Chapter 117 - 109: The Origin of the Money

Chapter 117: Chapter 109: The Origin of the Money

Old Mrs. Bai took a breath to compose herself and delivered the speech she had already prepared. "Your Lordship, of course we have evidence. The Bai Family had just lost thirty taels of silver, and those two wretches, Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan—" Sensing the fierce glare from the guard, she quickly corrected herself. "The very next moment, they’re buying land to build a house. How can there be such a coincidence? You must understand, they left our family just the day before yesterday without a single penny to their name. A day later, they suddenly have money to buy land and build a house? Who would believe such a story?"

Meng Nan asked Bai Zhi, "What do you say?"

Bai Zhi said, "I never claimed the money to buy the land and build the house belonged to my mother and me. We borrowed it from Uncle Hu. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him."

As soon as Liu heard this, she immediately yelled, "That’s impossible! Everyone here knows the Hu family’s financial situation! Even if they had managed to save a little money over the years, they spent it all on Hu Feng’s medical treatments. How could they possibly have any money left to lend you for land and a house?"

Bai Zhi sneered. "It seems you, Liu Guihua, aren’t just running the Bai Family’s household, but the Hu Family’s as well. You even know exactly how much money Uncle Hu has. You’re quite the capable one, aren’t you?"

How could Liu not understand the sarcasm in those words? Her face flushed red with anger, but not daring to curse in front of Lord Meng, she could only puff out her cheeks and glare at Bai Zhi.

Hu Changlin chimed in, "Liu Guihua, you’d better watch your mouth. Are you saying only your Bai Family is capable of saving money, while my Hu Family is destined to be dirt-poor forever?"

Old Mrs. Bai said, "Fine. Since you claim the money came from the Hu Family, then tell us where they got it. We’re all neighbors here, living by farming the land. Everyone knows roughly how much each family makes from their harvest each year. If you can’t explain where this money came from, then you must have stolen it from our Bai Family."

Forget the accompanying Jin guard and the two government officials; even the ever-composed Meng Nan had to suppress a laugh. The old woman’s ability to stubbornly twist logic was truly remarkable. Her words were completely devoid of reason, yet when she spoke them, they sounded like gospel truth.

Bai Zhi, however, showed little reaction. This was just how the Bai family was: shameless as they come, self-centered, utterly unreasonable, and perfectly willing to call black white.

Bai Zhi said, "So, you’re saying the origin of your thirty taels is perfectly clear? Since we’re getting to the bottom of things, why don’t you go first? Tell us how your family saved up thirty taels. We’re all farmers here. Most people couldn’t save that much in a lifetime. Your Bai family has many mouths to feed, but few hands to work, not to mention you’re supporting a scholar. I’m really dying to know—how exactly did you save up thirty taels of silver?"

Old Mrs. Bai froze for a second before snapping back, "How can the Hu Family even compare to us? The Bai Family has more land and more people, so of course it’s easy for us to save money! Stop trying to change the subject. The question right now is where Hu Changlin got his money. You stop spouting nonsense."

Zhao Lan, who had been standing silently to the side like a pushover, stepped forward and confronted Old Mrs. Bai. "If you had so much money, why did you try to sell Zhi’er for the money to get Da Bao a wife? If you had so much money, why did you refuse to pay for treatment when my father-in-law and Sanzhu were injured in a fall? Why did you just stand by and watch them die in agony?"

Old Mrs. Bai’s face went pale. "That was ages ago! Why are you dredging up the past? I see. You can’t explain where the money came from, so you’re just trying to change the subject."

Having heard this much, if Meng Nan still couldn’t grasp the situation, then he was an official for nothing.