Just after the afternoon, the bustling Yuelai Teahouse in Beijing was already packed. Zhang Tiezui, wearing a half-worn blue cloth gown, sat down in front of the stage and leisurely sipped his tea, whetting the appetites of the audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" He slammed the gavel, his voice rising suddenly. "Today, let's not talk about heroes or talented men and beautiful women. Let's just talk about the latest happenings in the prime minister's mansion!"
A buzz of discussion immediately erupted from the audience. The incident of the prime minister's daughter tearing up the marriage certificate at her coming-of-age banquet had long been the talk of the town, and now that Zhang Tiezui had mentioned the prime minister's mansion again, everyone was immediately interested.
"Speaking of the daughter of the prime minister's family, she's truly a remarkable woman!" Zhang Tiezui said, shaking his head as he fanned himself. "She has eyebrows like distant ink and eyes like autumn water. She's proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. And she's so courageous, she angrily confronted a playboy at her coming-of-age banquet. It was truly delightful!"
He paused deliberately, glancing at the audience below who were holding their breath and listening intently: "But it's so strange that such a good girl has such a 'virtuous' stepmother by her side!"
Zhang Tie said the words "virtuous, kind, and virtuous" with great emphasis, adding a hint of sarcasm. Someone in the audience immediately understood what he was talking about and muttered, "Could it be that he's talking about the stepmother of the prime minister's mansion?"
Zhang Tiezui pretended not to hear and continued, "This stepmother, while smiling like a flower on the outside, has ulterior motives in her heart. Seeing that the legitimate daughter has reached marriageable age, instead of considering finding her a good family, she wants to push her into the fire pit!"
"Fire pit? What fire pit?" An old man selling candied haws in the front row couldn't help but ask.
"Hey! That's the frequent visitor to the Qingfeng Casino, the young master of the Wang family!" Zhang Tiezui clapped his fan. "I heard that young master Wang is swamped with gambling debts, yet he relies on his family's wealth to spend his days sleeping with prostitutes. He's a complete idiot!"
The audience immediately erupted in boos. The Wang family's son already had a bad reputation, and now, after hearing Zhang Tiezui's words, everyone despised him even more.
"But this is exactly what makes this stepmother so powerful!" Zhang Tiezui changed the subject, his tone becoming mysterious. "Seeing that the legitimate daughter refused to obey her orders, she actually resorted to a shady trick—she had people spread rumors outside, saying that the legitimate daughter was 'unvirtuous and untalented' and that she 'contradicted her stepmother'! Don't you think that's immoral?"
"This is immoral! This is so immoral!" A scholar who often came to listen to the story slammed the table in anger. "This is a stepmother framing the legitimate daughter like this. It's totally against human ethics!"
"That's right! No wonder people say a stepmother's heart is like ice in winter!" An auntie next to her also echoed.
Zhang Tiezui saw that the atmosphere was set to the right tone, and a sly smile appeared on his face. "But, everyone, guess how this young lady from the prime minister's mansion responded?"
He looked around and saw that everyone was craning their necks. Then he said slowly, "After hearing the rumors, Miss Di didn't get angry or upset. Instead, she did something no one could have imagined—"
"What's the matter? Tell us quickly!" The people in the audience slammed the table anxiously.
"Young Miss Di personally went to Xuanmiao Temple," Zhang Tiezui said, lowering his voice as if to reveal a shocking secret. "She invited a Taoist master to tell her fortune for her 'virtuous' stepmother!"
"Fortune telling?" Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what this meant.
"Right! Fortune telling!" Zhang Tiezui proudly waved his fan. "The expert counted on his fingers and shook his head repeatedly, saying that my stepmother has been suffering from the 'verbal curse' lately. This curse is the most powerful and specifically harms those close to her. If it's not resolved in time, at best, the family will be in turmoil, and at worst..."
He deliberately kept everyone in suspense, and when he saw everyone's eyes widen, he slowly said, "In the worst case, those 'unethical' rumors will backfire on you, and you'll end up shooting yourself in the foot!"
"Pfft——" I don't know who laughed first, and then the whole teahouse burst into laughter.
"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"
"This young lady is really good at this! Without even a single curse, she manages to silence the person!"
"That's right! This is called 'killing people and destroying their hearts'!"
Seeing that the situation was ripe, Zhang Tiezui dropped another bombshell: "Even more amazing! Young Miss Di also sent someone to pass on a message to stepmother: 'The clear will be clear, and the turbid will be turbid.' If stepmother is truly virtuous, why should she be afraid of these mere rumors? Why not take this opportunity to do more good deeds and dispel this 'gossip curse'?"
"Hahaha! That's quite powerful!"
"I think it's the stepmother herself who has something to hide!"
"That's right! Who knows who's gossiping behind your back!"
The teahouse was buzzing with discussion, laughter, and cheers. Mo Zhu, disguised as a servant, blended into the crowd, her face flushed red as she listened, her fists clenched. She had never imagined that her young lady's impromptu joke, after Zhang Tiezui's rendition, would have such an impact!
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion at the door. Several young men in silk attire walked in, accompanied by a fat man with a greasy face. It was none other than the incompetent young master of the Wang family.
"What are you arguing about? I'm here to listen to a story, so get out of my way!" Young Master Wang walked in with a swagger. When he heard Zhang Tiezui on the stage still talking about "The daughter of the prime minister's family outsmarts her evil stepmother," his face suddenly darkened.
"Hey! Storyteller!" He slammed the table and shouted, "Whose legitimate daughter are you talking about? How dare you make up stories about a noble like this? Aren't you afraid of getting sued?"
Zhang Tiezui's heart skipped a beat when he saw it was him, but since he'd accepted money, he naturally had to put on a good show. He cleared his throat and said calmly, "Sir, you're joking. I'm talking about a book, a story. How can it be true? But..."
He changed the subject and looked at Young Master Wang, saying with a forced smile, "Sir, have you been going to the Qingfeng Casino more often lately? I heard you lost quite a bit the other day, even pawning this fox fur coat!"
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