"That Fang Cheng from Fang Mu's family looks honest, but he's actually full of sly tricks..."
"And their second son is just as bad. Why is he the only one who can catch fish, and no one else can learn how? He must be selfishly keeping the secret to himself..."
"Yeah, that's right..."
...
Though he was some distance away, Fang Yue's senses had been sharpened by his martial arts training. He heard every last bit of their idle gossip with perfect clarity.
Once he had identified them, Fang Yue turned and walked away.
You couldn't just walk up and beat a petty person like her. Resorting to violence would be a crude solution, putting him in the wrong.
After all, it's not like you could just kill her.
The moment you lay a hand on someone, you lose the moral high ground, even if you were in the right.
Of course, that didn't mean he could just let her be. She had to be taught a lesson.
'With that thought,' Fang Yue headed toward the center of the village.
~~~~~~
The sun sank low in the western sky.
In the courtyard of Fang Yue's family home.
Fang Mu, Fang Cheng, Ms. Chen, and Fang Lan were all in the courtyard.
"Husband, have you heard? People in the village are saying our family broke off the engagement and that the Zhou Family's daughter is now threatening to kill herself over it," Ms. Chen said, her face clouded with worry.
Her mood had been excellent ever since Zhi'Er came home.
Life at home was improving day by day, and she felt more energized for her daily chores.
But she hadn't expected to go out today only to hear new rumors spreading through the village—that her family had canceled the engagement for no reason, and that the Zhou Family's daughter was now on the verge of taking her own life.
Some people were even saying her second son, Fang Yue, was malicious, that he was selfishly hoarding his secrets and was a no-good person.
Her family had been honest and respectable their whole lives, and now people were dragging their name through the mud.
It was simply intolerable.
"I know," Fang Mu said, his face grim.
"The Zhou Family is truly shameless! Demanding such a high bride price, and now they have the audacity to play the victim. Hmph! It's a good thing we didn't marry into a family like that. It would have been a disaster!" Ms. Chen continued.
After she finished speaking, she paused and looked at the two men in her family.
"Well, I... I think we need to think this over carefully," Fang Mu finally said, unable to withstand Ms. Chen's glare.
He was an honest, simple man; he had never dealt with anything like this before.
For a moment, he was at a loss.
Hearing this, Ms. Chen's eyes went wide as she shot Fang Mu a vicious glare.
"Husband, what is there to 'think over'? If you keep dithering while that gossip-monger spouts her nonsense, how will our two sons ever find wives? How will our Lan'Er find a husband?!"
Fang Mu sighed faintly. "Alright," he said. "I'll go find Fang the Seventh."
The gossip-monger was indeed the wife of Fang the Seventh. However, Fang the Seventh was famously henpecked in the village, completely under his wife's thumb. It was hard to say whether talking to him would do any good.
But at that very moment, the gate to their courtyard swung open.
A voice, thick with fear and anxiety, called out.
"Fang, I am so sorry! My wife's been running her mouth in the village the last couple of days and has offended you. I'm truly sorry."
The members of the Fang Family, who had just been discussing how to handle the rumors, couldn't help but stare toward the gate.
There stood the very subjects of their discussion: Fang the Seventh, his wife, and even their son, Gou Danzi.
The scrawny man, who was usually terrified of his wife, viciously kicked the woman beside him.
"Get on your knees, you wretched woman! Hurry up and apologize to Brother Fang Mu and his wife!"
Ms. Fang Zhou, Fang the Seventh's wife, had lost all of her usual shrewishness. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed, "I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong! I'll never make up stories about you again! Please, forgive me! I'll never do it again!"
Seeing this,
The Fang Family was utterly dumbfounded. Just moments ago, they had been debating how to resolve this very issue.
After all, Ms. Fang Zhou was notoriously aggressive in the village; even her own husband, Fang the Seventh, didn't dare cross her.
She was the type to throw shameless tantrums. You couldn't hit her, and scolding had no effect on her.
In a rural village, people like that are actually the most difficult to deal with.
And yet, unexpectedly...
Before they had even come up with a good plan, Fang the Seventh had brought his wife, Ms. Fang Zhou, to their door to apologize.
She was even kneeling before them.
Was this really the same aggressive Ms. Fang Zhou who feared nothing and no one?
What was going on?
"Husband, are my eyes playing tricks on me? What are those two doing here? We haven't even gone to confront them, and now they've come to our door to cause trouble?"
Ms. Chen's mind was in a total muddle; she couldn't think straight. She hadn't even processed what they'd said, only sensing that the two of them were here to make trouble.
But if they were here to cause trouble, why were they kneeling?
"Please, ma'am, don't say that! It was all my fault, my big mouth. If you're still angry, you can hit me."
Hearing Ms. Chen, Ms. Fang Zhou wailed even louder, quickly slapping her own face in apology.
That afternoon, the steward from Master Liu's estate had come to their house.
He told them that effective immediately, the Liu Family would no longer lease their fields to them.
This was a disaster. If they couldn't farm Master Liu's land, their family would have no way to pay the labor tax, which meant one of them would have to go perform mandatory service.
And if Fang the Seventh had to go, not only would there be no one to work their land, but if some accident were to befall him, their family would be completely ruined.
But they had always been good tenants. Why would the Liu Family suddenly reclaim the land?
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the couple pleaded until Steward Liu finally told them what had happened.
It turned out that Ms. Fang Zhou's recent rumormongering about Fang Yue's family had offended them, leading to this consequence.
Although, in her heart, she couldn't understand it. Fang Yue's family was hardly better off than their own; they couldn't possibly have enough influence to move the Liu Family.
But now that things had come to this, the couple had no choice but to hurry over and apologize to Fang Yue's family.
"Ah, so that's it!"
Fang Mu was also stunned. He watched as Fang the Seventh and his wife kowtowed repeatedly, begging for forgiveness, their son even kneeling and kowtowing alongside them.
He naturally felt a pang of pity, but when he thought of the rumors the woman had spread, his voice turned hard.
"I can forgive you," he said, "but you had better keep your wife in line. If any more rumors start spreading in the village, I won't let you off so easily next time."
"We understand, we understand! We'll never dare to again," Fang the Seventh hastily promised.
"Alright, you can go home now," Fang Mu said.
Having received Fang Mu's consent, Fang the Seventh and his wife offered another round of meek, groveling apologies before finally leaving.
Once they were long gone,
the four people in the courtyard looked at one another, completely baffled by what had just happened.
"Mother, have those two gone mad?" Fang Cheng asked.
"I know, right? Why would they show up at our door crying and kneeling? They must have really lost their minds," Fang Lan chimed in.
"No, they definitely haven't," Fang Mu said, shaking his head.
"Then why were they acting like that?"
Ms. Chen was puzzled at first, but then she seemed to realize something, her expression clearing. "Zhi'Er! It must have been my Zhi'Er!"