Chapter 49: Lack of Virtue

The youth wore a brown cotton robe. His eyes were vacant and widely spaced, and he carried an oil-paper package in his hand.

He also saw Feng Chuchen and came running over with a smile. His gaze was so blunt and staring that it was repulsive.

"Sister Feng, I bought roast chicken at the market. I'll treat you to some."

This was the fourth son of Squire Zhao. He had suffered brain damage from a high fever during childhood and was somewhat simple-minded.

The villagers privately called him "Dumb Fourth."

Feng Chuchen frowned and ignored him.

Auntie Wang blocked his path and said with a grim face, "You are an adult now. Act with some dignity."

Dumb Fourth’s eyes remained glued to Feng Chuchen's face without moving. He stammered, "My third brother said he'd betroth Sister Feng to... to me as a wife. Hehe, I'm talking to my... wife, what does it matter to an old... woman like you?"

Feng Chuchen was furious.

What kind of lowlife was Zhao Wei to actually think of marrying her off to this fool?

Feng Chuchen had guessed his intentions. He considered himself too noble to marry a village girl like her, yet he wanted to bring the Feng family's glory and wealth into his house for his own use, so he planned to have Dumb Fourth marry her.

No wonder that family was so afraid of her moving away from Baima Village.

Auntie Wang realized this too and cursed, "You shameless brat! You're even a *tongsheng* [candidate for the imperial exams], how dare you dream such things? Get lost! Get far away!"

Dumb Fourth cursed back, "You old hag, don't block me! My third brother said Sister Feng's... reputation isn't good, so she can only marry me. When I hold my wife to sleep, it's so wa... warm."

Dumb Fourth tried to bypass Auntie Wang to get closer to Feng Chuchen.

He was often teased by others: "Zhao Fourth, when are you going to get a wife? It's cold in winter; it's only warm when you sleep holding a wife."

When he went home to ask his parents, they told him he was still young and to wait until he was older. But that day, his third brother had whispered to him, saying he would find a way for him to marry Feng Chuchen in the future. He had also told him to keep it a secret, warning that if word got out, he would have his legs broken.

Sister Feng had a slender waist and was a lovely person; he liked her too.

Seeing Feng Chuchen from afar today, he thought she looked even lovelier. Since he happened to have roast chicken in his hand, he couldn't help but run over to curry favor.

Feng Chuchen reached into her sleeve with her right hand and pulled out a small pebble. When Dumb Fourth was two meters away, she flicked it toward his left ankle.

The reason she aimed for the ankle was that Dumb Fourth happened to be without boots today, allowing the pebble to slip in through the hem of his trousers.

Feng Chuchen felt she could beat him with her bare hands, but to test the combat effectiveness of her finger-flicking technique, she used this move.

With an "Ouch!" Dumb Fourth collapsed onto the ground. He dropped the roast chicken and clutched his ankle, screaming.

"It hurts! Ah~~ Ah~~ It hurts..."

Auntie Wang ran over and gave Dumb Fourth several hard kicks. Feng Chuchen then picked up a stick from the ground and lashed him several times, specifically targeting the spot where the pebble had struck.

She scolded, "With your behavior, you actually dare to lust after me? You're truly a toad dreaming of eating swan meat. I'm warning you, if you dare to indulge in such delusions and talk nonsense again, I will beat you to death."

In both pain and fear, Dumb Fourth cried, "I won't! I won't ever do it again!"

Several villagers ran toward them from a distance.

"A fight! Dumb Fourth is being beaten!"

"Oh, what's going on here?"

Auntie Wang said angrily, "Landlord Zhao and Zhao the Third are wicked and unscrupulous. They instructed their fool of a son to come and ruin my girl's reputation."

Dumb Fourth wailed, "It was my third brother who said it! He said Sister Feng's reputation isn't good and she can't marry out, so she can only marry me. Waaa, I just wanted to treat Sister Feng to roast chicken, but they beat me!"

Feng Chuchen sneered, "I have already promised my eldest aunt that I will not marry before my younger brother grows up. Never mind this big idiot; I wouldn't marry even a *juren* or a *xiucai* [successful candidates of the imperial exams]. Tomorrow, my brother and I will go to the County Magistrate to seek justice. We will not allow people to trample on us like this."

The villagers looked at the sobbing, snotty-nosed Dumb Fourth and shook their heads in contempt.

"That family really has some nerve. No matter what, Chuchen is a descendant of an adoptive mother of a righteous official; she has money, skills, and the protection of the incorruptible magistrate. How could she possibly marry a fool?"

"Exactly."

A clever villager remarked, "No wonder there have been rumors lately that Chuchen can't find a husband. It turns out someone is intentionally spreading rumors to ruin her reputation so she won't find a good family."

Auntie Wang added, "The worst of the Zhao family is Zhao the Third. He has the face of a villain; all that schooling went straight to his dog's belly. Bah!"

"Tsk tsk, and he's even a *tongsheng*."

"The more books one reads, the more schemes one devises."

...

Dumb Fourth limped away, crying as he ran home.

He could still run!

Feng Chuchen had used only seventy percent of her strength just now, feeling the force was just right. It was enough to cause pain without making it obvious that she was the one who did it.

With more practice, she could break a kneecap with full strength.

Before they reached home, Feng Bu-ji and Shaoyao ran out to meet them.

Feng Bu-ji had already heard about Dumb Fourth bullying his sister and was so angry he was tearing up. His sister was so beautiful and deserved the best young men; how could they let a fool keep pestering her?

He threw himself into Feng Chuchen's arms and said, "Sister, let's go find the County Magistrate and the Counselor to get justice."

Feng Chuchen nodded. "We will go tomorrow. With unscrupulous clansmen in front and shameless villains behind, it's nothing but a pitfall here. We can't stay. Also, you are a man; you shouldn't cry at every little thing."

By the time they returned home, Feng Chuchen was no longer angry.

This incident wasn't enough to affect her mood.

She comforted Feng Bu-ji, "It's not worth getting angry at such small-minded people. This is actually a good excuse to move sooner."

There was a knock at the courtyard gate.

Banxia opened the door and stood there to block them from entering. She turned back and called out loudly, "Miss, Young Master, it is Mrs. Zhao and the Eldest Young Mistress Zhao."

Shaoyao was the first to rush out, holding a stick and wanting to charge out to hit them, but she was held back by Banxia.

Feng Chuchen stood up with a grim face. Auntie Wang stopped her, "You are a young lady; let us handle the arguing."

Walking into the courtyard, she said, "Go back. For your fool of a son to dare to lust after my girl—you truly are like a toad on someone's foot; you don't bite, but you're disgusting.

"Tell Zhao the Third as well: my girl is not someone he can manipulate with his schemes. If such an immoral person were to become an official, the common people would suffer greatly."

The villagers feared Squire Zhao, but the Feng family did not.

Mrs. Zhao's face turned red with rage; she had never suffered such an insult. Their Fourth had been beaten, and now they were expected to bring a hundred taels of silver to apologize.

However, Fourth had caused a major disaster. Her husband feared that the Feng siblings would report the matter to the County Magistrate, ruining their third son's future. Just now, her husband had beaten Fourth until he was wailing, which made her heart ache.

She said submissively, "Midwife Wang, you have misunderstood. My third son is well-educated and polite; he never said such nonsense. It was our Fourth who was confused and spoke out of turn..."

Auntie Wang slammed the door shut and bolted it, trapping the mother and daughter-in-law outside.

After dinner, the Village Head Zhao and his wife arrived.

Earlier, Squire Zhao had gone to their house with a flushed face, offering two jars of wine and two pieces of meat, asking them to act as mediators at the Feng house to plead for Zhao the Third.

Village Head Zhao also felt that Zhao the Third was immoral and unscrupulous. He wanted to exploit Feng Chuchen's benefits for his own use without actually marrying her, and had come up with this wicked scheme.