"Tell me, what do you want?" Old Madam Hu looked at them steadily. They had said so much in front of her; they must have a motive. Otherwise, they would have gone directly to the yamen to report them.
"Madam, you are as capable as any man. How about this: you give us fifty thousand taels of silver, and we'll pretend this never happened." Initially, Wu Caiwei and Hu Lianyu had planned to bring down the Hu family completely. However, they later felt that would be too mundane. Since Old Madam Hu and Madam Hu were so concerned about the Hu family's reputation and wealth, they decided to let them lose it slowly.
Seeing their confident demeanor, Old Madam Hu's eyes narrowed involuntarily. She desperately wanted to refute them, but their audacity in saying this indicated they must possess irrefutable evidence. If they couldn't reach an agreement, she feared they would indeed file a report at the yamen.
In the past, she would not have been afraid. After all, she had some dealings with the magistrate, and the magistrate needed the Hu family's help to advance his career. However, ever since she suspected they held leverage over the magistrate, she felt uncertain and couldn't afford to gamble.
Observing Old Madam Hu's hesitation, Wu Caiwei sighed dramatically, "We originally did not intend to fall out with you. But the fire that occurred at our fabric shop last night—I truly don't believe you are unrelated. You probably didn't expect how quickly the fire was put out and that it didn't affect any neighbors, did you? To tell you the truth, we were prepared for you long ago. Last night, many beggars slept on the streets near our fabric shop. Fortunately, the weather is warm now; otherwise, I would have been truly worried they would freeze to death."
Old Madam Hu looked at them in shock. It was only then that she understood the truth of the matter. She had wondered why the other party discovered the fire so quickly in the middle of the night, almost catching her people red-handed. It turned out to be those street beggars. Indeed, all it took was a little silver or food, and they would be willing to sleep nearby every night. With so many beggars, at least one would surely hear any commotion.
Previously, Old Madam Hu had thought the couple would be easy to deal with. After all, for so many years, she and her niece had kept Hu Lianyu firmly under their thumb. Now, she realized she had been gravely mistaken. These two were clearly wolves in sheep's clothing.
At this moment, she deeply regretted marrying her niece into their family. If things had gone according to her plan, winning over their branch of the family might have indeed been beneficial. Instead, it not only led to the death of his father but also created enmity. For the first time, Old Madam Hu felt a sense of crisis, sensing that the upheaval in the Hu family would come from this couple before her.
"Fifty thousand taels of silver, I agree. You are so well-informed; you should know I don't have that much ready cash on hand. Give me three days. I hope you'll return the people I sent out by then."
In the recent skirmishes, Old Madam Hu hadn't gained any advantage and had instead suffered considerable losses. She suddenly lost the motivation to continue fighting them, focusing solely on firmly holding onto the Hu family and eliminating all uncertain factors.
"Alright." The couple exchanged a glance and nodded. After all, they hadn't intended to bring down the Hu family by means of those people. They knew that if these individuals were truly brought to court, the Hu family would find ways to make them change their statements.
After they left, Old Madam Hu quickly summoned the steward and asked him to check if the people she had sent out were at home.
The steward nodded. Judging from the confrontation just now, the couple was not to be trifled with. They had been deceived all along.
The result was as they had feared: as soon as those people returned home, they vanished. The steward's heart sank to the bottom. He knew they had encountered worthy opponents this time.
Old Madam Hu pondered for a moment, then sent a letter towards the south city, asking her eldest and second sons to return quickly. She was getting old and was no match for them. She wanted her sons to deal with them properly.
When the three-day deadline arrived, Wu Caiwei and Hu Lianyu exchanged money for people.
As they approached the entrance of their fabric shop, the shopkeeper quickly came forward with a beaming smile, "Owner, excellent news! The Hu family, for some unknown reason, lowered their prices for a few days and then suddenly reverted to the original price. Now, many people are gathered at the entrance of the Hu family's fabric shop, expressing their dissatisfaction."
Only then did the couple notice the Hu family's fabric shop. When they had alighted from the carriage, they had seen a large crowd there but hadn't paid much attention, as it had been like that for the past few days. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the faces of the crowd were all filled with dissatisfaction. At the entrance of the Hu family's fabric shop, several household guards armed with clubs were blocking the way, and the shopkeeper was hiding inside, too afraid to come out.
"Don't worry, they won't dare to cause any more trouble for some time. Has our fabric shop recovered almost completely?" Wu Caiwei knew that Old Madam Hu had surrendered and conceded so quickly because she had paid fifty thousand taels of silver and no longer had the money to invest further.
Moreover, engaging in malicious competition with them had already cost the Hu family tens of thousands in just a few days. How many years would it take to earn it back? It was likely that the Hu family's fabric shop would sell off their stock at low prices in the coming days and close down. However, their fabrics had been sold too cheaply in the earlier period, so even though the current prices were considered cheap compared to before, people found them unacceptable. Of course, there probably wasn't much stock left in the warehouse either, as quite a bit had been sold recently.
"Yes, our shop can reopen tomorrow." Hearing this, the shopkeeper became happy. The reopening of the shop also meant the return of his extra income. Fortunately, business had not been good at the fabric shop recently; otherwise, closing for a few days would have caused him immense heartache.
After inspecting the premises and confirming there were no issues, they left after commending the shopkeeper, in whom they had confidence.
As soon as they returned to their own courtyard, a person of ordinary appearance, someone who wouldn't attract attention on the street, quietly approached them and reported the Hu family's recent activities.
"I heard that the two legitimate sons of the Hu family are expanding their business in the south city. To deal with us, she spared no expense and summoned her sons back. It's a good opportunity for us to catch them all at once."
Upon hearing that someone had reported Old Madam Hu sending a letter to the south city, Wu Caiwei had already guessed her intentions. Based on their recent encounters with Old Madam Hu, she was a person who refused to admit defeat. Having suffered such a significant loss at her hands, she wouldn't just let it go; she would definitely seek external help.
"We're not afraid of them coming; we're only afraid of them not coming. When the original owner was young and didn't have a good life in the Hu family, some of the legitimate sons and grandsons contributed to that. This time, we'll return the favor." Hu Lianyu sneered, holding his teacup.
Although he hadn't personally experienced it and couldn't empathize fully, hearing about those individuals made him feel exceptionally distressed. He understood the original owner's wishes and vowed to avenge him.