They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 58 Exposing Master Liu

Finally, Master Liu was forced to write down in his own hand how he had abused Liang Mingxuan, and also briefly described how Xu Zhichun had come to their door that day to coax the couple into revealing the truth. He then signed and affixed his fingerprint to the document. It was concluded that the matter ended there, and no one was allowed to mention it again; Liang Mingxuan and Master Liu had no further connection whatsoever. The two village heads, Doctor Jiang, and Xu Zhichun also acted as witnesses and affixed their fingerprints.

Four copies were made, one for each of the two village heads, Xu Zhichun, and Master Liu.

Before leaving, Xu Zhichun said again, "Liu Tongsheng, don't teach anymore and mislead students. If I find out that Liu Tongsheng is still teaching, don't blame me for breaking my promise and exposing this matter."

Liu Tongsheng's face was ashen, only his eyes remained fierce: "Madam Xu, killing is just a matter of a head falling to the ground, but it's always good to leave a way out for others. I'm not teaching Liang Mingxuan anymore, what else do you want?"

What else should he do if not teach? Should he work in the fields? How could a scholar like him do such coarse and lowly farm work?

He's the kind of person who wears a long gown.

Xu Zhichun: "With a character like Liu Tongsheng, how dare you teach? Aren't you just corrupting all the good children? Aren't we all your accomplices? You don't care, but we're afraid of losing our good karma."

"you!"

Liu Tongsheng glanced at Meng Lizheng and Liang Lizheng with resentment. Seeing that they were also looking at him with displeasure, clearly agreeing with Xu Zhichun's words, he knew there was no hope. He closed his eyes, filled with despair.

Liang Lizheng led Xu Zhichun away.

Liang Li pressed him for answers, demanding Liang Mingxuan's tuition fee as well.

“I know you’re still a little upset, but it’s already quite good that things turned out this way. This Liu Tongsheng was specially invited to the village by Village Chief Meng with great fanfare. At the time, countless villages envied them, saying that Quanshan Village had good feng shui, which was why they were able to invite such a teacher. With a school, their literary tradition is likely to flourish, and they’re bound to prosper in the future. Village Chief Meng and the people of Quanshan Village are incredibly proud. If this were to get out, Village Chief Meng and Quanshan Village would lose face and become the laughingstock of the village.”

"Even if those who are reasonable know they won't blame you, they'll probably still feel resentful. And those who are unreasonable and muddle-headed will probably take their anger out on you and Mingxuan. Our two villages are neighbors, so we'll inevitably have to see each other sometimes. Let's just resolve our own problems and not invite other troubles. Don't worry, he won't get away with it. Village Chief Meng won't let him off easily."

"Didn't you say that Mingxuan is going to take the children's examination next month? If this happens now, it's hard to say what impact it will have on him. It's better to avoid trouble."

"With so many people talking, things can easily get distorted over time. And who can go around correcting everyone's claims?"

If word gets out that Liang Mingxuan reported the teacher, it would be a loss for him.

Although Liu Tongsheng was truly a scoundrel, Liang Mingxuan would still suffer some losses if such words were to spread.

Xu Zhichun still felt a little uncomfortable, but he understood that Meng Lizheng definitely had to be given face, otherwise Liang Lizheng would also be in a difficult position.

The village head has already helped me a lot.

If it weren't for his intervention, I wouldn't have been able to get Meng, the village head, and Dr. Jiang, who is highly respected in the village, to cooperate in this performance. In that case, my family might not have been able to swallow our anger and choose to avoid the situation.

After all, that Liu Tong has a mouth; he can talk nonsense and slander.

Xu Zhichun nodded: "Village head, I understand. It's already quite an achievement that this matter has come to this result. Without your help, I simply couldn't have done it. As long as Mingxuan can clear his name completely and Liu Tongsheng has been punished, that's enough."

Liang Lizheng laughed heartily and nodded with satisfaction: "I knew you were a sensible and understanding person. With you as Mingxuan's sister-in-law to take care of him, Minglang has made the right choice in choosing you."

I don't know how to respond to that.
Xu Zhichun could only give an awkward but polite smile.

Meng Lizheng's eldest grandson was also studying under Liu Tongsheng, not intending to take the imperial examinations, but only hoping to learn a few characters so he could find work in the city. Few people in the countryside dared to dream of taking the imperial examinations and becoming an official.

After this incident, of course I'm not going.

Meng Lizheng questioned his eldest grandson in detail, and the boy, looking rather silly and envious, said, "The teacher said Mingxuan is very smart. What we learn in a day, he learns in less than half a day. So the teacher has him help with chores to get some exercise. I also want to help the teacher with chores, but unfortunately, I just can't memorize the texts no matter how hard I try."

Studying is nothing compared to working! He loves herding cattle, rolling around, climbing trees, stealing bird eggs, catching grasshoppers, and picking wild fruit—he just doesn't like studying. Looking at those dark, strangely shaped characters makes his eyes blur, his head go blank, and he yawns constantly. What can he do?

If you don't like it, you just don't like it.

Meng Lizheng was completely speechless.
That silly boy!

Forget it, at least I know a few words now, so I might as well not study anymore. Studying is just infuriating.

Why spend money to suffer indignity?
The gap between people.

He was even a little jealous of Liang Mingxuan, and even Liang Lizheng.

So the cultural heritage has been passed down in Liangjia Village.

If nothing unexpected happens, Liang Mingxuan will probably rise to prominence. Wouldn't Liang Family Village be overjoyed then? That old man Liang would be ecstatic!
No wonder Liu Tongsheng tormented Liang Mingxuan without the other children knowing; it turns out he even kept it a secret from those children. He really is a treacherous creature.

Fortunately, the Xu family of Liangjia Village came up with this method to expose him; otherwise, who would have believed it? Liu Tongsheng, who was usually so polite and gentle, with the air of a scholar, actually had such a face.

Meng Lizheng ruthlessly forced Liu Tongsheng to leave.

Liu Tongsheng had no choice but to dismiss all his students under the pretext of feeling unwell, and he slunk back to his remote and isolated village with his wife and son.

The villagers of Quanshan Village were quite disappointed, while Meng Lizheng sneered inwardly, thinking, "This is what they mean by knowing a person's face but not their heart."

After Xu Zhichun returned home, she saw that Liang Mingxuan's temperature had risen again, so she quickly prepared another dose of medicine for him.

He told him that Liu Tongsheng's matter had been resolved.

Fearing he might worry, Xu Zhichun briefly explained what had happened, so he would know that no one would tell and it wouldn't affect him in the slightest. From now on, he would have absolutely no connection with that Liu Tongsheng!
Liang Mingxuan was deeply moved, his nose tingled, and he couldn't help but hug Xu Zhichun, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

A simple thank you isn't enough.

His sister-in-law was such a gentle person, yet she risked everything to have a big fight with that treacherous Liu Tongsheng and his wife for his sake. He couldn't even imagine what she must have been feeling at that time.

Liang Mingxuan's heart was pounding with excitement, his blood boiling. He clenched his fist secretly: he must study hard, pass the imperial examinations to become a scholar and a jinshi, and he must bring honor to his sister-in-law and earn her an official title.

Ambition ignited within his small chest.

(End of this chapter)