Chapter 12: Chapter 12
Chapter 12
"Thank you for your advice, Master," Yueqian replied politely.
She showed no signs of being the wicked woman. Mu Heng was slightly surprised by the demeanor of his wife.
He had expected her to look away arrogantly and not reply, just as she had done with Aunt Liao before. Unexpectedly, when addressed kindly, she couldn’t argue back.
Mu Heng observed his wife beside him, feeling he was beginning to understand her soft spots and what might anger her.
This Yueqian was a reasonable and likeable person, as long as you approached her sincerely and spoke without hidden intention.
As for what Aunt Liao had said, despite her concern for him, had spoken harshly, not considering Yueqian’s feelings, who was not a submissive person, she could not just listen, leading to immediate retaliation from her. An elder might have thought she was relentless arguing, not considering their own words first.
Mu Heng smiled at his wife’s response, his face showing a proud satisfaction with having such a lovely wife, causing a slight annoyance to Shopkeeper Bai.
"Master? Just call me the shopkeeper like this Mu does, or you can call me Brother Bai. I may be 30 years old, but I’m still young enough to be anyone’s elder brother.”
Shopkeeper Bai did not accept the honor of being a master. He responded to the wife of a man he considered his younger brother with a friendly demeanor.
Yueqian offered a gentle smile back, like seeing another honest friend.
Her smile alone was enough to make onlookers blush; her beauty was captivating without her having to do much, only that her notorious reputation prevented anyone from wanting to provoke her. Moreover, being scholars, they didn’t want to waste time on trivial matters like women; their goal was to overcome this phase first and then think about marrying and starting families.
However, the young woman from the capital didn’t seem so bad after all, making him reconsider his view of her, seeing only her beauty more and more.
"Alright, Shopkeeper Bai," Yueqian agreed like a well-behaved one.
"Hmm, so you’ve only been here one day, right? What do you think? The capital must be more magnificent than this, right?" the shopkeeper asked curiously, having never been to the capital himself.
"Well, there are both beautiful and not-so-beautiful parts, depending on what you choose to see. If you are among the nobles, you head to the north market near the palace, which is a truly beautiful place, befitting a civilized city.
But if you are poor, you only get to go to the market at the city’s edge. There, you won’t find beauty—instead, you need to be careful of robbers threatening for money, beggars trying to steal your money, or at best, parents bringing their children to sell them into servitude," Yueqian explained with a somewhat disdainful tone.
People speak of the capital as if it’s heaven, but they don’t know the truth—that it’s just a mental trap. This trap causes many people to strive to reach the capital, hoping to lift their financial status.
Some people sell their fields and farms to try and start anew in the capital, not realizing they are headed towards a life of hardship, becoming laborers, living a life like a worthless person, or even dying for others just for a meal to eat.
“Is... it that horrible?” A scholar, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, exclaimed in disbelief.
His words opened up the discussion for other scholars to join in later.
"... A mass of hollow confined.
Profound sadness, deep sorrow, echoing cries.
From poverty to near-death, barely surviving..."
The melodious voice of a young woman unexpectedly filled the air, her clear voice and poetic cadence resonating like the glass bells of the high heavens, captivating the scholars who admired such poetry.
"W... What does that mean? I am too simple-minded. Despite my studies, I cannot fully grasp the poetry," another scholar modestly stated.
He was someone who lived quite a comfortable life. Although that term was not so accurate, he was just not that poor that he did not have anything to eat, but he was not so wealthy that he could spend freely either. His dream was to pass the civil service exam, particularly to work in the ceremonial department, so he had a special interest in the arts.
"This poem from ’Pu Jian’ is called The True Heaven.”
However, this poem is not one of praise or glorification of heaven but rather a critical satire that learned people enjoy debating.
Then, a distinguished student of Master Pu Jian said that his teacher intended to create this to reveal the capital’s true face, a place everyone claims to be heavenly."
"I only quoted a part starting with ’A mass of hollow confined,’ which means a place that gathers a multitude, pretending to be a significant central hub. This part certainly refers to the capital city. Master Pu Jian intended to convey that the capital city declared itself as a center, pretending to be a civilized one, but inside it’s hollow and unworthy of admiration.
The last words, ’confined,’ imply that it is no different from a prison; once you enter, it’s difficult to leave. Master Pu Jian himself was once impoverished and was fortunate to have a good teacher who adopted him.
His friends, who tried just as hard, ended up victims of this confinement, unable to escape, trapped as if left to die, like birds without food... and this is the capital."
"’Profound sadness, deep sorrow, echoing cries’ clearly means that everyone here suffers.
Moreover, Master Pu Jian’s intention is to show that if there are two hundred thousand people in the capital, one hundred thousand are already sad, and the other hundred thousand endure the greatest sorrow.
It means some people pitifully live in the capital, yet they survive, while others are even more pitiful. Some lose their children or wife; some sell themselves to ensure their families’ survival."
If you truly walk through the capital city, you will hear the profoundly saddening voices... This is a truth from Master Pu Jian, who once lived in the most impoverished areas."
"As for the last part I mentioned, ’from poverty to near-death, barely surviving,’ it means starting from escaping poverty only to end up severely injured, nearly losing their lives. Thus, this final phrase encapsulates the reality that entering the capital city is merely bringing a troubled life full of hope only to abandon it here."
Yueqian calmly explained each sentence, even breaking down each word and its meanings, and also connected them to other sentences to deepen its meaning.
This beautiful woman, even when silent, was considered beautiful, but when she spoke, her earnest demeanor filled with knowledge only magnified her beauty, leaving the scholars present unable to regain their composure.
"Cough, cough." Mu Heng, sensing the danger, saw the way people gazed at his wife without trying to hide.
The slight jealousy made him couldn’t resist interrupting the men.
"Erm, this lady indeed possesses extensive knowledge, befitting someone from the capital," one scholar acknowledged it quicker than his friends, unable to hide his admiration. Indeed, Yueqian only responded with a silent smile.
"This lady is far from the rumors. Today has truly been an eye-opener. Really, the rumors are greatly exaggerated," another agreed. If they were told that such a capable lady was the same Villainess Qin who foolishly clung to her fiancé, they would staunchly refuse to believe it.
The woman before them appeared knowledgeable, capable of analysis and discernment. She could be considered a brilliant individual who, if educated like them, would be seen as a woman with a promising future. Thus, they now found it hard to believe she was a wife someone had to hire a man to marry.
If they had known this, they would have lined up to compete for her love, even trying to save money for the bride price themselves rather than letting someone hire a man to marry her.
"I’m also shocked. She possesses knowledge worthy of respect, and her recitation of poetry is pleasing to the ears, truly artistic. Why would the capital folks claim otherwise about such a lady?"
"Could it be that she has been wronged? It’s despicable! How dare they harm her like this? To tarnish her reputation by hiring a man to marry her, such a thing is terrible," the conversation grew heated.
They didn’t notice Mu Heng’s expression change; he knew from the beginning that what was being done was wrong. He had accepted a trivial payment of 100 silver taels to marry her. Those people acted as if Yueqian was a disaster they wanted to rid themselves of, a mere source of embarrassment.
He remembered signing to marry her in exchange for money while the people from the capital who came to check his home looked down on him. They even said Yueqian was too lucky to marry him.
The people wanted her to marry an old man close to death and penniless, aiming to hurt Yueqian severely. Regrettably, that old man died before he could marry her, or else Yueqian would have inevitably become his.
Yet, every word those people spoke was highly derogatory towards him and his wife. They scorned his inability to make his wife happy, yet hated Yueqian so much they did not want her to marry someone physically whole.
Hearing others speak like this only increased Mu Heng’s discontent.
His heart, beating like a war drum, resolved that one day when he is successful, he would offer the proper bride price to her mother to strike back at those people who dared to look down on him and his wife and make them choke on their words!
Yet, Mu Heng’s feelings were still filled with concern for Yueqian; no matter how angry he was, he did not want her to know.
