After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 19 Picked Up a Person
Bai Chenming's expression immediately turned cold upon hearing Chen's words. He coughed lightly, "So many things have happened today, and you still have the mind to talk about this?"

Knowing she was getting a little anxious, Madam Chen smiled awkwardly and said, "Qing'er, think it over carefully, and we'll discuss it again in a couple of days."

Chen and Bai Qinglian went to help Bai Furong, but Bai Furong clung tightly to Bai Wanqing's sleeve and refused to go back with them.

This was something Chen hadn't expected at all.

Bai Wanqing gently patted Furong's arm. "Furong, we're home now. Everything's alright. Go back and get some rest. I'll come to your courtyard to see you tomorrow. There are some things I'd like to say to Father."

When Furong heard Bai Wanqing say this, she felt extremely reluctant, but she still let go. Madam Chen was not happy with her daughter's behavior, but she was indeed frightened today, so she simply didn't say anything.

After the three women, Chen and her daughters, left, Bai Wanqing and Bai Chenming told each other about Bai Furong's situation that day.

"The second young master of the Zhang family is such a despicable person?" Bai Chenming never expected that the seemingly polite second young master of the Zhang family would do such a thing.

"So, regarding Sister Furong's marriage..."

"Retreat! Retreat immediately! We were thinking of delaying for two days, waiting for the rumors about your divorce—no, our Bai family's—to die down, and then the Zhang family might think things through and continue the engagement. But it seems we can't wait any longer." Bai Chenming almost stumbled over his words halfway through, but thankfully he managed to back down in time. He knew his daughter wasn't easily hurt, but he didn't want to say anything that would hurt her.

"Yes!" Only after receiving her father's assurance did Bai Wanqing feel at ease.

Bai Wanqing got up to leave, but Bai Chenming stopped her again: "Qing'er, don't take what your mother said about the marriage to heart. She's just too anxious."

Bai Wanqing didn't pay attention to what Chen said, but since the topic came up, she also shared some of her thoughts with Bai Chenming.

"Father, about my future... I don't plan to remarry!"

Although Bai Chenming protected Bai Wanqing, he knew that if a young woman didn't marry, there wouldn't be a suitable person in her family to support her in the future. He knew he would leave sooner or later, and what would she do then?

After a moment's thought, Bai Chenming's face showed his disapproval. "Qing'er, I know that the marriage with the Meng family has caused you distress, but how can you say that you will never marry again?"

"Not everyone is Meng Zhan; there are some fine young men among them!"

Bai Chenming thought that Bai Wanqing was afraid of getting married again because she had been bitten by a snake once and was now afraid of a rope for ten years.

But in reality, Bai Wanqing felt that marriage was meaningless. She had tried to give her heart to others, but they didn't appreciate it. The so-called exchange of sincerity for sincerity was just a joke.

But she knew she couldn't persuade her father in a short time, so she didn't say anything more.

Bai Chenming frowned, then, remembering what Chen had just said, fearing that Bai Wanqing might misunderstand, he explained, "Qing'er, don't worry, no one will be arranging a marriage for you anytime soon."

"But your father still hopes that you can open your heart, so that if you meet a good man someday, you won't miss him."

Bai Wanqing remained silent. Bai Chenming had no choice but to let her go back to her room.

Bai Wanqing had been busy all day, and Meng Zhan was not idle either.

He visited all his relatives in the Meng family, trying to raise enough money for the betrothal gifts for the Liu family. However, his Meng family were all poor relatives, and everyone was trying to curry favor with Meng Zhan. In the end, they could only raise fifty taels of silver.

This is still quite a distance from ten thousand taels of silver.

Meng Zhan walked back somewhat dejectedly. He had gone to the countryside today, and on the way back, he took a back street to make it closer to the countryside.

The night should be quiet, but there's always one place that's different.

Like a backstreet, it's quiet and deserted during the day, but bustling and lively at night.

"Oh, sir, would you like to come in and have a look?"

Groups of two or three courtesans stood on the street, holding handkerchiefs, and would enthusiastically surround any passing young men or gentlemen, trying to win them over.

One of the women happened to see Meng Zhan walking over. Her eyes lit up, and she thought to herself: Where did such a handsome young man come from? She then went to greet him.

"My lord, come in and have a seat!" The woman smiled obsequiously, her face full of flattery, which disgusted Meng Zhan. He glared at her angrily, then turned to leave quickly with a look of disdain.

Just then, a melodious zither tune drifted from the brothel, followed by a woman's singing.

The lyrics? The melody, however, is quite wonderful!
Meng Zhan was drawn in by the singing and stopped in his tracks. The woman, who had initially been scared away by his disdain, was unwilling to give up and took the opportunity to stick close to him again.

"Young master, you have a really good ear. This is the best singer in our Mufeng Pavilion. The lyrics were specially written for her by Young Master Du, Madam Du's nephew. Why don't you go in and listen?"

Meng Zhan wasn't interested in music theory; he was interested in the ci (lyric poetry) form.
"You're saying this poem title was written by Young Master Du?" Meng Zhan asked.

The woman nodded firmly, "Of course, Young Master Du is a distinguished guest of our young lady. If you don't believe me, you can ask around."

Meng Zhan naturally believed him. He had heard of Young Master Du's reputation. He was the nephew of Madam Du, the prefect of Huaizhou. Although the Du family was a merchant family, Young Master Du's mother came from a family of eunuchs.

Meng Zhan had long intended to get to know Young Master Du, and after a moment's thought, he followed the woman into Mufeng Pavilion.

Fang waited for Meng Zhan all day. It had been a whole day since he came to confront her in the morning, and he still hadn't returned.

She learned from Meng Zhan that morning that Bai Wanqing had caught the Meng family red-handed, and the rumors she spread might provoke retaliation from the Bai family. She spent the whole day explaining that Bai Wanqing was not unfilial to her mother-in-law and that everything before was a misunderstanding.

Others didn't see the way these people looked at her. Yesterday she was a steadfast victim, but today she's become an old liar.

She had to tell Zhan'er that she had resolved the matter, but no matter how long she waited, Meng Zhan's men did not return.

Fang was so anxious that she couldn't sleep all night. The next day, she got up early to keep watch, and it wasn't until late afternoon that she saw Meng Zhan push open the door and return.

Meng Zhan was taken aback when he saw Fang Shi, "Mother!"

"Zhan'er! You didn't come home all night. Where did you go?" Fang Shi felt sorry for Meng Zhan when she saw his tired face.

Meng Zhan, however, seemed somewhat evasive. He glanced at Fang Shi and, recalling Bai Wanqing's visit to him yesterday, asked, "Have you dealt with the rumors surrounding the Bai family?"

This is the time for him to be cautious. When Fang saw her son asking, she nodded and said, "It's all taken care of! If that brat Bai Wanqing comes looking for me again, tell her to come find me."

“I explained it to her.”

Meng Zhan knew exactly what kind of person Fang was. He waved his hand helplessly, "Mother, I'm a little tired. I want to go back to my room to sleep first."

"What? You didn't sleep all night?"

Fang's words did not stop Meng Zhan in her tracks. She wanted to ask how the betrothal gifts were being prepared, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.

On the other hand, Bai Furong was indeed quite frightened yesterday and started having a fever early this morning.

When Bai Wanqing went to see her, she was completely dazed and kept calling out, "Big sister, big sister."

Bai Wanqing took her pulse. Although she had not studied medicine systematically, she had learned some things by following her mother in the clinic.

Fortunately, Bai Furong's pulse was still relatively stable, so she was probably just frightened. She gave Furong's maid a few instructions and prepared to go out to the century-old pharmacy to get some medicine for Furong.

As soon as Bai Wanqing stepped out, she encountered Bai Chengnan rushing towards the courtyard.

"You jinx! Who let you in!" Bai Chengnan brandished the small wooden stick in his hand and swung it at Bai Wanqing.

Bai Qinglian passed by and saw this scene, then crossed her arms and waited to see what would happen.

Just as Bai Chengnan was about to hit Bai Wanqing, Bai Wanqing simply turned slightly to the side, causing Bai Chengnan to miss. The chubby boy fell to the ground, and perhaps because he was hurt, he burst into tears.

"Young Master, Young Master, are you alright?" The maids around were startled and rushed to help.

Bai Qinglian also walked over aggressively, "How can you bully even children? Bai Wanqing, you are shameless."

Bai Qinglian naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by; she couldn't let Bai Wanqing stay in the Bai family.

Bai Wanqing merely glanced at her indifferently, then left with Ruixin without saying a word.

Bai Chengnan, who was standing to the side, cried even harder, "Third sister, third sister, you have to stand up for me!"

Bai Qinglian glared at the chubby boy who was pulling her along, and said disdainfully, "You're so stupid! You can't even hit someone, and you still have the nerve to cry here?"

Bai Chengnan was so frightened by Qinglian's terrifying expression that he immediately stopped crying. Yes, his third sister really knew how to discipline him.

Bai Wanqing did not take a carriage this time, mainly because the century-old medical clinic was not far from the Bai family. It would be quick to get there on foot, but the carriage would be difficult to navigate through the alleys, and walking would take a while.

They took a shortcut, and after passing through a small alley, they would see the century-old medical clinic.

But as soon as they reached the intersection, they saw what appeared to be a person lying at the end of the alley.

Ruixin pulled her young mistress, "Miss, why don't we take another route? Lying down like this in broad daylight, he's probably not a good person."

But Bai Wanqing felt inexplicably familiar with the person in the distance, and she walked over despite Ruixin's objections.

It turned out to be an old man; he seemed to have fainted.

Bai Wanqing and Ruixin helped him up and leaned him against the wall of the alley.

The old man's hair and beard were already gray, and he looked quite old. He carried a bamboo basket on his back, which contained some common medicinal herbs. When Bai Wanqing helped him up, she could faintly smell the herbal scent on him.

Is this old man a herb farmer?

No matter who it was, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing since she had encountered them. But it wouldn't be easy for the two young women, who were weak and powerless, to carry the old man to the clinic.

"Ruixin, go to the clinic first and tell them someone has fainted. Ask them to come over and carry the person out."

Ruixin was worried about her young lady, but seeing that the old woman was indeed unconscious, she felt relieved and left.

Bai Wanqing gently placed her hand on the old man's wrist. His pulse was healthy, but slightly weak.

She quickly took out two jujubes from her bosom and gave them to the old man to put in his mouth, hoping that eating something sweet might help him regain some strength.

A short while later, Ruixin returned from the century-old medical clinic. She brought two apprentice doctors from the clinic and carried the old man to the clinic.

Dr. Chang took the old man's pulse and said there was nothing seriously wrong, so Bai Wanqing felt relieved and went to the pharmacy to get medicine for Bai Furong.

A short while later, the old man woke up. "Huh? Why does my mouth taste a little sweet?"

(End of this chapter)