A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

The Master's surname was Zhou, and his given name was simply "Zheng".

Having taught at Zhiyuan Academy for twenty years, I hate two things the most: students who don't study and students who don't know how to be good people.

As he stepped out of the crowd, all the students automatically made way for him. Zhou Zheng glanced at the scene—a woman stood outside the door, followed by three burly men, with a skinny, weasel-faced man sandwiched between them. Inside, a group of students huddled together, with Chen Shuyan at the front, his face alternating between pale and flushed, his forehead covered in sweat.

"What happened?"

Zhou Zheng's voice wasn't loud, but none of the dozens of people at the academy gate dared to utter a sound.

Wang Jinzhu stepped forward, her voice clear and distinct: "Master Zhou, I am Wang Jinzhu, Chen Shuyan's sister-in-law. I'm not here to cause trouble, but to clarify something."

She recounted the whole story in its entirety, without embellishment, from the second wife's attempt to sell Chen Tianwei, to Liu Yiyi negotiating a price with human traffickers, to the first wife's intervention after discovering the truth, and then to Chen Shuyan's distortion of the facts at the academy.

After listening, Zhou Zheng turned to look at Chen Shuyan.

"Shuyan, is what she said true?"

Chen Shuyan's lips trembled slightly.

"Master...Master, it's not like that. It's because my sister-in-law has always disliked me and is jealous of my academic achievements, so..."

"So, the story about your parents selling your cousin was also fabricated by her?" Zhou Zheng interrupted him, his gaze falling on Wu Laosan. "And this is?"

Wu Laosan shrank his neck and took half a step forward: "My name is Wu Laosan, and I do... I do human trafficking. Chen Shuyan's mother and wife came to me to buy someone, five taels of silver, for his uncle's fourteen-year-old daughter. I even took the deposit, but then the eldest son's family stopped us, and we got into a fight, so the deal fell through."

Zhou Zheng's gaze returned to Chen Shuyan's face.

Chen Shuyan opened his mouth: "He...he's a human trafficker, how can you believe him?"

"Alright then." Wang Jinzhu continued, her tone flat. "The academy is only half an hour's walk from Chenjia Village. If you think words alone aren't enough, I'll take some people to the village right now, find the village head, find the neighbors, and ask them house by house. Chen Shuyan, do you dare come with me?"

Chen Shuyan closed his mouth.

He dare not.

Everyone present could see that he didn't dare.

Zhou Zheng stared at him for a full ten breaths, then let out a long sigh. He turned around, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Wang Jinzhu, and bowed deeply.

"Sister-in-law, it is my fault for not disciplining my student properly, allowing him to tarnish your family's reputation. This is the academy's fault, and I apologize to you."

Wang Jinzhu didn't dodge and accepted the bow calmly.

The crowd erupted in uproar.

A scholar apologizing to a butcher's wife—this was the first time such an event had ever occurred in the entire Qinghe Town.

Zhou Zheng stood up straight, his expression turning serious, and glanced at the group of students behind him. Zhang Jingwen was the first to lower his head.

"You've all been spreading Chen Shuyan's words, making it the talk of the town. Has anyone tried to verify them? Has anyone considered how the person you're talking about is doing? Has he wasted all his time studying the classics?"

No one said a word.

Zhou Zheng flicked his sleeves: "Get back here, all of you!"

The students scattered like birds and beasts.

Zhou Zheng grabbed Chen Shuyan by the back of his collar and dragged him inside. Before entering, he glanced back at Wang Jinzhu and said, "Don't worry, Madam Chen, I'll teach this student a lesson."

The gate was closed.

Wang Jinzhu stood on the steps and shoved the borrowed gong into Wang Jinbao's hand.

"Let's go, return the gong."

The onlookers hadn't dispersed yet, chatting in small groups. The wind had completely shifted.

"Tsk tsk tsk, that Chen Shuyan, he's only a student, what kind of things has he been doing?"

"His family sold his niece, and instead of stopping them, he turned around and accused them?"

"That's right. I believed him before, thinking the butcher's daughter was a shrew. But look at her now, that's what you call responsible."

"No wonder Master Zhou apologized to him; anyone would be angry in that situation!"

The news spread faster than legs could carry it.

The next day, a queue formed again in front of Wang Dali's meat stall. Not only did the old customers return, but there were also some new faces who came specifically to see what "the butcher's daughter who dared to bang a gong to get into the academy" looked like.

Wang Dali's knife skills in cutting meat are fast and steady, with the weight held high, and every cut is made with a good mood.

On the third day, a matchmaker came to the door, swaying her hips.

"Brother Wang, that Miss Li who was on a blind date with your son last time, they asked me to inquire whether the marriage can be reconsidered?"

Wang Guilan was boiling water in the kitchen when she heard this and put down the fire tongs and came out.

"Let's not discuss this anymore."

The matchmaker was stunned: "Sister-in-law, what do you mean? The Li family's daughter is beautiful—"

"What good is good looks?" Wang Guilan untied her apron, sat down on a stool, and said, "When the rumors were flying, her family was the first to come and break off the engagement. Now that things are clear, they're all eager to come back. Our Xiaobao isn't leftovers; you can't just pick him up and put him down whenever you want."

The matchmaker left sheepishly.

Wang Xiaobao listened from behind the door and breathed a long sigh of relief. He was really afraid that his mother would agree again, after all, he was indeed considered an old man in the village.

That afternoon, Wang Jinzhu returned to Chenjia Village with her three older brothers.

Upon entering the Chen family courtyard, Old Mrs. Chen was sitting at the entrance of the main room, picking vegetables. When she saw the three Wang brothers enter together, the vegetable basket in her hand fell to the ground with a "bang".

Wang Jinzhu didn't enter the main room, but went straight to the courtyard of the second room.

As soon as Chen Xiufen peeked out after hearing the noise, Wang Jinbao kicked the door open.

"Brother, be polite," Wang Jinzhu said slowly from behind.

Wang Jinbao turned around and grinned: "Girl, I'm being very polite, I used my feet."

Wang Yinbao and Wang Xiaobao filed in.

For a quarter of an hour, there was a clanging and banging noise in the second room. Chen Xiufen's vase was broken, Chen Yang's pipe hidden under his pillow was snapped, and Liu Yiyi's dressing case was turned upside down on the floor.

Chen Xiufen clung to the door frame, wailing and crying. Chen Yang hid in the corner, remaining silent.

Wang Jinbao dusted off his hands and squatted down in front of Chen Yang.

"Uncle, I'll just say one thing. My sister married into this family to live a good life, not to be mistreated. If there's a next time, the three of us brothers will come back, and this time it won't just be furniture we smash."

Old Chen came out of the main room leaning on his cane. Seeing the mess on the floor, he was so angry that his beard trembled.

"That troublesome brat, what mischief has he gotten himself into now!"

No one answered him.

Two days later, Chen Shuyan returned.

He was summoned to the study by Master Zhou for a private talk.

"Shuyan, you are a good student. With the county examination just around the corner, I didn't want to be too harsh on you at this crucial juncture."

Chen Shuyan breathed a sigh of relief.

"but--"

Zhou Zheng took the teacup away.

"Before pursuing scholarship, first cultivate yourself as a person. Go home and think carefully about whether you've truly absorbed the wisdom of the classics you've studied over the years. Come back when you've figured it out."

He paused, then added one last sentence.

"If this happens again, forget about the county exam; you won't even be allowed to enter Zhiyuan Academy."

Chen Shuyan walked out of the academy gate looking disheveled.

The sun was blazing, and there were few people on the road. He walked alone toward Chenjia Village, but after only a few steps, his legs gave way, and he squatted down in the shade of a tree by the roadside, where he didn't get up for a long time.

It was already evening when I got home.

He stood at the gate of the courtyard and saw two more footprints on the doors of the two rooms of the second house.

Inside the room came Chen Xiufen's sobs and Chen Yang's intermittent sighs.

Chen Shuyan swallowed hard and stepped into the courtyard.

They met Wang Jinzhu's gaze head-on.

She was sitting on the stone mill in the courtyard, shelling beans, with Chen Tianwei helping her by handing her a basket. Even after seeing Chen Shuyan, she didn't stop what she was doing.

I just smiled.

That smile made Chen Shuyan pause in his steps, then he took a big detour and slipped back into his room along the wall.

He closed the door, leaned against it, and felt as if all his strength had been drained away.

On the kang (a heated brick bed), Liu Yiyi was folding clothes. Seeing him like this, she paused for a moment.

"You're back?"

"Um."

"By the way, I've found a way to pay off the debt we owed before," Liu Yiyi said excitedly, eager to share the news with Chen Shuyan.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow!" Liu Yiyi then noticed that Chen Shuyan's mood was not quite right, so she could only swallow her words.