Chapter 4 You Should Go Sing in a Theater Troupe
Zhang Laizi immediately lowered his head. If he told the truth, Gao Zhiyuan would definitely target him if he became an official in the future.
He immediately felt a little regretful. It was easy to get things done with money. Who would have thought that Li Wanyue, who was usually docile and timid, would be so difficult to deal with? If he really took the matter to the government, he would definitely be beaten and imprisoned.
Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and slapped himself in the face: "I am a piece of shit. I saw Gao Er's family coming to wash clothes by themselves, and there was no one around. I was impulsive and had this idea.
Gao Er's family hit me with a stick, and when I tried to grab the stick from her, I accidentally pushed her into the water. I was scared and wanted to run, but I was tripped by a rock and fell into the water. I was afraid that you would scold me, so I made up a lie, Gao Er's family, I'm sorry for you, ah..."
Before Zhang Laizi could finish his words, Li Sandong kicked him down. His head hit a stone, and a bump instantly formed. He grimaced in pain.
"I let you bully my sister."
As he spoke, he kicked her. After a few kicks, Zhang Laizi's wife came running over and begged for mercy.
Village Chief Li's beard trembled. He suppressed his anger and said, "Brother Liu, the villagers in your village are talking nonsense. They almost ruined the reputation of all the girls in Daohua Village. What do you think we should do about this?"
Village Chief Liu sighed, "He did something wrong, so he should be punished. But he didn't get any better, so this is a lesson for him. I think he won't dare to do bad things in the future. It's better to let Zhang Laizi pay some money to Gao Er's family."
"Okay," Li Wanyue nodded, thinking about the purchasing power of money in this era, and said, "Then pay three taels of silver."
"Three taels? Why don't you go and rob?" Zhang Laizi cried as soon as he heard it: "Village chief, my family has no money."
When Zhang Laizi's wife heard this, she immediately walked up to Li Wanyue and cried, "Gao Er's wife, you also know our family's situation. The whole family has a hard life and there is not much money left at home. Although Laizi did something wrong, you beat him and scolded him. He almost lost his life, which can be considered as punishment. After this incident, he will never dare to do it again. Can you pay less compensation, or I can work for your family to pay off the debt, what do you think?"
In Li Wanyue's memory, Lai Zi's wife was a good one. She and her sister-in-law took care of everything at home and outside. It could be said that the whole family was supported by two women, and their family was indeed in financial difficulty.
If they were really asked to take out three taels of silver, they would indeed not be able to do so.
She said, "Well, then pay one or two taels of silver and let Zhang Laizi work for the Li family for a year to pay off the debt. Whether it's spring ploughing, autumn harvest, or repairing the house, as long as you ask him, he will come to work. If he doesn't want to, he can go to the government."
Zhang Laizi was stunned. He had never done any work for his family, so he wanted to work for them? Wouldn't that be like asking for his life?
Zhang Laizi's wife immediately expressed her gratitude, saying that it was better than going to jail.
After expressing his gratitude, he helped Zhang Laizi away.
After the people left, Mrs. Cui realized that she had actually earned one or two taels of silver because of this incident. She could use the silver to buy some meat for Yuan'er.
Then he said loudly: "Why should you work for the Li family? You are a member of our Gao family now, you should work for our Gao family."
Village Chief Liu frowned and scolded: "Shut up."
It’s not messy enough.
Li Wanyue looked at Gao Zhiyuan's family, and Gao Zhiyuan immediately looked at her with affectionate eyes: "Wanyue, I misunderstood you and made you suffer. Now that the matter has been resolved, come home with me. You fell into the water, don't catch a cold."
"Yes, sister-in-law, it's all Zhang Laizi's fault. Now that the truth has come out, let's go home and everyone else can go." Gao Zhiqiang also echoed.
"Gao Zhiyuan, you shouldn't be studying, you should be singing in a theatre troupe. Those famous actors are not as good as you. I know what you are thinking. You planned this just to divorce me legitimately and keep my dowry without being accused of being ungrateful. You are really calculating."
Gao Zhiyuan's eyebrows twitched. This Li Wanyue was always silly. When talking to him, she always blushed and lowered her head. She didn't dare to look him in the eye and just obeyed his words.
There was no affection in her eyes at this moment, but she could still see what he was thinking. When did she become so smart?
If the academy knew about this, his future would be ruined.
Trying hard to calm himself, he looked hurt: "Wanyue, have you not recovered your consciousness after falling into the water? How could that be? You are in my house, my mother treats you as her own daughter and has never treated you harshly. We have been married for three years, don't you know how I feel about you?"
Li Youshan pouted and glared at Gao Zhiyuan: "You bastard, you treat her like your own daughter? You raised a daughter, but you raised her like this?
Just because you are blind doesn't mean everyone is blind. Before my daughter got married, she was plump and fair at home. Now she has been married for less than three years and you can see how haggard she has become. Are you kidding me?"
Gao Zhiyuan frowned. He didn't like talking to these vulgar peasants who cursed at every turn.
If his family was not well-off and he could not marry Yunniang, why would he marry Li Wanyue at that time?
Yunniang's father was a scholar, and was also his enlightenment teacher when he first went to the academy in the town. She also studied with her father, was well-versed in poetry and literature, and knew etiquette. The two were childhood sweethearts.
However, his family asked for a dowry of twenty taels of silver, which he could not afford. He also had to study as he could not stop. Not long after, Yunniang was betrothed to someone else, so he had to find someone else.
Li Wanyue was the better-looking girl in the nearby village, and her family doted on her. They would definitely support her so that he could continue his studies, and that's why he thought of marrying her.
Although she looks good, her face is very rough and she has no charm at all. She has greasy hair and talking to her is like playing the lute to a cow. She knows nothing about poetry and songs. Although she is thinner now, she is still not as good as Yunniang.
In his eyes, Li Wanyue was just a slave who worked for the family for money. He would divorce her when he passed the imperial examination and met someone better.
Unexpectedly, Yunniang later broke off the engagement, but he was already a married man and could not divorce his wife at will unless she did anything wrong. Moreover, he had no fame at that time, so he could only keep in touch with Yunniang.
Now that he had passed the examination and became a scholar, Yunniang could not wait any longer. She also did not want Li Wanyue to take away her dowry, so she came up with this idea. However, she never expected that Zhang Laizi was such a loser who could not even do such a small thing.
Mother Cui jumped out again: "Li Wanyue, stop slandering me. Who wants to deduct your dowry? Don't try to throw dirty water on my son. You are a hen that doesn't lay eggs. You haven't given birth to a child in three years. Zhiyuan will be an official in the future. Do you want him to have no descendants? If we divorce you for this reason, no one will say anything to us. But you dare to bite Zhiyuan. You have no conscience."
"Divorce me? What's your reason? You mean we have no children, right? According to the rule of our dynasty, you can divorce your wife after five years of not having children. It's been less than five years, and you're trying to divorce me? Then I'll go find the county magistrate and the teacher of the academy to judge the matter."
Li Wanyue’s words stunned Mrs. Cui. Is there such a rule?
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