Chapter 132: Self-respect and self-abasement

  In front of the curved eaves of the wooden building, beside a ancient well with missing corners, there was a cluster of large Osmanthus fragrans trees and a grape trellis. On the grape trellis, mats were spread out, and on the mats, wine and meat were laid out. Five young masters sat on the mats drinking wine. As they drank to their hearts' content, they bared their chests and bellies, letting loose their spirits, pointing and gesturing wildly, arrogant and unrestrained.

  A young man in a green robe drank a cup of wine, swayed and stood up, spraying wine and saying: "Lu Chuan brother, thank you for the hospitality, I'm not good at drinking, so I'll...I'll go back now."

  "Hey, Laughing Jade, don't be in such a hurry to leave. I've recently finished a new piece of work. Don't you want to take a look?"

  A handsome young man with a pointed chin, slightly intoxicated eyes and reddened eyes, wearing a white robe, pulled his sleeve and smiled. This white-robed man was about 27 or 28 years old, not yet of age to grow a beard, so his lower jaw was covered with a faint stubble.

  "Oh? Brother Lü Chán has another masterpiece?" The smiling Jade brother was overjoyed, and sat back down with a thud, repeatedly urging: "Quickly bring it out, quickly bring it out. I must appreciate your great work before I can leave. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep tonight."

  Bai Pao Xie Lu Chan burst out laughing, stood up and walked towards the building. As he walked, he limped, it turned out that one of his legs was lame.

  That man in green robe was called Murong Xiaoyu, and the one sitting on his right hand side, holding a fat chicken and eating with relish, was Xu Wushuang. They were all close friends who came and went frequently. When Xu Wushuang saw Bai Lianxiang enter the room, he leaned over to Murong Xiaoyu and said: "Thanks to Xie Lianxiang's wine and meat, it's really delicious, but every time we have to take out those worthless rotten paintings of his, and we still have to flatter him, which is really nauseating."

  Chen Fangzheng on the opposite seat threw down a sheep bone that had been gnawed clean, and chuckled softly: "Wu Shuang brother, where did you get so much nonsense? This good wine and meat, a table of food, in exchange for a few flattering words, what's not possible?"

  "Hmph! Every time, I have to flatter him, I really don't know what else to say. Hey, Ma Jia, stop drinking, that wine is a life-killer. Later on, if you don't make him happy, he won't let us leave."

  Ma Xi put down his wine bowl and laughed: "Alright, alright, I said it would be fine. Let's just pity this useless guy. However... those broken paintings of his, I really don't think they're anything special. But he always says that someone paid a high price for his paintings, and if he doesn't paint for a few days, people will come to his door to urge him on. Is that possible? In the entire Jinling, who would be so blind as to like his paintings?"

  Murong Xiaoyu snorted disdainfully: "Hmph! He's just boasting, I don't dare to brag about my eyesight being exceptional, but his paintings are either good or bad and can be seen at a glance. Obviously mediocre, even if sold, it wouldn't be worth much money, he himself said that one painting would sell for twenty taels of silver, do you believe him?"

  Xu Wushuang scratched his head and said: "However... I remember that once when we were drinking here, someone did come to buy a painting."

  Chen Fangzheng chuckled and said, "He's a man who values his reputation, he won't make a fool of himself in front of us, will he?"

  Ma Jia coughed and said in a low voice: "Shh, shh, it's coming, it's coming."

  Several people immediately sat up straight, with an expectant look on their faces.

  These people are all friends of Xie Lüjian. To be exact, they are a group of hypocritical and self-serving friends who only care about drinking and eating together. Xie Lüjian just doesn't realize it yet.

  Xie Lü Chan was fifteen when he passed the imperial examination, and his talent and prospects were boundless. Unfortunately, disaster struck in the second year, and one of his legs was crippled, his face disfigured, making it difficult for him to hold office. Moreover, with a crippled limb, he had no chance of an official career. Xie Lü Chan became violently enraged and went mad for half a year before gradually recovering. From then on, his spirit was crushed, and he never again touched a book.

  It wasn't until three years later, under the persuasion of his younger sister, that he regained his spirit and became infatuated with painting, a hobby he had loved since childhood but was forced to give up by his father. To learn painting, he sold the ancestral house, moved to the outskirts of the city, spent money on famous teachers, learned painting, and from then on had a spiritual dependence, single-mindedly becoming a painting fanatic.

  Now his painting style has gradually taken shape, and he has begun to receive appreciation from some people. Although he doesn't know who the buyer is, someone always comes to buy his paintings every now and then. With the income from selling his paintings, he can even guarantee a worry-free life for himself and his sister, and he is no longer a useless person. Xie Lucheng was very happy. In recent years, he has either devoted himself to painting or spent time drinking and having fun with a few close friends, living a carefree and joyful life.

  He didn't know that the few friends he considered to be his confidants were only because their family circumstances were not as good as his, in order to take advantage of his wine and meat enjoyment, when they were short of money, they would borrow some money from him for use, this is why they swarmed around him like flies, flattering and coaxing him to make him happy.

  "Come, come, come! A few of you, take a look and see how I paint this 'Ancient Plum Blossom and Orchid Picture'. Hmph! No need to use my hands!"

  Xie Lüchán opened Mu Rong Xiao Yu's hand and said with a complacent expression: "This painting has already been booked by a buyer, you don't even wipe your hands, can you afford to compensate if it gets dirty?"

  Ma Jia hastily chimed in: "Really? Brother Lu Chuan, how much did you sell this painting for?"

  Xie Lü Chan pretended to be calm, but was secretly proud and couldn't hide it: "This painting of mine, from conception to completion, took two months. If someone offers less than thirty taels, would I sell? Alright, alright, let's not talk about that, what do you think of the painting?"

  "Rarely, rarely, it's really rare."

  A few friends gathered around, feigning admiration. Ma Jia wiped the wine from his mouth and began to praise: "Wonderful! Truly wonderful! An ancient plum tree with a few blossoms, a small bird perched on a branch. A few stems of orchids, elegant and slender, scattered beside a strange rock. The entire painting is classical, serene, and majestic. The brushwork is refined, natural, and vivid, truly a rare masterpiece!"

  "Ah, Ah, Brother Lü, I'm so envious! You're still young and have already achieved such great skill in painting. With time, won't you become a legendary painter of your generation? Ah, when that day comes, don't forget about us brothers today!"

  A few people chatted, flattering Xie Lü Chen until she smiled with pleasure. Just then, a voice came from outside the door: "Excuse me, is this the Xie residence? Is Mr. Xie Lü Chen in?"

  "Swindler! A shameless female thief!"

  Even if it's an ordinary family, how can they accept a woman with such a notorious reputation into their home? He knows my secrets, he knows everything I've done in the past. Once he sees me, how could he possibly accept me? Even if he doesn't mention it today, after we become husband and wife, how can I hold my head up high in front of him? What qualifications do I have to be a good wife and mother? Will he accept me out of sympathy? Will I love him out of gratitude?

  "No, no, no......"

  The farther she walked, the more fearful Xie Yu Fei's heart became. If it weren't for the fact that this was a home she couldn't abandon and there were people there she couldn't bear to part with, she would have turned around and fled long ago, fleeing to the ends of the earth and never coming back again.

  She didn't want it to be like this, she didn't want it to be like that either, but she had no way out, really no way out. The tears welled up in her eyes, but stubbornly refused to fall.

  At the age of five, she was still a naive and lively little girl. At that time, her brother was still the pride of her heart. Every time she went out, the most praise she heard from her neighbors was for her brother, because he had passed the imperial examination at the age of fifteen and became a scholar, and people said he was a celestial being who would become a high-ranking official in the future. Therefore, even the young ladies in the neighborhood did not dare to bully her, and she always felt proud and honored that the Xie family had produced such an outstanding person as her brother.

  Although she was still young at that time, she clearly remembered the day of the accident. She asked her mother for a coin and bought a sugar figurine, running and playing with her little friends on the street, when a luxurious carriage suddenly rushed over, scaring her stiff, not knowing how to dodge, then her brother rushed over and pushed her away in an instant, the wheel rolled over her brother's leg, she still remembers her brother's painful cry to this day.

  It was a carriage of a noble family, and the matter was settled with a few taels of silver. My brother's leg was crippled, Wenqu star fell, and his originally brilliant career suddenly became dull and colorless. My brother was so angry that he went crazy, and for those days, he was in a daze, everyone thought he would never wake up again and become a madman from then on.

  The mother, who was already depressed due to her husband's death, fell ill again because of her son's illness. Just as the son's condition had improved, the mother, who had been struggling to support the family despite her own poor health, passed away and followed her husband in death.

  If it weren't for the two loyal and dedicated old family members at home at that time, she really didn't know how this family could go on.

  Years later, she grew up.

  Years later, my brother became infatuated with painting. Although he had her encouragement and support, he failed to make a living from it, and our family gradually became so poor that we couldn't even afford to cook meals. My brother's temper became increasingly irritable, and his old illness recurred.

  Years later, the two old family members had to leave her home and make a living on their own. A long illness with no filial son by her side, let alone a family member, the Xie family had been kind to her, she only felt gratitude in her heart, but not a single bit of resentment.

  At that time, she met Fei Fei and got to know her mother, a former bandit who had traveled extensively throughout Jiangnan Province. In her heyday, she was so influential that she could enter the mansions of princes and nobles, and had close contact with high-ranking officials and their wives. Now, however, she has retired from her life of crime and is content to live a simple life, a former thief who was once a master of the Wind Gate school.

  She began to support her family with her frail shoulders.

  They say an elder brother is like a father, but she was more like a younger sister as a mother.

  She didn't formally apprentice, but relying on her natural intelligence and the scattered tricks she learned from Nan Fei's mother, she became a new generation of female thief. She doesn't need to steal or rob, just with a clever mind, at a young age, she deceived many greedy and confused adults into being dizzy and disoriented.

  Her brother's painting finally "found someone who appreciated it", and the Xie family's situation began to improve. She was very satisfied, her only regret in her heart was probably that the family her father had engaged her to since childhood had always been elusive, making her a laughing stock among her sisters.

  Now he has finally come, but...

  "Will he like me? No!"

  In Longxing Temple, what he said to that Miss Peng had been deeply etched in her heart. She also deceived people, but she wouldn't deceive the ones closest to her. The words she secretly told those closest to her must be true, right?

  Besides, as soon as he sees her, he will immediately know her identity. Who would accept a female swindler? She is not even worthy of being a concubine, let alone the wife of a dignified Shengyuan master.

  "Sister?"

  The two of them arrived at the gate of the courtyard and saw her looking dazed and confused, Nan Feifei couldn't help but feel a little worried.

  "Huh?"

  Xie Yu Fei woke up, blinked her eyes, and wiped away the tears. Her stubborn and strong personality drove away the anxiety and fear in her heart: "For so many years, without you, I've still managed to get by on my own? I'd rather not marry anyone for the rest of my life than let anyone ruin everything I've worked hard to maintain! You can look down on me, but I won't look down on myself. Why should I be afraid of you? I'm not afraid of you!"

  Xie Yufei bit her silver tooth, like a warrior stepping onto the battlefield, and said resolutely: "Let's go!"