My Co-renting Lady Boss
Chapter 376 - 0376: Breaking the Martial Arts Code of Honor?

Chapter 376: Chapter 0376: Breaking the Martial Arts Code of Honor?

"This is not something he can decide," Mo Zhanlu said with a faint smile, looking at Zhou Dafu:

"Dafu, what’s wrong with my Moli that you would reject her?"

"Everyone knows what kind of goods she is, you..." Zhou Dafu didn’t recognize the visitor and was about to criticize Moli.

"Dafu, mind your manners," the Zhou family elder came over, interrupting Zhou Dafu’s words, and looked at Mo Zhanlu:

"Brother Mo has traveled from afar, and the Zhou family welcomes you warmly!"

"Brother Zhou, I hope all is well with you!" Mo Zhanlu replied with a polite salutation, then expressed his dissatisfaction:

"Brother Zhou is being unfair. The marriage of my granddaughter was arranged long ago, so why does the Zhou family now refuse to accept her?"

"Then you should ask what your granddaughter has done,"

Zhou Dafu coldly snorted without any courtesy, "She’s supposed to be my fiancée, yet she’s been messing around with other men. I detest such a woman."

Hearing these words, Mo Zhanlu’s face turned somewhat sour, but he suddenly laughed, took out a marriage document from his chest, and said to the Zhou family elder:

"Brother Zhou, you know well what kind of character my Moli possesses. Initially, when Zhou Dafu was a... in the Zhou family, you didn’t care about these things. Here is the marriage document as proof. Although Zhou Dafu has now become the young master of the Zhou family, this written agreement cannot simply be ignored. Or is it that the Zhou family, a grand Martial Arts Family, intends to break the engagement?"

At these words, the faces of everyone present grew somber.

In the Jianghu, breaking off an engagement is a taboo, especially when someone like Zhou Dafu, who was once worthless, was promised in marriage, and now that he has risen to prominence, he wishes to break the engagement, it would inevitably bring shame to the Zhou family as being faithless and abandoning what was started.

The Zhou family elder’s face was a mix of shadow and light, filled with regret.

The Zhou family elder had long known that Moli was a licentious woman with a very bad reputation. No decent family would want such a woman, but he owed Mo Zhanlu a favor, and thus he had no choice but to enter into a marital alliance with the Mo Family, thinking it would also give him a chance to win over the smaller Martial Arts Family of the Mo.

At that time, the Zhou family elder naturally did not wish for a direct-lineage disciple of the Zhou family to get involved with a woman of bad reputation, so he had Zhou Dahai, who was useless, marry Moli and signed the marriage contract.

The Zhou family had intended to make use of what was worthless. Since Zhou Dafu held no status in the Zhou family, even if Moli turned out to be promiscuous and cuckolded Zhou Dafu in the future, it would not greatly affect the Zhou family. Instead, it might curry favor with the Mo Family and repay the favor.

Unfortunately, the Zhou family elder could never have dreamed that after an unexpected change of fortune, Zhou Dahai, once considered worthless, became the young master of the Zhou family. Marrying a licentious woman with his current status would be too shameful.

Alas, the marriage contract had been signed, and if an engagement was broken, the reputation of the Zhou family would inevitably suffer great damage, and the integrity that Jianghu people value most would also be irreparably harmed.

Everyone looked at the Zhou family elder, waiting to see how he would decide.

Moli and Mo Zhanlu stood in front of the Zhou family, proud and confident with the marriage contract in hand, believing the Zhou family would not dare commit such an outrage against the world.

"Struck it rich, indeed!" Mo Zhanlu thought to himself with unusual excitement:

"My granddaughter has always been a wild one, making a mess of herself out there, and it was precisely because of her poor reputation that she was promised to the Zhou Family’s good-for-nothing. I never expected that the good-for-nothing would actually become the Zhou Family’s Young Master, and that Moli would become the future Young Madam of the Zhou Family, the future mistress of the household. My Mo Family will surely bask in reflected glory. Even if it kills me today, I can’t let this marriage fall through. Afterwards, I must also properly discipline Moli, she must behave from now on, and absolutely must not let go of such a fortuitous opportunity for the Mo Family."

After a long silence, the old Master Zhou sighed and slowly began to speak, "Brother Mo, the current Zhou Family is not the same as it was in the past. Although I was the one who arranged this marriage, I am no longer the Family Head of the Zhou Family. The final decision still has to be made by the current Family Head."

Actually, Old Master Zhou did not want to bear the reputation of being ungrateful and treacherous, nor did he want to force Zhou Dafu, so he simply handed the decision-making power over to Zhou Xianyi and Zhou Dafu themselves.

Hearing this, the face of Zhou Xianyi turned green, and he quickly looked towards Zhou Dafu for help. Although he was the Family Head of the Zhou Family, this matter still had to be ultimately decided by Zhou Dafu himself.

Zhou Dafu’s expression fluctuated as he considered Moli and Mo Zhanlu. In the end, he clenched his teeth and said:

"Since it was my grandfather who arranged this marriage, then as the Zhou Family’s Young Master, I naturally must follow the old man’s wishes. The Zhou Family is absolutely not a shameless family that breaks faith and trust. But one thing I must make clear beforehand, I can accept Moli today, but if she fails to behave herself in the future, then don’t blame me for turning my back on her and not recognizing her."

"Rest assured, rest assured, I guarantee that from now on, Moli will be a virtuous wife and good mother. Should she err again, the Zhou Family won’t have to say a word, for I will definitely not let her off lightly," Mo Zhanlu quickly assured, vowing with conviction, "If she errs again, the Mo Family will have no face to cling to the Zhou Family, and will take the initiative to annul the marriage themselves."

"Yes, yes, I was young and didn’t know better before. From now on, I will surely comport myself appropriately and act prudently," Moli also nodded repeatedly, though her heart was filled with unwillingness and annoyance. A scrappy individual she had once completely trampled underfoot was now harshly addressing her in public, throwing her inner balance into turmoil.

Many from the Martial Arts Families secretly commended Zhou Dafu’s decision. Forgiving such a shameless woman might be a big blow to personal pride, but for the Zhou Family as a whole, it preserved the family’s honor. Zhou Dafu’s choice to disregard his own pride for the sake of the family’s interest was indeed admirable.

However, many from the merchant families and the common folk felt stifled on behalf of Zhou Dafu, for they did not understand the rules of Jianghu.

"This is really frustrating." Li Xiaoli pouted unhappily and said sullenly:

"The fatty is actually going to accept such a shameless woman. Has he gone mad?"

"I can’t figure it out either. Whenever I think of how that woman and Zhou Haotian joined forces against the fatty, I just want to slap him several times." Liu Mengting was also very dissatisfied.

But the Ma Family brothers could understand Zhou Dafu’s decision; for the sake of the family, there was no other choice.

"The fatty has grown up and actually knows how to consider the bigger picture." Tang Ming touched his nose and said with relief:

"Although Moli is not a good woman and has bullied Dafu quite a bit before, now that Dafu is the Young Master of the Zhou Family, this woman will only be able to grovel at his feet. In this way, the fatty can also pay her back for the humiliation she once gave him, which is pretty good!"

Although he said this, Tang Ming actually felt some disdain in his heart. If it were him, not killing Moli would already be an extraordinary act of mercy, and he would absolutely not accept this woman.