Severing Family Ties (Please Bookmark)

"Hao Jimeng, it's not that we won't give you time. It's that you owe our Ningmen Association far too much this time—two hundred taels of silver in full. We've already been kind enough to let you delay for over half a month. You have to give us an explanation."

The leading Ningmen Association brute was powerfully built, with tiny eyes. He wore a green robe popular among scholars, making for a rather strange sight.

Hao Jimeng pointed at Hao Jiyong. "My elder brother is the explanation. Have him put up something as collateral, or have him pay you some interest first. Then give me a few more days. My brother has money stashed away."

"Brother Hao Jiyong, what do you say?" The brawny man in the green robe looked at Hao Jiyong.

"Two hundred taels of silver!" Hao Jiyong drew a deep breath. "Even if my whole family worked ten or twenty years without eating or drinking, we still couldn't earn that much. How could I possibly repay it?"

"There's nothing I can do about this. Besides, there's only the saying that a father's debts are repaid by his sons; I've never heard of a younger brother's debts being repaid by his elder brother. I can't help this time."

"How can you not help!"

The moment Hao Jiyong finished speaking, Hao Jimeng cried out, unable to hold back. "Don't you have a large sum of money hidden away? Even without that money, you could dig up ten-year ginseng for another ten years. Dig up a few more plants, and wouldn't that be enough?"

"After our parents died, the eldest brother became like a father. My affairs are your affairs, so you should help me repay this debt. Do you want to stand there and watch me die, Hao Jiyong? Are you really this heartless?"

Hao Jiyong's expression changed as he looked at Hao Jimeng. "Do you think ten-year ginseng is that easy to find? And let me tell you again: I didn't take a single medicinal herb from Chaoyun Manor's storehouse. If I had, I wouldn't have risked going out at night to dig up medicinal herbs."

"And even if I stood by and watched you die, so what? Didn't you want my whole family dead this morning? I've helped you so much over the years. Is this how you repay my family?"

Seeing Hao Jiyong's resolute attitude, Hao Jimeng's expression shifted repeatedly. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees before Hao Jiyong. "Big Brother, what happened this morning was all my fault. Wasn't I driven too hard by them? That's why I did something so irrational."

"Please, for the sake of me being your younger brother, forgive me this once and help me again. Otherwise, they'll definitely kill me. There are only the two of us in our family—not even any sisters. Ever since our parents passed away, I've always treated you as our father and mother. Please give me one more chance."

"Besides, I'm already this old and don't even have a wife or children. Didn't I gamble because I wanted to make a fortune and live a good life, so that I could marry and have children? Wasn't that what you had always hoped for me? If they kill me this time, how will I fulfill your wish?"

Seeing that his previous tactics had failed, Hao Jimeng immediately changed his approach for the sake of his own life.

Hao Jiyong's wife, standing atop the stockade wall, looked worried. Clearly, she feared that Hao Jiyong would soften his heart.

Song Ankang frowned slightly as he calmly watched everything unfold. Beside him, the little maid Qiushi could not help clenching her fists. "Hao Jimeng is truly shameless. When force doesn't work, he turns to softness. If Hao Jiyong really softens, he'll be finished. And it'll drag down the son-in-law too. Everyone will suspect him even more of stealing the medicinal herbs from the storehouse."

Everyone's gaze was fixed on Hao Jiyong. Though those around them could all see Hao Jimeng's crafty intentions, being caught in the midst of it made it truly difficult to make a rational decision—especially for Hao Jiyong, who had genuinely acted as a father in place of his parents all these years.

Moreover, what the others did not know was that this was the first time Hao Jimeng had ever tried a soft approach with Hao Jiyong, and he had gone this far.

In Hao Jimeng's eyes, now that he had already knelt, Hao Jiyong would definitely not refuse him. What was more, he still had his trump card. "Big Brother, please help me just one more time. If you help me this time, I'll definitely turn over a new leaf. I'll never gamble again. I'll listen to you in everything. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do it. I'll work honestly and conduct myself properly. Please agree."

Hearing Hao Jimeng say this, Hao Jiyong's wife atop the stockade wall grew even more worried. She could not help pulling her two children close as she stared nervously at Hao Jiyong.

Because she knew clearly that Hao Jiyong's decision would determine her family's future and fate—even whether they lived or died. Yet to abandon his only younger brother, Hao Jimeng, was something Hao Jiyong would find difficult to do, given the sort of man he was.

In Hao Jiyong's wife's view, Hao Jimeng's actions should have been effective. Some of those on the stockade wall who knew Hao Jiyong could not help shaking their heads and sighing.

"Hao Jiyong's life is over. That bastard of a younger brother will drag him to his death."

"How many times has Hao Jimeng said he would quit gambling? When has he ever changed?"

"If Hao Jiyong agrees, that means he has a way to help Hao Jimeng repay this money. Two hundred taels of silver! Unless he stole the precious medicinal herbs from the storehouse, Hao Jiyong could never produce that much."

"Once Hao Jiyong agrees, we'll seize him at once and torture him harshly. We can't let the new manor lord do as he pleases again. Otherwise, if Hao Jiyong really manages to sell those precious medicinal herbs, many of us will die this year. At most, arresting Hao Jiyong means taking a beating. That's still better than having the whole family starve to death."

Because of Hao Jimeng, the situation had fallen into an exceedingly delicate state. If Hao Jiyong mishandled it, not only would his family suffer, Song Ankang would be implicated as well.

His prestige in Chaoyun Manor would certainly take a severe blow then. It was even possible that the matter would be reported to the upper ranks of the family and he would receive some punishment, even if there was still no conclusive evidence proving that Hao Jiyong had stolen from the storehouse.

But clearly, Hao Jiyong was very likely to agree.

Yet to everyone's surprise, faced with Hao Jimeng's desperate pleas and the first time in his life that he had bowed his head and yielded, Hao Jiyong's expression wavered for a moment before he slowly shook his head. "Hao Jimeng, it's not that I don't want to help you. It's that I truly have no power to do so."

"I really can't come up with two hundred taels of silver. That ten-year ginseng was something I got only by risking my life and having good luck. Finding a second one would be harder than climbing to heaven."

"Besides, a few days ago, to pay the interest on your gambling debts, we used up all our family's savings aside from that ten-year ginseng. There isn't even a single copper coin left at home. How could we possibly produce any money?"

"Then you can promise the Ningmen Association that you'll help me repay this debt, and then find a way to gather the money, just like you did a few times before!" Hao Jimeng shouted.

Hao Jiyong shook his head. "It's too much. I can't repay it, and neither can my family. I've helped you enough over the years. Now, I can't keep helping."

"I was selfish before. Even though you refused to mend your ways time and again, I still helped you. But I can't be so selfish now. I have a wife and children. If I agree, I'm afraid our lives will be over—perhaps we won't even make it through this winter."

After saying that, Hao Jiyong turned and left. Facing his only younger brother, Hao Jimeng, Hao Jiyong was finally decisive for once and made the right choice.