Chapter 38 She lived shamelessly
Song Li took Song Lao Er to the village head's house, made Song Lao Er write a written agreement, and then had him sign and affix his fingerprint to it before returning home.
Glug—
Halfway there, my stomach growled.
I had only taken two bites of hotpot at noon when the He family came to cause trouble. What a spoilsport!
And the windows at home are broken, so we have to fix them. What a hassle!
Song Li felt increasingly agitated as she thought about it.
There's no good person in this place!
After a quick meal at home, Song Li was washing dishes at the back door of the kitchen when she saw Zhao Youchang there, so she went to find him.
"Do you have any quiet places around here?"
Flies don't bite, but they're annoying, so she wants to move.
Zhao Youchang gave her a strange look. "Here?"
He and his nominal "father" and "mother" only moved into Qingliu Village ten days ago. Shouldn't they be the outsiders?
Realizing her mistake, Song Li immediately changed her question: "Weren't you from Nanzhou before? What's it like where you are? Are you like Qingliu Village, always making fun of others and harboring ulterior motives?"
Zhao Youchang thought about it seriously for a while, then said in a deep voice, "It's alright."
Listening closely, Song Li understood the implication and frowned, saying, "Not bad? So it's the same as here?"
Sigh, as for ancient Chinese style, it's best to just experience it occasionally in a script. Being able to actually experience it in person is really annoying!
Really, really!
Zhao Youchang suddenly chuckled and said, "Didn't you teach Xiaoxiao to always think things through?"
"What?" Song Li didn't react at first.
“‘A person’s energy is limited, so don’t take it to heart. Just remember those who are good to you,’ that’s what you said.”
Zhao Youchang copied exactly what she had said to Song Xiaoxiao that morning.
Song Li's eyes widened suddenly. "You were eavesdropping on me?"
Or was it deliberate stalking?!
Zhao Youchang shrugged. "No, I just happened to be passing by and overheard it."
He possessed profound internal strength, capable of hearing any sound within half a mile. He happened to be nearby at the time and overheard the girl's earnest instruction to her younger sister.
"What, you think you can just say you can't do it? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at a little?"
Song Li rolled her eyes at him without any politeness.
He turned and left.
She's so stupid, what was she thinking when she actually wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with him!
Watching Song Li's retreating figure without turning her head, Zhao Youchang's eyes were cold and deep.
He could no longer bear the chaos of the world and intended to create a new one himself.
In fact, he has already started doing it, but this is a matter of great importance and should not be rushed.
...
The capital city, the imperial palace, the imperial study.
The emperor was furious that the guards sent to escort the crown prince to the Tatars as hostages were useless.
The crown prince was neither his biological son nor his adopted son, but the posthumous son of his deceased elder brother.
He was born out of wedlock and was not supposed to inherit the throne, but he was shrewd and plotted to poison the late emperor eighteen years ago, finally succeeding in sitting on the dragon throne.
But even the wisest can make a mistake.
He had planned everything meticulously, but he hadn't anticipated that Empress Meng would give birth prematurely to a baby boy before her death.
This is really frustrating.
The baby boy was the late emperor's legitimate son, qualified to inherit the throne. Not to mention, the late emperor's death was suspicious, and all the officials in the court suspected that he was the one who killed him.
Left with no other choice, in order to appease the senior officials in the court, he had to appoint this damned nephew as the crown prince and promise to return the throne to the crown prince after his death.
But deep down, he had no intention of handing over the empire he had worked so hard to build to his nephew.
He has a son, so of course he wants to pass the throne to his child!
Over the years, the Crown Prince has been a thorn in his side, something he can't bear to leave until he gets rid of it.
He had been looking for an opportunity to strike, but the Empress Dowager was too protective of the Crown Prince... He could only endure it...
Finally, heaven rewards those who persevere; six months ago, the Empress Dowager died!
He quickly signed a truce agreement with the Tatars.
Hurry up and send the prince to the Tatars as a hostage.
He was just waiting for the bloodthirsty Tatars to kill the prince for him.
In this way, the thorn in his heart was removed!
What a perfect plan!
What a brilliant move to use someone else to do the dirty work!
But the messenger was useless, and the crown prince ran away halfway!
And they still haven't found him!
What kind of work is this?!
Emperor Qi Doudou slammed his fist on the dragon desk in anger, causing the inkstone on the desk to fall to the ground and shatter into pieces with a "crash".
...
“Then, look carefully. This character is written like this first, then like this, and finally like this. Try writing it again.”
In the fenced yard, Song Li was teaching Song Xiaoxiao to write her name in the snow with a twig.
Qian Hutao also wanted to learn, so she took another branch and watched from the side.
"Da Ya, do you think I spelled my name correctly?"
Song Xiaoxiao was writing slowly, so Qian Hutao finished writing first and pulled Song Li over to take a look.
Looking at the crooked words on the ground, Song Li said, "Yes, yes, but your name isn't 'Song Xiaoxiao'."
Qian Hutao blinked blankly: "You mean, my name isn't written like that?"
Song Li: "Of course, each word is a word, how can you mix them up?"
She picked up a twig and with a few quick strokes, wrote the three characters "Qian Hutao" in the snow.
She studied calligraphy for a few years at an orphanage when she was a child and can write traditional Chinese characters.
Qian Hutao looked at her name, and her face immediately scrunched up, as if she had been wronged.
Why does my name have so many strokes?
This is too difficult to write!
Song Li scratched his head.
Qian Hutao is indeed a bit more difficult to write than Song Xiaoxiao.
Qian Hutao looked at her name with a troubled expression, then suddenly asked, "Da Ya, how do you know how to read?"
Song Li smiled and said nonchalantly, "I used to eavesdrop on the teachers at school when I went to the well to fetch water."
Behind the well is the school opened by Scholar Yan.
The village chief's four sons, as well as Niu San's two sons and two nephews, all went to school there.
Thatched huts have poor sound insulation, and the windows are often open, so it's normal for people to eavesdrop and study.
In order to make this excuse seem plausible, Song Li would queue up at the well every day to draw water, and would often deliberately stay by the well to wash vegetables and clothes.
Qian Hutao was astonished. Could you really learn things like this?
I've learned something!
A village woman passing by with her daughter overheard Song Li's words and found them strange.
—Their family lived right next to the school, and early in the morning they would hear Scholar Yan teaching his students to sing in a loud, garbled voice, which they found very noisy.
She thought the only advantage of living next to the school was that it was close to the well and convenient to fetch water.
"Mommy, I want to write too," the little girl said.
“Why are you writing characters? You don’t learn anything good, you just learn this nonsense! You’re a girl, you can’t take the imperial examinations to become a scholar or a prince, what’s the point of studying? It’s a waste of time! You’d be better off making more shoe soles for your father and brother!” the village woman said.
She wanted to scold Song Daya for being unchaste, having ill intentions, and maliciously leading her daughter astray, but she didn't dare because she remembered that her sister-in-law's front tooth had been knocked out a few days ago.
Besides, Song Daya even hit her uncle and aunt yesterday, but Song Lao Er didn't hold it against her, and the village chief didn't scold her like he used to. Who is Song Daya afraid of now?
This girl is strange. She was clearly sold to an old man to be his concubine, but after escaping, she managed to live shamelessly and with great toughness.
Despite never being married and having no man to support her, she managed to make a living and support her family, and no one in the village dared to say a bad word about her.
This is weird!
This is too weird!
After much deliberation, the village woman had no choice but to back down and roughly dragged her daughter away.
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