Chapter 20

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"Hmph, Brother Bolao has a noble character, I, Liu Chong, am truly unworthy to match him. Brothers Zheng and Zhang, I bid you farewell!" Liu Chong was a proud and haughty person; how could he endure such humiliation? Moreover, Li Zheng, who scolded him, was much younger than he was. Therefore, after hearing this, he was even more furious, and with a huff, he left the private room.

Zheng Jing and Zhang Kuang, who were sitting beside him, initially wanted to retain him but hesitated for a moment. As a result, they could only watch as Liu Chong left. To be honest, among the five of them, Liu Chong was the second oldest after Zheng Jing, but in terms of talent and learning, he was a step behind Zheng Jing and the others. He had only passed the examination for the title of Xiucai last year, along with Zhou Zhong and Li Zheng.

Perhaps it was precisely because of the age difference that he subconsciously envied Zhou Zhong and Li Zheng, who were nearly ten years younger than him, and occasionally had minor conflicts with them. Zheng Jing and Zhang Kuang were also very astute people and understood Liu Chong's thoughts very well. However, due to their long-standing friendship, they found it difficult to directly point out his flaws.

After leaving the private room, Liu Chong saw that Zheng Jing and Zhang Kuang did not try to retain him, which made him even angrier. He huffed again and angrily walked down the stairs. However, when he reached the hall downstairs, he heard someone shouting, "So that's how it is! The Song family did such despicable things, no wonder Zhou Zhong took such drastic measures!"

"The Song family is truly shameless! Using such tactics to force the Zhou family, in my opinion, Zhou Zhong's actions yesterday were still too lenient. It would be best if the Song family were ruined!" Another person at a different table shouted.

"Human nature has deteriorated! The Song family is shameless, but how can Zhou Zhong also use such despicable means? It's truly a pity! A great pity!" A few old scholars in the corner shook their heads and sighed. Although they also thought Zhou Zhong's actions were inappropriate, their tone was already biased towards him.

"Tsk tsk, that Zhou Miss is truly a fierce woman, to actually take such action, truly showing that women can be as valiant as men. The Song family's refusal to marry her is simply a blind spot in their eyes!" Another young man dressed as a scholar fanned himself and praised, not fearing the cold weather.

Hearing the一致讨伐宋家的声音，甚至还在称赞什么周小姐？Liu Chong was also puzzled in his heart. When he went upstairs just now, although there were people in the hall supporting Zhou Zhong, many also thought that Zhou Zhong's actions were too despicable. But in just a short while, how did the discussion in the hall suddenly start to overwhelmingly support Zhou Zhong?

Thinking about this, Liu Chong was puzzled and deliberately listened carefully, wanting to learn more about the conflict between Zhou Zhong and the Song family. However, the hall was crowded and noisy, with everyone talking at once. Although they were discussing the same event, each table had a different focus. Liu Chong listened until his head spun, and finally, he heard the key points of the matter.

It turned out that the reason Zhou Zhong had a conflict with the Song family was because the Song family had previously used the pretext of debt collection to force Zhou Zhong to break off the engagement between his sister and the second son of the Song family. This way, the entire matter became one where the Song family was the first to act shamelessly, and Zhou Zhong merely took the opportunity to retaliate yesterday. Although his methods were somewhat dishonorable, they were understandable under the circumstances.

"Hmph, breaking off the engagement is well-deserved. The Song family is now at the height of their power, while your Zhou family has suddenly fallen. If you had any self-awareness, you should have broken off the engagement yourself. To be humiliated by them coming to your door, you, Zhou Zhong, who is known as a prodigy, are truly foolish!" Liu Chong walked out of the door of Pinfang Tower, his face showing a sinister expression. His jealousy of Zhou Zhong had deeply rooted in his heart, and even now that the Zhou family had fallen, he still could not bear to hear any praise for Zhou Zhong.

At the same time that Liu Chong left Pinfang Tower, in the private room of Lanting Pavilion upstairs, Zheng Jing and Zhang Kuang also learned from Li Zheng the reason for the conflict between Zhou Zhong and the Song family. Zheng Jing suddenly slammed the table, stood up with a face full of anger, and said, "The Song family is indeed a bunch of shameless scoundrels! When the Wen family was in trouble, instead of helping, they took advantage of the situation and even tarnished the reputation of Zhou Miss. Such despicable actions deserve the death of the Song family!"

Zheng Jing was the most upright person, especially intolerant of those who bullied the weak. He often stood up for justice and was highly respected among the common people of Songjiang. It was precisely because of this that he was the most angry about the Song family's actions and immediately dispelled any doubts he had about Zhou Zhong.

Seeing Zheng Jing's reaction, Li Zheng also stood up and said, "What a relief! People like the Song family don't deserve to be treated with righteousness. Wen only cheated them out of seventy taels. If it were me, I would have cheated them out of thousands or even tens of thousands of taels!"

Seeing that his two close friends were so righteous, Zhang Kuang, who was usually gentle, remained calm and asked Li Zheng, "Bolao, is the news about the Song family breaking off the engagement confirmed? Where did you hear it from?"

"Absolutely confirmed. I spent ten coins to get this information from someone. Not only did I know, but many others have also received this news, and it has already spread in the hall downstairs." Li Zheng sat down again, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and then said mysteriously, "By the way, there's a little side story about the engagement, which you might not believe."

"Oh, what side story?" Everyone has a bit of a gossip heart, and Zheng Jing and Zhang Kuang, although worried about their friend Zhou Zhong's situation, couldn't help but lean in to ask.

"Hehe, didn't I say that I spent ten coins to get this information from someone? This person is actually a ruffian living near the Zhou family. He personally witnessed the Song family breaking off the engagement. If you two want to hear it, let's follow the old rules: ten coins, split three ways. I ran a long way, so I'll pay two coins, and you each pay four coins!" Li Zheng extended his hand in a gesture that everyone understood, asking for money. Despite being a scholar, he was the most meticulous about money, unwilling to lose even a single coin.

If you think Li Zheng is a poor scholar who loves money, you are wrong. In fact, Li Zheng also comes from a wealthy family with assets in the tens of thousands. However, their business is not in Songjiang but concentrated in Suzhou and Hangzhou, so their reputation in Songjiang is not very prominent.

The Li family has been in business for generations, and it was only in Li Zheng's generation that they finally produced a scholar. Li Zheng's father and uncles regarded him as the hope of the family in the political arena and almost always indulged him. How could someone from such a family possibly lack money?

However, not lacking money does not mean not caring about money. Li Zheng, possibly influenced by the Li family's business background, had a different view of money compared to other scholars. He believed that money that should be spent should not be spared, but money that should not be spent should not be wasted. Even among brothers, accounts should be clear, let alone friends?

Zheng Jing and Zhang Kuang, who had known Li Zheng for many years, naturally knew this flaw of their friend. They also knew that although Li Zheng seemed very frugal, if a friend was in trouble, he would be the most generous. For example, when Zhou Zhong's family fell into trouble, they went to visit him together, and Li Zheng offered to pay off Zhou Zhong's debts, but Zhou Zhong refused, almost leading to an argument. It was only through Zhang Kuang's mediation that the dispute was resolved.

Zheng Jing and Zhang Kuang exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes. Then they took out their purses and counted out four coins each to give to Li Zheng, saying, "Here, can you tell us now?"

Li Zheng happily counted the eight coins and carefully put them in his pocket, saying, "Listen carefully, the person who sold me the information is called Zhao Er, a ruffian living near the Zhou family. He personally witnessed the Song family going to the Zhou family to collect a debt. He doesn't know what conflict occurred inside the Zhou family, but he saw the most exciting part!"

Li Zheng then recounted the information he had bought for ten coins. Unfortunately, he didn't know that the story he had paid for was actually fabricated by Zhou Zhong. Zhou Zhong's intention was not to have Zhao Er sell the information; he just made up a story and had Zhao Er spread it. However, Zhao Er, being economically savvy, saw that many people were interested in the Zhou family's affairs and began selling the information at a fixed price, and Li Zheng was one of the victims.

According to Zhao Er's description, the Song family's father and son went to the Zhou family with gifts, and he happened to see them. Initially, he thought they were visiting their in-laws, but unexpectedly, after a short while, the Song family's father and son, along with their gifts, were thrown out of the Zhou family. Then Zhou Zhong came out, looking furious, and scolded them, accusing the Song family of breaking their promise and using debt collection to force the engagement to be broken off, which was extremely despicable. As a scholar who knew the law, he would never agree to breaking off the engagement!

Seeing that Zhou Zhong refused to break off the engagement, the Song family's father and son tried to force the issue, threatening to use the debt to force the issue. However, Zhou Zhong was unmoved and stated that the Zhou family would certainly not default on their debt and would pay it off within three days.

But the Song family's father and son were even more despicable than anyone could imagine, insisting that Zhou Zhong pay the debt on the spot, giving him no time to prepare. Even Zhao Er, a ruffian, could not stand this and spoke up for justice, but was beaten by the Song family's father and son.

Notably, when Zhao Er described his righteous stand, he showed the scars on his body to Li Zheng and the others to increase the credibility of his story. Unfortunately, Li Zheng and the others did not know that the scars on Zhao Er's body were inflicted by Zhou Zhong the night before when he caught him.

However, the climax of the entire story finally arrived. After the Song family's father and son beat Zhao Er and continued to threaten Zhou Zhong to pay the debt or break off the engagement, Zhou Miss, the biggest victim of the engagement, suddenly came out and tore up the marriage contract in front of the Song family's father and son, saying, "How can a Zhou family daughter marry such a despicable and shameless person?"

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The story continues on the next page.