Chapter 81: Bizarre

At this point, Old Zhou decided to throw away his pride.  

Everyone already knew what had happened; there was no point in hiding anything.  

He only wanted to retrieve the agreement.

"Qing, my dear, I really didn’t expect you to be this kind of person. If it weren't for you, if it weren't for that agreement, would we be in this situation?"  

Old Zhou glared at Zhou Qing with red eyes.  

"Your uncle just wanted to get the agreement back, but you had someone beat him up. All he wanted was to retrieve the agreement, yet now you're using trained dogs, stalking, and sketching—your tricks are endless."  

Damn!  

I've seen shameless people before, but not an old man this shameless!  

And he’s saying this so confidently?

Buddha, have mercy. Clearly, I haven’t studied enough of your teachings, because this old man has made me so mad I want to hit someone.  

Buddha says: 'Restrain your anger, restrain your anger.'  

"That agreement was unfair from the start. Is it wrong for us to want to take it back? Since you're going to compensate us with a thousand taels of silver, fine, then hand over the agreement!"  

Zhou Qing was dumbfounded, staring at Old Zhou.  

If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed that such words could come from a human mouth.  

"So what you're saying is, I shouldn't resist? I only lose my legs, but you lose your precious love!"  

Old Zhou, enraged, was momentarily confused.  

"Who wants your legs?"  

Zhou Qing waved dismissively. "Stop with the nonsense. Either give me the money, or prepare for everyone in the capital to find out what Zhou Yuan's father did!"  

Zhou Huailin stood up beside Zhou Qing, his eyes filled with resolute disappointment as he looked at Old Zhou.  

"Why did you sign that agreement in the first place? Should we explain it to everyone? I think the people in this county only know about the agreement, but they don’t know the reason behind it!"  

Old Zhou shuddered and looked toward Zhou Huailin.  

"Even you are going to..."  

Zhou Huailin interrupted him.  

"From the moment you framed me, any remaining familial bond between us was completely severed. Don't look at me with that accusing stare as if I've done something immoral. Heaven knows who really acted against justice!"  

"You... you..."  

Old Zhou pointed his trembling finger at Zhou Huailin, struggling to find words.  

His anger surged up and down within him, and the taste of blood once again rose in his throat.  

Zhou Huaihai feared that Old Zhou might die of anger right there. 

If Old Zhou were to die, it wouldn’t delay Zhou Huaishan’s exams, but it would certainly affect Yuan and his marriage to the young lady from the Count of Duankang’s family.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Huaihai suppressed his fury, pulled Old Zhou back, and slapped the last 1,000-tael silver note into Zhou Qing's hand.  

That was originally reserved for Widow Liu.

Zhou Qing accepted the silver note, and the county magistrate made no mention of arresting anyone. Zhou Huaihai pulled Old Zhou away in a hurry.

They didn’t retrieve the agreement, didn’t recover the dark chrysanthemums, and ended up losing 3,000 taels of silver along with their dignity.  

Old Zhou couldn't swallow this anger.

As soon as they left the temple, an old, frail man walked toward them. In his fury, Old Zhou kicked him.  

"You blind dog, watch where you're going!"  

Old Zhou cursed and climbed into his sedan chair.  

The old man, who had been kicked over, fell to the ground, half-lowered his head, and glared at the departing figures with hatred in his eyes.

Back at Qingquan Temple.

After Zhou Huaihai and his group left, the county magistrate sighed and turned to Zhou Qing.  

"The provincial exams are just around the corner. How is your father preparing?"  

Zhou Qing smiled. "Thank you for your concern, sir. He’s been working hard."  

The county magistrate stroked his beard. "Tell him to prepare well. Once he passes, there won’t be any more of this troublesome business."  

The magistrate's words had a double meaning.  

On the surface, he was encouraging Zhou Huaishan.  

In truth, he was explaining to Zhou Qing that he hadn’t arrested Zhou Huaihai because of Zhou Yuan's influence.  

Such is the difficulty of officialdom.  

Zhou Qing nodded in understanding. "Thanks to you, sir, I’ve earned a thousand taels today."  

The way she said it made it sound like she owed her fortune to Zhou Huaihai’s mischief.  

Hmm... Actually, it might be true.  

The last time it was 1,000 taels, and now it’s another 1,000...  

Although the process was unpleasant, the result was satisfying.

Hearing Zhou Qing’s comment, the county magistrate was momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter.

"Miss Zhou, with your open-mindedness, you’re sure to have good fortune in the future."  

Then, turning to the abbot, he asked, "The flower shed has been wrecked, and the flowers needed for the festival are destroyed. What arrangements have you made, Master?"  

At this mention, the magistrate couldn’t help but curse Zhou Huaihai again in his heart.  

In his attempt to frame Zhou Qing, he had done the unthinkable. He even dared to destroy the temple’s flowers, tempting fate itself!  

The abbot clasped his prayer beads and chanted a Buddha's name.  

"Since the flowers were ruined, we’ll simply have to buy more."  

The magistrate sighed, troubled.  

"Where can we find fresh flowers at this time of year? It’s not the season for them."  

Even if there were flowers, they’d be in heated greenhouses and expensive.

The abbot smiled kindly. "As it happens, Miss Zhou is here to sell flowers."  

The magistrate remembered then that Zhou Qing had indeed mentioned she was here to sell flowers earlier.  

So now, Zhou Huaihai had destroyed the flowers, paid compensation, and forced Qingquan Temple to use his money to buy Zhou Qing’s flowers?

How ridiculous!  

The magistrate couldn’t comprehend the bizarre logic of Zhou Huaihai and Old Zhou.  

If they hadn’t caused trouble, the agreement would have been irrelevant. But every time they made a mess, they ended up handing over silver to Zhou Qing and disgracing themselves.  

How big a fool did one have to be to behave this way?  

The abbot looked at the magistrate with a knowing smile, as if they were both thinking the same thing.  

Indeed, how ridiculous!

Initially, the plan was to buy just two pots, but now the abbot bought a full 2,000 taels’ worth.  

The magistrate’s eyes fell on the silk flowers on the table, and they lit up.  

If he bought some for his wife, she’d be pleased for days!

"Miss Zhou, do you have any more of these silk flowers?"  

Zhou Qing quickly smiled. "Of course. Sir, whatever flowers you like, I’ll gift them to you."  

Although Qingquan Temple had bought 2,000 taels’ worth of flowers, they had only taken two large pots, with the rest being smaller bundles.  

Zhou Qing even threw in a bunch of small flowers for free.  

The magistrate laughed. "How can I accept them as a gift? These silk flowers are valuable."  

"If it weren’t for you, sir, I wouldn’t have made this sale today. I must give them as a token of my gratitude." Zhou Qing beamed, delighted after receiving the 2,000-tael payment.

If Zhou Huaihai’s schemes were the reason she made the sale, should she send him flowers as a thank-you gift?  

If she really did send them...  

She might need to send a wreath along with the flowers.  

As they were laughing and chatting, a young monk came running in a panic.  

"Master, something terrible has happened. Benefactor Hu has fainted and coughed up blood."  

"Quick, call a doctor!"  

One moment, they were laughing, and the next, the abbot’s face turned grim with worry as he hurriedly walked away.  

"Please wait a moment. I’ll be right back," the abbot said, bowing to the magistrate before striding out.

When the flower shed was destroyed, he hadn’t even been this concerned.