Chapter 44: No Father, No Weakness

“What are you standing there for?

Hurry up and take me downstairs.”

Xue Sanbiao hurriedly called out to the four or five thugs beside him, and the group quickly rushed downstairs.

 

From a distance, Xue Sanbiao saw twenty or thirty uniformly dressed guards in the first-floor hall, and seated among them was a female Qiankun in luxurious clothes.

 

Her expression was indifferent, her face calm, as if she couldn’t care less about their gambling house.

 

Xue Sanbiao had been in the business world for many years and had long developed the skill of speaking honeyed words to those above and harsh words to those below.

Seeing the scene before him, he immediately cupped his hands and bowed to Wei Lan, fawningly saying, “May I ask which boss you are?

Our gambling house is a small business.

If we have offended you, I, Xue Sanbiao, apologize to you first.

Please don’t bother with insignificant people like us.”

 

Wei Lan didn’t even look at him the entire time.

Only after he finished speaking did she cast him a faint glance.

“I heard you wanted to see me, that you wouldn’t release the person until you saw me?”

 

The smile on Xue Sanbiao’s face instantly froze and cracked.

He looked at Wei Lan, and after a long moment, he finally stammered out, “You… you are Wei Lan?”

 

Wei Lan calmly nodded.

“Speak.

What do you want from me?”

“How is this possible?

Aren’t you just a live-in daughter-in-law of the Lu residence?

How can you command so many guards?”

Xue Sanbiao’s face was full of disbelief.

There were many gossipy stories about the Lu residence.

Since ancient people didn’t have many leisure and entertainment facilities, the common folk loved to spread rumors about various households.

 

And the gossip of these wealthy families was exactly what the common people liked to talk about the most.

 

The guard beside Wei Lan immediately shouted, “How dare you!

Our master is not someone you can insult.”

 

Xue Sanbiao was startled by the guard, but then thinking that he still held Wei Wenyuan’s life in his hands, he became arrogant again.

“Wei Lan, don’t get too cocky.

Don’t forget that your father still owes our gambling house silver and is still being held by us.

Don’t you want to save your father?”

 

Just as Xue Sanbiao was speaking, Zhao Xinlan burst in from outside.

She tearfully pleaded with Xue Sanbiao, “Boss Xue, I’ve brought Wei Lan for you.

Please have someone bring Wenyuan out so we can see him.”

 

Xue Sanbiao ignored Zhao Xinlan, but seeing her groveling like that made him feel that Wei Lan’s current calmness was just an act, so his worries lessened by a bit.

 

Thinking that if he brought Wei Wenyuan out, he could directly intimidate Wei Lan, he instructed the thugs beside him, “Go bring Wei Wenyuan here.

Let the master of the Lu residence have a good look at her father.”

 

Wei Lan’s expression didn’t change.

Zhao Xinlan, on the other hand, cried with excitement, “Yes, yes, release Wenyuan first, then you can talk.

Thank you, Boss Xue.”

“I never said I would release him.

You still haven’t come up with the thousand taels of silver.

Of course, I could also forget about the silver, but your daughter would have to agree to a small condition of mine.”

A smile appeared on Xue Sanbiao’s face.

He had been afraid Wei Lan wouldn’t come.

Now that she had, everything would be easy.

“Wei Lan, you don’t need a thousand taels of silver.

Please help your father.

Your mother begs you.”

Zhao Xinlan knelt down in front of Wei Lan.

Wei Lan did not move an inch.

 

She pointed at Zhao Xinlan, and a guard immediately understood and pulled Zhao Xinlan up from the ground.

 

Wei Lan didn’t look at Zhao Xinlan.

Instead, she looked coldly at Xue Sanbiao, a smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

The reason she had come was to find out who was behind this and what their purpose was.

“Speak.

What condition?”

 

Hearing Wei Lan respond, Xue Sanbiao immediately felt fifty percent confident.

He knew it!

Wei Wenyuan was the perfect leverage over Wei Lan.

 

Just as Xue Sanbiao was about to speak, Wei Wenyuan was pushed out from a corridor on the first floor by four strong men.

“Move it!

What’s the holdup?”

“Yeah, you old bastard, move!”

 

One of the strong men kicked Wei Wenyuan, who almost lost his balance and fell flat on his face.

 

Xue Sanbiao smirked coldly at Wei Lan and said, “Be careful.

Don’t hurt the master of the Lu residence’s own father.”

“Yes.”

The strong man laughed dismissively and didn’t take it seriously.

When he saw the thirty guards on Wei Lan’s side, he paused for a moment, but seeing that so many people across from him weren’t doing anything, he assumed they were just paper tigers and stopped worrying.

 

The four men directly forced Wei Wenyuan to his knees on the ground.

 

Seeing Wei Wenyuan’s face covered in bruises, Zhao Xinlan cried uncontrollably.

“Release him!

I beg you, release him now!

Wei Lan, please save your father!”

“Wei Lan, you’ve finally come!

Please save your father!

I’ll never gamble again, and I’ll never do any more business!”

Wei Wenyuan knelt on the ground, crying with tears and snot streaming down his face.

 

Wei Lan’s expression remained calm.

She didn’t even look at Wei Wenyuan.

Instead, she looked at Xue Sanbiao and said, “Speak.

What’s the condition?”

“You’re a straightforward person.

The condition is simple.

Now that the Lu residence has become the royal merchant, just hand over half of the cloth quota to me, and I’ll release your father immediately.

Not only that, he will be a guest of honor here from now on, free to play however he wants.

What do you think?

Isn’t that a good deal?”

Xue Sanbiao said with a smile.

Since Wei Lan had asked, she must want to save her father.

That meant Wei Lan had taken the bait.

 

Wei Lan, however, smiled at him and said coldly, “Impossible.

Don’t even think about the royal merchant quota.

And a street rat like you couldn’t possibly have come up with such a meticulous trap.

Tell me, who’s behind you?”

 

Xue Sanbiao’s heart went cold.

He hadn’t expected Wei Lan to directly guess that someone had instructed him to do these things.

For a moment, he panicked.

But remembering Chen Zhou’s words, he immediately denied it.

“Don’t talk nonsense.

I don’t understand what you’re saying.

In any case, are you going to agree or not?”

“No.”

Wei Lan said calmly.

 

Wei Wenyuan hadn’t expected Wei Lan to say that and immediately cried out, “Wei Lan, I know I’ve wronged you, but I am your father after all.

You’re not going to abandon me, are you?

It’s only a thousand taels of silver.

It’s not much to you.

I beg you, please help me pay them back.

I truly won’t dare do it again.

Just trust me one more time.”

 

Wei Lan laughed coldly.

“Someone like you will only behave when your portrait is hanging on the wall.”

 

Then she looked at Xue Sanbiao and said, “I will not pay a single cent of his debt to you.

As for him, you can do whatever you want with him.”

 

After Wei Lan said this, not only were the people across from her shocked, but even the Lu residence guards she had brought were shocked.

 

The guards couldn’t help but become even more deferential to Wei Lan.

After all, they knew the young lady cared about the master, and the master was also a ruthless person, not even caring about her own father’s life or death.

From now on, they must never offend the master.

 

Xue Sanbiao thought he had misheard and asked again, “Your own father?

You don’t care?”

 

Wei Lan calmly replied, “I don’t care.

One should be responsible for one’s own actions.”

 

Wei Lan said it frankly, but Xue Sanbiao felt like something was stuck in his throat, unable to swallow or spit out.

He hadn’t expected Wei Lan to react this way at all.

“Your own father!

If you don’t care, I’ll have someone cut off one of his hands right now!”

Xue Sanbiao still didn’t believe it and continued to threaten.

“Be my guest.”

Wei Lan continued calmly, as if Wei Wenyuan truly had nothing to do with her.

 

Now it was Wei Wenyuan’s turn to panic.

He cried out to Wei Lan for help, “Wei Lan, your father has wronged you.

Please forgive me one more time.

Save me!

Save me!

I don’t want my hand cut off!

Save me!”

 

Zhao Xinlan was also crying beside them.

She pushed past two guards and threw herself in front of Wei Wenyuan.

“Wenyuan, don’t be afraid.

If Wei Lan won’t save you, I’ll die here with you.”

 

The smile on Wei Lan’s lips grew wider, but her expression was eerily calm.

She looked at Zhao Xinlan and Wei Wenyuan and said, “Don’t think you can threaten me with death.

Your lives are your own.

Whether you keep them or not has nothing to do with me.”

 

With that, she glanced at Xue Sanbiao.

She smiled at him and said, “If someone actually dies in your shop, I’ll immediately report it to the authorities.

There are plenty of witnesses here to prove that you committed murder.”

“I…

I did not.

Don’t slander me!”

Xue Sanbiao hadn’t expected Wei Lan to be so impervious to reason, not even caring about her own parents, and even trying to falsely accuse him of murder.

 

Wei Lan had achieved her purpose for this trip and couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words.

She stood up directly and said coldly, “Tell the person behind you that if he dares to scheme against the Lu family again, I will bankrupt him.”

 

With that, Wei Lan turned to leave.

But Zhao Xinlan cried out and lunged at Wei Lan.

“Wei Lan, you can’t abandon your father!

You clearly have the means to save him!

You unfilial daughter!

You heartless wretch!”

 

Wei Lan looked at Zhao Xinlan tugging at her clothes and swept a cold glance at the guards beside her.

“What are you standing there for?

Pull her away.”

 

Scolded by Wei Lan, a guard immediately stepped in front of Wei Lan and pulled Zhao Xinlan away.

 

Wei Lan swept her gaze over the gambling house and smiled at Xue Sanbiao.

“There’s one more thing I forgot.

Guards, smash this place to pieces.

Perhaps the Lu residence has been too kind this past year, so that every beast dares to scheme against it.

Today, I’ll show you who calls the shots in Panyang.

Let’s see if the coward hiding behind you dares to come out and save you.”

“Yes, master.”

The guards immediately accepted the order.

Ten guards remained surrounding Wei Lan to protect her, while the remaining twenty guards swarmed the gambling house.

 

Xue Sanbiao’s pupils contracted sharply.

He loudly tried to persuade her, “Boss Wei, it’s a misunderstanding!

All a misunderstanding!

I’ll release your father right now!

I beg you, take your people and leave!”

 

But by now, the gambling house’s thugs had already started fighting with the Lu residence guards.

Or rather, these gambling house thugs were being completely overwhelmed by the Lu residence guards.

After all, the Lu residence was the wealthiest family in Panyang City, and they hired young, physically fit men with fighting skills.

Thus, the thugs were soon beaten black and blue, one by one collapsing to the ground.

 

But it didn’t end there.

The lead guard grabbed a chair with both arms and smashed it hard against a table.

The other guards followed suit, smashing not only the tables and chairs but also all the wine jugs and barrels.

 

Xue Sanbiao’s head was buzzing, and he felt like he might faint.

He tried to get close to Wei Lan, to beg her to take her people and leave.

He didn’t want the thousand taels of silver anymore, and he wouldn’t hold Wei Lan’s father any longer.

But before he could even get near Wei Lan, he was surrounded by two guards.

 

With two loud “thuds,” Xue Sanbiao was beaten into a pair of black eyes.

He fell to the ground, and the two guards proceeded to kick and punch him.

 

Wei Lan was very satisfied with this.

Her wife had been busy with business matters this past year and had no time to deal with these jumping clowns.

These clowns had forgotten the prestige of the Lu residence and dared to scheme against it.

This was a perfect chance to make an example of one to warn the others.

 

Before long, the hall had been smashed to pieces by the guards.

But it didn’t end there; the guards rushed upstairs and continued smashing.

 

Wei Lan just sat quietly on her chair, calmly watching it all, as if she had just done something utterly trivial.

 

After a while, it seemed that patrolling officers on the street had heard the commotion inside.

Several officers rushed in.

But when they saw the character ‘Lu’ embroidered on the guards’ belts, their expressions relaxed considerably.

 

The lead officer asked, “What’s going on here?”

“Oh, the owner of this black shop kidnapped our master’s father, tried to extort silver, and even threatened to cut off our master’s father’s arm.”

One of the guards explained.

“Are you from the Lu residence?” the officer asked.

“Indeed.

Please be accommodating, Officer.”

 

The few officers exchanged glances.

They knew these were people they couldn’t afford to offend, but if something happened on this street, they would still be held responsible.

 

The lead officer walked over to Wei Lan and cupped his hands.

“Boss, we are responsible for this street.

This Xue Sanbiao has always been detestable and deserves a lesson.

But please, don’t kill anyone.

Otherwise, we can’t bear the responsibility.”

 

Wei Lan stood up and smiled at the officers.

“Officers, rest assured.

I won’t make things difficult for you.

I’m just furious that Xue Sanbiao threatened me with my father’s life, so I had my men teach him a small lesson.

This is a small token of my appreciation.

Please accept it, Officers.”

 

Wei Lan took two silver ingots from her sleeve, exactly twenty taels, and pressed them into the officer’s hand.

 

The officers didn’t make much monthly salary, and seeing the twenty taels of silver, their eyes nearly lit up with greed.

Still, they made a show of refusing.

“How can we accept this?

It’s our duty to ease your worries.”

“You’ve worked hard, Officers.

Consider this my treat for drinks.

Please, you must accept it.”

Wei Lan smiled.

“In that case, thank you very much.

My brothers and I will stay here and clean up the aftermath later.”

The lead officer’s attitude was even more attentive than before.

 

Soon, the guards from upstairs all came down.

“Master, we’ve finished dealing with the upstairs.”

A guard came to report.

 

Wei Lan nodded.

“Good.

It’s about time we left.

We don’t want to hinder the officers’ work.

Oh, and Wei Wenyuan does owe Xue Sanbiao silver.

Officers, don’t bother with Wei Wenyuan.

I don’t have a father like that.”

“No problem, no problem.”

The officer said with an ingratiating smile, though he was also puzzled by what Wei Lan meant.

Was she disowning her father?

 

Before leaving, Wei Lan walked over to Xue Sanbiao.

At this point, Xue Sanbiao was bruised and swollen, with blood at the corner of his mouth.

He had clearly been badly beaten.

 

Wei Lan looked at him and said calmly, “This is the consequence of scheming against the Lu residence.

Oh, and tell the person behind you that I won’t let him off so easily.”

 

With that, Wei Lan walked out the door.

The guards surrounded Wei Lan as she left Dacheng Gambling House.

Wei Lan boarded the carriage, and the group headed back to the Lu residence.

From beginning to end, Wei Lan paid no attention to Wei Wenyuan or Zhao Xinlan.

 

Zhao Xinlan was still sitting there in a daze.

What had just happened had almost scared her senseless.

She hadn’t expected Wei Lan to dare to smash the place, and for the authorities to do nothing about it.

 

But she quickly snapped out of it and stumbled over to untie Wei Wenyuan.

“Wenyuan, are you okay?”

“I’m okay, I’m okay.”

He said he was okay, but he had suffered quite a bit these past few days, kicked and punched by these thugs, with many small injuries on his body.

 

Wei Wenyuan stood up.

“Let’s go.

Let’s talk when we get home.

Let’s talk when we get home.”

 

Zhao Xinlan helped him run out of Dacheng Gambling House.

The officers didn’t stop them, and Xue Sanbiao certainly didn’t either.

He was currently dizzy from being beaten and couldn’t care less about Wei Wenyuan.

 

Xue Sanbiao now regretted it deeply.

If he had known that Wei Lan held real power in the Lu residence, even if it killed him, he wouldn’t have dared to kidnap Wei Lan’s father.

Now, his gambling house had been smashed to pieces, even the wooden stairs to the second floor had been destroyed by the Lu residence guards.

Just renovating the shop would cost a lot of silver.

He had only received ten thousand taels from Chen Zhou.

Now, he and his men had been beaten like this, and medical treatment alone would cost a lot.

Not to mention the shop being smashed, which meant he couldn’t open for business for at least half a month.

These were all losses.

 

He had truly suffered a double loss this time.

He dared not provoke a ruthless person like Wei Lan again.

Someone who didn’t even care about her parents’ lives must be utterly heartless.

It was all that Chen Zhou’s fault for making him court death.

 

Seeing that everyone had left, the officers made a simple record and then left.

 

They and Xue Sanbiao both knew in their hearts that even if Xue Sanbiao reported this to the City Lord, only Xue Sanbiao would suffer.

The City Lord wouldn’t offend the wealthiest family in Panyang City over a small-time nobody.

Everyone considers their own interests before handling any matter; it’s human nature.

 

Wei Lan, having led the guards to smash the shop, felt extremely refreshed on the way back.

This bowl of soft rice of hers had real substance.

Her wife was so good to her; just thinking about it made Wei Lan happy.

 

When they returned to the residence, the guards escorted Wei Lan back to Fuqu Pavilion before leaving.

 

Wei Qing had been anxiously waiting in the courtyard.

Seeing Wei Lan return, she trotted over.

“Sis, how did it go?”

“Not much.

I took the guards and smashed Dacheng Gambling House to pieces.”

Wei Lan explained calmly.

“What about Father and Mother?”

Wei Qing asked quietly.

“I don’t know.

They probably ran off.

Why?

Are you thinking of leaving my place?”

Wei Lan looked at Wei Qing and asked.

 

Wei Lan knew very well that if Wei Qing went back, she wouldn’t have a good life in the future.

Gambling and drinking addictions are hard to break.

Wei Wenyuan would eventually gamble again.

He had already lost all his money this time.

Wei Lan suspected there wouldn’t be much silver left at home either.

 

If Wei Wenyuan had no silver, what could he do?

Going by his past behavior, he would sell his daughter.

He had already sold her, so Wei Qing was probably next.

 

Feeling that the young girl was still inexperienced, Wei Lan warned her, “There’s probably no silver left at home.

I think you know what kind of person Wei Wenyuan is.

I was sold into the Lu residence, and I can only say I’m lucky to have such a good life now.

But you’re not so fortunate.

If Wei Wenyuan really needs silver and sells you as a concubine to some forty or fifty-year-old Qiankun, would you be willing?”

 

Hearing this, Wei Qing almost cried.

Her body trembled.

“No, I wouldn’t be willing, Sis.”

 

Wei Lan looked at her, still calm.

“If you’re not willing, then stay here with me.

Don’t think about going back.

You think of them as your parents, but they only think of themselves.

When they reach the end of their rope, they’ll abandon you first.”

 

With that, Wei Lan walked towards the study.

Wei Qing, however, was moved to tears by Wei Lan’s words.

 

What her sister said was true.

She would never agree to be a concubine to a forty- or fifty-year-old man.

But this was, after all, the Lu residence.

She couldn’t possibly stay here forever.

Her sister was a live-in son-in-law.

If she stayed here long-term, she would inevitably incur Miss Lu’s displeasure.

 

For a moment, Wei Qing felt she had nowhere to go and couldn’t help but cry.

 

She had been idle these days and had been embroidering pouches.

She used to do this at home too, taking these pouches to shops to sell.

Wei Qing thought she needed to embroider more pouches, so she could give the money she earned to her sister and not make things difficult for her.

 

Wei Lan, unaware of this, returned to her bedroom and called for the maidservants to prepare water for a bath.

She had been out for half a day and was covered in sweat.

But at least the matter was resolved.

 

Soaking in the wooden tub, Wei Lan thought of Lu Zijin.

She missed her wife a little.

Even though she had just seen Lu Zijin at noon, she already wanted to hug her.

 

***

 

On the other side, Su Er quickly rushed to Chen Zhou to report.

“Young master, bad news!

Bad news!”

 

Chen Zhou frowned and asked, “What is it?

Why are you making such a fuss over nothing?”

“Young master, Dacheng Gambling House was smashed by Wei Lan and her people!

And smashed to pieces!”

Su Er said urgently.

 

Chen Zhou’s expression immediately darkened.

His previously refined demeanor was gone.

“What exactly happened?

That waste Wei Lan’s own father was in Xue Sanbiao’s hands!

How dare Wei Lan lead a raid?”

“Oh, young master, I heard that Wei Lan simply didn’t care about her parents’ lives.

Xue Sanbiao threatened to cut off Wei Wenyuan’s hand, and Wei Lan acted like nothing was wrong.

She didn’t care about her parents at all.

Xue Sanbiao couldn’t blackmail Wei Lan.”

Su Er quickly explained.

 

Chen Zhou’s expression grew even darker.

He muttered, “I underestimated that waste.

She doesn’t even care about her parents’ lives.

Fine, very fine.”

 

Su Er carefully bent over.

After a moment’s thought, he continued, “Wei Lan also guessed that someone was behind Xue Sanbiao.

She told Xue Sanbiao to pass on a message to you.”

“What message?”

Chen Zhou gritted out.

“Wei Lan called you a coward hiding in his shell.

She also said… she said if you dare to provoke the Lu residence again, she will bankrupt you.”

Su Er finished and immediately knelt down.

Their young master appeared refined on the surface, but was actually a vengeful person.

He was afraid he might be implicated.

“Good.

Very good.

That waste Wei Lan…

I will deal with her sooner or later.”

As he spoke, Chen Zhou picked up the tea set in the room and smashed it.

Seeming unsatisfied, he picked up a large glazed vase and threw it to the ground, shattering it.

 

He truly hadn’t expected to lose this round to a useless live-in daughter-in-law.

Chen Zhou was absolutely furious.

 

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