Yang Ming, anxious to find out Xiaotian’s whereabouts, was not willing to let any opportunity slip and continued to make inquiries, "Do you know where that Little Maid is now?"
"We really don’t know that," Li Fugui shook his head, and so did Wang Young Master.
Yang Ming’s face turned gloomy and quite unsightly; just as he felt disappointed, he hadn’t expected Zhao Young Master to speak up, "I know about that."
Li Fugui and Wang Young Master both turned their gaze sharply to Zhao Young Master. They both didn’t know about this matter, so how did he come to know it?
Zhao Young Master lifted his head as if he had stumbled upon some significant secret, "Haven’t you heard? I thought you both knew!"
Li Fugui and Wang Young Master, puzzled, asked in unison, "Know what?"
"The rumors around town, of course. There’s a rumor going around lately that the Eldest Young Master of the Li Family eloped with a Little Maid, abandoning all his family wealth. But unexpectedly, the Little Maid couldn’t handle hardships and ran off with another wealthy young master."
"..." The faces of both men fell instantly. What kind of rumor was this? Could it be credible?
The two of them immediately objected, "That rumor surely can’t be trusted. Where has Li Fugui ever abandoned his family wealth? Anyone with a brain knows that it was taken away from him."
"And that Little Maid, being of servant origin, what hardships can’t she bear? Where did you hear such nonsensical things?"
"Even if that’s not credible, the part about the Little Maid running off with a wealthy young master can’t be completely unfounded," Zhao Young Master, refused to accept his friends’ denial, and continued.
"..." Having heard that, the two men were no longer sure.
"If that’s the case, then Li Fugui is really to be pitied, having lost everything, even the Little Maid he liked has left."
"Pity didn’t move you to help him."
"You didn’t help either. You even called him a beggar and told him to go away."
"Wasn’t I just afraid of catching the eye of the Li Family’s Second Young Master? Daring to step forward? My family is but a small household that supplies vegetables to Dongfeng Restaurant. If I were to offend him, would my family still have a way to survive?"
"Enough, enough, enough. Let’s not speak ill of each other. In the end, we all abandoned a friend for fear of offending the Li Family’s Second Young Master."
Wang Young Master, Li Fugui, and Zhao Young Master had a few drinks and thoroughly aired their grievances, revealing a lot to each other in front of Yang Ming.
As they continued to talk, Yang Ming saw he wouldn’t learn anything new and stood up to take his leave, "Brother Wang, Brother Li, Brother Zhao, I have matters to attend to today and must take my leave first. Let’s get together another day."
"Sure, sure, you go ahead if you have things to do. Next time we’ll play some drinking games again. You know, your skills at the game are quite something, much better than just drinking dry like us."
Yang Ming folded his hands in salute, "Then, I bid you farewell."
Having said that, he left the room. He owed a debt of gratitude to his wife’s teachings about the drinking game; without it, he truly wouldn’t have known how to get along with these people so quickly. His wife really had her ways.
No matter what, today he had learned some news. That Little Maid was named Xiaotian, and she might indeed be his sister, Yang Xia.
But did she really run off with a wealthy young master? Li Fugui’s reaction upon seeing Yang Qiu was clearly one of affection, not hatred!
Yang Ming returned to the Academy, lying on the brick bed. Having had a little to drink, and thinking about the events of the previous night, his mind was filled with his wife’s face. He missed his wife and wondered how she was doing, whether she was thinking of him