It wasn't easy for Tu Haoyu to track Zhao Qingyan down to Zhao Family Village.

After Zhao Qingyan made Old Madam Tu and Madam Tu penniless in Qingyang County, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law lost their power and returned to the capital as a jade pendant.

They had planned to take their son back with them, but Tu Haoyu seemed to have suffered a shock and absolutely refused.

“Grandmother, Mother, I don’t want to go back to the capital now. I remember clearly why I left the capital in the first place.”

As long as I'm in the capital, I'm a complete wastrel.

I know I have many flaws, and I'm also very concerned about my image. Whenever my old friends contact me, I feel embarrassed to refuse.

The child wants to escape his previous environment.

Although some of our relatives are here, much like our friends in Beijing, they ultimately depend on us for their livelihood.

I still have the final say here.

Besides, now that I'm out of money, they naturally won't spend money to take me out to play.

Grandmother, Mother, you don't need to worry about me.

Although I was a bit of a slacker before, I still know how to write. In order to please my father, I think I'm pretty good at calligraphy.

Leave me a few taels of silver, enough for me to buy a table, chairs, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

When conditions permit in the future, I will move out of this house. It's better than living under someone else's roof.

If Mother feels sorry for me, she could ask someone to send me some money when she goes back, so I can buy a small courtyard someday.

As for what will happen in the future, we'll see. Maybe I'll even develop a love for reading here.

"Grandmother, Mother, you should go back now."

Tu Haoyu shared his thoughts.

Meanwhile, the pampered Madam Tu and Madam Tu were filled with panic.

"Haoyu, you must stay. Don't do it for that ungrateful little brat again."

We've been searching for so long and haven't found it yet. I guess it's probably from a village down below, definitely not from this county town.

Besides, a village girl is not allowed to enter our Vice Minister's residence.

Marrying someone of equal social standing isn't just a saying. You've only met him twice and haven't had any real contact with him. Who knows what kind of uncouth person he is?

Besides, she's incredibly irritable; otherwise, where did your injuries come from?

"If you found a woman like that, she wouldn't even qualify as a concubine; at best, she'd be a maidservant. Do you think she'd be willing?"

Madam Tu said earnestly that although in her heart her son was perfect in every way, he was not quite the kind of man every woman would want to marry.

In particular, the son said that the family should be doing alright.

Any family that cherishes its daughter would never allow her to become a concubine or a maidservant.

Tu Haoyu lowered his head and thought for a moment.

“Mother, I understand. In fact, I have thought a lot since I was beaten.”

Finding her doesn't necessarily mean marrying her. As you said, we only met a few times and there was no real affection between us. It's just that our son feels like he's under a spell and can't break free.

Perhaps the son's obsession is to find her.

Even after it was found, the son didn't know.

Don't worry about me. If my son has anything he's really struggling with, he'll go to the White Horse Temple for help.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had no choice. After all, their child was old enough that they couldn't really tie him to the carriage. So, they left ten taels of silver for Tu Haoyu and set off on their journey back to the capital.

As for how Tu Haoyu lives in Qingyang County, the mother and daughter-in-law are not worried at all. After all, their nephew is here, and they can't just ignore him.

Besides, our family isn't bankrupt; we don't lack money to pay off our debts.

Back in the capital, I can easily come up with tens of thousands of taels of silver.

However, people are often pragmatic. Once Tu Haoyu's brothers from his clan learned that he was broke, they stopped inviting him to hang out.

His uncles and aunts continued to provide him with three meals a day as usual, but they never sent him a single penny.

Logically speaking, the more magnanimous you are when someone is in trouble, the more goodwill you will gain.

However, when the relatives learned that Tu Haoyu had offended powerful figures in the capital and that Tu Gu intended to exile his son, their attitudes naturally began to change unconsciously.

Simply put, lunch will still consist of three dishes and a soup.

Previously, there would be at least two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, and the soup would be bone broth, chicken soup, or fish soup that had been simmered for several hours.

Now it's still three dishes and a soup. The two meat dishes have changed from being all meat to having two slices of meat in the vegetables. The soup is just a simple vegetable soup with a little egg drop soup occasionally.

Tu Haoyu went from feeling uncomfortable at first to accepting it calmly later on.

He went out early and returned late every day, set up a writing stall next to the busiest market in Qingyang County with tables, chairs, pens, ink, paper and inkstones.

They found a house in the slums and settled down.

Since the two ladies of the Tu family returned to the capital and removed the previous missing person notice, Zhao Qingyan has resumed her normal outings and activities.

Putting aside other things, they regularly come to the county to visit their parents, bring some food supplies, and help improve their meals.

That day, Zhao Qingyan followed Huang to Qingyang County as usual, wanting to visit the Zhao family members.

Realizing that the family didn't have much charcoal left, they took a detour to the market to buy some and deliver it to them.

When they entered the market, Zhao Qingyan and Huang were still sitting in the carriage.

When they came out, because the carriage was loaded with charcoal and they wanted to visit several more shops, the grandfather and grandson walked while the carriage was driven along the coast.

While buying candy figurines by the roadside, Tu Haoyu, who had just put down his pen and was idly looking around, saw him.

Tu Haoyu was so excited that his heart almost jumped out of his throat.

I quickly and immediately put all the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones into the book box.

"Uncle Tang, I have something to take care of here. Could you and Auntie please help me put away the tables and chairs? Thank you."

Tang Bo readily agreed, "Go ahead and do what you need to do, don't worry."

Tu Haoyu originally planned to head directly towards Zhao Qingyan, but after thinking about it, he walked in the opposite direction.

After getting out of Tang Bo's sight, he stood still and waited for Zhao Qingyan to pass by.

And so, this pursuit almost cost Tu Haoyu his life.

Three days later, Zhao Qingyan saw Tu Haoyu in Zhao Family Village.

When Tu Haoyu arrived at Zhao Family Village, he originally planned to go to Zhao Qingyan's house as soon as possible, but he was afraid of being beaten up for being a lecher.

Even with guards around, he still got whipped; now that there are no guards, getting beaten is just a matter of time.

Tu Haoyu, who was lingering and looking around at the village entrance, was spotted by the teacher from the village school.

Mr. Feng, who works at the village school, had an upset stomach today. Since he didn't have classes, he went to the village doctor and got some medicine.

On the way back, I saw a figure standing near the village school, looking towards it.