Chapter 46 A husband's admonition to his wife is as firm as Heaven! A husband must respect this, he must not disrespect it…
Qingduo shuddered again. So this is what Qingqing looks like when he's angry. His brows furrowed, his nostrils flared, and the corners of his mouth grimaced. He looked exactly like a rough, bitter old man, and his life seemed miserable.
What could have turned such a refined and gentle man like Qingqing into this?
It's her, it's her!
Qingduo was filled with remorse and cried uncontrollably. She lowered her head and whispered, "I was wrong, Qingqing! I'll never sing clapper talk again!"
Zeng Zhengqing snorted: "You're always like this! You don't think things through before you do anything, you don't listen to advice, and when you cause trouble, others have to clean up your mess!"
That's not right! How can she not think about anything? It's true that singing the clapper talk was a sudden inspiration, but she discussed it with Sister Lu Nong and Zhu Yi, and the idea was finally unanimously approved.
She was about to retort when she thought about it again. Sister Lu Nong was indeed kidnapped because of this idea, and it was only through the joint efforts of her brother-in-law, Qingqing, and Zhu Yi that the problem was solved. So it seems that what Qingqing said was actually true!
Qingduo glanced up at his bitter face, quickly lowered her head, swallowed her rebuttal, put her hands behind her back and remained silent, but her left foot couldn't help kicking the ground, and her body swayed.
Seeing her swaying back and forth like a foal pawing the ground, clearly defiant, Zeng Zhengqing felt a surge of anger rising to his head, ready to explode like a firecracker. He roared, "You're not convinced, are you? Fine, then tell me, where did I go wrong!"
"I'm not dissatisfied!" Qingduo stomped her toes on the ground and said in a muffled voice, "How could you be wrong! It's my fault, it's all my fault!"
Zeng Zhengqing glared at her, leaving her speechless. He taught his younger brother, Zhengji, that he always respected and loved him, and dared not disobey him. As the eldest son of the Zeng family and the current head of the household, how could any servant dare to offend him? He was the owner of Qingyuan Bookstore, and his shopkeepers and clerks were obedient and would never dare to talk back. In his daily interactions, people treated him with great courtesy because of his refined manners and demeanor. From the day he was born until now, the only person who had dared to speak to him so casually was right in front of him!
This "little tyrant" in front of me—those who obey her prosper, those who defy her are forgotten—yet she doesn't even take her own father's words to heart. Compared to her, what are his words worth? He'd be lucky if he could even taste them!
Zeng Zhengqing closed his eyes, his anger almost erupting again. He took a deep breath and suppressed it, saying in a deep voice, "My Zeng family bookstore has only been in Wuzhou City for half a year, and we haven't even established a firm foothold yet. In terms of strength, we can't compare to Sailinfu's Shouzhentang and Chenji, not to mention that my family doesn't even deal in storybooks. I've entrusted everything to Chenji Bookstore, and I never expected you to stab me in the back!"
"I only helped you to fulfill your wish and help you and Lu Nong get together. I didn't want to involve my own shop. But you, spouting nonsense in the street, pushed me out here. It's like declaring war on Serinfu. What am I supposed to do?"
Huh? Qingduo stopped in her tracks, staring at him in disbelief. So, it really wasn't Qingqing who signed them! She thought of Zhengji's question that day and broke out in a cold sweat. She was wrong, she was wrong. Zhengji had reminded her, but she hadn't taken it seriously. Otherwise, she should have corrected herself in front of everyone!
She said uneasily, "I, I really didn't know. When I heard you say that day, I thought it was you who did it..." She stepped forward and took Zeng Zhengqing's sleeve, saying apologetically, "Tomorrow I will go to the street and tell them that it wasn't you who did it, but another shopkeeper. I misunderstood."
Zeng Zhengqing sneered and shoved her away: "Listen to your words! Changing your mind constantly and being fickle, who would believe you? It's like burying your head in the sand, trying to cover up the truth!"
"That's true..." Qingduo's mind went blank, and she couldn't think of any solution. She said anxiously, "What solution do you have? I'll do anything for you, I'm willing to make amends!"
“No need.” Zeng Zhengqing turned his back and said coldly, “I only want to do my business and don’t want to get involved in their dispute. Let’s just let this matter rest. If we don’t respond, it will just become rumors and disappear.”
"From now on, neither of us needs to get involved in this matter!"
He finished speaking and was about to leave when Qingduo shouted, "No!"
"If we stop here, what about the others?"
Zeng Zhengqing turned around and asked suspiciously, "The others?"
"There are others like Sister Lu Nong whose manuscripts were stolen!" Qing Duo said, telling him about the woman who asked her for help after the event that day, and then said, "This matter cannot be left like this. I have already promised to help her get her payment back!"
Anger is like grass on the plain, it grows back after the wind blows. Zeng Zhengqing's face was ashen: "You brought this kind of trouble home?"
"What do you mean by trouble?" Qingduo protested. "I call this helping!"
"Hmph, first Lu Nong, then her, one after another coming to our door, how can you possibly help them all?"
Qingduo was taken aback. She hadn't thought about the number of people, but so what?
"There are ways to help one person at a time, and ways to help a group of people. As long as you want to do it, there will always be a way!"
"How can you help them?" Zeng Zhengqing pressed. "With your method of singing clapper talk in the street, what substantial help can you offer them?"
Qingduo sensed the sarcasm in Zeng Zhengqing's words. Her guilt subsided, replaced by anger. She pointed at Zeng Zhengqing and shouted, "Don't look down on me! If this method won't work, we'll think of something new! At worst, I'll earn money through painting and compensate them first, then slowly ask for the money back!"
“I’m not like you, who hides away at the slightest trouble and just yells at me!”
Zeng Zhengqing's face immediately turned icy: "You can't recognize your own mistakes, and you stubbornly stick to your own opinions. Now you're even making false accusations. Tang Qingduo, take back your vile words and apologize to me!"
"No!" Qingduo pouted and shouted, her neck stiff, "I did nothing wrong! If you refuse to help them, you're a spineless coward!"
He was furious and rebuked her, "A wife's duty is to obey her husband after marriage. Your harsh words to me are disrespectful; your erratic behavior is disobedient. How can you be a wife?"
"So you think you're behaving like a husband?" Qingduo retorted sarcastically. "The husband I want has to be of one mind with me. You?" She looked her up and down and sneered, "You're not qualified!"
"you!"
"If you're afraid of trouble, then just hide. This heroine promises to help others to the end. No matter if it's a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, I will never stand idly by!" Qingduo patted her chest and sneered, "Don't worry, I did it all by myself, and I caused all the trouble. It has nothing to do with you, Zeng Zhengqing!"
"You make it sound so easy! You and I are husband and wife, one entity, what difference is there!"
“That’s settled then! You can be your Mr. Zeng, and I’ll go back to being my Miss Tang. It’s clear and straightforward. You are you, and I am me. I’ll take responsibility for my own actions and will never implicate you!”
Zeng Zhengqing's chest heaved violently as he glared at his stubborn wife, who was sticking her neck out like a mule. His throat felt blocked, and he couldn't utter another word. Although his chest was filled with anger, he still retained a sliver of reason. He couldn't say anything more. Now she was even blurting out words of estrangement. If they continued arguing, he didn't know how many more irreversible things she would say.
He turned around abruptly, walked away without a word, and slammed the door shut as he left.
"Bang!"
"He, he even gave me the cold shoulder!" Qingduo was so angry that she paced around in circles, wishing she could find something to smash to vent her anger. She picked up the teapot, but this pink lotus-shaped teapot was her favorite, so she couldn't bring herself to do it and put it down again. Her eyes swept over the teapot, and she picked up the inkstone, but hesitated. This was a Duan inkstone, very expensive! So she put it down again.
There's nothing in this room that belongs to Zeng Zhengqing, that she doesn't like, and that's cheap. Can she really throw things around to vent her anger?
She caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye and immediately had an idea. She rushed over, picked up the "Admonitions for Women," held it high, and threw it hard to the ground. Still not satisfied, she stomped her foot on it and gritted her teeth, saying, "No wonder they made me read the 'Admonitions for Women'! They just wanted to discipline me because I'm disobedient! I won't! I won't!"
"At home, I have to listen to my father, and after I get married, I have to listen to my husband. Am I just giving myself another living father? How awful! How awful!"
The more she thought about it, the more indignant she became. She stomped on it a few times, thinking, "Why is there only 'Admonitions for Women' and not 'Admonitions for Men'? This is unfair!"
As I was stepping on the ground, a thought suddenly popped into my head: If you don't have one now, just write one down, and you'll have one.
She stopped what she was doing. Right! The "Admonitions for Women" says, "The husband is like heaven." Who can't say such nonsense? But she didn't want to be like Ban Zhao, who, as a woman, didn't speak for women and instead praised men. If she was going to say something, she would say something sweet and pleasant!
She raised her head, as if she could see the "Admonitions for Men" filled with fragrant words being published and immediately sought after by women all over the world. In the blink of an eye, girls would walk down the road with their heads held high and chests puffed out, while men would follow behind with their heads bowed and eyes lowered.
They arrived at a temple. What kind of place was this? Looking up, they saw two large characters written on it:
"Duo Temple"
Upon entering, he saw his own golden statue sitting regally in the hall, smiling amiably as it received offerings from the women, amidst the swirling incense smoke and a constant stream of worshippers…
"Haha!" Qingduo couldn't help but laugh out loud at the thought. If she really wrote "Admonitions for Men", it would truly be a great deed with immeasurable merit!
Without delay, she pounced on the table, sat down, dipped her brush in ink, and wrote "Admonitions for Men" and her own name. Then, she wrote in a flowing, elegant style:
"A wife is like heaven! A husband must respect her and obey her!"
*
Zeng Zhengqing regretted it.
The very next morning.
Upon hearing about Qingduo's situation yesterday, I was so angry that I couldn't help but scold her, which unexpectedly ended badly. I suppose Madam is simple-minded; if I had calmly and rationally explained things to her, she would have understood. But my harsh words only made her more resistant.
Ultimately, it's his own fault. But given the situation, how could he be expected to voluntarily submit and act subserviently?
Zeng Zhengqing rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He was adept at navigating social situations and was extremely shrewd, but the way he handled marital relationships was quite different. Moreover, his wife... was an extraordinary woman. How to ease the tension without losing face was truly a difficult task.
Although he was troubled, he had to prioritize the shop, so he put the matter aside for the time being. When he returned home that evening, he subconsciously walked towards Qingduo's place, but stopped after a few steps. He hesitated for a moment, then returned to his study and asked someone to call Fangqing.
"How is the young mistress's condition today?"
"Young Madam, she..." Fang Qing hesitated for a moment. The young madam was the same as usual today. The only difference was that she wanted to say a few good words for the young master, but this resulted in a scolding from the young madam. She even ate two extra bowls of rice, feeling dizzy from fullness, and went to bed early.
How was she supposed to answer that? She couldn't exactly say, "The young mistress gave you a good scolding," could she?
She stole a glance at the young master and saw that his gaze was fixed on her. An idea struck her. If she couldn't persuade the young mistress, she could try the young master. She made up her mind and quickly replied, "The young mistress is heartbroken!"
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