Chapter Sixty-Six: The Burned Face
Madam Feng nodded disdainfully: "How could a jewelry shop owner not even be able to come up with a hundred taels of silver? She thinks she can enter the Feng family with that? Dream on! Once my son passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, she won't even be able to reach him! My son is already a xiucai!"
"So you and Feng Runqian slandered her reputation and ruined her shop?"
Mrs. Feng's eyes darted away, and her tone softened: "No, my son is a gentleman, how could he do such a thing? She seduced a wealthy businessman herself, and my son caught them in bed together. That's why she couldn't bear the scorn of the neighbors, closed her shop, and now no one knows where she has gone."
Jingwu stared intently at the person in front of him, then chuckled softly: "Did you really catch her in the act, or were you so angry and embarrassed that you slandered her reputation in front of the shop because you couldn't get the money?"
"without……"
"Since you say you caught them in bed together, then who is the man?" Jingwu looked at her with a half-smile.
Upon hearing this, the onlookers understood the situation and someone immediately spoke up.
“That’s right. Just tell me the name. There are only a few wealthy businessmen in Pingyao County. If we screen them one by one, we will definitely find that businessman.”
"Yes, that wealthy merchant must feel guilty for doing such a thing. Your family isn't rich either, so why don't you go ask him for a few hundred taels of silver to shut us up?" A woman chuckled in the crowd, looking at Feng's mother with some disdain.
Upon hearing this, Madam Feng felt extremely guilty. After a long pause, she finally said loudly, "It's that gentleman over there."
"Which gentleman? You have to tell us your first name, or if you really can't, tell us your surname."
Madam Feng dared not speak any further, because there was no such person at all. What if this smear was pinned on some wealthy merchant and they came looking for trouble with her?
"Master, stop with all that nonsense, just tell me, what should I do about my son's problem?"
Jingwu looked at her with amusement, then slowly said, "You fabricated stories about Yao Chenbi being impure, ruining her reputation and causing her to be scorned and beaten by her neighbors, leaving her no choice but to close her shop. Feng Runqian is now suffering the consequences of your own actions."
Madam Feng's face instantly darkened, and she slammed her hand on the table, standing up: "What do you mean by fabricating? If she, a woman, hadn't been having an affair with those gentlemen, how could she have opened this shop? She goes to those houses to deliver jewelry all the time, but who knows what she's really doing there? She claims to be delivering jewelry to the ladies and young ladies, but actually she's delivering it to their beds."
She became more and more excited as she spoke, and in an instant, spittle flew everywhere.
Jingwu immediately set up a barrier to prevent himself from being splashed by spittle.
“My son is the only scholar in our village, and he’ll be a successful candidate in the imperial examinations soon. Why should he marry a woman who’s been ridden by many men!” Mother Feng said arrogantly, her face held high. “Once my son passes the imperial examinations, he’ll have no shortage of daughters from noble families. How can a woman like her, who only shows her face in public, be worthy of my son? Giving him a hundred taels of silver is already giving him face.”
These words instantly shattered the perceptions of those around them. In an instant, the onlookers began to curse the mother and son in secret.
Jingwu chuckled, looking at the person in front of him speechlessly: "I can break the flying needle curse."
"Really?" Upon hearing this, Madam Feng immediately sat down, her face beaming with smiles. "Then, Master, when shall we go and solve this?"
The surrounding crowd immediately fell silent, trying to persuade Jingwu to stay out of it, but their chatter made it impossible to hear anything.
The veiled woman took a step forward, about to speak, when she heard the master continue speaking.
"Flying needle curse is a type of black magic originating from foreign lands, and it is extremely troublesome. Therefore, the fee is five hundred taels."
"What?!" Madam Feng immediately stood up, staring wide-eyed at Jing Wu, speechless for a long time: "You...you, I've already given you money, why do you want more?"
“That’s the fortune-telling fee, and this is the payment,” Jingwu said, leaning back in his chair.
"Where am I supposed to find so much silver for you? Master, can't you give me a discount?"
Jingwu shook his head: "It won't be cheaper."
Looking at the person in front of her, Feng's mother couldn't help but curse inwardly.
Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly realized that she wasn't the only master in the world; perhaps others charged less.
So he stood up and said, "I don't have that much silver, at most one tael. If you can solve this, I'll give you the silver; if you can't, I'll go find someone else."
"Please go ahead." Jingwu also made a gesture of invitation.
Mrs. Feng was surprised that the person in front of her made a decision so quickly, and her face darkened even more. She stood up abruptly and walked to the other side.
She went to several fortune-telling stalls, but the masters either said they couldn't solve the problem or charged more than Jingwu.
For several days in a row, I couldn't find a suitable master.
Jingwu watched as Feng's mother walked away, then looked away, waiting for the next destined person.
The next two divinations were for choosing names and auspicious dates.
By the time Jingwu finished calculating, it was already dark.
Smelling the aroma of the food wafting out, she immediately packed up her stall and prepared to go home.
As she walked down the street, she noticed someone following her.
Jingwu remained silent. He walked to his front door and saw the figure stop a short distance away, no longer following him. Then he spoke.
"Won't you come in and have a seat?"
The veiled woman was taken aback, then realized that she was a master and must know everything.
So she went up and followed Jingwu into the house.
Jingwu led her to the front hall and had Xue Wenhui serve her tea.
"You've been following me, is there something you want to tell me?"
The woman was none other than Yao Chenbi, whom Feng's mother had just mentioned. After hearing this, she hesitated for a long time before raising her eyes to look at the person in front of her.
"Master, could you please not get involved in this matter?"
Jingwu held the teacup and took a small sip.
When Yao Chenbi saw that she didn't speak, she immediately became anxious, reached out and lifted the veil, revealing half of her face that had been burned by fire.
“Master, the Feng family mother and son are ungrateful wretches. Seeing that I refused to give them money, they spread rumors about me everywhere. I didn't care, but that day, a woman appeared out of nowhere and threw a candle at my face, insisting that I seduced their husband. But I didn't do it, so I reported it to the authorities. Although the government punished the woman, my face…”
Jingwu looked at the burned skin, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes.
She tilted her head and thought for a moment. It wouldn't take long; the magic circle should be able to heal her.
"Where did you learn about the flying needle technique?"
Upon hearing this, Yao Chenbi's face showed a hint of unease, but she still spoke honestly.
“I was desperate at the time and thought about jumping into the river to commit suicide, but a master saved me and told me that I could use this black magic to get revenge.”
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