The two of them sang the same tune in perfect harmony, insisting that Xie Zi’an and Xu Nansong had been carrying on in secret.
Xu Nansong, hidden beneath the covers, was grinding her teeth in fury, but she knew she couldn’t let anyone see her face, so she could only swallow her anger.
Just then, she heard the man say coldly, ”Second Miss Xu certainly has a kind heart when it comes to protecting her sister.”
But anyone could hear the implication in Xie Zi’an’s words—if she truly cared about her sister, then regardless of whether the person inside was Xu Nansong or not, the first thing she should have done was clear the crowd away, not keep going on and on about her sister.
Xu Nanchun’s face went pale, and she knew she had been too hasty.
She had only recently been reborn. Before this, she had schemed to plant dirty thoughts about Xu Nansong in the young marquis’s mind, and the early success had gone to her head.
Xu Nanchun took a deep breath and spoke righteously, “I was merely anxious for a moment, worried about my sister’s safety. As for this young gentleman, he certainly has a sharp tongue, yet he commits such an act that destroys a woman’s reputation—hardly the conduct of a gentleman!”
Xie Zi’an’s eyes turned cold.
If these words spread, his reputation would be stained, and it would harm his prospects in the imperial examinations.
Some people in the crowd recognized Xie Zi’an, and whispers immediately began to circulate.
The identity of the body Xie Zi’an currently inhabited was that of the son of the Vice Prefect of Yangzhou, but the people of Yangzhou all wore disdainful expressions when they heard of him.
The original owner had been remarkably gifted as a child, passing the county exam to become a xiucai at the age of eight. But after that, every time he took the provincial examination, he failed for one reason or another—either he ate something bad and got sick, or he fell ill before the exam, or he ran into an examiner whose views clashed with his own…
Ten years wasted, and he was still just a xiucai.
Meanwhile, his younger brother, who had once been inferior to him, had overtaken him, passing the provincial exam and already heading to the capital for the metropolitan examination—a genuinely promising young talent.
After ten years of failures and setbacks, the original owner had long since lost his former pride.
In an ordinary family, the status of a xiucai would be respectable enough.
But in an official’s household, with such an outstanding brother, it was somewhat embarrassing.
When others spoke of him, they sneered, “Nothing but a bitter xiucai, another Fang Zhongyong. Compared to his father and his brother, he falls far short!”
Once they recognized him, someone in the crowd said outright, “So it’s Scholar Xie. No wonder! So he’s trying to climb into the Vice Minister’s family!”
They immediately assumed Xie Zi’an had committed this sordid act for the sake of marrying into money.
The Vice Prefect of Yangzhou was the second-in-command in the city, but compared to a fourth-rank capital official, the gap in status was like a chasm.
Moreover, the Xie family had only shed their peasant roots after Xie Zi’an’s grandfather passed the provincial exam. They couldn’t compare to the Xu family, an established family of generations.
The crowd buzzed with discussion, and the noble ladies all looked at Xie Zi’an with contempt.
Xu Nanchun sneered inwardly, finally feeling that she had vented a little of her spite.
She was just about to press her advantage and completely ruin Xie Zi’an’s reputation, so that Xu Nansong would have no choice but to marry a man with no official career and hang her head in shame for life—
when she heard Xie Zi’an speak calmly and unhurriedly, “Water flows downward, but people strive upward. I hear that not long ago, Madam Li drove her own son out of the house because he failed to become the son-in-law of the Tongzhi magistrate.”
Madam Li, who had just been mocking him, instantly turned red with embarrassment, and Madam Wang’s expression also darkened.
Madam Wang was a domineering woman. Having borne only a daughter into her husband’s family, she had recently been dropping hints, openly and covertly, that she intended to take an uxorilocal son-in-law for her daughter.
Scholars from all over Yangzhou flocked to her door.
But they were all poor, frustrated scholars of humble backgrounds with unfulfilled ambitions.
Madam Wang looked down on him, and a while back she had approached Xie Zi’an’s stepmother, seeking to take Xie Zi’an as a live-in son-in-law.
The original owner of this body had overheard it by chance, and forgetting all the decorum befitting a scholar, he cursed loudly, declaring that even if he starved to death, he would never enter a household as a live-in son-in-law.
The scene left Madam Wang utterly humiliated—which was also why she had joined forces with Xu Nanchun today, refusing to let go of Xie Zi’an.
She knew the Xu family doted on Xu Nansong, their legitimate youngest daughter, and believed that a noble young lady from the capital would never resign herself to marrying a doomed, pedantic scholar.
A wealthy family that doted on their daughter, upon encountering the scoundrel who had ruined her, would typically beat him to death in secret and be done with it.
Before anyone could react, Xie Zi’an gave a cold smirk.
“As a scholar, I ought not to quarrel with a woman. But since Second Miss Xu has chosen to fling filth upon my head, I would like to ask her directly—why does Second Miss target me so? Have I ever offended her in any way?”
“Otherwise, as the hostess presiding over today’s banquet, why would you have someone escort me here? What is your true intention?”
At these words, everyone turned to look at Xu Nanchun.
After her rebirth, Xu Nanchun had used her wiles to win Old Madam Xu’s favor.
On this trip back to their hometown for the ancestral rites, the front courtyard hosted Young Master Xu’s tea gathering with his friends, while the rear courtyard held the banquet Old Madam had arranged with families friendly to the Xu household.
It just so happened that Xu Nansong’s mother, Madam Lin, having returned from the capital to Yangzhou, was unwell from the change in climate and water.
Old Madam had therefore entrusted the task of managing the banquet to Xu Nanchun—for her own good, to give her practice before her marriage.
Xu Nanchun forced herself to remain calm: “Nonsense! Slandering my sister would also disgrace the Xu family—why would I ever do such a thing? Without evidence, Scholar Xie, you would do well not to spout such wild accusations!”
Xie Zi’an sneered: “So Second Miss does know one cannot slander people without proof, that matters must rest on evidence!”
Everyone present were women of the inner household—how could they fail to see the trickery afoot today?
They were simply bored and enjoying the show.
But because of this scene, they felt Xie Zi’an was nothing like the bookish fool of rumor—composed under pressure, shouldering responsibility. Even now, no one had caught a glimpse of the woman behind him; he had blocked Madam Wang himself and drawn all the attention to himself.
The farce was finally put to an end by Madam Lin, who arrived despite her illness.
Xie Zi’an was politely shown out by Madam Lin.
His classmate Li Wenshan, who had come with him, was drunk and muddled: “Z-Zi’an, where did you disappear to today? What a pity—you missed Young Master Xu sharing his insights on the imperial examinations.”
Having failed the exams repeatedly, the original owner had come to the Xu residence hoping to seek advice from the son of Second Master Xu—perhaps he might actually pass this time.
Who knew he would walk right into the female lead’s scheme?
Xie Zi’an had no desire to explain—and for the sake of a young woman’s reputation, he could not explain.
He merely told his classmate to go on ahead.
“Zhao Er! Zhao Er!”
A servant boy came scurrying over from the carriage, all shifty-eyed, grinning: “Aiyo, Master, what’s the matter?”
Xie Zi’an’s gaze was unfriendly: “What’s the matter, you ask? I was drunk inside the residence, and what did you do? You snuck off to lounge by the carriage!”
Zhao Er paid Xie Zi’an’s scolding no mind. Everyone in the Xie household knew that although the Eldest Young Master had a venomous tongue, he was spineless by nature and would never dare touch him.
After all, he was a man sent by the Madam.
Zhao Er loudly protested his innocence: “Injustice, Young Master! I couldn’t find you, and I didn’t dare barge into the Xu residence—I was terrified of bringing trouble upon you, so I came to wait by the carriage for you to come out.”
Xie Zi’an sneered inwardly. He hadn’t forgotten who had led him to that room before he passed out.
No matter how foolish the original owner had been, he would never have followed a stranger.
Besides, even if Zhao Er argued until he was blue in the face, so what? Xie Zi’an was the master, and Zhao Er was the servant. If the master decided you were disloyal and useless, that was reason enough.
Xie Zi’an said nothing more. Lifting the hem of his robe, he strode up into the carriage.
Zhao Er, head lowered, quietly breathed a sigh of relief—then a wave of contempt rose within him.
So the young master was still that same spineless bookworm.
He curled his lip, jostled the silver in his arms, put on an ingratiating smile as he turned around, and drove the carriage toward the Xie residence.