A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 967 Bribing Mrs. Ouyang

Mrs. Ouyang didn't stand on ceremony. She plopped down, picked up her tea and started drinking, then picked up some pastries and started eating. As she ate and drank, she said, "Sister, this place is really nice. You can't even find such authentic pastries in Hong Kong. The tea is also very good. You must have put jasmine and dried tangerine peel in it. No wonder my Ouyang is so eager to take you in. We usually don't even look at other people. But it's convenient here. Look how close it is to our mansion. If he stays here overnight and anything happens, I can just send someone over to let him know."

When Gui'er heard these words, she was no longer disgusted, but found them unbelievable: "Mrs. Ouyang, I know you are a wealthy and powerful family, and it is normal for you to have three wives and four concubines. However, there is one thing I really don't understand. Why would you be willing to give your husband to someone else?"

Mrs. Ouyang was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter and said, "Oh, what did I think? Everyone says you received a modern education, no wonder you think this way. Isn't that how we older generation all are? Besides, how will he make money if he doesn't take a concubine? Your brother Ouyang is currently competing for the position of police chief. If he gets the Kowloon police chief position, he'll have more money than he can spend. But he still needs to invest upfront. He has to give gifts and entertain officials at all levels, and that costs a lot. You're young now, so it's fine if you don't get married yet. Just pay upfront. When he gets the police chief position, he'll marry you in a grand ceremony. It'll kill two birds with one stone!"

Gui'er thought to herself that this couple was indeed thieving. Despite being respectable people like a police chief and his wife, they were actually in cahoots and had done a lot of dirty things. This Mrs. Ouyang managed all of Ouyang Bao's concubines and mistresses, and probably stole a lot of money from them.

"Hey, little sister, say something! Don't leave your sister hanging here. Your brother Ouyang sent me here today to get the truth. If I don't have the truth, I won't be able to explain myself when I get back. He has a terrible temper, and I don't even want to mess with him." Mrs. Ouyang smoothed her hair and smiled at Gui'er. Although her expression was very kind, her tone was extremely firm.

“Mrs. Ouyang, our young lady is actually engaged a long time ago, arranged by her parents back in her hometown,” Acheng suddenly said.

"What engagement? I've never heard of this before. Now that I've come to ask you, suddenly this engagement comes out? Do you think our family isn't sincere enough and want to test us? I can have my husband bring his brothers over to show you how sincere we are." Mrs. Ouyang was no pushover; she glared at me with her puffy eyes and made a threat.

“Mrs. Ouyang, don’t be angry. Those are all old stories. Besides, there’s a war going on in mainland China right now, and we don’t even know if the other party is still alive. We’ve actually been trying to find out. If the other party is no longer alive or can’t come over, we would like to break off the engagement. However, it’s not right to just marry someone else so easily before we have any concrete information. After all, we are a respectable family.” Wu Mingqiang quickly tried to smooth things over.

“That makes sense, but how long are you going to investigate? Anyway, we’ve decided to marry your young lady. Let me tell you, not only are we going to marry your young lady, but our master also wants to marry her classmate, surnamed Lin,” Mrs. Ouyang said nonchalantly.

"Oh, we've already sent someone back to our hometown to inquire, but because there's war going on in the mainland and it's all in chaos, we don't know if they've arrived or not. We haven't received any news yet. We're trying to make contact, Madam, please don't worry." All Gui'er could think of now was to stall for time as much as possible.

"Sure, but since we'll be family sooner or later, the master needs some money to smooth things over. Can you contribute some?"

"...Since we'll be family sooner or later, that's only right. But business at the pawnshop has been a bit slow lately. We have a big deal coming up in a few days. If we make it, we can earn a fortune. We'll share the profits with you then. What do you think? Oh dear, the food's ready. Madam, let's eat together." Gui'er could only rack her brains to postpone the meal.

"No, I've already cooked dinner. My husband is coming back to have dinner with me today, so I have to go now. Remember me in a few days." Mrs. Ouyang suddenly got up and walked out briskly.

Everyone was somewhat surprised by her actions, but they were also relieved and quickly and warmly saw her off to the door.

Mrs. Ouyang suddenly turned around and said to Gui'er with a smile, "Gui'er, is there something you've forgotten?"

Gui'er looked at her with a puzzled expression, only to see Mrs. Ouyang raise her hand and touch the pearl necklace she was wearing around her neck.

“The necklace, oh, Madam, please wait a moment.” Gui’er hurriedly went into the room and took out the ruby ​​necklace that she had just received from Wu Mingqiang. She specially opened the box for Madam Ouyang to see and said, “It’s a small gift. It’s a broken piece from our shop. It will suit you very well, Madam.”

Mrs. Ouyang's eyes widened even more when she saw the enormous ruby. She took it and held it in her hands, reluctant to put it down. After a while, she came to her senses and said with a smile, "Sister, you're too kind. Otherwise, I would have liked you the moment I saw you. I'll accept it then. I'll go back now. Don't forget about what we'll do in a few days." With that, she turned around and walked away happily, swaying with joy.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after closing the door and returning inside. Dingxiang, still angry, muttered under her breath, "With that thick neck of hers, wearing such a short necklace, she could strangle someone."

"How did she know we were planning to send him something?" Gui'er suddenly realized.

"Chen De." Everyone realized what was happening.

"Damn it, that traitor, I won't let him get away with this," Wu Mingqiang said bitterly.

Gui'er sighed and said to everyone, "We've managed to get through today for now. I've made a new discovery: Ouyang Bao has a nemesis."

"Really? Is he his enemy?" Wu Mingqiang asked excitedly.

"No, it was a police officer surnamed Long, named Long Xing, who was competing with him for the position of police chief. Professor Xu from our school was arrested. Today, when I went to protest with my classmates, I sneaked into the police station and overheard their conversation and found out."

"Miss, you're too bold. What if you get caught?" Dingxiang said worriedly.

"Yes, you're right. I was almost caught, but Long Xing helped me out at the crucial moment. I felt that this person could be used, so I deliberately threw out bait, telling him that Xu Jing had evidence that Ouyang Bao was privately reselling supplies from the police station's warehouse. But Long Xing is a cautious person, and he didn't take the bait."