Song Anrong nodded slightly, and Zhenshu clenched her hands and said, "Then read the letter quickly!"
Seeing that she was completely oblivious and still clueless, Song Anrong was both angry and helpless. He had no heart to read the letter and simply said, "Zhenyu from the capital has sent a letter inviting you to come to the capital to live with her. Are you willing?"
Zhenxiu tiptoed over and grabbed the letter, exclaiming, "Really? I knew she couldn't live without me!"
Without even saying goodbye, she tiptoed out of the house and ran into the backyard, calling out loudly, "Mother, Mother, Sister Zhenyu has written to ask me to go to the capital."
Upon hearing this, Madam Su lifted the curtain and ran out, urgently exclaiming, "Really? Where's the letter?"
The mother and daughter screamed with joy in the courtyard. Su Shi clutched her chest, almost fainting from happiness, and hugged Zhenxiu tightly, saying, "My Zhenxiu is the most capable one."
Zhenyi jumped up and down, crying, "I want to go too! I want to go too!"
Madam Su pulled her into her arms and said, "Yi'er, you are my little darling. Stay with me for now. Once your fourth sister has made a name for herself in the capital and paved the way, I will definitely take you back with me."
Zhenxiu was illiterate and dared not call Zhenshu, so she knocked on the door of the west room and called out loudly to Zhenyuan, "Elder sister, come out quickly and read the letter for me."
Zhenyuan didn't open the door, and said coldly, "I don't have time. Go to the outer courtyard and read to your father."
Zhenxiu laughed breathlessly, pointed to the door and said to Madam Su, "Look, even eldest sister is jealous."
Madam Su said, “Now that you are all of marriageable age, I will no longer be concerned about seniority. Whoever finds a husband first will marry first. When Zhenxiu arrives in the capital, she doesn’t need to deliberately refuse marriages because of your two older sisters. Once you have a husband, I will take Zhenyuan to the capital to find a good match. As for Zhenshu…”
Mrs. Su sighed again and said, "Originally, I was thinking of hiring someone to come back or marry someone from the village so that she could take care of us old folks. Now, I don't need to think about that anymore. I'll be grateful if she can take care of herself."
Just now, when Zhenshu returned home, Zhenxiu ran home first and was called away by Song Anrong. As she was about to enter, she saw Achun limping over and stammering, "Zhenshu, wait a moment."
Zhenshu turned around and asked, "Is something the matter?"
Ah Chun, supporting herself with a cane, had feet not much bigger than Zhenxiu's. She struggled to pull Zhenshu to a large locust tree before whispering, "Your Zhenxiu has been spreading rumors these past few days that you were abused by a farmhand."
Zhenshu nodded and said, "I know."
A flicker of barely suppressed curiosity flashed in Ah Chun's eyes as she lowered her voice and asked, "Really?"
Zhenshu shook her head and said, "It's not true, it's not true."
Ah Chun gritted her teeth and said, "Then she's ruining your reputation, why doesn't your mother do anything about her?"
Zhen Shu sneered, "She's just reaping the consequences of her past sins, and she can't help but create more bad karma through her words. What right does anyone else have to interfere?"
Ah Chun sighed and said, "There are only two sisters in my family, Ah Fang and me. Although we are poor, we are very close. She always shares some of her good things with me and never speaks ill of me in front of outsiders. Even if she sees me doing something wrong, she will cover it up for me in front of our parents."
Zhen Shu said, "Your fate is a good one, ours is a bad one, that's all. I'm going home now, you should go home too."
After saying that, he was about to take his leave.
Ah Chun tugged at her sleeve and said, "Actually, there's something else. Tong Qisheng asked me to pass on a message to you, asking you to meet him by the locust grove by the Wei River tomorrow night. He said that he's currently under strict guard as a scholar and can't go out, so he wants you to come out after the moon is high in the sky."
Zhenshu initially wanted to refuse, but then she thought that even if she didn't want to become related to Tong Qisheng, she should still make it clear to him in person. So she nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."
She returned home and watched from the small west room as Madam Su shouted and yelled outside, while Zhenxiu and Zhenyi ran around the yard. She busily packed her bags and prepared snacks for Zhenxiu to eat on the road. She sat there until dark.
The next day, before dawn, Zhenxiu got up and urged the coachman and Zhao He to prepare the carriage and send her off. Su Shi accompanied her all the way to the village entrance, covering her mouth with her handkerchief and sobbing, "Good Zhenxiu, when you get to the capital, you must remember your mother. Whenever you have the chance, please remember to speak to the old matriarch and ask her to call us all back."
Zhenxiu waved her handkerchief at the car window and shouted, "You should all go back now, hurry up and go! The capital, here I come!"
She now longed to return to the capital immediately and live in Zhenyu's boudoir, surrounded by brocade and piled with gold and jade; she couldn't think of anything else.
Because it's the busy farming season, all the farmers are busy in the fields. Cai Genfa, a wealthy man who is quite prominent in the village, saw that Song Anrong had just found one of his daughters who had been lost on the way, and today he was sending off another one in a grand manner. He came over, bowed, and said, "Master Song, your family has been very busy lately?"
Song Anrong said with a wry smile, "Having too many daughters is a troublesome matter and causes trouble for everyone."
Cai Genfa thought to himself: Not only is it not troublesome, but it's also a very lively event. What trouble could there be?
He said nothing more, smiled, bowed back, and left.
Song Anrong was not fond of going out, but today, having set out, he decided to take a stroll through his several acres of fields to check on the crops and how to collect the rent. As he walked along, hands behind his back, he saw busy farmers everywhere, all talking about Zhen Shu. The discussions were filled with vulgar and obscene language, making even a refined man like him want to jump up and throw a punch.
Although Liu Zhang of Hanjiahe did not spread rumors, how could his wife, Han, not? Furthermore, Zhenxiu had spared no effort in spreading the word in the village. Now that the two sides were facing each other, the matter had become clear, substantial, and well-founded.
It was hot today, and it got dark late; by the time the moon was high in the sky, it was already past midnight. Zhenshu had just finished dressing and was about to go out when she saw Madam Su asking from the window of the main room, "My child, where are you going?"
Zhen Shu said, "Go out and find someone to talk to about something."
Madam Su waved her over to the window and said softly, "When you see Supervisor Tong, speak to him gently. Never admit it, no matter what. When it's time for you to get married, I will find a way to smooth things over for you and make sure you look like a real virgin."
Zhenshu's heart skipped a beat, and she turned her head and said, "Don't have any idle thoughts, you should go to sleep early."
Su nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling like an owl in the moonlight. As Zhenshu turned back before leaving the courtyard, she still saw Su leaning against the window with her eyes shining brightly.
When she arrived at the grassy area by the river, she saw Tong Qisheng already waiting there.
For some reason, Zhen Shu had always thought that Tong Qisheng was handsome and refined, a rare and charming scholar. However, after spending a few days with Du Yu, she noticed that Tong Qisheng was a bit short and his appearance was too ordinary. More importantly, he lacked that bold and unrestrained demeanor.
He came over, took Zhenshu's hand, and walked forward. The two went upstream, passing through the locust grove and reaching a melon field on a sandy riverbank. Tong Qisheng stopped and turned around, saying, "I heard that you fell off your carriage in Wuling Mountain and were captured by a notorious bandit."
The farmhand had become a notorious bandit, which shows how quickly word spreads.
Before Zhen Shu could speak, Tong Qisheng added, "I don't believe it."
“I don’t believe anything they say.” Tong Qisheng shook Zhen Shu’s hand and said, “I don’t believe you are that kind of person.”
Zhen Shu finally encountered someone who didn't believe her. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but Tong Qisheng said again, "But I want to hear what you have to say. If you say it's true, I won't say anything and I'll believe you."
Zhenshu shook her head and said, "No, I didn't."
Tong Qisheng was overjoyed and said in a trembling voice, "I knew you didn't! How could you possibly be interested in a dirty and smelly farmhand?"
Zhenshu took two steps back, withdrew her hand, and retorted, "What, are you saying that by the time the news reached you, it's no longer the farmhand who abused me, but rather I who abused the farmhand?"
Tong Qisheng waved his hand and said, "That's not what I meant. I just heard those idle people gossiping that the farmhand was a notorious bandit who was good at sweet-talking little girls. Not only did you let him deceive you, but you also kept his whereabouts a secret from others."
These words must have come from Hanjiahe.
Zhenshu said, "Since others say so, and I'm dead and can't testify or deny it, think whatever you want. Let's just consider what we said before as a joke; you don't have to take it seriously, and I won't..."
Seeing Zhenshu about to leave, Tong Qisheng quickly turned back, took a few steps to stop her, and shook his head, saying, "I don't believe it. I don't believe anything they say. Our marriage will proceed as planned. I just want to hear a definite answer from you: is it true or not?"
Zhen Shu felt her cheeks burning from his stare, and after a long moment of trepidation, she finally mustered her courage and stared at Tong Qisheng, saying, "No, I said no."
Chapter 32 The Mistress
Tong Qisheng put his arm around Zhenshu and said, "Good sister, I knew it wasn't true."
He held Zhenshu in his arms and whispered in her ear, "I don't believe in those things. After I go to the county to take the imperial examination and come back, we'll go to the capital together to prepare for the imperial examination. That way, we can stay away from these things and avoid listening to these idle gossips that will upset you."
Zhenshu felt deeply wronged, but hearing his sincere words, she nodded with tears in her eyes and said, "Okay!"
Tong Qisheng held Zhenshu in his arms for a while, then pulled out a handkerchief from his waist, waved it around, and said, "Look, what's this?"
Zhenshu thought he was going to wipe her face with a handkerchief, so she reached out to take it. Tong Qisheng suddenly laughed and said, "I'm going to the county town to take the imperial examination in a few days, and I'll be gone for several months. I'm sure I'll pass this time, and when I come back, we'll get married. However, since you weren't humiliated by that farmhand, and I still adore you, why don't we hold our wedding night early? It'll give me a happy occasion to help me with the exam, okay?"
Zhen Shu shoved Tong Qisheng aside, saying incredulously, "What did you say?"
Tong Qisheng approached again and pointed to a small hut in the melon shed in the distance, where a melon watcher was staying. He said, “This melon patch is rented from my family. There used to be an old man watching over the melons in that shed, but I’ve already sent him away tonight. Let’s go to that hut. I truly love you, and you will marry me sooner or later. It won’t take more than a day or two. Let’s have our wedding night as soon as possible so I can go to the county town for the exam, okay?”
Zhenshu pointed to the handkerchief and, instead of being angry, laughed, "So, you want to use this handkerchief as a witness, to lay it out and see the virginity?"
Tong Qisheng failed to understand her anger and nodded, saying, "That's right. I'll take this handkerchief to my grandfather tomorrow. Once he sees it and knows you're still a virgin, he'll surely agree to our marriage."
Zhenshu laughed twice, then turned and started to walk back the way she came. Seeing her about to leave, Tong Qisheng realized she was truly angry. He came over and forcefully grabbed her hand, saying, "Good sister, you should understand my difficulties. Besides, who else would want you now?"
Zhenshu twisted and struggled, saying, "Don't pull me, let go..."
As the two were struggling and writhing, a young man suddenly said from behind, "Young master, if you keep this up, I'll call for help."
Tong Qisheng and Zhenshu were surprised to find someone else there, so they stopped and turned around. A short boy walked over, pointed at Zhenshu, and said to Tong Qisheng, "She is my mistress. She has a husband. Don't pull her any further."
Seeing that the boy was short but puffed up with arrogance, Tong Qisheng teased him, "Where did you come from?"
Although it was night, the moon was still bright. Zhenshu looked closely for a while and said, "You? Aren't you the one who was with Lin Dayu..."
The visitor was none other than Du Yu's servant, Teng Sheng.
It turned out that Zhenshu had rushed there alone that day. Du Yu searched along the river, shouting and yelling, but to no avail. Then he saw the servants of the Liu family searching the area. He went back to the hut, took Zhenshu's skirt, and fled. He fled all the way to Hanjiahe, where he met two men sent by Prince Ping. Only then did he learn that the Grand Eunuch Yu Yichen, the chief eunuch of the Eastern Palace, had already set off for Ganzhou. Since he wanted to seek refuge with Prince Ping, he naturally had to bring a gift. He had to do his best to complete this first mission. Meanwhile, Zhenshu was missing. He dared not openly inquire about her everywhere, so he searched frantically with the two men sent by Prince Ping and a young scholar.
After searching everywhere without finding anything, the group rested and ate melons under the big locust tree, just as Zhenshu's cart passed by.
At that time, Du Yu was feeling troubled. He knew that Zhen Shu must have overheard his conversation with Teng Sheng and been scared away. He thought that he had finally found a wife he liked, but she had scared him away. He hated himself for deceiving her, was angry that Teng Sheng had come looking for him in the middle of the night and exposed the truth, and was also annoyed by the two men of Prince Ping urging him.
At this moment, Teng Sheng comforted Du Yu, saying, "Young Master, why don't you go to Ganzhou to take care of your business first? I'll stay here and slowly inquire about your wife's whereabouts. Once I find out, I won't disturb her; I'll just stay by her side and watch over her. After you finish this business, come to Huixian to find us, and then we'll go to Liangzhou together, okay?"
Two of Prince Ping's men chimed in, "That's right. Now that you've stolen a dog and are being chased by the Liu family, we, being soldiers from Liangzhou, dare not show our tracks here. Besides, Eunuch Yu from the Eastern Palace is probably here now. If he sees us, we'll all be doomed. It would be better to have your servant guard your wife for you. She's just a woman; she won't run away. We'll bring you here after we've finished our business."
Du Yu thought to himself that this was the only way. He had taken the silver notes from Teng Sheng and kept them for himself, but now he returned them all to Teng Sheng, saying, "When you find her, tell her the truth. She must have overheard about my character and abilities, so there's no need to hide anything. If she gets angry, tell her to hit you a few times to vent her anger. Count how many times she hits you, and make it up to me when you get back. As for this silver, give it all to her when you have time, so she knows that I'm not lying to her, and that I genuinely want to live a good life with her."
Before he could even extricate himself from the tiger skin, he found that the six thousand taels of silver notes were still not enough, so he asked the two men under Prince Ping, "Do you have any more silver on you?"
The two hurriedly shook their heads and said, "No, no, we have nothing on us."
Du Yu chuckled and snatched a silver pouch from one of the men. Opening it, he found not only some loose silver but also several folded silver notes. He took the notes and returned the pouch to the man. He then collected the money from the other man, totaling two thousand taels of silver notes, and handed them to Teng Sheng, saying, "Give all of this to her. She said her mother has many silk ornaments; tell her to sell them all to appease her mother until I return. As for the silver of these two brothers, I'll give them double the reward when I get to Liangzhou."
The two men, having lost their silver, stood with their heads bowed, their faces ashen with grief.
Teng Sheng had only taken a few steps after saying goodbye to them when Du Yu suddenly caught up with him, put his arm around Teng Sheng, and asked, "Do you know who she is?"
"Who?" Fujio asked, puzzled.
“It’s my wife, Miss Song. Do you know who she is?” Du Yu asked again.
Teng Sheng rolled his eyes and said, "Miss Song, your wife is indeed your wife."
Du Yu slapped his head and said, "She is your mistress. You should call her Madam when you see her. Although you are a little rascal, I think you have become more sensible in the past two years. If you meet her, you must not embarrass her, otherwise if I find out when I come back, our brotherhood over the years will be over."
Teng Sheng nudged Du Yu, patted his head, and laughed, "Young Master, what you said is truly embarrassing. What am I? How could I possibly have designs on Miss Song, who is so tall and has such a beautiful appearance?"
Last night, when Teng Sheng was packing his things in Wuling Mountain, Zhen Shu saw her from afar.
Du Yu also slapped his head and said, "That's your mistress, you should call her Madam, not Miss Song."
Teng Sheng bid farewell to Du Yu and his group, and went around inquiring about information on his own. He had only rested for one night when news spread like wildfire that the second young lady of the Song family at Caijia Temple had been violated by a farmhand. The next day, news that the second young lady had been having an affair with a notorious bandit in the forest replaced the previous story. The day after that, the news that the second young lady had violated a notorious bandit was even more widespread. Therefore, Teng Sheng no longer needed to inquire further and went directly to Caijia Temple.
He circled around the Song residence several times, listening to Zhao He and the coachman's idle chatter, both of whom expressed their hatred for Lin Dayu, thinking that if he were to plead for Du Yu now, he would probably be skinned alive by the entire household as soon as he entered. Therefore, he dared not show himself openly and instead hid quietly, waiting for Zhenshu to come out.
The first time Zhenshu went out during the day, he wanted to follow her, but seeing Zhao He following behind with a sword in hand, he didn't dare show himself. Tonight, seeing Zhenshu leave, he followed her from a distance. However, people were coming and going from the Song residence, and there were clearly several young ladies. It was too dark for him to see clearly from afar, and he didn't know if this was the one the young master had taken a fancy to. Therefore, he secretly followed her to observe her carefully before making a decision.
He followed them all the way to the locust grove and saw Tong Qisheng and Zhenshu walking towards the melon field. Since the melon field stretched as far as the eye could see and there was nowhere to hide, he had no choice but to sneak behind a small house when they weren't looking. He couldn't hear Tong Qisheng and Zhenshu's conversation because they were too far away. Later, he heard them talking loudly and realized that they were indeed the ones who had married Du Yu. When he saw the two of them fighting, he rushed over to stop them.
At this moment, Teng Sheng did not speak to Tong Qisheng any further. He walked up to Zhen Shu and bowed deeply, saying, "Mistress, I am the young master's servant. He was unable to come this time, so he asked me to take care of you."
Zhen Shu wanted to leave, but when she saw this person, she knew he was one of Du Yu's men. She knew she didn't want to get entangled with him, so she pushed Teng Sheng and said, "You should leave quickly and get out of here."
Fujio also pulled at Zhen Shu and said, "This man is not a good person. I'm taking my wife home."