Chapter 144: Insatiable Greed

"You, Kong Linglong?" Lady Jiang muttered, her tone filled with disbelief.

Master Qin suddenly barked, "Look at the mess this unfilial son has made! You've gone and disgraced us right at the Xue household! What on earth is going on with you?"

Qin Jianyu flushed and kept his mouth shut.

Madam Qin turned around and scolded, "Shut up. What does this have to do with you? He is my son!"

Master Qin: "..."

Madam Qin turned back to Qin Jianyu and asked, "Were you really caught? Is that why the Xue family is demanding to break off the engagement?!"

Qin Jianyu nodded. "Yes..."

"What do you mean, yes?!" Madam Qin thrashed her son's shoulder in anger. "Couldn't you exercise some self-control? Why on earth did you have to slip up right there in the Xue residence?"

Because it was thrilling!

Even though he was afraid of being discovered, he felt confident that no one would find out, while simultaneously having to stay on high alert. That feeling of dancing on the edge of danger might seem foolish to others, but it was truly exhilarating—and the relief that followed the thrill was heavenly.

"Mother, it's too late to talk about this now. Your son didn't want this to happen, I just couldn't help myself!"

"What do you mean you couldn't help yourself?" Madam Qin sneered. "Then why would Kong Linglong show up at the Xue estate?"

"She must have followed him there!" Master Qin couldn't help chiming in.

Qin Jianyu nodded, not daring to meet his mother's eyes.

Madam Qin delivered two more blows to Qin Jianyu's shoulder before cursing, "That wretched little maid Kong Linglong, always ruining things! Where is she? I'll tear her to pieces today!"

His mother had quite liked Kong Linglong before. It seemed she wouldn't be able to anymore.

"I don't know either!" Qin Jianyu didn't dare speak up for Kong Linglong, and he genuinely had no idea where she was.

After being caught by the Xue family, Lady Liang had taken her before Old Madame Xue. Lady Liang claimed she couldn't reason with Kong Linglong and that Kong Linglong was his personal business, so she had simply thrown her out.

Later, he had been humiliated by Xue Fanzhi, and in his anxious rush back to devise a countermeasure, he had completely forgotten about Kong Linglong.

"Mother, I really don't know!"

Madam Qin scolded him once more: "Are you an idiot? How can you not know? Why didn't you grab her and drag her back so I could hand her over to the Xue family? You could have just insisted that Kong Linglong seduced you!"

Qin Jianyu certainly would have liked to say that, but he never had the chance at the Xue residence. The Xue family hadn't even brought up Kong Linglong; only Xue Fanzhi had remarked that lovers destined for each other should finally unite, claiming she didn't want to stand in their way—though she immediately started hurling insults right after, leaving him with zero opportunity to explain.

Qin Jianyu looked at his mother with a wronged expression.

"Enough!" Master Qin suddenly roared. "You can't spoil the child like this! Lady Kong is a woman after all, and she's several years younger than Jianlang. If Jianlang hadn't led her on, could she have seduced him? You're talking absolute nonsense—this matter has very little to do with her!"

Clearly, he was chewing his wife out.

Madam Qin was so angry she nearly jumped. "Are you siding with outsiders against me now? How does it have nothing to do with her? If the bitch didn't stay in heat, would the dog mount her? It's entirely her fault! Unmarried and already learning to seduce men, shameless wretch! If Jianlang's engagement is ruined, she'll see what's coming to her!"

"So vulgar, simply vulgar!" Master Qin considered himself a scholar, and Madam Qin's harsh language grated on his nerves. His mustache quivered in outrage. "How can you compare a person to a dog in heat?"

Indeed, he wasn't a dog either! Qin Jianyu thought to himself.

Madam Qin didn't care what they thought. After cursing Kong Linglong, she started berating Xue Fanzhi. Once she had exhausted her anger, she finally sat down to catch her breath.

Seeing his mother sit down, Qin Jianyu hurriedly knelt closer and asked, "Then Mother, what should we do? Your son doesn't want the engagement broken!"

Because of Lord Xue Qiujin and Old Madame Xue, Madam Qin no longer wanted the engagement broken either.

"We must find a way. This betrothal absolutely cannot be canceled!"

Master Qin stood behind his wife and son, saying, "If you don't want the engagement canceled, Jianlang, you must stop seeing that Miss Kong. You have to show some sincerity!"

Qin Jianyu was just about to say his father's teaching was correct when Madam Qin chimed in.

"What do you know? How can they stop seeing each other? Miss Kong is utterly devoted to Jianlang; she is already our Jianlang's woman!"

How did his mother know about that? Qin Jianyu felt as though he had been spied upon, and a wave of displeasure washed over him.

Master Qin was clearly hearing this for the first time. He stared at Qin Jianyu in shock, wanting to step forward and thrash his son, only to meet his wife's warning glare.

Master Qin retreated to his standing spot and fumed, "How could you do such a thing? The engagement hasn't even been broken yet, and you're already ruining an innocent girl's life?!"

"It's not your daughter whose life is ruined, so what are you getting so excited about?" Madam Qin slapped the table to warn Master Qin. "You shut your mouth first, we're talking about important business here, and you've derailed the whole conversation!"

Master Qin looked sheepish and eventually sat down as well, maintaining his gentlemanly demeanor and keeping quiet.

Madam Qin ignored him now and instructed Qin Jianyu, "Don't listen to your father. The Kong family possesses a vast fortune, and Kong Linglong is their only heir. All that wealth will belong to Kong Linglong in the future. If you marry her, it will all be yours! We absolutely cannot let go of this!"

Qin Jianyu nodded.

Master Qin asked in confusion, "Didn't you just say you aren't breaking off the engagement? You want the Xue family, and you want the Kong family too—are you planning to cook up another scheme to make Kong Linglong a concubine?"

"So what if I am?"

Making Xue Fanzhi a concubine was rather unlikely, after all! Madam Qin thought to herself.

With a hint of smugness in her tone, Madam Qin said, "Who asked me to give birth to a son? Look at a teapot; it's meant to be matched with several cups. My son is capable of marrying two wives, and perhaps there will be a third and a fourth in the future!" Who could blame her for having such a handsome son? In the future, she could simply live like a wealthy matriarch off her son's dowries.

What? Lose face?

What face is there to lose when you've got money to spend? Besides, all these people had taken advantage of her son—did anyone else have a son this handsome?

Qin Jianyu realized his mother was just daydreaming and offering no practical solutions to solve the problem. He asked, "But isn't the Xue family the one demanding to break off the engagement right now? I can stall Linglong and make her willingly become a concubine, but what about the Eighth Miss? The Eighth Miss is dead set on breaking off the engagement with me!"

She had cursed him out thoroughly, but he didn't dare tell his mother for fear she would storm straight over to the Xue residence.

Madam Qin pondered for a moment, her expression turning dismissive. "Go find Xue Yang! Didn't you say the ones wanting to break the engagement are Old Madame Xue and the Eighth Miss? But in matters of marriage, it's the parents' command and the matchmaker's word. The final decision still rests with Xue Yang. Have your father say a few nice words to Xue Yang, and he won't cancel the engagement!"

"I am not going to partake in such a disgraceful matter!" Master Qin stood up, ready to leave.

Madam Qin called him back. "If you don't go, don't ever bother coming back! If you can't even care about your own son's marriage, what can I ever count on you for?"

"I..."

"You what? Go, since I told you to go! You're merely going to express our sincere attitude. Whether Xue Yang agrees or not is his own affair; you aren't tricking him, beating him, or kidnapping him—what are you afraid of?"

"I..."

"Go! If you don't, don't ever expect to hold a grandson!" Madam Qin played her trump card, letting out a cold snort.

Master Qin had no choice. He let out a sigh of complete surrender into the empty air.