Chapter 168: Rumors Arise
Wen Mingqian knew this person’s identity entirely through deduction.
The fabric of his clothing was not bad, but his hands were very rough, especially his tiger’s mouth and palms, which were covered in calluses. Only those who farmed or served in the army would have such hand calluses.
And he wore boots made of top-layer cowhide. Although these boots were sturdy and durable, they were very heavy, and farmers disliked wearing them. Only those in the military favored them.
Moreover, he carried a distinct smell of mutton and beef that people who ate it year-round possessed. Ordinary people in the interior did not have this, only border troops did.
But Wen Mingqian did not answer his question. She could not be led by this person, so she retorted, “On what grounds do you assume I was eavesdropping? This is a tea house that welcomes guests with open doors. You can come, and so can I. Isn’t it ridiculous for you to ask like this?”
“You are quite sharp-tongued,” the man chuckled. His skin was rough and dark, but his teeth were white and neat. “You had better…”
Before he could finish speaking, someone else came upstairs.
“Mingqian…” Madam Fang looked over and called out to Wen Mingqian, “I made the appointment with you, yet I am late.”
“I just arrived too,” Wen Mingqian seized the opportunity to stand up. “My bracelet came undone, and I was looking for it!”
The man heard their conversation and knew Wen Mingqian was not eavesdropping, but he still warned in a low voice, “You had better not have heard anything.”
With that, he retreated back into the private room.
Wen Mingqian quickly took out the last bead and walked over to Madam Fang.
“Are you alright? Who was that person?” Madam Fang held Wen Mingqian’s arm and asked in a low voice.
“What bad luck. I was just picking up a bead, and that person actually thought I was eavesdropping. I wonder what shameful deeds they were doing,” Wen Mingqian said.
“Don’t take it to heart,” Madam Fang said with a smile. “He must be some rough fellow from who knows where. Just consider it as encountering a dog.”
Wen Mingqian chuckled at her words.
The two entered the private room and sat down.
Madam Fang said, “Actually, I’ve wanted to see you for a long time, but there have been many matters at home. Please don’t feel estranged from us just because you’ve left the Gong Family.”
“How could I?” Wen Mingqian replied. “Our good relationship wasn’t based on our backgrounds.”
After chatting with Madam Fang for half a day and leaving the scented paste and medicated powder she had made for them, Wen Mingqian parted ways with her.
Upon their return, it began to snow in the evening, and it didn’t stop until the next morning.
The weather grew colder and colder. If there was nothing important, Wen Mingqian and her servants would not leave the nunnery.
Doing needlework and incense blending in the room, Wen Mingqian found Sun Aoshuang to be a very intelligent and clever girl, especially interested in playing chess.
Wen Mingqian taught her diligently, and soon she was able to play against her.
“I don’t know if it’s because of the cold weather, but there isn’t a single pilgrim at the nunnery,” Sang Er said, shaking her head as she came in from outside at dusk. “If this continues, how will the Reverend Mothers get through the winter?”
“Go and check the back. If you’re short on rice, flour, charcoal, or anything else, we can certainly pay to get some,” Wen Mingqian said. “We can get through the winter. Things will be better by spring.”
“I think so too. The Reverend Mothers can’t starve or freeze this winter!” Sang Er said. “Besides, we’re not short of this little bit of silver.”
Wu Qiu Nunnery had no more than a dozen nuns in total, and they all practiced pure cultivation with vegetarian diets, so they didn’t spend much money.
As they were speaking, they heard footsteps outside. Sang Er smiled and said, “Just by the sound, it must be Zhao Po Kuang, Sister Zhao.”
Zhao Po Kuang had not visited since she saved Cui Baozhu last time.
During that period, Wen Mingqian had sent Sang Er to check on her once. She had caught a cold and was ill for a few days, but it wasn’t serious. After taking the medicine given by Reverend Mother Jing An, along with the money and food Wen Mingqian and the others provided, her body quickly recovered.
Aoshuang lifted the curtain, and Zhao Po Kuang entered, bringing a gust of cold air with her.
“It’s so cold, Sister Zhao, why aren’t you wearing warmer clothes?” Sang Er handed her a cup of hot tea.
“It’s only the [X] month, and we’re far from the coldest days!” Zhao Po Kuang didn’t take it seriously at all. She sat on a small stool by the brazier and finished the tea in two gulps. “Besides, I’m burning with anger inside! I don’t feel the cold.”
“What’s wrong?” Wen Mingqian asked. “Did you encounter something unpleasant?”
“I don’t know which rotten-hearted scoundrel fabricated these lies about Madam,” Zhao Po Kuang said indignantly. “I was walking on the street and heard many people gossiping. I couldn’t stand it and argued with them.”
Wen Mingqian and the others hadn’t been out on the street these past few days, so they hadn’t noticed.
“What did they say about me?” Wen Mingqian was not flustered. Everything had to be clarified before speaking.
“They said Madam has ill intentions, and that after leaving the Gong Family and moving here, it was to seduce people, just like that… that wicked woman surnamed Chen from back then.” Zhao Po Kuang became more and more angry as she spoke. “They also said Miss Sang is a reincarnation of Daji, specializing in bewitching men.”
“Who is so wicked?” Sang Er glared. “Which eye of his saw me bewitching anyone?”
“I know you ladies, you are not the kind of people they describe, which is why I argued with them,” Zhao Po Kuang said. “But I am only one person with one mouth. Even if I didn’t eat or sleep, I couldn’t argue against them all!”
“Sister Zhao, thank you for defending me, but you don’t need to get so angry over these groundless rumors,” Wen Mingqian said. “How about this? You and Aoshuang go out to the street and run some errands for me, buy some rice, flour, and charcoal for the nunnery.”
Saying this, she had Sang Er get money for them.
After they left, Sang Er asked, “Mother, what should we do? Are we really going to let the rumors spread everywhere?”
“Of course not,” Wen Mingqian said. “This must have been orchestrated by the Marquis Fengxian Mansion and the Cui Family. To eliminate the rumors, we need to cut off the root of the problem.”
“Yes, it must be them. They couldn’t get what they wanted from me, and with Miss Cui’s previous decision to become a nun, they’ve taken their revenge on us,” Sang Er said hatefully. “They’re truly slandering and distorting the truth.”
“If one cannot avoid trouble, then one must strike hard. Otherwise, how can one be cleared?” Wen Mingqian finished speaking, picked up her brush, wrote a note, folded it, and handed it to Sang Er. “You take this to Lord Zhu under the cover of darkness.”
Sang Er took the letter and went out. Not long after, she ran into her uncle, Sang Sanyang.
“Where are you going? Have you heard the rumors on the street?” Sang Sanyang asked her.
“You’ve heard them too?” Sang Er asked him.
“I wasn’t in the Capital City a few days ago. I just returned today and heard about it,” Sang Sanyang said anxiously. “Rumors are the most terrifying thing, especially when they target women. If it’s absolutely necessary, you should leave the Capital City to hide for a while.”
“How long can we hide? Won’t hiding make people think we’re guilty?” Sang Er said. “If you have any silver on you, give me some. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”
“You child don’t know what’s good for you. You don’t know how potent those rumors are,” Sang Sanyang lectured his niece.
“Alright, stop rambling,” Sang Er said impatiently. “When you were sneaking around with someone, you weren’t afraid of rumors.”
One sentence almost choked Sang Sanyang to death. His face flushed red as he pointed at Sang Er, unable to speak a word.
Sang Er ignored him, directly pulled his money pouch from his belt, weighed it in her hand, and tucked it into her embrace. “Instead of worrying about us, you’d be better off thinking about your own affairs.”
With that, she strode away.
