C26 Paying Back Debts

Pei Qiusha and her family shuddered with fear.

Ye Lingtian's voice was icy as he demanded, "When I presented the betrothal gift, I was explicit that it was for the Pei family's second daughter. How could you brazenly divert the betrothal gift intended for Miss Pei Qiuyu from the Nine-star General?"

"It was all her doing!" Pei Jinzheng yanked Pei Qiusha forward. "She's the one who said it. I'm the eldest brother, and she's my sister, so doesn't that make her the second miss? I believed her and spent the betrothal gift."

Pei Qiusha, terrified and bewildered, sobbed, "It wasn't me, I only took the jewelry the Admiral gave me... No, that I was supposed to take off for Qiuyu."

"But my brother has already spent all the money. If you're looking for someone to blame, go after him!"

In a fit of panic, Pei Jinzheng slapped her. "I wouldn't have dared spend it if you hadn't said it was yours!"

"You dare to strike me? I'll fight you with everything I've got!"

The siblings immediately erupted into a brawl, clawing and punching each other.

"Enough!"

Ye Lingtian's roar halted them in their tracks, and they quickly stopped fighting.

"Account for every single item of the betrothal gifts you've used. If you omit anything, I'll make sure you rot in prison!"

Pei Jinzheng confessed hastily, "I only took out a sixteen million Pagani, and... and twenty gold bars."

While removing her jewelry, Pei Qiusha insisted, "These are all I wore. There's... nothing else."

"You're lying!" Pei Jinzheng accused, his voice seething with anger.

"Five-star God of War, she also bought a slew of designer bags with the betrothal gift money. I saw it with my own eyes!"

"There weren't a dozen bags!"

"Hide anything from me and you'll regret it, slap her!" At Ye Lingtian's command, several soldiers grabbed Pei Qiusha's hair and delivered a series of harsh slaps.

The sharp sounds of slapping and her wails echoed through the hall.

Before long, Pei Qiusha's face was swollen beyond recognition, her recently cosmetically enhanced nose now askew.

Sun Lanping, Pei Jiang, and their family were trembling with fear.

"God of War!" Sun Lanping, terrified, blurted out without waiting to be questioned, "I used the betrothal gifts to buy stocks, and I also purchased two garden villas for retirement, spending ten million..."

Pei Jiang chimed in hastily, "I splurged on a Patek Philippe watch for three million. That's all I touched, nothing more!"

Ye Lingtian nodded emphatically: "Good, very good indeed!"

"You and your family are insatiable!"

Lee Moxiang added with satisfaction, "How dare you squander the Nine-star General's betrothal gifts! Now, let's see how you'll get out of this one!"

The entire Sun Lanping family began to weep in despair.

"We're ruined... completely ruined!"

The Pei Qiusha family collapsed to the ground, their complexions ghostly pale.

Old Lady Pei nearly passed out. Even if she liquidated the entire Pei family fortune and sold them off piece by piece, it wouldn't cover the debt!

Lin Xuan couldn't help but revel in their misfortune, "I warned you that the Nine-star General was going to marry Qiuyu, but you wouldn't listen. Instead, Pei Qiusha shamelessly threw herself at him, treating the betrothal gifts like a personal windfall, and now, you're paying the price in spades!"

An enraged executive stormed up and slapped Pei Jinzheng across the face, "You scammed me out of my money! And to think, I let my wife entertain you for three days, for nothing. Give me back my two million! Pay up, damn you!"

"And my million! You promised to open up sales channels for me. What a joke! I ought to beat you senseless!"

"Pay up, damn it! Give me my money back!"

Several executives, frantic with rage, grabbed Pei Jinzheng, raining down blows upon him.

"Let me go! Somebody help!"

Sun Lanping wasn't spared either; she was surrounded and manhandled by several executives.

"And you, you swindled me out of my gift money!

"Return my gift money!"

"I want my gift money back!"

They had given Sun Lanping gift money ranging from a hundred thousand to even a million, all to curry favor with Pei Qiusha. Now that the truth was revealed, they were determined to reclaim it.

Sun Lanping was terrified, her voice piercing the air with panic, "Oh my god, I'm going to die, someone's getting killed!"

"Hahaha! That's what you get!"

Lin Xuan, Lee Moxiang, and their entire family erupted into laughter.

At that moment, the president of A City Bank, Zheng Daguo, along with several channel dealers, all battered and bruised, stumbled and fell to their knees before Pei Qiuyu.

"Manager Pei, I was wrong! I should never have frozen Y Corporation's funds. I was blind and foolish. I'm so sorry. Please, I'm begging you, forgive me!"

"Yes, Manager Pei, I realize my mistake now. I can't afford to go bankrupt. Please, give me another chance!"

"Manager Pei, I'm kowtowing to you in apology..."

These A City elites and heavyweights were ashen-faced, their bodies shaking uncontrollably as they bowed their heads repeatedly.

They could never have imagined the immense power backing Pei Qiuyu!

She had the clout to crush these influential figures of A City, grinding them down like ants in the dirt.

Pei Qiuyu watched these men, momentarily at a loss.

These were the same bank directors and supplier bosses she had dealt with before, who had once cornered her, trying to drive her company into the ground. And now, they were all groveling for her forgiveness?

Lin Xuan chimed in, "Honey, they must be terrified of the Nine-star General, that's why they're apologizing to you."

Pei Qiuyu nodded in agreement; she had the same suspicion.

She then asked, "I've never wronged any of you. Why did you treat me so harshly before?"

"It was all his doing!" Zheng Daguo, tears streaming down his face in fury, pointed accusingly at Pei Jinzheng.

"Exactly! If it weren't for him, we never would have opposed you, Manager Pei!" chimed in the vice president of the bank.

Pei Jinzheng's face went pale, and he faltered, "You... you're spouting lies."

"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me. You've completely ruined me!"

With that, Zheng Daguo lunged at Pei Jinzheng, pummeling him with a barrage of punches.

The others joined in, grabbing Pei Jinzheng and tearing into him with a frenzy.

"Ah! Help! Ah!" Pei Jinzheng yelped like a beaten dog.

Lee Moxiang couldn't help but say with satisfaction, "You had it coming!"

Lin Xuan exchanged a glance with Ye Lingtian, who gave a slight nod, before bellowing, "It's a dog-eat-dog world, take them all away!"

"Your illegal actions will be judged by the law!" he declared.

Several soldiers promptly hauled the offenders away, dragging them out of the area.

"You Peis have three days to repay the money used for the betrothal gifts, or else you're well aware of the consequences!" Ye Lingtian warned before turning on his heel and striding off.

His words weighed heavily on Pei Qiusha's family, crushing them with the gravity of mountains.

Pei Qiusha, in tears, lashed out at Pei Qiuyu, "You turned down the Nine-star General just for this outcome, didn't you? Are you happy now?"

Pei Qiuyu shook her head, "I'm not as petty as you."

"You're accusing me of revenge after how our family treated you!" Pei Qiusha screamed, losing control.

Lin Xuan interjected with disdain, "Your family brought this upon yourselves. Who else is there to blame?"

"You were all too eager to see Qiuyu's family ruined, and now that karma has come around, you want to pin it on her?"

"For a woman as brazen and malicious as you, I can only say this retribution is well-deserved!"

Overwhelmed, Pei Qiusha's world spun, and she collapsed to the ground.

Lee Moxiang rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Playing dead? Even if you are, the debt still needs to be paid. Don't expect any pity from us!"

Sun Lanping was inconsolable, feeling as though her world was ending, she wept loudly, "Wah, wah, wah... You're driving me to my grave!"