Borrowing Money from the Wang Family

Zhang Yu met their smug gazes and nodded calmly.

"That's right, I really don't have that much money."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wanning's eyes instantly blazed with ecstatic light, as if she had already confirmed Zhang Yu's guilt.

She couldn't wait to shriek:

"See, he admitted it himself—he doesn't have that much money. So where did those things worth seven hundred sixty thousand taels come from? He must have embezzled public funds from the Marquis Estate."

Qin Xuehua also let out a long sigh of relief, her usual authority and a trace of "I knew it" disgust creeping back onto her face. The way she looked at Zhang Yu was like staring at a pile of filth finally exposed.

Jiang Luohan, too, felt as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She believed that as long as Zhang Yu's embezzlement was confirmed, this astronomical debt could be shaken off.

Even Zhang Qingyue, who had remained indifferent all along, furrowed her brows slightly, a hint of barely perceptible disdain creeping into her gaze toward Zhang Yu. Misappropriating vast sums from the estate to curry favor with a woman—whatever the reason—struck her as extremely unwise and morally corrupt.

The murmurs around them once again leaned toward the Marquis Estate:

"He admitted he doesn't have the money himself?"

"Then he must have used the estate's funds!"

"There's no escape now—definitely embezzlement."

"Miss Jiang is a victim too, tricked by a corrupt thief."

The Heir of Prince Jing also curled his lips, finding it a bit dull. He'd thought there might be a twist.

But just as everyone assumed Zhang Yu had "confessed and accepted his punishment," he shifted his tone, his voice still flat and unruffled:

"Even though I don't have the money, I can borrow it."

"Borrow?"

Zhang Wanning laughed as if she'd heard the funniest joke, sneering, "Eldest Brother, do you take us for three-year-olds? Seven hundred sixty thousand taels—who would lend you that much? Even a money shop, without sufficient collateral, wouldn't lend you, the Marquis Estate's 'Eldest Young Master,' such a fortune. Who do you think you are?"

Qin Xuehua also said coldly, "Wretch, even now you still try to quibble?"

Zhang Yu looked at them as if watching a bunch of monkeys jumping around, speaking slowly and deliberately: "Borrowing money naturally has its channels. As for who the creditor is, where the promissory notes are..."

He calmly produced several neatly folded sheets of paper stamped with bright red seals.

They were promissory notes.

Black ink on white paper, enormous sums, and the borrower's signature read "Zhang Yu," complete with a clear fingerprint.

"Th-this... how is this possible?"

Zhang Wanning cried out, her smugness instantly freezing into disbelief. She couldn't fathom how Zhang Yu had managed to borrow so much money.

Qin Xuehua, Zhang Qingyue, and Zhang Heng all wore expressions of utter incredulity.

That was over seven hundred thousand taels of silver—and Zhang Yu had actually borrowed it. How had he done it? Being able to borrow over seven hundred thousand taels was a talent in itself.

The Heir of Prince Jing nodded silently.

After the initial shock, Zhang Heng was the first to "wake up." He knew this debt couldn't be acknowledged—if it was, Jiang Luohan would be in trouble, and the Marquis Estate would suffer too.

His face instantly switched to a pained, righteous expression as he declared loudly, "Eldest Brother, even if this money was borrowed, so what?"

He climbed onto the moral high ground, his tone earnest:

"Gifts given are like water spilled—there's no taking them back. Acting like this, aren't you just making Sister Luohan embarrassed, shaming our Marquis Estate, and disgracing Uncle Jiang? You... you're too reckless and utterly shameless."

Zhang Wanning caught on immediately and chimed in shrilly:

"Exactly. Zhang Yu, are you even a man? Giving gifts and then wanting them back?"

Aren't you ashamed to bring shame upon the Zhang family?

"Our Marquis Estate has no such petty and despicable offspring as you."

Qin Xuehua also steadied her nerves, pulled a long face, and put on her motherly authority:

"Yu'er, the value of a gift lies in sincerity. Since it has been given, it is now Luohan's possession. For you to forcibly demand its return now is a breach of propriety. If word gets out, won't people laugh at our Zhang family for going back on our word and lacking all grace?"

They tried to use vague notions of "reason," "face," and "family reputation" to shackle Zhang Yu and deny the legitimacy of his claim.

Seeing that the Marquis Estate crowd was all speaking up for her, Jiang Luohan's heart steadied slightly, and greed and wishful thinking gained the upper hand.

She bit her lip, struggling to make her voice sound justified, though it trembled faintly:

"Zhang Yu... those gifts... when I accepted them, I didn't know you had borrowed money to buy them.

Now you want me to return them, which is essentially asking me to repay your debts for you—that's neither reasonable nor proper.

Your creditors should come after you for the money, not me.

The things... I won't give them back."

She decided to play dirty.

In her heart, she thought, with the power of the Marquis Estate and the Jiang family, would any ordinary money-lending house dare to come knocking for repayment?

The surrounding prisoners let out contemptuous jeers:

"Not shy about taking gifts, but quick to dodge the bill!"

"Running off with her brother-in-law and still clinging to her ex-husband's things—what a piece of work!"

"The Marquis Estate and the Jiang family are really throwing their weight around!"

Faced with these accusations, Jiang Luohan's cheeks burned with shame and indignation.

But the moment she thought of that astronomical sum—seven hundred and sixty-eight thousand, five hundred taels—she still clenched her teeth and stubbornly refused to budge.

Unable to repay, she could only tough it out.

Zhang Yu watched their performance, his face showing no anger, only a trace of icy mockery, as if he were watching a troupe of clumsy actors.