Chapter 19

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"Snicker~" Although Zho'er tried her best to suppress her laughter, she couldn't help it and eventually turned away, covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking with laughter. In contrast, Zhou Chong looked rather gloomy, thinking that children's tastes were really not ordinary.

While the three siblings were chatting happily, Xu the butler brought Zhou Chong his breakfast on a tray. Zhou Chong also wanted Xu the butler to read the first chapter of "Journey to the West," but before he could speak, Xu the butler said with a troubled look, "Young Master, I found that Mr. Wu the butcher has a questionable character. We should find a way to get rid of him!"

"What's the problem?" Zhou Chong took the breakfast from Xu the butler and asked with a puzzled look.

"Young Master, you don't know. We had a lot of leftover rice last night, and I planned to make porridge this morning. But when I got up this morning, it was gone. Apart from Mr. Wu the butcher, there's no one else in the house. He must have stolen it. If he had just eaten it, that would be fine, but he didn't even mention it when I saw him at the market this morning. This kind of person..."

"Ha ha, Xu the butler, you've misunderstood Mr. Wu the butcher!" Before Xu the butler could finish, Zhou Chong understood what had happened and interrupted him with a smile, "I took the leftover rice from yesterday, it has nothing to do with Mr. Wu the butcher."

"You... you took it?" Xu the butler was a bit skeptical.

"I took it, but you don't need to know why." Zhou Chong smiled, not wanting to reveal his connection with Zhao Er, who had a bad reputation.

Seeing that Zhou Chong didn't want to explain, Xu the butler didn't press further. Zhou Chong then enthusiastically handed over the manuscript of the first chapter of "Journey to the West" to Song the butler, who praised it highly. However, the first chapter was too short, and the plot was not fully developed, so more content would be better.

Encouraged by the praise from Zho'er and Xu the butler, Zhou Chong, after finishing his breakfast, immediately started writing "Journey to the West" again. Unlike the loneliness of the previous night, this time Zho'er volunteered to help grind the ink, which greatly increased Zhou Chong's writing speed, and he managed to write another chapter in the morning.

However, just as Zhou Chong was writing in seclusion, the news of his conflict with Song Er at Fengyou Teahouse the previous day began to spread. In ancient society, without newspapers or the internet, almost all information was passed by word of mouth, and places like teahouses, where idle people gathered, were key hubs for information exchange. Thus, by the next morning, almost everyone in Songjiang Prefecture knew about the incident.

Zhou Chong had passed the examination for the degree of xiucai at the age of fourteen, and the Zhou family had once been a well-known wealthy family in Songjiang Prefecture. Therefore, Zhou Chong was very famous in Songjiang Prefecture. After the Zhou family went bankrupt, Zhou Chong became the center of discussion in the entire prefecture, with some feeling sorry for him, some sympathizing, and many more enjoying the spectacle.

As time passed, people's interest in the Zhou family's gossip gradually waned, and in the past two days, few people had talked about the Zhou family. However, with the spread of the news about the conflict at Fengyou Teahouse, Zhou Chong once again became the focus of discussion in the entire prefecture. Many people gathered together, and if someone didn't know about the incident at Fengyou Teahouse, they would be embarrassed to speak.

In a large restaurant called "Pinfang Tower" in the northern part of Songjiang City, it was lunchtime, and the hall was full of people. Pinfang Tower was one of the top three restaurants in Songjiang Prefecture, and the people who came here were not necessarily rich and powerful, but at least they had some means. The characteristic of such people was that they had money and leisure time, and their main pastime, besides watching plays and visiting brothels, was chatting about new events they had heard.

"A cup of tea cost seventy taels, Zhou Chong did a great job, the Song family should be wiped out!" The person who said this was definitely someone with a grudge against the Song family.

"Zhou Chong is a scholar, and he used such despicable means to trick the Song family, which is a disgrace to the scholarly community and a violation of propriety!" An old scholar who disliked Zhou Chong expressed his anger.

"Song Er and Zhou Chong's sister are already engaged. Even if their relationship is not good, they shouldn't have such a public confrontation, right?" A more intelligent person raised a question.

"You don't know, do you? I heard that there was a beautiful girl at the scene when Zhou Chong and Song Er had their conflict. They had the conflict because of this girl. Do you know who this girl is?" A person with a strong interest in gossip was selling his "facts" to his friends.

"Spit, you're all talking nonsense. Let me tell you the truth..."

In the hall, each table was discussing the incident at Fengyou Teahouse, and everyone had their own opinion. Some said Zhou Chong was right, others said the Song family was the victim, and many even revealed so-called "truths," although these truths were often far from the facts. As long as the people at the table enjoyed listening, the person revealing the "truth" achieved their goal, basking in the attention of the crowd.

Compared to the noisy hall downstairs, the private rooms on the second floor were much quieter. The guests in the private rooms were generally of higher status than those downstairs, and they had to be mindful of their identity when speaking. Therefore, even though they were also very interested in the conflict between Zhou Chong and the Song family, they mostly discussed it in low voices within their private rooms, rarely making a big fuss like those downstairs.

In a private room called "Lanting Pavilion," three young scholars sat facing each other. The leader was a man with a scholarly cap, wearing a blue robe, with thick eyebrows and a handsome face, but now his brows were furrowed, and he looked helpless as he asked the two beside him, "Brothers, I can't believe that Wenda would be such a despicable person who tricks people out of their money!"

Wenda was Zhou Chong's courtesy name, and close friends usually addressed each other by their courtesy names.

"Heh heh, Brother Zheng, what can you do if you don't believe it? The facts are right there. When people are poor, their ambitions are short. Zhou Chong is no longer the Zhou Chong we knew. For the sake of the daughter of the Huating Xie family, he used such despicable means to trick Song Er out of seventy taels of silver. So many people saw it with their own eyes; how could it be fake?" The tall, thin young scholar on the left, with unusually pale skin, sneered and asked.

Hearing the tall, thin scholar's words, Zheng's frown deepened, and he said with displeasure, "Brother Liu, although Zhou often argues with you, it's just a gentlemanly academic dispute. We are good friends who have known each other for many years. Now you are slandering Zhou behind his back; is that the behavior of a gentleman?"

Hearing Zheng's rebuke, the scholar addressed as Brother Zhou's face changed, and he was about to retort, but the young scholar with a naturally smiling face, who looked very amiable, interjected, "Brothers, don't argue. We should maintain harmony. Besides, Brother Zheng is right. Zhou is still our close friend. Even if he did such a thing, we shouldn't talk about it behind his back!"

Seeing that the smiling scholar was also on Zhou Chong's side, the tall, thin Liu scholar finally stopped arguing with Zheng and sat down, saying, "Fine, the truth will come out. Besides, Brother Li has gone to gather information. When he returns, we will know who is right and who is wrong."

Seeing Liu sit down, Zheng and the smiling scholar exchanged glances and then shook their heads and sat down. For a moment, the atmosphere in the private room became heavy.

From their conversation, it could be inferred that these three were Zhou Chong's former close friends. The one sitting in the middle, Zheng, was named Zheng Jing, with the courtesy name Minglun. The tall, thin Liu scholar was named Liu Chong, with the courtesy name Changshan. The smiling scholar who mediated was named Zhang Kuang, with the courtesy name Fangshi. The one who had gone to gather information was named Li Zheng, with the courtesy name Bolao.

Zheng Jing and Liu Chong, along with Zhou Chong, were all local scholars in Songjiang, and they had known each other for many years. They often gathered to recite poetry and drink wine. All five were among the most talented young people, and they had all passed the examination for the degree of xiucai. They were now students at the prefectural school and had agreed to take the provincial examination in a year. However, no one had expected that Zhou Chong's family would suffer such a great change.

The heavy atmosphere in the private room was soon broken when a very young scholar burst in, panting heavily. He immediately picked up a teacup and drank it in one go, then panted a few more times and said, "I've found out everything. This incident is not Wenda's fault. If it were me, I would have beaten that Song family scoundrel long ago."

The newcomer was Li Zheng, also known as Bolao. He was about the same age as Zhou Chong, wearing a blue robe, with a square face and large ears, a sign of good fortune. Among the five, Zheng Jing was the oldest, Zhou Chong the youngest, and Li Zheng was half a year older than Zhou Chong. Perhaps because of this, their friendship was the closest. After hearing about Zhou Chong's situation, Li Zheng was the most concerned and volunteered to gather information.

Hearing Li Zheng's words, Zheng Jing and Zhang Kuang's eyes lit up, and Zheng Jing, unable to contain his eagerness, said, "Bolao, quickly tell us the whole story. Why did Wenda have a conflict with the Song family?"

However, at this moment, Liu Chong, who had a poor relationship with Zhou Chong, said in a sarcastic tone, "Brother Bolao, I know you are the closest to Zhou Chong, but we are scholars with integrity. Don't try to fool us with street gossip!"

Although Li Zheng was a scholar, he had a fiery temper. He and Zhou Chong both disliked the sharp-tongued Liu Chong. Now, hearing Liu Chong question his integrity, Li Zheng was furious and pointed at Liu Chong, shouting, "Liu, in the past, Wenda and I didn't argue with you out of respect for our long-standing friendship. Now that Wenda is in trouble, you not only don't show any concern but also speak ill of him behind his back. Such a character is truly despicable. If you don't want to listen, get out now!"