“Miss Yu, why are you speaking to me like this? Have I offended you in some way?”
Xu Xiucai felt somewhat panicked, not understanding why Yu Banxia had suddenly changed like this.
It must be said that although Yu Banxia was a bit foolish and unattractive, with the things she brought, he at least lived well and ate well.
He wouldn’t go hungry, nor would he be as sallow and emaciated as before.
Seeing him like this, Yu Banxia couldn’t help but sneer in contempt.
As the beneficiary of her favors, now that she had completely changed and would no longer fawn over him, of course he couldn’t accept it.
“Stop. We’re not close. Don’t act so familiar. Men and women should maintain proper distance.”
“And you call yourself a scholar? You don’t even understand such basic principles. Have all those years of studying the classics gone to waste?”
Hearing her speak so harshly, Xu Xiucai’s face instantly darkened.
“Miss Yu, is it necessary to speak so unpleasantly?”
“I came here with good intentions to visit you, yet you speak such vicious words without distinguishing right from wrong. Is this the upbringing of the Yu family?”
“No wonder your father could only remain an old failed scholar his whole life. If he can’t even raise his daughter properly, how could he be fit to serve as an official!”
“That’s still better than someone who lacks shame. Since you don’t want to marry Yu Banxia, why keep stringing her along day after day? Shameless creature.”
“Yu Banxia wasn’t wrong—you really are a shameless person. And you call yourself a scholar? Pah!”
Yu Banxia turned in surprise to see it was Yu Meihua.
She really couldn’t figure out why this girl had suddenly come to help her.
Seeing Yu Banxia looking at her curiously, Yu Meihua also felt somewhat awkward.
“What are you looking at? After all, we’re related within five generations. How could I just stand by and watch you get bullied by an outsider right in front of our own village?”
Seeing her like this, Yu Banxia couldn’t help but smile.
This girl wasn’t so bad after all.
It was just some petty jealousy between young girls, with a few sarcastic remarks here and there—nothing serious.
Since Yu Banxia had arrived, she had retorted in kind, so they were even.
“Xiaxia.” Yu Banyue also rushed over upon hearing the news. Seeing that Yu Banxia seemed fine, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Aunt, Aunt, this Xu Xiucai is bullying Little Aunt.”
“He talks nicely, saying he came to visit Little Aunt, but that’s not the truth at all.”
“I think he just heard our family hunted a wild boar and came to mooch some meat. And he calls himself a scholar? So shameless.”
“He also said Little Aunt wasn’t raised properly and mocked Grandpa, saying no wonder he could only be an old failed scholar and isn’t fit to serve as an official.”
Even the good-tempered Yu Banyue couldn’t help but darken her expression upon hearing this.
“Xu Xiucai, you pride yourself on being a scholar, so how can you be so shameless?”
“In the past, when my Xiaxia brought you things, if you had such scholarly integrity, why did you accept every single one?”
Xu Xiucai trembled with anger as Yu Banyue continued, “Since you’re so noble, return all the things my Xiaxia gave you before!”
“The sage said, ‘Only women and petty men are hard to deal with!'”
With that, he tried to run.
“Fugen, Fusheng, grab him. Don’t let him run away.” Yu Banxia suddenly spoke up.
Her nine-year-old nephew Fugen and seven-year-old nephew Fusheng quickly stepped forward and held him back.
“So after all these years of diligent study, this is the only thing you learned?””Your comprehension is so poor, one might think you’re a ‘nine-leak fish’ if they didn’t know better.”
Nine-leak fish?
“What’s a nine-leak fish?” Yu Meihua asked curiously.
Yu Banxia glanced at her before kindly explaining, “Didn’t he start studying at nine years old? He’s eighteen now, so hasn’t he been studying hard for nine years?”
“That’s right.” Yu Meihua even counted on her fingers.
“He’s studied hard for these nine years, yet he doesn’t even know that ‘only women and small people are difficult to nurture’ refers to women being delicate and children being fragile, both requiring careful care. If he’s not a fish that slipped through the net, then what is he?”
“Pfft… Yu Banxia, when did your tongue become so sharp? When you argued with me before, I was a bit unconvinced.”
“But hearing this now, it really is quite satisfying.” After listening, Yu Meihua couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Xu Xiucai pointed at Yu Banxia, his lips trembling. The phrase “only women” was on the tip of his tongue, but he ultimately didn’t spit it out.
“Let go of me, this is disgraceful, utterly disgraceful! Yu Banxia, all those things were willingly given to me by you. Why should I return them?”
Yu Banxia smiled, “Hmm, indeed. After feeding a dog for a while, the dog thinks it can rely on its master’s power to act like the owner.”
“You!” Xu Xiucai widened his eyes.
The commotion quickly attracted villagers from other villages who had come to Anping Village to watch the excitement.
Hearing Yu Banxia insult Xu Xiucai like this, they were somewhat surprised.
It was common knowledge among the surrounding villagers that the youngest daughter of the old scholar’s family was infatuated with Xu Xiucai and wanted to marry him.
But seeing things today, something seemed off.
“You dare to insult me as a dog!” Xu Xiucai’s eyes were wide with rage.
Yu Banxia shrugged—a gesture not very elegant—and was promptly hit by Yu Banyue.
Yu Banxia quickly smiled at her sister, then turned to Xu Xiucai, “Whether I gave those things willingly or you hinted for me to give them, you know perfectly well in your heart.”
“I’ve also made it very clear: I treated it as amusing and raising a dog these past two years. But if you think you can climb over my head and defecate, absolutely not.”
“Don’t come looking for me again in the future. I, Yu Banxia, have nothing to do with you, Xu Xiucai!” After saying this, she called her niece and nephew and headed back into the village.
Xu Xiucai was so angry his face turned ashen. After a long while, he finally spat out a sentence, “Yu Banxia, I, Xu Ziyan, will remember today’s humiliation!”
With that, ignoring the crowd’s mockery, he turned and stormed off.
“Tsk, this Xu Xiucai really has no shame. He used to boast to me, saying the old scholar’s youngest daughter adored him.”
“Turns out, she was just toying with him all along.”
Some also looked meaningfully at the young man who spoke. The girl’s words were meant to save her own face, yet this person actually took them seriously.
However, no one expected Yu Banxia to have such backbone, publicly severing ties with him like this.
If Xu Xiucai ever passes the imperial exams in the future, the Yu family might be in trouble.
Seeing the excitement was over, the crowd dispersed, though some shameless ones stayed behind to continue watching Anping Village busy with the pig-slaughtering feast.
They hoped that by lingering, Anping Village might, for the sake of face, give them some of the pig-slaughtering dishes to taste.
In these times, who but those with major family events or during festivals would dare to cut a piece of meat to eat?
Anping Village got such a large wild boar—what harm would sharing a little do?
Yu Banxia carried her four-year-old niece back to the cooking area, where Wu Zhuxiang saw her return.She quickly wiped her hands and pulled her aside. “I heard that Xu Xiucai came to see you? I was watching the pot just now and couldn’t leave. How shameless can that man be, and he’s even a scholar!”
“Sister-in-law, don’t worry. He didn’t get any advantage this time,” Yu Banxia reassured her.
Wu Zhuxiang carefully examined her expression and, seeing that Yu Banxia wasn’t lying, finally felt relieved.