Chapter 24: The Heartless Scholar Who Abandoned His Wife and Child (Part 2)

Xie Mo’s face instantly burned upon hearing his father’s words. He moved his lips, wanting to explain, but after a long moment, he couldn’t utter a single word.

Explain that he had no feelings for Miss Li? But that was far from the truth.

Gritting his teeth, Xie Mo decided to be honest with his father.

“Father… I—I wish to marry the teacher’s daughter.”

If he wanted to marry, he would need both families’ consent before proceeding with the betrothal. If he truly wanted to be with Miss Li, there was no way he could keep it from his father.

“Have you thought it through?”

Xie Hui sat down by the table, using the same teacup he’d just thrown at his son to pour himself a leisurely drink.

In this world, by the time he arrived, his son was already grown, soon reaching the age of adulthood. Unlike the previous world, where his child had been just a little brat who needed him to make every decision, this saved him quite a bit of trouble.

“I’ve thought it through, Father. Once I’m married, I will study hard and also… also be filial to Grandmother and Uncle.”

By the moonlight streaming through the window, Xie Hui could clearly see the reluctance on the boy’s face when he said the last part.

“Since you’ve decided, I won’t say much more. We’ll pick a good day, and I’ll find a matchmaker to propose to the teacher’s family.”

Hearing this, Xie Mo suddenly raised his head, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Xie Hui finished his tea in one gulp, stood up, and glanced at the unconscious Qi Niang in the room. He walked over, grabbed her by the collar, dragged her outside, and dumped her next to the pigsty in the courtyard.

After dusting off his hands, he turned to Xie Mo, who was standing at the doorway, and said,

“It’s late. Get some rest. Remember to bolt the door from the inside. As for that slave, we should sell her off tomorrow. Running into the master’s room in the middle of the night—she has no sense of propriety at all.”

Xie Mo nodded without hesitation and turned back to his room to sleep, just as his father instructed.

As for the slave girl, he didn’t ask a single question.

His mind was always occupied with his studies, filled with nothing but scholarly pursuits. He only knew that their family had bought a slave, nothing more.

After returning to the original host’s room, Xie Hui pulled out a loose brick and retrieved a delicate little box from the hole inside. Opening it, he found an aged, yellowed book.

In the original storyline, this very medical text was what helped the female lead become a world-renowned divine physician. And now, it lay right in front of Xie Hui.

It was a relic left behind by the original host’s wife. But Xie Hui felt no guilt whatsoever—he intended to take the book for himself. Rather than letting that transmigrated female lead have it, he might as well benefit from it.

After reading through the original plot, Xie Hui couldn’t shake the feeling that many details had been glossed over. Performing modern medical procedures in ancient times—how could it possibly be as easy as the original storyline suggested?

【Host, according to the original plot, the female lead was also an innocent victim of her father’s actions.】

Xie Hui, who had been absorbed in the medical book, was suddenly interrupted by the system’s voice. He frowned in annoyance.

Although he thought the Lord God was rather stingy, in truth, the Lord God treated its systems quite well. Each system was like a newborn when assigned to a host, requiring the host to slowly nurture and guide it.

It was said that systems that grew alongside their hosts had the lowest abandonment rates.

Having been disturbed, Xie Hui lost interest in reading. He closed the medical book, put it away, and prepared to sleep. Before dozing off, he responded to the foolish system.

“When the female lead was a child, her father spent the embezzled silver on her food, clothing, and lifestyle. That makes her far from innocent.”

Not everyone could use ignorance as an excuse. Qi Niang’s extravagant childhood was built upon the suffering of countless people.

The silver embezzled from dam construction funds led to disastrous floods, claiming the lives of many. In Xie Hui’s eyes, such people deserved no pity.

Only when punishments extended to an official’s entire family would others be deterred from committing the same crimes.

【Oh…】

The system responded weakly. This seemed to go beyond what its data could compute.

As Xie Hui pulled the covers over himself, he could clearly smell the musty scent of the bedding. He wrinkled his nose but didn’t complain, simply closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

—

The next morning, unlike the original host, who would rise early to heat water in the kitchen, Xie Hui slept until he naturally woke up. He stretched lazily under the warm sunlight.

It seemed that the more obedient and compliant a child was, the more likely they were to be overlooked. The ones who cried the loudest got the most attention.

The original host was as docile as an old ox, obeying his mother in everything. Meanwhile, his younger brother, Xie Fu, was lazy and cunning, always scheming to slack off or get some silver from their grandmother.

Yet, their grandmother adored Xie Fu far more than the original host. Not only did she dislike her eldest grandson, but she seemed to want to ruin his entire future, just to ensure a secure life for her youngest son.

An elderly woman confined to bed was the best test of a child’s filial piety.

Despite being bedridden for years, their grandmother remained clean, and her room was spotless, all thanks to the original host, who cared for her daily.

But today, Xie Hui couldn’t even be bothered to heat water for her bath, let alone take care of her.

It wasn’t out of disdain, but simply because a grandmother so blatantly biased and malicious didn’t deserve his devotion.

He made his way to the main hall and scooped up two bowls of porridge—the same porridge Qi Niang had always prepared exclusively for their grandmother. Then, he took them to the study and shared them with his son.

The slow-cooked porridge, paired with a plate of pickled vegetables, was more than satisfying.

After finishing his meal, Xie Mo held his bowl, sneaking a glance at his father. He couldn’t quite explain why, but today, his father seemed… different.

This porridge, made from rice bought at great expense from the capital, had always been reserved for Grandmother alone.

When Xie Hui finished the last sip of porridge, he looked up and met his son’s curious gaze.

This lifetime’s Xie Mo was already old enough to marry. Unlike the little brat from the previous world, he didn’t need constant supervision. But at the same time, he wasn’t as close to him as that child had been—he wouldn’t voice everything on his mind so openly.

“What’s the matter?”

At his father’s question, Xie Mo hurriedly withdrew his gaze, stood up, and instinctively reached out to clear the dishes.

However, Xie Hui was a step ahead, gathering the dishes himself. As he walked to the doorway, he glanced at Xie Mo, who was still standing there, and said in a low voice:

“In the past, I wronged you. What kind of Juren scholar lives like this? From today on, just focus on your studies. Leave the household matters to me.”

Even though Xie Mo was already an adult, hearing these words from his father made his nose sting with emotion.

His classmates who had passed the Juren exam were treated like treasures at home, with their families hosting grand banquets for three whole days in celebration.

To say that he didn’t feel even a trace of envy—even Xie Mo himself wouldn’t believe it.

His family’s circumstances were difficult, his grandmother bedridden, and he had never expected to be treated the same as others. But his father, of all people, had always been stingy with even a single word of concern.

Today, with just a single promise from his father—even if it was just words—it was enough to make all the grievances he had been suppressing feel as if they had suddenly found an outlet.

Just as Xie Hui set the bowls down, a commotion erupted outside. Xie Fu arrived, bringing several elders from the clan along with the clan leader. A crowd of villagers, eager for gossip, also squeezed their way in.

Since the visitors were elders, Xie Mo, who had just opened his book in the study to start reading, also stepped out. Before he could even speak, he saw his father step forward to greet them.

“Oh, Clan Leader, you’ve come at the right time. I was just about to go find you later.”

The clan leader’s face was tense, deep furrows between his brows, his hair and beard completely white.

“Xie Hui, your younger brother just came to see us. He said that your mother feels her time is short and doesn’t want to delay your son’s marriage. She has already chosen a match and asked us to bear witness. Is this true?”

As he spoke, the clan leader struggled to suppress his anger, but the veins on his forehead still throbbed.

A young Juren scholar had emerged from their clan—Xie Mo, with a future full of promise. As the clan leader, he took pride in this. But who would have thought that this family could be so foolish!

“Xie Hui, your son is now a Juren. Your mother must be muddled by illness to think of marrying him to a slave as his official wife! But why did you agree to it?”

Standing beside them, Xie Fu had no idea whether their mother had even discussed this with his elder brother. But given his brother’s usual obedience to their mother, he hadn’t even bothered to ask.

Mother had mentioned before that the slave had been clumsy from the start—falling into freezing water while washing clothes—which meant she might not even be able to bear children.

With a slave as his legal wife, no respectable family would ever consider marrying their daughter to Xie Mo in the future. And knowing his brother’s filial nature, he would never go against their mother’s final wish by divorcing the woman.

If Xie Mo truly had no children, any adopted heir would surely be chosen from their family line—which meant Xie Fu’s own descendants could benefit.

“Furthermore, Xie Mo, you are at a crucial stage in your studies! How can you be so consumed by romance that you lose all reason, even considering a slave? Do you even understand? If you marry a slave, your scholarly title will be revoked, and you’ll have to start over from the bottom!”

The current emperor imposed strict rules on scholars and government officials. If a scholar with official status married a criminal’s family member, all their titles would be stripped, forcing them to restart their exams from the lowest level.

Just last night, Xie Mo had spoken to his father with excitement about marrying his teacher’s daughter. Now, out of nowhere, he had been accused of wanting to wed a slave. His lips parted instinctively to deny it.

But before he could even get a word out, Xie Fu stepped forward and loudly declared:

“Xie Mo! This is your grandmother’s wish. Are you saying… you refuse to fulfill the last request of your ailing grandmother?”

Then, turning sharply, he glared at Xie Hui.

“Brother, what’s wrong with your son? Our mother raised the both of us on her own—was that easy? Now, in her old age, she has only this one wish. Can’t you let her pass in peace?”

The words struck Xie Mo like a blow.

Hearing his uncle mention his grandmother under the bright sunlight, his face turned ashen.

From childhood to now, he had learned that whenever his grandmother was involved, his father would always yield.

Now… the only relief was that he had only had time to confess his feelings for Miss Li to his father in private. At least this mess wouldn’t tarnish her reputation.

A gentle, virtuous, and understanding woman like Miss Li—she would have a good life, even without him.

The hands he had clenched at his sides slowly relaxed, his gaze lowering to hide the utter hopelessness in his eyes.

But then, the next words from his father made Xie Mo snap his head up in disbelief.

---

—A Juren (举人) was a scholar who passed the provincial-level imperial examination (乡试) in imperial China, typically during the Ming and Qing dynasties. This qualification granted them the eligibility to hold lower-level government positions and compete in the next level of exams, the Palace Examination (会试), which could lead to the prestigious Jinshi (进士) title.