She knew just how stingy her husband was; without someone's instigation, how could he ever borrow money at usury? Just paying the interest would hurt so much he'd be bedridden from the pain.
Elder Li San was extremely panicked, enduring the pain as he said to Mrs. Qu, "My wife, it was the government official, Constable Liu from the government office, who tricked me. He introduced me to someone, and I thought that since he was a government official, he wouldn't cheat me, so I went to the gambling house and borrowed silver from Boss Liu, who is like a sworn brother to him. With winter approaching, I thought of trafficking some cotton from Jiangnan to the Northwest. Once I made the silver, not only could we repay the borrowed amount, our family's life would also improve."
Master Qi listened and couldn't help but sneer incessantly. He didn't cover up for Elder Li San but had the servants directly bring a woman into Li Mansion.
