Chapter 21: Too Weak to Care for Himself
Everyone in Qingtian Village knew that Jiang Changxin was a fool.
Yet even so, Zhou Dalang was startled when the fool glared at him, instinctively pulling his hand back. Once the initial fear faded, he realized—what was he afraid of, anyway? Of a simple-minded man?
Jiang Changxin stood protectively in front of Ye Ning, shielding him completely with his tall frame. He even held an oil-paper umbrella above Ye Ning’s head, while half of his own shoulder was left exposed to the downpour. Rain soaked his robe in an instant, but he seemed completely unaware of it—his eyes and heart were full of Ye Ning, and only Ye Ning….
When the matriarch of the Jiang family arrived, she immediately noticed that her son’s outer robe was draped over the Ye family’s Ning Ger. That was already unusual enough—but seeing her son guarding Ning Ger so closely, refusing even to let Zhou Dalang touch him, was something else entirely.
Everyone knew that Jiang Changxin had been mentally slow since childhood. Even after growing up, he behaved like a child—his likes and dislikes were always plain to see, and he never knew how to hide them.
Just a few days ago, when the foolish Jiang Changxin—who had long suffered from an eating disorder—managed to eat a bowl of noodles made by Ye Ning, the matriarch had already been astonished. She had even gone personally to Ye Ning’s noodle stall to see for herself. Now, seeing her son defending Ye Ning like this, she could tell that his feelings were… different. Unusually so.
“Is it really a misunderstanding?” the matriarch stepped forward. She looked gentle and amiable, seemingly mild-tempered and easy to talk to. “Whether there’s a misunderstanding between the Zhou and Ye families, as an outsider I shouldn’t interfere. But since this matter now involves my nephew, shouldn’t you at least let us ask for the truth?”
Zhou Dalang had always been used to throwing his weight around, never once looking anyone in the eye. But today, he’d run headlong into the stone wall that was the Jiang family. His eyes darted about as he lowered his tone and tried to justify himself, saying, “It’s… it’s a misunderstanding! All a misunderstanding! I—I had a bit too much to drink tonight, that’s all… I got carried away and confused things! I… I mistook this ger for my betrothed, Ning Ger! A complete misunderstanding!”
“You’re lying!” Qian Ger cried out in grievance. “You clearly said earlier that I was an outsider, that you could bully me because I wasn’t from here—how could that possibly be a mistake?”
Father Ye exchanged a glance with Mother Ye, who quickly pushed Ye Ning forward and said, “Ning Ger, you should say something too. Quickly, tell Zhou Dalang’s side of the story! Zhou Dalang was just… just drunk. Men drink now and then, don’t they? When they get drunk, they act a bit wild—who doesn’t? Isn’t that right?”
Ye Ning said nothing. He didn’t respond to her at all. The air immediately went cold and awkward. Mother Ye shot him a glare, but he pretended not to see it, as if she were nothing more than empty air.
Flustered and desperate, Mother Ye forced a laugh and said, “Well… well then, besides, Qian Ger is a well-bred young master from the provincial capital in Jiangnan. He’s still so young—surely he hasn’t even discussed marriage yet! If word of this got out, wouldn’t it sound terrible? What would people think?”
Hearing that, Qian Ger grew anxious and angry at once, tears welling in his eyes. Even in the dim night, his face flushed red with shame. The idea that such rumors might ruin his reputation and make marriage impossible made his whole body tremble with humiliation.
Zhou Dalang quickly nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes! I’m a man, I don’t care about reputation—but Qian Ger is different. He’s from a good family, not like us! Let’s just treat the whole thing as a misunderstanding, all right?”
Ye Ning’s voice was cool as frost when he finally spoke: “Who would stop eating out of fear of choking?”
Everyone turned their eyes toward him, confused. His words came out of nowhere—strange and seemingly unrelated.
Ye Ning continued, unhurriedly: “If someone stopped eating because they were afraid of choking and starved themselves to death, everyone would think that was absurd. But if we let the truly guilty go free just to avoid gossip—what sense does that make?”
Zhou Dalang instantly understood—Ye Ning was trying to provoke the Jiang family and Qian Ger into taking action.
He stepped forward, reaching out to grab Ye Ning—but Jiang Changxin reacted faster, moving in front of him again. Zhou Dalang wasn’t as tall, so he couldn’t even reach Ye Ning; all he could do was glare helplessly.
Ye Ning’s tone sharpened: “Some people commit cruel, heartless acts, then use smooth words to shift the blame onto their victims. They twist things so the victim feels ashamed, while they themselves feel nothing at all. How does that make sense? Such people have skin thicker than a pig’s hide. If you let them go once, they’ll just do it again—a second, a third, countless more times. Because they know that as long as they move their lips and throw their filth onto someone else, they’ll escape punishment. The laughter and mockery will never be aimed at them.”
Ye Ning hadn’t named anyone directly, but everyone present understood perfectly well who he meant — the man whose face was as thick as a pig’s hide was none other than Zhou Dalang.
“You—you’re just a Ger! What do you even know?!” Zhou Dalang was so furious that he stomped his foot, but the motion tugged at the wound between his legs. “Ah—!” he cried out in pain.
The matriarch of the Jiang family looked at Ye Ning in surprise. She had already been astonished when she heard Ye Ning had broken off the engagement with the Zhou family. Now, hearing such clear reasoning come from his mouth only impressed her further. The truth in his words was simple, yet it was the kind that most people chose to ignore. How many so-called clever folk pretended to be blind just to keep the peace? But Ye Ning refused to be one of them.
Coming from a scholarly family, the matriarch had grown up studying under her grandfather, father, and brothers. What she admired most was a sharp mind and the ability to tell right from wrong.
She smiled, nodding approvingly, and turned to the other Ger. “Qian’er, what do you say? Was today’s incident truly a misunderstanding?”
Qian Ger bit his lip, torn between fear of ruining his reputation and the humiliation he had just suffered. His eyes brimmed with tears.
Father Ye quickly interjected, “A misunderstanding! It was all a misunderstanding!”
At this point, it was clear Father and Mother Ye were determined to preserve their connection with the Zhou family. No matter what happened, they still wanted Ye Ning to marry into that household.
The onlookers whispered among themselves, watching the drama unfold. Qian Ger gritted his teeth and declared, “It was not a misunderstanding!”
Zhou Dalang cried out in protest, “It was! I drank two bowls of cat’s urine—no, I mean wine! I mistook Qian Ger for Ning Ger! It was just a misunderstanding! I was only being affectionate with my betrothed—what’s wrong with that?!”
Ye Ning let out a cold laugh. “Zhou Dalang, I already dissolved our engagement in front of the whole village. There is no longer any tie between our families. What ‘betrothed’ are you talking about? If you truly mistook Qian Ger for me, then I’ll still report it to the authorities.”
“You—you!” Zhou Dalang’s hands trembled in fury.
The matriarch spoke calmly, “Since Qian Ger says it was not a misunderstanding, then it wasn’t. Cheng Zhao, take a few men and escort Zhou Dalang to the magistrate.”
“T-The magistrate?!” Zhou Dalang was dumbstruck.
The matriarch’s tone hardened. “My nephew must be given justice for what happened today.”
Cheng Zhao immediately obeyed, signaling to several strong servants to move forward. Zhou Dalang’s two guards, already terrified from being beaten by Ye Ning earlier, dared not move. Trembling, they shrank into the background.
Zhou Dalang struggled as he was dragged away. His posture was awkward and stiff, his legs pressed together cautiously to avoid aggravating his injury. “Let go of me! I’m the eldest son of the Zhou family! Let me go! I won’t go to the magistrate—I won’t!”
Father and Mother Ye panicked. Mother Ye shoved Ye Ning forward, urging, “Say something! Quickly! Speak up for Dalang! If he’s taken to the magistrate, your marriage will be ruined! And what good will that do you? Who else would ever want you after that?”
“A Ger who can’t get married—it’s more shameful than death!”
Listening to her twisted reasoning, Ye Ning replied calmly, “Who would think it shameful? I certainly don’t.”
Mother Ye froze, unable to find a response.
As the servants dragged Zhou Dalang away, he suddenly raised his voice and shouted, “Ye Ning! Ye Ning! He just beat me up! Look at me—look what he’s done! If we’re going to see the magistrate, he has to come too!”
Hearing his name called out, Ye Ning raised an eyebrow slightly. Without drawing attention, he dropped the willow switch still streaked faintly with blood. The rain was pouring so hard that it washed away every trace in an instant — no one could tell that the delicate branch had been the very “weapon” used.
Ye Ning moved unhurriedly, his expression shifting as if a mask had been flipped. Just moments ago, he had been calm and indifferent — and now, in the blink of an eye, he appeared fragile, delicate, and pitiful.
His soft brows knit together, the tips sloping down in quiet distress. With lips slightly trembling and voice weak and wavering, he looked utterly wronged as he said, “I—I’m just a Ger. I don’t even dare kill a chicken. How could I ever hit someone? Zhou Dalang’s accusations are pure slander.”
The villagers nodded in agreement. Indeed, how could such a frail-looking Ger possibly beat anyone up? Zhou Dalang’s shamelessness truly knew no bounds.
Even the sharp-eyed matriarch of the Jiang family found the claim ridiculous. A Ger like that, defeating three grown men? Impossible. Even her simple-minded son wouldn’t believe such nonsense.
Meanwhile, Jiang Changxin, who had witnessed Ye Ning fighting—and now saw him pretending to be so weak—stood silently, speechless: “…”
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