Transmigrated To Another World: General, I'm Not Your White Moonlight - Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Duan Family’s Predicament
In the middle of the ancestral hall, a woman in her thirties was kneeling in front of an altar filled with ancestral tablets, crying sadly. Next to her knelt a young woman, also with her head lowered and crying. The rest of the Duan family members, sitting on the left and right sides, watched silently as the mother and daughter cried.

Sitting on the main seat under the ancestral altar, Duan Dazhu, the head of the Duan family, looked at his daughter-in-law Yang Dahua, and his granddaughter Duan Qiaoling. Seeing that the two of them were still crying, Duan Dazhu was impatient and slapped the table with his palm.

Bang!

A loud slamming sound frightened Yang Dahua and Duan Qiaoling so much that they forgot to cry. Seeing that the two of them finally stopped crying, Duan Dazhu looked at one of his third younger brother’s grandsons, who had just returned from Chun Shan Town.

Seeing his grandnephew’s anxious expression, Duan Dazhu asked calmly, “How is it? Can you meet your eldest uncle?”

The young man shook his head and said, “Eldest Granduncle, I have given the money to the prison guards as you ordered, but they still won’t let me see my eldest uncle.”

As soon as these words came out, the ancestral hall fell into an eerie silence. Everyone present looked at Duan Dazhu, waiting for his reaction. After a long silence, Duan Dazhu looked at his third younger brother and asked, “Third Younger Brother, what do you think of this matter?”

Duan Sanzhu looked at his eldest brother and said, “Eldest Brother, I don’t think we should blindly bribe the prison guards. If someone reports this to the Yamen, we will be in big trouble.”

Duan Dazhu pondered on Duan Sanzhu’s words and said, “Mhm, you are right.”

Sitting on the chair next to Duan Sanzhu, Duan Haifeng looked at Duan Dazhu and asked, “Eldest Granduncle, are you planning to pay the fine of two hundred taels of silver?”

Duan Dazhu nodded and said worriedly, “We have no choice but to pay the fine. Otherwise, not only will your eldest uncle suffer more in jail, but our whole clan may even be exiled.”

After hearing Duan Dazhu’s answer, Duan Haifeng was silent for a moment and asked, “Do we have enough money to pay the fine?”

Although the junior questioned him, Duan Dazhu was not angry because he knew that Duan Haifeng just wanted to help solve the problem.

After a moment of silence, Duan Dazhu shook his head and sighed, “We don’t have that much money. Currently, we have about five taels of silver in our public account. Besides that money, I only have fifty copper coins in the personal account of the first branch.”

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the ancestral hall suddenly became solemn. When no one spoke, Yang Dahua looked at her father-in-law and begged, “Father, you must save my husband.”

Duan Dazhu looked at his daughter-in-law and said sternly, “How dare you beg here?! Aren’t our current problems all because of your husband? If it weren’t for his greed, would we be in such a predicament now?”

Although he reprimanded Yang Dahua, his words were only said to appease the people in the third branch. Duan Dazhu also wanted to save Duan Sizhi, but he was helpless.

No matter what, Duan Sizhi is his biological son, and saving him is equivalent to saving himself and their first branch. Unfortunately, despite his will, he didn’t have the money.

Seeing that no one had any ideas, Duan Haifeng said calmly, “Eldest Granduncle, I have an idea, but I don’t know if we can succeed or not.”

As soon as these words came out, everyone present looked at him. Duan Dazhu looked at Duan Haifeng’s calm expression and urged him to speak, “Dalang, tell me what you think.”

Duan Haifeng smiled and said, “We can just let the culprit solve this matter for us.”

As soon as these words came out, Duan Dazhu’s eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, “That’s right! Why didn’t I think of this method?”

After saying that, he stood up from his seat and said, “Let’s go! We must make Duan Yixin pay the fine and compensate us! Didn’t she buy a lot of land recently? She must be very rich, so compensating us shouldn’t be a problem.”

When Yang Dahua heard this, she quickly stood up and took her daughter with her. Under the leadership of Duan Dazhu, everyone from the first branch family left the ancestral hall with great momentum and rushed to Duan Yixin’s home.

Seeing that his eldest brother had left with his family in a hurry, Duan Sanzhu also stood up. Before he took a step, Duan Haifeng stopped him and said, “Grandfather, we are not going with eldest granduncle to my younger cousin’s place.”

Duan Sanzhu has listened to his elder brother since he was a child and has followed him until now. When he heard his eldest grandson saying that they would not go with Duan Dazhu, he became anxious

He paced back and forth a few times before turning to look at his eldest grandson and said worriedly, “Feng’er, if we don’t go with them, your granduncle will be angry with us. If he refuses to pay your tuition, then– then what should we do? Two taels of silver are needed every month to pay your tuition, and another three taels of silver are needed to buy books, paper, and ink. We can’t afford to anger your eldest granduncle.”

Duan Haifeng patted his grandfather’s hand to calm him down and then asked calmly, “Grandfather, have you ever thought about separating our family from the first branch?”

Duan Sanzhu was stunned when he heard his grandson’s question. The idea of separating the family really never crossed his mind.

When Duan Haifeng saw his grandfather’s reaction, he sighed and said, “Grandfather, now that my eldest uncle is a criminal, we must separate the family.”