That night, while Xia Chunmei was fast asleep, Xia Ping'an returned.
"Girl, wake up, wake up. Xia Xiumei sent a letter to Fan Baowen in Xia Donglai's name, arranging to meet at Junzi Teahouse at 3:45 PM tomorrow."
"It seems Xia Donglai is about to make his move. Luckily, we don't have a banquet tomorrow, so let's go watch the excitement together." Xia Chunmei said excitedly.
This time, she might be able to take the opportunity to break off the engagement with that scumbag Fan Baowen.
The next day, after breakfast, Xia Chunmei went into town.
Last time she came and went in a hurry, without having a chance to properly explore the county town. This time, Xia Chunmei plans to take a good look around the county town and buy some dried goods to take back with her. The weather is getting colder and colder, so she needs to stock up on more supplies at home.
Although there are two market days a month in the countryside, some things are not available for sale. Dried black fungus and dried shiitake mushrooms are not always available at the market because the price is too high and the villagers cannot afford them, so there are few people buying and selling them.
Xia Chunmei bought two catties each of dried black fungus and dried shiitake mushrooms. She also saw dried shrimp for sale, which were of good quality, so she bought half a catty. This stuff was really expensive; half a catty cost 100 wen.
Dried shrimp is rich in calcium, making it perfect for children. My younger sisters are still quite young, and the original owner's health isn't great either. In the future, when steaming eggs or eating wontons, I can add some dried shrimp. It not only enhances the flavor but also provides essential nutrients.
Xia Chunmei also bought ten catties of noodles. The noodles were 25 yuan per catty. Buying ten catties saved her ten coins, so she spent a total of 240 coins.
Seeing that there were vendors selling candied hawthorns, and thinking that her younger sisters probably had never eaten candied hawthorns before, Xia Chunmei bought three skewers of candied hawthorns, six skewers per skewer, at six coins per skewer, spending a total of eighteen coins.
After buying the groceries, Xia Chunmei ordered a bowl of plain noodles at her usual spot, planning to eat the noodles and then go to Junzi Teahouse to watch a play.
At three quarters past noon, Fan Baowen arrived as promised.
Fan Baowen was very dissatisfied with Xia Xiumei's choice of this place to meet, because most of the people who came to Junzi Teahouse were scholars, and Fan Baowen was also a scholar, so he was afraid of running into acquaintances.
Fortunately, everyone was out eating at this time, so the teahouse was nearly empty.
As Fan Baowen entered the private room, Xia Xiumei, dressed in men's clothing, immediately rushed over excitedly and hugged him: "Brother Baowen, you're finally here! I've missed you so much."
Fan Baowen was full of disgust, but he still patiently coaxed her, "I missed you too, Xiumei. What brings you to the county town?"
"I miss you. And also, when are you coming to marry me? I think I'm pregnant." Xia Xiumei said happily, and then took Fan Baowen's hand and placed it on her stomach.
Fan Baowen's face turned pale with fright: "Xiumei, you're not lying to me, are you? We... it was just once."
"Brother Baowen, are you unhappy?"
"No, that's not what I meant. It's just that this happened so suddenly. You know that Xia Chunmei and I have already set our wedding date..."
“It’s okay, I can be a concubine or a secondary wife.”
"Can I think about this, Xiumei? Don't worry, I will definitely take responsibility and marry you in a grand and glorious way."
“I’m willing to wait, but the child can’t. I need you to come back with me now and talk things out with Xia Chunmei. Xia Chunmei said that if we truly love each other, she’s willing to back out if you tell her you want to marry me. We can even compensate her with some money, okay?”
"Xiumei, do you really have to be in such a hurry?" Fan Baowen was furious inside, and his tone unconsciously became harsher.
"right!"
Xia Xiumei's resolute answer left Fan Baowen stunned. This girl was usually so easy to please; what was wrong with her today?
Before Fan Baowen could even think of a solution, Xia Donglai stormed in, punching him and yelling, "You beast! You took advantage of my little sister, and you still won't admit it? I'll beat you to death, you dog!"
After saying that, he punched Fan Baowen a few more times.
Fan Baowen was stunned by the beating.
There were several familiar faces outside the door, all students of Zhaoling Academy. Although they were not taught by the same teacher, they all knew each other, and one of them even had a grudge against him.
Fan Baowen felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, thinking to himself, "It's all over, it's all over! What am I going to do now? They must have heard everything!"
"Big brother, don't hit Baowen, don't hit him! We love each other, and Baowen said he would marry me!" Xia Xiumei stood in front of Fan Baowen, spreading her arms to protect him.
Xia Donglai glared angrily at Fan Baowen: "Fan Baowen, what are you going to do now? Are you going to marry my sister or not? When are you going to marry her?"
Xia Donglai's actions clearly indicated that he was issuing an ultimatum to Fan Baowen.
Fan Baowen was dumbfounded, staring blankly at the furious Xia Donglai, speechless.
"You think keeping quiet will make things go away? Should we go to the yamen and talk about it?"
Fan Baowen dared to go to the yamen (government office)? He didn't dare!
At this moment, Xia Chunmei appeared just in time.
"What's all this commotion about?" she asked, feigning surprise when she saw Fan Baowen and Xia Xiumei. "Xia Xiumei, why are you hugging my fiancé?"
Upon seeing Xia Chunmei, Fan Baowen panicked even more.
Xia Donglai was surprised to see Xia Chunmei there. He was secretly alarmed. Was it a coincidence? If not, how did she know he was going to set a trap for Fan Baowen today?
At this moment, Zhang Jing, the scholar who had a grudge against Fan Baowen, said to Xia Chunmei with a gloating smile, "Girl, can't you see that your fiancé is having an affair with another girl behind your back? And this girl is already pregnant. He even said he would marry her in a grand and glorious way. We all heard it just now."
"Zhang Jing, shut up!" Fan Baowen shouted angrily.
Zhang Jing: "Now you know you need to have a sense of shame, where were you before? If you dare to do it, don't be afraid of what others say."
Fan Baowen was furious, his face turning ashen. So many people had seen this today; he wondered how the news would spread back to the academy.
He hated Xia Donglai and Xia Xiumei to death!
Xia Chunmei squeezed out a few tears, her sobs pitiful to behold: "Since you're already with Xiumei, why did you send your mother to discuss our wedding date with my aunt? If I hadn't come here to buy tea today, I wouldn't even know about you two... How could you do this to me?"
Fan Baowen panicked; he had to calm Xia Chunmei down first.
"Chunmei, listen to me, it's not like that..." Fan Baowen rushed up and grabbed Xia Chunmei.
Xia Chunmei slapped Fan Baowen across the face, leaving a bright red handprint on his fair skin.
Fan Baowen was furious to be slapped in the face by a woman in public. He wanted to beat Xia Chunmei to death, but he had to endure it for the time being!
"Fan Baowen, how could you do this to me? You're supposed to be a scholar, where have you learned any manners, morality, or a sense of shame? I, Xia Chunmei, am not outstanding, I have no parents, and my family background is not good, but I will never marry someone who disregards manners, morality, and a sense of shame!"
Since you and Xia Xiumei are mutually in love, I will grant your wish. I will go back now to return the betrothal gifts to you, and from now on, we will go our separate ways!
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