"Ji'an, how can you associate with such people? Do you know who they are?" Gu Mingyuan said angrily.
"This Young Master Shen is a well-known dandy in the capital, ignorant and unlearned, bullying men and women. You are a scholar, how can you associate with such people? Are you not afraid of ruining your reputation?"
"Looking for death!"
The guard grabbed Gu Mingyuan by the collar, harsh and stern.
Gu Mingyuan roared.
"Let me go! I am a court official. If you hurt me, you'll be in deep trouble."
"Heh, big talk."
Shen Huaizhou sneered, stepping closer.
Gu Mingyuan stepped back, his gaze shifting to Song Ci.
"Miss Song, please advise Young Master Shen not to cause trouble."
Song Ci remained silent, quietly watching him as if looking at an idiot.
Gu Mingyuan choked, outwardly fierce but inwardly weak.
"Song Ci, you are not yet married, wandering around with an unrelated man, entering such places. Are you not afraid of ruining your reputation if this gets out? How can you not consider the dignity of the Marquis's Mansion?"
Shen Huaizhou had a bad temper. He drew the guard's sword and held it in front of Gu Mingyuan.
"Say one more bad word about my little sister, and I'll cut out your tongue."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Try me."
Shen Huaizhou ran his fingers along the blade, his gaze icy.
Gu Mingyuan trembled with anger: "Song... Ci, I am your fiancé, and you would just let him harm me?"
Song Ci rolled her eyes. He despises her, yet still wants to use her as a shield?
Sick.
Seeing he couldn't gain an ally, Gu Mingyuan shifted his target.
"Ji'an, save me!"
"Young Master Shen, let's talk this over. Brother Gu is only doing this for my sake."
"For your sake, I'll spare him this once."
Shen Huaizhou withdrew the longsword and tossed it back to the guard.
With the threat gone, Gu Mingyuan shook out his sleeves, feeling confident again.
"Song Ci, you nobles, how can you bully others by relying on power, forcing Ji'an to sell himself into servitude?"
His voice was startlingly loud.
Hearing the commotion, the neighbors came out one after another, pointing at Song Ci and her group.
"Too excessive..."
"Indeed, nobles are best at using their power to oppress people, bullying commoners..."
"Li Ji'an is in real trouble!"
Song Ci frowned. With Gu Mingyuan such a troublemaker, even good things could turn bad.
She said coldly.
"Gu Mingyuan, you need evidence when you speak. Falsely accusing a noble can result in forfeiture of official title and being beaten."
"Don't try to scare me! I have been classmates with Brother Ji'an for many years. I am doing this for his own good. A scholar values integrity most; how can he bow for five pecks of rice?"
Song Ci sneered: "Li Ji'an can't even afford food, and you talk to him about integrity? If you have so much integrity, why don't you support his whole family?"
Gu Mingyuan's face flushed red: "I will support him! As long as I have food to eat, I will never let Brother Ji'an go hungry!"
"Is that so?"
Song Ci laughed.
"You're just a lowly sixth-rank editor, with a monthly salary of no more than ten taels, barely enough to cover your own household expenses, and you dare to brag?"
"If you were supporting them, how could the Li family have no rice to cook?"
Gu Mingyuan opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.
Song Ci stepped forward.
"You keep saying you're doing this for his good, but have you ever given him a single grain of rice?
Have you ever called a doctor for Madam Li?
Have you ever let the two children have a full meal?"
Song Ci's words were incisive, stripping away Gu Mingyuan's hypocrisy ruthlessly: "You've done nothing, only talk. Are you even worthy?"
Gu Mingyuan's face turned from red to white, then from white to purple.
Pfft!
Shen Huaizhou laughed out loud: "So he supports them with his mouth. Isn't he afraid of biting his tongue?"
"Hypocrite."
"Exactly, I've never seen him come to the Li family on usual days. Now all he does is talk without offering money."
"What kind of person is this..."
The people around began pointing at Gu Mingyuan, turning their accusations toward him.
Gu Mingyuan's face completely cracked. His hand pointing at Song Ci trembled.
"You, you... Song Ci! You... degrade yourself by mixing with these commoners. This marriage, I am not worthy of it! I want to break off the engagement!"
As his words fell, the surroundings fell silent.
Shen Huaizhou froze, instinctively looking at Song Ci.
"Brother Gu, don't be impulsive! Miss Song, she..." Li Ji'an wanted to dissuade him, saying it wasn't necessary.
Song Ci interrupted him: "Break it off if you want. If you don't, you're a grandson."
She looked at Gu Mingyuan's face, slightly twisted by anger, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
The arc was very faint, almost imperceptible.
Gu Mingyuan's eyes were full of shock, the color draining from his face instantly.
How could she agree?
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words had already been spoken; there was no turning back.
Gu Mingyuan's face turned the color of pig liver, his chest heaving violently, and finally he flicked his sleeves.
"You just wait!"
"Hurry up and break it off, or call me grandpa."
Shen Huaizhou laughed.
Gu Mingyuan said nothing. The stares of the people around made him feel ashamed. He turned and left, his robes stirring up a breeze.
Li Ji'an stood there dumbfounded. It took him a while to regain his senses, his gaze towards Song Ci complicated.
"Miss Song, why must you..."
"Let's talk business."
Song Ci pushed the contract toward him.
After seeing off the neighbors and reading the contract, Li Ji'an looked surprised.
"Newspaper?"
He had never heard of this term before.
"A newspaper is like a book, used to publish articles and disseminate information. It aims to speak for scholars and speak for the common people."
Song Ci's gaze was frank: "We need a learned scholar to compile the newspaper."
Li Ji'an was silent for a long time.
Madam Li struggled to sit up.
"Ji'an, don't let us hold you back. The children and I will follow your decision."
The two children looked at him hopefully.
Li Ji'an looked at the bare walls of his home and smiled self-deprecatingly.
"I am honored that you two do not despise me. I accept this job."
"The contract is in duplicate, please sign it, Master Li."
There was finally a trace of warmth in Song Ci's eyes.
Immediately, a servant boy brought ink and brush for both parties to sign.
After signing, Shen Huaizhou happily rubbed his hands: "Let's go, let's go, let's go to the restaurant to discuss in detail."
Under their enthusiastic invitation, Li Ji'an brought his entire family to the restaurant.
Song Ci noticed their embarrassment, ordered a private room, and bought several sets of cotton clothes for them to change into. They had a lively meal.
After eating and drinking to their fill, Li Ji'an expressed his gratitude profusely and personally saw them to the carriage.
Inside the carriage, Shen Huaizhou looked apologetic.
"Little sister, I'm sorry. I didn't know Li Ji'an and Gu Mingyuan were classmates. This matter turned out..."
"Elder brother, how can you blame yourself for this? No one could have predicted it. As the saying goes, 'If you employ someone, don't doubt them; if you doubt them, don't employ them.' Li Ji'an seems like a decent person. Besides, there's a probation period. If it doesn't work out, we can replace him."
Shen Huaizhou couldn't swallow this anger. He called the guard over and whispered a few words, telling him to take people to give Gu Mingyuan a good beating.
If he hadn't been too busy yesterday, he would have beaten Gu Mingyuan so badly he couldn't get out of bed. Then he wouldn't be able to come out and disgust people.
Song Ci heard but didn't stop him. She too was annoyed with Gu Mingyuan.
Gu Mingyuan grew more and more angry. He drank himself into a stupor, staggering home.
Before he had gone far, he was hit with a club, thrown into a sack, and dragged into a side alley.
Fists rained down like raindrops.
Gu Mingyuan curled up on the ground, his features beaten out of shape, and soon fell silent.
After the beating, the guard checked his breathing, casually threw him at the street corner, and left.
In the darkness, the person who had been tailing Song Ci saw this and was startled.
"Young master, should we intervene?"
"Intervene my ass! Our target is Song Ci. Keep a close eye on her. We must get her before she returns to the mansion!"
"Yes..."
The night wind swept through the alley, stirring a few fallen leaves.
Gu Mingyuan lay on the street, ignored by everyone...
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