Chapter 69: Who on Earth Is the Good-for-Nothing?

A pleasant and promising Pilgrimage Festival ultimately ended in discord because of a little girl.

As for who won and who lost, everyone knew it in their hearts.

Although Cheng An had not produced any remarkable masterpiece today, he had made people witness the natural talent and wit that a "child prodigy" ought to possess.

On the contrary, that pedantic old scholar...

Before the festival had even concluded, rumors of his narrow-mindedness and his suppression of young scholars began to spread far and wide.

Needless to ask!

It must have been Wang Shan who made his move, and this time, the blow was even more ruthless!

"Beating a dog..."

"Damn it!"

Wang Shan was venting his anger in his official office. "Spread the word with all your might! If I don't ruin Zhu Tao's reputation, my time as assistant prefect will have been completely wasted!"

However, Cheng An was exhausted.

There were far too many scheming and malicious minds in Pinggu County; he wanted to return to the countryside.

Hearing that Cheng An was leaving, Wang Shan, despite feeling slightly under the weather, did not try too hard to persuade him to stay.

After all, he knew his own handling of the matter had indeed left much to be desired.

If Cheng An were to remain in the county town, it would only draw more controversy.

Back at the inn, Cheng An smiled as he looked at the two sisters.

"Why did you two come?"

"And you have the nerve to ask!" Gu Xiaoyue pouted. "You've been gone for half a month, and my sister was worried sick—"

"Xiaoyue!"

Gu Xiaorou cried out in embarrassment, giving her a light tap and pretending to be angry as she scolded, "You dead girl, is your tongue the only thing that works?!"

"So what if it is?"

"If you like someone, you have to say it, otherwise how would he ever know?" Gu Xiaoyue retorted. "Besides, Uncle also said that one must be open and aboveboard..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Cheng An rolled his eyes. "Can 'open and aboveboard' be used like that? That's called..."

"Never mind what it's called!" Gu Xiaoyue interrupted. "Cheng An, I'll just ask you straight—do you like my sister?"

In a child's world, the two words "I like you" were as pure as an orchid, refusing to be profaned by adults.

Yet ironically, dwelling inside Cheng An's body was the soul of an old ghost.
Why must he suffer through this?

"I..."

Sometimes, speaking too frankly really could make a person cringe so hard their toes curled inside their shoes.

Cheng An stammered, "If I say I don't like her, the atmosphere has already been built up to this point. But if I say I do like her... well, it really is only a recent liking..."

"What do you mean by 'a recent liking'?" Gu Xiaoyue demanded, her pretty face freezing in annoyance.

"It means..."

Cheng An changed the subject. "You know, Senior Sister and I agreed that we would meet in Yaozhou in three years."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Gu Xiaoyue declared boldly. "At worst, the three of us will go to Yaozhou together in three years! It's been a long time since I last saw Sister Qingqing anyway!"

"Together?"

"Xiaoyue..."

Cheng An and Gu Xiaorou blushed simultaneously.

Glaring at her younger sister, Gu Xiaorou chided indignantly, "You wretched girl, have you no shame?"

"Sister!"

Yet Gu Xiaoyue acted even more justified than her, raising her voice. "You're good in every way, but sometimes you just refuse to speak your true mind."

"What do you know?" Gu Xiaorou was both mortified and exasperated.

The man had already made his rejection so obvious; persisting any further would only lead to greater humiliation!

"I may not know much! But if you truly like someone, everyone can just get married together! Sister Qingqing isn't an outsider, why must we draw lines between us? At worst..."

As she spoke, Gu Xiaoyue suddenly blushed scarlet, lowering her voice. "At worst, I'll just marry him too!"

Damn it!

Cheng An instantly froze in his chair.

What did I just hear?

Are these kinds of fierce, wild words something an ordinary member like me is even qualified to hear?

"Xiaoyue!"

"You..."

Gu Xiaorou was so mortified she couldn't even stand steadily. She abruptly stood up, rushed out of the room, and fled like a bird taking flight.

Cheng An glanced at Gu Xiaoyue and gave a bitter laugh. "Are you two really biological sisters?"

"Of course we are!"

"Then if you're biological sisters, why did you throw her under the bus like that?"

What a sin!

In his heart, Cheng An offered a momentary silent prayer for Gu Xiaorou.

"You don't understand..."

Gu Xiaoyue suddenly sat down with a somewhat dejected expression, resting her chin in her hands and looking lost. "Actually, the very first time my sister saw you, she liked you."

Love at first sight?

Cheng An couldn't help smiling, thinking it was utter nonsense.

"It's true!" Gu Xiaoyue said solemnly. "Sister said you were different from the other country boys—there was a light in your eyes, and you were as proud as could be deep down in your bones!"

"Me? Proud?"

"Give me a break..." Cheng An argued. "Is there anyone in this world more easygoing than me?"

"Hmph!"

Gu Xiaoyue rolled her eyes. "You're easygoing with everyone, but the tone of your voice always makes it sound like you're looking down on people."

Do I?

Cheng An hesitated for a moment, then looked at Gu Xiaoyue and suddenly chuckled.

"Then which time was it when you started liking me?"

"Me?"

Gu Xiaoyue's pretty face instantly flushed red as she lowered her head and muttered, "Little hoodlum, who likes you?"

"Then why is your face red?"

"I—I'm just hot!"

In the tiny room, two children whose combined ages didn't even reach twenty were arguing fiercely over the prospect of marriage.

"Anyway, I don't care!" Gu Xiaoyue said in an embarrassed fury. "You looked inside my sk—skirt, so you have to marry me! Otherwise, I'll go tell your mother and have her beat you black and blue!"

"Damn!"

...

Returning home, life once again returned to its ordinary routine, and the weather grew increasingly cold.

As the Lunar New Year approached, Mother and Father became busier than ever.

Various New Year goods piled up in Cheng An's partitioned room, filling the small space with a mixture of festive scents.

Mother was frying meatballs in the courtyard, a smile on her face as she occasionally hummed a folk tune.

This was the Cheng family's first New Year since the household division.

Now, they no longer needed to curry favor or live under anyone else's thumb, and their family's financial situation was growing more prosperous by the day.

At that moment, Yao Chunhua hurried in.

"Cuiyun!"

"Second Sister-in-law is here..."

Liu Cuiyun was busy with her tasks and replied casually, "Are you frying New Year goods at home this year? If you've prepared them, bring them over, we can fry them in the same wok."

In this day and age, cooking oil was more expensive than meat, and country folks rarely fried New Year goods.

"Well..."

Yao Chunhua smiled somewhat apologetically. "Looks like I'm going to freeload off your generosity again."

"Hey!"

"We're family..."

Liu Cuiyun smiled with great confidence.

Today, she was no longer that timid young daughter-in-law who could be pushed around by anyone; she was the mother of a prodigy, hailed by the yamen runners as "Madam Cheng"!

Although Liu Cuiyun remained as amiable as ever, and would still proactively offer a helping hand whenever anyone in the village encountered difficulties...

Whenever people saw her now, they would still instinctively show respect, and sometimes even a hint of ingratiation.

The two sisters-in-law exchanged a few more casual remarks.

"Oh!"

"How could I forget the main thing..." Yao Chunhua blurted out, "Guess what? Qin Dongzhi is dead! Did you know?"

"Dead?"

"How did he die?"

Cheng An and his father also ran out, looking thoroughly astonished.

Behind the village, by the riverbank...

A stark, naked corpse lay facedown on the shore, looking as though it had washed down from the upper reaches of the river.

"Tsk!"

Seeing the gruesome state of Qin Dongzhi, Liu Cuiyun instinctively closed her eyes and turned away, pulling her child into her arms.

A crowd had gathered all around.

Even villagers from neighboring hamlets had come to gawk, crowding along the riverbank to watch the spectacle.

Qin Dongzhi's skin was deathly pale.

He had been cast naked into the snow, his body covered in bite marks.

Patches of filth clung to his legs.

The blood between his thighs had already frozen solid.

Cheng An peered through the gap beneath his mother's arm.

He couldn't help but frown slightly.

Whoever did this had been utterly ruthless!