What?

Luzhou scholar Ge Yuanhua coerced and enticed his student to sell his wife?

Yuwen Lan immediately frowned, "Such a thing happened? Is it true or false?"

Yanshu nodded hastily and said, "It's written in this letter, see for yourself."

She quickly handed him the letter she was holding.

Yuwen Lan took it and looked. On the letter paper, a few sentences were written in black ink on white paper:

"The renowned Luzhou scholar Ge Yuanhua has an undeserved reputation. On the surface, he appears virtuous and respectable, but in reality he is lecherous and despicable. He has a concubine in his household surnamed Hu, called Hu Sanniang, who is actually the wife of Ge Yuanhua's student Wang Xiangli. Two years ago, Ge Yuanhua took a fancy to her beauty and coerced and enticed Wang Xiangli to sell his wife Hu Sanniang to him as a concubine. Later, when the Hu family reported this to the authorities, Ge Yuanhua used his reputation to suppress the matter. This is truly infuriating to both gods and men. We sincerely hope that the Carefree Young Master can expose this matter and reveal the truth."

The signature at the bottom read: "An ordinary Luzhou citizen who witnessed injustice."

Yuwen Lan: "..."

Some "ordinary Luzhou citizen" indeed.

He really hadn't expected such content to be in Yanshu's letter.

Of course, leaving aside who wrote the letter for now, the most pressing matter was: did Ge Yuanhua really do such a thing?

Meanwhile, Yanshu was calling out to the system.

[System, what's going on? How could you not tell me about such a big scandal?]

System: [...Can you blame me? There are so many scandals in the world every day. If I suddenly told you about a completely unrelated scandal involving people you don't even know, what's the point in gossiping about it?]

Yanshu: [...]

Well, that's true.

If you don't know the identities of the people involved, there really isn't much point in gossiping.

But now she knew!

This Ge Yuanhua was a renowned Luzhou scholar! How could he do such a despicable and shameless thing?

The system replied nonchalantly, [As they say, you can know someone's face but not their heart. You've heard so many scandals from me, aren't all those bastards proper and dignified on the surface?]

Yanshu: [...]

Alright, although that's true, she was now more concerned about the details of this incident.

Fortunately, the system finally began to reveal the details to her:

[This Ge Yuanhua does have some talent, but he's quite lecherous. His wife died of illness years ago, exasperated by his constant philandering. As for this Wang Xiangli, he was studying under Ge Yuanhua. One time, when his wife came to bring him winter clothes, Ge Yuanhua happened to see her. This Hu Sanniang was very beautiful, and had only been married for a short time. She caught Ge Yuanhua's eye, and the old man started harboring improper thoughts, scheming day and night about how to get his hands on someone else's wife.]

[As luck would have it, not long after, Wang Xiangli's father fell seriously ill, and the family had no money for treatment. Wang Xiangli was worried. Ge Yuanhua seized the opportunity, telling him to sell his wife to him, and in return, he would give Wang Xiangli money to treat his father's illness. Wang Xiangli was initially hesitant, but unexpectedly, his mother found out and actually persuaded him too, saying things like Hu Sanniang was too pretty and would inevitably cause trouble in the future. On top of that, Ge Yuanhua promised to recommend Wang Xiangli to study in the capital. In short, through various threats and enticements, Wang Xiangli was eventually swayed.]

Yanshu frowned and asked, [But selling one's wife without reason is illegal, and if the wife doesn't agree, it can't be done. Didn't Hu Sanniang resist?]

System: [Of course Hu Sanniang was unwilling. But this old Ge came up with an idea for Wang Xiangli, telling him to drug his wife and send her to his house while she was unconscious. Thus, when Hu Sanniang woke up, it was already too late. There was nothing she could do but endure the humiliation and become the old man's concubine.]

...

Yanshu was furious, [This is outrageous! Wang Xiangli is no better! What about Hu Sanniang's family? After all, their good daughter became an old man's concubine!]

System: [Her family did try to intervene. When they first heard the news, Hu's mother reported both Wang Xiangli and old Ge to the authorities. However, Wang Xiangli insisted that his wife had voluntarily agreed to be sold because the family couldn't afford his father's medical treatment. Moreover, Ge was a local celebrity, and the officials were already biased in his favor. They hastily closed the case and sent Hu's mother away.]

After hearing the whole story, Yanshu was livid.

In her anger, she quickly said to Yuwen Lan, "Your Majesty, I've just learned about this matter. It turns out that Ge Yuanhua lusted after beauty, and his student was blinded by greed, forcibly making his wife Hu Sanniang become the old man's concubine. Such behavior is truly unbecoming of his status as a scholar. This kind of person absolutely cannot be allowed to become the headmaster of Songhe Academy, otherwise it might end up in chaos like last time!"

Yuwen Lan nodded, "If this is true, he certainly cannot be the headmaster."

He immediately stood up and said, "I will have someone investigate this matter right away."

After all, although he trusted Yanshu, they needed solid evidence to convince the public.

Yanshu quickly nodded in agreement and respectfully saw him off at the door.

Afterwards, she immediately went to her desk, picked up her brush, and began writing a story.

—Hmph, why should such scoundrels be allowed to save face?

The more they try to cover it up, the more she wanted to tear off their masks and let them face public condemnation!

The next day, readers in the capital were pleasantly surprised to find that their recently lazy Carefree Young Master had published a new story called "The Wolf and Dog Master and Disciple Finally Get Their Comeuppance."

Well, that title certainly stood out!

Excited readers rushed to buy and read it, once again overwhelming the bookstore clerks.

Of course, as the Carefree Young Master's number one fan, how could the Empress Dowager miss out? She immediately sent someone to purchase it outside the palace.

However, before the person she sent could return, Yanshu came to her personally, carrying the story.

With a sincere smile on her face, Yanshu said, "I heard that the Carefree Young Master has released a new work, so I immediately had someone buy a copy to read to Your Majesty."

—Well, she was her number one fan after all! What's wrong with personally coming to read a story?

She'd be willing to read to her for a lifetime!

The Empress Dowager, who had been eagerly waiting, was delighted to see this. She quickly nodded and said, "Then hurry and tell it to me. What is this story about?"

Yanshu then began to narrate the story she had written just last night, trying her best to make it vivid and engaging.

As she was telling the story, she couldn't help but marvel at how her writing speed had improved under pressure. In just one hasty day, she had not only completed a coherent story but had also made progress in her writing techniques and rhetoric!

After listening to the entire story, the Empress Dowager also looked angry. She exclaimed, "How can there be such disgusting things in this world? The master in this story, as a teacher, actually coveted his disciple's wife? And he even used such despicable means to force her to submit? And that disciple, for a bit of money, he disregarded his marriage vows? And that mother-in-law, if she disliked her daughter-in-law for being too pretty, why did she agree to the marriage in the first place? This is simply pushing someone into a mire!"

Yanshu nodded in agreement while trying to comfort her, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. Bad people will always get their just deserts. Look, in the story, didn't a righteous official eventually make a fair judgment, exposing their evil deeds to the public and ruining their reputation?"

The Empress Dowager was still indignant. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly asked, "Then... who is the real-life counterpart of this story? What's the actual outcome in reality?"

Yanshu paused slightly.

Then, looking around, she lowered her voice and said to her, "I've heard some rumors, but this matter hasn't been made public yet. I can only report it to you privately."

The Empress Dowager understood and quickly raised her hand to dismiss the others in the hall, "You may all leave first."

Everyone complied and left the hall.

Seeing that the doors were closed, Yanshu continued, "I've heard that the real-life counterpart of this story is actually one of the great scholars who have come to the capital this time."

The Empress Dowager immediately raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? Who exactly is it? Don't keep me in suspense, tell me quickly."

Yanshu coughed lightly, "It seems to be that renowned Luzhou scholar named Ge Yuanhua. He has a concubine called Hu Sanniang, who was bought from a student surnamed Wang two years ago."

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager shook her head repeatedly, "So these scholars... on the surface, they appear to understand propriety and shame the most, but in reality, they commit the most shameless acts!"

Before she could finish her exclamation, she paused again and quickly asked, "So, does this mean others are still unaware of this matter?"

Yanshu nodded vigorously, "That must be the case. Otherwise, how could he so confidently come to the capital this time? I heard that many officials think highly of him and believe he's very suitable to be the headmaster of Songhe Academy!"

"How can this be allowed?" The Empress Dowager immediately slammed the table and stood up. "If he really becomes the headmaster, wouldn't that be a complete injustice?"

Yanshu nodded forcefully, "That's exactly what I'm saying."

The Empress Dowager thought for a moment and asked, "What's His Majesty's opinion on this? Has he taken any action?"

Yanshu quickly replied, "As soon as His Majesty received the news, he sent people to investigate. It seems that Hu Sanniang's family had filed a lawsuit back then, surely unwilling for their daughter to become a concubine. If they file another complaint, it should be easy to resolve. However, as you know, Luzhou is quite far from the capital, so it might take some time."

"But now that the story has been written into a book, perhaps this old Mr. Ge will see it and feel remorseful, voluntarily turning himself in."

The Empress Dowager snorted, "Unlikely. These people care most about their reputation. They probably won't confess voluntarily. Besides, this wife-selling matter can be interpreted as either serious or trivial. Unless the Hu family files a complaint themselves, it's difficult for the authorities to intervene. Even if he confesses voluntarily, Hu Sanniang has already been his concubine for two years. The deed is done. How can others separate them now?"

Yanshu sighed, "So it seems the only way to resolve this properly is for the Hu family to file another complaint. It's just a pity that the journey is so long, and we can only wait for some time!"

The Empress Dowager also sighed, "Wait for some time, but what if those officials select this Mr. Ge in the meantime? It's truly infuriating!"

Yanshu nodded, "That's exactly it. Watching this villain go unpunished and even gain a good reputation is really aggravating!"

As she finished speaking, the Empress Dowager thought for a moment and suddenly said, "I wonder if this hypocrite Mr. Ge brought that Hu Sanniang to the capital this time?"

Yanshu quickly nodded, "I heard he did. Although Hu Sanniang wasn't willing, this old Mr. Ge quite dotes on her and takes her everywhere. After all, Wang Xiangli is still in Luzhou, and this old Mr. Ge fears that if he leaves Hu Sanniang behind, the two might take the opportunity to meet in secret."

As she finished speaking, the Empress Dowager smiled, "Well, that makes things easier then."

She then ordered the palace servants outside, "Come, summon Hu Sanniang, the beloved concubine of Mr. Ge from Luzhou, for an audience."

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - I'd really like to see how far Leon goes and how far we can increase the number of chapters. Thanks~!

If you want to buy me a coffee ko-fi.com/kimsu