Chapter 124 Too embarrassed to see anyone
Seeing Chen Zhancai's saliva flying, Chen Qingqing smiled coldly.
"Stop making empty promises. We've been hearing these words for over a decade, but we can't expect to benefit from your advice.
As long as you don't sell me to a violent and brutal man like Li the Butcher for fifty taels of silver, I will be very grateful to you."
Chen Zhancai's smile instantly collapsed. "What nonsense are you talking about? When did I ever sell you to Li the Butcher?"
Liu Laohan stopped the ox cart and walked closer. After listening to the big truths that Chen Zhancai said, he felt very annoyed.
He frowned and snorted coldly, "Zhancai, the Chen family paid for your education, and promised Qing girl to Li the butcher for a betrothal gift of fifty taels of silver. Have you forgotten this?
I remember that Qing girl was on the verge of death and was kicked out of the house by your parents, but you still added insult to injury and didn't say a good word for her.
Now that her life is getting better and better, you finally remember to support her.
Since you brothers have already separated, you don't need to worry about whether Chen Han can study or not. Don't pretend to care about him when you are actually doing it for your own selfish desires."
Chen Zhancai's face darkened. He was a scholar in the village.
In the past, everyone who saw him was polite and respectful.
Is Liu Laohan crazy today? He actually dared to criticize him.
The people queuing up to register cast strange glances at Chen Zhancai, and a few people in the crowd pointed at him.
"So he's Chen Zhancai from Nanshan Village. I heard he wanted to sell his niece to Li the butcher in town so she could go to school. I didn't expect this to be true."
"You even dare to set your sights on your own niece. How shameless!"
“Who says it’s not true? I’m from the neighboring village, less than two miles away. If they fart, our village can hear it.
This matter has spread all over our village. Chen Zhancai has been taking exams for more than 20 years but has not passed the examination to become a scholar. He has brought disaster to our family and they can hardly have food to eat.
He was still begging to study, and his mother was also partial to him. She had high expectations of him and wanted him to bring honor to the family.
But the family really had no money, so they had to think of their niece.
For fifty taels of silver, he promised a beautiful young lady to the notorious butcher Li in the town.
Do you think what they did is humane?
I thought it was just a rumor, but I didn’t expect it to be true.”
"Are you talking about Li the butcher at Taiping Bridge?"
"It's just that he has no one else but him."
"Oh, that's a living beast. No, that man is not even a beast. I heard that his two previous wives were tortured to death by him. Marrying your own niece to a man like that is really wicked!"
"Who says it isn't? Luckily, her niece is a strong-minded person and would never agree to it, so her grandparents kicked her out and made her live alone. I think they even wrote a letter of severance."
"I didn't realize that Chen Zhancai looked like a decent person, but he actually had such a bad heart."
"Yes, he's read so much that he's lost all his humanity."
"What kind of humanity does he have? If he had a little self-awareness, he wouldn't have taken the exam for more than 20 years and still not given up. If it were me, I would have gone home to farm long ago."
"That's right. He said he wasn't cut out for study. I think he's just a blockhead. I'm not looking down on him, but he'll never pass the imperial examination."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter.
When Chen Zhancai heard these words, his face turned pale and he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
Qingshui Town is not big, but not small either. If something strange happens there, it will spread quickly throughout the area within a hundred miles.
In the past, whenever he met his classmates and others asked about him, he would shamelessly say that he didn't know them.
Now that Liu Laohan had spoken these words, all his classmates who knew him looked at him with contempt.
At this time, two classmates who had a good relationship with Chen Zhancai, Zhao Ping and Lin Yuan, stood up and stared at him with a mocking look on their faces.
Zhao Ping sarcastically said, "Brother Chen, it turns out that the person who sold my niece was really you. I never thought you were such a person."
"That's right. I remember asking you that day, and you actually said it didn't happen in your village?" Lin Yuan also agreed.
Chen Zhancai felt completely humiliated and immediately became angry. "Don't talk nonsense. How could I use the money from selling my niece to study? Don't believe her nonsense."
Chen Qingqing glanced at Chen Zhancai and said, "I'm just talking nonsense. I'm sure everyone knows Zhao the matchmaker from Liutiao Village. You can tell if it's true or not by asking her."
Lin Yuan chuckled, "Brother Zhancai, stop quibbling. Matchmaker Zhao and I are from the same village. I knew it was you a long time ago, but I didn't point it out because I wanted to save your face."
Chen Zhancai's face flushed red, and he tried to argue, "No, I really didn't sell my niece. Those things were all done by my mother, and I only found out about it afterwards. It really has nothing to do with me. Besides, my mother has already called off the marriage. Is there any need to worry about whether it's true or not?"
Chen Qingqing didn't want to expose Chen Zhancai's shortcomings in the academy. This was intolerable, it was simply too much.
She frowned and said coldly, "Is there any need to worry about it? You make it sound so easy. Why did you marry me to Li the Butcher? Don't you know what's going on?"
Lin took over the conversation with tears in her eyes.
"You and your mother saw that my little girl Qing refused to be the concubine of Li the Butcher, so you wanted to harm my son and my husband and even wanted them to enter the palace as eunuchs.
If you had agreed to take a year off before continuing your studies, why would your mother force us to sell our children? Are you still a human being if you do this? "
Chen Qingqing continued, "You keep saying that I'm the daughter of a peasant and a money-loser, while your daughter is only two months younger than me, yet you've spoiled her like this. You even say that she'll be the daughter of a scholar in the future and will marry someone rich or noble. Your daughter is a human being, and I, of course, should be the victim of your pursuit of academic success."
Chen Zhancai suddenly felt ashamed and wanted to die. "No, no, it wasn't me. My mother did all this..."
His defense seemed pale and powerless amid the contempt of the crowd.
"As the saying goes, there are only vested interests and no innocent people. If it weren't for your education, these things wouldn't have happened."
Chen Qingqing changed the subject.
"Alright, I won't dwell on the past. Now that our eldest family and your Chen family have signed a severance agreement, we are no longer family. It's not your turn to dictate our family affairs."
When Chen Han heard that Old Lady Chen wanted to send Chen Zhancai to the palace to be a eunuch so that he could study, he felt a chill in his heart.
Fortunately, his sister is there, otherwise he would become the androgynous second sister-in-law.
I will definitely not let my sister down. I will study harder and become someone who can protect her in the future.
He glared at Chen Zhancai and said, "Sister, let's not talk to this kind of person. He is not worthy!"
Chen Qingqing nodded and said, "Xiao Han is right, let's line up and pay."
......
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