Chapter 22: Lifting a Stone Only to Drop It on One's Own Feet

The winter weather was fickle; when dawn broke the next day, the sky was overcast and shrouded in a heavy, pervasive mist.

When Liang Shanru stepped out of her carriage before the gates of the Marquis of Changle’s estate, the servants recognized her immediately. They also noted the unfamiliar carriage—it was certainly not the one Zhou Shen had used to accompany her on her previous visits—and they saw no sign of Zhou Shen by her side.

Yet, no one dared to stop her.

The servants of the household had all witnessed her recent conduct. They had once thought the Second Young Lady was gentle and easy to persuade, but she had transformed into a completely different person. Even the masters of the house were powerless against her, so the servants dared not provoke her further.

Thus, Liang Shanru, followed by Nongyun, walked straight into the estate as if stepping into an empty house.

Even the Marquis of Changle himself only received word from his subordinates after she had already settled herself in the main hall, prompting him to rush over in a rage.

The young maids stood by with their hands tucked into their sleeves, glancing at one another. There was no tea or refreshments at Liang Shanru’s side.

As the Marquis stepped into the room, she did not even rise. She cast a sidelong, cold glance at him and, before he could speak, said languidly, "Marquis, you cannot drag this out forever. I assume you don’t want to see me showing up at your doorstep every few days, do you?"

He certainly did not want to see her. In his eyes, what was the difference between this version of Liang Shanru and a plague god?

The Marquis stood with his hands behind his back, pondering for a moment before sitting down. "I can allow you to take your father and leave the Liang family. If you want money, that is fine too. The Liang family raised you for over a decade; at this final stage, I do not wish to burn bridges with you. Aside from your mother’s dowry, I will give you an additional five thousand taels of silver. Let that be the final settlement of our ties."

Even five thousand taels caused him great anguish. He gritted his teeth and added, "That is already a significant sum! Liang Shanru, one must learn to be content."

He knew clearly that continuing this stalemate would benefit him in no way. Zhou Shen’s arrival in Yangzhou was likely at the behest of the Third Prince; Zhou Shen would never leave until the matter was resolved. With the Third Prince backing her, Liang Shanru’s confidence was well-founded, and he truly could not afford to delay.

Resolving this as quickly as possible was the only way to suffer less hardship and fewer losses.

This offer of five thousand taels was likely insufficient, but it served as a gesture to facilitate further negotiation. Several members of the collateral branches had visited his home yesterday to advise him, and he had consulted with Lady Zhou. He feared that those people were two-faced; if they saw Liang Shanru acting with such generosity, they might switch sides, which would only make things more troublesome.

As expected, his offer of five thousand taels was met only with a scornful sneer from Liang Shanru. "To open the ancestral shrine and retrieve the genealogy records, will the Marquis not invite the elders of the clan to be present?"

The Marquis’s expression darkened. He knew it. He insisted on asking her, "If you speak clearly with me now, I can send men to fetch them to the estate in no time at all. There is no obstacle to that."

The corners of Liang Shanru’s lips curled up slightly. "Was this five thousand taels also a figure you and they agreed upon beforehand?"

"This money is being paid from the Marquisate’s public treasury; what does that have to do with them?" The Marquis tapped his armrest. "You came here early this morning for nothing more than a result. As you said, I do not wish to see you constantly appearing at my door! Just tell me whether you accept the five thousand taels or not!"

"Of course I do not." Liang Shanru’s face suddenly went cold. Her tone was icy and filled with mockery. "I have told you that I have kept records. My father served in the military for twenty-four years and achieved great merit. The rewards he received from the Imperial Court amount to far more than ten thousand gold." However, she was too lazy to argue with the Marquis right now, so she added, "It would be better to have the people of the Liang clan present. Today, no matter what, we shall reach a conclusion and settle this matter once and for all!"

She had made up her mind; she would not continue this discussion any further under the current terms.

The Marquis’s eyes darted about. Before long, he ordered his servants to hurry and invite the clan members, and further instructed them to prepare for the opening of the ancestral shrine.

Once everything was arranged, he turned back to look at Liang Shanru. "Whether it is the ten thousand gold your father obtained or ten thousand taels of silver, no matter how clearly you and your father have kept your accounts, how do you intend to repay the kindness the Liang family has shown you over the past few decades?" He refused to sit and wait for his demise, talking on and on. "You say I treated your father poorly, and that my wife and I treated you poorly—even if I were to admit to that, surely you cannot deny that when my father was alive, he never mistreated you and your father! You cannot deny that!"

With their relationship already shattered to this point, who cared about lingering sentiments?

Liang Shanru rolled her eyes and kept her mouth sealed, ignoring him completely.

The people from the Liang family arrived quite quickly. There were seven or eight of them, fewer than the last time.

Liang Shanru scanned the group one by one. Her two paternal uncles were indeed not among them. She let out a scoff, but chose not to expose the reason.

Old Master Liang, the eldest among them, spoke first. "We were once one family. I have always said that this is the best way—to sit down and talk things through calmly. There is nothing that cannot be negotiated."

Having received promises from Liang Shanru, and seeing that the Marquis was willing to listen to reason when he visited the estate yesterday, he felt emboldened. He said directly, "Shanru wishes to fulfill her father’s final wish and have her name removed from the genealogy. I hear the General’s Mansion has already been cleaned up and she has moved in.

"They say the wishes of the dead are paramount, so we have nothing more to say. Let this matter be handled as Shanru wishes. When the time comes, her father’s spirit tablet will also be moved to the General’s Mansion, and from then on, he will have no further ties to our Liang family.

"As for the other matter—the settling of the long-standing accounts with the Marquis’s estate—"

He stroked his beard and said slowly, "Shanru, your father was only four years old when he came to the Liang family. Nearly forty years have passed since then. Not to mention whether these accounts were kept clearly or in detail, even if we were to calculate them now, it would certainly take more than a month to get a clear picture.

"Since you have invited us here, and you and the Marquis are at such an impasse, why don’t we offer a fair opinion?

"You state a number yourself, see how the Marquis responds, and we will listen. Let us negotiate a figure, and that will serve as a conclusion. How about that?"

Liang Shanru raised an eyebrow high. "That was my original intent. However, the Marquis of Changle was just now overly aggressive, using past 'favors' to coerce me. I am not pleased with that, so I have changed my mind."

"You—!" The Marquis’s eyes widened in fury, and he immediately understood her intent. "I was speaking the truth! When was I being aggressive? Do not push people too far!"

"Was it not you who said that when the old Marquis was alive, he never mistreated my father or me, and told me to remember the kindness the Liang family showed us?" Liang Shanru clicked her tongue and turned to ask Old Master Liang, "Do you hear that as a very polite thing to say?"

Old Master Liang looked troubled for a moment before immediately admonishing the Marquis. "You are, after all, the elder. Even if you are angry, you should not say such things. Now that things have escalated to this, why bring up the past?

"Shanru is determined. Saying such things will only cut deeper into her heart. Can’t you see she is clearly upset and refuses to discuss this nicely with you?"

His son, standing nearby, chimed in, "Yes, resolving the matter is the most important thing. If the Marquis would just bow his head and offer an apology, wouldn't that settle it?"

The Marquis’s face turned from blue to white.

He knew these people were unreliable. They had all been tempted by the two thousand taels Liang Shanru had handed out a few days ago, and now they were turning their blades against him, refusing to blindly support him any longer.

Yet, Liang Shanru remained arrogant and haughty, which he found exceptionally grating.

It was clearly she who was pushing him step by step, and the current scene was entirely within her expectations.

That was why she had not asked Zhou Shen to accompany her today.

Because she knew she didn't need to!

The Marquis finally understood what it meant to lift a rock only to drop it on one’s own feet.

As unwilling as he was, he finally spoke in a low voice: "It was a slip of the tongue. I said the wrong thing. Do not take it to heart."