The villagers who heard Tang Suxiang's shouts gathered around and saw an old man in a Taoist robe with a blood-covered face running out of the inner room while shouting that evil spirits were killing people.
Upon seeing many villagers, the master suddenly became excited and began to complain to them.
"The eldest daughter of this family is an evil spirit. I kindly performed a ritual to exorcise the evil and bring good fortune to her family, but she ruined everything and even tried to kill me!"
Song Yinhua chased after him, shouting, "Quickly, catch him! He's a swindler who cheats people out of money and sex! Don't let him get away!"
"Nonsense!" The master looked righteous and awe-inspiring, his nose hairs practically sticking out of his nose. "Would a kind and righteous master like me do something like bullying a little girl?"
"Your words are blasphemous!"
"You shouldn't say such things to an upright master like me!"
"Am I that kind of person? Do you think I look like the kind of bad person who cheats people out of money and sex?"
"This master sacrificed his blessings and lifespan to help so many people in your village exorcise evil and increase their fortune. Other families are grateful to this master, but your family is ungrateful and even blasphemes against this master, beating him like this!"
"If I, this master, were to do anything to bully a young girl, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"
"Just look at my righteous face, and you'll know how kind and upright I am. I disdain swindling money and sex, and I would never do anything like bullying a young girl!"
"Look at my face! How many people can have such an upright and righteous face as mine!"
The master was so angry that his nose hairs twitched and he spat out saliva.
Song Yinhua dropped the shovel in her hand and went to grab the master, saying, "I'm going to arrest you right now and report you to the authorities. Let's see if you can still spout these fallacies when we get to the police station!"
The master was so frightened that he quickly ran outside, shouting, "I, the master, disdain to lower myself to the level of an evil spirit like you! Your family is just waiting for a terrible disaster!"
A village woman ran into the inner room and saw Qiao Guilan wiping away tears while pulling a thin blanket to cover Song Caixing's exposed calves.
Some people advised against making a big deal out of it, saying that the girl was only sixteen years old and if this got out, she would be too ashamed to face anyone and would never be able to get married due to gossip.
Even if she manages to get married, she won't marry into a good family.
Qiao Guilan ran to the main room and grabbed Song Yinhua tightly, preventing her from chasing after the master.
“Cai Xing’s reputation is important. If this gets out, how will Xiao Si’er face people in the future!”
"Mom, let go! Don't let that swindler get away! He didn't succeed!"
Qiao Guilan refused to let go, saying, "Yinhua, let bygones be bygones. Our family won't pursue this anymore, so don't bother."
"Mom, how can you be so confused?" Song Yinhua shook off Qiao Guilan's hand. "That fake master has deceived a lot of people in the village. He didn't succeed with Caixing, but how could he not succeed with other people's daughters? As long as we catch him, the things this charlatan has done are enough to put him in jail for several years. We can't let him go like this!"
Other villagers suddenly stepped forward to stop Song Yinhua, preventing her from chasing after the pursuer.
They were all afraid that their daughters or female relatives would get involved in this matter, and that it would be embarrassing if word got out.
-
The news of Song Caixing spread like wildfire.
By evening, the whole village knew.
The middle-aged and elderly women in the village sat around the old locust tree at the village entrance, discussing the matter animatedly.
The version has long since become unrecognizable.
Some say Song Caixing actively seduced the master, while others say that Song Caixing had already lost her virginity to the master. Tang Suxiang gleefully seized on that sordid affair in bed as a joke, as if these people had witnessed it firsthand.
The news of the master's ritual also reached Tangzhuang.
After getting his face covered in blood, the master went to the town's clinic for treatment and then went to the Tang family to ask for money.
The two parties had agreed on a price beforehand, and the Tang family had already paid most of it. The remaining balance would be paid after the deal was completed.
Now that the master is injured, he's making outrageous demands, asking the Tang family to pay him a thousand yuan upfront, or he'll expose his family if they don't pay.
Tang Su'e secretly advised him to treat him to good wine and food, then haggle over the price while he was drunk, say some nice things, get him to pay the balance, and give him a few extra dollars to get rid of him.
Anyway, their plan succeeded.
Song Yinhua became the infamous Camellia Girl in the village, and Song Caixing's reputation was also ruined.
They made a profit.
After a few drinks, the master started boasting, talking at length about how many young virgins and married women he had slept with in Songzhuang Village, how many men he had cuckolded, and how the parents, grandparents, and in-laws of those young virgins and married women had begged him for money.
Zhou Qiaoyun brought the freshly cooked dishes to the table, but Wang Xiaowei stopped her.
Old Master Tang instructed that no one else was allowed to approach, and no one else was allowed to hear about these matters.
Only Tang Youliang (son), Tang Dafei (grandson), and Tang Su'e (sixth daughter) and her family were allowed to be present.
Wang Xiaowei took the groceries from Zhou Qiaoyun and went into the living room of the main house. He then closed the door behind him, leaving Zhou Qiaoyun outside.
The wine in the master's glass was almost empty again. Wang Xiaowei put the dishes on the table and offered to pour more wine, acting as if he knew a lot about drinking culture.
The drunken fortune teller grabbed Wang Yunyun's hand and started making lewd jokes, praising her for her fair skin and youthful appearance, and saying he would read her palm to bring her good fortune.
Wang Xiaowei almost threw the hot dish that had just been served at the table at the master's face, but was stopped by his elder brother Wang Laifu, who pulled his younger sister Wang Yunyun aside and sat in the middle to keep him company.
The master insisted on reading Wang Yunyun's palm.
“When my little sister was born, we consulted a master who said she was a lucky star descended to earth, so there’s no need to consult another master.”
"No other master can see as accurately as me. I can not only see things, but also perform rituals to increase blessings. You step aside, I'll take a look at this young lady and help her increase her good fortune."
Old Master Tang was furious. "My Yunyun is the lucky star of our Tang family. You scoundrel, if you keep spewing such foul language, get out of here!"
"Oh, old man, you're getting angry already?"
The master had been beaten during the day, and the Tang family was trying to renege on their debt, so he was still furious.
"You asked me to go to Songzhuang Village to frame Song Erzhuang's eldest daughter for being immoral and promiscuous, and you even asked me to use the pretense of exorcising evil spirits and bringing good fortune to seduce his daughter. You didn't think anything of that, but when I mentioned helping your granddaughter bring good fortune, you turned against me?"
Old Master Tang angrily retorted, "Can Song Laoda's granddaughter compare to my granddaughter? My granddaughter Yunyun is a kind, virtuous, and self-respecting woman who will marry a rich man and have a life of wealth. She's not like Song Yinhua, that slut who cheated on her husband!"
"And who is Boss Song?" the master asked, drunk.
Tang Youliang said, "Song Laoda was Song Yinhua's grandfather, and he has been dead for twenty-five years."
"What bad luck! They asked me to stay and drink, and then they brought up dead people!" The master coughed up some phlegm and spat it onto the food scraps on the table. He could barely stand.
The Tang family disapproved of the master's slovenliness and lack of manners.
"Give him the money and send him away quickly!" Old Master Tang said impatiently.
The master saw the money Tang Youliang handed him, counted it, and said, "Did I miscount? This is hardly any money. Are you giving it to a beggar?"
Old Tang: "We agreed on a price, and I've given you a few extra dollars. Take it if you want it, or leave the money and get lost."
"Old man, are you trying to discard me after I've served my purpose?" The master drunkenly walked up to Wang Yunyun. "One thousand yuan, not a penny less. If you don't give it to me, I'll go to Songzhuang Village and spread the word that your family hired me to frame Song Erzhuang's family!"
After the master finished speaking, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, he suddenly pounced on Wang Yunyun, and Wang Xiaowei grabbed the dishes on the table and slammed them onto the master's head.
The two sides started fighting.
Tang Youliang rushed out the door and shouted to Zhou Qiaoyun, "Quickly bring some hot water over so that Wang the scoundrel can wash up."
The drunken master swore and cursed, while Tang Youliang stood by, smiling and apologizing.
Tang Su'e whispered something to Old Man Tang, who looked at her and said, "If your fourth sister and her husband found out, what would happen?"
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