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Chapter 40 – The Fight

Over here, Wen Ruyu was in the house chatting about the gossip surrounding the neighboring Song family.

Ever since that day when Madam Wang returned from the Lu household, she brought her brothers from her maiden family over the next day.

The rift between the Song couple was also resolved that very day, as they both apologized and made peace.

After all, the Wang family were wealthy farmers, and Madam Wang was the legally wedded wife of Master Song, bearing him two children.

For a couple to quarrel and fight and then talk of divorce—such matters would even be considered absurd before a county magistrate.

In ancient times, officials judged family affairs based on human sentiments, supported by the law.

The magistrate of Qinghe County was known to be fairly lenient. Though he accepted bribes behind closed doors, he wasn’t one to make absurd rulings.

So when the Wang family came to mediate, they advised reconciliation, not separation. The Song family weighed their options and chose to keep the peace.

From that day forward, something seemed to change in Madam Wang. She became more open-minded.

She started showing filial piety to her in-laws, even greeted the concubine Yang with a constant smile—leaving no room for criticism.

Zhao Shu didn’t know the full details—she only knew that on the surface, the family seemed harmonious again, and privately, she was happy for Madam Wang.

But Wen Ruyu knew better—this was not enlightenment, but a dead heart being replaced by a stronger one.

After that day, life was much easier for Madam Wang in the Song household. But for concubine Yang, things weren’t as pleasant.

“Now that Concubine Yang is already seven or eight months pregnant, they didn’t even wait for the baby to be born before rushing to take in yet another concubine. Even with wealth, one shouldn’t act like this. Master Song is simply too greedy. His legal wife is still youthful, and even his concubine is beautiful—yet he still wants more.”

Zhao Shu had always gotten along well with her husband, and her mother-in-law cared for her. Growing up in such an environment, she was a kind-hearted person.

So, while she hated Yang for stirring up trouble between the main couple, she couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for her in her current state.

Recently, Concubine Qian had quieted down. Occasionally, she visited Wen Ruyu, and today was one such day. Upon hearing the gossip between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, she couldn’t resist adding, “That Madam Song caused such a scene last time—her clothes were torn when she came to our house—yet now she’s quietly putting up with her husband taking another concubine?”

Wen Ruyu replied, “She must have suffered a great deal for a long time. When it piled up to the point where she couldn’t bear it anymore, it exploded.”

“Then why is she staying quiet now?”

Wen Ruyu glanced at Concubine Qian and said, “Sometimes it’s better to be quiet. Making a fuss is useless—why waste the effort?”

Zhao Shu was on good terms with Madam Wang and had spoken with her privately. She knew that Madam Wang no longer shared a room with Master Song.

With the wife unwilling and the concubine pregnant—and Master Song being a lustful man—plus the parents eager for more descendants, nothing stood in the way of another concubine being added.

Madam Wang no longer protested, making her feelings clear—she had completely given up on her husband.

Since divorce wasn’t an option, she would just close her eyes and keep on living.

“Forget it, this is someone else’s family business. We can’t possibly understand all of it,” Zhao Shu said, trying to change the subject.

As the women sat chatting, someone came in with a message.

“Madam, Fourth Young Master is outside fighting with the Song family’s Third Young Master—over a man!”

Wen Ruyu frowned, just as confused as the other women present.

“What?” What did he mean by fighting over a man?

It was now early April, and news from the local government had stated that the imperial-appointed Education Commissioner had arrived and had notified students to head to the examination site.

Lu Jinnian, being a student scholar (tongsheng), didn’t need to take the county or prefectural exams. He only had to sit for the provincial exam.

Wen Ruyu had recently lifted his house arrest, thinking that since he was preparing for the exams, he might need to buy supplies in advance. After tomorrow, he’d be setting off for the exam location early the next morning.

Qinghe County fell under Jiangyuan Circuit, and the exam venue was in another county—traveling by carriage would take at least half a day.

To make things easier, Wen Ruyu had arranged for Lu Jinnian to rent a place near the education office in Jiangyuan.

So today, she had kindly allowed Lu Jinnian to go out and buy what he needed.

He had always behaved well and showed good manners in public, so Wen Ruyu hadn’t expected anything to go wrong.

Unfortunately, she had miscalculated this time.

“How did he end up in a fight? Is everyone okay?”

In the original host’s memory, she did recall Song Lin, the third son of the Song family—tall and skinny, about 175-176 cm, just a couple of centimeters shorter than her own eldest son.

Lu Jinnian had always been well-nourished, and by fifteen, he was already about the same height as Song Lin.

If the two fought, it would be hard to predict who would win. Plus, they were each accompanied by their own attendants.

Which meant it would have been quite a dramatic fight.

With the provincial exams just around the corner, Wen Ruyu definitely didn’t want any trouble now.

She had plans to purchase more farmland. If Lu Jinnian passed the exam, she could be exempt from taxes on sixty or seventy mu of land—and she’d also pay less labor levy.

So yes, Wen Ruyu cared a great deal about Lu Jinnian’s exam.

The servant delivering the message seemed hesitant to speak.

Wen Ruyu saw through him at once and, asserting her authority, said, “Speak! If you withhold information and something happens, I’ll punish you too!”

Frightened, the servant immediately knelt and said, “I heard this from the Zheng family’s servant. I don’t know all the details, but it seems our Fourth Young Master got into a fight with the Song family’s Third Young Master over a young officer.”

“Young officer?” Wen Ruyu didn’t immediately grasp the meaning.

Then it dawned on her—it was a euphemism for male prostitutes.

The moment Wen Ruyu realized this, her vision almost went black.

She wobbled, nearly collapsing, and had to be supported by Zhao Shu to stay upright.

It wasn’t that she was disgusted by homosexuality—it was just that this kind of thing was far too sensitive in this era.

In ancient times, homosexuality was definitely discriminated against. It was considered improper conduct through the dynasties. But as long as a man could still father children and didn’t threaten the patriarchal order, it wasn’t excessively condemned.

Many emperors in history were bisexual. From what Wen Ruyu knew, most Han dynasty emperors had male lovers.

There was even a legal charge for sodomy, but it wasn’t often enforced—and even when it was, the punishment wasn’t severe.

In Yufeng Kingdom, the worst punishment for such behavior was a public beating and a fine.

But because it was still seen as disgraceful and dishonorable to the family, even light punishment could bring immense shame.

Wen Ruyu didn’t personally discriminate against homosexuals. As a straight woman, she simply didn’t pay much attention to that community.

As long as no one was obsessively staring at women’s wombs, she was all for letting people love who they loved.

“What’s happening now?” Zhao Shu asked on her behalf.

“I only heard that a fight broke out and it’s escalating—someone mentioned going to the authorities. Not sure of the full details.”

Wen Ruyu calmed her breathing and ordered, “Send Lu Cheng to handle this. Get Iron Hammer and bring a few strong servants to break up the fight. Even if you have to tie him up, bring Jinnian back!”

“Also, notify the Song family—tell their Master that the exams are in two days. The most important thing is the boys’ exams. Today’s incident must be downplayed.”

Apparently, Song Lin had also recently passed the scholar exam, but without any official title yet. Wen Ruyu and her family hadn’t sent gifts yet, having heard from Madam Wang.

The servant, seeing her urgency, rushed off immediately.

Iron Hammer was the strongest man in the household. Since Lu Jinnian would be traveling within Jiangyuan Circuit, Wen Ruyu had already told Iron Hammer to be on standby to accompany him for safety.

As for Lu Bainian, she had already assigned someone else to keep watch on him.

The servant ran to the gate, hastily called a few men, and informed Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng then gathered Iron Hammer and five or six strong servants and rushed off with the Zheng family’s servant to Lihua Lane.

Naturally, the Song family, worried about Song Lin, also brought a team of five or six.

Both parties arrived at the scene almost simultaneously.

By then, Lu Jinnian and Song Lin had already been separated—but both were injured.

Inside, two officers from the yamen stood, swords at their waists, looking intimidating.

The commotion had been quite loud.

With each of them having two attendants, and Zheng Qiao plus two male prostitutes, Pei Xiao and Dai Gongren, as well as some young pages, the fight ended up involving over ten people—and spilled onto the street.

Naturally, such a scene drew a crowd. And as luck would have it, patrolling officers happened by.

Hearing that someone wanted to file official complaints, they came to investigate.

Once it was said that the two men were accusing each other of sodomy, involving four or five people, the officers saw a golden opportunity—they weren’t about to leave without earning some silver.

Now, both families had no choice but to settle things with money.

Zheng Qiao had already been mediating, and once the house stewards arrived, Zheng Qiao suggested:

“Each family pays ten taels of silver to the officers for wine money, and the matter is dropped.”

Fortunately, both families were wealthy. If money could solve it, then so be it.

Neither steward dared haggle—they sent servants home to fetch the silver.

As for whether it was embarrassing or not—Lu Jinnian and Song Lin had lost their own face, no one could pick it up for them.

The male prostitutes had been doing business discreetly. It wasn’t respectable work, but it wasn’t done in public.

They tried to keep things quiet—yet the two young masters, in the heat of argument, had dragged it into the street.

Now the entire lane had witnessed the spectacle. They only had themselves to blame.

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