When Granny Wang came in from outside and saw Zheng Yuanyuan's expression, she was taken aback and asked, "What are you doing, young lady?"
Zheng Yuanyuan was angry, but she felt she couldn't talk about her family in front of Shen Mingwan. Although they had been adopted out of that family, Zheng Yuanyuan still considered them her family.
The more she thought about it, the sadder she became, and Zheng Yuanyuan's face turned red.
Upon seeing this, Xu Zhi took Zheng Yuanyuan's hand and said, "Look at you, what's there to be angry about? Let's just ignore them, okay?"
With red eyes, Zheng Yuanyuan said, "How can there be such shameless people? Sister-in-law, if they don't want me and my brother, we can just leave. But now, we are two separate families. They saw that you got the benefits, so they wanted to come and take advantage of you. Tell me, how can they be so shameless?"
Zheng Yuanyuan, a girl of twelve or thirteen, could only curse with the word "shameless," and there was nothing else she could say. When Wang Mama heard this, she knew what was going on and quickly stepped forward, saying, "Good girl, what are you doing? Let's just live our own lives peacefully. We don't care what others do. Is it worth getting so angry and crying like this?"
Zheng Yuanyuan wiped away her tears without making a sound. When Granny Wang took out a handkerchief to help her wipe her tears, Zheng Yuanyuan snatched it away and wiped them herself.
Seeing that Zheng Yuanyuan had wiped away her tears, Granny Wang said, "Just now, someone from outside came back and said that they saw the Second Master being beaten on the street, and it seemed like he was beaten quite badly."
Xu Zhi was taken aback for a moment after hearing this, and asked, "What's going on?"
Seeing that the three girls were looking at her, Wang Mama thought about what she had overheard and was a little embarrassed to speak. However, Zheng Yuanyuan kept urging her to tell her. Wang Mama said, "Oh, I heard that the Second Master over there was apparently fighting with someone over a woman and got beaten up. I'll send someone over there to find out more."
Zheng Boyun was the older brother of the twins born to Xiao Chenshi. He was pampered by Xiao Chenshi from a young age and was a weak scholar who could not lift heavy objects. He studied at the clan school run by the Zheng family, but he had not yet passed the preliminary examination for the imperial examination.
Zheng Boyuan is half a year younger than Zheng Yuanyuan, almost thirteen years old. He hangs out with a bunch of good-for-nothing scions of wealthy families outside, but at home, especially in front of Xiao Chenshi, he is an obedient and well-behaved child.
Zheng Yuanyuan said in disbelief, "Zheng Boyuan is only a few years old, and he's already getting jealous of other girls. What kind of mother raised him? How could he do such a shameful thing?"
Xu Zhi frowned as she listened and said to Granny Wang, "Granny, please send someone to find out the truth as soon as possible. Although we are not related to them, we are still related by blood. If Zheng Boyun does something shameful, we will be laughed at along with him."
Granny Wang agreed and quickly went outside to arrange for someone to inquire over there.
Zheng Boyun was indeed beaten, and quite badly at that; he had to be carried back to the Marquis of Pingxi's residence.
Recently, Zheng Boyun and a few close friends have been frequenting a pleasure boat on the moat. On that boat is a beautiful woman named Xiangyun, a courtesan. It is said that she is the daughter of a disgraced official. Before her family's misfortune, she was carefully taught the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. So she was sold into the music academy and quickly rose to fame with her talents.
Zheng Boyun didn't care much about the lessons taught by the teachers at the school, but he was adept at writing lewd songs and poems, and was quite famous among the dissolute young men in the capital.
Because of this, Zheng Boyun made some friends who claimed to be his confidants. They would often get together to play music and sing, having a great time.
After Zheng Boyun and Xiangyun met several times, they exchanged poems, drank wine, and discussed matters, eventually becoming close friends.
Although Xiangyun was a virgin, she would eventually have to entertain customers. Zheng Boyun wanted to save Xiangyun from her predicament. One issue was that he didn't have enough money, but the most important thing was that Xiangyun's background and the evidence of her father's crimes were irrefutable. It was an ironclad case. People like Xiangyun, who were the children of officials, could not be redeemed after being sold into the brothel. Zheng Boyun knew the importance of this.
These past few days, Zheng Boyun and a few friends have been busy discussing how to find a way out for Xiangyun. After discussing for a long time, the group of teenagers couldn't come up with anything. As a result, the day Xiangyun had to entertain guests arrived.
A woman like Xiangyun would have to bid for her first time with a customer, and in the end, she was won by a salt merchant from Jiangnan. When Zheng Boyun and his companions arrived at the pleasure boat, the salt merchant was about to take Xiangyun back to his room when Zheng Boyun stepped forward to stop him. As a result, he was thrown off the pleasure boat by the salt merchant's entourage.
Zheng Boyun was unconvinced and insisted on stepping forward, causing quite a commotion. The salt merchant, seeing this, sneered a few times and had Zheng Boyun's legs broken.
Zheng Boyun's leg was broken, which terrified his attendants. With the help of several of Zheng Boyun's friends, two teenage servants hired a carriage to take Zheng Boyun home.
Zheng Boyun's return not only terrified Madam Chen, but also startled Marquis Pingxi. Zheng Boyun was now his only son recorded in the family genealogy, and he would have to rely on this child to support him in his old age.
After carefully questioning the two servants about what had happened, the Marquis of Pingxi learned that his son had been frequently visiting pleasure boats recently, and he turned pale with anger.
After returning from Yanmen Pass, Marquis Pingxi had turned himself into a spoiled old man. How could he not know what his son was doing?
Seeing Madam Chen leaning against Granny Du, sobbing uncontrollably, the Marquis of Pingxi felt a surge of annoyance. Pointing his finger at Madam Chen, he scolded, "Crying? You still have the nerve to cry? Don't you know why Yun-ge'er has become like this? Haven't you ever cared about what he does? He's only a few years old, yet he spends all his time on pleasure boats. What will others think of our Marquis's mansion?"
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