Old Madam Tang hadn’t heard about this from Tang Second Aunt. She had been keeping today in mind—the deadline for repaying the silver—so after breakfast, she had gone straight to find her unlucky granddaughter. Instead, she found the courtyard gate locked tight.
A servant from the neighboring Chu Family kindly called out a reminder. Tang Jin and her two companions had shouldered their bundles and headed into town at the crack of dawn. Later, they had even carted off the bed. They must have moved into the city.
Old Madam Tang was livid. Her unlucky granddaughter had opened a restaurant without breathing a word of it to her. And now she had moved without so much as a heads-up. She was treating her own grandmother like a stranger.
She had even dug into her own nest egg, planning to help pay off the debt. Now it all felt utterly wasteful.
“Tang Jin, have you decided to settle down in the city for good?” Old Madam Tang demanded the moment she burst through the door, her voice thick with outrage.
The least she could have done was consult her. Even a message would have sufficed.
Did this unlucky granddaughter even consider her grandmother anymore?
Tang Jin hurried forward to steady Old Madam Tang’s arm. “Grandmother, you couldn’t have timed it better. I was just about to come find you and tell you.”
Old Madam Tang’s fury was no mere bluff. Tang Jin genuinely feared that cane coming down on her own head.
Old Madam Tang shot her a sour glare. “What else are you hiding from me? Out with it. If you don’t come clean, This Old Lady will send you down to meet your father with one swing of this cane.”
Tang Jin blinked in confusion. “I’m not hiding anything from you.”
Had the original host selectively forgotten something? Had Old Madam Tang uncovered some secret Tang Jin didn’t know about?
“You still won’t tell the truth? I’ll break your legs!” Old Madam Tang grew even angrier when she heard that. She had borrowed twenty taels of silver from Chu Shaoyang and kept it from her for how long?
If she hadn’t gone to the Chu Family herself, she would still be in the dark.
Old Madam Tang swung her cane and lunged.
Tang Jin instinctively ducked, shielding her head. “Grandmother, please don’t be angry. I really am not hiding anything from you.”
“You dare dodge me? You’ve grown bold! I’ll teach you a lesson you won’t forget.” Old Madam Tang bellowed with surprising vigor and gave chase. She moved with the agility of youth, not needing her cane for support at all.
Tang Jin wasn’t one to play the martyr. The original host’s messes weren’t hers to bear. Only a fool wouldn’t dodge.
Unfortunately, the courtyard was wide open, with nothing but a stove for cover. In a panic, she darted behind Chu Lingyue and shoved her forward by the waist to block the way.
Better a friend than herself. Old Madam Tang wouldn’t strike Chu Lingyue too, surely.
Tang Jin gave the push without a shred of hesitation.
Old Madam Tang’s swing faltered mid-air, her cane nearly clipping Chu Lingyue.
Chu Lingyue fell silent for a moment before speaking up to end the farce. “Is Grandmother asking about A-Jin’s debt to Miss Chu—the twenty taels of silver?”
Old Madam Tang huffed several times, pointing her cane at Tang Jin, who was peeking out from behind Chu Lingyue. “Out with it. What happened? Where did you squander that huge sum?”
Tang Jin’s mouth twitched. She wanted to know too, but there was no trace of those twenty taels in the original host’s memories.
“I forgot.”
“You forgot? Twenty taels of silver, and you just forgot?” Old Madam Tang’s eyes bulged, her temper flaring. “This Old Lady is laying down the law today. Let’s see if you forget after this.”
As if she would believe that!
Tang Jin clung to Chu Lingyue’s waist, shrinking back in bewilderment. “What family law?”
What kind of nonsense was this? The original host’s memories held no record of any family law.
Chu Lingyue went rigid, remaining calm and quiet, as if pondering something.
“This Old Lady just made it up. Get over here so I can crack your legs!” Old Madam Tang fumed.
Just then, Chu Lingyue spoke again. “Grandmother, A-Jin might truly have forgotten.”
“How do you forget something like that? Twenty taels!” Old Madam Tang could hardly believe it. Her unlucky granddaughter had led such a fine girl as Lingyue astray, even teaching her to lie.
Chu Lingyue stepped aside, putting distance between herself and Tang Jin, and spoke slowly. “I saw the IOU. It was dated more than a month ago, on the day after the Autumn Begins festival. That night, A-Jin stumbled home drunk as a skunk, then headed straight next door. That’s probably when she borrowed it. But she came back empty-handed—no silver on her.”
Unless her memory failed her, that was right around when they had run out of food. After that day, Tang Jin had started selling off the household goods one by one, until nothing remained but an empty shell of a courtyard.
Chu Lingyue wasn’t trying to cover for Tang Jin out of kindness. Tang Jin’s reaction seemed genuine; she truly appeared clueless. There was only one explanation: she had gotten blackout drunk and forgotten everything.
At first, Tang Jin thought Chu Lingyue was just helping her bluff. But when the System gave no response, she realized it was the truth.
So the original host had borrowed those twenty taels while wasted, then forgotten it all in the blink of an eye. The real mystery was where the money had gone.
Not a single copper had made it home!
Seeing Chu Lingyue’s earnest expression, Old Madam Tang lowered her cane, half-convinced. “You really forgot? You wasteful child. Twenty taels, just poof—gone. This Old Lady’s nest egg isn’t even that much.”
With that, she pulled out a cotton stocking, unrolling it layer by layer—inside was another cloth stocking, and more layers beneath, until she revealed the fragments of silver hidden within.
“Here. Eighteen taels. This is every last bit of This Old Lady’s savings. Scrounge up the rest and pay them back, quick.”
She had worried herself sick over this. That young miss of the Chu Family had her eyes on Lingyue. They couldn’t afford to let this debt linger.
Otherwise, her unlucky granddaughter might never have a wife.
Tang Jin listened to Old Madam Tang’s words and watched her actions, a tangle of emotions swelling in her chest. Her eyes grew a little hot.
All right, she was touched. The original host had been a complete fool. A grandmother like this was one in a million—how could anyone bear to squander days away with her around?
She swore then and there: from now on, Old Madam Tang was her own flesh-and-blood grandma.
Tang Jin pulled herself together and didn’t reach for the silver. “Grandmother, we’ve already scraped together enough. Please put it away.”
“You’ve scraped it together?” Surprise flickered in Old Madam Tang’s eyes, but she quickly recovered, rolling the stockings back up and tucking them into her bosom. “This Old Lady forgot to ask—where did the money for opening this restaurant come from?”
The day before last, two dishes had already brought in ten taels.
Her memory was failing her. Lingyue’s skills were so valuable; they didn’t need her nest egg after all.
Tang Jin told the truth. “Lai Di put up the money for the restaurant. We’ve already earned back the capital these past couple of days, so we can use it to pay the debt first.”
Just then, Tang Laidi returned carrying several jugs of wine, having overheard the tail end of it.
Old Madam Tang couldn’t help turning to her. “Lai Di, is what Tang Jin says true?”
Tang Laidi opened her mouth, tempted to deny it. The silver was indeed hers, but she hadn’t known they meant to use the earnings to pay the debt first!
Her dear friend had thrown her under the bus. When would she see her investment back?
Under the scrutiny of three pairs of appraising eyes, Tang Laidi’s heart wept inwardly. She answered woodenly, “It’s true.”
Wuwu, this couldn’t be real. All her worldly goods—her twenty taels—doomed to vanish into debt repayment after all.
Only then did Old Madam Tang heave a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn’t dirty money, all was well.
“Then you girls keep at it. You’re not an easy one yourself, Lai Di. Tang Jin owes you a huge debt now. If she ever mistreats you, This Old Lady will break her legs.”
