Chapter 256 - Chapter 256: Wang Yizhi Living in Hell
Chapter 256: Wang Yizhi Living in Hell
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ever since Grandma Qin’s eyes had regained their strength, her mental state had been steadily improving. She seemed to forget that she was already in her sixties.
Her visits to the health center became almost daily occurrences.
Su Ning and Chen Shanshan had essentially become her dedicated students.
Qin Zhenzhen, on the other hand, began channeling more of her energy into creating unique ingredients and herbs. Take, for instance, those dried yam tablets. After acquiring them, she expertly mixed them into wheat bran and stir-fried them to perfection. The result of this culinary alchemy made the yam tablets far superior in their effects.
Adding one or two drops of spirit water while stir-frying only enhanced the magical properties further.
Those medicinal herbs and ingredients that had been processed by her own hands carried her personal touch, and as a result, their value skyrocketed. Their prices could easily command multiples of their original worth.
Qin Zhenzhen’s shop started to overflow with an ever-expanding collection of ingredients and herbs.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chen found himself increasingly occupied with his work. Yet, his motivation matched his growing workload.
Qin Zhenzhen had more than delivered on her promise. The monthly dividends now exceeded Mr. Chen’s previous monthly earnings by several folds.
The Old Marquis observed these developments with a heart full of joy.
He still harbored dreams of Qin Zhenzhen amassing a substantial fortune. His vision included Su Bin climbing the ranks on the Golden List, thus reuniting all the Su family siblings under the Marquis Mansion’s roof.
He even considered petitioning the emperor to bestow upon Su Bin the title of heir. With Su Bin and Qin Zhenzhen at the helm, the Marquis Mansion’s prosperity would endure for generations to come.
The Old Marquis held a special appreciation for Su Bin’s graciousness, refraining from pushing him to abandon his wife, allowing him to save face instead.
He had already made a public announcement that the Madame of the Marquis’ Mansion desired a vegetarian diet and wished to devote herself to Buddhism. Resolutely, he resisted external influences and had relocated to the Buddhist hall situated in the Duke Mansion’s backyard.
During this period, they received no visitors, not even their own children.
In reality, the Old Marquis was essentially placing her under a form of house arrest.
The Old Marquis was well aware of all her actions.
Yet, for the sake of preserving his reputation, he refrained from exposing her transgressions, nor did he consider divorce.
After all, both he and their son were already married with children. Their grandchildren were now as old as Su Bin and the others.
If he were to abandon his wife, it would not only be a loss of face but would also jeopardize the prospects of his sons and grandsons in the capital.
However, Mr. Chen chose to remain silent.
It was not within his purview to remind the Old Marquis that preserving his reputation ultimately served little purpose.
In any case, the twenty-year deadline had come and gone. His future loyalty belonged not to the Old Marquis, but to Qin Zhenzhen.
Whether Su Bin chose to return to the Marquis Mansion and acknowledge his family was now of no concern to him.
His primary focus was on how to assist Qin Zhenzhen in expanding her wealth.
On this particular day, the academy was taking a break, affording Su Bin the opportunity to accompany Qin Zhenzhen to the health center.
Unfortunately, as fate would have it, he crossed paths with Wang Yizhi and his corpulent wife.
While Su Bin had occasionally encountered Wang Yizhi at the prefectural school, he had little inclination to engage with him. He simply preferred to distance himself.
He had no desire to concern himself with Wang Yizhi’s circumstances.
Yet, as he observed Wang Yizhi now, he was taken aback.
The Wang Yizhi before him appeared gaunt and emaciated. Though his attire no longer betrayed the appearance of a destitute scholar, he bore the marks of someone who seemed to have endured great hardship.
In stark contrast, his overweight wife radiated a robust vitality, seemingly brimming with boundless energy.
Su Bin couldn’t help but recall the academy’s whispers about how Wang Yizhi’s ample wife possessed a particular ferocity in the nighttime hours. They alleged that Wang Yizhi could no longer fulfill her desires and that she maintained a secret lover on the side.
Yet, outwardly, she showed no intention of abandoning Wang Yizhi, ostensibly because she believed that Wang Yizhi was on the path to becoming a High Scholar.
In her eyes, once Wang Yizhi achieved this status, her father could secure him an official position. She was, after all, the daughter of an official.
Wang Yizhi seethed with resentment but dared not voice his grievances, for he knew that leaving her might render him unable to afford his continued education..