Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Extortion and Blackmail_l

Translator: 549690339

Wei Zhan was absent, and Yingbao finally had a couple of days of peace.

Whenever the girls weren’t working, they would learn to make rouge and scented powder with Yanru.

They would pick lotus and pomegranate flowers and repeatedly pound them in a stone mortar. After adding water and washing the product, they would dispose of the top layer of yellow liquid, leaving behind red ointment as their bright rouge.

This intense rouge could be scraped into tiny porcelain bottles and used for a long time.

The preparation of scented powder was more complex. Country girls usually used a powder made from ground chestnuts, while young ladies from prestigious families would often use lead powder or mix a varying amount of lead or aluminum powder into the chestnut powder.

Another type was the “Fair Lady Peach Blossom Powder” blended with gypsum, talcum, powered oyster shells, beeswax, musk, and motherwort.

Yanru taught them to roast oyster shells over a fire, remove the outer black layer, leaving only the shiny inner layer to be crushed and ground into a fine powder.

They would then dry lotus and peony flowers to make a powder and mix this with the oyster shell and chestnut powder.

This scented powder would leave the skin soft and clear when applied. Adding a little lead powder would make it even better.

However, Yingbao said that applying lead powder could cause sickness in women and refused to let Yanru add any into the mixture.

One day, as Yanru was making rouge with the girls, some unexpected visitors arrived.

Lady Cao, the true mother of lady Leng, came to Jiang Erlang’s house with her son and daughter.

Jiang Erlang was not at home at the time, and Yanru, unfamiliar with this group, ended up being shoved around by them.

“You vixen! Behaving so seductively towards my son-in-law!” Cao attacked Yanru as soon as she arrived.

Dani and her sister were scared and rushed forward to protect Yanru.

“How dare you defend this wench?” Lady Leng saw her daughter protecting Yanru and became furious. She charged forward and slapped Dani twice. Seeing this, Yingbao quickly yelled, “Aunt! Mother! Come quickly!”

Jiang’s sister-in-law and Chunniang rushed over when they heard her. They pushed away Lady Leng and her daughter, quickly ushering Yanru into the room. They shut the door, keeping Mrs. Cao and her daughter away from

Yanru.

“What are you doing?” Chunniang was very angry.

Lady Leng had really gone too far. Jiang Erlang was already married, and she had also married and had children. Chunniang couldn’t understand why she was making trouble.

“Sister Chunniang, wu wu wu… are you really going to defend that wench?” Lady Leng sobbed, holding her face in her hands.

Chunniang coldly retorted, “I’m not your sister, don’t try to claim otherwise.”

Ladv Leng had alreadv birthed two children with the oil merchant. Chunniang had no idea what she was hoping to achieve by coming here today.

“Chunniang, could you really be so heartless?” Lady Leng cried. Seeing no reaction from Chunniang, she ran to Zhou’s wife, “Sister-in-law! Is mother-in-law at home? I want to pay my respects.”

Zhou’s wife felt a shiver down her spine and quickly motioned for Chunniang to find Jiang Sanlang and Jiang Erlang.

Chunniang didn’t hesitate and left. Halfway there, she found Jiang Erlang hurrying home.

“You’re finally back. The Leng family is causing trouble again, I suspect they’re up to no good,” she said.

“I understand, Sister Chunniang, please take the children home first. I’ll handle this.’

Jiang Erlang stepped into his home, scanned the people standing in the courtyard, and coldly asked, “Do you want to be charged with trespassing?”

As soon as Granny Cao saw Jiang Erlang return, she immediately pounced on him: “Erlang, I was the one at fault before. I shouldn’t have separated you and your wife. If you want to hit or scold me, go ahead. But now, our daughter knows her mistake. Can you two reconcile?”

Leng tried to cling onto Jiang Erlang, but he dodged her.

“Erlang, I was truly wrong. Considering we have two children together, let’s reconcile, wuuuu…

Jiang Erlang paid no mind to her sobs, immediately picking up a broom and sweeping it towards them: “Get out of here!”

Granny Cao’s family was pushed back by the sweeping, and Jiang Erlang drove them to the gate of the yard. They refused to move any further.

“Jiang Erlang, why are you so proud?” Cold’s brother, Leng Da, yelled furiously, “I’m Yingbao and Huzi’s true uncle, and you dare drive me away like this?”

“My Huzi and Yingbao have no uncle. It was clearly written in the break-off agreement, and your whole family put their fingerprints on it.”

Granny Cao’s family had said all sorts of heartless things in order to get that fifteen taels of silver. Now talking about being an uncle was ridiculous.

“So what if we put our fingerprints? Yingbao and Huzi are my sister’s flesh and blood.” Leng Da yelled persistently.

Jiang Erlang sneered: “Your sister’s flesh and blood is living in a house selling pickles in town. Don’t bother looking for trouble here.”

Leng had given birth to two children, a boy and a girl, for the man selling pickles. The youngest son was only a few months old. He didn’t understand why she persistently caused trouble here.

“I don’t care. You must give us another fifty taels, no, one hundred taels. Or else this is not over.” Leng Da huffed loudly, finally revealing his true intention for this visit.

“So, you’re trying to extort money, huh? What gives you the audacity to ask me for my money? Okay then, Sun Licheng is coming over. Let him decide.” At this time, Sun Licheng was leading the county officials over to understand the cotton planting situation from the Jiang brothers. He heard that Leng’s family was once again causing trouble on South Slope, so Jiang Erlang rushed back.

When Granny Cao heard that Sun Licheng was coming, her calf cramped up. She turned her head to look at her son for guidance, silently asking him what to do.

But Leng Da was dazzled by all the new houses in the Jiang family, and completely ignored his mother’s hint. “Even if the sky falls, I, the uncle of Yingbao and Huzi, have to approve their marriages.”

Uncles in the countryside wield great power. If they act recklessly, they can meddle in their nephew and niece’s marriage, hence Leng Da’s declaration.

“Oh, what a big talker.” Sun Licheng came over with his hands behind his back, followed by a few local officials and the villagers. They were escorting two middle-aged men with long beards.

Yingbao recognized one of them as Mr. Liao, a staff member of the previous county magistrate.

“What’s the matter?” Mr. Liao asked.

Jiang Erlang immediately recounted his disputes with the Leng family.

“I have divorced from Leng. We’ve signed a break-off agreement and I paid Leng family 15 taels of silver. But now Leng, who has married another man and has children, is still trying to latch on to me. Today, she tried to extort 100 taels of silver, otherwise she threatened to sabotage the marriages of my son and daughter.”

“You’re just going to break off relations like that?” Leng Da was still roaring, “My sister and I are not dead yet!”

Mr. Liao cast a cold glance at Leng Da and turned to Sun Licheng, “Mr. Sun, is it common for such ruffians to emerge in your countryside areas? Someone that cheats and blackmails in broad daylight is being ignored?”

Sun Licheng broke out in a sweat as he replied defensively, “This is my first encounter with such a situation.”

He turned and ordered the villagers, “Tie them up and take them to the village hall for trial.’

Seven or eight villagers swooped in and knocked Granny Cao’s family to the ground. They took out rope and started to restrain them.

Leng and Granny Cao screeched in terror, “I am related to Jiang Erlang. Lizheng, why are you doing this?”

Before Lizheng could say a word, the villagers tore a shirt off Leng Da’s back and stuffed it into Leng and Granny Cao’s mouths. They dragged them away, keeping them from disturbing the people from the county..