CHAPTER 89: CHAPTER 89: I HAVE TO TELL THEM!

The woman slightly raised her head, her tone unfriendly, which was very annoying, but Mrs. Wang didn’t dare to neglect her because judging from her clothes, she was undoubtedly a wealthy person.

She accompanied her with a smile, wanting to ask who she was, but inside came Mrs. Zhang’s loud voice: "Who is it? Knocking on the door at night, let me put it frankly, if you’re here to beg, then hurry off, our family has no grain..."

As she spoke, she had already come out, and upon seeing that it was a woman dressed in splendid clothing, she immediately closed her mouth.

This was obviously a rich person who certainly wouldn’t come to beg, so what was she here for?

"Mother, a distinguished guest has arrived!"

Mrs. Wang knew how to read the room, immediately calling out, as Zhou Zhiqin glanced at her indifferently and walked inside.

Mrs. Li Zhou was still sitting in her seat, maintaining a touch of reserve on her face, smiling slightly, she said: "Which madam has come to our home?"

Zhou Zhiqin was in a fairly good mood at first, but after hearing Mrs. Li Zhou’s question, her face turned unsightly!

Madam? She looks at me this old and decrepit, and yet calls me madam?

Her expression turned cold as frost, as she thought about herself in the copper mirror, gaunt in appearance, and haggard in spirit, even the finest powders today couldn’t compare to her former self.

Pang Longyue! You wretched wench!

She hated intensely in her heart, almost grinding away her silver teeth, the servant maid beside her who had good perception hurriedly scolded: "Presumptuous, this is the young lady of the Zhou family in the city!"

"Oh!"

Mrs. Li Zhou’s reserve disappeared, replaced with a smiling face. Even though her family had a bit of money now, they still couldn’t compare to the wealthier families in the city, they could only raise a finger and take her life!

She quickly stood up and signaled to Mrs. Wang: "So it’s the young lady of the Zhou family. Sit, please sit, eldest daughter-in-law, why haven’t you gone to make tea yet?"

"Yes!"

Mrs. Wang went to work busily, while Mrs. Li Zhou asked with a smile: "What brings Miss Zhou to our home?"

"Li family member?"

"Yes, yes!"

"Then Li Qingmu, is he your son?"

"Ah, he..."

Mrs. Li Zhou was stunned, looking cautiously at Zhou Zhiqin, wondering what she meant by specifically coming to ask about Li Qingmu.

Zhou Zhiqin saw her demeanor and knew she had concerns, so she gave a look to the maid.

The maid said: "My young lady and Li Qingmu’s wife have some grievances and have always wanted to deal with him, but she doesn’t want to harm the innocent. Now that you have no relation with him, we shall take action!"

When Mrs. Li Zhou heard they were going to deal with Li Qingmu, she was instantly delighted, all former concerns thrown aside, and she spat.

"That little bastard, an ungrateful little beast, our Li family painstakingly raised him for eighteen years, and once he passed the imperial examinations, he wanted to abandon our family! Tell me, is there such a thankless wolf in the world? Such scum deserves to taste some bitterness!"

Zhou Zhiqin had already investigated the Li family and knew they had a confrontation with Li Qingmu a few days ago, almost becoming enemies.

For this reason, she dared to visit in person, to enlist their help.

She took out two silver ingots from her bosom, a total of twenty taels of silver.

The Li family member’s eyes were fixed on the ingots now suddenly appearing on the table.

"Miss Zhou, what is the meaning of this?"

Suddenly giving them money, only someone with a blunted nerve would think others are handing out money for no reason, needless to say, Miss Zhou must want them to do something.

Zhou Zhiqin thought the old woman was quite sensible and said: "That adopted son of yours, have you ever thought about his origins?"

"Well... I don’t know, but his family must be wealthy."

"Hmm! When the time comes, I want you to go to court and identify him, will you do it?"

"Identify? Identify what?"

"Identify him as the offspring of a criminal minister!"

Zhou Zhiqin said word by word, her eyes aflame with the fire of hatred. Mrs. Li Zhou looked at her fierce appearance and felt intimidated, but what frightened her more was actually the task they were being asked to do.

Criminal minister... my goodness, this is a beheading offense!

"No, no, identify him and we too shall perish, this won’t work, not..."

Zhou Zhiqin coldly glanced at her and snorted: "If you don’t identify him, and in the future his crime is established, your Li family will be harboring, the same crime as him! But if you identify, not only will there be no trouble, but there will also be merit. Furthermore, after this is done, I will give you fifty taels of silver! How about this trade?"

"This..."

Mrs. Li Zhou was moved, she had already loathed Li Qingmu to death, and now as long as they sacrificed the couple, they could gain so many benefits... why not?

Zhou Zhiqin saw from Mrs. Li Zhou’s expression that she was tempted, for money stirs people’s hearts!

"How about it?"

"That... Miss Zhou, we want to identify him, but there’s no evidence..."

"Evidence? Isn’t there evidence? Don’t you have a piece of Mutton Fat Jade Pendant? Just carve a surname on it, and it will do!"

Wow, you’ve even dug up the truth of our family!

Mrs. Li Zhou muttered to herself, then feigned reluctance: "To carve the jade... carving on jade makes it worthless!"

"Later, I will buy the jade according to its value."

Mrs. Li Zhou smiled broadly, holding up two fingers and shaking them: "This jade, at least, is worth 200 taels!"

Zhou Zhiqin smiled and said nothing, seeing everything was agreed, she instructed the maid to take the jade.

"Wait, wait, what’s happening here?"

"Going to carve the name."

"Hold on!" Mrs. Li Zhou retracted her smile and went up to snatch the jade, "If you take the jade away, what if you run away? Given me twenty taels of silver, you think you can trick this gem away? Who are you fooling? We must establish a written agreement, and you must first give me a hundred taels!"

Zhou Zhiqin looked at Mrs. Li Zhou’s crafty manner and felt a flicker of aversion in her eyes; she coldly said, "Give it to her," and the maid beside her took out a hundred taels of silver.

Immediately, they drafted a contract; Zhou Zhiqin was also worried that, after taking the money, Mrs. Li Zhou would not do the job, so they both signed and stamped their marks.

"In a couple of days, I’ll come again with this pendant, then I’ll instruct you on what to say in court. Remember, this matter cannot be spoken of, otherwise, you know the consequences!"

"Rest assured, Miss Zhou, we will follow all your instructions!"

Mrs. Li Zhou smiled brightly, personally escorting Zhou Zhiqin out the door. When she returned, the house was in uproar.

Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Zhang were looking at that pile of shiny silver on the table, so excited they could scarcely speak. If there weren’t people around, they might have scrambled for it.

"Mom, with so much silver, I want to study, I want to take the imperial exams, and you will enjoy the blessings of my officialdom in the future!"

"Mom, I want to wear beautiful clothes!"

"..."

The family was clamoring, only A Qiu stared at the table of glistening silver in a daze.

Suddenly, as if he had gone mad, he rushed forward, sweeping the silver to the ground, shouting loudly, "You are so evil, how can you frame third brother and sister-in-law in this way? No, I must go tell them, I must go tell them!"