Chapter 78 Slapping the Face of a Noble Lady
"This is honey tea that I brought from home. Sister, please try it."
Tan Qingrou personally poured tea for Sheng An, her slender, fair hands holding the teacup in front of him, her large, moist eyes filled with anticipation.
"This tea has a fragrance of osmanthus honey, it smells so good that you want to taste it. I'm so lucky."
Sheng An picked up the teacup and took a sip. The tea was fragrant and refreshing, making her mouth water. It was a tea that was very suitable for girls.
"If you like them, I'll give you some."
Tan Qingrou was very happy, like a child who had been praised. She pushed the plate of snacks in front of her towards Sheng An: "I had these made. They go perfectly with osmanthus honey tea."
Sheng An picked up a piece as instructed and took a bite. Surprisingly, it had a faint green tea fragrance, which perfectly balanced the sweetness of the osmanthus honey tea.
Her eyes lit up, and she asked the little girl in front of her, "Xiao Rou, did you make this tea and these snacks?"
Tan Qingrou blinked, giving her a "Big sister is amazing" look: "Hmm, do you like it, big sister?"
Sheng An gave a thumbs up, ate the pastry in one gulp, and then took a big sip of tea, showing the soft girl with her actions that she especially liked this tea and pastry combination.
Tan Qingrou's eyes sparkled as she imitated Sheng An, taking a big bite of pastry and a large gulp of tea, leaving her two personal maids dumbfounded.
Sheng An was both amused and exasperated, and quickly reminded the little girl, "Let's eat slowly, don't choke."
Tan Qingrou shyly covered her mouth, but smiled happily with her eyes crinkling.
Sheng An's heart melted at the sight; this was simply the girl of her dreams, but unfortunately, she wasn't hers.
The two enjoyed tea and snacks in a secluded corner, undisturbed, yet the surrounding sounds were clearly audible to them.
It's unclear who started it, but the ladies began discussing the upcoming imperial examinations, even mentioning Xu Jinnian's name:
"Master Jiang's four students were all outstanding. In this imperial examination, all four students won the title of Xiucai (a degree in the imperial examination system), and the top scorer was Xu Xiucai, who was the last to become his student."
"Xu Xiucai began his studies at the age of twelve, and in just six years he won first place. His talent is no less than that of Master Jiang back then."
"That's still a bit lacking. Master Jiang became the third-ranked scholar at the age of seventeen, a year younger than the current scholar Xu. That was truly a genius."
"A great teacher produces great students. Xu Xiucai suffered from starting his studies too late; otherwise, he might have become the next Master Jiang."
Upon hearing this, Sheng An's face was filled with admiration for Master Jiang.
A seventeen-year-old third-place scholar in the imperial examinations—that's a rare occurrence in the entire history of the imperial examinations, isn't it?
What's even more remarkable is that Master Jiang became the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in his early twenties, which shows that he was also a first-rate official.
To be able to become a disciple of such a master is not just an auspicious sign, it's practically a sign of good fortune!
However, the Xu family's ancestral graves are in Xujiaba. Last time they went back to repair the graves, they even got into a fight at the gravesite.
I wonder if the Xu family ancestors were angry.
I doubt it. Anyway, this Xu family daughter-in-law is neither sick nor having nightmares, and her mental state is excellent.
Tsk tsk, the ancestors of the Xu family were quite magnanimous, not holding grudges against their unfilial descendants in the mortal world.
Sheng An's mind wandered wildly for a moment, and when she came back to her senses, she realized that the ladies' conversation had gone off-topic, and that she had become the subject of their gossip.
"Xu Xiucai is good in every way, but unfortunately he has poor eyesight and married a country bumpkin who is of no help to him."
Sheng An: "..."
What's wrong with a country bumpkin? Does she eat your rice or drink your well water?
Tan Qingrou looked at Sheng An with concern, feeling that those ladies were being very unreasonable. Just as she was about to muster the courage to interrupt them, her palm was gently scratched twice.
"Don't worry, Xiaorou, your sister isn't angry."
Sheng An patted the girl's hand, afraid that she would interrupt his gossip: "We are respectable people. If we speak up at this time, it will be awkward for both of us."
Tan Qingrou's eyes reddened with emotion as she tightly grasped Sheng An's hand.
My sister is so kind!
Sheng An, unaware of her thoughts, continued to drink tea and eat melon seeds while listening intently.
"He really has bad eyesight. I thought highly of Scholar Xu from the beginning, and asked Mrs. Fang to introduce him to my niece. But he refused, saying that he should focus on his career before starting a family."
If they refuse, fine; this reason is barely acceptable.
Who would have thought that less than two months later, he would get engaged to a country bumpkin, which was absolutely infuriating.
"Oh my, so you also had your eye on Scholar Xu! My mother-in-law had her eye on him and wanted to arrange a marriage between him and my sister-in-law, but unfortunately my sister-in-law wasn't interested, so it didn't work out."
Hmph, my sister-in-law fell in love with Xu Xiucai at first sight and was very willing to marry him off. She wouldn't even see him. My mother-in-law was afraid that my sister-in-law would do something reckless, so she hurriedly married her off.
On their wedding night, the sister-in-law still wanted to remain chaste and cried, refusing to let her husband into the bridal chamber.
"I wonder what kind of beauty that country bumpkin is that has captivated Scholar Xu so much that he insists on marrying her. I wonder if I will be able to see her today."
"Probably, it's probably already on its way."
"When she arrives, we'll take a good look at how a country bumpkin can be so capable."
Sheng An was speechless when she heard them constantly referring to her as a country bumpkin.
What's so unsophisticated about her?
She's clearly a country bumpkin, isn't she?
The ladies were chatting enthusiastically, and a few young ladies who overheard their discussion nearby also gathered together and whispered among themselves.
"What a perfect man Xu Xiucai was, yet he was defiled by a country girl. It must be that the girl was attracted to Xu Xiucai's talent and appearance, and used despicable means to shamelessly marry him."
"I guessed that was the case, otherwise why would Scholar Xu refuse to marry a well-bred lady and be determined to marry a useless village girl?"
"No, Scholar Xu has been wronged too much. We must find a way to help him get justice. We can't let a shameless woman ruin his future!"
These words stirred up a storm, and all the young ladies present were filled with righteous indignation, as if they had personally witnessed Sheng An abusing Xu Jinnian.
What was clearly nothing at all was turned into a horrifying conspiracy by them with just a few words.
From harmless gossip to personal attacks and then to spreading rumors, this is intolerable!
Sheng An finished the half-eaten pastry in her hand, brushed the crumbs from between her fingers, stood up and slowly walked behind Ms. Li, the first person to spread rumors, and gently patted her shoulder.
Who is it?
Ms. Li was in a bad mood when someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder. She turned her head to look at him with great impatience.
Upon recognizing Sheng An, her expression stiffened. She suppressed her impatience and put on a polite smile: "This...this lady, may I ask if you have something to say?"
The other ladies exchanged glances, a sudden sense of foreboding creeping into their hearts.
Sheng An admired Miss Li's ability to change her expression so quickly. He sat down on an empty stool nearby and watched her with a smile.
"Let me formally introduce myself. I am the village girl you mentioned who defiled Scholar Xu and used despicable means to shamelessly marry him."
Upon hearing this, the entire stone platform fell into a deathly silence.
Miss Li's face was like a palette of colors, alternating between white, red, and green. Her eyes held shock, fear, anger, and an undisguised jealousy: "You, you, what do you want?"
"well--"
Sheng An sighed deeply, his gaze sweeping over Miss Li before turning to the other restless young ladies who were also spreading rumors:
"A woman's lack of talent is a virtue. I always thought that daughters of noble families were all well-read and would be better able to distinguish right from wrong than someone as blind as me. I never expected this..."
At this point, Sheng An's eyes were filled with deep disappointment: "It turns out that some young ladies from noble families can be just like ignorant men and women in the marketplace, throwing mud and framing others without knowing the truth."
The ladies' faces changed drastically, turning as white as if they had been dead for three days.
"No, no, no, it's not that. I... I... it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding..."
Miss Li was so ashamed she wanted to disappear, but she had no choice but to step forward and take responsibility, otherwise their reputations would be ruined once the news got out.
Faced with Sheng An's ambiguous smile, she couldn't utter a word of excuse; she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.
Unable to bear the consequences of her reputation being ruined, Miss Li mustered her courage, lowered her head, and bowed to Sheng An to apologize: "Scholar's wife, yes, it was my fault. I was talking nonsense. Please forgive me."
The others quickly stood up as well, apologizing to Sheng An with urgent expressions: "Scholar's wife, we're sorry, it was our fault. We shouldn't have spoken ill of you. Please forgive us!"
What happened here quickly attracted the attention of others.
In particular, the mothers of the young ladies, seeing their daughters bowing their heads and apologizing to women they didn't know, hurriedly got up and came over to ask what had happened.
Seeing this, Tan Qingrou, who had been silent until now, immediately stepped forward and stood next to Sheng An, clearly stating her position.
Upon learning that their daughters had spread rumors and been caught red-handed, the ladies' faces instantly turned into a palette of colors.
Especially after Sheng An introduced herself, their expressions became even more unpleasant, and they glared fiercely at their good-for-nothing daughter.
It's one thing to gossip about others in public, but to let others hear it and point out their mistakes—how could they raise such a stupid and foolish daughter?
At this moment, the ladies forgot that they had been referring to Sheng An with all their words about her being a country bumpkin.
Seeing that things were going to get out of hand, one of the ladies awkwardly laughed and said, "They were in the wrong. I hope that you, the scholar's wife, will be magnanimous and forgive them this time, considering it's their first offense."
A village girl is nothing to fear, and a scholar is not enough to make them wary.
However, the village girl caught the eye of the prefect's daughter, and the scholar, who was a disciple of Master Jiang, had close personal relationships with the young masters of the Fang, Ye, and even Tan families. How could they dare to act tough at such a time?
“Madam, you’re being too kind. It’s not a big deal. Since the young ladies have sincerely apologized, why would I hold a grudge against them?”
Sheng An smiled sincerely and humbly accepted the other party's apology.
Businessmen believe that harmony brings wealth. Now that Shengyuan is open to the public, these ladies from prominent families, as well as their husbands and fathers, are all potential customers of Shengyuan. It's not good to offend them too much.
Having made up his mind, Sheng An put away his smile and spoke earnestly:
"To be honest, I was also at fault. If I had introduced myself when I came, the ladies would have known that I am beautiful and kind-hearted, not the kind of scheming person, and there would have been no misunderstanding just now."
The ladies: "..."
The ladies: "..."
She is beautiful, but is she also kind-hearted?
Haha, it's just that he's shameless!
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