“That’s the husband Changyu took in as a live-in son-in-law, right?”

“I saw him once on the wedding day. It’s only been a few days, but he somehow looks even more handsome!”

“A live-in son-in-law facing off against the former juren fiancé? This is going to be interesting!”

The women among the neighbors glanced between Xie Zheng and Song Yan, whispering excitedly among themselves.

Changning also spotted her older sister immediately. Tugging on Xie Zheng’s sleeve, she ran all the way over.

“Big Sister!”

The two little buns on her head bounced with every step she took. Her round face was pale and tender, wrapped in a thick padded jacket, making her look like a snowball with tiny limbs attached.

The ground was slick with thin ice, and it would be easy to slip.

Fan Changyu hurriedly warned, “Slow down! Your brother-in-law’s leg is injured. Be careful not to make him fall!”

The words

“brother-in-law” sounded awkward even to her own ears.

She instinctively glanced toward Yan Zheng’s expression.

His refined face remained calm and elegant, showing no particular reaction to the title, as though he were already accustomed to being called that.

In truth, Changning often called him brother-in-law already. It was only Fan Changyu herself who still felt uncomfortable hearing it.

Changning finally reached Fan Changyu’s side and guiltily stuck out her tongue. Wrapping her short chubby arms around one of her sister’s legs, she stared at the Song mother and son with obvious hostility.

She had deliberately dragged brother-in-law over here.

If those bad people dared bully her sister again, brother-in-law could smash their legs with his crutch too!

She simply hadn’t told her sister about her brilliant plan.

Completely unaware of the schemes in her little sister’s head, Fan Changyu patted Changning’s hair before turning to Xie Zheng.

“Your injuries still haven’t healed. It’s inconvenient for you to go out. There’s no need to indulge Ningniang’s nonsense…”

She spoke politely enough, but in everyone else’s eyes, she looked every bit the considerate wife caring for her husband.

Quite a few people’s gazes wandered back and forth between Song Yan and Xie Zheng.

In terms of looks, Fan Changyu’s live-in husband clearly won.

But in terms of accomplishments, Song Yan still came out ahead. After all, not just anyone could pass the examinations and become a juren.

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes toward the faint redness still lingering around Fan Changyu’s eye sockets and merely said, “It’s fine.”

Yet his phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.

She had cried?

Over her former fiancé?

Then it seemed she truly had not let him go.

Pathetic.

The north wind howled, lifting strands of his long hair.

He lazily raised his eyes and looked past Fan Changyu toward the man in blue robes behind her.

His gaze was casual, yet the pressure it carried was overwhelming.

The instant Song Yan met those eyes, he felt as though a wild wolf had fixed its stare upon him. The hairs on his body stood upright involuntarily. He instinctively looked away, yet his chest still tightened in waves.

Like prey barely escaping a predator’s jaws.

Xie Zheng had no interest in wasting words on the mother and son. He simply said coldly:

“Repay the debt.”

Not only Song Yan and his mother, but even the surrounding crowd—and Fan Changyu herself—froze for a moment.

Xie Zheng hated repeating himself. Seeing no reaction from the pair, impatience already surfaced in his beautiful phoenix eyes.

“Planning to default because her parents died?”

Changning pressed her lips together nervously, but excitement could hardly be hidden from her expression as she stared at her brother-in-law’s crutch.

Was he going to hit someone again?

Once Song Yan and Madam Song finally processed his words—and especially the latter half of the sentence—Madam Song nearly fainted from rage.

The Fan family’s tongues were truly vicious beyond compare. Their side had not even said anything yet, and already the other side had pinned the label of

“refusing to repay debts” onto them.

Madam Song trembled so hard that two nearby women had to steady her.

“When did our family ever say we wouldn’t repay it?!”

Then she snapped at Song Yan:

“Yan’er, count the silver out to them!”

Even back when she had been dirt poor—when her husband died and she had knelt in the streets begging others to help buy him a coffin—Madam Song had never felt as humiliated as she did today.

After saying that, she immediately walked toward the alley entrance, clearly unwilling to remain here another second.

Pride worked like that.

When one had no dignity to begin with, no amount of humiliation seemed unbearable.

But once one gained status and reputation, losing face became far more painful.

Fan Changyu herself had not expected just a few words from him to anger Madam Song to this extent. She glanced at him in surprise.

He merely gave her a cool look in return.

For some reason, Fan Changyu inexplicably interpreted that look as:

You’re hopeless. I’ll collect the debt for you.

Her expression turned rather blank.

Back when Father Fan had helped the Song family buy Old Scholar Song’s coffin, it hadn’t just been the coffin itself. There had also been funeral clothes and funeral expenses.

Altogether, it had cost ten taels.

As for Song Yan’s tuition, the village school teacher charged two taels a year. Song Yan studied there for five years before entering the county academy.

Once he entered the county academy, the teachers learned of his poverty and waived his tuition entirely.

Thus Father Fan had only covered ten taels of schooling fees in total.

When Song Yan handed over the two silver ingots to Fan Changyu, a long-fingered hand suddenly intercepted them first.

Song Yan looked up.

It was her live-in husband.

The man’s expression was cold as he said only:

“We’re even now.”

Yes.

From this moment onward, they were truly even.

Song Yan looked at Fan Changyu, bitterness curling at the corners of his mouth.

But the man gave him no opportunity to continue looking at her. After handing the silver ingots to Fan Changyu, he cast Song Yan a faint sideways glance and directly said to her:

“Let’s go back.”

As fellow men, Song Yan was certain there had been no hostility in that look.

It had simply been pure disdain.

Like an old hen protecting its chick.

As for Fan Changyu—the chick being protected—she still had not entirely processed what had happened even after entering the courtyard.

The moment the gate closed behind them, the disdain in the man’s eyes and brows no longer bothered hiding itself.

“A person like that is worth pining over for so long? Worth crying over?”

Remembering the lie she herself had fabricated, Fan Changyu felt utterly stifled.

“When did I cry?”

Xie Zheng hated troublesome matters and disliked meddling in other people’s affairs even more.

He had only intervened because this woman had saved his life, and he truly could not stand watching her continue making a fool of herself over such a man.

Now hearing her deny it, he could not even be bothered to argue further.

At that exact moment, Neighbor Zhao hurried over.

“I heard the Song family tried acting generous before leaving, giving you silver in front of everyone. They really do know how to disgust people! And on your wedding day, he even sent over those ridiculous clay figurines…”

Halfway through speaking, Zhao Auntie finally noticed Xie Zheng standing there and instantly regretted her words. Covering her mouth, she swallowed the rest.

Xie Zheng said nothing.

He merely swept Fan Changyu with those sharp, cold phoenix eyes.

His gaze clearly carried a mocking sort of:

Go on then, keep denying it.

Fan Changyu felt aggrieved into silence.

She had never expected a desperate lie blurted out in the heat of the moment to become something this man could mock her over for so long.

Only after Xie Zheng returned inside did Zhao Auntie look apologetically at her.

“My mouth really can’t keep itself shut…”

Fan Changyu looked somewhat tired.

“It’s nothing.”

At worst, she would just endure more disdainful looks from that sharp-tongued man.

She invited Zhao Auntie over to warm herself by the fire pit.

Once seated, Zhao Auntie could not help saying, “That Song fellow pulling another stunt like this today… I hope it won’t affect the feelings between you and your husband.”

Fan Changyu inwardly thought:

Feelings? Between her and that sarcastic, unforgiving man? Impossible.

She wanted to tell the truth, but the lawsuit over the property had not yet concluded. To avoid further complications, she merely said:

“It won’t.”

Suddenly Zhao Auntie asked, “You’re still sleeping in the north room with Ningniang at night?”

Fan Changyu nodded.

Zhao Auntie immediately frowned.

“How about letting Ningniang sleep at my place tonight?”

Hearing the implication beneath those words, Fan Changyu nearly choked on her own saliva and hurriedly refused.

Zhao Auntie glared at her.

“You two are properly married husband and wife who bowed before Heaven and Earth. What are you acting shy for?”

Fan Changyu used her usual excuse again.

“He’s injured.”

Zhao Auntie widened her eyes.

“Didn’t you read the booklet I gave you? There are plenty of ways around that…”

Halfway through saying it, even Zhao Auntie herself became embarrassed.

Finally she sighed.

“I’m worried for you, child. Your husband is more handsome than Song Yan and can even read and write. Right now he’s injured and relies on you. If you don’t build feelings between you while he still needs you, what will you do if he decides to leave after recovering?”

She lowered her voice further.

“And even if you truly can’t keep him, you still ought to have a child to rely on. Otherwise your uncle’s family will definitely come causing trouble again.”

Fan Changyu knew Zhao Auntie meant well and only vaguely replied that she understood.

After Zhao Auntie left, Fan Changyu finally let out a defeated sigh.

The silver hairpin could not be redeemed.

The Song mother and son had disgusted her again.

Still, at least she had recovered the twenty taels her father once spent helping the Song family. That was a huge sum now and counted as one good thing.

It was only…

being constantly looked down upon by that man with an expression practically asking if she were blind because of the lie she herself had told.

That left her unusually guilty and lacking confidence.

Fan Changyu rose intending to head toward the kitchen when suddenly her entire body froze.

The booklet…

The booklet Zhao Auntie had given her!

Back during the wedding she had been so dizzy with busyness that after Zhao Auntie handed it to her, she had only flipped through two pages before hurriedly snapping it shut and stuffing it beneath the pillow in the bridal chamber.

Several days had already passed.

She had completely forgotten about it!

Who knew whether that man had already seen it or not.

Just imagining it made her scalp tingle.

She quickly found a fresh set of quilt covers, hugged them in her arms, and walked to the south room to knock.

From inside came a clear, cold voice:

“Come in.”

Pushing open the door, she said, “The New Year is coming soon, so I’m washing all the bedding covers in the house.”

Since the room had only recently been arranged for the wedding, nothing actually needed washing.

The excuse was rather flimsy.

Yet Xie Zheng sat at the old uneven wooden desk by the window, holding a brush pen in hand. Without even glancing at her, he merely nodded lightly.

Seeing him focused on writing something, Fan Changyu secretly breathed a guilty sigh of relief.

She hurried to remove the pillow and search for the booklet—

only to discover it was gone.

Fan Changyu instantly went blank.

Sneaking a glance toward the man seated by the window and seeing he appeared not to notice anything unusual, she frantically continued stripping the bedding apart to search.

But even after lifting and shaking out the mattress beneath the bedcovers—and even checking under the bed itself—she still failed to find the booklet.

Despair instantly filled her heart.

Behind her suddenly came that cool, detached voice:

“Need help?”

Fan Changyu’s entire back stiffened.

Keeping a straight face, she replied, “No need. I’m just shaking out the dust before remaking the bed.”

She tossed the removed bedding into the laundry basket and expressionlessly spread out the old washed sheets and covers.

These quilt covers consisted of two layers: plain cotton underneath and embroidered fabric on top, with the quilt stuffed in between and sewn shut manually.

Because she was nervous, Fan Changyu pricked her fingers several times with the needle while sewing.

She kept a stiff expression and did not utter a sound.

Only after she finally left the room did Xie Zheng stop writing.

His gaze drifted toward the booklet currently propping up the uneven leg of his desk.

His handsome brows unconsciously furrowed.

The room stood only one wall away from the main hall. Naturally, he had heard every word Zhao Auntie said earlier.

Was that…

what she had been searching for?