Chapter 33 The Scholar.
It turned out that Aunt Zhou was managing forty acres of land by herself. Although Little Stone could lend a hand, he was only a ten-year-old child and couldn't possibly manage it all. He worked from dawn till dusk, and his back ached, he had hidden injuries, calluses on his hands and blisters on his feet, but he still couldn't finish.
Upon hearing this, Lingyi hurriedly said, "How about... I take back those ten acres of land and rent them out to others? That way, you won't have to work so hard, sister-in-law."
Aunt Zhou was even more anxious than her: "What farmer would complain about having too much land? Good sister, if you rent the land to me, our family will be eternally grateful!"
Aunt Zhou said, "I know you're ambitious and want to save more money so that Xiao Shitou can go to a private school and not end up like us, toiling in the fields and relying on the weather for a living. I also don't want him to lose his life on the battlefield like his father did to support the family. But even if you have that intention, you have to consider whether you have the ability. On your own, even if you risked your life, you couldn't manage so many acres of land!"
Lingyi said, "I have some spare money on hand, you can use it first."
She now realized that even the writing implements she usually looked down upon were not cheap for Zhou Sao and her family, and books were even more expensive. It was not easy to support a scholar by farming alone, let alone with only Zhou Sao.
Aunt Zhou refused: "We only help those in urgent need, not those who are poor. Sister, I know you two are capable, but all of that was sewn stitch by stitch. There's no reason for you to supply small stones!"
Before Lingyi could speak, her mother-in-law, Zhou, retorted, "So why are you being so stubborn? Find a man to marry into your family, then someone will do the work, you won't have to work so hard anymore, and Shitou can still study. That man today, he looks honest and reliable, a skilled farmer, and not bad-looking either. What more could you possibly want?"
Aunt Zhou yelled, "I didn't ask you to work in the fields, what are you shouting for? I can support my son myself, you don't need to worry about him! How can you be like this, a mother-in-law forcing her daughter-in-law to find someone to marry into the family? Aren't you afraid people will talk behind your back?"
Zhou's mother-in-law wasn't angry. "I know you want to stay for my unfilial son, but he's heartless. Otherwise, why would he abandon us, a widow and her child? He's so easy to deal with; he's probably been reincarnated somewhere by now. Who knows, he'll be married again in a few years. But you're so stupid, still thinking about him!"
Aunt Zhou, hands on her hips, retorted, "Who said I was thinking about him? Your deadbeat son is not worth me guarding? Don't try to flatter him!"
She said that, but when she saw Lingyi off, she was somewhat absent-minded.
She looked up at the bright moon and suddenly said, "I still remember the night we got married. He was even more shy than me. He didn't dare to do anything serious and just pulled me to lie by the window and look at the moon like an idiot. He said that he would make me a cake with silver in the future, as big and round as the moon in the sky. But now, I've almost forgotten what he looks like."
After she finished speaking, she quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve and smiled embarrassedly: "Look, it's all her fault for bringing up that deadbeat all the time. She remembered something from so many years ago. It's so embarrassing!"
Lingyi looked up at the moon, saying nothing.
The next day, when Lingyi took out fifty taels of silver to deliver to Zhou Sao's house, there was already a man in her house.
Lingyi called her aside and stuffed the silver into her hand, saying, "Sister-in-law, if you don't want to, then don't marry."
Aunt Zhou stuffed the money back into her hands and sighed as she said, "Sometimes it's not just about money... Mother-in-law needs a son, Stone needs a father, and this family needs a man."
That evening, Aunt Zhou set up a few tables at home to invite the neighbors to dinner, which was considered their wedding.
Lingyi was unaware that two tables of people had arrived on the other side of the river. As soon as she appeared, the eyes of several young men at the table widened, and they kept staring in her direction. Annoyed, Lingyi left without staying for a meal, only giving her share of the gift money.
The man who married into the family was named Wang Hu. He was three years younger than Zhou Sao and was indeed capable and reliable. He managed the forty acres of land by himself, getting up early and working late.
At first, Aunt Zhou went with him, but later she saw that he could manage on his own, so she only brought him lunch and stayed home to weave cloth to sell for money.
After spending a lot of time at home, she would sometimes come over for a visit, and sit and do needlework with Lingyi and Bicao.
At first, she never mentioned Wang Hu, but later she mentioned him more and more. On this day, she even made a mosquito-repelling sachet for Wang Hu.
After she finished, she felt quite embarrassed. Lingyi said, "It's only natural for a wife to give her husband a sachet. There's nothing to be ashamed of."
Aunt Zhou sighed, “You don’t know, he’s also a man with a hard life. His first wife died during a drought, leaving behind two children. She also died when they were fleeing from disaster. We told each other that we would live together, and we don’t ask for anything else, just one thing: that he must be sincere.”
At this point, she suddenly felt it was pointless, threw the sachet on the bed, and got angry with herself. "But no matter how sincere you are, it can't compare to a married couple. His parents and brothers are no good. They coaxed and forced him to send his family's things across the river! Besides, I've never made such a nice sachet for a dead man. Why should I give it to him?"
Lingyi picked up the sachet and smiled slightly: "Then I won't see you off."
Zhou Sao was angry and took the sachet back. A few days later, the sachet was hanging on Wang Hu's waist.
Wang Hu was an honest and simple man, but his brothers were different. Two of them would often come over to him, saying they would help him with farm work, but in reality they didn't do much farm work. They just ate and drank at Zhou Sao's house, and their eyes would always wander towards Ling Yi's yard whenever they came over.
The courtyard wall was low, so Lingyi would stay inside whenever possible when they came.
Mrs. Zhou was furious. She put her hands on her hips and started yelling, "You toads trying to eat swan meat! I said you've already sold your brother out, so why are you suddenly trying to curry favor with him? You're really after this? Get out of here, all of you! Take a good look at yourselves! My sister would never look at you even if she were blind! But I can't let you disgust her like this!"
Wang Hu's second brother smiled ingratiatingly: "Sister-in-law, we're all family. Why don't you wish us well? That young lady next door has land and can make money. If I married her, wouldn't I be able to help you out?"
"Help my ass!" Aunt Zhou spat in their faces. "You think you're worthy? My sister would be a better match for an official, why would she want you? And don't talk to me about being family anymore. The last sister-in-law who was supposed to be part of your family was killed by you. Your mother's heart is twisted to the core. During the famine, because your brother wasn't home, she only cared about you two grown men, and your previous sister-in-law starved to death! Wang Hu is all strength and no brains! You can bully him, but I'm not a pushover! Wang Hu is now a member of the Zhou family. If I see you coming here again, I'll report you to the village head and have you kicked out of Huangzhou!"
There was a precedent for this. A man from the other side of the river harassed a widow and was arrested. The village head handed him over to the yamen, and he was driven away that night without even taking his belongings.
Huang Hu's brothers were naturally frightened upon hearing this and dared not come again, but they were still unwilling to give up and stopped people several times on Ling Yi's way to the prefectural government.
Bi Cao was both angry and annoyed. "Princess, should I go find the village head?"
Lingyi said, "Having been driven out of Huangzhou, they probably really have no way to survive. Apart from traveling with us on the road, they haven't done anything too outrageous. We should just ignore them."
She spared their lives, but after several attempts to test them, they became increasingly audacious and blocked her from leaving the shop on the street.
As the weather gets warmer, everyone has changed into lighter clothes. Although Lingyi always wears a veil when she goes out, her graceful and charming appearance cannot be concealed. The two men are feeling restless and hot, and they also think that she is still unmarried. If things get out of hand, they will have no choice but to accept it.
The two dreamed that the fertile land, houses, money, and beauties would all be theirs. Then, in a moment of desperation, they took a dangerous gamble and cornered the two of them outside a secluded alley, intending to force them into the alley.
Lingyi was prepared before leaving home, hiding a piece of iron nail in her sleeve. She was determined that if these two dared to get close to her, she would definitely blind one of their eyes.
But before the two men could even touch her clothes, they were whipped away.
Lingyi turned around and saw Qin Lie sitting on his horse in ordinary clothes through the white veil of his hat. He wasn't looking at her, but instead turned to the person next to him and said, "In broad daylight, someone is harassing innocent women on the street. Lord Zhang, is this what you call proper governance?"
The prefect wiped his sweat repeatedly, saying, "I know I was wrong! I know I was wrong!"
Qin Lie snorted coldly, spurred his horse, and rode away without glancing at Ling Yi once.
Lingyi breathed a sigh of relief. Whether he didn't recognize her or didn't want to, it was good that they were strangers.
By autumn, Lingyi and her companion replaced the wooden table with three legs that were long and one short, and the room was now quite presentable.
The cabinets, tables and chairs are all new, the bed sheets and quilts are all clean, and the pots and pans have all been bought. Inevitably, the dozens of taels of silver were used up, and now only thirty-odd taels remain.
Of the taels, more than ten taels were used to buy fine cotton cloth to make clothes for the two of them.
It wasn't that Lingyi was particularly fond of dressing up at the moment; it was just that she wasn't used to wearing coarse cloth clothes, which would leave marks on her skin if rubbed against it. And there were no ice rooms here in the summer, so even if she didn't go out for less than a day, she would be covered in sweat. She bought a bath tub to bathe in and changed her clothes every day.
After the autumn harvest, Aunt Zhou brought grain as rent for the land, and also frequently brought seasonal fruits and vegetables, as a way of thanking Lingyi for often bringing writing brushes, ink, and Xuan paper for Xiaoshitou when she went to the prefectural capital.
Little Stone entered a private school run by a scholar from across the river.
Wherever they go, people strive to improve their lives and create a better future for their descendants.
In those years, the private school, located on the opposite bank of the river where refugees gathered, actually took in dozens of children.
Lingyi had seen the calligraphy that Xiaoshitou had taken home to copy. She wondered if the scholar had any real talent, but at least his calligraphy had a certain style.
The refugees there held him in high esteem, and it was said that if it weren't for the war, he would surely have already passed the imperial examinations.
Even officials from the prefectures and counties came to him to invite him to come out of seclusion, but he refused, saying that he only wanted to teach his disciples here and prepare for the future stability of the country and the reopening of the imperial examinations.
Sister-in-law Zhou admired scholars, especially the young and handsome scholar, and thus she decided to match him with Lingyi.
It wasn't that she was being nosy; it was just that women always have to get married eventually. Looking around at all the men in the world, only this man was worthy of her younger sister. Moreover, because of the torrential rain that day, the scholar personally escorted each child from the other side of the river home, making Aunt Zhou even more grateful to him. She also hadn't forgotten the blush that appeared on his fair face when he saw Lingyi.
Just like when the dead ghost looked at her back then!
She told Lingyi, who just smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, sister-in-law, but I don't have the mind to think about these things right now."
Sister-in-law Zhou had also heard some stories of talented men and beautiful women, and nodded repeatedly, "That's true! If you ask me, it's better to wait. He's only a scholar now, and he's not good enough for us. We should wait until he becomes the top scholar or the third-ranked scholar before he comes to ask for your hand in marriage. Then he can earn you a titled lady!"
Lingyi casually replied, "Sister-in-law is right."
Leaving aside the uncertainty of when the world will be at peace, how could one possibly become the top scholar or the third-ranked scholar?
By then, the scholar will have long since married and had children, and will have forgotten all about this.
Two days later, when she went out, she saw the scholar standing at the door, bowing to her earnestly, "I will do my best to live up to your expectations!"
After saying that, he turned and left with a flushed face, not even giving Lingyi a chance to stop him and explain.
Lingyi found Zhou Sao and asked, "I thought it was just a joke between us, how did it get to his ears?"
Aunt Zhou sighed in frustration: “Oh, I think it was because I was chatting with Grandma Stone that day, and Stone overheard me and told the teacher. Should I go and explain to the teacher?”
There was nothing wrong at first, but this back-and-forth made it seem like something really happened.
Lingyi sighed, "I'll let it go this time, but you can't joke like that with me again next time, sister-in-law."
Life went smoothly like flowing water, and before we knew it, it was early winter. Although Huangzhou was not as bitterly cold as Jizhou, the north wind was still howling.
No one else used a heated floor, but Lingyi didn't want to be different, so she only let Bicao light a stove in the house. She used a hot water bottle to warm her bedding every night before bed, so she didn't find it too difficult to bear.
It was still cold outside, so the two of them stopped going to the prefectural government. Instead, they made their things and asked a cart driver to take them there, paying him forty coins for each trip. Although they earned less money, they no longer had to go themselves. However, sometimes they needed to buy embroidery thread, and since the driver didn't know how, Bi Cao would go there herself.
I thought life would just go on like this, until one day the sky was terribly gloomy, and it looked like it was going to snow.
The two closed the door early and went to bed to rest, when they suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.
Bi Cao trembled as she went to open the door. Qin Xiaohu entered the room and bowed to Lingyi, saying, "The general is injured, please ask the princess to go and take care of him."
Sitting in the carriage, Lingyi was in a bad mood. "There are so many people in Jizhou, why do I need to take care of them?"
Qin Xiaohu said, "The general has been shot and wounded by an arrow that is poisoned. He cannot endure any strenuous travel and can only stay in Huangzhou for the time being. There are still many remnants of the White Lotus here, and only the princess can take care of him with peace of mind."
Lingyi reminded him: "You should know that my parting with your general was not exactly amicable."
Qin Xiaohu said, "But you have a young master. For the sake of the young master, the princess would never harm the general."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
