Targeting Mrs. Thompson
The two of them leaned on the bed chatting for a while, when suddenly there was a knock on the door from outside.
Su Li put on her clothes and sat up, signaling for the visitor to come in.
Lingdang glanced at their expressions and, seeing no anger or sadness, guessed they had probably made up. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Mistress, Master, I have already found out about the old madam fainting from anger."
"Oh? Mother fainted from anger?" Su Li was still unclear about the situation and asked in surprise, "Mother is usually so kind and rarely argues with anyone. Who made her so angry that she fainted?"
Lingdang said, "It was that Tang family woman in the village, Zhang Zhaocai's mother. Tang has been spreading rumors everywhere in the village, saying that Master was taken advantage of by some scoundrel, and even stirred up several households to come to our home demanding compensation for their losses because they couldn’t sell their vegetables. At that time, the old madam saw that the mistress was unwell and asleep, so she went to talk to the villagers herself. Who knew Tang would start spouting nonsense, slandering the mistress. The old madam got into an argument with Tang out of anger, but Tang's sharp tongue was too much for her, and she fainted after just a few words."
"Ah, that Tang woman! So arrogant! I'll make sure she gets sent off to dig coal!" Su Li got angry instantly. Tang dared to bully her mother; that was simply intolerable.
Lingdang reminded her, "Master, but Tang has already bought her freedom and is no longer our servant. I’m afraid she can’t be sold off anymore."
Only then did Su Li remember and realize she had been too angry to recall that Wang had told her Tang had already redeemed herself.
Su Li thought carefully and said, "Wait, where did Tang get the silver to buy her freedom? Their family is lazy and bad at selling vegetables. How could they have saved five taels of silver so quickly for the ransom?"
Lingdang’s face showed hesitation, then she said, "It was... it was Prince Ling. Prince Ling once sent someone to take Tang and her son for questioning about the General and the Mistress, and then gave Tang a reward."
"Prince Ling, it’s that scoundrel Prince Ling again!" Su Li clenched her teeth in anger thinking of that despicable bastard. Seeing her upset, Xiao Zitian quickly comforted her, "My lady, don’t worry. Leave your grudge against Prince Ling to me. I will make him regret it in the future. As for Tang, I think she’s just living too comfortably and has nothing better to do but stir up trouble. Hmph... don’t worry about these things for now. Focus on getting better first."
A cold glint flashed in Xiao Zitian’s eyes. Lingdang lowered her head, knowing that Tang was definitely going to have a miserable fate.
Su Li nodded. She really didn’t have the energy to deal with Tang’s nonsense right now.
Wang was sick and needed her care. The fields needed rebuilding. The losses not only affected the village’s vegetable supply but also required negotiations with many original suppliers. Su Li guessed she’d be busy fixing everything, so she left Tang’s matter to Xiao Zitian to handle.
Meanwhile, Tang was at home, smug and dreaming sweetly, completely unaware that she had caught the attention of the most fearsome person in the current dynasty.
"Zhaocai, about the silver we got, don’t tell your father. Otherwise, he’ll just waste it on drinking, gambling, and women, and then we’ll be left with nothing but the wind." Tang took advantage of Zhang Zhuzi being away and hid the silver in a hollow brick under the bed, warning Zhang Zhaocai repeatedly.
Zhang Zhaocai wasn’t stupid either; knowing his father was unreliable, he nodded and said, "I won’t tell him, but I have one condition—the money must save some for me to get a wife."