“I discussed it with her last night. This idea was proposed by Lingyun herself, and she asked me to come and discuss it with the master.”
Han Feng said, “She also said she hopes the wedding can be held in the prisoner camp.”
“Why?” Jin Feng asked.
Whoever gets married would want to choose an auspicious day and a joyful place.
The prisoner camp was not only the place of sorrow for all the refugees, but also a site where countless people had died.
“Lingyun said that what has happened has already happened. Only by bravely facing the past can there be a future,” Han Feng replied.
“This Miss Lingyun is truly a heroine among women! Old Han, you have found a good girl!”
Hearing Han Feng say this, Jin Feng’s favourable impression of this girl he had never met increased even further.
Bravely facing an unbearable past is easy to say, but incredibly difficult to do.
Otherwise, there would not be so many girls attempting suicide.
“Lingyun is educated and has sound ideas. Some of the things she says I do not fully understand, but I think what she says makes a lot of sense.”
Han Feng scratched his head and smiled, then asked, “Does this mean the master agrees?”
“Since Miss Lingyun is making such a great sacrifice, of course I agree!”
Jin Feng said, “This wedding must be held on a grand scale. I want the entire Xichuan city to know about it!”
…
Over the next two days, the stage play continued to be performed.
There was no need for Jin Feng to arrange it. After so many commoners heard the story, they would spread it themselves.
With the storytellers further fuelling the buzz, in just two days, the whole of Xichuan knew about it.
Ordinary people are mostly kind-hearted. Under the biased guidance of the story, they generally developed sympathy for the refugees.
Recently, when refugees entered the city to handle affairs, fewer and fewer people mocked them for the brands on their faces.
On the contrary, more and more commoners showed kindness towards them.
This greatly reduced the refugees’ feelings of inferiority.
Of course, not everyone liked this story.
The main opposition came from various scholars.
In Da Kang’s traditional culture, chastity was very important. This story spreading from Da Mang Slope was essentially going against customs that had been passed down for thousands of years.
“Absurd! The person who made up this story is utterly absurd!”
“Not absurd, shameless! This is trampling on the rules of our ancestors!”
“Starving to death is a minor matter, losing virtue is a major one. They have written about a woman’s loss of virtue in this way. What decency is there!”
“If we follow their logic, who will care about chastity in the future? Will not all women become wanton?”
“Previously, I thought Jin Feng was a remarkable scholar. Now it seems he is nothing special!”
“I heard this story was not written by Jin Feng, but by a down-and-out scholar named Chen Wenyuan.”
“Is it the Chen Wenyuan who copies poems for people at the bridgehead?”
“Yes, exactly him!”
“That explains it. I heard that a few days ago he redeemed a girl named Xiao Lian from Han Xiang Tower.”
“I have heard about that too. It seems Chen Wenyuan has been entangled with this brothel girl all along!”
“No wonder he could write such a story. So he is someone who picks up broken shoes!”
“No, the story was commissioned by Jin Feng. He approached me at the time, but after hearing Jin Feng’s requirements, I felt it was improper and refused!”
“He approached me too. I wrote it, but it was later rejected. At the time, I could not understand how I, a proper Xiucai, could lose in writing to Chen Wenyuan. Now I understand. It turns out Jin Feng wanted this kind of story!”
“Whoever wrote this story, in any case, it absolutely cannot continue to spread. Otherwise, what will become of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and honour in the world? Come, let us go to Da Mang Slope to find Jin Feng and demand an explanation!”
“Yes, Jin Feng must revise this story.”
…
At Da Mang Slope, Jin Feng was discussing the memorial monument and Han Feng’s wedding with the Ninth Princess and Qing Xinyao when Da Liu lifted the curtain and came in.
“Master, a group of troublesome scholars has arrived outside. They are making a racket and insisting on seeing you!”
“Why do they want to see me?” Jin Feng asked.
“I heard them shouting about chastity and decency. It seems they want the master to revise the story,” Da Liu said.
The Ninth Princess and Qing Xinyao exchanged a glance, both frowning slightly.
When they first heard this story, they knew this situation would arise.
But they had not expected it to happen so quickly.
This also showed that the scholars’ reaction was more intense than they had anticipated.
“Master, what should we do now? Shall we drive them away?” Da Liu asked.
“No need. Breaking shackles and replacing the old with the new is always difficult because it harms the interests of some people, so it will face resistance.”
Jin Feng said helplessly, “What must be faced will be faced eventually. Avoidance never solves problems. If we drive them away today, more will come tomorrow. I will go and see.”
He was a science graduate, not skilled at debating, so he rarely argued with others. He would only bury himself in the laboratory and work hard.
He believed facts would prove who was right and who was wrong. Arguing was meaningless and only wasted time.
But this time it was different. If he did not go out and refute these people, the matter would escalate further.
It could end up even more serious than before.
“Your Highness, Lord Qing, please rest here for a while. I will go and see what is going on.”
Jin Feng waved to the Ninth Princess and Qing Xinyao, then walked out of the tent.
The Ninth Princess and Qing Xinyao sighed slightly and followed him out.
Jin Feng noticed them but did not stop them. He only signalled Da Liu to increase the guards to prevent any chaos from injuring the two.
Da Liu made a gesture to someone nearby, and a team of escorts in training quickly ran over.
Many of them changed arrow quivers while running, preparing for battle at any moment.
“These are all commoners this time, not enemies. Tell everyone to remove their arrow quivers to avoid accidental shots.”
Seeing this, Jin Feng quickly reminded, “Also, tell everyone not to draw their swords easily. If danger arises, prioritise protecting Her Highness and Lord Qing to leave.”
“Yes!” Da Liu quickly called a personal guard to pass on the instructions.
At the periphery of Da Mang Slope, over a hundred scholars had gathered, pointing and gesturing incessantly at the camp.
When they saw Jin Feng appearing from behind the tents with his men, the scholars, who had been buzzing with discussion and spitting saliva, immediately fell silent.
The sight of over a hundred black-clad escorts marching in unison was truly intimidating.
Moreover, due to recent storytelling, in many people’s minds, the black-armoured team was a war machine that killed without blinking.
Many scholars instinctively stepped back, fearing they might offend these killers and be slain on the spot.
“Everyone, do not be afraid. Under broad daylight and clear skies, I do not believe Jin Feng would dare kill commoners!”
A middle-aged scholar steadied himself and shouted to encourage the others.
“Yes, Da Kang has never had precedent for punishing speech. Jin Feng is also a scholar. I do not believe he would do such a despicable thing!”
The scholars regained their composure and stopped retreating.
Hearing their shouts, Jin Feng could not help sneering coldly.
He signalled the escorts to bring over a wooden platform and place it on the open ground beside the trench.
Jin Feng climbed onto the platform and looked coldly at the scholars across the trench.
Then he raised a metal megaphone and asked, “Speak. What do you want?”
