Xu’s father and mother were stunned. They had never heard of this. Where was their son living now?
The man listened to their questions and saw that they genuinely knew nothing about Xu Yijie and Madam Zhou. He said somewhat dismissively, “How would I know where he is? You could probably find out by asking around the streets. Besides, this house originally belonged to Madam Zhou, and our master bought it from her.”
After that, the man slammed the door shut, unwilling to speak with them further. After all, Xu Yijie had become a pariah, universally reviled. Who didn’t know about his sordid affair with Madam Zhou?
In his opinion, Xu Yijie’s mind must be twisted. He wasn’t content to be a scholar and instead engaged in such disgraceful behavior, likely blinded by the wealth before him.
Madam Xu had hoped to hear more news about her son from him. Seeing him close the door, she couldn't stand it and rushed forward, banging on the door frantically, shouting, “Hey, hey, explain yourself! What exactly is going on?”
Unfortunately, the person inside paid them no mind. The two had no choice but to leave. Walking on the bustling street, they felt increasingly uneasy. They casually stopped a passerby and asked without much hope, “Good sister, do you know where Xu Yijie lives?”
The other woman instinctively took two steps back, looking at them with a hint of distance, “Who are you to him?”
Madam Xu saw the wrong look in her eyes. She was about to say they were his parents but immediately changed her tune, “We are his relatives. His parents asked us to bring him something, but when we arrived, we couldn’t find him.”
The woman’s attitude visibly improved. Then, with a half-smile, she said, “I advise you to stay away from him in the future. If you have someone like that in your family, think about how much it affects your own children’s reputation. I heard he lives in an alley to the right, further ahead. I’m not too sure which house it is, though. You can ask around.”
Madam Xu hadn't expected it to be true that everyone seemed to know her son. But why did he seem like a plague in their eyes? Suppressing the urge to defend her son, she asked with some confusion, “He has a good reputation among our relatives. Can you tell me what exactly happened to him?”
The woman thought it wasn’t something to be kept secret, as it was common gossip. She then said gossipy, “They say Madam Zhou is a loose woman, who has cuckolded Master Zhou countless times. It’s even possible that Young Master Zhou and Miss Zhou are not Master Zhou’s children. The most notorious example is her relationship with Xu Yijie. However, for some reason recently, Madam Zhou has fallen out with him, and they are no longer in contact. Madam Zhou even broke one of his legs. It’s said he abandoned his wife and daughter to be with Madam Zhou. What a foolish man…”
Madam Xu’s mind went blank. She didn't hear what the woman said at the end, only feeling a buzzing in her head, as if the sky were about to collapse. She never imagined her son’s actions would be discovered and become common knowledge. How would they live from now on?
Xu’s father had a similar reaction to his wife, but he was slightly calmer. He pulled his wife along and walked forward, wanting to find their son and see what had happened.
The woman was in the middle of her story when her listeners left. She felt they were too rude, and said indignantly, “You asked the question, I haven’t finished speaking, why are you leaving?”
At this point, Xu’s father and mother didn’t have the energy to listen to her stories. She could only stomp her foot in frustration and curse a few times.
They arrived near the alley the woman mentioned and after asking around for a long time, finally found an old woman in the alley. This old woman usually liked to chat in the alley and knew everyone. When they asked, she looked at them with the same strange gaze but also gave them the answer they wanted, “If I’m not mistaken, it’s the household at the end of the alley. Why do I say that? Because I’ve seen everyone else, except for that household where a young man goes out to buy groceries. I can’t say for sure.”
Xu’s father immediately thanked her. Even from a distance, they could still feel the old woman’s scrutinizing gaze.
When he heard the knock on the door, the little beggar was washing clothes. He initially thought he had misheard, as no one had visited him in so many days. But they kept knocking persistently, so he had no choice but to put down his work and open the door. He saw a couple standing at the door and asked curiously, “Who are you looking for?”
Upon seeing his face, Madam Xu knew this was likely the young man the old woman had mentioned. She forced a smile that was more like a grimace, “We are Xu Yijie’s parents, we’re looking for him, could you tell us if he lives here?”
Upon hearing this, the little beggar quickly invited them in warmly. This was the first time since they had been traveling that someone hadn’t looked at them with prejudice, which was rather strange. However, once they entered the courtyard, they were eager to go into the main house, wanting to see how their son was.
Xu Yijie, lying on the bed, heard the little beggar talking to someone. He was about to get up to see who it was when he saw his parents rushing in.
As soon as Xu’s father and mother saw him, they immediately lifted his clothes without a word, to check on his leg. They wanted to see, but Xu Yijie didn’t want them to. In the struggle, he bumped his injured leg and grimaced in pain. Seeing this, Xu’s father and mother quickly let go.
Then, they looked at him with disappointment, as if he had failed them. “We advised you to go back and open a private school back then. With our family’s fortune, we could have lived very comfortably in the countryside. But you didn’t listen. Now, even if you open a private school, no children would dare to send them to you.”
This topic also gave Xu’s father a headache. Their son had studied for so many years, he couldn't possibly send him back to farm. But what else could he do? His reputation was so ruined; he had truly brought this upon himself.
Xu Yijie couldn’t stand hearing this the most. In fact, he had regretted it long ago, but hearing it from his mother’s mouth, he still put on a stubborn front, “If you can’t stand it, you should go back first. Anyway, in their eyes, Xu Yijie is already dead. Just pretend I don’t exist.”
If he hadn’t been injured, Xu’s father and mother would have truly wanted to teach him a lesson. They endured it again and again, and said helplessly, “What are your plans now?”
Xu Yijie immediately scratched his hair in frustration. He didn’t know what to do next. The little money he had was almost gone, and the landlord didn’t want to rent the house to him anymore, citing his bad reputation. He said if he didn’t rent the house, he feared others would be unwilling to rent it due to bad luck.
“Why don’t you come back to the countryside with us?” Madam Xu saw that he remained silent for a long time and knew he had nowhere to go, so she suggested.
“Impossible.” Xu Yijie’s hair stood on end at this. He directly retorted, in this life, even if he were to die, he would die outside, not go back.