Chapter 100 Ancient World: Stepmother (17)
October has arrived.
The weather was already a bit chilly, and Changqing walked briskly along the path into the mountains.
After living alone for a few months, he has changed a lot. He has grown taller, at least five centimeters taller than before, and his physique has become much stronger. He already looks like a teenager.
He planned to go into the mountains to find some wild game.
He rents out all the land, so he doesn't have much to do. Whether it's gathering firewood or hunting wild game, he's basically living off the land.
"Changqing, you've grown taller!" someone greeted him with a smile.
“Of course, my dad is a big guy. Life was tough before, but now that he lives on his own, it's much easier.” Changqing wasn’t going to give Li Fusheng’s family any face; it would be good enough if they didn’t tear each other apart in public.
The listener nodded. They were all from the same village, and no one wanted to meddle in other people's business, but that didn't stop their opinion of Li Fusheng's family from dropping another notch.
"Changqing, is it true that you said you wanted to be a live-in son-in-law? I have a niece from the next village..."
Someone wants to act as a matchmaker.
Changqing looked into it and found out that the girl's niece had brothers, so he immediately shook his head.
“You have an older brother, and you’re even taking in a son-in-law? Could it be that you’re after my few acres of land? No way, no way, that won’t do.”
This made everyone laugh, and they all said that they didn't realize he was so shrewd.
Changqing sighed, "When you're living your own life, you naturally have to be more careful with your money."
After saying goodbye to everyone, he went into the mountains.
When I returned home in the afternoon, I not only had a bundle of firewood on my shoulder, but I also had two wild rabbits in my hands.
Li Huanxi greeted her with delight.
"Brother, I've already started cooking rice. Oh, there's also rabbit meat, but I've never cooked this before."
"Let me show you what I can do," Changqing said with a smile as he placed the firewood in the yard.
His younger sister works very hard at embroidery, and you could even say she has a talent for it, which makes him very happy.
Half an incense stick later.
A plate of fragrant and spicy rabbit meat was served, and the brother and sister ate it with rice until they were stuffed.
"I never dared to imagine such a life before."
Li Huanxi sighed as she cleared away the dishes.
"What's this? Our lives will definitely be better in the future, even better than Li Fusheng's family. They'll be envious and jealous."
Changqing said with a smile.
“This is difficult. Even if Li Xiangling doesn’t learn embroidery, Li Qingyue is good at studying. If he passes the imperial examination and becomes an official, I’m afraid we won’t have a good life.”
Li Huanxi was somewhat worried. Now, the brother and sister had offended Li Fusheng's entire family. Not only did Li Xiangling always give them the cold shoulder, but even their own mother, Zhao Lianhua, avoided them.
Changqing, however, remained optimistic: "Taking the imperial examinations is not that easy."
Keep in mind that Li Qingyue was in a fight just six months before the imperial examination, so the timing is probably about right.
In the story, the original owner's siblings became bargaining chips to settle things. Now, how will this matter be settled? It's quite intriguing.
Moreover, even if things are settled, Li Qingyue will only pass the imperial examination on his third attempt, so it's still a long way off.
Changqing wasn't flustered at all.
Anything can happen in such a long time.
Things happened faster than expected.
Just a few days later, the system sent a message that Li Qingyue had gotten into a fight with someone during his study tour in the county, breaking the person's leg, and had now run home.
"Hehe, host, your mother is already on her way and wants to discuss this with you."
The system chuckled.
Changqing's face turned cold. Did that woman still want him to be convicted and imprisoned?
He really wanted to see how she would have the nerve to bring it up.
Zhao Lianhua, however, was in a state of great turmoil.
All the way there, she could only picture Li Qingyue's panicked state in her mind. The imperial examination! The imperial examination was a major event for the whole family; it couldn't be failed!
Therefore, when Li Fusheng suggested that Changqing take the blame, she didn't hesitate at all.
At worst, when Qingyue becomes successful, he can help Changqing out. A family should help each other out.
She rushed out the door, only to remember that her deceased ex-husband was still living in the old house.
what to do?
It would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid, but when she thought of Li Qingyue kneeling in front of her calling her "Mom," looking so pitiful, she gritted her teeth.
At worst, I'll just give up my life.
We have to go all out for our son's future.
No, no, you must stay calm, don't panic, take a deep breath, exhale!
She took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
Changqing was at home, and he had already prepared himself mentally.
Zhao Lianhua felt a wave of dizziness. She hadn't seen her son for several months. He had grown a lot taller, and the way he stood there chopping wood looked somewhat like his father.
Crack!
With a single swing of his axe, Changqing shattered the piece of wood in front of him.
He then turned around and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
What are you doing here?
For a moment, Zhao Lianhua was stunned, but she quickly regained her composure.
"Changqing, something happened at home. Qingyue hurt someone, and nobody knows what to do. Please go and help us think of a solution."
Changqing raised an eyebrow. "Sure."
His quick answer made Zhao Lianhua a little insecure. She stared at Changqing for a while before nodding happily.
"That's great, I'm glad you're willing to help."
Changqing laughed, "No matter what, we're from the same village, so I'm happy to."
The mother and son walked one after the other on the way to Li Fusheng's house. By this time, Changqing was already a head taller than Zhao Lianhua and had grown much bigger. His shadow cast on the ground resembled a large tree, which was quite intimidating.
Zhao Lianhua followed behind, feeling inexplicably nervous.
"Changqing, you don't hate your mother, do you?" she suddenly asked.
"Huh? How could that be?" Changqing turned around and smiled brightly. He disliked Li Fusheng's whole family equally.
They soon arrived at Li Fusheng's house.
The whole family was waiting, and when they saw Changqing arrive, they stood up as if they had seen a savior.
This treatment—
This is unprecedented.
"Changqing, you are so magnanimous and forgiving. Our whole family is very grateful."
Li Fusheng hunched over, his face beaming, his politeness bordering on humility for the first time.
Li Qingyue still had injuries on his face and no longer looked like a scholar. He didn't care about his reputation, took two steps forward, and knelt down with a thud.
"Brother Changqing, thank you for saving me. I, I..."
His voice choked up as he spoke.
Li Xiangling was glared at by her father and knelt down with her brother, but there was still a look of resentment on her face.
Changqing glanced around, his expression unchanged.
This kind of moral blackmail tactic might work on the original owner who was born and raised there, but it had no effect on him at all.
He sat down immediately.
"Tell me what happened, and I might be able to offer some advice."
Li Fusheng quickly stepped forward and recounted the events. In his account, Li Qingyue had intervened because the local bully surnamed Wang was harassing a young woman. He couldn't stand it and intervened out of righteous indignation, but he hadn't expected to go too far and break the man's leg. Now the man had reported it to the authorities and was threatening retaliation...
Goodness.
He turned into a chivalrous hero.
This is different from the version the system mentioned. In the system version, Li Qingyue got into a fight with someone over a girl from Hongxiulou. This change makes him seem much more impressive.
He wore a half-smile.
"Since it's about upholding justice, what's there to be afraid of? Just explain the situation to the authorities."
Li Qingyue's expression changed.
Li Fusheng shook his head repeatedly, "You don't know, that Wang family boy has an uncle who is the registrar under the county magistrate. It's not enough to be in the right to get by in this matter."
laugh.
Changqing simply scoffed.
"What's wrong with the registrar? Our Li family isn't without people. You wait here, I'll go and invite the clan chief."
As he spoke, he stood up. Although the Li family was not a large family in this area, there were always a few successful people among so many people. There were no high-ranking officials, but there were still two minor officials. The clan leader often mentioned this and was very proud of it.
Li Qingyue's expression changed, and he quickly stepped forward to stop him.
"No, you can't call him clan leader."
Li Fusheng quickly blocked the doorway.
"Changqing, this matter should not be blown out of proportion. Your brother Qingyue is going to take the imperial examination next year. If it gets out of hand, it will be bad for his reputation."
Zhao Lianhua nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, it's best to settle this privately and appease their anger."
Haha, so you wanted to settle this privately.
Changqing knew perfectly well that the plan was simply to make him take the blame when the officials arrived.
"How do you suggest we settle this privately?" he asked calmly.
The Li family members exchanged glances, and finally Zhao Lianhua spoke up.
“Son, your brother Qingyue is going to take the imperial examination, so we can’t delay it. The family has already discussed this matter. When the officials come, just say that you did it. They’ll just break your leg, and no one will die. At worst, they’ll just interrogate you and lock you up for a few days.”
"We will compensate you with five taels of silver."
Changqing's face darkened, and Li Fusheng quickly added from the side.
"Ten taels of silver, we will compensate you with ten taels of silver."
Ten taels of silver, that's more like it.
In the story, they made the original owner take the blame, but there was no compensation. It seems that his living alone now has some effect.
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