Ge Guifen’s entire being felt terrible at the thought of such a scene; she shuddered uncomfortably.
She had enjoyed good days in the Imperial Capital and was determined never to go back to farming.
Even if selling Hexing Rice was profitable, she refused to return to that kind of hard and tiring labor.
"Yes, if you don’t go in, do you still expect me to farm outside and support you?" Now in Ge Guifen’s eyes, Lu Youbang was no longer that promising scholar who could bring glory to the family.
He was completely a failure, a freeloader living off his parents.
"You go ask around, is there anyone like you?" Ge Guifen criticized discontentedly, "In this family, it’s only you who achieves nothing, doesn’t love doing anything, just thinks about living off others’ earnings."
"If you go to prison, it would also count as contributing to our family, at least you would be of some use," Ge Guifen now mercilessly criticized Lu Youbang as utterly useless.
Lu Youbang couldn’t believe his ears as Ge Guifen’s merciless words filled them.
"Brother, you just said it yourself, if I continue to make money outside, then the person in prison can have it easier," Lu Youzhen said, "You’re young and more resilient. If you go to prison, I can still arrange things for you on the outside with money to make your time more comfortable."
"We can also use the money to work things out for you from outside," Lu Youzhen added, thinking about if either she or Ge Guifen were in prison.
Lu Youbang would definitely not help them figure things out.
Nor would he worry about how she and Ge Guifen were doing.
Thinking it over, it made the most sense for Lu Youbang to go to prison.
At least she and Ge Guifen wouldn’t abandon Lu Youbang.
"And you also said that good behavior might lead to an early release," Lu Youzhen said, "Since you were able to persuade Mom of all this, it should apply to you too."
Lu Youbang: "..."
"That five hundred thousand, you also spent half of it. And you haven’t contributed anything. Meanwhile, your sister almost lost her life and will never be able to have children again," Ge Guifen said, "Since you’ve already spent the money, it’s not wrong to say it was all meant for you."
Ge Guifen had everything planned out; when the time came, she would align her story with Lu Youzhen and push everything onto Lu Youbang.
Lu Youbang felt like he no longer recognized his own mother and sister.
Gaze hollow, he looked at the two of them.
Now that Ge Guifen and Lu Youzhen were in cahoots, Lu Youbang panicked and didn’t know what to do.
Then, suddenly very menacing, he said, "Fine, if you dare pin the blame on me, I’ll tell the Lin Family that your child is not Lin Jingshen’s!"
Lu Youzhen was not afraid, now a cunning person herself.
Faced with Lu Youbang’s threat, she instead let out a cold laugh, "Say it. After you do, I won’t get any money, and you won’t get a penny either."
"You just want to gain without working, right? Want us to earn money and give it all to you," Lu Youzhen said, "If you just accept your guilt and go to prison, I can arrange your life inside with money. I can even deposit a sum of money into your bank account every month. When you get out, you’ll have a lot, and whether you use it to do business or just spend it, it will be up to you."
"But if you go tell the Lin Family the truth about my child, neither of us will get money, and you will still have to go to prison. Even after going to prison, you will gain nothing," Lu Youzhen said, "You always know how to calculate, you know what is best for you."
Lu Youbang never imagined that one day, he would be at the mercy of Lu Youzhen.
Her words really left Lu Youbang with nothing to say.
And he quickly understood that he indeed couldn’t expose Lu Youzhen.
Lu Youbang clenched his teeth, as he didn’t know how to deal with the plot from Lu Youzhen and Ge Guifen to make him take the fall.
Especially since he had no money, and could not even afford a lawyer.
When Lin Jingshen got the true response from Lu Youbang, and learned that Ge Guifen and Lu Youzhen had pushed all the blame onto Lu Youbang, he was shocked and speechless for a long time.
They thought that Lu Youzhen would sacrifice Ge Guifen, but they didn’t expect that in the end, Lu Youzhen and Ge Guifen together would sacrifice Lu Youbang.
Brilliant!
Truly brilliant!
The family of Lu Youzhen was indeed a band of cunning people.
But then he thought about it and could understand.
Apart from asking them for money, Lu Youbang was good for nothing, just like a blood-sucking leech.
On the contrary, Ge Guifen could take care of Lu Youzhen and also earn money from selling Hexing Rice.
Although Ge Guifen had given the farming to someone else, she still got a cut of the money from selling the Hexing Rice.
Compared to Lu Youbang, who had no income and only knew how to take, Ge Guifen at least had her own income.
However, no matter which one of the three they chose to take the fall, it wouldn’t be unjust.
After all, Lu Youbang was no saint.
Lin Jingshen readily agreed to Lu Youzhen’s proposal.
Sending one person to prison would at least alleviate some of his bitterness.
Lu Youzhen thought marrying into the Lin Family would ensure her smooth sailing and a life of ease.
But she didn’t know that Lin Jingshen had already planned many ways to torment her once she married in.
Both mentally and physically, he had plenty of means.
Lu Youzhen wouldn’t have the good days she expected in the Lin Family.
The Lin Family, angered by the affair, went directly and sued Lu Youbang.
Although the accounts receiving the five hundred thousand and the fifty thousand each month belonged to Ge Guifen and Lu Youzhen respectively,
Ge Guifen and Lu Youzhen had a unanimous story: it was Lu Youbang who set up their accounts.
And it was Lu Youbang who demanded money from the Lin Family.
Also, the fact that Lu Youbang used the money to buy himself a house was very strong evidence.
Faced with the conspiracy between the Lin Family and Ge Guifen and Lu Youzhen, Lu Youbang was defenseless and went to prison in despair.
The news of Lu Youbang’s imprisonment also caused an uproar at Jing University.
The matter had been discussed for more than a fortnight at Jing University.
It was even more talked about than the matter of Lu Youxi’s husband being Zhou Shuyan.
Probably because Lu Youxi herself was very capable, and people had speculated before her initial clarification.
Now that the relationship between Lu Youxi and Zhou Shuyan was exposed, most people felt, I knew it, it’s indeed the case.
So, the discussion didn’t last as long.
But Lu Youbang had gone from a good reputation to being despised like a street rat at Jing University, and now he was directly in jail, which was really surprising and lamentable.
Originally a promising young man, he would not have worried about finding a good job after graduating from Jing University in this era.
At that time, there weren’t many university students, and the competition wasn’t as fierce as in later years.
Just an undergraduate degree would have been enough for him to find a decent job, not to mention that he was a graduate of Jing University.
Yet Lu Youbang, ignoring his bright future, chose mischief instead.