TSWPF -Chapter 144 Anger

As soon as she saw that her father was truly angry, Tong Wanrong’s eyes reddened. She lowered her head in grievance and choked out, “Father, I… I didn’t mean to deceive you. I… I was afraid that if I told you the truth, you would scold me.”

Ever since she was young, her father had always doted on her and had never once scolded her. Seeing him shout at her like this made her feel genuinely wronged.

Seeing his precious daughter cry, Master Tong’s heart softened again. He let out a heavy sigh and asked helplessly, “Rong’er, why did you go to see Ziyan’s fiancée yesterday?”

He truly did not wish to see his beloved daughter disregard her reputation and do foolish things for the sake of a man.

So Father really does know.

Who told him? Xia He?

No—Xia He was her maid. She would never dare tell Father about this. If she had, she would certainly have been beaten.

The carriage driver? That seemed unlikely as well. If he spread the matter, it would bring him no benefit either.

Then aside from them, there was only Liu Zhimou.

It was possible that Li Qingling had complained to Liu Zhimou, and that Liu Zhimou, in order to vent anger on Li Qingling’s behalf, had told Father.

At the thought of this, Tong Wanrong felt both sour and bitter inside. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and asked, “Father… who told you about this?”

If she did not hear the answer with her own ears, she did not want to accept the conclusion she had already guessed.

“And who do you think told me?” Master Tong did not answer directly and instead questioned her in return.

His daughter was not foolish—there was no way she could not guess this much.

She simply did not want to face reality.

Tong Wanrong bit her lower lip hard. After a long while, she asked in a low voice, “Was it… Liu Zhimou?”

Master Tong looked at his daughter, who had her head lowered, and hummed in confirmation.
“He came to see me today and said that yesterday his fiancée had offended you, and asked me to convey his fiancée’s apology…” He sighed. “Liu Zhimou simply didn’t want to speak too bluntly. He was tactfully telling me to rein you in. Do you understand?”

How could he not hear the implication in Liu Zhimou’s words?

This matter was indeed Rong’er’s fault, and he had nothing to say in her defense.

Tong Wanrong’s tears streamed down endlessly. She felt wronged to the extreme and cried, “He… his crude, vulgar fiancée—how is she worthy of him? I… I just…”

Such bold words were something she could not bring herself to say outright in front of her father.

Why was Liu Zhimou so stubborn? What was so good about that fiancée of his? She truly could not understand it.

Seeing that she was still so obstinate and unrepentant, the anger that Master Tong had only just suppressed flared up again. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Whether she is worthy of him or not is someone else’s business. What right do you have to interfere? You—”

He stood up and paced back and forth twice before finally saying the words that had reached his lips. “If you still have even a shred of shame, you should never have gone to seek out someone else’s fiancée.”

His words were indeed harsh, but if he did not speak harshly, how could his daughter possibly wake up?

Tong Wanrong was scolded into crying even harder. She covered her mouth and sobbed uncontrollably.

She did not even know how she had ended up poisoned by Liu Zhimou—after seeing him only a few times, she had taken him to heart.

She… she did not want this either!

“Master, how… how can you speak to Rong’er like that? She’s your daughter!” As soon as Madam Tong reached the doorway, she heard Master Tong’s words and immediately became furious.

She strode inside and scolded Master Tong.

“My dear daughter, don’t cry, don’t cry. Mother is here—let’s see who dares bully you!”
Madam Tong hugged Tong Wanrong, gently patting her back and comforting her softly.

Seeing her precious daughter cry so bitterly made her heart feel as if it were breaking.

Master Tong raised a trembling finger and pointed at Madam Tong. His mouth opened, and after a long while, he finally said, “A loving mother spoils her child… a loving mother spoils her child!”

Did he not feel heartache seeing his beloved daughter cry like this?
But if he did not guide her back onto the right path, and she did something irreparable in the future, it would be too late for regrets.

Madam Tong ignored him. Holding Tong Wanrong, she coaxed her softly. “My child, we don’t want such a narrow-minded man anyway. Mother will find you a husband far better than him, all right?”

She raised her head to glare angrily at Master Tong. “Master, that Liu Zhimou has bullied our daughter like this, and you still care whether he passes the xiucai exam or not?”

She simply could not swallow this anger.

If someone dared to make her daughter suffer, she would make that person suffer too.

They must be made to regret bullying her daughter.

Hearing this, Master Tong forcefully flicked his sleeve and glared at Madam Tong.
“Women’s short-sightedness…”

Liu Zhimou’s learning was excellent. With this upcoming examination, he was almost certain to pass the xiucai. If his student passed, it would benefit him as well.

The exam was approaching—how could he possibly offend Liu Zhimou at such a time? He was not foolish.

Madam Tong did not understand these considerations at all. She only saw what was before her: her daughter had been bullied, and she wanted to bully them back.

“In your heart, is that student of yours more important than our daughter?” she demanded loudly.

Her final syllable was so loud that even Master Tong flinched.

He took a deep breath and looked at Madam Tong wordlessly, feeling somewhat relieved that neither his son nor daughter resembled her. If they did, he would truly be plagued with worry.

“If you want Rong’er’s reputation ruined, you can shout even louder,” he said, rubbing his temples as he sat back down.

He lifted his teacup, took a few sips, and then asked, “Rong’er, tell me—were you wrong in this matter?”

Tong Wanrong lifted her head from Madam Tong’s embrace, glanced at Master Tong, and nodded.

After calming down and thinking it over carefully, she realized she had indeed been wrong. She should not have stepped forward personally—doing so could easily damage her own reputation.

Yesterday, she had been blinded by the resentment in her heart and impulsively went to seek out Li Qingling. That alone was bad enough, yet she had foolishly gone to Liu Zhimou to stir up trouble as well.

He probably hated her now, didn’t he?

“Then tell me—where exactly were you wrong? And will you make the same mistake again in the future?”

Tong Wanrong did not dare lift her head to look at Master Tong, afraid of seeing disappointment in his eyes. With her gaze lowered, she slowly explained all her thoughts and promised that she would never repeat such a mistake again.

Only then did Master Tong nod in satisfaction. “Rong’er, you must remember—no matter how much you like a man, you must never lower yourself to do such things. Do you understand?”
Doing so would only make that man look down on her.

“I understand, Father,” she replied obediently. “Father, I’m sorry for making you worry.”

She had mishandled the matter and caused her father to lose face as well. She truly felt sorry toward him.

Master Tong patted her shoulder and smiled. “As long as you’ve thought it through, that’s enough. Father is fine.”

He glanced at Madam Tong and stood up. “Father still has matters to attend to. I’ll be going now.”

“Safe travels, Father.”

“Madam, come see me out,” Master Tong added as he reached the doorway, tossing out one more sentence.

Madam Tong slowly stood up, reminded Tong Wanrong of a few things, and then followed Master Tong out.

Once they had left Tong Wanrong’s courtyard, Master Tong spoke calmly, “Madam, when you have time, take Rong’er to attend more gatherings. See if there are any suitable young gentlemen.”

After speaking, he felt a trace of worry—afraid that Madam Tong’s taste was poor and that she would not be able to discern truly outstanding young men.

His wife was beautiful, but her mind was not particularly sharp. He did not hold much hope in her judgment.

Upon hearing this, Madam Tong immediately nodded, saying she would choose a fine husband for Rong’er—one even better than Liu Zhimou.

Then she frowned again and looked at Master Tong. “Master, Liu Zhimou and that countryside fiancée of his bullied our daughter like this. Are we really just going to let it go?”

Her cherished jewel, whom she cradled in her hands and feared would melt in her mouth—how could she be bullied without seeking justice?

The more she thought about it, the more unwilling she felt.

Master Tong immediately saw through her thoughts. His face turned cold as he barked, “Don’t you dare entertain any crooked ideas! If you don’t want our daughter’s reputation ruined, then stop right here.”

It seemed he would have to ask Mother to keep an eye on Madam Tong. Otherwise, he truly feared she might do something that would harm the family.

Madam Tong was genuinely startled by his shout and felt quite wronged. Was she not simply trying to seek justice for their daughter? Was there really a need to scold her like this?

“Do you remember what I said?” he asked sternly.

“I remember, I remember…” Madam Tong nodded unwillingly, twisting her handkerchief tightly in her hands.

Seeing that she clearly had not taken it to heart, Master Tong felt his head ache.

Having such a wife, and yet the household had avoided major chaos all these years—he truly felt it was sheer luck.

He sighed helplessly and added tiredly, “If you happen to fancy any young gentleman, come home and tell me. Do not make any promises on your own, understand?”

He was truly afraid that after being sweet-talked a few times, she would become carried away and end up selling off their daughter.

At the mention of this, Madam Tong’s spirits lifted again. She smiled and nodded, telling him not to worry—she would handle the matter well.

Master Tong hummed in acknowledgment. “That’s enough. Madam, you may return. I’m heading back to the academy.”

“Very well. Safe travels, Master.”

At the fork in the road, the two went their separate ways.

However, Master Tong did not go directly to the academy. Instead, he turned and went to the courtyard where Old Madam Tong lived, asking her to keep a close watch on Madam Tong and prevent her from doing anything that might damage the Tong family’s reputation.

Old Madam Tong knew perfectly well what kind of person her daughter-in-law was. She agreed to Master Tong’s request, and only then did he feel at ease enough to leave the household.