"Enough, enough, I wasn’t talking about you; it was just a metaphor," the elder glanced at his grandson and said.
"The Zhou family used to seem quite nice, and they were polite to their neighbors. Who would have thought they were such people? Really misjudged them, bad luck, bad luck."
Some people live near the Zhou family, and witnessing this scene, they immediately feel that they should reevaluate the Zhou family. From now on, they should... no, they must not associate with the Zhou family to prevent their own family from being led astray.
"Polite? You all must know about Madam Zhou. She is only polite to those who are capable, whose households rank higher than the Zhou family. Try being from a lesser household and see if they’ll treat you kindly—dream on," another person said, looking at Madam Zhou with irony.
"I heard that the Zhou family initially arranged a marriage with the Lin family from some village just so their grandson could become a primary scholar. Later, when that grandson became a scholar, oh, they were so proud. They thought up all kinds of schemes to break off the engagement.
You don’t know, back then, Madam Zhou even sought advice from a good sister of mine. My sister is quite straightforward and gave Madam Zhou a piece of her mind. Since then, there have been no more dealings between them."
"Really? There’s such a story?"
Curiosity killed the cat among the crowd as they looked toward the woman who had accompanied someone to the examination hall.
Elder Mr. Zhou felt his old face burn as he listened to everyone’s comments, all pointing out their wrongdoings, and fiercely flicked his sleeve.
Yet, there was someone who turned to leave before he did.
The Ninth Miss from the county magistrate’s house frowned upon hearing these people talk and turned around, preparing to leave with her maid.
"Ying’er, Ying’er, where are you going? Weren’t you here to see Liang’er into the exam? Why are you leaving now?" Madam Zhou, seeing someone about to leave, quickly raised her voice to shout.
Elder Mr. Zhou’s fierce gaze darted toward his daughter-in-law. It was all this woman’s fault. She couldn’t teach her son properly and had spoiled Zhou Liang into this state, causing him to lose all face.
How was he to face people now?
"Madam Zhou, you should teach your own son first. As for me, I’d rather not stand here any longer, continuing to lose face!" The woman turned her head and glared coldly at Zhou Liang before looking at Madam Zhou.
After saying this, she stepped onto a carriage nearby and left.
"That Ying’er has quite the temper now, really!"
Madam Zhou, seeing that the person had indeed left, could only mutter a complaint.
Even at this moment, she didn’t feel that what she had done or what her son had said or done was shameful. After all, Lin Caisang was eventually going to marry into the Zhou family. What was wrong with performing the wedding rituals now?
It’s just that her son still had serious business he had not attended to; he must become a licentiate for her.
"Liang’er, you better hurry inside. Don’t delay here anymore. Your mother will think of a solution for the future," she approached Zhou Liang, lowering her voice to instruct him.
Lin Caisang watched her and let out a cold laugh.
"It seems Madam Zhou still hasn’t learned her lesson. It’s my fault for not teaching her enough. I must strive to do better in the future!"
Madam Zhou bit her lip, speechless, never expecting Lin Caisang to dare threaten her in front of so many people.