Thinking that his son was about to be beheaded, Master Zhuang tossed and turned and did not sleep well all night. He was woken up just after he dozed off for a moment in the early morning.
Upon asking, he found out that the people from the casino had come to collect the money from the dealer. With the interest compounded, the amount was not 50,000 taels of silver, but 70,000 taels.
It is true that the banker had been an official for several generations, but his official positions were not high and his ability to make money was not strong.
Although Mrs. Zhuang was married with a beautiful wedding, and although she forced Jiang Changning to be raised, she also embezzled some of the Jiang family's property.
But the banker's ostentation was grand and his expenses were high, and the mansion really couldn't come up with 70,000 taels of cash.
"You broke my son's limbs and yet you still dare to come here to collect the debt. I'm going to report to the police and have you arrested." Master Zhuang II said angrily.
"It is only natural to pay back debts. Even if you report it to the authorities, they won't accept the case." The leader of the thugs said fearlessly.
The Zhuang family is a family of officials, so they are still a little wary of them. But now the men in the Zhuang family are in mourning at home, and they have the support of the Baling Palace, so they are so presumptuous.
The banker could not and was unwilling to take out 70,000 taels of silver.
The people in the casino are not good people. If the dealer doesn't want to spend money to avoid disaster, then don't blame them for taking action. The dealer was in a mess and the security guards were beaten and bleeding.
They also rushed into the banker's house, not only trying to sell the banker's women and maids, but also rushed into the room and robbed the banker's property.
"Stop, stop it." Master Zhuang came out and shouted loudly when he saw the chaotic scene.
The casino thugs ignored him and continued to plunder the dealer's property.
"Stop, stop it." Master Zhuang went to stop them, but was ruthlessly pushed down by the thugs and fell to the ground.
"Master!" Madam Zhuang helped Master Zhuang up, and then screamed, "Master, you are bleeding."
Mr. Zhuang's nose hit the ground and started bleeding.
He felt his hand and found it was covered in blood. He shouted in panic, "Please call a doctor, please call a doctor for me."
The injured people in the Zhuang family included not only the eldest master, but also the second master, the second young master, the third young mistress, and several maids.
The banker was in a mess, some were injured, some were disabled, and the leader of the thugs finally stopped with satisfaction, "Bring out 70,000 taels of silver, and I will take my people away, otherwise... hehe."
The words were not spoken, but the meaning was clear.
"Seventy thousand taels of silver is not a small amount. Please give me a few days." Master Zhuang Er said, holding his dislocated hand.
The leader of the thugs touched his chin and said, "Okay, don't say we are ruthless. We will give you three days. We will come again after three days."
After the people in the casino left, everyone in the bank felt like they had survived a disaster.
But three days later, if there is no 70,000 taels of silver, the nightmare will happen again.
Seventy thousand taels of silver is not a small amount. The second branch of the banker cannot afford it, so the banker’s original capital must be used.
Mrs. Zhuang was not happy and shouted, "Divide the family, divide the family."
She wanted to use the money to save her son, so how could she pay off the gambling debts of the second wife
Mr. Zhuang had the same idea as her, but he kept silent out of consideration for the "brotherly love" and let Mrs. Zhuang use one against two to deal with the second wife.
"Sister-in-law, you actually want to divide the family at this time. You are going too far." Mrs. Zhuang said angrily.
"When a tree grows big, it branches out; when people grow up, they separate into families. Now that our parents are gone, it is inevitable for the brothers to separate." Mrs. Zhuang argued.
"Brother, do you think so too?" asked Master Zhuang Er.
Master Zhuang coughed lightly and said, "Second brother, you don't have to move out immediately after the family division."
The Zhuang family wanted to split up the family, so they sent someone to the Prince of Jin's Mansion to inform Jiang Changning, hoping that she could be a witness as a member of Old Lady Zhuang's family.
"I won't go." Jiang Changning felt that the Zhuang family had other intentions in asking her to be a witness. After all, the Zhuang family members could not enter the palace and could not see her.
That's why I came up with this idea and asked her to come to my door personally. Haha, it's really a wild idea.
Not to mention that she is pregnant and should not go out. Just because she knows what the Zhuang family is planning, she will not give them the chance to see her.
Avoidance is sometimes the best way to solve a problem.
Jiang Changning did not go to the Zhuang family, nor did he even send anyone there, which made the Zhuang family very disappointed, but it did not prevent them from splitting up.
The division of the Zhuang family was presided over by several old men in the city. Mr. Zhuang hid behind the scenes and asked Mrs. Zhuang to "fight for it with reason". "We are the eldest son of the family, so we should get more property."
"This house is our ancestral home and should be occupied by our eldest son."
"According to the law, the sacrificial land should be inherited by the eldest son. How can it be divided?"
All the property of the Zhuang family was distributed by the first wife of Zhuang, and the second wife only got 10%. This made the second wife of Zhuang very dissatisfied, "Sister-in-law, the eldest brother is the legitimate son, and my master is not a bastard."
According to the laws of the Qin Dynasty, illegitimate sons could not share the family property.
"And sister-in-law, Jiwen is gone, and Zico will be executed in the autumn. Your eldest house has no legitimate bloodline anymore. What are you fighting for so much family property for? Are you doing this to help others?" Second Madam Zhuang provoked First Madam Zhuang in a vicious way.
"Bitch, shut up." Mrs. Zhuang rushed over in anger and wanted to hit Mrs. Zhuang II.
So, before the family division was even completed, the two sisters-in-law started fighting.
However, there were a lot of people around who would not just sit there and watch the two of them fight. Mrs. Zhuang just scratched Mrs. Zhuang II once, and then was pulled away.
Master Zhuang frowned and said, "Stop fooling around. Sit down, Mr. Ge. Please continue."
"In addition to this ancestral home, the Zhuang family also has a two-story house in Guizhi Lane and a three-story house in Xitiepu Lane." Old Ge listed all of the Zhuang family's businesses one by one.
After Zhuang Jike was executed in the autumn, the only legitimate bloodline of the eldest branch of the Zhuang family was the girl Zhuang Nianyun, while the second branch of the Zhuang family had the legitimate son Zhuang Jideng.
Considering this, several elders suggested, "60% to 40% split, with the eldest son taking 60% and the second son taking 40%."
"No, how can we give such a large amount as 40%? At most 20% is the best." This is what Mrs. Zhuang said.
Mrs. Zhuang also spoke up at the same time, "No, it should be evenly split."
The two sisters-in-law started quarreling again, and it was a quarter of an hour before they had settled the matter.
Several old men looked normal; they often helped people divide up family assets and had seen many brothers and sisters-in-law falling out over fighting for the family property.
After they have settled the dispute, the property will be divided into 60% and 40% as previously agreed.
The three-courtyard house in Xitiepu Lane was allocated to the second wife, who will move in on a certain day.
Although Mrs. Zhuang was dissatisfied with only getting 40% of the family property, she could not change it.
Mrs. Zhuang was also dissatisfied because she did not get more of the family property, but she could not change the situation either.
The matter of the Zhuang family's division was finally settled. The division document was written in black and white, in triplicate, one for the eldest branch, one for the second branch, and one copy was submitted to the government office for filing.
(End of this chapter)