Wife, Don't Be Like This!

Chapter 63 - Since We're Already Here

The Qixi gathering was still continuing.

Next was wine tasting and appreciating the top courtesans.

It's just that the crowd's mind was clearly no longer on these things. Lu Tianrui was just the beginning. Not long after, several groups of young masters left one after another. Sima's legitimate son Wu Chen, Vice Magistrate's son Ji Wenxuan, and even Fang Jun had disappeared at some point.

The originally somewhat crowded main hall was now sparse, looking a bit bleak.

As for what these young masters were going to do after leaving, it was a tacit understanding.

In this era, in terms of the timeline, it was actually about the Sui and Tang Dynasties period. Thinking about the world of his past life, what were the scholars of the Sui and Tang Dynasties like?

Although not as fierce as the scholars of the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties, they had still not abandoned the Six Arts of a Gentleman: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. They were absolutely capable of killing enemies on horseback and governing the country off horseback. The scholars of this time, you definitely couldn't out-argue them, and you might not be able to out-fight them either.

As for this world, the speed of the scholars' corruption was indeed a little faster, but it wasn't too outrageous. Although not much of the Six Arts remained, they probably still retained a bit of mettle in their bones.

If it were anyone else, it would be one thing. But you, Song Yun, how much better are you? As if you aren't a frequent customer of the brothels, as if the poems you wrote before weren't full of sorrow. How could they be humiliated by trash like you?

The wine banquet began. After casually drinking two cups, Song Yan also got up to take his leave. Luo Yuheng shot a look, and Luo Tianyi immediately followed from behind.

When the group of top courtesans came up to dance, the atmosphere of the Qixi gathering became lively once again.

"That 'Ugly Slave' poem, was it really written by Song Yun?" Suddenly, a voice pulled the topic back.

"With Song Yun's behavior, I really can't believe he could write such a work."

"It's really possible that it wasn't written by Song Yun." It was a top courtesan who had just finished dancing and was now resting.

Hearing there was inside information, a group of people immediately gathered around, asking questions all at once.

"Actually, that 'A lonely person stands alone, in the light rain, a pair of swallows fly' wasn't a poem either, it was a ci poem. It was once praised as the ultimate masterpiece of the 'Linjiangxian' tune pattern." That top courtesan said mysteriously:

"I also heard it from Sister Qiushuang. You absolutely must not tell anyone else..."

One by one, they patted their chests and guaranteed that their own lips were the tightest.

Then, in a short period of time, almost everyone in the entire Pine Garden knew about the 'Linjiangxian' that Song Yan had composed.

Why was Song Yun's name attached to it? Naturally, Song Yun had used his status as a legitimate son to force him. Truly shameless.

As for that 'Ugly Slave'? It should be the same situation!

"In that case, weren't we just insulted by Song Yan?" a talented scholar said indignantly.

"So what if you were insulted? The man can produce two masterpieces worthy of being passed down through the ages, 'Linjiangxian' and 'Ugly Slave'. Doesn't he have the right to insult you a couple of times? Take a look at what you wrote."

"Exactly, exactly. My body... ahem, I mean, Brother Song is still a divine physician. Can you guarantee there won't be a time when your elders need to beg Little Divine Physician Song?"

They were all insulted, but this attitude was completely different from when they were targeting Song Yun before. Sure enough, people are fickle.

"Don't forget, Luo Tianyi is always following her brother-in-law."

Thinking of Luo Tianyi, the crowd suddenly felt that being insulted by Song Yan wasn't such a big deal. After all, it was just a couple of insults; they wouldn't lose their lives over it.

As the host of the Qixi gathering, Jiang Miaojun was the master of the house. Because her husband had just taken office, she had originally wanted to use the Qixi gathering to build relationships with the upper circle of Song Prefecture.

Who could have thought it would become Song Yan's stage for making a name for himself?

She actually had no particular feelings about Song Yan, but the fact that he was Luo Yuheng's son-in-law made Jiang Miaojun exceptionally uncomfortable. In short, she just couldn't stand to see Luo Yuheng doing well. Especially seeing Luo Yuheng's smug expression, her teeth itched even more.

Commandery Princess Gaoyang by her side was humming something. If one were closer, they would be able to hear that it was precisely that 'Linjiangxian'. Her eyes were somewhat entranced.

……

Song Yun still didn't know that the reputation of 'Qilin Son of the Song family' that he had just obtained was gone in the blink of an eye.

Of course, even if he did know, he had no time to care about these things. At this moment, he was walking briskly. The location of this Pine Garden was a bit remote, located on the other side of Songzhou. To return to Ningping, he almost had to cross the entire prefectural city.

Although he wasn't completely unathletic, he was still quite tired after this long walk.

The sky was gloomy, as if it were about to rain again.

The summer weather in Songzhou was just this volatile. The night was deep, and dark clouds covered the bright moon.

For a moment, he couldn't tell what time it was. It should be around the Hour of Chou (1 - 3 AM). There were hardly any pedestrians on the road.

The oppressive air made it difficult to breathe. Suddenly, a pattering sound rang out as heavy rain fell from the clouds. Bean-sized raindrops smashed against his body, actually hurting a little.

The road surface quickly accumulated puddles of all sizes. Occasionally, a carriage would rush past, splashing water everywhere.

His clothes were also soaked and stuck to his body, which was rather uncomfortable. Song Yun let out a breath, rested briefly, and then moved his tired legs again, once more speeding up.

For some reason, he thought of Song Zhen.

He had thought he was the one who had used Song Yan's hand to topple his fifth brother, but now that he thought back, wasn't it also Song Yan using his plan to cripple his enemy?

Thinking of the scene where Song Yan swung the court staff and broke one of Song Zhen's arms and one of his legs, Song Yun felt a chill in his heart. He knew that Song Yan's methods were by no means limited to just this.

The wind howled, like the wail of a ghost.

Just as he passed a remote intersection, a figure suddenly shot out from an alleyway. The next instant, the corner of his eye saw something like a sack coming down over his head.

It was too late to dodge. His vision instantly went black. Just as Song Yun was about to open his mouth to say something, in the darkness, he felt a foot kick heavily into his stomach, and his body fell into the muddy water.

Immediately after, countless fists and feet landed on his body like raindrops. He was already unable to speak, left with only muffled groans of pain.

These people's blows were vicious. Song Yun felt his bones were about to break, and his whole body was in indescribable pain. He didn't know how long they beat him before they gradually stopped. Then came the sound of spitting. The filth probably landed on his body.

"Fuck your mother. You dare to write a poem to mock this young master? I'll teach you a lesson today."

It was Lu Tianrui's voice. So he really thinks scholars don't have a temper.

Then came the creaking sound of a carriage.

Song Yun's body lay in the muddy water, slowly writhing.

After a long while, he finally recovered a bit of strength. He struggled to climb up from the ground, his hands pulling at the sack, as if trying to take it off.

It's just that Song Yun didn't know that in the alleyway on the other side, several more figures had appeared.

"Looks like we're late. That fellow Song Yun has already been beaten up. It's a bit tragic. Young Master Wu, should we still make a move?"

"Since we're already here."

"If we don't give him a beating, it's a bit hard to justify."

Just as the sack was about to be taken off his head, with a peng, a heavy club smashed onto the back of Song Yun's head from behind.

Song Yun only saw blackness before his eyes, and his whole person once again fell to the ground, almost failing to catch his breath.

Who knows how long passed before this group of people left, and then another group of figures appeared around him.

"What to do? He's been beaten so badly I feel sorry for him just looking!"

"Since we're already here..."

"If we don't give him a beating, others will think this young master doesn't have the guts."

……

I don't know since when, but beating up Song Yun had changed from venting one's own anger to a kind of unspoken competition.

The downpour in the deep night showed no signs of stopping. The curtain of rain was like a screen separating heaven and earth. Even the usually tranquil and gentle Yi-Luo River had become torrential.

Those painted pleasure boats had also been moored to the bank to avoid being washed away by the flood.

On the road surface, if there were a bright moon hanging in the sky, one should be able to see a turbid yellow.

The accumulated water had already risen past his ankles.

A figure, like a giant maggot, was writhing slowly on the ground. A groan seemed to come out, but in the pattering sound of the downpour, it couldn't be heard very clearly.

Song Yun couldn't even remember clearly how many times he had been beaten. He could only vaguely make out the voices of a few people.

Lu Tianrui, Wu Chen, Ji Wenxuan, and also Fang Jun...

Bastards, a bunch of bastards.

He knew he would be beaten. After all, the line 'to compose a new verse, I forced myself to speak of sorrow' was a bit too insulting.

The tempers of scholars were not all that peaceful. Because others had sullied their reputation, or even just for a contemptuous glance, fights often occurred.

But he had never expected that these people would be so vicious.

Damn it. If one day he could rise up, he would definitely not forget the shame of this day.

Song Yun was panting heavily. He struggled to sit up on the road. Inadvertently pulling at his injuries, his chest and left arm burned with pain. At least one rib was broken, and his left arm was probably dislocated.

Time, like the muddy water beneath him, slipped away breath by breath.

When the sharp pain on his body gradually went numb, his consciousness finally cleared.

His current situation was very bad. The rain was pouring, and the road was muddy. Under these conditions, it was almost impossible to run back to Ningping. Even if he could survive, he would probably fall gravely ill.

A grave illness could be fatal.

Perhaps he should find a place to hide from the rain and wait until dawn before finding a clinic.

Thinking this, Song Yun discovered that the surroundings were really quiet. He could no longer hear any footsteps. His heart relaxed a little, and only then did he reach his hand out of the sack. The sack was completely soaked, and very heavy. With only one arm available, it was quite strenuous.

After struggling for a long time, he finally pulled the sack off his head. The feeling of suffocation dissipated, and at this moment, Song Yun actually felt a bit of joy. But before the corners of his mouth could even curl up, he noticed a faint beam of light entering his vision through the hazy curtain of rain.

The expression on his face stiffened. He slowly raised his head and looked towards the faint light.

It was an oil lamp.

A lampshade protected it from the rain, so it had not been extinguished.

Two figures came into view.

On the left was a woman. Her arm was raised to shoulder level, her fingers holding a large umbrella. It's just that under such a downpour, the oil-paper umbrella wasn't of much use. The faint light of the oil lamp shone, and it was also misty under the umbrella.

Beside her, however, was a slender man. His gaze moved up bit by bit. That familiar face came into view. Song Yun's mouth slowly spread into a grin.

"You've come!"

The person he feared the most had finally come.