Chapter 68: He Pressed Her Finger

Lanting Courtyard.

Tang Chaoyang was in her study, arranging the strategies she had written about how to ensure the common people had enough to eat.

She had already completed them.

She planned to take them to Gu Yuan the next day to discuss which parts needed revision.

Nanny Wu returned from the Wang household and went straight to find Tang Chaoyang in the study.

She knocked on the study door. When she heard her mistress call for her to come in, she pushed the door open and entered.

When Tang Chaoyang saw Nanny Wu’s grave expression, she knew things hadn’t gone well.

She smiled gently. “Nanny, go ahead.”

“The Old Madam of the Wang family cursed you terribly,” Nanny Wu said, her heart aching at the memory of those coarse insults, “but I have already made everything clear to Master Wang.”

Tang Chaoyang nodded and smiled. “Nanny, I’m fine. You must be tired too. Go and rest. I still have maids here to attend to me.”

Seeing that her mistress truly didn’t seem angry, Nanny Wu felt slightly reassured. She bowed and left the study.

In the evening, Tang Chaoyang was massaging her son’s little legs while he told her everything he’d done that day.

Recently, every time Fei An’an returned from his lessons, he had to go running and practice horse stance.

As his mother, she truly felt sorry for him.

“An’an, if it’s too hard, we can stop practicing martial arts,” Tang Chaoyang said, sometimes unable to help spoiling her child.

“Mother, give me a kiss on the forehead, and then it won’t be hard. An’an doesn’t feel it’s hard at all.”

Fei An’an lifted his little head, blinking expectantly, waiting for his mother’s kiss.

When he got the kiss of love, he grinned happily.

Then his bright black eyes shone with worship as he shared excitedly, “Great-grandfather is amazing, Mother! Do you know? Great-grandfather can lift really, really heavy stones. One day An’an will be as strong as Great-grandfather!”

Tang Chaoyang braced herself and asked, “…Which stones exactly?”

Could it really be what she was thinking?

There was only one stone tablet in the training yard, and it weighed about ten jun—some three hundred catties.

Fei An’an said solemnly, “It’s the one with ‘diligence and hard work’ carved on it. Ancestor is really too amazing.”

His little face was full of pure admiration.

Great-grandfather was incredible!

Tang Chaoyang tugged the corners of her mouth into a helpless, exasperated smile. She told Fei An’an to stay put and not run around.

She returned to her own room, took out a bottle of medicinal liniment from her medicine chest, and handed it to a maid.

“Take this to Rong’en Hall and give it to Grandmother. Tell her it’s for Grandfather’s back.”

The maid took the medicine, agreed, and hurried off to Rong’en Hall.

Old Madam Su held the bottle her granddaughter had sent.

She glared at Old Master Su, who was sitting ramrod straight, and said crossly, “Lie down. I’ll help you rub this liniment on.”

Old Master Su—an old man with bones as brittle as dried twigs—had insisted on lifting that big stone just to keep face in front of the child.

It was obvious his back had paid the price.

This time, he no longer pretended. He clutched his lower back, listing to one side as he crawled onto the bed.

“Ai-yoh, it hurts here…”

Old Madam Su personally applied the medicine, sneering as she did.

“If it hurts, serves you right. Who told you to show off?”

He snorted coldly. “It was only a stone—”

Before he could finish, Old Madam Su pinched the flesh at his waist with no mercy whatsoever.

“….”

This old woman didn’t pity him in the least. She even pinched him hard.

Truly, when people grow old, they begin to despise each other.

Once upon a time, she used to fuss over him every day.

**

The next day, Tang Chaoyang went to Zhuque Lane to give Gu Yuan his acupuncture treatment.

The man hardly spoke a word today.

Tang Chaoyang also didn’t feel like making conversation, not after the affair with Wang Quan.

After finishing the acupuncture, she reminded him to take his medicine and stuffed the scroll of strategies into his arms.

Ling Guyong caught it reflexively—and in doing so, accidentally pressed against her finger. He immediately loosened his hand a little.

“I’ve finished writing the plan. Read it first. Tomorrow we’ll discuss it.”

Having given her instructions, Tang Chaoyang hurried back to the Su estate.

She was mentally prepared for some rumors about the Wang Quan matter to spread.

In any case, such things would naturally die down in a few days.

But she hadn’t expected the rumors to become so absurd.

The moment she returned to the Su estate, Madam Li summoned her to the East Wing.

“Aunt,” she said, bowing.

Madam Li’s brows were furrowed, her face looking somewhat irritated.

“Chaoyang, someone is saying they saw you yesterday in a private room at the temple…fornicating with Wang Quan.”

Tang Chaoyang froze for an instant. Then her expression turned ice-cold.

“Who said that? This is sheer nonsense! Yesterday, I only spoke a few words with Wang Quan on the back slope. When did I ever enter a room with him?”

Such slander could ruin an innocent woman’s life!

Madam Li didn’t believe she would do such a thing either. But her belief was useless—others surely would not believe it.

She sighed. “Prepare yourself. After today, this rumor will spread far and wide.”

If the Old Madam learned that she’d taken Tang Chaoyang to Chengqi Temple and this had happened, she would be finished.

Madam Li deeply regretted agreeing to visit the temple with Old Madam Wang in the first place.

But it was too late for regrets.

Once such talk of secret fornication spread, it was almost impossible to clear one’s name.

Tang Chaoyang’s fury blazed higher. Her face turned to a mask of icy hostility.

A dark suspicion crept into her mind.

This was far more complicated than she had imagined.

This was no coincidence—it was deliberate.

Immediately, she thought of Dong Xinrui and Fei Yan.

If anyone could be this venomous, using such disgraceful means to ruin her, it was very likely Dong Xinrui.

Tang Chaoyang caught in secret fornication at the temple!

The rumors grew wilder by the hour. Some vulgar men were even using her name to tell filthy jokes.

For Tang Chaoyang, there were only three possible endings left:

One, to cut her hair and become a nun.

Two, to die.

Three, to marry Wang Quan.