Just when Wu Baozhang felt deeply uneasy, Cheng Lu, who had come out of the Cheng family, was walking alone on Zhuque Street.
The night was shrouded in darkness, the streets were quiet and peaceful, and lanterns gradually lit up in the alleys on both sides, making the lights seem luxurious.
This is the life he wants to live.
Cheng Lu thought about it and stopped.
Cheng Chi kept chasing him, and all the valuables he had managed to bring from home and the money he had earned were slowly consumed in his repeated escapes.
But he never imagined that one day he would ask Wu Baozhang for two hundred taels of silver, and he never imagined that one day he would rely on women to make a living!
How did he become like this
Cheng Lu's eyes turned gloomy.
He turned around and walked slowly towards Xinglin Hutong.
There are two ginkgo trees planted in front of Cheng Jing's house in Xinglin Hutong.
The straight tree trunks and delicate leaves dance in the night breeze.
Cheng Lu stared at the big red Ruyi gate of the Cheng family in a daze.
Once, he stood at the door with envy on his face, thinking that one day he would pass the imperial examination, wear a brand new green official uniform, be welcomed by the steward of the Cheng family, sit in the spacious and bright flower hall, and talk respectfully to Cheng Jing... But now, this has become a dream.
He no longer had the title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in two imperial examinations), he no longer had the identity of a descendant of the Cheng family in Jiuru Lane, he no longer had the spirit of being outstanding and high-spirited... He was now just a stray dog who had been driven away by the Cheng family and had no home to return to, and whose relatives could not recognize him.
He won't just give up like that!
He won't let Cheng Chi and Zhou Shaojin go just like that!
He won't let Cheng Xu have a good life!
Cheng Lu turned around and quickly left Xinglin Hutong.
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In the east courtyard of the Cheng family in Xinglin Hutong, Min Jia took the red tray with gold-painted crabapple flowers from the maid Su Yue and whispered, "Is the master still reading?"
Su Yue nodded and whispered, "Master, you haven't moved for two hours. I asked the kitchen to cook this lotus seed and lily soup. Grandma, please persuade Master to eat some. If you keep going like this, I'm afraid you'll die before the imperial examination."
She was brought from the Min family by Min Jia. She had seen a lot of how the Min family's children studied hard and took part in the imperial examinations.
Min Jia nodded and said, "You can take a break! I'll bring in the lotus seed and lily soup."
Su Yue nodded and whispered to Min Jia: "Madam came over at noon and talked to Master for a long time behind closed doors. After Madam left, Master's face became very ugly. Grandma, be careful."
Min Jia couldn't help but frown.
As a mother-in-law, her son is already married and sometimes she is too controlling.
"I understand!" she responded, gently pushed the door open and walked in.
Ever since returning from Cheng Sheng's baby's full-month ceremony that day, Cheng Xu hasn't spoken to her again, let alone slept in the same bed with her.
She originally thought that it was not her fault, and if he wanted to be angry, then let him be angry, but she could not resist her wet nurse's advice: "Even if you have ideas to stabilize the country, so what? You and the master are already husband and wife, and the couple should live in harmony. Even if you can't live in harmony, you should respect each other. If you do this, it will only make your mother-in-law unhappy and your husband alienated..."
Min Jia thought that it had been less than half a year since she married into the Cheng family, and there was still emptiness and silence around her. After a little thought, she finally compromised.
But what she didn't expect was that her lowering of eyebrows and pleasing eyes did not make Cheng Xu soften. Instead, he looked at her coldly, pointed to a corner of the desk, and said, "Just put the things down."
All right! It was her fault to lead Zhou Shaojin to meet him. She shouldn't have tested him in that situation. If there was anything, they should have talked it out behind closed doors. She tolerated his dissatisfaction with her.
Min Jia lowered her head and placed the lotus seed and lily soup on the desk.
Then she heard Cheng Xu's voice again: "Don't let those maids and old women send things to the study room in the future. This is a place for reading. It's not nice to fill the whole room with the smell of food. And this sweet soup, wherever you put it, it will be sticky..."
Min Jia forced herself not to drop the tray on the ground.
He had an affair with Zhou Shaojin, and it wasn't her fault that he betrayed Zhou Shaojin. He had the ability to resist the marriage with his own parents!
Why take your anger out on her!
Why should I give her such a bad look
Min Jia couldn't help but sneer, and said, "If you have any dissatisfaction, just tell mother-in-law directly. When to serve you tea, when to serve you snacks, and how many meals a day are all decided by mother-in-law, and we are just following the rules! After all, I am a daughter-in-law, and I am new to the family. I don't know what the rules are at home. I am sorry that my husband has been wronged!"
Her sarcastic words made Cheng Xu look up with surprise.
Min Jia's expression became even colder, and she said, "This is lotus seed and lily soup. Would you like some, sir? If not, I'll have the maid take it back to the kitchen."
Cheng Xu was enraged.
At noon, his mother came to nag for a long time, saying that Fourth Uncle Chi had already become an official, and he had to pass the next exam no matter what, otherwise he would be too far away from Fourth Uncle Chi. What about Grandmother favoring Chaoyangmen? With Fourth Uncle Chi's methods, Grandmother's private money would sooner or later be coaxed by Fourth Uncle Chi to give birth to the eldest grandson quickly. When the time comes, if Grandmother is happy, she might take out thousands or tens of thousands of taels from her own private money to give them... He was very annoyed when he heard it, and said, "Don't you want me to take the top spot in the exam? You bother me with these messy trivial matters all day long. How can I pass the exam?" Only then did he successfully stop his mother from talking.
But he didn't expect that just after he drove his mother away, another Min came.
His face immediately turned long, and he said, "What do you want to say? You are a lady from a noble family, and the descendant of a famous family. Can't you just say what you want to say openly? Do you feel comfortable with such innuendos and slanders? Do you think you are so powerful?"
Min Jia was so angry that she was shaking all over.
What does he mean
Considering that Zhou Shaojin is not a lady from a famous family, does that mean everything she does is hypocritical
Min Jia's eyes flashed with a haze, and she said, "Cheng Jiashan, I think you are making innuendos and accusing others of something. Otherwise, why are you feeling guilty? I just asked you to tell your mother-in-law if you are dissatisfied, but you brought up my background. Why, you don't like my background? Then who do you like?" She paused and said, "Is it your little aunt Zhou Shaojin? She is so beautiful, like a flower. She is so good no matter how you look at her. But so what? She still married me, and she still married your fourth uncle..."
Her words were like a jab in his chest.
"Shut up!" Cheng Xu shouted in a low voice, his eyes red. "Do you know what you are saying? Is this what a lady from a noble family should say? Get out of here. I don't want to hear such words again!"
He actually dared to chase me away!
No one has ever chased Min Jia away since she was a child.
She had never suffered such humiliation before.
"You chased me away?!" Min Jia glared at Cheng Xu, her eyes full of anger, "Was I wrong? Didn't you apologize to Zhou in front of me? What? You can set a fire and I won't light a lamp? You abandoned Zhou, and we can't even say a word..."
Cheng Xu started laughing.
Thinking of the letter Min Jia asked her maid Su Yue to bring her, saying that she was feeling a little unwell and did not want to alarm the elders at home, so she asked him to go in and bring her out... he happened to meet Zhou Shaojin.
Min Jia was startled and stopped talking.
Cheng Xu's face was as pale as paper, with half of his mouth corners raised, as if he was smiling, but the coldness in his eyes made that smile full of sarcasm.
It made her feel frightened just by looking at it.
Min Jiaqing couldn't help but take a step back.
Cheng Xu stood up, slowly walked out from behind the desk, walked to Min Jia's side, looked straight into her eyes, and whispered: "Do you really want to know what happened between Zhou Shaojin and me? Do you want to know if I still miss Zhou Shaojin? Do you want to know if I will rekindle my relationship with her..."
The look he gave Min Jia was cold and hateful, causing Min Jia to shudder and murmur, "No, don't tell me..."
Cheng Xu laughed loudly upon hearing this, but his eyes were still as cold as before. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I'll tell you... I've always admired Shao Jin, but my mother disagreed. My cousins thought this was an opportunity, so they drugged my wine and then found a way to invite Shao Jin to the rockery cave in our garden. I vaguely felt that the person was Shao Jin, so I wanted to make it a fait accompli with her so that my family would have to agree to my marriage with Shao Jin... So, I almost raped Shao Jin! Raped, raped..." As he spoke, the pain buried deep in his heart burst out like a flood, crashing into his rational dam. His expression was full of pain and regret. "Don't you want to know why I apologized to her? This is the fact! There is no so-called one who owed whom! There is no so-called private giving... Are you satisfied now? Satisfied!"
“No, no, no.” Min Jia’s face turned pale. She looked at Cheng Xu as if she had seen a ghost. She took several steps back until her waist hit the armrest of the armchair. Then she stopped. “You are lying! How could this be? You are the top scholar in Nanzhili, you are a scholar, you are a child of Jiuru Lane in Jinling... How could you do such a thing! How could you do such a thing... No, it’s impossible, you are lying to me..."
"Lie to you?!" Cheng Xu sneered, "Don't you always want to know the truth? Now that you know the truth, you can't stand it, so you think I'm lying to you. That's fine. Just think I lied to you. You can deceive yourself into thinking that Zhou Shaojin and I have an affair, and continue to deceive yourself into thinking that I have someone in my heart... Aren't you a lady from a famous family, and also famous for your virtue? My mother insisted on marrying you as her daughter-in-law because of your virtue. Now that something like this happened, you swallowed your tears, felt wronged, and tried to be perfect. Isn't it just the right time to fulfill your reputation as a virtuous woman?"
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Hey guys, today's update!
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※(To be continued)