Chapter 77: Lesson

The two of them were startled, scrambling around in a flurry, not knowing exactly what they were doing.

Lu Jinian thought to himself that his status as a local gentleman in the county was something, and as long as his elderly lady at home didn’t find out, others couldn’t do much to him.

After taking a moment to calm down, he turned his gaze toward the person who had spoken.

He saw a middle-aged man, about seven feet tall, nearly the same height as him but much sturdier, running toward them, a look of anger on his face.

Lu Jinian was slightly stunned, wondering if this man might be a woodcutter from the mountains.

Anyway, he didn’t know him and had no grievances with him. But why was the man so angry?

Before he could figure it out, the man had already grabbed the woman in his arms, Miao Zhen.

At that moment, Miao Zhen began to cry.

Lu Jinian suddenly realized that this middle-aged man was likely someone Miao Zhen knew.

“Uncle,” Miao Zhen weakly spoke, revealing the identity of the person.

The “uncle” didn’t engage in any argument; instead, he raised his hand and slapped Miao Zhen to the ground.

The slap was loud, echoing through the mountain stream.

Miao Zhen turned her face, and before anyone could react, her face was already swelling up. A large slap mark was clearly visible on her small face, which was quite terrifying.

Lu Jinian’s heart ached, but he couldn’t do anything to stop the man. He could only weakly argue, “Hey! Why are you hitting her?”

Miao Zhen’s uncle gave Lu Jinian a cold look, sizing up his clothes and realizing he couldn’t provoke him. He glared at Lu Jinian and said, “I’m hitting my niece. What does it have to do with you?”

After saying that, he grabbed Miao Zhen’s arm, which was already wet with tears, and clenched his fist, preparing to strike again.

Lu Jinian was frightened. He dropped his fan and grabbed the uncle’s hand, pleading, “Don’t hit her! Don’t hit her! I was wrong, punish me, but please spare her!”

The old man stopped and tossed the tear-streaked Miao Zhen aside.

He stared at Lu Jinian for a while before speaking, “Young man, you have some reputation. You shouldn’t be doing such disgraceful things with my niece.”

Lu Jinian couldn’t refute. The man was polite, and his words made sense.

The old man, seeing that Lu Jinian was still reasoning, put his hands on his large waist and said, “I want to ask, where is your family from? Do your elders know about this? You come from a family with wealth, so it’s fine to fool around with petty officials outside. But why involve someone from a Buddhist family?”

Lu Jinian began to sweat coldly on his forehead when the man asked about his family. He feared his elderly lady would find out.

In reality, the old man dared not provoke a wealthy family like Lu’s. He was only trying to intimidate Lu Jinian.

Going through the trouble of a lawsuit would cost money and effort, and he didn’t want to drag his nephew into it.

Had Lu Jinian been married with lenient parents, these words would not have had any effect. But because Lu Jinian was feeling guilty, his cover was blown.

Seeing this, the old man pretended to be unwilling and grabbed Lu Jinian’s arm, demanding that they go to his family to settle the matter.

Lu Jinian panicked and quickly begged for mercy, saying he would do whatever the man wanted, as long as he didn’t go to his family.

He handed over all the five taels of silver he had on him to the old man, hoping to end the matter.

The old man, not knowing how far things had progressed between Miao Zhen and Lu Jinian, figured the silver could serve as compensation and decided not to probe further.

He sympathized with Miao Zhen’s family, as they had no other blood relatives, and not wanting her to go astray, he kept holding onto Lu Jinian, insisting he sever all ties with Miao Zhen.

Lu Jinian was terrified, so he agreed without hesitation, saying he would never have anything to do with her again.

Miao Zhen cried her heart out, watching helplessly as Lu Jinian staggered away.

The old man, seeing his niece’s deep affection for Lu Jinian, felt no sympathy. He dragged her back home, giving her a thorough beating.

Miao Zhen was whipped until her skin was torn. Even her aunt’s pleas outside were in vain.

The next day, Miao Zhen fell ill, and it took her half a month to recover. But that’s another story.

After the beating, the old man saw that Miao Zhen’s old clothes were torn and took some of the silver Lu Jinian gave him to buy Miao Zhen a new set of clothes.

Her aunt, hearing the curse words during the beating, guessed what had happened. Not daring to speak up for her nephew, she silently went to buy new clothes for Miao Zhen.

That afternoon, when her aunt returned with the clothes and medicine to apply to Miao Zhen, she saw the girl’s body was covered in bruises and couldn’t help but tear up.

“You must understand the pain from this beating. Don’t make the same mistakes again, and learn to repent.”

Miao Zhen opened her parched mouth, but before she could speak, tears had already started to fall.

---

In Qinghe County, people had already begun their daily work.

Like the Feng Kingdom, people generally had three meals a day. However, ordinary families sometimes only ate two meals—one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In between, they would snack to curb their hunger.

Thus, the types of breakfast and snacks in various places were quite diverse.

This day, the city gates were opened, and people who wanted to enter the city began coming through the gates.

At a breakfast shop, a servant from the Xu family ran over to buy food.

People who lived in Guihua Alley or nearby often had breakfast there.

When Xu Rui, a scholar, appeared with his servant, acquaintances approached to greet him.

However, after Xu Rui left, people began gossiping.

It seemed Xu Rui had a bad streak of luck. The previous day, he tripped over the threshold and hurt his cheek, which now showed an obvious bruise, making it look like he’d been beaten.

“Did someone grab him in the middle of the night and beat him again?”

“Both of the Lu family’s daughters are gone. Who came to beat him this time?”

“What did he do?”

“He must’ve hit his wife, what else could it be?”

“That can’t be! His wife just finished her confinement.”

Nearby, a man buying breakfast overheard the mention of the “Lu family” and his eyes flickered.

“May I ask what you two were talking about just now?”

The two gossips didn’t know the man, but after exchanging names, they learned that he had just arrived in the city from the capital to visit relatives, so they continued chatting.

They told him about the two martial arts experts from the Lu family who had beaten Xu Rui.

“Initially, we thought Xu Rui had been robbed on his way out of the city. But later, over drinks, he started talking, and that’s how we all found out.”

The man didn’t seem too interested in Xu Rui and only asked about the Lu family.

“The Lu family really has that kind of power? Going beyond the authorities to punish the people?”

The two gossipers exchanged a glance, wondering if this man had some background.

The Lu family had a strong reputation in Qinghe County, not only because they had two juren (degree holders), but also because their family was related to the county magistrate by marriage.

More importantly, the Lu family regularly gave out porridge, and the old lady was known for her charity and care for the poor.

Though they were gossiping, the two men still held a favorable opinion of the Lu family.

One of them said, “Those are the two brave daughters doing heroic deeds. It has little to do with the Lu family.”

The other added, “Yes, the Lu family’s old lady and the two juren gentlemen have always had a good reputation.”

After discussing this, the two didn’t want to continue the topic. They exchanged a few more words with the man and then left.

The man, hearing this, became even more curious about the Lu family.

---

Meanwhile, when Lu Jinian returned home, he was always brooding and unhappy.

Today, after school, he came home but hadn’t eaten yet.

Lu Jinian was sitting by the window, staring blankly. In the past, he would at least joke around with everyone, but now, he didn’t even speak.

He was unhappy, ever since he returned from the last outing.

The maids in the house had guessed that he must have had some sort of falling out with his “friends” outside.

The maid, Liuli, sat on the bed beside Lu Jinian and asked, “Hey, do you know that Rong’er from the old lady’s room is leaving?”

Hearing this, Lu Jinian’s eyes moved slightly, curious, but still feeling gloomy.

He couldn’t stop thinking about how Miao Zhen had cried that day, and it hurt his heart.

Liuli, not knowing the details of his experience, continued, “This morning, her family came. They heard that the Qin family in the capital was raided, so they came looking for her.”

Seeing that Lu Jinian didn’t say anything, Liuli played with the braid hanging in front of her chest, “Look at her. She’s really lucky.”

“She was the maid by the young lady’s side when she worked in the Qin family. When she came to the Lu family, the old lady took a liking to her and kept her around. A newcomer, and she’s already more privileged than Spring Peach and Summer Bamboo.”

“Now that the Qin family’s in trouble, her family found out and came to take her back.”

Lu Jinian was finally intrigued and asked, “If she’s been staying with the old lady, how does she still have connections with her family?”

Liuli smiled, “The family owes her, but nothing can surpass the ties of blood. I heard her family originally sold her to make a living. Their business has been doing better in the past couple of years, and they were planning to redeem her. They didn’t expect the Qin family to fall into trouble. They found out she was in Qinghe County and came to take her back.”

“Did they come just to redeem her?” Lu Jinian found this surprising. In ancient times, especially for poor families, daughters weren’t usually so valued. “If the family was so good, why did they sell her in the first place?”

“It seems like they didn’t come specifically to redeem her. It was just a coincidence. They were doing business here anyway, and they wanted to inquire about her. Turns out they really found her.”

“She was originally from the Qin family. What did they say about Xu Rui from the Xu family?” Lu Jinian felt something wasn’t quite right.

Liuli shook her head, “How would I know? I only overheard some gossip. It’s mostly news from the old lady’s room. But it’s the old lady who’s in charge, right? Maybe today or tomorrow, Rong’er will leave with her family.”

Lu Jinian, hearing this, didn’t find it very interesting. He tilted his head and laid down on the couch. “Whether she stays or leaves, what does it have to do with me?”

Liuli snorted softly, “You men are all like this.”

She had grown up with Lu Jinian, and though they were master and servant, their relationship was more like playmates, so she spoke without restraint.

In truth, Liuli had her reasons for saying this.

When Lu Jinian had been kind to her, he had been very kind, but when he started liking Qin Rong, he no longer paid much attention to her. And recently, with Fourth Master having someone else, Lu Jinian had been neglecting them, which made Liuli resent him.

That’s why she couldn’t stop teasing him.