Old lady Wang did not go back to her own home after she left Zhao Lizheng’s house, but asked Wang Guo to call Wang Dali, before going to patriarch Wang Wenhe’s home crying. But at this time, the rumor had already spread in the village that Shao Yunan had gone to the county town to find Wang Zhisong to make a judgment. So when old lady Wang ran to Wang Wenhe’s house crying, the villagers followed her to see the fun. 

Wang Wenhe’s wife, Wang Qian, would definitely scold old lady Wang if she hadn’t been pressured by Wang Wenhe. Running to someone else’s house to cry and wail! Wang Wenhe valued Wang Zhisong, so Wang Qian as a woman shouldn’t be concerned with it, but old lady Wang was definitely one of the most annoying people in the Wang clan. 

Wang Wenhe asked his wife to restrain herself, but seeing that old lady Wang had been crying non stop, Wang Qing finally couldn’t help saying, “What is the use of crying? People who don’t know the situation would think that my family is in mourning. Either go to stop Shijing’s wife or live in peace and don’t always think about Shijing’s money! You already sent Shijing to serve in the military, so what’s wrong with him saving some private money? You are at least the mother of a student, so you should understand this point.”

Wang Wenhe immediately chased out his wife. “Don’t say anymore and go outside.” Wang Qian was very dissatisfied with her husband’s attitude and stamped her foot. “If Shijing’s wife really went to the county school, let’s see what she can do!” Leaving behind harsh words, Wang Qian went into the inner room.   

Old lady Wang started to cry even more. “Patriarch, what should be done? This disaster star wouldn’t really dare to go to the county school to look for Wang Zhisong, right? If he really dares to go, I’ll fight him to the death!”

Wang Wenhe slapped the table. “How dare you say that! It’s all because of you! Their family has already separated so what were you doing?! This stone was sold by Shao Yunan. If that stone wasn’t sold, would you even know that this stone was worth money? You didn’t give Shijing a grain of rice and now you don’t allow him to make money? Are you still his mother or not? When you carried Shijing on your back and asked someone to take him away, I told you Shijing is your son and not everything can be silenced by the word ‘filial piety’! But you didn’t listen! You treat Wang Tianyan as your son, but not Shijing! What good is it to you if your own son had to be separated from you? If Wang Zhisong is involved this time, it will be useless for you to cry!”

Old lady Wang just continued to cry, but didn’t say a word to Wang Wenhe about her attitude towards Wang Shijing. When Wang Guo wanted to say something, Wang Wenhe just glared. “You’re a shit-stirrer! Not to mention persuading your mother-in-law, but you start rumors and make the family unsettled. In the future, if you or Wang Tianyan get involved in Shijing’s family’s affairs, I’ll tell your parents to separate from you so you don’t harm Zhisong!” 

Wang Guo’s face immediately became white, She did not want to separate from the Wang family! She was hoping that Wang Zhisong would become a scholar and then their family could also bask in his glory. Wang Guo shrank her neck, no longer daring to say a word, while old lady Wang just howled. “It’s all that disaster star’s fault. He harmed my Wang family!” 

Wang Wenhe was so angry with old lady Wang that his hands were shaking. He slapped the table heavily, but in the face of stubborn people, he could only say, “Wait for someone to come back. I think that Shijing’s wife also acted in a fit of anger. The county school is not a place you can easily enter. It is estimated that Shijing and Shuping should have stopped him. Come back later and don’t say anything anymore. I will persuade them.”

When old lady Wang heard that, she felt so confident that she was no longer afraid. That’s right, was the county school a place you could enter so easily? No longer afraid, old lady Wang wiped her face with her sleeve, but still couldn’t help saying, “That stone…” Wang Wenhe slapped the table twice and said angrily, “So you still dare to mention it! Do you really want to tarnish Wang Zhisong’s reputation before you are happy?”

Old lady Wang said reluctantly, “This stone was not obtained by Shijing after the separation, so it should be given to me. I am his mother, so how could he give such a precious thing to his wife instead of his mother?  He is the eldest son, but he gives all his money to outsiders. Hasn’t he thought of his mother and father, or his brothers and sister? Wang Zaizheng needed money for his studies and Wang Zhisong needed even more money now. There are also marriage talks concerning Wang Chunxiu, so why didn’t he think about them?”

Wang Guo asked her younger brother to whisper, “That’s right.” Wang Wenhe really couldn’t reason with this pair of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and finally could only say, “Wait for Wang Shijing to come back!” Old lady Wang coldly snorted and puffed up, waiting for her evil son to come back so she could teach him a lesson! The money earned from selling stones should be hers! 

Ideals are beautiful, but reality is often not determined by people. Everyone thought that Shao Yunan just wanted to scare people, so even if he ran to the county school, he wouldn’t be able to go in and they would definitely be able to stop him. 

Wang Shijing, Wang Xing, and Sun Erjiang were the ones who started to chase after him first. The  speed of the three men was not slow due to the cattle pulling the cart. But after all, there were still three people sitting in the cart, while Shao Yunan rode the little donkey as fast as he could. The second group of people who chased after Shao Yunan was Wang Wenhe’s son Wang Shuping, Wang Tianyan, and Zhao Yuande. Because of Wang Tianyan’s stalling, not to mention chasing Shao Yunan, their speed was so slow that even Wang Shijing’s group put a lot of distance between them. 

The little donkey ran fast and in less than half an hour, Shao Yunan arrived at the county town. On the way, he took some copper coins and silver from the space so he could safely deposit the donkey after entering the city. Shao Yunan then walked fast all the way to the county school. Seeing the gate of the county school, he tidied up his clothes, scraped the mud from the soles of his shoes, and adjusted his facial expression before walking towards the school. 

The gate of the county school was open during the start of classes. There were also special guards stationed there with a couple of maids. Shao Yunan stepped on the five steps to the county school gate, crossed the threshold, and went inside. Immediately, a gatekeeper dressed in a kimono stopped him.

“Oh, who are you? Why did you come in without saying anything? Do you know what this place is?” Even a gatekeeper in this county school had a sense of pride. 

Reaching out without smiling, Shao Yunan said good-naturedly, “Old fellow, I am this year’s new child student Wang Zhisong’s sister in law.” This self-introduction gave Shao Yunan a layer of goosebumps. “He hasn’t gone home for several days. I just happened to come to the county town for business and came to see him. My mother-in-law asked me to bring him some money. I have to rush back so I was in a hurry to find him. I have forgotten my manners for a moment, please forgive me.”

It was easy for Shao Yunan, who used to mingle with a group of the culturally savvy to come up with a touch of classical culture. What he said was also reasonable and the last sentence was even more literary, making the gatekeeper’s expression look better as he spoke. “At this hour, the master is still teaching, so you need to wait.”

Shao Yunan smiled shyly again and said, “Old fellow, my brother-in-law is still young and not a talker at home. My family and I are quite worried about his situation in the county school. Can you take me to the classroom where he is studying? I’ll just take a look from outside to see if he’s comfortable so I can tell my family about it when I go back. Take pity on parents’ hearts all over the word. I’d like to thank you in advance for your pity for this younger generation.” Shao Yunan then deeply bowed with a sincere attitude.

“Pity on parents’ hearts all over the word…” the old man stroked his beard and sighed. “This saying is really good, I can see that you also studied well. All right, I’ll take you there, but you have to leave after you check, don’t disturb the master’s lecture.” Shao Yunan showed all his sixteen teeth and said, “Thank you.” 

The old man spoke to another middle-aged man who was watching the door and took Shao Yunan to the classroom where Wang Zhisong was. The total number of students studying in the county school was only about twenty, divided into two classes, with a total of five masters. The five masters took two classes respectively and the content they taught had its own focus. In this era, there were no Four Books and Five Classics that Shao Yunan had known since childhood, let alone Tang and Song dynasties poetry. History was different here, so historic figures and classics were naturally also different. Many classic phrases that modern people were familiar with were very rare to hear here. 

Edited by: Jaisland

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