Farm Girl's Manor

"Bang!"

The storeroom door was slammed shut, and Bu Shi Ren stormed back into the accounting room. He slammed his hand furiously onto the table, frightening the other accountants nearly to the point of dropping their ledgers.

At that moment, a little maid, trembling with fear, brought in a freshly brewed cup of tea. Bu Shi Ren, feeling parched and tongue-tied, picked it up and poured it into his mouth without thinking. The maid couldn’t stop him in time, and Bu Shi Ren was scalded and started to yell in chaos. With a careless throw, the remaining half cup of tea splashed all over the maid, scalding her to the point of tears, yet she dared not cry out loud.

"Insolence! Even you, this lowly wench, don’t have me in your eyes, huh? You’re practically begging for death!"

Bu Shi Ren had just been frustrated by Mo Qingze, and with his rage already kindled, the scalding only added fuel to the fire. Without a second thought, he slapped the maid hard across the face and followed with a heavy kick to her waist.

The maid fell to the ground, her small face swelling at a visible rate, and the corner of her mouth cracked open from the force, showing how viciously Bu Shi Ren had struck her.

"Shopkeeper Bu, sob sob, this servant dares not, this servant won’t dare again, please spare this servant!"

The little maid knelt on the ground, shaking miserably, her forehead thudding against the floor, which quickly turned a shade of blue and purple.

Bu Shi Ren intended to kick her a few more times when at that moment, the doorkeeper came in, bowing respectfully and said, "Shopkeeper Bu, there’s someone outside looking for you, claiming to be a family member of Mr. Mo from the accounting department!"

Upon hearing this, Bu Shi Ren’s raised foot relaxed back to the floor, and a scheming smirk appeared on his face. Humph, since they dared to come to him, why would he miss an opportunity to take advantage?

He straightened his clothes and said to the doorkeeper, "Lead them to the guest room on the second floor!"

Following his instruction, the doorkeeper hastily retreated, but in his heart, he deeply sighed for the young lady waiting at the entrance.

...

In the guest room on the second floor, Mo Yan sat, restless and nearly at the end of her patience, after waiting for almost half an hour. She understood that Bu Shi Ren was trying to intimidate her, but for the sake of her father, she had to endure!

Lin Yong, who had come with her, also wore a troubled expression. Were it not for the fear of ruining their purpose, he would have charged in and given them a thrashing first.

Another half an hour passed, and just as Mo Yan couldn’t bear it any longer and was about to go find someone, the door to the room suddenly opened.

Upon hearing the sound, Mo Yan looked over and saw a middle-aged man in his forties dressed in a long gown, striding in. At first glance, he seemed amiable and not at all like someone who would entrap others. But she never judged people by their appearance.

As Bu Shi Ren entered the door, he saw the slender and delicately featured Mo Yan, and a glint of covetousness flashed briefly in his eyes.

"You must be the eldest daughter of Brother Mo," he said. "Your father has often mentioned you in front of me before, and finally, today I have the pleasure of meeting you. Truly, you are as intelligent as you are beautiful!"

Mo Yan’s gaze darkened, and she felt more than ever that this man was no simpleton. She became even more cautious, her head bowed low, twisting the hem of her clothing, seemingly fragile and timid. Her tone was filled with concern for her father: "Shopkeeper Bu, where is my father now? May I see him?"

Seeing this, Bu Shi Ren thought she was indeed weak and timid. He let down his guard, "Miss Mo, there are laws of the land and rules of the Silver Tower. The evidence of your father embezzling Silver Tower’s silver is conclusive; I am sorry that I cannot fulfill your request! However, rest assured, out of respect for our past association, I wouldn’t want to blow things out of proportion. As long as your family can make up the two hundred taels of silver, I assure you I will let your father return home, and your family can be reunited!"

Mo Yan clenched her fists tightly, fearing she might lose control and pummel this hypocritical and greedy fellow before her. She was now almost certain that her father had been framed by him.

Taking a deep breath, Mo Yan suppressed her anger and said, "Shopkeeper Bu, I believe that my father would not commit such an act; someone must have set him up. If the truth cannot be unearthed, why not report the matter to the government, and let them clear my father’s name!"

After speaking, she lifted her head slightly, closely observing Bu Shi Ren’s expression. Seeing that he remained composed, with not a hint of panic on his face, her heart sank!

Report to the authorities? Bu Shi Ren sneered inwardly, this was not the first time he had set such a trap, how could he possibly leave any loose ends for others to find? Besides, even if they did report it, his patron was from the Wu An’s Mansion, the maternal family of the Queen Mother—no one would dare to investigate!

Shopkeeper Bu’s face bore a kind smile, but his words were full of threat: "Miss Mo, with both testimonial and material evidence present, even banging the drum to plead your case would be in vain, not to mention our patron is the Wu An’s Mansion, the maternal family of the Queen Mother. Even if you do report to the authorities, it’s likely that your father’s embezzlement charges will be confirmed even faster. By then, not only will your father be imprisoned, but he’s also likely to lose his reputation and honor. While the situation hasn’t reached the patron’s ears, I advise you to hurry back and prepare the silver. Otherwise, once this gets out to our patron, it will truly be difficult to resolve!"

The maternal family of the Queen Mother? Mo Yan felt a shock in her heart. She had thought reporting to the authorities would be effective, but to frame her father, this old rascal had clearly prepared thoroughly, unafraid of any commotion!

Knowing it was a trap, should she really just walk right into it?

Seeing that she remained silent, Shopkeeper Bu thought his threats had scared her and took on a pretense of consolation, "Miss Mo, there’s no need to worry. I can hold off our patron for a day or two. As long as the Silver Coin is paid, the patron will not find out! However, I also heard that your family fled from the south and probably can’t come up with such a large amount of Silver. I do have an idea, though—would Miss Mo like to hear it?"

Suppressing the revulsion in her heart, Mo Yan nodded. She was actually curious to see what devious plan he had concocted this time!

Seeing everything under his control, Shopkeeper Bu’s face revealed a smug smile, "I have a relative who recently moved to Jing City, and as it happens, they are in need of a few clever maids. If Miss Mo is willing, I’d be glad to make the connection. Your brother and sister can join you, and in this way, you could earn a sum of silver for my relative, which could make up for the embezzling of your father’s silver. What do you think, Miss Mo?"

As he spoke, his lecherous gaze clung to Mo Yan’s body, unashamedly, thinking that if the eldest was so beautiful, the younger ones could not be far behind. With proper grooming for a year or two, there would be no shortage of people willing to spend silver on them.

The more he thought about it, the more greedy Bu Shi Ren’s expression became.

Being sized up thus, Mo Yan nearly vomited her last meal. She finally understood why this old villain had targeted her father, a poor scholar—his eyes were set on her and her siblings the entire time, not fearing for a moment that he wouldn’t get the silver.

Mo Yan told herself to control the raging fury within, with her father still in their hands, she couldn’t act rashly. However, Lin Yong, who had been standing aside like part of the scenery since Bu Shi Ren’s arrival, could not hold back any longer. He raised his iron fist and smashed it onto Shopkeeper Bu’s face. Suddenly, Shopkeeper Bu’s screams echoed through the entire Treasure Pavilion...