Jing Xingzhi’s Daily Life in Ancient Times

Jing Xingzhi’s words sparked curiosity among the others, but despite their attentive ears, nothing could be heard. They lacked Jing Xingzhi’s acute sense of hearing.

Chief Sun scratched his ears, unable to shake off self-doubt: “Am I too old? Why didn’t I hear any crying…”

After expressing this, Chief Sun gazed at Jing Xingzhi, harboring doubts about reality. Being advanced in age, he couldn’t perceive the softer sounds, making him a target for teasing and bullying.

Unexpectedly, confusion spread among others, echoing comments like, “I didn’t hear crying either…” and “Same as the chief…”

Jing Xingzhi found himself under everyone’s scrutiny and sheepishly touched his nose — he had forgotten that he was a cheater!

“Maybe I misheard. I heard it a moment ago, but now I haven’t heard it. Let’s all focus on our work and not let my words hinder our tasks,” Jing Xingzhi said with a smile. He then lowered his head, continuing to sift through the information in his hands.

Others smiled upon hearing this, redirecting their attention to their work.

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As the day concluded, the yamen servants near the officials’ residences heard the news and came over. Only then did everyone realize that a child was indeed crying terribly. It was the youngest son of their prefect’s family, stripped of his pants and severely beaten—a situation deemed unbelievable!

During Xu Zhongqi’s life, Cheng Wei suppressed Cheng Huan due to Cheng Yule’s lack of intelligence. Cheng Wei couldn’t bear to deal with the boy, leaving Cheng Huan idle to prevent him from overshadowing Cheng Yule, his own son.

Cheng Wei, however, restrained Cheng Huan by not providing good resources for training and refrained from punishing the boy. When news of the child being beaten surfaced, disbelief ensued. The yamen servant’s revelation left mouths agape in shock.

In the workshop division, discussions centered on why Prefect Cheng was resorting to violence. Their usually well-behaved prefect seemed to have lost his temper today, raising concerns about his manageability.

Amid the confusion, Cheng Wei’s servant approached Jing Xingzhi for a meeting with their prefect.

Observing Jing Xingzhi’s departure, Chief Sun couldn’t help but ponder if the young master had become entangled in an undesired situation. The most plausible reason for spanking a child was due to a significant mistake on the child’s part.

Chief Sun, an experienced official, lacking the truth, sensed a potential connection between the matter and Jing Xingzhi.

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Cheng Mansion.

Cheng Wei gazed at Jing Xingzhi, feeling guilty about Cheng Huan’s involvement in the plight of this innocent boy.

In his view, what transpired with Xu Zhongqi wasn’t truly Jing Xingzhi’s fault. Cheng Wei acknowledged that he should even thank Jing Xingzhi for identifying the real culprit behind Cheng Yule’s death. Despite being with Jing Xingzhi for many days, he hadn’t said his gratitude yet.

These were family troubles, and Cheng Wei hadn’t anticipated Cheng Huan placing blame on Jing Xingzhi. It became evident that Cheng Huan might not consider Cheng Yule his brother, leaving Cheng Wei with an unsettling feeling.

“Dear brother, please have a seat,” Cheng Wei sighed.

Jing Xingzhi sat down and inquired, “Brother Cheng, why did you call me?”

Cheng Wei wiped his face with a wry smile and confessed, “Brother, I’ve come to apologize. The incident on the river embankment was orchestrated by the Qu family’s servants. Cheng Huan and those servants’ masters have crossed paths. The ones who took action are connected to Cheng Huan.”

“I confronted him this afternoon, gave him a beating, and planned to send him to his bitterly cold hometown after two months for further suffering,” Cheng Wei explained. “I won’t let him leave his hometown for the next two years to avoid disturbing the purity of my virtuous brother’s eyes. It’s my failure as a father to properly educate my son. Please don’t blame me, virtuous brother.”

Cheng Wei stood up, bowed to Jing Xingzhi, and offered a sincere apology.

A man’s dignity was on his face, and Cheng Wei risked his fame and dignity for Jing Xingzhi to forgive Cheng Huan.

Jing Xingzhi turned to help Cheng Wei up and said, “Brother Cheng, why be so serious? He’s a junior, and I forgive him. I wouldn’t have known about it if you hadn’t told me!”

Cheng Wei knew that Jing Xingzhi genuinely didn’t know about Cheng Huan’s involvement. If Cheng Wei truly wanted to shield Cheng Huan from exposure, Jing Xingzhi wouldn’t know it. Despite his confidence in Hannan Prefecture, Cheng Wei didn’t want to hide this matter from Jing Xingzhi. He chose to sincerely apologize, even if it meant sacrificing his reputation.

“It’s because the child did something wrong. I already dealt with it myself, then informed my brother. I’m actually lenient towards this kid,” Cheng Wei explained with an apologetic expression. He reached into his pocket, took out a purse, and handed it to Jing Xingzhi. “Consider this a token of apology from your brother to ease the shock!”

After ten years of serving the prefecture and accumulating thousands of taels, Cheng Wei felt the need to apologize in a manner befitting his own reputation. As soon as the purse landed in Jing Xingzhi’s hands, he could tell it was filled with unassuming yet valuable banknotes.

Jing Xingzhi was taken aback and promptly declined: “Brother Cheng, I can’t accept this!”

Cheng Wei insisted with a serious expression: “You must accept this gift! If you don’t, I’ll feel remorseful!”

“No, I really can’t.”

“You have to, for the sake of our brotherhood.”

“No, it’s not necessary.”

“Just consider it treating your brother’s heart ailment,” Cheng Wei said firmly. “I’ll be upset if you don’t take it. Xingzhi, if you refuse again, I won’t forgive you!”

Sighing, Jing Xingzhi relented: “Alright, Brother Cheng, as you wish.”

Seeing Jing Xingzhi accept the banknotes, Cheng Wei felt relieved. He admired the young man who genuinely resisted taking his money.

Cheng Wei thought to himself, ‘With such character, it’s no wonder Chief Fang wants to accept him as a disciple. I’m not as good as that!’

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Jing Xingzhi left Cheng’s mansion and returned to the small courtyard where he lived. After dismissing the servants, he entered the room alone.

Seated at the table, Jing Xingzhi retrieved Cheng Wei’s purse from his pocket and opened it.

Inside the purse were several banknotes, not many, just ten.

Jing Xingzhi looked at the ten banknotes and smiled. Each of these ten pieces was worth one thousand taels.

He thought, ‘I forgive you, Huanhuan!’

Jing Xingzhi smiled and collected the banknotes, planning to take them home to enhance his family’s modest wealth.

As he stepped out, he realized he earned quite a bit of money in addition to his usual expenses. Xiao Fangfang would surely admire him.

Thinking of Liu Fang looking at him with admiration, Jing Xingzhi felt a tingling sensation in his heart, hoping that ‘Huanhuan’ would come out and give him a few more beatings. Then, he could secure another genuine apology from Brother Cheng.

He appreciated Brother Cheng’s sincerity in his actions.

Jing Xingzhi’s awareness of the ‘child’s screams’ in the afternoon confirmed that Cheng Huan’s punishment was substantial. At this point, Jing Xingzhi recognized Cheng Wei’s sincerity.

Despite the mischievous child being disciplined, Jing Xingzhi still felt a connection with Cheng Wei. Resolving this matter meant the teacher wouldn’t have to intervene and trouble the man.

While Jing Xingzhi counted the ten thousand taels of silver, a servant informed him of a visitor. Jing Xingzhi inquired, “Who is it?”

Using the term ‘visit’ added a sense of formality.

The servant replied, “They claim to be from the Qu family. It seems to be the prominent household in the prefecture.”

The visitor turned out to be Qu Yongzhi’s father.

Although Qu Yongzhi’s father initially found it embarrassing to apologize, he had intended to return and discipline his son more. To his surprise, Jing Xingzhi’s response was gracious. He accepted the apology and kindly had someone escort Qu Yongzhi’s father out.

As Qu Yongzhi’s father left the courtyard, he regained his composure and muttered, “Such a polite young master. What’s the matter with that scoundrel bullying such a well-bred young master? Normally, this is a young master wouldn’t have conflicts with others. I need to go back and ask Qu Yongzhi about this!”

Qu Yongzhi’s actions caused so much trouble that even his own father refrained from using a familiar name, addressing him with either ‘bastard’ or Qu Yongzhi’s full name.

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When Qu’s father returned to the Qu household, he headed directly to the yard where Qu Yongzhi resided.

The broken door remained unrepaired, and no one seemed to be tending to it.

Qu’s father entered without hesitation, scolded Qu Yongzhi harshly, and emphasized the sacrifices the family had made for him. As a father, he conveyed how he had almost given up his own well-being to support his son.

However, his tone was harsh, and Qu Yongzhi, battered and bruised, couldn’t harbor any positive feelings toward him. Even in his weakened state, he held resentment in his heart, particularly towards Cheng Huan and Qu Weiping.

Cheng Huan had dismissed him as insignificant, and the information provided by Qu Weiping had led him to offend someone beyond his means. Now, he was confined to bed for at least a year, feeling useless and consumed by hatred.

Yet, Qu Yongzhi also harbored disdain for his father due to the cruel treatment he received. The harsh words made him feel cold, and he no longer held any favorable impressions of the Qu family.

Qu Yongzhi’s bitterness deepened, and he ceased contemplating informing Qu Weiping about Jing Xingzhi’s background. But thinking that Qu Weiping was even more foolish than himself, it was better to let Qu Weiping to continue his self-destructive path and potentially bring ruin to the Qu family.

Looking at his father with cold eyes, Qu Yongzhi’s anger intensified. In a hostile tone, he demanded, “How did you get involved in this? Tell me the truth!”

Qu Yongzhi sneered and added cynically, “Just because I don’t like him, I thought he was a nobody. I asked Cheng Huan about it…”

“Just because you don’t like him?” Father Qu was so furious that he nearly collapsed. If it weren’t for seeing Qu Yongzhi in such a pitiful state, he might have wielded the whip once again.

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In another place, Jing Xingzhi finished counting and found an extra five thousand taels of silver notes and twenty gold ingots. With the worries of a new father, he happily wrote to Liu Fang.

——[The baby will be born in a courtyard house in Beijing.]