The shameless man was a middle-aged man in his early thirties.
He had a fairly decent appearance, but he was hunched over and had a carefree, arrogant look on his face; he was clearly shameless.
Wan Shu's memories of the original owner had not yet been fully integrated. She thought for a moment before remembering who this person was.
Liang Youqian is Liang Fugui's half-brother.
Liang Youqian's mother is Liang Fugui's stepmother. Like the original owner of this body, she is a vicious stepmother. Although she doesn't physically abuse Liang Fugui like the original owner, she often mistreats him.
Unable to bear this insult, Liang Fugui chose to separate the family property after getting married.
However, his stepmother, including this Liang Youqian, are shameless. Even after the family split up, they often find excuses to take advantage of the eldest son's family.
Take two bowls today, and divide two ounces of meat tomorrow.
Don't be fooled by the original owner's fierce demeanor at home; outside, she's just a paper tiger, easily broken and no match for Liang Youqian, who often takes advantage of her.
So Liang became bolder and bolder, and his greed grew. He dared to ask for half a chicken without even asking.
Liang Youqian is really dreaming!
Wan Shu sneered inwardly, but continued walking forward as if she hadn't heard anything.
The original owner of this body had been taken advantage of several times, so she was afraid of Liang Youqian. Whenever she saw Liang Youqian, she would always be meek and submissive, hoping that Liang Youqian would swindle less money from her.
Liang Youqian was already used to the original owner's submissive attitude, but now that Wan Shu was ignoring him completely, he got angry.
"Didn't you hear me tell you to give me half a chicken?!"
Liang Youqian quickly caught up with Wan Shu, his words carrying a threatening tone: "I'm not taking this half chicken for myself, but for my mother! My mother is your mother-in-law. If outsiders find out that you picked up a chicken but refused to share it with your mother-in-law, you should know how bad it would be for your reputation, right?"
During the Great Sheng Dynasty, scholars cared most about their reputation. If their reputation was ruined, even if they were extremely talented, they would be ineligible for the imperial examinations.
Therefore, when scholars marry, they also place great importance on the reputation of their wives.
The original owner of this body longed for Su Fan to marry her, so naturally she couldn't allow anything to tarnish her reputation to get out.
Liang was good at striking at the heart of the matter, and by doing so, he gained a lot of benefits from the original owner of this body.
The surrounding villagers were talking about it.
"Tsk tsk tsk, this Liang Youqian is too shameless. In these times, it's hard to even get a bite of meat, but he just opens his mouth and asks for half a chicken."
“Liang Youqian at least has a son who is studying. Although he has not yet achieved official rank, he is still a scholar. How can he be so shameless as to take advantage of his widowed sister-in-law?”
"What do you know? He's so shameless just because he has a son who's studying. Education is so expensive! Tuition, writing materials, and so on all cost money. Only by shamelessly making a lot of money outside can he afford it!"
"But the rich wife is a fool. She asks for it every time, and she gives it to me every time. It seems like I can't keep this chicken!"
Er Ya and Si Ya also recalled the fear of being dominated by their uncle.
The two picked up the chicken and tried to run away, but Wan Shu grabbed them.
They turned around in alarm, wanting to beg Wan Shu not to share the chicken with her uncle, but they saw Wan Shu lower her voice and say to them.
"Don't worry, I won't give him a single feather. I'll also get you two sesame seed cakes while I'm at it."
Liang Youqian must have just come back from outside, as he was carrying four or five sesame seed cakes.
Ah, to deal with such a shameless person, one should certainly fight fire with fire.
She gave Liang Youqian a bright smile: "Second brother, I have something to tell you."
Wan Shu was famously beautiful in Qingshui Village. It was precisely because of her beauty that Liang Fugui was willing to spend so much on betrothal gifts to marry her, and he also indulged her after the marriage, not letting her work in the fields.
Because she hadn't done much manual labor, even after being married for decades, Wan Shu still had radiant skin and almond-shaped eyes, resembling a young girl, yet possessing a more mature charm.
Normally, she always has a mean face, so you can't really tell. But now that she's straightened up and has a bright smile, her beauty is fully revealed.
Liang Youqian was captivated by her smile and couldn't help but wonder if Wan Shu had fallen for him because she couldn't get into the Su family.
Since I can't be a scholar's wife anyway, being a scholar's stepmother is good too.
However, it won't be easy for him to divorce his shrewish wife; it seems he'll have no choice but to make Wan Shu his concubine.
Having so many beautiful widows as concubines, I wonder how prestigious he would be in the village. If we raise Er Ya and Si Ya for a few more years, we can sell them and earn some dowry money to support Yao Zu's imperial examinations.
Liang Youqian leaned closer with a smug look on his face: "Sister-in-law, just tell me what's on your mind, I can handle it all!"
"Oh? Is that so? Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Once she was certain Liang Youqian was within attack range, Wan Shu's smile vanished. She gathered her strength, pointed at his nose, and began to berate him: "I think you're just asking for trouble, shameless! You're asking for half a chicken right off the bat. With skin as thick as yours, you probably won't need to buy meat anymore. You can just cut off pieces of your own face every day to feed your whole family!"
The people in the ancient countryside had never heard of such an advanced way of cursing, and they all burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha, I thought the rich wife was just a bully at home, but I didn't expect her to be such a good verbal sparring partner!"
"With Liang Youqian's thick skin, it's no wonder he can feed his whole family without buying meat, hahaha!"
Liang Youqian realized he had been tricked and felt ashamed, his face turning a deep purplish-red.
He gritted his teeth: "Fine, you little slut, you dare to play me! Just you wait, tomorrow I'll spread the word throughout town about your disrespect towards your mother-in-law and your brother-in-law!"
Wan Shu was not afraid at all: "Go ahead and spread the word. Anyway, I've cut all ties with the Su family now. I have nothing to lose. If you dare to spread rumors that I'm disrespectful and unfilial, I'll spread rumors that Liang Yaozu instructed you to bully my widowed sister-in-law!"
Liang Yaozu was the only scholar in the Liang family and the only son of Liang Youqian.
Upon hearing that this matter involved his beloved Yaozu and was related to the reputation that scholars value most, Liang Youqian immediately became agitated: "What does this have to do with Yaozu! When have I ever insulted you!?"
“We are already struggling as orphans and widows, and you keep coming to scavenge for food. What else is this but humiliation?” Wan Shu retorted. “And most of the food you scavenge ends up being eaten by Liang Yaozu. If he didn’t instigate you, who else could have instigated you?”
Wan Shu became increasingly agitated as she spoke, and asked the surrounding villagers, "Does any of you aunties know where Uncle Erniu is?"
Uncle Erniu was the only family in Qingshui Village, besides the village head, who owned an oxcart. He was also the one who would pick up and drop off villagers to go to town every morning.
"I want more money! I want Uncle Erniu to take me to the county town right now! I've suffered so much injustice, I have to spread the word immediately!"
The villagers, always eager for a good show, immediately chimed in with an enthusiastic reply from an auntie: "I just saw Erniu lining up to fetch water at the village entrance."
Wan Shu pretended to walk towards the village entrance, and Liang Youqian was immediately terrified.
He often threatened Wan Shu with the issue of reputation, because he knew just how important reputation was to scholars.
Without a reputation, there is no future.
He absolutely cannot let Wan Shu ruin Yao Zu's future!
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