USWHC -Chapter 285 Old Madam Ji Gets Tricked (Part 5)

“What do you mean we dragged him down? Stop boosting other people’s prestige while belittling your own! He just passed the xiucai exam, so what? His life is still miserable—he probably doesn’t even eat as well as our family with our sweet potatoes!” Old Madam Ji said disdainfully.

When Old Master Ji heard that, he became even more displeased. “Stop showing off. He’s rich now!” he said, unable to hide his proud smile.

“He’s rich?” Hearing this, Old Madam Ji looked suspicious. “What? Did that Erhan give you money?”

Unexpectedly, Old Madam Ji reacted quite quickly this time! Old Master Ji immediately clutched his clothes nervously. “N-no… don’t overthink it!”

Unfortunately, that obvious guilty reaction only deepened Old Madam Ji’s suspicion. A sly smile appeared on her face—but she didn’t say a word.

Did she believe him? Of course not! But Old Master Ji didn’t notice. Seeing her obediently walk out, he actually thought he had passed the test.

Passed the test? What kind of person was Old Madam Ji! The moment money was involved, her eyes would light up. How could she let him off so easily?

“Ah, Yi, this is bad!”

Not even a day had passed before Old Master Ji came running over to find Ji Yi in a panic. What happened?

“Yi, this is bad! Your mother stole the money!”

Yes—early that morning, Old Master Ji discovered that the banknotes were gone. And along with them, his money-loving wife, Old Madam Ji, had also disappeared.

When Zhu Jie heard this, she couldn’t help sighing. She had known it—how could that money-obsessed Old Madam Ji possibly let Old Master Ji keep it?

Old Master Ji plopped down on the ground and burst into tears. For someone his age to cry like that—it was rather heartbreaking to see.

“Father, it’s okay. It was just a little money. We don’t mind,” Zhu Jie quickly helped him up and said, “Besides, since Mother took it, she’s probably just improving the family’s meals. As long as it didn’t end up in someone else’s hands, that’s fine.”

“But I’ve wronged Yi!” Old Master Ji choked out. “I shouldn’t have kept that money. That was Yi’s money!”

“If we gave it to you, then it’s your money. Whoever spends it is the same,” Ji Yi also tried to comfort him.

But Old Master Ji refused to let it go. “That’s a lot of money! We can’t just let her spend it like that. If she uses that money, I won’t feel at peace—I won’t even be able to sleep! Yi, go with me and get the money back from your mother. Just say the money was only temporarily kept with me! No—actually, it was temporarily kept with me!”

As he spoke, Old Master Ji grabbed Ji Yi and started dragging him outside. But where could they possibly find Old Madam Ji? With money in hand, she must have already run off.

Seeing how persistent his father was, and not wanting him to feel distressed, Ji Yi could only agree. “Then I’ll go back home with Father and wait for Mother. If she wants to buy some food, just let her. Mother has lived a hard life for so many years—at most she’ll buy a couple of meat buns to eat.”

In fact, Zhu Jie thought the same. What the Ji family craved most were meat buns. Now that there was money, of course she’d buy a stack of them to indulge a little. A few buns wouldn’t cost much anyway, so there was no need to stop her.

Hearing this, Old Master Ji said awkwardly, “If she does buy meat buns, you two should take them home to eat.”

Zhu Jie couldn’t help laughing. She really wanted to say she had already grown tired of eating meat buns—but seeing Old Master Ji’s earnest expression, she instead felt a twinge of sadness.

Forget it. Even if Old Madam Ji took the money, Zhu Jie didn’t plan to ask for it back. Let the Ji family experience a better life for once.

Still, giving Old Madam Ji a little scare was necessary. After all, she had taken Zhu Jie’s money—she should at least be grateful. And this was a good opportunity to improve the relationship between the Ji family and Ji Yi. Killing several birds with one stone—spending this hundred taels was worth it.

Old Master Ji led Ji Yi and Zhu Jie back to the Ji family home “in full battle mode.” Only then did the Ji family members learn that Old Madam Ji had stolen so much money and run off. Instantly, the household erupted.

“Why didn’t Mother say anything? That’s so much money! She better not spend it all—she should at least leave some for my dowry!” Ji Mei was the first to complain.

“Wow, Erhan, you’ve got money?” Eldest Brother Ji’s eyes widened in excitement. “Hey now, your big brother has always treated you well! Why didn’t you think about giving me some spending money? Instead you gave it all to Father. And now look—Mother took it all in one go. In the end, the only one benefiting will probably be Mei.”

“How is that benefiting me? I haven’t even seen the money yet!” Ji Mei immediately protested. The atmosphere in the Ji household instantly became lively.

Just then, they saw Old Madam Ji running back from afar, her face full of excitement—so obvious that she couldn’t hide it at all.