"You... You, Shen Zhang! Do you really think I can't marry your younger sister? She's just a concubine-born daughter. Once I bring more silver, your family will obediently send her to me!"
"By then, after I get bored of her, I'll simply divorce her and send her back to your mansion. I'd like to see what you can do about it!"
Qin An, looking extremely annoying, stared at Shen Zhang and deliberately provoked him!
Shen Zhang clenched his fists tightly. Seeing Qin An deliberately getting close to him with a smug look, he didn't hesitate and punched him directly.
Qin An covered his face, looking panicked. But before he could react, Shen Zhang threw another punch, knocking Qin An to the ground. He straddled Qin An and punched him left and right. Qin An was completely defenseless and could only hug his head tightly.
"Hey! Shen Zhang, what are you doing!" The scholars who followed Qin An finally reacted and stepped forward to hold Shen Zhang back. But they were all weak scholars who had never done any heavy work. How could they be a match for the strong and robust Shen Zhang.
It took three or four people struggling to pull Shen Zhang away and help up Qin An, whose cheeks were purple and red from the beating.
As soon as Qin An stood up from the ground, he covered his stomach and squatted down again. It took him a long time to stand up.
As soon as the pain on Qin An's body subsided a bit, he warned Shen Zhang, "Shen Zhang, don't be so cocky. I'm telling you, this matter is not over yet. I will definitely tell the teacher and sue you in the academy!"
Shen Zhang shook off the hands still holding him, patted his robe, and looked at Qin An firmly, "No matter what you do about this, I'll be right here to face it!"
Shen Zhang picked up his book basket from the ground and walked out of the door.
Watching Shen Zhang striding out of the room, Qin An kicked the table in front of him angrily, "Shen Zhang, if I don't teach you a lesson and make you kneel down and beg for mercy, I'm not Qin An!"
Just as Qin An was about to say some more harsh words, someone signaled him to stop. They pointed to the far corner of the room, indicating that there was someone else there!
Qin An glanced at Jin Xiucai, who was sitting in the back of the room, still studying with his pen in hand even though school was over. He sneered disdainfully but didn't say anything more and left with his people.
After those people left, only Jin Xiucai was left in the room. He put down his pen, frowned at the table that had been kicked over by Qin An, walked over silently, and helped the table up and put it back in place.
Without staying any longer, Shen Zhang returned to the Shen Mansion. In the main hall, Concubine Su and Shen Zhen had been waiting for him for a while.
"Zhang'er, you're back!" Concubine Su said as soon as she saw Shen Zhang enter.
"Auntie, sister! I already know about today's matter!" Shen Zhang said straightforwardly, "That Young Master Qin came to propose marriage. To be honest, it's my fault!"
"Brother, aren't you classmates with that person? Although he's the one in the wrong, what fault do you have? I didn't expect to meet him when I went to deliver something to you that time."
Shen Zhen still didn't quite understand, but Concubine Su had already vaguely guessed something from Shen Zhang's words.
"It is indeed my fault! That Young Master Qin is indeed my classmate, but the reason he sent matchmakers to humiliate my sister is that we had some conflicts in the academy before. He wanted to take revenge on me through this, and I've implicated Zhen'er!"
"Brother!" Shen Zhen looked at Shen Zhang in disbelief.
"This Young Master Qin is a scholar from a family of average means, but he has none of the integrity of a scholar. He follows some rich and official's sons in the academy all day long, eating, drinking, and having fun with them. He also bullies some poor and good students in the academy and acts as a lackey!
"Before, when I first went to study in the academy, they tried to win me over. But after I refused, they mocked my background. I really didn't like to deal with people like them, so we had been on good terms. But half a month ago, they framed a poor scholar in our academy for stealing their silver and demanded that the academy expel him!
"Some of the teachers in the academy, fearing their family background, agreed. I spoke up for that scholar because I thought it was unfair. And that scholar, who was wrongly accused, was also an arrogant person. Seeing that the academy didn't stand up for him, he directly beat the drum of grievances and took the matter to the prefectural yamen.
"Later, seeing that the matter had caused a big stir, the academy didn't pursue it anymore. But that scholar was so determined to prove his innocence. Later, it was indeed proven that he had been framed! And that group of people, including Young Master Qin, thought it was me who gave Jin Xiucai the idea to make the matter bigger, so they started to hold a grudge against me!"
Shen Zhang told the whole story without hiding anything, "So, he came up with the idea of insulting my sister's reputation to take revenge on me!"
"Zhang'er, you've suffered!" Concubine Su's first reaction after hearing Shen Zhang's story was anger, and then she began to feel sorry for Shen Zhang. "After we deal with this matter, we'll talk to your father and ask him to transfer you to another academy to study!"
"This matter can wait. We'll talk about it later! For now, it's more important to solve Zhen'er's problem!"
Shen Zhen never expected that such a disaster would fall on her out of the blue while she was just staying at home. But there was nothing she could do now. Besides blaming that Young Master Qin for being so despicable, she had to think of a way to solve it quickly!
"Zhang'er, in your opinion, what should we do about this matter so as not to affect your sister's reputation?" Although Concubine Su was resourceful, she thought that living in the inner courtyard, she didn't have as broad a vision as Shen Zhang, a man. Moreover, she had been relying on her son all her life.
"Auntie, Zhen'er, the most important thing now is to reject Young Master Qin's proposal. After that, we need to find a way to warn Young Master Qin and stop him from spreading rumors everywhere! This is the best arrangement for Zhen'er!"
"Madam said today that she would think about it. I think Madam doesn't want to agree either, but I'm afraid she might change her mind." Concubine Su voiced her concern.
"Okay! I'll find a way to make sure Madam doesn't agree! Auntie and Zhen'er, don't worry. I'll handle this matter."
After hearing Shen Zhang's words, Concubine Su and Shen Zhen felt a bit more at ease. But Concubine Su still couldn't help but remind him, "Zhang'er, don't be too impulsive. Take your time! We have plenty of time!"
Although Shen Zhang nodded in agreement on the surface, he was still thinking about how to make Qin An shut up and stop spreading nonsense.