After Tang Guiniang heard Pei Xia explain the whole story, she even forgot to blink. Sitting there, she slapped her thigh hard. "What a stupid thing I've done!"
"No, I'll tell Xuanniang to pack her things and leave right away. At worst, I'll pay her a few taels of silver. She can stay in an inn..."
Tang Guiniang was full of remorse. She was really muddle - headed. Xuanniang had been putting on airs these days with a hidden agenda.
She even pitied Xuanniang so much and wanted to help her whole - heartedly.
It turned out that Xuanniang came to break up their family.
Anger welled up in Tang Guiniang. She couldn't sit still any longer and was about to go out to drive Xuanniang away.
Pei Xia lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then stretched out his arm to stop Tang Guiniang.
"Mother, she came for me. You didn't know in advance. Let me handle it."
Pei Xia glanced outside and whispered something to Tang Guiniang.
*
Xuanniang had exerted all her efforts. She had been busy in the kitchen for a long time, aiming to please Tang Guiniang and Pei Xia.
She had learned a lot of recipes for health - preserving medicinal diets from Doctor Yuan after she married into the Yuan family.
Xuanniang thought proudly that no matter how good Qi Jiao's cooking skills were boasted outside, they couldn't compare with her precious medicinal diets.
Pei Li and Pei Jin hadn't come back from school yet, and Aunt Zheng had gone to the city to accompany Hui'er.
There were only three people at home, plus Qi Xuan, a total of four.
Pei Xia and Tang Guiniang reached an agreement. They treated Xuanniang as usual, just like a neighbor's younger sister.
However, Qi Jiao found this meal extremely difficult.
Although Xuanniang didn't sit next to Pei Xia, her water - like eyes were always on him.
She kept picking up food for Tang Guiniang and Pei Xia, calling Tang Guiniang "Auntie" and Pei Xia "Brother Pei" one after another. Her soft and charming voice was hard for women to resist and made men lose their heads.
Unexpectedly, Pei Xia showed no mercy at all. He swept away all the food Xuanniang had picked up for him with his chopsticks.
Embarrassment flashed in Xuanniang's eyes, and her face blushed to the point of bleeding.
Tang Guiniang focused on eating, looking straight ahead as if she saw nothing of Xuanniang's embarrassment.
Pei Xia didn't care about her at all. He tore off the only two big chicken legs in the casserole, gave one to Tang Guiniang and put the other in Jiao Niang's bowl.
His eyes told Qi Jiao to rest assured that he would handle it well.
Qi Jiao felt a little better, but she didn't touch the chicken leg in her bowl.
After the meal, Pei Xia said he had something to do, picked up his straw hat and immediately went out.
Qi Jiao also made an excuse to go to the Ye family and left home in a hurry.
Both the husband and wife had left. Now it was Tang Guiniang's turn to suffer.
Seeing that Xuanniang was about to cook some sweet soup to show her hospitality again, she quickly said she was tired and went into the room to take a nap.
She slept until late afternoon.
It didn't even take a whole afternoon. Pei Xia went to Biwu Village and found out everything about the Pang family.
Just as he had expected, Xuanniang's aunt's family was a den of wolves that ate people without spitting out the bones.
Pang Lu was in his forties and did nothing all day. He relied on his wife, Mrs. Qi, to support the family.
Mrs. Qi had two daughters and a son to raise. Life was already hard. When she saw that Xuanniang had been divorced by the Yuan family, she coveted the silver in Xuanniang's hands and often incited her youngest son to ask Xuanniang for money.
As for whether Pang Lu had molested Xuanniang, it was hard to judge. It was not known whether it was true or false.
What Pei Xia could be sure of now was that Xuanniang's behavior of pestering his family as soon as she came back must have been instigated by someone.
And that person was Qi Fu, who had married Pang Erlang not long ago.
The whole Pang family was not a kind - hearted one. Although Xuanniang's life experience was miserable, her character had gone bad.
Coupled with Qi Fu...
A cold smile appeared on Pei Xia's lips.
Last time, Qi Fu had tried to seduce him at the duck farm but failed. After that, he didn't have the time to pay attention to the Qi family, and this kind of thing was not suitable to be publicized, so he had to let it go.
Unexpectedly, she was like a ghost. Even after getting married, she still wanted to cause trouble and was finding all kinds of ways to make things difficult.
Dashan from Biwu Village casually said, "Pang Erlang is also stupid. He treats Qi Fu like a treasure. He gave so many betrothal gifts without hesitation. Without accident, Qi's parents must have used the money to fill the hole for their precious son, Qi Hao."
Qi Fu, Qi Laoda, Mrs. Qian, Qi Hao...
New and old grudges were all mixed up. Pei Xia was going to settle them all at once, so as to prevent them from causing trouble again in the future.
Since Pei Xia's father passed away, he had started to earn money to support the family when he was just over ten years old.
When he didn't go out to sea, he often worked as a servant in the gambling houses in the county town.
The most popular game at the moment was not card - playing but dice - rolling to bet on big or small.
Pei Xia had been hanging around in the gambling houses for some time. He had also made friends with some big brothers and learned some skills.
When it came to gambling, Pei Xia considered himself no worse than others.
Pei Xia didn't go home at the moment. He just asked an acquaintance to pass a message to Qi Jiao and his family. Then he got on a mule - cart to the county.
It was getting dark when he arrived at the county. Lights were twinkling in the alleys.
At night, Lingle County closed its markets, but the gambling houses and brothels were just opening their doors to welcome guests.
Pei Xia waited in a teahouse in front of a brothel.
After a while, he saw Qi Hao coming out of a small alley as expected.
Qi Hao had stepped onto the steps of the brothel with his front foot. But when he felt the money bag in his sleeve, he suddenly got scared and stepped back.
Pei Xia secretly dropped a small piece of silver on the path that Qi Hao must pass.
The silver was only half a qian, not enough for Qi Hao to have a good time in the brothel for one night.
Seeing that there was no one around, Qi Hao quickly picked up the silver. Looking up and seeing the gambling house next to the brothel, he thought that he was really lucky today. He could go and gamble. Maybe he could make a fortune.
He glanced at the madam at the door of the brothel and thought angrily, "Wait until I come back with silver to smash your brothel's signboard. I'll keep Qinshui for a year or half a year. Let you dogs look down on people!"
Qi Hao held the silver and rushed straight into the gambling house. Pei Xia had already been there, just waiting to lure the prey into the trap.
Pei Xia wore a straw hat that covered most of his face.
Qi Hao had only seen Pei Xia from afar once, and it was two years ago by the sea.
When the Pei family and the Qi family were discussing the marriage, he was not at home. So he only knew about Pei Xia but didn't know much about him.
Qi Hao's body had been emptied by wine and women. Moreover, he only had winning money on his mind. How could he pay attention to Pei Xia's appearance?
At first, Pei Xia always let Qi Hao win a little, giving him a taste of sweetness.
Qi Hao won dozens of taels of silver all at once. He was overjoyed, and his lips even trembled with excitement.
No wonder everyone loved gambling. The money came so fast!
Pei Xia glanced at Qi Hao. He didn't let him be happy for too long. Soon, Qi Hao lost everything, even his underpants.
Watching a big pile of silver in front of him being taken away and still owing a hundred taels, Qi Hao was so anxious that he scratched his head and ears. He even felt like dying.
Seeing that the time was right, Pei Xia slowly got up from his seat. "Alright, that's enough for today."
He looked down at Qi Hao and said coldly, "Young man, you owe me a hundred taels of silver. How are you going to pay it back?"
Qi Hao's face was as pale as paper. Holding the tablecloth, he murmured, "It's impossible. How could I lose so much all at once..."
At this time, someone beside them jeered, "A hundred taels of silver is nothing! You, Master Hao, have spent more than that in the Wanhua Brothel. When you get back, see if there are any sisters in your family. Dress them up and sell them for a good price. You don't have to worry about this money."
Qi Hao thought for a moment. His sister was already married. He would go back and ask his sister for the money.
But a hundred taels of silver! It was just going to be wasted.
Qi Hao felt heart - ache just thinking about it. He moved closer to Pei Xia and flattered, "Brother, I'm stupid. I overestimated myself and didn't know you were so good at gambling. A hundred taels is really too much... Do you think, maybe..."
Pei Xia smiled faintly, with a cold look in his eyes. He snorted, "There are so many people in the gambling house watching. You dared to gamble but are not willing to admit defeat? You've shamed all of us men."
It involved a man's face and dignity. Qi Hao couldn't help straightening his back and smiling apologetically. "I wouldn't... I admit my defeat. I admit my defeat."