Chapter 2: A Bit of noble righteous energy

"Old Wang, Old Wang, how's it going, has Dongzhu given birth yet?"

At that moment, a surprising voice came from outside the room; Wang Lin's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said, "Dongzhu, it's the Scholar, I invited him in to take a look. How could Ruhai possibly write you a divorce letter out of the blue? I think it's a mistake!"

While speaking, Wang Lin hurriedly got up and left. Not long after, he returned with an elderly man whose Confucian robes were washed white, holding an old hen in his hand. When he saw Wang Ping'an nursing vigorously in Liu Dongzhu's arms, he handed the old hen to the grandmother and said impatiently, "Old Wang, is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a big chubby boy!"

Wang Lin's old face was full of unmistakable excitement.

"Alright, alright, your Old Wang family finally has an heir!"

Guo Xuesong said, "Do you have a name?"

Wang Lin replied, "Just wait for the Scholar to come over and give this child a name!"

Guo Xuesong was the village scholar, running a modest school that enrolled only local children. Wang Ruhai was first educated here, so Guo Xuesong could be considered a benefactor to Wang Ruhai's family.

Back then.

When Wang Ruhai showed a talent for study, Guo Xuesong petitioned his grandfather and informed his grandmother, and only then sent Wang Ruhai to the county's best Qingyang Academy, where senior scholars were stationed and they regularly supported Wang Ruhai each year.

Otherwise.

For their family, with only a few acres of poor fields, how could they sustain Wang Ruhai's ten years of uninterrupted study?

Asking Guo Xuesong to name the baby in Liu Dongzhu's arms had already been agreed upon when Liu Dongzhu was pregnant.

"Old Wang, what do you think of naming the child Haoran?"

Guo Xuesong said.

Since the Wang Family asked him to name Wang Ruhai's child, he had thought of many names, both male and female, and "Haoran" was the one he felt most suitable.

Liu Dongzhu said sorrowfully, "Master Guo, I hope my child becomes an ordinary person; I don't want him to be a scholar!"

"What's wrong with being a scholar?"

Guo Xuesong replied angrily.

Liu Dongzhu, sounding like a blood‑crying cuckoo and a wailing ape, said, "Heartless, ungrateful scholar!"

Wang Lin hurriedly explained, "Scholar, just now Ruhai sent a letter from the Capital City, and Dongzhu said it was a divorce letter. Isn't that nonsense? It must be a mistake!"

Grandmother Zhang Guihua echoed, "Exactly, exactly. Our Dongzhu has never done anything to betray our family; she is the most filial daughter‑in‑law in the whole county, not just the village. How could our Ruhai have divorced Dongzhu? It must be a mistake."

Liu Dongzhu said nothing, but handed over the letter she held.

Guo Xuesong reached out, took it, and upon the first glance his face turned extremely ugly; it was undoubtedly a divorce letter, and he shouted, "Beast, this beast, how could he do such a despicable thing?"

Wang Lin panicked, "Scholar, could it really be a divorce letter?"

"Impossible. How could our Ruhai do such a thing?"

Zhang Guihua, not understanding, said, "Scholar, could someone have mixed up the letters?"

"Ruhai—no, this beast's handwriting, I still recognize!"

Guo Xuesong seemed to have aged a dozen years; Wang Ruhai could be called his pride. Especially after Wang Ruhai became a top scholar in the imperial examinations, he was like a victorious rooster, strutting with his head held high all day.

He never imagined.

Wang Ruhai actually did something so despicable!

Even a dog doesn't know that a golden or silver nest is inferior to its own doghouse!

Guo Xuesong sighed lightly, "A few days ago, someone told me that since Ruhai became a top scholar, the prime minister's daughter has taken an interest in him; they have been courting passionately. I thought it was just gossip, but it turned out to be true!"

"Ha! My father, whom I've never met, actually has the nerve to live off others!"

While rapidly absorbing energy to strengthen himself and joining the commotion, Wang Ping'an heard this and sneered inwardly, his heart full of sarcasm. He didn't look down on 'living off others' too much; after all, everyone makes their own choices. In his previous life, he had toiled for years, was a corporate drone, and once fantasized about a rich woman seeing through his toughness.

But.

Someone like his father, already married, not only lives off others but also divorced his first wife; that is something he despises from the bottom of his heart.

Logically, his father, being a top scholar, should be at the pinnacle of his life, with take‑off just a matter of time, and wouldn't need to live off others.

Yet he still did such a thing, showing how ruthless his heart is.

"Beast, this beast, our Old Wang family's reputation has been ruined by him!"

Wang Lin, tears streaming, trembled, and just as he was about to fall to the ground, Guo Xuesong was the first to react, grabbing Wang Lin and holding him up.

Wang Lin clutched Guo Xuesong's hand and wailed, "Scholar, how could this beast do such a despicable thing? If it weren't for Dongzhu serving us two elders at home, how could he study for the imperial exams calmly? The money he spent on becoming a top scholar also contains Dongzhu's blood!"

Guo Xuesong, looking dejected, said, "It was me, it was me who failed to teach this beast properly!"

"Scholar, it's not your fault, it's not your fault; it's our Old Wang family's bad feng shui that produced such a beast!"

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Wang Lin cursed, "Old woman, go ask someone to buy a coffin for us!"

Zhang Guihua, half terrified, said, "Old thing, do you really want Dongzhu to die?"

"Even if I die, I can't bear Dongzhu dying. Such a good daughter‑in‑law, how can that beast just divorce her? Is he even human?"

Wang Lin shouted, "Our Ruhai, on his way to the capital for the exams, was attacked by beasts, lost his life, and we couldn't even recover his corpse. We'll just give him a simple tomb!"

Zhang Guihua was startled, "Old man…"

Wang Lin interrupted, "What, do you really want to see that beast divorce Dongzhu!"

Hearing this, Zhang Guihua's cloudy eyes glistened with tears as she sighed, "Old man, you're right; our Ruhai died on the way to the capital for the exams!"

Having said that, Zhang Guihua turned and left.

Wang Ping'an watched Zhang Guihua leave, then glanced at the tear‑streaked Wang Lin, startled; he never imagined his grandparents this life would do such astonishing things.

However.

Upon further thought, he could also guess why his grandfather did such a thing: his mother must have been a child bride, raised in the Wang Family, and truly allowing Ruhai to divorce her would have forced his mother toward death.

"Ding! You have witnessed human tragedy—divorced wife, dead son—observed great love, and gained the innate talent: Kindhearted 【Entry Level】 (Note: Those with a kind heart are blessed with abundant fortune.)!"

A mechanical, cold voice rang in Wang Ping'an's mind, instantly filling him with joy.

"Scholar, you made a joke of me!"

Wang Lin let out a slight sigh, changed his words and said: 'We still need to trouble you to rename this child!'

What joke?

Guo Xuesong gave a self-mocking laugh; if it were possible, how could he possibly bear to see such a joke? Not only does the Wang family lose face, but even he himself loses face. He took a deep look at Wang Ping'an, not knowing why, but found that Wang Ping'an seemed more pleasing to the eye; after thinking, he said:

"Since Dongzhu, you don't want this child to become a scholar, then let him grow up safe and sound; just call him Ping'an. Dongzhu, what do you think?"

"Good, my child will be called Ping'an, Wang Ping'an!"

Liu Dongzhu spoke happily while shedding tears.

"Ding! You were named Wang Ping'an by the Scholar Official, gaining talent: a bit of Vast Righteousness Qi 【Entry Level】 (Note: Confucian saying: 'If one possesses Vast Righteousness Qi, evil spirits and monsters will not approach.')!"

(End of chapter)