Xie Zhuo Has Arrived
Shen Taohua had already prepared herself to take a blow, but after waiting for quite a while, she didn’t feel any pain. Suspicious, she lifted her head and realized that the attacker’s arm had actually been grabbed.
She looked toward the tall figure who had appeared in front of her at some point, her eyes full of surprise.
She had been saved?
“Miss, are you alright?” Ping’an, who had rushed over, quickly pulled her further back, her face full of panic and lingering fear.
Shen Taohua shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Then she turned to glare at the man whose arm had been seized. He was now cursing at the person who had saved her, and she snapped angrily, “Who are you? You just ran up out of nowhere trying to hit someone, are you insane?”
The attacker shouted furiously, “You still dare ask?! If it weren’t for you, why would my wife run away!”
Shen Taohua said, baffled, “What does your wife running away have to do with me?”
The attacker roared, “After you spouted that nonsense at Moon Crescent Tavern about ‘no one comes into this world to suffer,’ my wife started acting strange. And sure enough, within a few days she ran off! You still say it has nothing to do with you?”
Shen Taohua was speechless. By that logic, it did seem to have something to do with her, but thinking about it another way, if someone ran away after hearing what she said that day, didn’t that just prove she really had been wronged?
Shen Taohua retorted irritably, “There were so many people there that day. Why didn’t anyone else’s wife run? Only yours did. Instead of coming to me to cause trouble, you should reflect on what you did. Judging by how ready you are to hit people, I bet you’ve been beating your wife at home plenty already.”
The attacker said arrogantly, “She’s my woman, what’s wrong with me hitting her?! If I’d known she’d dare run, I should’ve broken her legs!”
Hearing this, Shen Taohua got even angrier. “She married you to live a good life, but you beat her instead. No wonder she ran! Her deciding to escape someone like you after hearing my words counts as me doing a good deed!”
But honestly, that woman was still too timid. If it were her, before leaving she would have found a way to tie this bastard up and beat him thoroughly to vent her anger.
“How dare you!” the attacker shouted, face turning red as he struggled against the restraint, glaring at the man holding him back. “Let go! Mind your own business! Or are you and this Shen woman in some unspeakable relationship?!”
The man standing in front of Shen Taohua looked coldly at him, his grip not loosening at all, instead tightening, making the attacker grimace in pain.
The man said coldly, “Miss Shen is not someone you’re qualified to slander, and you have no right to beat anyone at will, even your own wife. According to the laws of this dynasty, anyone who injures their wife will receive a hundred strokes of the rod; if the injury is severe, they will be sentenced to three years of penal labor. Do you want to go to the authorities and have the officials judge your crime?”
The attacker stiffened.
The man continued, “You committed the wrongdoing first and refuse to reflect, instead taking your anger out on innocent people. If it were me, I’d be too ashamed to even show my face. If you insist on contesting this, I can send you straight to the magistrate right now.”
The attacker’s expression immediately changed. “The magistrate?! I’m not going! Let go of me!”
After a moment’s glance, the man confirmed that he no longer dared to act out, then casually threw him aside.
The attacker was forced back two steps by the recoil. Although his resentment toward Shen Taohua had not faded, he was ultimately still worried about getting dragged into an official case. He spat fiercely on the ground, glared at her and said viciously, “You got lucky!”
With that, he rubbed his reddened wrist and turned to leave.
Shen Taohua rolled her eyes. She had been frightened for no reason, lucky, my foot!
“Is Miss Shen injured?” The man in front of her turned around and asked gently.
Only then did Shen Taohua get a clear look at his appearance, and a flash of amazement crossed her eyes.
What a handsome man!
His features were well-defined, with sharp edges that didn’t feel cold or harsh. His pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes were full of charm but not frivolous; instead, he carried an elegant and proper air that made people feel as if bathed in a spring breeze.
Tall and slender, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, dressed in white robes, he was exactly the kind of male lead she used to imagine when reading storybooks!
From this moment on, the male lead of her storybooks finally had a face!
Shen Taohua immediately set aside her earlier irritation, her smile bright and radiant. “I’m fine, thank you. If you hadn’t stepped in just now, I probably would’ve been hit.”
Even though she didn’t want to get married, that didn’t stop her from appreciating beautiful people.
In fact, who doesn’t like looking at good-looking people?
Then she recalled that he had called her “Miss Shen,” clearly meaning he recognized her. But if she had met someone this handsome before, she couldn’t possibly have no impression of it.
She couldn’t help but look at him a couple more times, then let out a soft “oh?”, he did seem somewhat familiar.
After thinking for a moment and still not remembering, she simply asked directly, “Have we met before?”
The man—Xie Zhuo, looked at her intently without speaking for a long time. His gaze made Shen Taohua feel slightly warm in the ears for no reason.
After a moment, Xie Zhuo finally said gently, “We have indeed met. Does Miss Shen not remember? Back then, you sponsored me for the imperial examinations and said I would surely pass in the future.”
The smile on Shen Taohua’s face paused slightly.
Sponsored the imperial exams? Said he would pass?
Those few words suddenly pulled up some memories she had deliberately buried.
A piece of… rather embarrassing black history.
Back then, she was only ten years old, and her family was in the midst of being drained by corrupt officials.
Seeing how much of their fortune had been siphoned off, she had developed the idea of finding ways to increase income and reduce expenses.
Bank interest was too low to be worthwhile, and she was too young for other merchants to take her seriously in business…
In order to avoid asking her father for help, Shen Taohua recalled those tales of talented scholars and beautiful ladies in storybooks and had a flash of inspiration, she came up with the idea of investing in imperial examination candidates.
After all, among the “four social classes” of scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant, scholars ranked first. In ancient times, officials not only had high status but also earned a great deal of money!
She didn’t expect to marry any of the candidates she invested in. She simply thought that once they passed the exam and became officials, they would repay her investment in double.
The dynasty she lived in was in a period of stable development, and inflation was not significant. Even after ten or eight years, doubling her money would still be a very good return.
Of course, she definitely couldn’t openly tell the candidates, “I’m just in this for your future profits.” Instead, she had to give them all kinds of encouragement and motivational talk to stimulate their ambition and push them to study hard and rise through the ranks.
She also wasn’t worried that these scholars would try to marry her later.
Once they actually passed the imperial exams, even if they only became lower-ranking scholars or degree holders, how could they possibly look down on the daughter of a local landlord family like her? By then, if she took the initiative to settle accounts and sever ties, they would likely be more than happy.
…Looking back now, she could only think that she had been out of her mind back then.
With a dream of “lying down and making money just by talking,” she had invested in over a dozen scholars to take the exams, spending over a hundred taels of her New Year’s money like flowing water. And then…
There was no “then.”
Seven years had passed, and not a single one of those scholars had ever returned!
Not a single one!
Who knew whether they had met with accidents on the road, stayed at the exam location to continue studying after failing, or perhaps passed and deliberately gone into hiding to avoid being entangled with her?
In any case, it was a case of “neither alive nor dead,” and her investment had gone completely to waste.
After that dream of multiplying her returns was shattered, she finally came to enlightenment.
Scholars were not to be trusted!
Relying on others was worse than relying on herself!
Look at her current cooperation with stall owners, teahouses, restaurants, and inns, she had more partnerships than she could count on one hand. Her original goal of “making money while lying down” had already been achieved!
On the other hand, investing in scholars had become the most unprofitable deal she had ever made, something she had never wanted to think about again.
Now, being reminded of this black history again, she looked at the man in front of her and a once-faint image of a handsome young scholar surfaced in her mind.
“You are… Xie Zhuo?”
A pleased smile appeared at the corner of Xie Zhuo’s lips. “You still remember me.”
Shen Taohua: “……”
In fact, I only just remembered.
Xie Zhuo’s gaze softened. “Last year, after I came of age, I took a courtesy name. You may call me Lanzhi.”
Shen Taohua blinked.
Xie Lanzhi? Not only did he look good, even his name sounded so nice.
However, she smiled and said, “I’ll still call you Young Master Xie.”
Men and women should maintain proper distance. Even if she liked looking at beautiful people, keeping appropriate boundaries was still necessary.
A trace of disappointment flashed in Xie Zhuo’s eyes, though he quickly concealed it.
Shen Taohua curiously asked, “Why are you here? Didn’t you say back then that you were leaving to take the examinations?”
Xie Zhuo said gently, “During this year’s autumn examinations, I successfully obtained the rank of jinshi. Years of hard study have borne fruit, I have not failed Miss Shen’s expectations back then.”
Shen Taohua’s eyes lit up. “A jinshi? That impressive?!”
Wasn’t that already considered one of the highest achievements for scholars in ancient times?
Wasn’t that much better than Song Fugui, who couldn’t even pass the lowest-level examination?
No, actually, Song Fugui and Xie Zhuo weren’t even on the same level, comparing them was already an insult to Xie Zhuo.
She sincerely congratulated him, “Congratulations!”
Most people who studied for ten years might not even pass the provincial exam, but Xie Zhuo had achieved success in just seven years and finally left his hardships behind. Clearly, he had real talent.
Xie Zhuo kept his gaze fixed on her the entire time, his tone sincere.
“If not for your help back then, I might have already given up on studying. I could even say that my achievements today are all thanks to Miss Shen, you are my benefactor of rebirth.”
Shen Taohua felt a bit embarrassed. “It’s not that exaggerated. I just did something within my ability.”
Xie Zhuo shook his head. “To you it may have been a small matter, but to me it was of great significance.”
He clearly wanted to talk with her more, but seeing the time, he still forced himself to say reluctantly, “It’s getting late. Miss Shen should return home early. I will visit another day.”
Shen Taohua looked up at the sky and nodded. “I should head back then. I’ll be leaving first. Also, I need to thank you again for helping me out just now.”
Xie Zhuo smiled and shook his head. “It was only what I should do.”
At that moment, Liu Mao drove the Shen family carriage over to pick her up. So she didn’t say anything more, simply said goodbye to Xie Zhuo and boarded the carriage with Ping’an.
Xie Zhuo watched the carriage disappear into the distance before turning to leave.
Inside the carriage—
As soon as she got in, Shen Taohua turned to Ping’an with a serious expression and warned, “Don’t tell my father about what happened today, neither about me nearly getting hit nor about Xie Zhuo. Especially the latter. Do you understand? If you dare report this, I’ll deduct your wages!”
Ping’an immediately said, “Understood, Miss,” but inwardly thought: even if I don’t say anything, Young Master Xie already said he would come visit. There’s no way to hide it anyway.
Once the master sees such a talented, handsome young jinshi, how could he not be tempted to matchmake?
Miss is still too naive.