Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

While Chen Zhong was away from the room, Ban Dingyuan got up and began to examine the furnishings inside.

The dining table and two long benches both looked quite old.

On the coffee table in the corner, there was a teapot and two cups, which looked like they were for serving guests.

The walls had peeled off a layer of dust, but they seemed to have been carefully repaired, so they didn't appear too uneven.

Aside from these, the most valuable thing in the whole room was an oil lamp placed on the table.

The furnishings were simple but very clean; this was probably the living environment of a scholar.

At this moment, Ban Dingyuan heard faint sounds of Chen Zhong and his wife discussing something outside the door.

"I'm sorry, I'm not a man. I never imagined that one day I would make you suffer such humiliation, but there's no other way. If we don't do this, our whole family will starve to death. Don't worry, after this is over, I will cherish you even more."

These were Chen Zhong's words, but there was no reply from the woman; the only response was a soft sob.

Before long, the door reopened, and Chen Zhong, with a smile on his face, came to Ban Dingyuan, while Wang Shi went into the inner room without saying a word.

"Sir, I've already convinced my wife. It's her first time doing this job, so I hope you can be gentle with her."

As he spoke, Chen Zhong's eyes were already bloodshot.

Ban Dingyuan: "Okay, can we begin now?"

Chen Zhong nodded: "Grandpa, please rest early. I'll go outside and keep watch for you."

After saying that, Chen Zhong wiped away his tears and left the house.

Ban Dingyuan glanced around, then took out his Browning pistol from his waist, screwed the safety back on to prevent accidental discharge, and then strode into the inner room.

At this moment, Wang Shi had changed into clean clothes and was sitting quietly by the prepared bed, waiting for Ban Dingyuan to arrive.

But when she saw Ban Dingyuan enter the inner room, she immediately stood up and leaned back involuntarily, her expression showing obvious nervousness.

"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."

Ban Dingyuan quickly offered a few words of comfort to Wang.

Upon hearing this, Wang lowered her head and said softly, "Sir, today is my first day doing this business. I'm not very skilled in many areas, so please forgive me. But I will try my best to serve you and make you comfortable."

As he spoke, he began to loosen his belt.

Ban Dingyuan quickly stopped him: "Madam Wang, you've misunderstood. I'm not here to do business. I just want to sit down and have a good chat with you so I can learn about the local customs and traditions."

Wang looked puzzled: "Grandpa, aren't you going to drive piles?"

Ban Dingyuan smiled and shook his head. Then he looked at the furnishings in the middle room and finally sat on the edge of the bed and took out a leather-bound notebook from his pocket.

“Madam Wang, you really don’t need to be afraid. I’m not that kind of person. I come from the State of Chu. I’m passing through on my way to Shengjing and I’m very curious about the customs and traditions of the State of Wuzhao. I would appreciate it if you could explain them to me.”

Although it was rather awkward for a man and a woman to be alone in a room, Wang felt somewhat relieved to see that Ban Dingyuan looked calm and composed, just as he had said, and that he wouldn't do the kind of work that involved driving piles.

So she stepped back to the corner and asked, "What does the old man want to ask? I will tell him the truth."

Ban Dingyuan: "May I ask, Madam Wang, if a husband forces his wife to sell herself into prostitution, does the local government not care?"

Madam Wang shook her head: "How can we manage it? To be honest, sir, I don't know about other places, but in Huizhou..."

It was an open secret that wives and daughters of husbands secretly sold themselves into prostitution to supplement their family income, and the government didn't care at all, as long as it didn't affect the business of those brothels and theaters.

Nobody cares about you at all. I just opened for business today, but I never expected to meet such a kind person like you, sir.

Ban Dingyuan silently noted down everything Wang said, and then asked, "May I ask, Madam Wang, how much can one earn from such a transaction?"

Wang thought for a moment before saying, "Others may not know, but across the street, Zhao Tongsheng's wife from Liukou earns thirty coins for each job."

"Don't be so formal, sir. Wealthy families go to brothels to find girls; those who come to a place like this are all poor people. I've never seen anyone dressed so well, sir."

Ban Dingyuan gave a wry smile and then asked, "So, your kind of business isn't an isolated case; almost everyone in Huizhou has it?"

"Ah."

Wang nodded.

"Don't you feel ashamed to be a respectable woman working as a prostitute?"

"When people are starving to death, what's the point of having any sense of shame?"

When Wang answered these words, she couldn't help but shed tears.

Ban Dingyuan sighed softly and silently wrote down what Wang had just said in his notebook.

After getting what he wanted, Ban Dingyuan closed the notebook and stuffed it back into his pocket. Then he took a money pouch from his waist and placed it on the bed.

"Let your husband use this money to do something else. Since the path of the imperial examination is difficult, let's not pursue it."

After saying that, Ban Dingyuan got up and walked out.

"uncle!"

Wang quickly called out to him.

"Are you really not going to drive piles?"

"Our Great Chu Dynasty has laws that prohibit officials from engaging in prostitution during official duties. Lady Wang, you should live a good life with your husband."

After saying that, Ban Dingyuan went straight out of the inner room.

Wang stared blankly in the direction Ban Dingyuan had gone until she heard the sound of the outer door opening, at which point she came to her senses and realized that he had left.

He walked up to the money bag, opened it, and immediately covered his mouth.

Besides five silver ingots, each weighing five taels, the purse also contained a pile of loose silver, totaling nearly forty taels in total...

With so much money, the family no longer had to worry about starving.

Wang silently put away the money bag, then knelt down with a thud and bowed deeply in the direction where Ban Dingyuan had disappeared.

"A living Bodhisattva!"

When Ban Dingyuan opened the courtyard gate, he saw Chen Zhong sitting on the ground against the courtyard wall with his hands tucked into his sleeves, saying nothing.

Only when he heard a noise behind him did he raise the broken lantern to look.

"Sir? What's wrong with you...?"

He was quite surprised; it was too fast, less than a quarter of an hour in total.

"Your wife is a good person. From now on, you should do some legitimate business and not go down this path."

Ban Dingyuan patted Chen Zhong on the shoulder, gave him a meaningful smile, and then strode back the way he came.

When Chen Zhong entered the room, he saw that Wang's clothes were neat and her makeup was still intact, and he immediately knew that she had not been touched.

He breathed a sigh of relief and then made a move to ask why.

But then Wang handed the money bag to Chen Zhong, sobbing, "Husband, our family has met a benefactor..."

After listening to Wang's account of her experience and looking at the heavy money bag in his hand, Chen Zhong suddenly slapped himself hard.

"My wife, it's my fault, I'm not human!"

Then she burst into tears.

Wang quickly hugged her husband, and the two of them cried their hearts out...

“That old man is our benefactor, but I didn’t even know where he was from. Otherwise, I would definitely have repaid him properly.”

"My lord, I heard him say he was from the Great Chu. Where is the Great Chu?"

"Great Chu?"

Chen Zhong silently memorized this country, vowing that he would repay them properly if he had the chance in the future.