Can you guess who it is? This scholar is Zhang Tingyu. This lecherous rogue couldn't resist the temptation of beauty and often appeared outside brothels. He didn't want to spend money to go in, so he tried to seduce the girl Yu'er.
With his refined face and scholarly air, he won the favor of Miss Yu'er.
The two developed feelings for each other. For him, Yu'er secretly gave Zhang Tingyu her private savings, and he used the money to redeem her from her servitude, gaining a good reputation. He even bought a house in the county town and put it in his name.
As soon as Miss Yu left the brothel, he bought her two maids to serve her. The two were very affectionate and loving all day long, which made the young men and women around them very envious.
Even knowing that Yu'er was the top courtesan in the brothel, the beautiful story of the talented man and the beautiful woman still overshadowed her identity as a prostitute.
The Qiao family knew about this first. The Fang family was related to them, and the Qiao family had already been instructed by the Fang family to keep an eye on their son-in-law's affairs at the academy.
So he immediately sent someone to tell the Fang family head about it, and the Fang family head just smiled coldly.
Zhang Lao Er has only been in the academy for a little over a month, yet he dares to be so presumptuous and disregard the Fang family.
He was just waiting to find something to hold against him, so he immediately took his men and went to Zhang Lao Er's residence in the county town to stake it out. That night, he caught Zhang Lao Er and Miss Yu in the room. After they were severely beaten, they were sent to the government office. The Fang family accused Zhang Lao Er of being ungrateful, a son-in-law who ate their food, spent their money, and supported their studies, yet he was not ambitious, redeemed a prostitute, and kept a mistress.
At the same time, the Fang family also revealed that he had committed adultery with his sister-in-law and had two illegitimate children.
Therefore, the county officials rushed to Ping'an Village and brought back the Zhang family, including the Zhang couple, Zhao, and their two children.
This incident caused a huge uproar in the county town. Regardless of whether the incident actually happened, the academy dismissed Zhang Tingyu.
The first item alone has already tarnished the reputation of the academy, not to mention the affair between the younger brother-in-law and the elder sister-in-law.
In the main hall of the county government, members of the Zhang family, the Fang family, and Miss Yu'er knelt, surrounded by a crowd of commoners.
Zhang Tingyu lowered his head, trembling. He knew he was finished.
In the northern village, there was an unwritten custom that if the eldest son died, the second son would be responsible for both the eldest and second sons' families. Zhang Dashan knew he couldn't hide it any longer, so he directly admitted to the relationship between Zhang Lao Er and Zhao Shi. However, he insisted that the second son was responsible for the eldest son's family. The county magistrate also knew that this custom existed, so the matter was dropped.
However, since Zhang Tingyu was a son-in-law who had married into the family, his affair of keeping a prostitute in a brothel was equivalent to a woman's infidelity. Therefore, the magistrate immediately stripped Zhang Tingyu of his scholar title and barred him from taking the imperial examinations for ten years.
The Fang family demanded a divorce and that Zhang Tingyu return all the money he had spent on them over the years, and that they sever all ties with Zhang Tingyu from that point on.
The Fang family also presented the bills to the county magistrate. The magistrate, who had secretly accepted bribes from the Fang family, naturally sided with them and ruled in their favor on the spot.
From that day on, Zhang Lao Er was no longer the son-in-law of the Fang family, and he also had to repay the money he had spent at the Fang family, totaling 468 taels.
Upon hearing the verdict, Zhang Tingyu collapsed to the ground.
It's over, really over. He's banned from taking the imperial examinations for ten years. Even if he takes them again, he'll only be able to become a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar). If he takes another three years, he'll be over thirty and won't be able to take the Jinshi (highest-level scholar) exam anymore. His path to becoming a scholar is over.
Yu'er finally woke up from her dream. Having seen a lot in the brothel, she was angry that Zhang Lao Er had kept his wife a secret. But at that moment, the two of them were deeply in love, so no matter how angry she was, she didn't want to be separated from Zhang Lao Er. Ignoring the pain in her body, she whispered a few words in his ear, and Zhang Lao Er's expression finally softened.
So, Miss Yu'er went home, got the money, and compensated the Fang family. Zhang Lao Er received the divorce papers, and he and Yu'er helped each other home.
Following behind him were Zhang Dashan and his wife, as well as Zhao and her two children.
The Fang family is truly ruthless. They crushed Zhang Lao Er to the brink of ruin, leaving him with no chance of recovery. This is the way wealthy families operate; this is the consequence of deceiving the Fang family.
As soon as they entered, Zhang Dashan and Qian Shi revealed their true colors, shoving Yu'er to the ground and showing evil-looking expressions on their faces.
"It's all your fault, you bitch! My son was perfectly fine, and you've ruined him like this."
Yu'er was no pushover either. She stood up, a slight smile playing on her lips, and said calmly:
"Then tell me, he was doing just fine at the academy, how did he end up hooking up with me?"
Zhang Dashan and his wife are mute. The academy only gives them two days off a month. If their son wants to go back to the Fang family, it must be because their son went to a brothel to be a customer.
They knew their own son's true nature; he wanted to get his hands on any pretty woman he saw.
Madam Qian naturally wouldn't blame her son: "That's all because of you. If it weren't for you, would he have turned out like this?"
Yu'er ignored him, went back to her room to get medicine, and asked the maid to apply it to her and Zhang Tingyu's wounds.
She wanted to see Zhang Tingyu's choice today. If he chose to break up with her, then she would grant his wish and leave.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Tingyu's first words were: "Father, Mother, it's perfect that you're here. Let me tell you about my relationship with Yu'er."
"What, you want to marry her?"
"Yes, Yu'er and I are in love and will never be separated."
"You! Are you trying to drive us crazy?"
"Now that I've become like this, I'm afraid the academy won't accept me anymore. From now on, I just want to live a good life with Yu'er. We'll talk about the future later."
“Our family has been farmers for generations. How could we possibly marry a prostitute? It’s too shameful. How can we ever face anyone again?”
"Anyway, I'm not going back to that lousy village. You guys can go."
Zhao dared not utter a sound; she had no right to interrupt. Now, she was completely exposed to the light of day, and she had no idea how she would survive in the village in the future. Her life of wealth and luxury was probably over.
Zhang Tingyu looked at Yu'er and said softly, "In a few days, I will transfer your household registration to mine, and then we will be a real couple."
Yu'er nodded, touched: "Okay!"
"Is there any silver left at home? Give my parents twenty taels and tell them to go home."
"Yes, I'll get it."
Yu'er turned around and went back into the house. She took out twenty taels of silver from the cabinet and returned to give it to Zhang Dashan and his wife.
"Take it, and don't say a word when you get home."
With the money to shut her up, Madam Qian angrily took it and stuffed it into her bosom, but still looked at Yu'er with disdain.
"Don't ever come to my house again. Let's go home."
Zhao looked at Zhang Tingyu with reluctance, but he said something that plunged her into despair.
"Sister-in-law, my fate is sealed. I'm afraid my career is over. If you're willing, find a good family to remarry so you don't waste your life at home."
"you!"
"Let's go, go back."
With her two children in tow and tears streaming down her face, Zhao followed her parents-in-law.
That evening, Zhao poisoned her in-laws' food, pried open the cabinet, took all the silver, and ran away with the two children.
When Zhang Dashan and his wife woke up, they quickly rented an oxcart from the village chief and went to Zhao's parents' home to look for her, only to find that she had never gone back.
Enraged, the two immediately returned to the county town, intending to discuss what to do with their son. However, only two days later, Zhang Tingyu and Yu'er also ran away. They sold the house and disappeared without a trace.
The elderly couple were stunned. They had lost their money, their son, their daughter-in-law, and their grandson. They fell ill as soon as they got home.
Xiao Nan was enjoying a cucumber when Jiang Shi, who hadn't gone to town, rushed over and sat down at the table to talk to the two of them about the Zhang family.
"They say good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast, and that's so true."
The old woman poured her a cup of tea and asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"
"The Zhang family is in trouble, haha, that's really satisfying." He said, while secretly glancing at Xiao Nan.
What happened to the Zhang family?
“You never go out and never talk to the villagers, so of course you don’t know that Zhang Lao Er’s degree has been revoked and he’s not allowed to take the imperial examinations for ten years.”
"Huh? Why did you masturbate?"
"They said it was the Fang family who did it. The head of the Fang family led his men and cornered him and the prostitutes in their house."
"What's going on?" The old woman was completely confused.
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