Imdiately, soone was displeased: "I say Madam Gu, you’re like a high lantern that lights up others but not yourself! How co you can run to the Song Family to ask for sauce, but we can’t? You run to the Song Family eight tis a day, you wouldn’t do it so diligently if there weren’t any benefits? My son saw you sniffing the aroma and running to the Song Family for sauce and bringing it back! Why is it okay for you to ask, but when we do, it’s not?"
"I’m not the one saying this, but Madam Gu, isn’t your eating manner a bit disgraceful? You only want your family to take advantage of the Song Family, eh?"
"Exactly, you can ask, why can’t we? And yet you have the cheek to talk about us!"
...
A group of wives surrounded Madam Gu and started accusing her in a chorus.
Madam Gu was amused and furious: "What are you people worth? You think you can compare to ? I do visit the Song Family often, but I conduct myself righteously and sit firmly! Your brat just saw carrying sauce back, why didn’t they see bringing eggs? Do you think I’m as shaless as you, co and take things without asking?"
Behind her, Old Granny Zhang feared the group of wives wouldn’t die from anger, so she shouted loudly: "Even if I give it to Madam Gu for free, I’m willing! I just can’t stand you shaless and shallow-eyed creatures and won’t give it to you!"
After these words, those wives couldn’t stay any longer out of embarrassnt. Each of them, holding their bowls angrily, turned their heads and left the Song Family Courtyard.
The children were still waiting at the doorstep and, seeing their mothers co out with empty bowls, were imdiately dissatisfied.
"Mom, where’s the sauce? I want sauce! I want sauce!" So started crying and fussing.
It was already afternoon and at the alley entrance, quite a few people gathered to watch the scene.
Those wives, unable to save face, grabbed their children and gave them a couple of smacks on the butt, scolding: "Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating! Are you a reincarnated starving ghost or what? They didn’t give you anything, what will you eat? Get back ho now!"
Brats aren’t ford in one day; if they listened, could they persuade their moms to ask others for food?
After being slapped a few tis, the child wouldn’t comply, so they flung themselves onto the ground, crying and wailing: "I don’t care! I just want sauce! I want sauce!"
There were those who couldn’t stand watching this and spoke up: "Madam, look at how the child is fussing, they haven’t asked for anything else, just a bit of sauce, let the child have so!"
The wife rolled her eyes, slapped her thigh, and sat on the ground, wailing: "You say it so easily! As a mother, how can I bear to see my own child rolling on the ground for a mouthful of sauce? Isn’t there no other way?"
"What do you an no other way?" soone asked.
"What ans can there be? This sauce isn’t ours; it’s Scholar Song’s family sauce, brewed all noon, with a fragrance impossible to resist, luring my child to stay here all noon without going ho to eat, just slling it by the wall of Scholar Song’s courtyard. And that’s that, my child just slls it, can’t see it, can’t taste it, and will eventually go ho by evening."
"But Madam Gu next door, her child slled the temptation too, and asked Madam Gu to get a bowl of sauce from the Song Family. Naturally, my child saw it, right? What do kids understand? Seeing others ask, went ho and made co ask the Song Family for so to try."
"But the Song Family! We ca nicely for our children to ask for a mouthful of sauce, only to be scolded by Scholar Song’s mother-in-law, saying we’re shaless! Madam Gu heard the commotion, her lips softened by eating free sauce, and ran to the Song Family to drive us away! The child didn’t see any sauce, so of course they’ll cry!"
The onlookers, many from around the street, know who these children lying on the ground and the crying wives are, right?
They’re people who are never satisfied just taking advantage, so no one takes them seriously. Everyone guesses that probably these wives tried to mooch, but were chased away by the kind-hearted Madam Gu.
They’ve seen Scholar Song’s wife too, gentle and polite, always smiling when she speaks to others, most amiable. They know Scholar Song’s mother-in-law too, she’s been sick for quite a while now, Scholar Song and his wife hire grannies and maids to care for her, who doesn’t say they’re filial?
Though Scholar Song’s mother-in-law looks smart, she hasn’t been known as formidable in all this ti. Especially now that her illness has improved, she rarely goes out, staying ho to recover, how could she scold them?
Such slander, don’t they fear retribution?
Soone even joked: "I say, dear sisters, we all live on the sa street, who doesn’t know who? I suggest you quickly take your children ho! Save so face and avoid unpleasant words!"
There are so without their heads screwed on straight, hearing the wife and her child crying so pitifully, they beca imdiately dissatisfied: "This is too outrageous! Even a Scholar Family’s won can be so stingy? Neighbors and all, what’s wrong with giving the kids a taste of sauce?"
The person beside sneered: "These must not be locals, right? They’re probably outsiders just coming to study?"
The confused one was curious: "How do you know?"
"Heh, just hearing you speak and seeing your clothes it’s obvious. If you were locals, just by the aroma, you’d know what sauce is being brewed, wouldn’t say such things! I advise you, eat as much food as you like, but speak less!"
The confused one seed dressed like a scholar, with five or six similarly dressed scholars following behind, hearing this, all frowned.
"What do you an by that? Are you looking down on us outsiders? We know your Jing County Changqing Academy is remarkable, yet we never imagined your Jing County people look down upon others like this?" One narrow-eyed scholar spoke displeasingly.
Nearby people, hearing this, thought it didn’t sound like they were here to study, rather seed like they were here to cause trouble?
With matters concerning Changqing Academy and its scholars, the person who was just speaking no longer dared to speak up, fearing they’d invite trouble.
Thus everyone stepped aside.
Seeing the situation, those scholars showed so smugness, and the leader stepped forward: "Dear sisters, don’t cry anymore, we’ll go and seek justice for you!"
With that, they headed towards the Song Family Courtyard.
The crowd watching was dumbfounded: "Where did this bunch of fools co from? Have they read themselves silly? A group of scholars going to ask for sauce justice on behalf of those won?"
"I doubt it! Not silly! Probably these outsider scholars are here to stir trouble?"
So shrewd ones sensed trouble and exchanged glances, then split up to run towards Changqing Academy and County Yan.
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