CHAPTER 342: CHAPTER 319: GAMBLING DEBT

"Oh dear!" Madam Xun cried out, hurriedly buttoning up the two buttons she had just undone.

Qi Lizheng quickly turned his back.

"Big Brother, why did you follow me home?" Madam Xun’s tone was very displeased.

Qi Lizheng said, "I’m just concerned.

So... is something wrong at home? Shanhe isn’t home either?"

Madam Xun’s eyes darted around as she lied, "Isn’t it almost the New Year? I thought I’d let the three of them visit family at the Xing residence."

Qi Lizheng frowned.

Madam Xun is lying.

He saw Shanhe’s wife leaving in a hurry with Xiao Sui, looking nothing like a family visit, more like fleeing for their lives.

Unfortunately, the wind was too strong, and when he shouted from afar, Xing Shi didn’t hear.

"If they’re visiting, why was Xing Shi crying as she left?"

Qi Lizheng hadn’t actually seen Qi Shanhe’s wife crying, but it didn’t stop him from pressing Madam Xun.

Madam Xun’s eyes shifted evasively, "Well... maybe she hasn’t been back home in a long time, and she’s too happy?

Ha... Big Brother, you know what Xing Shi is like, her tears aren’t worth much, they fall just like that. Since she joined our family, she sheds tears a few times every day. Frankly, we don’t know where all her grievances come from."

Qi Lizheng stared at the untruthful Madam Xun and said sternly, "When Shanhe’s wife returns in a few days, I’ll ask if that’s the case. If I find out you bullied them again, you’ll be kneeling in the ancestral hall on New Year’s Eve, kneeling all night!"

Madam Xun’s eyes darted around, and suddenly she knelt at Qi Lizheng’s feet, "Big Brother... Big Brother, something really happened at home. Shanhe got deceived..."

Madam Xun exaggeratedly recounted how Qi Shanhe was deceived out of Silver Coin at the Zhao Family Gambling House, and she didn’t forget to defend her son, saying Qi Shanhe was only taken there because he was drunk.

Qi Lizheng felt a darkness descend before his eyes, nearly fainting.

"He’s a scholar, what big drink is he having? Big drinks harm the body, small drinks bring pleasure, doesn’t he know that?"

Moreover, Qi Lizheng didn’t believe for a second that Qi Shanhe was so drunk he was taken to the gambling house without knowing it.

He’s been drunk before; he knows what it’s like.

Drunkenness makes the limbs uncooperative, but the mind remains clear, aware of everything happening and remembering it all.

Besides, if you don’t want to go to a gambling house, can anyone forcefully carry you there?

If you don’t want to gamble money, can anyone search you for money to place on the gambling table?

Qi Lizheng felt dizzy, his head heavy, and he leaned all his weight on the cane in his hand, struggling not to topple over.

He felt like he might not live to seventy.

If they keep stressing him like this, he will definitely have a short life.

Oh, why did he even come digging for answers?

Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to go home and lie down?

"Big Brother, Baoshu only has one son, and when Baoshu died, he entrusted you to look after us, you can’t just ignore us!"

Madam Xun outright clutched Qi Lizheng’s leg and wailed; after all, her big brother-in-law loved sticking his nose in others’ business, and if she could squeeze some Silver out of him, it would be worth all the scolding she’d endured.

Qi Lizheng was barely managing with his cane, and Madam Xun’s sudden grab at his leg threw him off balance, causing him to fall backward.

Qi Lizheng completely passed out.

Madam Xun rolled her eyes, "Big Brother, Big Brother..."

If you don’t want to fork out money to help, you don’t have to play dead!

She called out a few more times, and when Qi Lizheng didn’t respond, Madam Xun finally panicked.

Wouldn’t it be dreadful if her big brother-in-law died in her house? How could her house ever be inhabited again?

Madam Xun leaned forward to check Qi Baocang’s breathing, seeing he was still breathing; she turned on her heel and ran outside, shouting for help as she ran.

Soon, Qi Baocang’s several sons arrived at Madam Xun’s summons, with the youngest son, Qi Shanbao, hurriedly hoisting Qi Baocang onto his back.

"Quick, quick, take him to the town!" Qi Lizheng’s oldest son, Qi Shande, opened the house door, and Qi Shanbao dashed out.

"No, carrying him like this all the way will exhaust us. I’ll go home and hitch the ox cart." Qi Lizheng’s second son, Qi Shanming, hastily turned to head home.

"The ox cart is too slow. The Yu Family has a carriage, I’ll go borrow it!" Qi Shanbao, carrying Qi Lizheng, ran toward Yu Changhe’s house.

Qi Shanbao was young and strong; though carrying his old father, he ran faster than his brothers.

"Bao, slow down, there’s snow on the road, don’t slip and end up dropping Dad." Qi Shande jogged behind, cautioning.

No one was bothering to ask why Qi Baocang fainted in Madam Xun’s house; everyone was focused on saving Qi Baocang’s life first.

At first, Madam Xun followed for a few steps but soon fell behind, deciding against joining them and turning back home.

Qi Shanbao barely had time to knock on the Yu Family gate when, before he could explain why he was there, he felt a pat on the shoulder from his father.

"Bao, put me down!" Qi Lizheng had woken up.

He had felt a blackout and fallen backward earlier; now, he still felt a bit of pain at the back of his head.

"Dad, you’re awake?" Qi Baocang’s sons all showed delight.

Though Qi Shanbao had only said half a sentence earlier, Yu Changhe had heard enough to know why they had come.

"Come on, everyone come inside, let’s not talk out here." Yu Changhe invited Qi Lizheng and his three sons into the house.

Qi Shanbao carried him into the Yu Family’s living room, gently setting him on a chair.

Once Qi Lizheng was seated safely, he instinctively reached for the cane beside him, only to find it missing.

His cane was likely still in Madam Xun’s room.

Helpless, he had to rest his thin hands on the chair’s armrest.

Yu Changhe invited Qi Lizheng’s sons to sit down and then instructed the servants to serve them tea.

Qi Lizheng’s sons now had the time to ask what had caused their father to faint, and how he ended up fainting in Madam Xun’s room.

When this matter came up, Qi Lizheng felt a headache coming on.

In the past, Qi Lizheng would have dealt with such matters quietly, addressing family scandals internally, settling issues internally.

But now, this Qi Shanhe had disappointed him too much; he didn’t even care about preserving Qi Shanhe’s reputation; he just felt he had to vent.

Qi Lizheng, fuming, told his sons about Qi Shanhe’s gambling at the gambling house.

Qi Shande and Qi Shanming exchanged a look, then Qi Shande said, "Dad, this probably isn’t Shanhe’s first time gambling. In summer, when the two of us went to the city to sell vegetables, we saw Shanhe coming out of the gambling house."

But at that time, neither Qi Shande nor Qi Shanming told their father about what they had seen. They figured that since Qi Shanhe was already in his thirties, he should know better. Whatever he wanted to do wasn’t really their business.