Lower River Village had beautiful scenery—but terrible people.
It was just after the midday rest. Villagers lounged in the shade, chatting. When they saw Yuan Zhao returning with Yuan Yuan, their gazes turned complicated, sizing him up like some strange creature.
Yuan Zhao still smiled and greeted them. He understood Madam Shi’s concerns, but one thing was clear—if you had to cut something off, you cut it clean. Otherwise, it would only ruin you.
Even if it meant another confrontation today, he had to settle things with Yuan Daguang’s family.
Seeing him head toward the Yuan house, villagers began following out of curiosity, eager to watch the drama. Some even questioned Yuan Zhao along the way, and he answered them all.
When he arrived, Wang Xiaohua was chopping wood in the yard, while Yuan Daguang rested under the eaves. Yuan Jinbao was likely inside, pretending to study, while Yuan Xiangxiang and Yuan Jiagen were probably off playing.
Everything looked the same as before—except that in the past, it had been Yuan Zhao or Yuan Yuan chopping the wood.
“Daguang’s family! Azhao’s back!” someone shouted. “Come take a look!”
Wang Xiaohua cursed. “Why should I look at him? Should I set off firecrackers to welcome him? Who does he think he is?!”
“Azhao’s not the same anymore—he’s got his own stall now, dresses better too. Looks better than before!”
“Yeah! His mother was pretty—must’ve taken after her. Just a bit dark, haha!”
“He’s making money now—aren’t you afraid of offending him by saying that? I wonder if Daguang’s family regrets it now!”
Their mocking and sarcastic remarks weren’t even whispered. This was how the villagers bullied people—through these subtle, cutting jabs.
Yuan Zhao met Wang Xiaohua’s gaze. “I heard you were looking for me. Good timing—I also have something to say. I’ve even called the village head.”
“What are you trying to do?” Wang Xiaohua eyed him suspiciously, both wary and contemptuous. “Don’t tell me you’re here to ask for money again? You were the one who refused it before—don’t think you can take it back now!”
“I don’t want it,” Yuan Zhao said lightly, smiling brightly.
He pitied his parents—but he wouldn’t tangle with the Yuan family over a little money. He might be honest, but he wasn’t stupid.
That casual reply pushed Wang Xiaohua over the edge. She forgot why she had summoned him and immediately began cursing, spewing filth as she always did.
It was so vile it was hard to tell whether her mouth and backside had switched places.
Yuan Zhao waited calmly until she finished, then said, “Did you call me back just to argue?”
“I won’t argue! Xiangxiang is about to get married. As her cousin, you should contribute to her dowry!” Wang Xiaohua declared as if it were obvious. “You’re making money now, right? Don’t tell me you won’t even give this much?”
Even the onlookers looked disgusted. Who had ever heard of making a nephew prepare a daughter’s dowry?
“My younger brother isn’t even of marriage age yet,” Yuan Zhao said, puzzled. “Why would I prepare a dowry for your daughter? We’re not even related.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?! You ate my food, wore my clothes, lived under my roof—and now you say we’re not related? You ungrateful wretch—why don’t you just die?!”
Yuan Zhao didn’t know how to describe someone like Wang Xiaohua. She seemed to explode at every word, as if she lived on gunpowder.
He listened quietly, then replied, “Didn’t we already say we were cutting ties? I came today with the document. It’s written—just sign and seal it.”
That made even Yuan Daguang step forward, his troubled face filled with forced concern. “Azhao, why take it this far? We’re still family. How am I supposed to face your late parents if you do this?”
“When you beat and cursed us, did you think about that?” Yuan Zhao found them laughable.
Every single person in this household was rotten. Wang Xiaohua was vicious, yes—but in his eyes, the most despicable one was his second uncle.
A man who looked honest on the surface, yet ignored everything in the household. As long as he was fed and cared for, nothing else mattered.
Wang Xiaohua’s abuse had been possible precisely because he had turned a blind eye.
Even the way he doted on Yuan Jinbao—it was only because the boy brought him pride. If that illusion ever shattered, he would probably collapse.
Yuan Daguang, as a man of this era, could not tolerate having his authority challenged—especially not by someone he considered beneath him.
Yuan Zhao’s blunt words angered him instantly.
“If you’re going to talk like that, what do you expect us to do? We tried to arrange a good marriage for you, but you resisted. We begged you to come back, and you still made a scene. Do you want me—your uncle—to kneel and beg you?!” he said, full of grievance, as if he had always acted in Yuan Zhao’s best interest.
How disgusting.
Yuan Zhao looked at them and genuinely couldn’t understand how there could be such people in the world who claimed to be family.
“No matter what you say,” he said calmly, “I’m cutting ties with you today. There’s nothing to argue about.”
He had come for only one purpose—and that purpose was final. Nothing could change it.
Yuan Daguang had originally intended to force him into submission by kneeling, but seeing Yuan Zhao so firm and unyielding, he realized he would gain nothing and only humiliate himself further. His expression immediately turned ugly.
“A married little man like you,” he sneered, “without your natal family backing you, how will you survive in your husband’s household? Even if you’re married, don’t you care about your younger brothers and sisters?”
He put on a pained, righteous expression.
The surrounding villagers nodded along at his words. In their view, marriages required reputation checks; if a family’s reputation was bad, the marriage would not proceed.
“That’s true. Zhao-ge’er, you’re married out now, but you can’t just ignore your siblings. And what about Yuan Yuan? Do you want him to never find a marriage?”
“Exactly! You’re so selfish! Now that you’re married off, you don’t care about anyone else? If your parents were alive, they’d be so angry they’d crawl out of their graves!”
“If you can crawl out, that just means you’ve got the ability,” Yuan Zhao replied evenly, then turned to the crowd. “Aunties, if you want to watch a show, be quiet.”
“You—this child!”
The villagers were furious, but none of them dared continue speaking openly. They only muttered under their breath.
Soon, the village chief of Lower River Village arrived.
He looked at Yuan Zhao with a complicated expression. Part of him wanted to persuade him, part of him disapproved of what he was doing.
“Zhao-ge’er, you’re still family in the end. Must you really go this far?” the village chief said.
“I already said when I left that I was cutting ties,” Yuan Zhao replied firmly. “They agreed back then. I’m only here today to finalize the written agreement. Once it’s signed and sealed, life or death—none of us will interfere with each other again.”
The village chief frowned. “Do you really have to do this? Your aunt and uncle called you back because they still consider you family. You should settle things privately. Why make such a scene?”
Yuan Zhao’s patience thinned. He disliked this kind of evasive mediation the most.
“They called me back to demand a dowry for Yuan Xiangxiang,” he said bluntly. “If anyone wants to pay that, be my guest. I won’t pay a single coin. I only have one younger brother—Yuan Yuan.”
“You child, why is your heart so hard?” the village chief said disappointedly.
Yuan Zhao almost laughed. Everyone here was disgusting, yet they still pretended to be righteous. Did they not find themselves ridiculous when they spoke?
“Village chief,” Yuan Zhao said clearly, “I came here today only to have them sign the severance document. I didn’t want things to escalate. If you can bear witness and let them sign it, then we part peacefully. If not, I will go to the county yamen and ask whether someone who cannot resolve matters can still remain village chief.”
The meaning was unmistakable.
If this wasn’t settled, he would escalate it to the authorities.
Commoners did not fight officials. Even hearing the word “county yamen” made villagers uneasy.
Even the village chief narrowed his eyes. “Zhao-ge’er, do you think the magistrate will see someone like you?”
Yuan Zhao lifted his chin slightly. “Village chief, you forgot—my husband is a scholar. The magistrate may not see me, but he will not refuse to see my husband.”
Who couldn’t threaten people? He could do it too.
This village was rotten to its core. Growing up here didn’t mean he was without intelligence.
That reminder landed heavily.
Yes—Shi Wuxiang was a scholar. Meeting the magistrate was easy for him.
And they had also heard rumors from Qingluan Village: Shi Wuxiang treated Yuan Zhao well, and their relationship was good.
“…Daguang, sign it,” the village chief finally said.
If things escalated further, he would not be able to continue being village chief. And if Shi Wuxiang truly went to the magistrate, it would be impossible to clean up.
Yuan Daguang stared in disbelief. Wang Xiaohua tugged at him frantically, signaling him not to sign—but no one in the village truly defied the village chief.
“Fine! I’ll sign!” Yuan Daguang said viciously. “Zhao-ge’er, remember this. Once this is signed, you have no natal family anymore. If you’re ever bullied outside, don’t come crying back—we won’t help you!”
Yuan Zhao didn’t even look at him. He quickly pressed his handprint, took Yuan Yuan’s hand, and turned to leave.
He didn’t want to stay in this rotten place a moment longer.
“White-eyed wolf!” someone from the Yuan family spat.
Yuan Zhao stopped.
Then he turned back and looked at them.
“I may be a white-eyed wolf in your eyes, but I have a clear conscience,” he said. “But I have to tell you something. The reason Yuan Jinbao has never passed the scholar examination is because he never studied properly. He hides in his room every day reading vulgar storybooks.”
He said it calmly, then left without waiting for their reaction.
The entire village froze.
Wang Xiaohua, as if struck by lightning, rushed straight into Yuan Jinbao’s room—
Only to find him lying lazily on the bed, flipping through an obscene illustrated book.
Her scream echoed through the house.
Everything Yuan Zhao had said was true.
Outside, villagers erupted in shock and amusement. The Yuan family’s pride had collapsed in an instant.
Yuan Zhao walked out of the village with Yuan Yuan’s hand in his, sunlight still blazing overhead. The heat was heavy, but their steps were light.
They had finally left that place behind completely.
“Brother, I’m so happy!” Yuan Yuan said brightly.
Yuan Zhao smiled. “Tonight we’ll eat braised meat, okay? I’ll make you sugar buns and rice porridge too.”
“Anything Brother makes, I like it!”
“Good child.”
By evening, Shi Wuxiang returned.
He immediately noticed the atmosphere at home was unusually relaxed. No one was in their rooms; instead, they were all sitting under the eaves feeding mosquitoes.
Yuan Zhao, who usually hated bites the most, looked especially content.
“What happened?” Shi Wuxiang asked.
“Ask sister-in-law,” Shi Qingyue said, laughing as he stood up. “We’re going inside now. Only you two are staying out here to feed mosquitoes.”
Shi Wuxiang chuckled softly and gently patted Yuan Yuan’s head, urging him inside.
Yuan Zhao happily brought over a bowl of chilled noodles. The fresh cucumber aroma was refreshing in the humid night.
Shi Wuxiang ate quickly. Once he was full, he asked casually, “What good thing happened today?”
“I went to Lower River Village,” Yuan Zhao said, smiling brightly. “I settled something with the Yuan family.”
Shi Wuxiang raised his brows slightly. “What exactly?”
Instead of answering, Yuan Zhao pulled a folded document from his chest and proudly handed it over.
Shi Wuxiang unfolded it.
A severance agreement.
He read it carefully once, then again, confirming there were no hidden issues. Only then did he neatly fold it and return it to Yuan Zhao.
“He wrote it for you, A-Yue did.”
“Mm!” Yuan Zhao nodded heavily. “I already knew they would start arguing and making a scene. Luckily, I didn’t pay them any mind. Achieving my goal is what matters most.”
Shi Wuxiang looked at him with some surprise. He truly hadn’t expected Yuan Zhao to have such forward-thinking awareness, and he also fully agreed with him, offering his approval.
“You did well. You must not let emotions hold you back. Accomplishing your objective is what matters most.”
“I think so too.” Yuan Zhao rested his chin on his hand and looked at him. “A-Yue said this is called something like ‘bing… not seeing blood… something-something.’ Is he praising me for being smart?”
Shi Wuxiang coughed lightly. “Bing bu xue ren, yuan er lai fu. It means you used your wisdom to win easily without direct conflict. It is indeed praise.”
“I knew it! I really am amazing!” Yuan Zhao smiled brightly in satisfaction.
He continued talking with Shi Wuxiang about the street stall. Every time he went out to sell goods, he heard all kinds of strange stories, which he would then tell Shi Wuxiang.
Under the moonlight, only a single candle illuminated the space before them. Both of them valued that small circle of light, sitting very close, their shadows overlapping on each other.
……
Since the county magistrate had previously cleaned up and regulated the marketplace, the streets had indeed become more orderly, though the lively atmosphere of everyday life had not diminished.
Yuan Zhao and Madam Shi Zhang continued setting up their stall day after day. The three of them took turns rotating shifts, and business was better than before.
That day, when they set up their stall outside the academy, Yuan Zhao unexpectedly saw Li Qingwei at the gate.
“So now that you refuse to admit your relationship with Shi Wuxiang, you’re still trying to use his influence?” Li Qingwei looked much more haggard. His family’s accounts had been inexplicably investigated, and a large amount of money had been used to settle matters.
He didn’t believe Shi Wuxiang had nothing to do with it!
Yuan Zhao only assumed he was talking about buying his stall, and since the man was so self-righteous, he grew angry as well.
“Your family offered one hundred taels of silver to buy my stall, and I haven’t even said anything about that! Aren’t you also using your family background to show off? If you can do it, why can’t I?”
“Vulgar and ignorant! It’s an honor that we were willing to buy your stall. I didn’t expect you to be so shameless!” Li Qingwei still restrained himself since they were at the academy with many scholars around. “As a young ‘ge’er,’ you go around in public every day without shame!”
“So your wealthy family just looks down on common folk trying to make a living?” Yuan Zhao said meaningfully. “Also, you all have plenty of ways to make money. After all, anything can be sold, right?”
He had learned quite a bit from Shi Wuxiang over time.
Who didn’t know how to intimidate people?
“You’re spouting nonsense! My family runs a proper business. If you dare spread rumors, I’ll tear your mouth apart!” Li Qingwei snapped, truly angered, lowering his voice to threaten him.
Of course, Yuan Zhao didn’t actually know whether any merchant families sold those filthy substances, but he used the idea to scare him anyway. Unexpectedly, the man really couldn’t take it.
Whether or not he knew the truth, just from his reaction, it was obvious there was something shady about his family. Maybe Li Qingwei even used it himself.
“If you don’t want me talking nonsense, then don’t talk nonsense yourself.” Yuan Zhao glared at him. “Egg pancake, fifteen wen!”
Li Qingwei gritted his teeth and threw a broken silver piece at him. “What are you worth? You’ll only ever bow and scrape in front of me your whole life!”
After saying that, he turned and left with the pancake in hand.
Yuan Zhao bent down to pick up the silver that had been thrown on the ground, then smiled as he placed it back into the money box.
Those words might humiliate a proud scholar, but Yuan Zhao had grown up under beatings and mistreatment in the Yuan household. Things far worse had never broken him—something like this had no effect at all.
“Mother, we earned more again!” he said, raising his brows with a bright smile.
Madam Shi Zhang stared at him blankly for a moment, unsure what to say, but still forced a cooperative smile. She didn’t know what Yuan Zhao would feel if she failed to show happiness.
The matter of Li Qingwei humiliating a vendor outside the academy naturally could not be concealed from other scholars.
Cheng Du and Fu Ying naturally came forward to demand an explanation.
“Li Qingwei, don’t go too far!” Cheng Du’s usually playful eyes were now filled with anger. “Why are you taking your personal grievances out on innocent people?”
“It’s not for you to decide who is innocent! This is Shi Wuxiang’s doing! Dare you swear he has nothing to do with this investigation into merchants?” Li Qingwei roared.
Fu Ying stepped forward slightly to block Cheng Du, speaking calmly. “If you want to know the truth, you should first examine yourself. What evidence do you have that this is related to him? Li Qingwei, you are the one acting aggressively and suspiciously.”
“Exactly! Brother Wuxiang is a good man. Though he was once quiet and reserved, he has always been kind. Whenever I had questions, he would patiently answer them.”
“I too!”
“So do we…”
Cheng Du suddenly leaned out and fanned the flames. “Isn’t it obvious? Jealousy! Not as skilled in academics, so you resort to underhanded tricks! Aren’t you the one spreading rumors about him every day?”
With that, they stripped Li Qingwei of his facade. Not a single scholar present dared to stand up for him now—none wished to offend Cheng Du or Fu Ying, nor challenge public opinion.
In the end, Li Qingwei left in fury.
Yuan Zhao remained unaware of all this commotion, his thoughts entirely focused on earning more money so his family could study.
Author’s Note:
Little A-Zhao: “We’re amazing~”
Little Yuan Yuan: “Amazing~”