Wen Tian and Fu Youqin both made up their mind to break off the engagement. Mother and son sat together, each holding a cup of tea and sipping slowly. The Jiao matriarch tried to talk to Fu Youqin several times, but was intimidated by her cold attitude.
Wen Boli acted as if nothing had happened and chatted with the Jiao patriarch.
Wen Tian quietly perked up his ears to listen to the conversation between the two men. The Jiao patriarch kept mentioning a party which seemed to be attended by all the scholars from Nanming County and hosted by the magistrate of Nanming County himself.
Wen Tian didn’t understand what was going on, but the magistrate of Nanming County was someone he would never forget in his life.
In his last life, Wen Boli relied on the recommendation of the magistrate of Nanming County to become a mid-level local official. He was resourceful and good at socializing1, and with the financial support of the Wen family, his career as an official continued to rise. Starting from the small Sifang Town, he was promoted to Qingyang, the capital of the country.
Just when the family was about to move to Qingyang, Wen Boli brought in the “outer wife” that he had been hiding.
The concubine, Bai Ruihe, was so favored by Wen Boli that she was able to dominate the family. Even Wen Zeming, the concubine’s son, was taken around by Wen Boli to attend banquets while Wen Tian, the eldest son, was so coddled and useless that he could only watch helplessly as the concubine climbed to the top of the family.
The mother couldn’t stand this idle anger and was determined to make peace with Wen Boli. However, she didn’t expect that Wen Boli had long colluded with the government and misappropriated the Fu family’s property. The mother and son was instead kicked out of the door.
Wen Tian clenched his teeth and looked at the Jiao patriarch who was speaking. As it turned out, the county magistrate who recommended Wen Boli was introduced to him by the Jiao patriarch.
No wonder that they were ridiculed when they came to ask for help. No wonder that Jiao Changxian later on divorced his sister, even killed his sister’s child, and married Bai Ruihe’s niece. They could say a thousand words, but they were all just a nest of snakes and rats, just people riding the same boat.
The fingers hidden in his sleeves clenched tightly, and Wen Tian sat still, listening to the Jiao patriarch. They seemed to have finished chatting and he and casually said: “Elder brother Wen, the marriage between Changxian and Shuyue has been delayed for a long time. Now that Youling is back, the wedding can’t be delayed any longer. I asked someone to check the dates again, and the fifth day of February is an auspicious day. What do you think?”
Wen Boli pondered for a moment, glanced at his wife’s suddenly ugly expression, and deliberated, “Isn’t the fifth day of February too hasty?”
The Jiao matriarch smiled and agreed. “It’s not too hasty. Everything is ready. If we delay it any longer, the next auspicious day won’t be until March.”
They sang in unison, seemingly completely ignoring Fu Youqin and Wen Tian who were also sitting above them.
Fu Youqin sneered, glanced at her husband who had obviously reached some sort of agreement with them, and said coldly: “This marriage won’t happen!”
The Jiao patriarch’s expression changed, and the Jiao matriarch spoke up: “Madame Qin, we have known each other for many years. Let me tell you, it is the men who have the final say on this matter. We women don’t have much knowledge so we shouldn’t get involved. There will be nothing wrong with Shuyue marrying into the Jiao family.”
“Then you should ask the entire Wen family who exactly is in charge!”
Fu Youqin stood up, her usually gentle expression condensed to ice, so cold that she could shed ice shards. She looked coldly at Wen Boli whose face had turned purple. For the first time, she did not give face for her husband. “The plaque on the door changed the surname to Wen. But it doesn’t mean that the one surnamed Wen has the final say in the whole family. If you want to use Shuyue for your career path, first see if I agree!”
She said to the butler who was standing aside: “Throw these people out, and tell everyone that the Wen family has broken off the engagement with the Jiao family because Jiao Changxian has behaved improperly, and the Wen family is ashamed to be associated with him.”
Wen Ji responded without even looking at Wen Boli beside him. He ran out with his hands folded in his sleeves and called a few sturdy long-term servants to drive them out.
“You are behaving too much like bullies!” The Jiao patriarch, blushing and thick-necked, struggled to free himself from the servants’ pull and angrily scolded Wen Boli. “You promised us that this marriage will definitely happen!”
Wen Boli was first humiliated by his wife in front of him, and then questioned like this by the Jiao patriarch. He was so angry that he almost vomited blood. However, he still had to rely the Jiao patriarch’s recommendation to get acquainted with the county magistrate. Everything about the Wen family was good in every way except that it didn’t have any contacts in the officials’ circle. He had been thinking about becoming an official for half his life, so he must not miss this opportunity.
“Stop making trouble, is this the Wen family’s way of hospitality? How disgraceful!” Wen Boli shouted with a dark face.
The servants who took action paused and looked hesitantly at the steward. The steward’s expression didn’t even change. He nodded to them, and the long-term servants continued to drag the people out.
The Jiao patriarch was still fighting with his servants, and the Jiao matriarch was screaming in fear while protecting her clothes. She was wearing her best dress, and if it got damaged, she wouldn’t have the money to buy another one.
Jiao Changxian, who had been silent all this time, knelt down with a thud and said to Fu Youqin with tears in his eyes, “Auntie, I was framed. Please…please let me meet Shuyue again. She will definitely be able to understand me. I really love her!”
Fu Youqin’s eyes were disgusted, “Are you worthy of calling her ‘Shuyue’? I’m afraid you’ll dirty her eyes.”
“Uncle Ji, just drag them out, why bother with this nonsense.” Wen Tian said after seeing enough of the family’s pretentiousness.
“Wait a minute.” A gentle voice suddenly came from the back, and Wen Shuyue and her maid came out from behind the screen.
“Sister…” Wen Tian looked at her worriedly.
Wen Shuyue shook her head at him and walked slowly to Jiao Changxian. “I’m here now. What do you want to say?”
A bright light appeared in Jiao Changxian’s eyes, and with tears in his eyes, he tried to catch Wen Shuyue’s hand. Wen Shuyue took a step back, no emotion or anger in her expression, and repeated, “I’m right here. What do you want to say?”
Not having caught her, Jiao Changxian froze for a moment, but looking at Wen Shuyue’s expression, he thought it was not completely hopeless. He just knelt on the ground, not getting up, and looked at Wen Shuyue affectionately. “Shuyue, you have to believe me, those people outside are all talking nonsense, that day…that day I was drugged and couldn’t help myself!
“You know, I’ve been waiting for you for so many years and now finally get to marry you and bring you home. How could I do such a bastard thing? I haven’t even had a bed maid for so many years!”
Wen Shuyue looked a little moved. Wen Tian’s heart clenched as he thought about what he would do if his sister was really convinced.
However, he heard Shuyue speak slowly, “I thought you should at least say sorry to me.”
Jiao Changxian froze, looking at her in confusion.
“Deng Xiu, give me the booklet.”
The maid who followed her handed over a pamphlet, and Wen Shuyue handed it to Jiao Changxian. Her voice and movements were still gentle, but it inexplicably sent a shiver down Jiao Changxian’s spine.
“Take a look.”
He opened the pamphlet and, after just one glance, his expression changed.
On it were all the records of all the young women that he’d had relations with. Even the illegitimate sons of the Jiao family who were hidden away were clearly listed. Further back, there were even debts owed by the Jiao family.
Wen Shuyue watched him lying on the ground as if he had lost his soul, and slowly spoke, “Dai Fu came back with the news. I was afraid that I would be wrongly accusing you, so I asked someone to verify it. I didn’t expect you to be even more filthy than I thought.
“The Jiao family insists that you marry me for my dowry, right?” Wen Shuyue stood tall. Those dirty thoughts coming out of her mouth were like a knife to the face. Jiao Changxian opened his mouth, but no words of rebuttal came out.
Although the Jiao family was a family of scholars, they were not a rich family, and because they had to spend huge amounts of money every year to maintain the appearance of prosperity, they already incurred a great deal of external debts. There may have been a trace of sincere joy when he and Wen Shuyue were engaged, but as time went by, his parents kept whispering in his ears that they should coax Wen Shuyue into marrying into their home as soon as possible, and that trace of sincerity also dissolved in waves of prodigality.
Wen Shuyue looked at him with downcast eyes. Seeing that he was indeedspeechless, she took out a mutton-fat white jade mandarin duck pendant from her sleeve. It as part of a pair of jade pendants, one for her and one for Jiao Changxian. Jiao Changxian had given it to her when she came of age.
“I’m returning the jade pendant to you. Our engagement is over.” Wen Shuyue threw the jade pendant in front of him, turned around and left with the maid without any regrets.
“Shuyue!” The jade pendant made a sharp sound as it hit the ground and shattered into two halves. Looking at her resolute figure, Jiao Changxian finally felt a trace of regret in his heart.
“Bah! Shameless! You think you can call the lady by her name?!” Seeing that he still dared to call to her, the maid who was following Wen Shuyue turned back and spat at him before hurrying away again.
“Uncle Ji, see off the guests.”
The farce ended here. The Jiao matriarch wanted to say something, but Jiao Changxian stopped her. The family went out in embarrassment under the gawking eyes of the servants.
The people passing by saw them coming out of the Wen family gate with their clothes disheveled, and they all stopped in their tracks and whispered curiously.
“Isn’t this Young Master Jiao? Why does he look like he’d been kicked out of the Wen family?”
Another person said scornfully, “You don’t know this, do you? I heard that Young Master Jiao went to a brothel to have fun the night before his wedding. He took medicine and stayed with the four girls that night, and didn’t even go out on the wedding day.”
“That is so shameless!” The onlookers said in disbelief. “The Jiao family are all scholars, are scholars so shameless?!”
“Tch, it’s this kind of scholar who is the most hypocritical…”
The three members of the Jiao family heard the whispers behind them. They paused but did not dare to turn around. The three of them quickly got into the carriage and left in a hurry.
===Author’s Notes===
Tiantian: Humph! Cross your arms.
The bandit leader has no part to play today, it’s tragic√#
===Translator’s Notes===
Shuyue for the win!
- 长袖善舞, lit. “dancing with long sleeves”, which, according to here, Later, “long-sleeved and good at dancing” was also used to describe someone who is wealthy, smart, good at socializing or trying to find tricks in business. ↩︎
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