Chapter 9: The Worst of Times! The Best of Times!

Situ Luoyue’s face turned deathly pale the moment she saw the ledger on the table, filled with signatures from her own family members.

"Liang Xiao, thirty thousand taels? Isn't that too much?" Sima Lingyun asked, clearly stunned.

Liang Xiao countered, "When they were spending my money, did they ever think it was too much?"

Sima Lingyun looked back at his lover. "You—you told me that, all told, they had only spent about three to five thousand taels of his silver."

"We didn't expect it to be this much either. It must have been the expenses for my father to buy his official post and my mother’s medical treatments..." Situ Luoyue explained, sounding aggrieved, though her lips soon began to tremble, and she dared not say another word.

Before she had fallen in love with another, her family had spent money lavishly, taking it for granted as their right; they had never cared how much of his wealth they consumed. But now that the engagement was broken, things were different. As long as Liang Xiao could provide evidence, every cent would have to be returned. With the Emperor’s decree annulling the marriage, the existence of the betrothal contract itself was ironclad proof.

Sima Lingyun felt a chill run down his spine. This Liang Xiao had clearly been supporting a den of gold-devouring monsters!

Only Liang Xiao felt a sense of gratitude. Fortunately, his late mother had managed the Liang household, and the rules had remained unchanged. Anyone withdrawing money from the accounts office had to sign and register the transaction. Not long after his mother passed away, Situ Tianliang had tried to persuade him to cancel this "unnecessary" rule, half in jest and half in earnest. It was only because Zhuo Zifang had scolded him on the spot, feigning that it violated ancestral traditions, that the matter was dropped. This dear friend of his had not only been unwilling to destroy the relationship between him and his fiancée’s family but had also been protecting him and the Liang estate in his own way. Now that Liang Xiao had set his sights on the world, Zhuo Zifang followed him without hesitation. With a friend like this, what more could one ask for?

"General Sima, it is only thirty-six thousand taels of silver. For the Sima family, that should be a drop in the ocean, shouldn't it?" Liang Xiao looked at Sima Lingyun, his expression entirely matter-of-fact.

*Only?*

Sima Lingyun suppressed the urge to slap Liang Xiao to death. Did he think thirty-six thousand taels of silver were just blown in by a gust of wind?

Situ Luoyue had already lost her composure, staring at Liang Xiao with nothing but resentment in her eyes. "I knew it! You’ve been scheming against my family all along! How can you be so cruel, showing no regard for the generations of friendship between our houses or the feelings I once had for you!" She was convinced that Liang Xiao had goaded her family into spending recklessly, only to use the laws of the Wu Dynasty to trap her, ensuring she dared not break the engagement because she couldn't afford to pay him back.

Liang Xiao frowned. "Situ Luoyue, no matter how much you badmouth me behind my back or stir up trouble, it’s meaningless. Since you wanted to part ways cleanly and go your separate ways, you shouldn't have let your eldest brother come here to offend me today."

Situ Luoyue was filled with regret and anxiety, looking toward her lover.

Sima Lingyun hesitated for a moment before saying, "Liang Xiao, can you grant a reduction? Let's settle for ten thousand taels. We part ways on good terms, and you provide a receipt stating the debt is cleared."

Liang Xiao was resolute. "I can waive the interest, as I know your family has plenty of ways to deny it. But for the thirty thousand taels, not a single cent can be missing! When you provide me with thirty thousand taels, I will provide the settlement receipt."

Hearing this, Situ Luoyue finally collapsed into Sima Lingyun’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "Brother Lingyun, please help me..."

Sima Lingyun felt his scalp tingle. He managed a strained smile and said, "Liang Xiao, thirty thousand taels is no small sum. I must return home to discuss this with my elders! Farewell!"

"I won't be seeing you out," Liang Xiao said airily.

After the two departed, Zhuo Zifang emerged from his room. After clarifying the details of the conversation, he laughed. "Thirty thousand taels is indeed no small amount. If I am not mistaken, the Sima family will certainly not agree to pay it back."

Liang Xiao laughed as well, then shifted his tone. "In truth, the money I spent on the Situ family does exceed thirty thousand taels, but the records in these signed ledgers only total fifteen thousand. I simply bet that they would never pay the thirty thousand regardless."

Zhuo Zifang nodded with a smile, long since accustomed to his friend’s shamelessness. "Even if they were determined to pay the thirty thousand, you could simply go with the flow, accept the fifteen thousand, and claim the remaining receipts were destroyed, providing the clearance receipt all the same."

"In this matter, the Situ family is in the wrong regardless. Even if Sima Lingyun marries Situ Luoyue, as long as you aren't desperate for the money, he won't dare to easily make things difficult for you, the Liang estate, or even Peixian, where you are headed. However, knowing the Sima family’s style, I fear they will incite others to act against you."

Liang Xiao replied, "Actually, the Sima family is immensely powerful; they have plenty of ways to evade lawsuits. I will likely never get this money back. But with this as a deterrent, we can finally head to Peixian with peace of mind."

Zhuo Zifang could not help but feel a surge of heroic spirit and anticipation. It was the worst of times, but for Liang Xiao, it might well be the best of times! And who was to say they couldn't forge the greatest of eras for this land?

Inside the carriage, Situ Luoyue leaned into Sima Lingyun’s arms, her body trembling. She could hear Sima Lingyun grinding his teeth. Was he hating Liang Xiao? Or was he hating her Situ family? Situ Luoyue could no longer bear the atmosphere and spoke up, aggrieved. "Brother Lingyun, I personally didn't spend much of his money..."

Sima Lingyun patted her shoulder and whispered comfortingly. "It is fine. I have already decided. Our wedding will proceed as scheduled, but this money will not be given to him under any circumstances! Thirty thousand taels—even if we settle it, once it becomes public knowledge, how will the world view your family, and how will they view us?"

Situ Luoyue’s breath hitched. Because of a single betrothal contract, her entire family had moved into the man’s estate, spending at least thirty thousand taels over a few years... No matter how bad Liang Xiao’s reputation might be, those thirty thousand taels were a stain the Situ family could never wash clean, even if they jumped into the Yellow River. This was thirty thousand taels, not three thousand, and certainly not three hundred!

"If he brings those ledgers to our door..." Situ Luoyue said, filled with terror.

Sima Lingyun said in a low, heavy voice, "Since he refuses to be reasonable, the Sima family has plenty of ways to deal with him! There is no shortage of our protégés and former subordinates among those responsible for civil litigation in the capital. We shall simply have them drag out the case!"

Hearing this, Situ Luoyue finally broke into a smile through her tears. "If I had known this, we shouldn't have gone to him at all!"

Sima Lingyun offered only a bitter smile. If it had been ten or eight thousand taels, he could have bitten the bullet and paid it, sparing himself the worry of Liang Xiao coming to cause trouble. But thirty thousand? It was inappropriate to pay, and inappropriate not to. He couldn't understand how the Situ family had managed to spend so much. Could it be, as Situ Luoyue claimed, that it was all for Lady Situ’s illness? And his future mother-in-law’s condition had yet to improve!

Situ Luoyue, terrified of Sima Lingyun’s blame, swore an oath. "Brother Lingyun, once I am married into your house, I will be thrifty and diligent. I will never be extravagant or cause you the slightest trouble!"

Sima Lingyun’s expression softened, and he smiled with satisfaction. "To marry the 'Peach Blossom Warrior' is a blessing I have cultivated over many lifetimes! That Liang Xiao is merely a vulgar, wealthy heir, a good-for-nothing who relies on the shade of his ancestors. He has no talent in literature or martial arts and is naturally unworthy of you. Not only that, I will not let him off the hook in the future!"

Situ Luoyue had assisted her father and brother in guarding the borders and had served on the battlefield. Her bravery matched that of any man, and together with him, they had become a celebrated pair. "Peach Blossom Warrior" was the title the world had bestowed upon her beauty.

"Daring to associate with the eunuch faction—Liang Xiao, just wait to be reviled by the scholars and never rise again!"

At the Western Palace Pavilion, Princess Liang Qingshuang was at her mirror, combing her hair.

"Your Highness! Something is terribly wrong!"

The urgent cry of the captain of the female guards came from outside. Liang Qingshuang immediately set down her comb, rose, and went out to inquire about the situation.

"Your Highness! That Liang Xiao—he has joined forces with the eunuch faction!"