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Erba and Su Yunjin's eyes nearly popped out of their heads. Twenty taels!

Twenty taels!

"How... how could it grow so much!"

Neither could believe it. The commoners outside were also staring wide-eyed. *Twenty taels? Holy crap, even if the whole Chen family sold everything, they wouldn't have that much money!*

Outside, Lu San almost set off firecrackers to celebrate. *Serves him right! Chen Jiusi is finally facing his karma. How satisfying!*

Su Yunjin nearly lost her footing upon hearing the amount, her body swaying.

Seeing this, Ma Liu moved to help, but Su Yunjin quickly dodged him. Her face turned deathly pale as she said, "Twenty taels... we will pay it back even if we have to sell everything we own!"

Ma Liu said, "Well, you'd better hurry. Tomorrow, the interest goes up again!"

Su Yunjin looked at Ma Liu in despair. Ma Liu said with a grin, "Why that look, sister-in-law?"

Su Yunjin asked, "What if we can't pay it back?"

Ma Liu leaned in with a smirk. "If you can't pay, we take the house and everything of value. Then, we break your limbs and leave you a cripple."

Su Yunjin's face turned white instantly.

Ma Liu's eyes gleamed with a wicked light as he scanned her up and down. "Sister-in-law, you wouldn't want your man to become a cripple with broken limbs, would you?"

"Actually, I have a way. If you're willing, forget the twenty taels of interest—you won't even have to pay the principal. What do you say?"

"Do... do what?" Su Yunjin seemed to realize something, looking at Ma Liu with a pale face.

Just as Ma Liu was about to speak with a smile on his face, a voice suddenly drifted over.

"Yo, Brother Ma Liu is here! Why didn't you tell me sooner so I could welcome you properly!"

At the sound, everyone turned to look. They saw Chen Jie walking slowly through the main gate, looking at Ma Liu with a smile.

The moment she saw Chen Jie, Su Yunjin breathed a sigh of relief.

*Jiusi, you're finally back!*