Chapter 101 Ancient World: Stepmother (18)

But who says he'll go just because he's paid?

“Being taken away by the officials will ruin my reputation…” Changqing pondered. “I still have to get married in the future, that will be troublesome.”

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyue quickly stepped forward.

"Brother Changqing, after I pass the imperial examination with flying colors, I... I will definitely help you out. I'll personally act as your matchmaker and introduce you to a daughter of an official..."

Changqing was still hesitant. At this moment, Li Fusheng gave him a wink, and Zhao Lianhua knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly.

"My son, I beg you, please help your brother Qingyue. He is the hope of this family. If he is ruined, I can't go on living."

This is coercion, making your own mother kowtow to you. Doesn't that shorten your lifespan?

"If you don't agree, Mom won't get up!" Zhao Lianhua's voice choked with sobs, her eyes red, but her gaze was incredibly firm.

Li Fusheng also knelt down.

"Changqing, you called me father for several years. Now, our whole family is counting on you, you..."

Changqing looked at the old and young kneeling on the ground and suddenly smiled.

This kind of scene was expected, right? Trying to put him on the hot seat? No use. Changqing remained calm and composed, without any panic. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something.

Zhao Lianhua looked up and saw it, her expression immediately changed drastically.

What is that?

It's clearly a memorial tablet, a token from my ex-husband!

Changqing sat there with a half-smile, holding the token. "Mom, if you want me to kneel before your son, of course I can't accept it. But if you want me to kneel before my deceased husband, then that's acceptable."

Then, he looked at Li Fusheng. “Uncle Fusheng, you married my father’s wife and have managed the land he left behind for so many years. You are indebted to him, so my father deserves this kneeling.”

"And you, Li Xiangling, you must have spent a lot of money learning embroidery, right? My father deserves credit for that; he contributed a lot of the land rent. It's not too much to kneel down to him, is it?"

"Li Qingyue, well, that goes without saying. Are you feeling a bit strapped for cash now? Be grateful to my dad for letting you have a few years of comfortable school life before."

With each word he spoke, the faces of the others paled. In the end, Zhao Lianhua was so frightened that she swayed and fainted.

Li Fusheng was also sweating profusely.

Li Qingyue and Li Xiangling dared not breathe loudly. Who the hell goes out carrying a spirit tablet? Isn't that just inviting ghosts into someone's home?

The whole family fell silent.

With their heads down, no one spoke.

Hearing Changqing stand up and the sound of his footsteps fading away, I actually felt relieved.

"Lianhua!"

Li Fusheng then realized what was happening and quickly helped Zhao Lianhua up.

...

When Changqing returned home, he placed the memorial tablet on the table and respectfully kowtowed.

Believe it or not, even though his father is dead, he's actually quite capable and has been a great help.

In these ancient rural areas, the words of gods and ghosts were far more effective than those of people, at least saving a lot of effort.

"Brother, on my way back, I saw the officials come to our village. What happened?"

Li Huanxi, the younger sister, appeared at the door, looking surprised.

On her way back from town, she saw several officials acting aggressively. It wasn't the time for forced labor and arresting people, so she felt something was off and quickly ran home.

"Li Qingyue committed a crime; he broke someone's leg."

Changqing calmly replied.

"good!!"

Li Huanxi exclaimed in delight.

"I was worried that he would take the imperial examination and become an official to seek revenge on us, but now it's all over. He can't take the imperial examination because he committed a crime!"

Changqing smiled and shook his head, "That's not necessarily true."

He stood up. "Let's go take a look at the village entrance."

As the two arrived at the village entrance, sure enough, they soon saw several officials walking over, followed by a large group of villagers, with the Li clan chief standing beside them, saying something.

It seems I had to ask the clan chief to intercede.

Changqing thought to himself.

In the original story, when the original owner was taken away, there wasn't such a big fuss. Some people were watching and even tried to drive Li Fusheng and Zhao Lianhua away, saying that they hadn't managed the child well and had caused trouble, which directly confirmed the original owner's fault.

The current situation—

It seems the clan leader intends to protect Li Qingyue, after all, he is one of the few scholars in the clan.

Changqing understood the situation at a glance.

As the crowd approached, sure enough, the officials did not take anyone away; in fact, they spoke to the clan chief in a fairly amicable manner.

Li Fusheng and Zhao Lianhua followed behind the clan leader, their faces extremely respectful.

Upon seeing Changqing, both of them shrank back.

"Hey, Changqing, do you know what's going on? Why did the officials go to Li Fusheng's house, and even alert the clan chief?"

As the crowd passed by, Aunt Dongzhi came out and asked with a half-smile. Many people paused and looked at her with curiosity.

Changqing immediately felt the warning looks from Li Fusheng and Zhao Lianhua.

However, he simply smiled and calmly stated what he knew.

"What else could happen? Li Qingyue got into a fight at Hongxiu Tower, broke someone's leg, and got into trouble."

The next moment, a crowd gathered around.

Changqing didn't hold back and embellished the information the system had given him. Of course, he didn't hide the fact that Li Fusheng wanted him to take the blame.

The villagers were all amazed when they heard this.

"Red Sleeve Pavilion, I've only heard of it. It's not in the town, it's in the county seat. And it's not a nice place. Why would Li Qingyue spend his money there? Are all scholars so frivolous?"

"Hehe, that's the treasury of high-ranking officials and nobles. No wonder they got into trouble if they dared to fight there."

"He even made someone take the blame! Li Fusheng has no shame! He wanted his child to take the place of him when he was doing corvée labor before, is he still playing the same trick now?"

"Zhao Lianhua, your mother, also agreed? I'm telling you, Changqing, you should never talk to your mother again. As the saying goes, even if you have ten thousand bushels of grain, you can't support a divorced mother. Besides, she has been scheming against you and harming you every time."

Changqing could only shake his head helplessly at this.

"My younger sister and I just want to live a peaceful life; we can't care about anything else."

He looked dejected and turned to leave with his sister.

People's impression of Li Fusheng's family has dropped even further. Many have made up their minds to avoid dealing with such families, otherwise they might get taken advantage of and suffer a huge loss.