Qi Huaiyu's face turned ashen. He could no longer hold back and slammed the empty money pouch on the table: "You stupid woman, blaming me now! If you hadn't coveted the Xin family's wealth and insisted on taking me with you, I wouldn't be in this mess today..."
"Bullshit!" Madam Feng overturned the sewing basket. "Who was so excited about going to the Xin family that they couldn't sleep for three days? Who accepted Xin Jiuwei's gifts and bragged about it everywhere? Now they're blaming me!"
Qi Huaiyu was hit where it hurt and roared, "Shut up! If you hadn't gone to the gambling den and incurred huge debts, how could the Xin family have gotten hold of me!"
"You ungrateful wretch!" Madam Feng's sharp fingernails scratched three bloody marks on her son's face. "Who do you think you are? Without the Xin family, you're not even worth a scholar!"
Qi Huaiyu winced in pain, touching the bloodstains on his face. A sinister glint flashed in his eyes: "Fine, very well... Since you all don't treat me like a human being, then don't blame me..."
In the afternoon, inside the Pan Yue Lou, young masters and scholars, led by Xie Changjing, were enjoying tea and listening to music.
When Qi Huaiyu forced himself to push the door open and entered, the once lively hall instantly fell silent.
"Oh, isn't this 'Young Master Xin'?" Xie Changjing no longer treated him like a brother and deliberately said, "Sorry, sorry, I just blurted it out!"
The room erupted in laughter. Qi Huaiyu gripped his folding fan tightly and forced himself to walk to his usual seat, only to find that someone was already sitting there—it was none other than Young Master Li, who used to fawn over him.
"Brother Qi," Young Master Li said with a forced smile, pointing to the corner, "your seat is over there."
A low table sat in the corner, clearly a humiliation prepared for him. Qi Huaiyu's face turned pale, but he endured it.
Xue Yingxue sat not far away, never once glancing at him, only chatting and laughing with Young Master Chen beside her.
"By the way, I heard that Young Master Qi also wrote a new poem," someone asked deliberately. "Could it be that he 'borrowed' from Miss Xin's work again?"
Another burst of laughter erupted. Qi Huaiyu crushed the teacup in his hand with a "crack," splashing scalding tea all over his hands.
"How could you be so careless?" Tea splashed onto Xue Yingxue's skirt. She frowned and tugged at her skirt, her cold tone carrying a hint of disdain.
Young Master Chen quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe her clean, and said with a smile, "Those who haven't learned the etiquette of high-class families are naturally different from us."
These words were like a sharp knife, piercing straight into Qi Huaiyu's heart. He stood up abruptly, only to find that all the guests in the hall were looking at him with disdain, as if they were looking at something filthy.
"Fine...very good..." Qi Huaiyu gritted his teeth, "You just wait!"
He staggered out, followed by bursts of mocking laughter.
"Even a stray dog dares to bark..."
"He really thinks he's some kind of young master."
On the other side, in the Xin family home, when Xin Xiyao pushed open the door, she was surprised to find that her younger sister was indeed copying Buddhist scriptures at her desk.
"You really intend to 'sincerely worship Buddha' for five years?" Xin Xiyao picked up a piece of Xuan paper with the ink still wet, on which a passage from the Diamond Sutra was neatly copied.
Xin Jiuwei put down her brush and rubbed her sore wrist: "If we're going to do it, let's go all the way first, then we'll talk..."
She lowered her voice, "Sister, don't you know that Master Jueming lives next door? What if he finds out I broke my promise..."
Xin Xiyao keenly sensed something, leaned closer to her sister, and lowered her voice, "Speaking of Master Jueming, is your relationship with him truly just a Buddhist connection?"
"What are you thinking about, sister?" Xin Jiuwei shook her head with a faint smile. "That's a highly virtuous monk, not some young master Zhang or young master Li."
"Would a highly virtuous monk lie for you in public?" Xin Xiyao shook her head. "Don't think I don't know that today's events are just rhetoric. If you truly had a connection to Buddhism, would you have waited until today to let us know?"
Xin Jiuwei pursed her lips; naturally, she couldn't tell Xin Xiyao the truth.
Her decision to side with Xiao Xun was originally a desperate measure.
She had never forgotten what Xiao Xun looked like in her previous life, that scheming new emperor, someone they couldn't afford to mess with.
"Let's not talk about that." She changed the subject. "By the way, sister, my cousin asked me to send his regards. He asked if you're feeling better."
Xin Xiyao was taken aback, her brows furrowing slightly. "What does it have to do with him? It's just an excuse. Can't you even tell?"
Hearing her tone, Xin Jiuwei suddenly noticed something different.
"My sister always seems to dislike my cousin. Why is that? When I went to Yuncheng this time, my cousin was very mature and a very good young man. Once my maternal grandfather lets go, he will be the head of the Qi family."
Xin Xiyao was unwilling to say more, "What does that have to do with me? It's a waste of breath."
Xin Jiuwei glanced at her sister and then thought of her marriage.
With my sister looking like this, it seems she looks down on everyone. Where is she going to find a suitable husband?
In the dead of night, Qi Huaiyu huddled alone in the corner of the most dilapidated tavern in the west of the city, with three or four empty wine jugs in front of him.
"Women are the easiest to fool."
The loud voice of the drunkard at the next table reached my ears: "Say a few nice words, shed a few tears, and she'll soften her heart..."
Qi Huaiyu looked over with blurry, drunken eyes and saw several street urchins drinking and bragging.
“Especially those ladies from high-class families,” a man grinned. “Don’t be fooled by their seemingly sophisticated appearances; they’re actually the easiest to deceive!”
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Qi Huaiyu's chaotic mind.
"Waiter! Bring me paper and pen!" He slammed his hand on the table, startling the bartender.
"You're delirious! Where would we get paper and pens? What are you pretending for!"
Qi Huaiyu stared at him coldly for a moment, then staggered away.
Half an hour later, in the courtyard, Qi Huaiyu put down his pen, and a tearful "letter of repentance" was freshly written.
Qi Huaiyu blew the ink away with satisfaction, his smile turning cold. "Xin Jiuwei, we'll see."
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