Glory

Yu Shi furrowed her brow.

She had exhausted all possible households to borrow from today, employing every means of persuasion and even resorting to threats. She promised that the silver would count as their future share of profits from the Song family, managing to borrow only sixteen hundred taels in total.

After all, those who came to rely on them weren't particularly wealthy; families with substantial means, like the Ye family, had their own influence and didn't need to rely on a mere Recommended man. Small landowners typically had only dozens of taels of liquid silver on hand. Under her various tactics, they had borrowed from everyone possible, squeezing out all they could.

"Why don't you go see Official Wang?" she suggested. "Explain your difficulties and see if he can lend us some silver? If he really can't lend any, then ask him to act as a mediator and persuade the Ye family to reduce the amount?"

Seeing Song Yifeng hesitate, she earnestly advised, "Son, you need to understand that the crying child gets the milk. Didn't you say Official Wang appreciates your talent and treats you like his own son? When a son faces difficulties, shouldn't he seek comfort from his elders? Even if he has no silver to lend you, he should at least be able to speak on your behalf, right? Even if he can't help with persuasion, he'll feel full of guilt toward you, won't he?"

Song Yifeng suddenly saw the light and looked at Yu Shi with admiration. "Mother, you're right. I know what to do now."

What they needed wasn't Official Wang's silver or mediation, but his recognition and sympathy.

"Mother, I won't eat dinner. While it's still light, I'll go to Official Wang's residence first."

"Go ahead, go ahead." Watching her son leave, Yu Shi returned to the house satisfied. After some thought, she entered the bedroom, retrieved a box from the bedside, and unlocked it with the key hanging around her neck, revealing several gold, silver, and jade pieces inside.

These jewelry pieces were naturally those given to her by the original owner. Since they were breaking off the engagement, there was no need to keep these ornaments. She planned to pawn them if Song Yifeng couldn't borrow the money.

Song Yifeng returned very late, carrying the scent of alcohol on him.

Yu Shi asked eagerly, "Did Official Wang keep you for drinks?"

"Yes." Song Yifeng was somewhat drunk.

"Did you borrow the money?" Yu Shi lowered her voice.

Song Yifeng's face darkened immediately. "Official Wang advised me to sell the farmland first and repurchase later when I have the means."

After a pause, he added, "I sold the farmland to Official Wang."

Yu Shi was stunned and asked urgently, "For how much silver?"

"One thousand taels."

"What?" Yu Shi's voice suddenly rose sharply.

Farmland around Lin'an City was hard to come by. Over the years, she had spent considerable effort and energy acquiring these plots, even going through the trouble of consolidating them in one location for easier management.

The farmland she bought was all medium to high quality, totaling one hundred twenty-four mu, worth at least thirteen hundred taels. Being contiguous, it could potentially fetch fourteen hundred taels with some bargaining.

Yet Official Wang took advantage of their predicament, buying all the farmland for merely one thousand taels - this felt no different from cutting out her heart!

"You agreed?" she stared intently at Song Yifeng.

His mother's scream and tension sobered Song Yifeng up somewhat from his drunkenness.

He nodded, ignoring his mother, and went straight into the room to sit down, then ordered Xiao Xiang to pour tea.

After gulping down two cups of tea to shake off the last of his drunkenness, he finally spoke: "Official Wang made the offer, and others were egging him on. I had no choice but to agree."Song Yifeng had also experienced hard times, so like his mother, he valued money greatly.

Losing three to four hundred taels of silver for no reason, especially during this critical period when they were most short of funds, made Song Yifeng very unhappy as well.

"It's alright," he comforted his mother, and himself, "I will definitely earn back double what we lost today."

Previously, he had always compared Ye Yaming to the daughter of Official Wang.

But perhaps because he was about to break off the engagement, and because Official Wang had taken advantage of him for just three to four hundred taels of silver, his perspective suddenly broadened.

He had gone through so much trouble to break off the engagement and come this far—why limit his sights to marrying the daughter of a mere eighth-rank minor official? What was Official Wang? Just an eighth-rank academic official. Once he passed the imperial examination and became a Presented Scholar, young and ambitious, there would be countless third or fourth-rank high officials in the capital willing to marry their daughters to him.

It would be better to endure a couple of years of hardship and wait until he became a Presented Scholar before discussing marriage. It wouldn't be too late.

Once he became a Presented Scholar and married the daughter of a high-ranking official, he would definitely make Official Wang pay back double the advantages he had taken today.

However, he had no intention of sharing these thoughts with his mother for now.

He still needed to keep Official Wang on the hook. He was worried his mother might not be able to keep it to herself and let it slip during conversations.

Yu Shi misunderstood his meaning, thinking he meant to reclaim the losses by marrying the Wang family's daughter. Besides, given the circumstances, did they even have the courage to back out now?

She sighed and said, "We can only do this."

She called Xiao Xiang to bring the jewelry box from her bedroom and place it on the table. Opening it herself, she said, "We're still five hundred taels short. Tomorrow, I'll pawn these pieces of jewelry. That should help us gather the three thousand taels."

Song Yifeng frowned at the jewelry inside and asked, "Are these the pieces Ye Yaming gave you?"

"Yes," Yu Shi replied, her heart aching dully at the thought that they would soon no longer belong to her.

She turned away, trying not to dwell on it, and said to her son, "Although Ye Yaming probably wouldn't bother calculating the value of these, I'm showing them to you so you know what we have. In case the Ye family brings them up, you can think in advance about how to respond. The same goes for the silver we spent on buying the house."

Song Yifeng remained silent for a moment before nodding. "Alright."

"What about the one thousand taels?" Yu Shi asked.

Song Yifeng took a banknote from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Can it be cashed?" Yu Shi asked uneasily.

"It should be. If you're worried, you can try cashing it tomorrow," Song Yifeng replied, also somewhat uncertain.

"Alright, it's getting late. You should rest early," Yu Shi said.

The next morning, she indeed took the jewelry to pawn.

Knowing that the largest pawnshop in Lin'an City was run by the Mei family, she deliberately went farther, to the west of the city, to an unfamiliar pawnshop. Because of this, the jewelry was undervalued, and she only received three hundred taels for it.

"Here are fifteen hundred taels. Keep them safe. I've exchanged the remaining thirteen hundred taels for banknotes—carry them with you. If possible, try not to give away the thirteen hundred taels. If the Ye family demands it, write them an IOU. We'll need this money for future expenses. Only use the thirteen hundred taels as a last resort," she instructed Song Yifeng carefully.

Song Yifeng nodded, took the banknotes, and tucked them into his pocket.