Chapter 149: 109 Little Grandson (two sightings combined into one)_2
Xue Ningxiang hurriedly said, “How can that be possible? This silver needs to be saved for his future wife!”
Gu Jiao thought to herself, ‘When a man offers to make you jewelry, don’t you have any other thoughts?’
After lunch, Xue Ningxiang went to the bank to withdraw silver. Little Dog clung to her thigh and wouldn’t let go. Having no choice, Xue Ningxiang had to take Little Dog along.
The bank wasn’t crowded, so Xue Ningxiang was able to withdraw twenty taels of silver after a short wait. She kept her silver securely in her bag, with Little Dog on her back and the bag in her arms.
As she left the bank, she bumped into a young man dressed as a scholar.
“Are you blind? Can’t you see where you’re going?” The scholar said impatiently, brushing the arm that Xue Ningxiang had bumped into.
Xue Ningxiang blushed and apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
The scholar’s companion said, “Just let it go. We’re on our way to an exam. We can’t afford to waste time.”
Hearing about compensation, Xue Ningxiang turned pale white.
Thankfully, the scholar was persuaded by his companion to leave. Xue Ningxiang breathed a sigh of relief, however, she quickly realized something was wrong with her bag, it felt significantly lighter.
She hastily searched her bag and was horrified.
All twenty taels of her silver were gone!
Xue Ningxiang thought of the scholar, her eyes flashed and she chased after them, calling out, “Wait!”
The two young men paused.
The scholar who bumped into her turned around, visibly irritated, “What now?”
Xue Ningxiang mustered some courage and accused, “You… You stole my silver!”
“What?” The scholar looked utterly bewildered and slightly indignant at the accusation.
Xue Ningxiang was a soft-spoken person, a little scared to confront two grown men, especially that twenty taels of silver was a huge sum! That was the money Little Dog’s uncle had earned with his life, she couldn’t just let it be stolen!
“It was you!” she forced herself to be brave, “I just left the bank, I was holding everything tightly. When you bumped into me… the silver was gone!”
The scholar was about to fly into a rage, but his companion held him back: “What are you doing? Why bother arguing with a clueless woman?”
The scholar snorted, “It’s not that I want to argue, but she’s trying to frame me!”
His companion sighed, “Let it go, we should focus on the exam. Ignore her.”
“For your sake, I won’t call the authorities!” The scholar gave a cold huff and walked away with his companion.
Xue Ningxiang rushed forward, grabbing the scholar’s arm, “Give me back my silver!”
“Are you crazy!” The scholar was furious, he brushed her hand off.
Xue Ningxiang lunged at him once again.
The scuffle attracted attention, and they were soon surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.
The scholar was righteously indignant, “You said I stole your silver, where’s your proof? If you try to frame me again, I’ll call the authorities! I thought you were a simple woman, especially with a child on your back. Do you ever feel ashamed for doing such dishonest deeds?”
“You… you…” Xue Ningxiang was so upset her face turned green.
The crowd started murmuring.
In this patriarchal society, especially when reading is considered supreme, no one believed Xue Ningxiang, a young widow, over the scholar.
The scholar lamented, “I kindly chose not to report this to the authorities, firstly due to you being a woman, and secondly because we’re rushing for our provincial exam, we have no time to argue with you!”
“How audacious! Now she’s even trying to extort students who are rushing to their exams. Does she have no conscience?”
“Right? They spend ten years immersed in studies just to be victimized by her?”
“You can just tell she’s no good by looking at her!”
People began criticizing Xue Ningxiang. She felt so wronged that tears welled in her eyes. She hadn’t tried to frame them, she really lost her silver…
Little Dog, who was asleep, was also awakened by the noise.
Seeing himself and his mother surrounded by a crowd, he became frightened and began to cry loudly.
The head of the Academy, Master Li, had just left the pastry shop and was heading towards the town’s medical hall when he heard a heart-wrenching wail.
The sound was somewhat familiar, Master Li paused and headed towards the commotion.
Xue Ningxiang was now the center of attention, no one believed her.
Master Li quickly recognized her, as she was the neighbour of his student! Then he recognized Little Dog, the little chubby kid who called him ‘father’.
Master Li entered the crowd. As the head of Tianxiang Academy, even if he wasn’t wearing his teacher’s robes, his scholarly demeanor immediately commanded the crowd’s attention.