Volume One, Chapter 11: Your Mother Has Found You a New Father!

Want to chase after him? Does he think anyone can catch him just because they want to?

Chu Yuning quickened his pace, striding out of the Auspicious Inn. He walked swiftly, as if deliberately tormenting Shen Yuan—making her unable to catch up, forcing her to exert more effort in pursuit.

Yet, despite having gone quite a distance, Chu Yuning didn’t hear any footsteps or panting behind him.

Could it be that he walked too fast and Shen Yuan failed to keep up?

He stopped and glanced back, only to find Shen Yuan wasn’t chasing after him at all; instead, she was supporting Nurse Liu up the inn’s stairs.

Had she not seen him and mistakenly thought he was upstairs?

A faint crease appeared between Chu Yuning’s brows, tinged with impatience. Shen Yuan was even more foolish than he had imagined. Well then, he’d give her a chance and go look for her!

Earlier, Shen Yuan had stumbled on the steps while going upstairs. Fortunately, Nurse Liu had held her, preventing her from falling. So Shen Yuan dared not rush and carefully ascended, clutching the railing.

Just as she neared the second floor, someone suddenly called her name from behind.

She turned to see Chu Yuning standing at the stairwell’s corner. She furrowed her brow in annoyance. Why did she have to run into him the moment she entered the city? What bad luck!

“Yuan Yuan, when did you arrive? How long have you been waiting?” Chu Yuning approached and asked.

Shen Yuan rolled her eyes. “What’s it to you? Are we that close?”

Chu Yuning was taken aback by her words—not at all what he had expected.

Wasn’t she supposed to come to the city today to apologize and admit her mistake?

“Yuan Yuan, just say ‘sorry’ to me, and I’ll let bygones be bygones about last time. After all, we’ve known each other for ten years, and I understand your feelings for me.”

He stood with his hands behind his back, chin slightly raised, looking down on her with a scholar’s natural pride.

He wore the robes of the Ziyun Academy—an azure inner garment beneath a plain white robe—that accentuated his distinguished bearing. His brows and eyes carried the innate arrogance of a learned man.

But to Shen Yuan, this pride was nothing but an empty shell.

She darkened her expression. “Chu Yuning, our engagement has been called off. We have nothing to do with each other anymore. If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll report you to the authorities for defaming a woman’s reputation.”

The laws of the Great Yan Empire stipulated that a man who slandered a woman’s name would be publicly punished with lashes and fined.

Hearing this, Chu Yuning’s face instantly darkened. Shen Yuan actually intended to report him? Had she lost her mind? And the engagement—when had he ended it with her? Even if he didn’t want her, she wasn’t the one to call off the engagement!

“What did you say? Our engagement…” Chu Yuning began.

“Our engagement was ended long ago. Your mother agreed to the breakup, and the village chief personally wrote the divorce papers. Our engagement was nullified days ago. Don’t bring it up again!” Shen Yuan cut him off mercilessly.

“What? That’s impossible! I don’t agree!”

“Whether you agree or not is nobody’s concern.”

Shen Yuan was too weary to argue further. She pulled Nurse Liu to continue upstairs but was blocked by Chu Yuning.

“Yuan Yuan, you can’t leave. You clearly like me. I don’t believe you willingly ended the engagement. Did your mother force you? Tell me what’s really going on!”

Shen Yuan laughed bitterly at his words. “Chu Yuning, if your ears don’t work, is the thing between them just decoration? Can’t you understand human speech?”

“Yuan Yuan…”

Chu Yuning wanted to say more, but Nurse Liu shoved him aside.

He was slender, and with her force, he nearly lost his balance.

Nurse Liu shouted down the stairs, “Waiter! This man is blocking our way. Can people still stay here or not?”

The waiter hurried up, saw Chu Yuning blocking the path, and scowled, shouting, “Get lost! The boss already said no more of your calligraphy! Why won’t you leave? How shameless can you be?”

Chu Yuning’s face turned ashen.

If not for borrowing ten taels from a classmate to urgently repay a debt, he wouldn’t have stooped to selling his calligraphy here, only to be humiliated by these uncultured people. His works deserved to be framed and admired!

Shen Yuan watched the humiliation and frustration flicker in Chu Yuning’s eyes, curling her lips into a somewhat playful smile.

“Oh, I forgot to say congratulations!”

“What do you mean?” Chu Yuning looked up at her, sensing no kindness behind her smile.

“Congratulations on finally having a father! Didn’t you know your mother found you a new father? I advise you not to waste time here and go home to congratulate her on her new joy!”

With these words, Shen Yuan pulled Nurse Liu and left without looking back.

Chu Yuning stood rooted to the spot, thunderstruck.

He didn’t have time to ponder further and hurriedly packed his things to return to Chu Family Village overnight.

By the time Chu Yuning reached home, it was already evening the next day.

Without a single coin to take a carriage, he had walked back on foot—a journey lasting a full day and night.

Only then did he realize how far Chu Family Village was from Jian’an City—so far that several times he nearly collapsed by the roadside from exhaustion.

Fortunately, as the sun began to set, he finally saw the village boundary marker.

Dragging leaden legs, he staggered into the village. Passing the fenced courtyard at the entrance, a thought struck him: years ago, when Shen Yuan came to the city to see him, did she also carry a basket of herbs on her back, walking step by step into the city?

She was a girl, presumably more delicate than he was.

Didn’t she find the journey arduous?

What gave her the determination to come see him again and again?

For some reason, a heavy stone seemed lodged in Chu Yuning’s chest—too heavy to lift, too stubborn to put down—pressing on his heart and filling him with agitation.

“Brother Yu, you’re back!”

Relatives from the Chu family hurried forward upon seeing him.

“Brother Yu, you’ve finally returned! The clan leader has been waiting for you for nearly three days. Go see your mother—she’s still kneeling in the ancestral hall, fasting for three days!”

“Auntie, why is mother kneeling in the ancestral hall? What happened?”

“Well… it’s hard to say… You’d better ask your mother yourself,” the woman replied evasively, reluctant to speak further.

Chu Yuning’s heart sank into an abyss. Could what Shen Yuan said be true?

No! Impossible! Since his father’s passing, his mother had not remarried. The chastity archway granted by the clan elders still sat on their family desk. How could she have done such a shameful thing?

It was absolutely impossible!

Chu Yuning dashed toward the ancestral hall.

Chu Family Village was founded by a man surnamed Chu who settled here. Most villagers bore the Chu name, and there was only one ancestral hall—the Chu family’s.

Entering the hall, Chu Yuning saw Zhao kneeling before his father’s spirit tablet. Her hands and feet were bound, and her face hidden beneath her hair, making it impossible to tell whether she was awake or not.

Beside her knelt Chu Xiaoshan, the village chief of Chu Family Village.

The man who had dishonored his mother was none other than his own uncle!

“Beast! You beast!” Chu Yuning raised his fist and charged forward, landing a punch squarely on the village chief’s forehead.