"Su Lingzhang! Get out here!"
"You're not getting away with this without an explanation!"
The next morning, Huo Kang arrived at the Su family's doorstep, accompanied by his four sons: Huo Huaisheng, Huo Huaijing, and Huo Huaichun. They were clearly in a rage.
Su Lingzhang, who was just getting up and washing, frowned and roared, "What's going on? Who's shouting in front of my Su residence so early in the morning?"
Su Jinhao said, "Father, I'll go take a look first."
"Mm."
Su Lingzhang didn't pay much attention and continued washing up.
When Su Jinhao opened the mansion gates and saw the Huo family's imposing presence, his expression immediately changed. He hurried forward.
"Uncle Huo, what brings you here?"
Huo Kang didn't want to lose his temper with a junior, so he simply snorted coldly and turned his face away.
Huo Huaisheng, however, was not so polite, pointing his finger at Su Jinhao's nose and berating, "Su Jinhao, you're really something.
You dare to treat my Huo family like this? Do you really think your Su family can control all of Juzhou City?"
Su Jinhao looked bewildered, "Young Master Huo, what are you talking about?"
Huo Huaichun immediately chimed in, "Su Jinhao, stop pretending to be innocent.
My Huo family has never lost face like this before. If you don't give us an explanation today,
"Even if my Huo family goes bankrupt, we'll fight your Su family to the bitter end."
Su Jinhao was bewildered by the sudden, unwarranted insults. Seeing the crowd of onlookers growing, he quickly said to the group, "Please, come inside first."
"Hmph!"
The Huo family showed no courtesy to the Su family, shoving past Su Jinhao to enter the Su residence.
Before Su Jinhao could ask what was going on, Huo Kang said, "Call your parents. This matter is not for a junior like you to get involved in."
"Yes, Uncle Huo, please be seated. I will go and fetch my parents. Someone, serve tea."
Not long after, Su Lingzhang and Yin Jiao'e arrived in the main hall.
Upon seeing the Huo family, Su Lingzhang immediately plastered a smile on his face, greeting them with a cupped-fist salute, "Oh, Master Huo, what brings you here so early in the morning?"
"What wind? Humph, a sinister wind!"
Huo Kang was furious, and just seeing Su Lingzhang's old face made him see red.
Su Lingzhang and Yin Jiao'e exchanged glances, both unsure of what had happened.
"Master Huo, what exactly is the matter that has you so angry?"
"Su Lingzhang, you're quite something, aren't you? You actually set out to do this to my Huo family?
Do you know that yesterday my Huo family was almost wiped out? And yet here you are, putting on a show for me?"
"Master Huo, what are you talking about? You should at least give us a reason."
"You want a reason, do you? Fine, today I'll tell you everything."
Huo Kang picked up the teacup and gulped down some water, then asked, "A few days ago, your Su family said they wanted to form a marriage alliance with my Huo family, marrying your eldest daughter into our family. Do you acknowledge this matter?"
"What?"
Su Lingzhang looked bewildered.
Yin Jiao'e frowned, her heart skipping a beat.
Of course, she knew about this and had tacitly approved Su Xuejiao and her three sons to handle it, as long as they could marry Su Yunying into the Huo family.
Huo Kang continued, "I don't know what you all were thinking, but my Huo family really values this marriage. The betrothal gifts are already prepared, just waiting for the two families' children to meet, check the birth dates, and then choose an auspicious day to hold the wedding. But I never expected that your Su family was deliberately trying to push my Huo family to its death. Your eldest daughter's background is really impressive, ten Huo families couldn't afford to offend her."
He then described in detail everything that had happened at the Huo residence the previous day.
After listening, the Su family members all gasped.
Su Lingzhang's face immediately darkened, his fists clenched tightly.
Yin Jiao'e also did not expect Su Yunying to use such a method to ruin this marriage.
Nor did she expect this seemingly foolproof plan to evolve into such a strange and profound ending.
Huo Kang tapped the table and asked, "Tell me, how do you plan to resolve this matter?"
Su Lingzhang took a deep breath and said softly, "Patriarch Huo, I'm afraid there's some misunderstanding in this matter. Give me some time, and I will definitely give your Huo family a satisfactory explanation another day."
"Forget another day, your Su family is a big family, we Huo family can't afford to climb up to you!" Huo Kang said directly, "This marriage is over. But your Su family must compensate my Huo family for yesterday's losses, equivalent to one million five hundred thousand Spirit Stones!"
"So much?!"
Even Su Lingzhang, a wealthy man from Juzhou City, was shocked and gasped when he heard such a large sum of Spirit Stones.
Currently, he only had 500,000 Spirit Stones available in his account. The rest were invested in various businesses and couldn't be readily accessed.
Seeing that Su Lingzhang didn't respond, Huo Kang pressed on, "What, are you refusing to pay?
Hmph, don't forget that your Su family's spirit medicine business with Da Liang relies heavily on my Huo family's assets.
If I give the order, your Su family's profits in this area will be halved,
and you won't be able to purchase a single spirit medicine from my Huo family at a reasonable price."
Faced with this blatant threat, Su Lingzhang could only lower his head and ponder for a moment before turning to Yin Jiao'e and asking, "What exactly happened?"
Yin Jiao'e was stunned for a moment, then immediately poured Huo Kang a cup of tea and said in a gentle voice, "Lord Huo, don't worry. There must be some misunderstanding..."
"No misunderstanding!" Huo Kang's eyes were red. "I never expected that,
while I'm still alive, someone would send a coffin to my door. If I hadn't been quick-witted and paid to avoid disaster,
today, Juzhou City would have been feasting on the entire Huo family, hundreds of people.
I won't say more. Since we've lost face, we've lost face.
But the losses the Huo family has incurred because of your Su family must be compensated. Otherwise, the Huo family will formally sever ties with the Su family!"
Yin Jiao'e was momentarily at a loss. She never imagined that her indulgence would cause such a big problem for the Su family.
"Lord Huo, the Su family can't gather so many Spirit Stones in such a short time. Please give us some more time."
Su Lingzhang said with a look of appeasement.
Huo Kang frowned: "Alright, considering the years of cooperation between our two families,
I'll give you three more days. If you don't return the one million five hundred thousand Spirit Stones in three days, don't blame me, Huo Kang, for not caring about old ties, humph!"
After he finished speaking, he directly left with his sons.
As soon as they left, Su Lingzhang immediately roared at Yin Jiao'e: "What the hell is going on?"
"You, you're yelling at me? You dare to yell at me!"
Yin Jiao'e never expected that her husband would dare to yell at her one day.
For a moment, her eyes were red with disbelief.
Su Lingzhang also felt his tone had been a bit harsh just now, so he could only soften his voice and say, "How can I not be anxious after such a big event? Who arranged this marriage in the first place?"
Yin Jiao'e then explained Su Xuejiao's thoughts to Su Lingzhang.
"Isn't this just playing around!"
Su Lingzhang's face immediately turned ashen upon hearing this.
"Marriage is a major event; how can it be treated so lightly! You, as her mother, not only didn't dissuade her, but you even joined in the fun?
Now it's done, and the Su family has to give out so many Spirit Stones for nothing. What are we going to do? Without so many Spirit Stones, our Su family will decline immediately!"
Yin Jiao'e said, "The money must have fallen into that dead girl's hands. We can just ask her to return it."
"Heh, who's going to go ask?" Su Lingzhang retorted. "Do you think that girl will still listen to us now? Even your mother is on her side."
Yin Jiao'e: "I'm her mother, I have the right to decide everything for her. If she doesn't want to repay the debt, she must marry into the Huo family. The Su family can't decline because of her."
"Alright, stop it!" Su Lingzhang was so angry he laughed. "You should manage Xuejiao and the others. Don't cause me any more trouble. Stop coming up with such bad ideas!"
Yin Jiao'e: "Husband, you can't blame Xuejiao for this. She's doing it for that girl's own good."
"She shouldn't be involved in this. Forget it, I need to raise those Spirit Stones. You take care of things at home, and don't cause me any more unnecessary trouble."
With that, Su Lingzhang left, feeling frustrated.
Yin Jiao'e felt a headache coming on. She wanted to find Su Yunying, but was afraid of being humiliated by her mother and the expert by her side.
After thinking it over, she decided to ask Su Jinhao and the others how to handle this matter.
At this moment, Su Xuejiao already knew about the Huo family's visit and was frightened out of her wits. She resorted to her ultimate move—crying.
This cry immediately broke the hearts of her three foolish brothers, who rushed to comfort her, each taking the blame upon themselves.
"Sister, don't be sad. You were doing this for her own good. Who would have thought she wouldn't appreciate it? Don't worry, I'll definitely take care of this for you."
Su Jinhao spoke with great confidence, vowing to stand up for his little sister.
Su Xuejiao pretended to be moved, and quickly said, "Big brother, it's all my fault. If it weren't for me, Mom and Dad wouldn't be so troubled. They must be angry with me now. I... I really didn't mean to."
"How could that be? How could Mom and Dad be angry with you?" Su Jin'yi comforted her, "Everyone knows you're Mom and Dad's precious treasure. This time, it was just a good intention that went wrong. Mom and Dad will definitely understand."
Su Jin'yun also said, "If there's a fault, it's Su Yunying's. If she had just obediently married into the Huo family, how could so many troubles have arisen? She's the one who should be responsible for this."
"That's right, what Third Brother said is correct. It's all Su Yunying's fault. She must go and explain this to the Huo family."
"If she's smart, she should agree to the marriage we arranged for her and obediently marry into the Huo family."
The two brothers bickered back and forth, directly shifting the blame onto Su Yunying, completely forgetting that they hadn't discussed the matter with her from the start.
Meanwhile, inside the Pin Yue Ju Restaurant, Ji Bochang and Shen Zhao were sitting in the main hall, discussing something.
"Brother Shen, those past few days, it was all my fault. I hope you can speak to Miss Su for me; I want to apologize to her in person."
"Cut the act. You're not here to apologize; you just want to ogle the little girl, aren't you? Am I right or wrong?"
Ji Bochang was speechless instantly, never expecting that this guy wouldn't follow the script at all.
Shen Zhao continued, "I heard you're already engaged to Su Xuejiao. You're almost married. Stop thinking about other women.
Just live your life properly with her. You and Su Yunying are not on the same path. I advise you to stop daydreaming and
live your own life steadily."
Ji Bochang: "The marriage agreement between the Ji family and the Su family was for a union with the Su family's嫡女 (eldest daughter), not an adopted daughter. Since Miss Su has returned, she should be the one to marry me..."
"What, you slept with her and now you don't want to take responsibility? Ji Bochang, how can you be so irresponsible?"
"It was an accident. If I hadn't drunk so much that night, and if Su Xuejiao hadn't been so forward, there wouldn't have been that accident. Actually, I didn't want it to happen..."
"Shut up, don't say another word. It's still your own fault. If you don't want to, no one can force you. Don't try to shift all the blame onto others.
I advise you to leave immediately and stop pestering the little girl, lest you get yourself into unnecessary trouble. Do you understand!"
After speaking, he threw out a package.
"This is the deed to your Pin Yue Ju (Restaurant) and the land it's on. The little girl said she has no interest in your Pin Yue Ju (Restaurant) at all; she's just borrowing it for a few days.
We, the Public Arbitration Council (organization), are reasonable people. The restaurant will be returned to you intact, but the Spirit Stones and spirit treasures inside your Pin Yue Ju (Restaurant) we will take away, not leaving a single one behind."
"Consider it the price you paid for Pin Yue Ju. Since I've said all this, you can come take over in a few days. Now, get out of here right away!"
-----------------------
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