“He’s deceiving you. Behind your back, he talks badly about you every day. I didn’t dare to say anything, afraid you’d get angry,” Ruan Qing said, resting her head on his arm and kissing his wrinkled face. “My cousin bullies me because her family is rich. The other day, when I went to her house to discuss the marriage, she scolded me for being shameless. My mother spoke up, and my cousin even hit her.”
Ruan Qing grew angrier, tears streaming down her face.
Being a new favorite, Magistrate Li felt sympathetic and quickly wiped her tears, saying coldly, “If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known that Ruan Shixin was such a character behind my back! My dear, you’ve been wronged. I’ll call him over someday and give him a good scolding to vent your anger!”
Ruan Qing wanted more than just a few meaningless words. For years, her parents had told her that the second branch’s property would eventually be theirs. Now, Ruan Shixin dared to resist, and Ruan Ning even brought in a son-in-law to scold her. These were intolerable to her, and she had long decided to crush the second branch.
She continued crying and stirring up trouble: “Scolding and hitting me is nothing. I’m angry that they’re disrespectful to you. They say there are laws prohibiting officials from marrying or taking concubines, calling you a lawbreaker, even threatening to report you. Hmph, are they even qualified to discuss you?”
Ruan Qing didn’t know about this law until she overheard her third uncle arguing with her father. Thinking it significant, she attributed it to Ruan Shixin.
Magistrate Li was indeed furious. While many officials accepted beautiful women from local gentry, the law explicitly forbade such actions. If reported, it would cause trouble.
He never expected Ruan Shixin would be spoken about this way behind his back. He sat up and cursed, “Troublesome peasant! I’ll deal with him tomorrow!”
Ruan Qing eagerly added, “My second uncle likes martial arts and fighting. I heard he has connections in the green forest road and has even secretly robbed others. How else would his family be so wealthy?”
