Chapter 81: Subversion Everyone knows I draw erotic pictures now! ...

"So that's how it is." Dong Wenyuan sighed deeply, regret evident in his brows. He said to Qingduo and the other two, "I've heard about that lawsuit before. I had my suspicions about Sailinfu from the beginning, but I never imagined that he would actually drive someone to their death for just a few dozen taels of silver. Alas!"

At a nearby tea stall, the teacups in front of him were steaming, just like his endless sigh. Dong Wenyuan continued:

“I never expected it to turn out like this. This method was taught to me by a friend. Many of them buy books this way, one by one, and have never had any problems, so I felt comfortable doing it! Who knew he would refuse to pay!”

"Is what everyone does right?" Lu Nong's words resonated deeply.

Dong Wenyuan was taken aback, then said awkwardly, "Don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to defend myself. I was indeed wrong in this matter. If it weren't for us buyers, Sailinfu wouldn't still be able to do this business. Since things have come to this, I will do my best to compensate the mother and son."

"What? After all these two things, Sailin is still able to run his business?" Qingduo asked in surprise.

"It shouldn't have any impact. A friend even said the other day that he wanted to buy a few more poems so he could show off at a poetry gathering!"

"A poetry gathering?"

“Indeed,” Dong Wenyuan said, “a poetry gathering is being held in Wuzhou City.”

"The imperial examination is just around the corner, and everyone wants to take this opportunity to shine and maybe even gain the favor of some high-ranking official. My friend said that Sailinfu has inside information and knows the scope of the exam questions in advance, but he only sells poems prepared by ghostwriters. A single poem is not cheap to begin with, and you have to buy them together, so it will cost at least a hundred."

Zhu Yi said sarcastically, "No wonder! Even without the bookstore business, he still lives a leisurely and comfortable life. It turns out he's still doing his old trade!"

"Outrageous!" Qingduo slammed her hand on the table, spilling some tea in the process. She said angrily, "He either stole someone else's work or forged a reputation for talent! Either way, it's a fraudulent act and a plunder!"

"No, I can't let him succeed!" she said angrily, when suddenly a brilliant idea flashed into her mind.

"Ha!" Qingduo stood with her arms crossed, her eyes full of eager anticipation. "Since he likes to take away other people's opportunities, then I'll let him taste what it's like to have his opportunities taken away!"

She looked at Dong Wenyuan: "Didn't you want to make amends to Wu Yan and her son? Now there's an opportunity to do so."

We need your help.

*

A gentle breeze blew away the remaining ash from the incense sticks, and the incense burned to its last flame. Shen Bingyan put down her pen, and the people watching below could no longer contain themselves, their discussions instantly amplified.

"I've finished writing! But in terms of speed, I'm nowhere near as fast as the eldest son of the Fang family!"

"You mean Fang Wenjun? Which Fang family?"

"Which Fang family could it be? Tsk tsk tsk, never mind, you don't often handle writing implements, so of course you wouldn't know. It's the Fang family of 'Dianmoxuan,' the main stationery store in Wuzhou City!"

"Just say what you want, why are you insulting people? What's so great about his son? Everyone knows Boss Fang is blind! And he's even selling stationery!"

"Although Mr. Fang is illiterate, his son is a child prodigy! I heard that he could speak before he was a year old, and by the age of seven, he could recite three hundred poems by heart..."

“He must be twenty by now, right?” another person calculated with their fingers. “Well, he can recite over nine hundred poems now!”

"Yes..." Before he could finish speaking, the person realized what he meant and nudged him with their elbow, "Do you want to hear it or not? If not, I'm not putting up with this!"

The people around them were watching the two bickering with amusement when the emcee on stage cleared his throat and announced loudly, "Please be quiet, everyone. The result of the competition is decided. The winner is Young Master Fang Wenjun!"

Before Fang Wenjun could even step forward to give her speech, a chorus of discussion arose from the audience.

"Could it be pre-arranged? The Fang family is so rich!"

"It's also possible that this competition was specially organized to make his son stand out! Hey, you have to admit, the Fang family is really generous!"

"That's not necessarily true. Maybe he's really talented. Look how quickly he composed a poem on the spot!"

"What's so strange about that? Maybe they already knew the question, so of course they'd be fast."

Rumors spread like wildfire, causing a great commotion throughout the venue.

"Hey, everyone, calm down, calm down!" Seeing that things were getting out of hand, the emcee hurriedly said loudly, "This written test was absolutely fair and impartial. The questions were all impromptu, created on the spot by the two gentlemen, and there was absolutely no bias!"

"That's hard to say!"

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted loudly. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young girl dressed in a bright red outfit. She had her hair styled in double buns and was heroic and spirited, with a lively and flamboyant demeanor. She looked exactly like a female knight-errant.

This person was Qingduo, with Lu Nong standing beside her. Zhu Yi stood behind them, vigilantly observing left and right. He was protecting them.

Qingduo pointed directly at the stage: "Who knows if you came up with the questions on the spot, or if you leaked them beforehand!"

"If they have nothing to hide, why don't the two of them have another contest? We can all set the questions, and the truth will be immediately clear."

The emcee wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve and hurriedly explained, "How can that be? The result is already in, we don't need to prove anything."

Qingduo sneered, "If you wouldn't dare, then there must be something fishy going on!"

Ladies and gentlemen, Qingduo leaped onto the stage, pulling out a stack of papers from her bosom. The papers were covered in tiny writing, containing the poetry competition topics she had obtained from Dong Wenyuan. She held up the papers and proclaimed loudly, "This stack of poems in my hand is precisely the work I purchased from Sai Linfu, the former manager of Shouzhen Hall. The content here largely matches the topic of this poetry competition. If the topic were truly impromptu, how could it be such a 'coincidence'?"

"With the same topic, there are only two possibilities: either the person who set the topic was Sailinfu himself, or he was in the know and had someone write the poem for him in advance, engaging in a secret transaction! In either case, how many people on stage are truly talented? Disrupting the competition and cheating is an outrageous injustice!"

"It appears to be a fair competition, but in reality, it's nothing more than a show to decorate the lives of those who are rich but incompetent!"

Qingduo was filled with indignation: "Many people in this poetry gathering are just ordinary people like us. We have no connections or powerful backers, and no money to pave our way. The only thing we can rely on is our own talent! But now, even this meager reliance has been turned into a business by them, a commodity to be traded, and they are manipulating us at will! The real ones will never have a chance to rise up, while the fake ones are flaunting their talents. If we let them continue to be arrogant, is there any justice left in this world?"

"Dear grandparents, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, which of our families doesn't have ambitious students? Even if we don't have any now, who can guarantee that we won't in the future? If we remain silent in the face of injustice, who can guarantee that our relatives and descendants will be able to shine under such injustice in the future?"

"Today's indifference may lead to tomorrow's disaster!"

"We want to protest, we want to shout, we want to speak out for students, for our families, for our future, and for fairness and justice!" Qingduo raised her arm and shouted firmly.

Her impassioned speech immediately caused an uproar among the audience, with people echoing her sentiments from all sides, turning the entire venue into a chaotic mess. Some even shouted indignantly, "Liars! They're all liars! Give us justice!"

The emcee shouted sternly, "Who are you? How dare you come here to cause trouble! Guards! Arrest him!"

Several burly men lunged at Qingduo in response, but Zhu Yi quickly leaped in front of her, shielding her tightly behind him. He kicked down one of the men who tried to pull her away, and another who tried to approach from the left was also punched to the ground. The remaining men stopped, looking at each other, hesitant to move forward.

Zhu Yi shouted, "In broad daylight, in front of everyone, you actually tried to lay a hand on a little girl! What kind of heroes are you! Today, let alone my duty to maintain order in the government, even if I were in charge, I would teach you a lesson to a bunch of cowardly bullies who prey on the weak!"

The tension was palpable, and a conflict seemed imminent. Enraged, many in the crowd began climbing the platform to aid Zhu Yi. Just then, someone shouted:

"stop!"

This shout did not stop the angry crowd. Suddenly, a group of black-clad guards with swords rushed out from the crowd. They were well-trained and quickly divided the crowd into two groups. This sudden change startled everyone on and off the stage, and they all looked up in surprise. Instantly, there was complete silence.

The guards stood on either side of the crowd, forming a human wall, and made way for an old man to walk out slowly, with an air of composure.

"Uncle Liao?" Qingduo blurted out.

The visitor was none other than Liao Pingju, the Minister of Rites who had retired to his hometown. He walked to the front of the stage and said in a calm tone, "I haven't had enough of the two talented scholars' excellent works. I would like to hear another one."

"Since you two are both truly talented, why not compose another poem?"

The master of ceremonies was a little flustered and hurriedly said with a smile, "It is a blessing for Lord Liao and his two companions to enjoy the meal. Since you have such an elegant interest, why not move to Fuyuanju? I will arrange a banquet for you right away and invite the two talented scholars to write poems to entertain you."

"No need," Liao Pingju raised his hand to stop them, and said slowly, "Let them compose poems on the spot, in front of all the people of Wuzhou City!"

The emcee's expression changed drastically, and he was about to say something more, but Liao Pingju ignored him and looked up at the two of them, saying, "I have a question I would like to ask you two for your guidance on. When I left the capital years ago, it happened to be snowing in the city. Why don't you two write a five-character regulated poem on the theme of 'Looking at the remaining snow on Zhongnan Mountain'?"

As the incense stick was lit again, everyone held their breath and waited for the result. The two people on the stage, however, adopted different postures.

Shen Bingyan stood still, gazing calmly at the papers on the shore.

Fang Wenjun, on the contrary, paced back and forth on the stage, sometimes pausing to ponder, and sometimes suddenly having a flash of inspiration, he turned around, picked up his pen and wrote quickly, muttering a few words to himself. In an instant, his brows furrowed into a knot, and he picked up his pen again and scribbled it out. He repeated this several times, and several crumpled pieces of paper were left on the side of his desk.

The competition resumed on stage, just as Qingduo had hoped. However, she was very nervous. She secretly nudged Zhu Yi on stage and whispered, "Brother Shen, why haven't you started writing yet?"

"How should I know! This kid isn't actually incompetent, he's just pretending, right?" Zhu Yi whispered back.

"No way, Sister Lu Nong said he's very capable. Could it be that he's carefully choosing his words to impress Uncle Liao?" Qing Duo guessed.

With only one incense stick left, Qingduo was so anxious she was shaking her leg. Lu Nong, sitting below the stage, was also anxious. She stood on tiptoe and looked up at the stage, just as Shen Bingyan looked up and their eyes met. Lu Nong's eyes lit up, she suppressed her worry and nodded to him, her eyes filled with unwavering faith.

Shen Bingyan stared at her for a long time, smiled slightly, picked up his brush and wrote the poem in one stroke, then presented it to Liao Pingju.

Liao Pingju glanced at it and asked suspiciously, "Why are there only four lines?"

“In my opinion, the four lines have already expressed the poetic meaning to the fullest extent, and there is no need to add a single word,” Shen Bingyan said calmly.

The crowd erupted in commotion. One student exclaimed, "He still has eight lines left! Why isn't he writing anymore? Isn't that giving up?"

The emcee shouted, "This does not meet the requirements; the outcome is already clear!"

Liao Pingju glanced at him, and the master of ceremonies wisely shut his mouth, taking over the poem and reciting: "The shady slopes of Zhongnan Mountain are beautiful, with snow piled up at the edge of the clouds. The forest reveals a clear sky after the rain, while the city grows colder at dusk."

"Concise and to the point, with a complete artistic conception and a lingering aftertaste, it is indeed a masterpiece!" Liao Pingju stroked his beard and laughed. "In that case, there is no need to be limited by the number of sentences."

He nodded with admiration and said, "He has both talent and courage, which is truly rare."

Shen Bingyan bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Lord Liao."

He turned and walked up to Qingduo, bowing deeply once again: "Thank you for standing up for us scholars and seeking justice for us."

All eyes were on Qingduo, and everyone applauded and cheered for her. Qingduo blushed with excitement and quickly returned the greeting, saying, "Upholding justice is what I, the heroine of Changying, should do!"

Liao Pingju glanced at Fang Wenjun. By this time, the incense had burned out, and Fang Wenjun still hadn't handed over her poem. Facing the accusations of the crowd, he lowered his head in shame.

Liao Pingju turned to the master of ceremonies and said solemnly, "Since you are going to hold a poetry gathering, you should do so openly and honestly. How dare you do such a deceitful thing in front of the entire city? You even tried to fool me just now. You are utterly shameless!"

"This young lady is righteous and has exposed your dirty deeds. In broad daylight, you still dare to lay a hand on her? How dare you! Today, I, this old man, will fight against this unjust practice!"

"Guards!" Liao Pingju shouted, "Tie them up and take them to the authorities. Tell them I ordered them to find evidence of fabrication and to recover ill-gotten gains!"

"Seven days from now, I will re-organize the Wuzhou Poetry Gathering, so that all the talented people can express their feelings and show their talents!"

In an instant, thunderous cheers erupted from the crowd, praising Liao Pingju and the heroine Changying endlessly. Qingduo looked at the cheering crowd, her blood boiling with excitement.

This decision was very gratifying. Qingduo was unaware that Shen Bingyan had appeared at the poetry gathering. She never expected that she could kill two birds with one stone, both ruining Sailinfu's plans and enhancing Shen Bingyan's reputation. She couldn't be more pleased with herself.

She floated home in a daze, and as soon as she entered the house, she rushed past the beaded curtain and shouted, "Qingqing! I've done something amazing again!"

The room was quiet, and no one answered.

The crisp sound of the beaded curtains clattering echoed incessantly, like a series of knocks, and Qingduo realized that Zeng Zhengqing had already left.

The joy of freshly baked food instantly cooled down. Qingduo stood motionless in the room as if frozen in place.

*

Sailinfu slammed the teacup in his hand to the ground, and shards of porcelain flew everywhere.

The man kneeling on the ground trembled, barely daring to breathe, and forced himself to continue reporting: "That Tang Qingduo somehow learned of our plan and gathered dozens of shadow puppeteers to sing and dance with her at the poetry gathering, ruining the competition. Now, storytellers outside are turning this into a story, and you can hear it in taverns and teahouses..." His voice gradually lowered.

"Useless!" Serinfu roared in fury. "You couldn't even stop a little girl, a few lousy actors and storytellers! What use are you to me?"

“We could have controlled the situation, but that lord suddenly appeared, and how dare we disobey his orders…”

"Shut up! You piece of trash!" Serin kicked him to the ground, still not satisfied, and got up to kick him a few more times. "You dare to talk back? You think you can ride on my head? I'll teach you to be insolent, insolent!"

"You've ruined my plans! Go explain this to Boss Fang! How am I supposed to explain this to him? You useless piece of trash!" Sailinfu became angrier with each curse, and he increased the pressure on his foot.

One of the men clutched his head and cried out in pain. Then another man rushed in, clutching an envelope: "Manager! This was sent by someone!"

Upon hearing this, Serin stopped what he was doing, angrily snatched the envelope, and roughly tore it open. When his eyes swept over the contents of the letter, he first showed surprise, then disbelief and astonishment. After a moment, the corners of his mouth slowly twisted upwards, emitting a chilling, sinister laugh.

"To think that I've managed to find such leverage over you... This is fate decreeing my demise!" His face was shrouded in an icy, gloomy aura.

"I'll show you that anyone who betrays or defies me will die a horrible death!"

*

Qingduo made a heavy final stroke, and a complete character "卿" appeared on the paper.

Since Zeng Zhengqing left home, Qingduo has only written one stroke each day. By the time she finishes writing the first "Qing," ten days have already passed. He promised to return as soon as possible, and perhaps before she finishes writing the second "Qing," the two of them will be reunited.

Thinking of this, Qingduo's heart was filled with joy again. She picked up the food box that Fangqing had prepared and went to her father's place to learn painting as usual.

Since her paintings have become increasingly popular, she has been eager to learn more about painting, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, so she has never missed a session these days.

She had only been gone a short while when someone greeted her: "Is Lady Changying going out?"

“Yes!” Qingduo replied with a smile.

She walked up to the steamed bun shop. "Oh my, isn't this Lady Changying? Thanks to your help the other day, my daughter finally got a divorce from that villain!" The shopkeeper quickly picked up a few steaming hot buns, wrapped them in oil paper, and said, "They're fresh out of the steamer, take them and eat!"

After walking a few steps, Qingduo couldn't resist the aroma of the steamed buns. She opened the oil paper package and took a big bite. The meat was plump and overflowed unexpectedly, scalding her tongue.

"Huff, huff—" Qingduo stuck out her tongue like a puppy and frantically fanned herself with her right hand. Just when she was in a sorry state, another scholar came over and bowed to her.

"Huh?" Qingduo asked, her words mumbled.

"My name is Dong He. You may not recognize me, but I will never forget you!" The scholar seemed very excited. "Thanks to you for exposing the machinations of those villains, we have a chance to compete again, and a fair and just stage! This is a rebirth for us!"

"I can't stand to see injustice! Of course I have to step in when I see such unfair things!" Qingduo's eyes shone brightly as she humbly said, "It's a heroine's duty to help those in need, you don't need to worry about it!"

Dong He earnestly said, "That won't do. I heard that the novel 'Changying Heroine' has illustrations created by you. I, no, not only me, but all of us who have benefited from your kindness have bought the novel 'Changying Heroine' as a token of our support."

"We also heard that there was a shadow puppet show, and we originally wanted to go and support it, but it was so crowded that we could only go and watch it later."

"It's clear that everyone is captivated by your charm!"

Qingduo felt light and airy, as if she had suddenly grown wings and was being carried by clouds into the sky. There were cheers and applause everywhere, as if the monks and nuns in the temple were chanting "Amitabha" instead of "Changying Heroine".

From this perspective, is "Duomiao" far away?

Several days passed, and Qingduo was still dizzy. She felt like a bonfire, with everyone holding hands, singing, dancing, and cheering around her. The fire burned brighter and brighter, illuminating the entire city of Wuzhou.

Then a gust of wind blew by, initially having no effect, but in an instant the wind grew stronger, and countless white scraps of paper were swept up by the gale. The papers were printed with images of men and women deeply in love, and the signature at the bottom was clearly written as the four characters "Changying Heroine".

The flames leaped high, then abruptly subsided. The cheers gradually faded into silence, and finally the fire died down, leaving only a wisp of smoke rising. The ashes emitted a pungent, burnt smell, making it hard to imagine that this pile of ashes had once been so bright.

When the erotic paintings drawn by the heroine Changying were spreading like wildfire throughout the city, Qingduo locked herself in her room, crawled into bed, and covered her ears tightly with her hands. In this way, she could not hear those vulgar words, nor the harsh words that called her "shameless" and "disgraceful to women."

But so many chaotic voices still echoed in my heart.

He lamented, "If only I hadn't been so greedy as to try and sell it for a few extra coins, and if only I hadn't drawn those erotic pictures! I wouldn't be in this situation today! This is all retribution for my greed!"

He was resentful: "I've done so many good deeds, and just because of one stain, my past reputation is ruined?"

She complained, "I need to survive too! I just wanted to earn more money so I could eat better food..."

"Why is it considered elegant for men to paint, but vulgar for me to paint?"

Tears welled up in Qingduo's eyes, and her heart ached. She desperately hoped someone could come and save her; she couldn't bear it any longer!

"Qingqing..." Qingduo's tears fell in a "plop plop" sound. Just saying this name made her mouth taste bitter. "Why haven't you come back yet?"

"I need you..."

No!

He can't come back now!

A thought suddenly flashed through my mind: if Qingqing knew what I had done, would she still acknowledge me as her wife?

Qingduo shivered, a chill running down her spine. How could Qingqing, who was so upright and honest, tolerate someone with such a tarnished reputation?

A chill ran through Qingduo's heart, her clothes were soaked with cold sweat, her body trembled uncontrollably, and her teeth chattered.

She could no longer bear it and covered her face, sobbing uncontrollably. Helplessness washed over her like a tidal wave, engulfing her shoulders and head. She couldn't breathe anymore; she was about to drown in the sea of ​​despair.

"Qingduo!" someone called out to her.

"Qingduo!" Someone grabbed the blanket covering her head.

Qingduo looked up, trembling, and through her teary eyes, she saw that familiar figure.

She let the man pull her up and hold her in his arms. The embrace was warm, like melting sunlight, and the strength flowed into her limbs through their skin.

She was finally not facing the battlefield alone.

Qingduo could no longer hold back, and heart-wrenching cries filled the room.

*

"Master, you haven't had a proper rest since you left. Now that this matter is settled, why don't you rest for a few more days and take a break before going back?"

"No need. Time is of the essence. We should set off back today, the sooner the better!" Zeng Zhengqing said firmly. He ordered, "Prepare the horses," and then got up and walked out.

He had just stepped out of his room when he noticed a light drizzle falling outside the window. The raindrops wove a delicate net, but it couldn't contain his heavy longing.

He opened the oil-paper umbrella that Qingduo had painted herself, staring at the ancient cypress trees on the umbrella as he walked. Azhao was still waiting for him at home, and he had to go back quickly.

Traveling day and night by land and water, a letter from his younger brother arrived halfway through the journey. Zeng Zhengqing was even more anxious upon learning of the rumors circulating throughout the city. He wished he could fly back to Qingduo's side immediately to accompany her through this difficult time and protect her.

Unfortunately, the weather turned against them, with continuous rain and muddy, difficult roads. Zeng Zhengqing made a quick decision, ordering his men to slowly return with the goods, while he himself selected a few trusted confidants to rush back day and night.

Fortunately, the rain finally stopped on the day we arrived in Wuzhou, though the sky remained overcast.

The chill after the rain, mixed with a cold dampness, pierced his bones like needles. Zeng Zhengqing, disregarding the need to rest, galloped on horseback with unwavering determination. Strangely, as he approached the mansion, he felt no relief, but rather a growing unease, a heavy, oppressive weight.

When Zeng Zhengqing saw Zeng Zhengji and the butler He Bo at the gate in the distance, his heart pounded. He reined in the horses and asked in a low voice, "What are you all doing here? Where's Qingduo?"

Zhengji and Uncle He exchanged a glance, both looking embarrassed.

"What happened to her?!" Zeng Zhengqing felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He gripped the reins tightly and asked sharply.

"Brother...sister-in-law..." Zeng Zhengji saw that his brother's face was deathly pale and forced himself to speak.

She's gone.

-----------------------

The author writes: The shady slopes of Zhongnan Mountain are beautiful, with snow piled high at the edge of the clouds. The forest reveals a clear, bright color after the rain, while the city grows colder with the approaching dusk. —A poem by Zu Yong, Tang Dynasty

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