"Old man Zheng, come out right now! What do you mean by this? My son finally decided to turn over a new leaf and was about to get back on the right track. But your daughter, she's so audacious that she dared to seduce my son and frame him! My poor son was so stupid that he really fell for it.
If I hadn't discovered it in time, your daughter might have actually succeeded. I'm here today for no other reason but to ask you how you, the Zheng family, educate your children. Shouldn't you give our Wang family an explanation?"
Lord Wang's voice was loud enough to quickly attract the attention of the surrounding villagers. In this era, who didn't like to hear gossip, especially the gossip of an official? They could talk about it for ages.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know either. I just got here. Let's wait and see." The villagers gathered around, pointing at Lord Wang and Miss Zheng outside the door and whispering.
Miss Zheng was tied up, and her mouth was gagged tightly to prevent her from speaking.
Looking at the tightly shut gate in front of him, Lord Wang thought it would take a long time to get it opened. But unexpectedly, just moments after he finished speaking, the gate opened, and Lord Zheng stormed out in a rage.
"Wang, what are you babbling about?" Lord Zheng had just returned from the Mansion of the Assistant Regent not long ago. He hadn't even had a sip of water when Lord Wang called him out.
"Your daughter seduced my son. You must give me an explanation for this. Otherwise, I won't let it go. I'm not afraid of losing face anyway." After all, his was a son. What did he have to worry about?
Lord Zheng stared at Lord Wang with an ashen face. "I've already said that I've severed the father - daughter relationship with this slut. You don't need to come to me. Do whatever you think is right!" Lord Zheng said and was about to turn away, but Lord Wang wasn't going to let him leave so easily.
"Old man Zheng, you can't just say you've severed the relationship with her without any evidence. Who would believe that?" Lord Wang looked at Lord Zheng with disbelief all over his face. "Even if you don't want to take care of this matter, you can't just abandon your own daughter. You've raised her for over a decade. Don't you have any feelings for her at all?" Lord Wang said, looking at Lord Zheng.
"Humph! Our feelings are long gone. It would be better to raise a dog than her!" Lord Zheng said through gritted teeth.
Hearing this, Lord Wang curled his lips in satisfaction, while the surrounding villagers gasped. What was going on? Didn't they say that even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs? Why didn't Lord Zheng want to recognize his own daughter?
Miss Zheng tried desperately to stand up when she saw Lord Zheng, but her body was so weak that she didn't have the strength. After struggling for a few times, she fell to the ground.
"Lord Zheng, that's not right, is it? Everyone in the capital knows that you dote on your eldest daughter the most. Now that she's caused trouble, you don't want to recognize her? What kind of father are you?" Lord Wang looked at Lord Zheng and pressed on step by step.
Only when he heard the whispering around him did Lord Zheng realize what he had just said. The news that he had severed the relationship with this slut hadn't spread yet. Just his words alone definitely wouldn't convince anyone.
Moreover, this Lord Wang must have come prepared. Lord Zheng gritted his teeth and said, "What do you want, Lord Wang?"
Hearing this, Lord Wang immediately smiled. "It's nothing much. I just want Lord Zheng to compensate me for some mental damages. After all, my stupid son was deceived by your daughter."
Hearing this, Lord Zheng immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Money. Although he didn't have much money now, he could still afford some mental damages.
"In that case, Lord Wang, please wait a moment. I'll send someone to get the money right away." After saying that, Lord Zheng told the butler behind him to go get the money. The butler was a bit embarrassed for a moment. There wasn't much money left in the mansion. If this had happened before, it wouldn't have been a problem at all, but now, the amount of money they could take out was extremely limited.
When the butler came out, he was holding a money bag in his hand. According to Lord Zheng's instructions, he respectfully presented it to Lord Wang. Lord Wang took it and opened it to take a look. His smiling face immediately turned cold.
"Lord Zheng, are you trying to send a beggar away? With such a small amount of money, you still have the nerve to take it out." Lord Wang said with a cold face, looking at Lord Zheng.
"Wang, don't push your luck. I'm giving you money as a favor. Otherwise, you wouldn't get a single cent." Lord Zheng looked at Lord Wang with an ugly face. He also had a temper. Did this guy really think he was easy to bully?
Hearing this, Lord Wang didn't get angry. Instead, he laughed. "Come on, everyone, listen up. His own daughter did such a thing, and he only gives me this little money to send me away. If it were you, would you be willing?"
The answer, of course, was no. If their own well - behaved child was seduced by another woman, even if they were given money, it wouldn't be enough. Lord Wang was already being good - tempered, but Lord Zheng didn't even appreciate it. They really didn't know what he was thinking.
What was Lord Zheng thinking? He wished he could kill Miss Zheng right now. They had already severed the father - daughter relationship, but she still caused him so much trouble.
If this matter couldn't be resolved properly today, he would not only become a laughingstock in the capital but also his image in the eyes of the common people would take a nosedive.
"How much do you want, Lord Wang?" Lord Zheng asked.
Lord Wang held out his finger and said, "It's not much. Considering that we're colleagues, just give me five million taels of silver. I'm not asking for more."
He himself was still at a loss. That mine was worth a fortune. Asking for only five million taels was really a bargain for Lord Zheng.
Hearing this, Lord Zheng was struck like a thunderbolt. "How much did you say?" His voice rose several octaves.
"Five million taels of silver." Lord Wang kindly repeated.
"I don't have it!" He finally understood why the Assistant Regent had let him go back so easily. It turned out that this was a trap waiting for him. He had even thought well of the Assistant Regent in his heart. Now it seemed that the Assistant Regent was truly heartless!
"I don't care. If you don't give me five million taels today, our two families will be enemies from now on." Lord Wang said. If Lord Zheng really didn't give the money, he would have to resort to some despicable means. By then, he would make the entire Zheng family restless!
"No matter what you say, I'll say this one thing today. I don't have it!" Lord Zheng said bravely. "You don't need to bring that slut here either. I've already severed the father - daughter relationship with her today."