Chapter 442: Causing a Scene
Chapter 442: Chapter 442: Causing a Scene
Under Zhang Zhao’s deliberate obstruction, Zhou Gang was left hanging for a long time. Seeing people bustling in and out of Jingzhao Mansion, he had no choice but to slip away quietly when no one was looking.
He knew very well that as long as Zhang Zhao was here, he wouldn’t gain any advantage. He couldn’t just turn around and leave openly, so he could only wait for another opportunity.
Zhang Zhao, who had been keeping an eye on him, sneered when he saw the man leave. He thought that, sure enough, exile had taught the man to be more tactful.
In the past, Zhou Gang had been so unyielding that he even dared to offend the Princes in the imperial court. Zhang Zhao had thought he would stubbornly butt heads with him just like before. To his surprise, Zhou Gang slinked away after only a short while. It was better that he left on his own; Zhang Zhao could just pretend he had never come. Presumably, he wouldn’t dare to come back and ask for a snub again.
Meanwhile, Gu Baijiang had been waiting. He was prepared for another embarrassing spectacle to unfold and wondered what the consequences would be if the Third Prince was dragged into this mess again.
Who would have thought that the matter would blow over so peacefully? This made Gu Baijiang inwardly despise Zhou Gang. He had given him the opportunity, yet the man didn’t know how to seize it. In that case, Zhou Gang couldn’t blame him for washing his hands of this debt.
Three days later.
Gu Baijiang unexpectedly heard news about Zhou Gang from elsewhere. The man had actually taken the IOU and blocked the entrance of the Third Prince Mansion, demanding by name that Gu Antong repay the debt.
Gu Kaiping and his wife were nearly mad with anger. They wondered where this jinx had come from. An Tong had finally gained some favor in the backyard, hoping to give birth to an Imperial Grandson for the Emperor as soon as possible. Why was this person coming forward to collect a debt at such a crucial time? The IOUs had all been written by the Gu Family. How could he seek out a married-out daughter?
When their family hurried to the Third Prince Mansion, Zhou Gang had already been brought inside. The gatekeepers saw them and invited them in as well. Upon entering, they found the Third Prince sitting in the master’s seat with a gloomy expression, while Zhou Gang knelt stiffly on the floor.
Their hearts skipped a beat. They hadn’t expected Zhou Gang to actually escalate the matter to the Third Prince.
Only they knew the true nature of the grudge between them and Zhou Gang. Back then, they were willing to write the IOU to pacify the other party simply because they didn’t want Gu Antong’s reputation to be damaged. Had they known it would come to this, they would have been more ruthless. They had never expected that Zhou Gang would one day return to the capital, which was why they initially thought of brushing him off. This decision left them with a massive hidden danger. Now, there was no telling how the Third Prince viewed them, or how he viewed An Tong.
Gu Baijiang led his son and daughter-in-law in a respectful bow. This time, the Third Prince did not ask them to rise, but instead made them kneel beside Zhou Gang.
"You really have a lot of nerve. You casually wrote an IOU and even let him come all the way here to collect the debt." Rong Ruiyuan looked at the kneeling people, his voice exceptionally cold. Day after day, the affairs of the imperial court were already keeping him overwhelmed, yet he still had to come back and deal with this petty nonsense.
"Your Highness, there is a reason for this IOU..." Gu Kaiping couldn’t hold back and tried to explain, but Gu Baijiang pressed a hand down on him.
"Your Highness, this is all my fault. Back then on the road, due to certain reasons, we had no choice but to reluctantly acknowledge this debt. After returning to the capital, it momentarily slipped my mind. Paying debts is only natural, but unfortunately, I don’t have that much Silver on hand, so I could only keep delaying."
The Third Prince hadn’t mentioned Gu Antong, nor had he sent someone to summon her. That meant Zhou Gang hadn’t explained the ins and outs of the matter clearly, so there was no need to drag An Tong into this.
The Third Prince sneered, wondering if Gu Baijiang was blaming him for taking all the Silver.
But it wasn’t the Gu Family’s money either. It was no secret that he had taken so much Silver. The Emperor hadn’t pursued the matter, so even if his brothers had objections, they could only bottle them up.
He had only let the Gu Family safeguard it for a while, yet they really treated the Silver as their own property. Moreover, as far as he knew, the numbers didn’t add up. He had always suspected that the Gu Family had secretly hoarded some away. He had ordered people to keep them under surveillance these past few days. He didn’t expect Gu Baijiang to be so cunning as to dare probe him right here.
"Without Silver, how dare you write such an IOU?" Rong Ruiyuan demanded sternly, devoid of any prior respect he had for the Gu Family. "This is your private affair. Go back and handle it yourselves. Don’t treat my Third Prince Mansion like a bustling market where you can come and go as you please. If there is a next time, don’t blame me for being ruthless."
Zhou Gang looked up at the Third Prince. Since he had entered this mansion today, he intended to blow the matter up. Perhaps the First Prince would see that he was still useful and grant him a promising future.
"Your Highness, I already went to collect the debt before, but this Gu Baijiang is an absolute scoundrel. He simply refuses to acknowledge the debt.
"Speaking of which, this debt has something to do with the Third Prince..."
"Shut up! Don’t just wildly drag others into this," Gu Baijiang sharply shouted him down. "I acknowledge this debt, but we really can’t produce the Silver right now. Give me some time. I’ve taken on a book-copying job, and I’ll pay you back little by little."
Zhou Gang scoffed. "With that meager income from copying books, it will take forever and a day to pay me back! I am in desperate need of money right now. I can barely survive, and I don’t have that much time to give you.
"Didn’t your granddaughter marry into the Third Prince Mansion? You’ve already sacrificed enough for her. Now that you, her grandfather, are in trouble, can’t she help you out a bit?"
The corners of Zhou Gang’s mouth curled up. He refused to believe that Gu Baijiang would dare to hold out stubbornly after he laid this all out in the open.
He would believe it if others claimed to have no money, but he had to take Gu Baijiang’s words with a grain of salt. He simply didn’t believe that so much Silver had all been given to the Third Prince. Since they were all Princes, Gu Baijiang could have easily hedged his bets.
If he could handle this matter well today, Zhou Gang would definitely be able to turn his life around. When that day came, it would be the time for him to settle scores with everyone.
How could the Gu Family fail to hear the threat in his tone? Even Rong Ruiyuan looked at Gu Baijiang with suspicion. He had already suspected that the Gu Family held something back; it seemed he wasn’t the only one who thought so.
Gu Baijiang was truly about to be angered to death by this fool. He had already acknowledged the debt, so why did the man still have to dig a hole for him here?
He knew he really shouldn’t have been so soft-hearted back then. During the assassination attempt, he could have lured a few assassins over, letting someone else do his dirty work to get rid of this whole family. Instead, he had left behind such a massive future trouble. He conveniently forgot that every time there was an assassination attempt, he ran the fastest and valued his own life the most, wishing he could dig a hole and hide himself. How could he have possibly thought of such a scheme then?
He knew that dragging his granddaughter into this now was clearly an attempt to force his submission, but on what grounds?
At this moment, Gu Baijiang felt a destructive urge. Since his own life was already a complete mess, he might as well make sure nobody else had it easy either.
But reason quickly gained the upper hand. Taking a deep breath, he said, "This is a matter between the two of us. Let’s go outside and talk."
Zhou Gang knew that if he stepped out of this door today, it would be difficult to ever get back in. "No way. It’s perfect that the Third Prince is here; we can have him act as our witness.
"These four thousand taels of Silver are an astronomical figure to us, and it’s also the foundation of my family’s future..."