Hai Youtian was terrified!
“Someone! Hurry! Someone’s trying to jump into the well!”
He shouted so loudly that Lu Liu’s two little ones shivered.
Chen Guizhi called Lu Erbao and Wang Fengnian to help. Together, they managed to restrain He Fulang and pull him into the alley, while Hai Youtian locked the door to prevent him from attempting the well again.
Hai Youtian’s hands trembled as he turned the key.
Good heavens! He had almost gotten himself implicated in a death!
Lu Liu told Shun Ge’er to stay inside with the children and went out to see He Fulang.
He Fulang was pressed down onto the bamboo bed by Chen Guizhi, who scolded him for not valuing his own life.
“Just because he won’t leave you a way to live, you want to die? Who does he think he is? Even the King of Hell has to mark someone’s lifespan before taking them. You’re just going to hand over your life because he doesn’t speak a word?”
He Fulang didn’t know how to survive, but Chen Guizhi continued: “Live by yourself! I’m telling you, the man is gone—consider him dead! From today on, you’re a widower! Why should you die? Let him die! Being a widower is great! Plenty of people want you! Do whatever you want! Make duck eggs if you like, sell buns if you want, choose whatever man you like and remarry! Why stick to a black-hearted scoundrel?”
Chen Guizhi came from the mountains, where widows and widowers were common. She knew that surviving without a man was possible; one didn’t have to depend on a husband to get by.
Now, the only problem was that men couldn’t find a wife, but He Fulang didn’t have trouble remarrying!
Her nonstop scolding broke apart all of He Fulang’s lingering despair.
Even Lu Liu was stunned listening. Hai Youtian, who had been sitting on a stool, weakly stood up, unsure why he was listening so obediently.
Chen Guizhi said, “You think your suffering is worse than mine? You have no house, no money, but you don’t have three little ones weighing you down. Do you know how hard it is when four mouths need feeding? You’re lucky my son found you some work. Can’t go back to the village? Fine, the man doesn’t want you, so he’s dead to you. Write a divorce letter—divorce him!”
Hai Youtian whispered, “But only a man can issue a divorce.”
Chen Guizhi waved him off, still looking at He Fulang. “No matter, you write it. Afterward, have the man who tried to kill you sign it.”
Her stance was firm—Liu Youli was as good as dead.
Lu Liu secretly wanted to laugh and gave her a thumbs-up.
She was amazing—what a way with words.
He Fulang, weakened by her scolding, had no courage to die anymore. He looked to the side, saw Lu Liu smiling, and remembered the work Lu Liu had promised him with pay. His heart ached with gratitude, and tears welled up in his eyes.
“I…I can’t read…” he admitted.
No problem.
Most in this family were semi-literate; many couldn’t read. But Zhao Peilan could.
Chen Guizhi instructed her to write a divorce letter. Zhao Peilan had never written one, and Chen Guizhi hadn’t either, but seeing everyone look to her for the task, she said, “I’ll write.”
The reasons for divorcing Liu Youli were listed as follows:
- A worthless man who can’t support a family, spends but doesn’t earn—why keep him?
- A tyrant at home, who helps outsiders bully He Fulang.
- Infertile, unable to produce children, endangering the family line.
… - Reads sage books but acts like a beast. One cannot live with a beast.
With seven points completed, Chen Guizhi was satisfied. He Fulang listened in stunned silence.
Chen Guizhi handed him the divorce letter.
“You can’t read, right? Read it aloud after me. These two characters at the top say ‘divorce letter.’ Below, the repeated word says ‘beast.’ Learn these four characters first.”
Holding the letter, He Fulang moved his lips silently.
Chen Guizhi insisted he read it aloud, guiding him word by word. By the end, his voice grew louder, tone firmer.
When Li Feng returned home that evening, he could hear the alley echoing with “divorce letter…beast…”
Even with the sand tray out, He Fulang was using a stick to write characters in the dirt.
Li Feng raised his eyebrows—progress was fast; the divorce was underway.
Lu Liu leapt over, sharing the day’s events, his eyes sparkling with admiration.
“Mother is amazing! I want to be like her one day!”
Li Feng let him dream. With Lu Liu’s gentle nature, even scolding came soft—he could never be sharp-tongued.
Lu Liu added, “That Hai Youtian is pretty good. He didn’t take the house immediately; gave He Fulang a few days. Once our shop is ready, he can move in there. We’ll tidy up the rest later. Empty is empty anyway.”
Li Feng nodded. “Good plan. I’ve seen other landlords, all sharp-tongued. They’ll always drive up prices, never let you bargain.”
Lu Liu said, “Next time he comes, we’ll treat him to fish soup. After that, he might rent us a shop for less.”
Li Feng put an arm around him, smiling, discussing how to negotiate with Hai Youtian.
The day’s chaos became only a minor alleyway episode.
That evening, the dinner table had one more guest—He Fulang.
Lu Liu asked his name. “I’m He Qingzao,” he said. “There’s a jujube tree in front of my house, so they named me after it.”
Lu Liu asked his age. “You’re a bit older than me. I’ll call you Brother Zao!”
He Fulang hadn’t heard anyone call him like that in a long time. With the new name, he seemed to reclaim himself, remembering who he was before marriage.
That night, he returned to the small room that had trapped him for over two years.
Lying down, the quiet around him, he still felt uneasy.
The road ahead was unknown. No one had taught him how to survive after leaving a man, but now he had experienced abandonment.
He wanted to try. This decision turned “abandonment” into the key unlocking his chains, and his body and mind felt lighter.
After more than two years in the prefecture, married for over three, he finally slept peacefully.
The third day of August, light rain fell.
Sheng Da Xian and Ji Mingzhu arrived in the provincial city, heading to the agreed location near the Gongyuan examination hall.
Xie Yan and Wu Pingzhi waited early at the street entrance. Dressed in scholar robes and holding ink-and-wash paper umbrellas, they stood on the cobblestone path, exuding the poetic charm of misty Jiangnan.
Upon meeting, Xie Yan broke the poetry with complaints.
“It’s so expensive! Nearby homes, one or two taels per day. We had booked a room, but someone offered more, and they sold it off!”
Ji Mingzhu looked at Wu Pingzhi. “You didn’t reserve a room either?”
Wu Pingzhi shook his head. “Someone outbid us. That person doesn’t understand business. If someone offers more, shouldn’t they give me a chance to match? Anyway, those people moved in, and I didn’t want a scene. Found a few more today.”
They all had residences in the city but a bit far from the Gongyuan.
Before the exams, it was better to stay nearby; otherwise, one would have to stay up all night and enter the exam exhausted. No one wanted to gamble with such an important test.
Those with silver sought closer lodgings.
Earlier, Lu Yang had also scouted, but this wasn’t a place for bargaining. As more candidates arrived, room rates changed daily.
Some local families even used tricks—cooking rich meat or soup so lodgers would be full, claiming the meals rivaled taverns. Others used charm, sending attractive young men or women to serve tea when guests viewed the rooms.
All the homes they visited that morning followed similar patterns.
