Chapter 002: Breaking the Engagement

When asked by Zhou Siping, Hualang quickly replied, "I came to see the magistrate as a last resort. My father fell ill a few days ago and urgently needs medicine, but our family is destitute and cannot afford the medical expenses. Considering the relationship between my family and the magistrate, I thought of borrowing some money to treat my father, and I will definitely find a way to repay it once my father recovers."

After hearing Hualang's words, Zhou Siping's lips twitched slightly, and he said, "If my nephew could consider the request I made earlier, it would be no problem for me to give you some money."

Request? Hualang was startled; he didn't know what request Zhou Siping was talking about.

"Magistrate, you must understand that borrowed money must be repaid. I just don't know what request you are referring to," Hualang knew that asking this might expose him, but if he didn't ask, he would never know what Zhou Siping was planning.

Upon hearing Hualang's question, Zhou Siping's face changed, and he said angrily, "You still want to insist on this marriage? Humph, I'll tell you, my daughter may not be a princess, but she is a well-bred lady. I absolutely will not allow her to marry a bookworm like you."

Hualang immediately understood Zhou Siping's anger. Zhou Siping didn't want his daughter to marry him and was using this situation to make him agree to break the engagement, essentially using money to get rid of him.

From Zhou Siping's words, Hualang realized that he had mentioned breaking the engagement before, but at that time, Hualang did not agree.

Hualang secretly glanced at the angry Zhou Siping and smiled inwardly. Who would want his daughter anyway? Since his daughter didn't want to marry him, he didn't want to marry her either, and they had no feelings for each other.

"Magistrate, please calm down. Since you are determined to break the engagement, I agree. But what about the money...?" Hualang was not one to take a loss. Since Zhou Siping wanted to use money to get rid of him, he would take advantage of the situation.

"Money is not a problem, just name your price!" Zhou Siping knew that Hualang's family was poor and assumed he wouldn't dare to ask for too much, so he let Hualang name his price.

Hualang smiled faintly and said, sitting opposite Zhou Siping, "Six hundred taels of silver."

Hualang knew a bit about the salary of a Song Dynasty magistrate. A clean magistrate's monthly salary, including other income, was only ninety taels of silver. Asking for six hundred taels from Zhou Siping was equivalent to more than a year's salary.

This was a significant expense for Zhou Siping, but to Hualang's surprise, Zhou Siping readily agreed.

"Fine, if you agree to break the engagement, I will give you six hundred taels of silver!" Zhou Siping said, taking out a paper filled with words from his sleeve. Hualang glanced at it and knew it was the contract for breaking the engagement. Without hesitation, Hualang signed his name.

Six hundred taels of silver was a substantial amount. After leaving the county office with the silver, Hualang was filled with joy. With this money, he wouldn't have to worry about his father's medical expenses. Not only that, he could even buy some property. However, as he walked, Hualang suddenly realized that bringing so much silver home might not be a good idea. If his father asked where the silver came from, how would he explain it?

Saying it was borrowed? But who would lend so much? If he told the truth, wouldn't it upset his father?

Thinking about this, Hualang decided to hide the silver and take it out as needed.

The weather was very hot, and there were few people on the street. Even if there were, no one would pay attention to Hualang. Seeing this, he quietly slipped into an alley and finally arrived at a Guandi Temple. Because the Song Dynasty favored scholars over warriors, the temple of the martial god Guandi was somewhat dilapidated and rarely visited. Hualang carefully hid the silver and took only sixty taels with him.

Hualang went to the pharmacy to buy medicine and then bought some supplements and food. He hurried home.

Hualang's home was a small courtyard on a lane in the east street. As he approached the lane, he saw a woman running towards him with a worried look. Hualang quickly called out, "Wanying, what's wrong?"

Wanying suddenly stopped and, seeing her brother, said, "Brother, Father's condition has worsened. If he doesn't get treatment soon, he might... he might..."

Wanying couldn't continue. Hualang quickly comforted her, "Don't worry, I've already bought the medicine. Hurry and boil it for Father."

Hualang's sister, Wanying, was now of marriageable age. Although she wasn't stunningly beautiful, she was quite attractive. However, she looked tired from taking care of their father. Hearing that Hualang had bought the medicine, she quickly pulled him home and asked, "Brother, where did you get the money to buy the medicine?"

Hualang couldn't tell her about breaking the engagement and said, "I borrowed it from our neighbors. Don't worry about it. Go and boil the medicine."

Hualang's father, Huaxingyi, was lying in bed, his strong body drenched in sweat. Hualang sat beside him, fanning and wiping him, occasionally glancing around the room. The house was truly destitute, with nothing left, and it was sweltering. Hualang thought that he would fetch more silver later to repair the house and buy some furniture to make his father more comfortable.

As he was thinking, Wanying brought the medicine. With the medicine for their father, she felt somewhat relieved. The two of them took care of their father, which seemed like a form of familial happiness.

After Huaxingyi drank the medicine and felt slightly better, Wanying persuaded him to lie down.

After Huaxingyi fell asleep, Wanying pulled Hualang outside and said, "Brother, tell me, where did you get the money?"

Seeing Wanying's question, Hualang smiled and said, "What, do you think I stole the money?"

Hearing this, Wanying was startled. This was not like Hualang's usual behavior. In the past, he would have politely explained, never questioning her. But now, he had indeed questioned her.

"Brother, a scholar, who would believe you stole money? I'm just curious. If you borrowed money, there wouldn't be much left after buying the medicine. Where did you get the extra money to buy so many supplements and food? I checked, and those supplements included many high-quality herbs that would cost at least ten taels of silver."

Hualang inwardly mused. He hadn't expected his sister to have such keen eyes. She had noticed that he had spent a lot of silver on these items. It seemed he couldn't easily fool her.

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End of Chapter 002