Chapter 66 Breaking Free

Chapter 66: Breaking Free

Aunt Zhou and Sister Li reached the doorway, where she covered her face with a handkerchief and slipped away. What had possessed her to go to the Li family at such a bad time? Wasn't Wan Geer supposed to come out together? Why hadn't she seen him?

Could he have already left?

Young people, always quick on their feet!

At the Li family's doorstep—even though she had driven someone to the brink of suicide—the woman was still clinging desperately to Li Erlang's leg, wailing. Such a troublemaker, she wouldn't stop until she drove someone to death.

"You seductress! Playing dead at home! If you have the guts to seduce a man, have the guts to come out!"

Sister Li stepped out the door, fixed her glare on the shrewish woman, and suddenly let out a cold laugh to cut off her wailing. "You keep saying our girl seduced your husband. Then what's your husband's name, and where is his hometown? You can't just cry a few tears and ruin my sister's reputation. That's not how the world works!"

The woman's crying gradually stopped, and there wasn't even a trace of tears on her face. She glanced sideways at Sister Li. "My husband is a scholar from the Tang family of Qinghe Village in Guxing County. He is a Xiucai master registered with the Education Bureau. If you don't believe me, go ahead and check!"

What Song Fulang had said turned out to be true!

Sister Li's heart steadied, and she asked coldly, "The Tang Scholar from Guxing County? I've heard he's currently studying at the prefecture school. Is that true?"

The woman looked smug. "So you've heard of my husband. Yes, he's a student at the prefecture school."

But after a moment, her expression turned wary. "Where did you hear that my husband studies at the prefecture school?"

Not just her, but all the neighbors pricked up their ears.

Li Erlang sensed something off, but seeing his wife so confident, he kept quiet.

Sister Li ignored the woman's question and sneered instead. "How strange! Everyone on Willow Embankment Alley knows that the man who proposed to our family is the Tang Scholar from Daguang Village. He never studied at the prefecture school—he spends his time in the Changbei Entertainment Quarter, and vendors in the area have seen him often. So it seems these two Tang Scholars aren't the same person. Did you marry two men? Or are you deliberately slandering us using a similar surname?"

The neighbors hadn't known the details, but hearing Sister Li's account, they followed her lead.

"Now that you mention it, I did hear someone say something about a Tang Scholar from Daguang Village."

"So Miss Qin's been wronged? And all this cursing was for nothing?"

"Coming to someone's door with empty accusations—what a shrew."

The woman was led into a trap by Sister Li's barrage of words. As she opened her mouth to argue, Sister Li pressed on: "Besides, the Tang Scholar from Daguang Village did propose, but my in-laws were still considering whether to let their daughter marry far away. They haven't agreed yet. I, as her sister-in-law, haven't even seen any engagement banquet. So how can you keep claiming my sister-in-law is engaged? Did you sit at their engagement feast?"

Engagements were such big events—the groom's parents and clan would come bearing gifts and betrothal money, the clan leader would write the marriage contract—so how could there have been no sign of it?

"She almost tricked us with those few words! I live just a few steps away—how could I miss such a lively event as an engagement?"

"This woman has a vicious heart. How could she make up such a lie?"

"Exactly. If we'd believed her and spread the word, how could Miss Qin show her face again?"

The woman sat dumbly on the ground, her grip on Li Erlang's leg loosening.

"Not the same person? I got it wrong? That can't be?" She started doubting herself.

Li Erlang shook her off violently and brushed his pants in disgust.

Sister Li remembered Meng Wan's mention of compensation. Now that she had the upper hand, she planted her hands on her hips and said sternly, "You shrew, you came to my house to cause trouble and ruined my sister's reputation. She's crying her heart out at home. Either you compensate us with silver, or I'll have someone write a complaint and take you and your Guxing County Tang Scholar to the magistrate!"

The woman backed away, dodging and weaving. "I don't know what you're talking about. Since it's not me, I'll be going now."

"Silang, stop her!"

Sister Li called out to a young man in the alley to block the woman's way.

A group of neighbors surrounded her, preventing her from leaving. The child in her arms cowered against her.

"What are you doing! Bullying a widow and orphan, are you? I'll have you know, my husband is a Xiucai master from the Changping Prefecture School—a man of honor who needn't kneel before officials! Just try laying a finger on me!"

Her voice grew weaker as her confidence faded.

Sister Li felt a great weight lifted. "Weren't you rolling around in front of my door just now? Now you're scared! Pay up, or you won't leave Willow Embankment Alley today!"

---

The commotion at the Li family gradually subsided. People drifted away from the alley entrance. Lu Chunfang and Aunt Zhou's daughter-in-law arrived with a doctor in a hurry and entered the house next door.

Meng Wan sat on the courtyard wall, having seen everything clearly.

Chang Jinhua finished her chores, put down her washing stick, and glared at him. "Aren't you coming down? Not afraid of the sun?"

Meng Wan shaded his eyes with his hand. "Mom, can you get me a stool? I can't get down."

Chang Jinhua carried her wooden basin into the house, tossing back: "I won't bother with you, you little monkey."

But once inside, she pushed open the west room door and called to Song Tingzhou, who was bent over his desk, writing furiously. "Your husband is sitting on the wall playing—go get him."

Song Tingzhou put down his brush: "?"

Meng Wan waited another three seconds, saw Song Tingzhou rush out, and laughed. "Mom sent you?"

Song Tingzhou walked to the wall and opened his arms. "How did you get up there?"

"I'll tell you later."

Meng Wan jumped down from the wall, and Song Tingzhou caught him steadily, stealing a kiss at an angle.

Meng Wan pulled back and whispered a few words.

Just then, a young scholar in a blue gown appeared at the entrance. Seeing no one around, he covered his face with a fan and darted into the alley.

Meng Wan and Song Tingzhou stopped and stared toward the door. After a moment, the scholar grabbed the woman who had been causing trouble at the Li family all morning and hurried her away, afraid of being seen.

As they passed the Song family door, they could hear him scolding in a low voice: "Why did you come all the way from home? Why didn't you find me first? What are you doing here causing trouble? And bringing Hong'er along?"

The woman, a fiery sort, shouted back: "If I hadn't come looking for you, I'd never have known you're planning to take a concubine out here!"

"Concubine? What nonsense! I was just..."

Meng Wan and Song Tingzhou couldn't hear the rest.

The weather was hot, so Meng Wan added two ladles of water to the horse trough. "It's just bad luck for Qin Niang to have met such a hypocrite."

Song Tingzhou followed him. "Are you sleeping with Mom again tonight?"

Meng Wan threw down the ladle and turned around. "Where else would I sleep?"

Song Tingzhou sighed helplessly. "We can't let him take our room forever. The side room was opened up for the shop. Why not build another wall and make a small room?"

Meng Wan was also troubled. The house was too small. It seemed like the only option. "But then we'll have to move things around in the shop. We can put two extra tables out front when it opens in the morning."

It was hot now, so the open ground in front was cooler than inside. It might just work.

"I'll help move the tables this morning." Song Tingzhou said enthusiastically.

Meng Wan chuckled, "That won't be necessary. Your mornings are already tight with school anyway. It's just two tables; Sister Chunfang and I can carry them. Tomorrow..."

"I'll go find the bricklayer across the street right now." Song Tingzhou immediately responded.

"Huh? Isn't it a bit late today?" Before Meng Wan finished speaking, Song Tingzhou was already out the door.

"It's not late."

Song Tingzhou went to the alley across the street to hire the bricklayer, and ended up bringing the bricklayer and his two sons. The bricks left over from the previous wall demolition were still piled by the firewood stack. The wing room had two doors and three windows. The bricklayer and his sons spent the afternoon partitioning a small room using the door next to the stable. Space was limited; besides the built-in bed and heated kang, the remaining area could only fit a table or a wooden cabinet, but it was enough for the performer to live in.

However, the kang still needed a few days to dry in the shade, so the young couple would have to continue sleeping apart.

Song Tingzhou was not one to easily show his emotions, but when he was in a bad mood, those familiar with him could always tell.

At noon—the prefectural school had a dining hall to provide lunch for the students.

In the Yizi Class, many scholars wearing the distinctive robes of the prefectural school had already packed up their books, placed them in book boxes, and were heading to the dining hall in twos and threes.

"Brother Song seems to be in low spirits these past few days."

A young scholar with handsome features stood in front of Song Tingzhou's desk, fanning himself as he waited.

Song Tingzhou straightened his books, stood up, and replied, "It's just some household trivialities, a bit of annoyance, not really low spirits."

Another person from the seat next to him stood up and chimed in, "Brother Song's family is simple, and he has his husband managing household affairs, so there are few worries, unlike me." As he spoke, a bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The young scholar exchanged a glance with Song Tingzhou, and they both comforted him, "Zhao Yuan's family is a top-tier clan in the prefectural city, and your father is the Changping Prefect. Such a family background is something ordinary people can only dream of. Think of these hardships as tempering."

Even though Song Tingzhou wasn't good at comforting others, he had to say a few words to Wu Zhaoyuan, "Brother Wu is excellent in learning and talent. This year's autumn provincial exam, you can also give it a try. Why not block out mundane thoughts and focus on preparing for the exam."

Wu Zhaoyuan was about the same age as Song Tingzhou, but his figure was thin and gaunt, with a perpetually worried look on his face. "Thank you both for your comfort. Let's drop the trivial matters for now and head to the dining hall."

Among the three, Wu Zhaoyuan was the concubine-born son of the Changping Prefect. The other was named Zhu Zening, the legitimate son of the third branch of the imperial merchant Zhu family, immensely wealthy.

Zhu Zening was generous and kind-hearted. But because he was the son of a merchant, some students in the school fawned over him for his family's wealth, while others, who were pretentiously aloof, despised his mercenary nature and formed cliques to ostracize him.

He and Song Tingzhou had entered the school around the same time, both passing the prefectural examination this year to become scholars, and their seats were also close.

Zhu Zening found Song Tingzhou quite interesting. If someone spoke to him, he would answer; if they ignored him, he would remain indifferent as if the person didn't exist.

Those who disagreed with his essays would seek him out for debate, but he would dismiss them with a single phrase, "Each has their own strengths." If they came again, he would pretend not to hear or see them.

This behavior led some to say he was aloof and looked down on others' literary talents. Song Tingzhou didn't argue, and then he scored first in the monthly exam.

Then a crowd of people surged forward insisting on debating him. Song Tingzhou debated a few sentences, but grew impatient with their immature arguments for the sake of arguing, and dismissed them again with "each has their own strengths."

—After that, even more people looked down on him!

In the Yizi Class, he was a peculiar sort who wasn't well-liked.

Zhu Zening simply found the man interesting and had exchanged a few words with him. His father, however, had somehow heard about Song Tingzhou's outstanding talent and insisted that Zhu Zening befriend him.

Befriend him then—he didn't mind.

After spending some time together, he found that this man wasn't as aloof as others said. As long as you didn't annoy him, he was actually quite easy to get along with, and he was very tactful. Apart from occasionally mentioning his own family background, he never pried into the Zhu family's affairs.

Unlike those hypocrites who wanted to gain benefits from Zhu Zening while secretly despising his merchant origins.

"A friendship between gentlemen is as pure as water." Zhu Zening truly understood this saying through his interactions with Song Tingzhou.

Wu Zhaoyuan, the concubine-born son of the Changping Prefect, was another extreme. He had been a scholar for two years and was still a son of the Prefect Wu's household, yet his reputation was poor, even worse than Song Tingzhou's.

It wasn't for any other reason but his disgraceful birth: he was the illegitimate child born from a one-night stand between Prefect Wu and an actor of erotic plays in a brothel.

The actors of these erotic plays bared their chests on stage to please customers; such troupes were essentially mobile brothels. Even when that actor became pregnant, she could not enter the Wu mansion. Instead, a house was bought in the west of the city to settle her.

If Madam Wu ever mentioned it, she would only say, "That one outside."

When speaking of Wu Zhaoyuan, it was also just, "A bastard born outside."

Such circumstances made it clear what kind of life he had led since childhood. Even though he was a male descendant of the Wu family, his name had never been added to the Wu family genealogy.

And no matter how wealthy the Zhu family was in Changping Prefecture, they still had to maintain good relations with Prefect Wu, a court official of the fourth rank, visiting and sending gifts during festivals.

Zhu Zening had known Wu Zhaoyuan since childhood, which was how Song Tingzhou came to know this pitiable prefect's son.

The three walked together to the dining hall. The seating and food here were also graded, but to accommodate poor students, the lowest grade was cheap and plentiful, though lacking in oil and flavor.

As usual, Song Tingzhou and Wu Zhaoyuan ordered the cheapest options. Because Song Tingzhou had a big appetite, he ordered three extra steamed buns besides the rice and dishes.

Zhu Zening originally had a servant bring him meals daily, all exquisite dishes made by his family's chef, far superior to what the dining hall offered.

Zhu Zening had previously offered to share food with Wu Zhaoyuan, but Wu Zhaoyuan, sensitive about his birth, had refused several times. Zhu Zening, knowing his nature and afraid of making him overthink, stopped bringing it up. Since then, the two never sat together during lunch.

After befriending Song Tingzhou, when both of his friends came to the dining hall, he felt it was boring to eat alone, so he started joining them. However, his meals were much more refined and plentiful; he always ordered the most expensive items.

Sharing a chicken leg with Song Tingzhou, Zhu Zening ate his meal without much appetite, while Wu Zhaoyuan across from him had a bitter face while picking at his vegetables, looking as if he were chewing wax.

On the other hand, Song Tingzhou was eating steamed buns with plain vegetables, finishing one bun in a few bites. Zhu Zening watched him curiously and asked, "Is the food in the dining hall really that good?"

Song Tingzhou took a bite of the chicken leg, "It's okay, but far inferior to my husband's cooking."

Zhu Zening became interested, "Then I must visit Brother Song's home another day. I hope your husband can prepare a feast."

Song Tingzhou paused his chopsticks, looking regretfully at the chicken leg he had already eaten. He shouldn't have eaten his chicken leg.