Chapter 107 Following Your Heart

Chapter 107 Following Your Heart

All of the above means that marrying Xie Wanniang means that you will have access to a renowned tutor, a mentor in the officialdom, relatives and friends who can help you, and a lot of money to help you smooth things over... all of which will be readily available.

If it weren't for the fact that Xie Wanniang's background was somewhat problematic, that her family had tried so hard to please her for a long, long time, and that Xie Wanniang's former fiancé was indeed very talented in his studies, and that with some training he could easily get into a second-class university, Xie Daoheng would not have agreed to their family's repeated marriage proposals.

Even Xie Daoheng did not expect that the family, who usually behaved quite well, would reveal their true colors—that they could share the good times but not the bad—soon after the marriage agreement was made.

But as Xie Wanniang said, being able to see clearly before the wedding was a sign that God had opened his eyes and was saving her.

At her urging, Xie Daoheng decisively broke off the engagement. Of course, he also took back all the benefits he had given to the family because of the engagement.

All the private, meticulous instruction and the Xie family members' initiative to befriend him will be gone forever.

The Xie family's attitude was so clear that the students who had initially looked at that person differently because of the Xie family naturally distanced themselves from him again.

The contrast was too great, and the family was actually not used to it. But whenever they thought of Xie Wanniang, whose fate was unknown and whose whereabouts were unknown, they couldn't help but feel fortunate for their decision to break off the engagement.

After all, the Xie family wasn't the only academy in the world, but each member of their family only had one life.

They wisely switched to another academy and stopped interacting with the Xie family. However, without Xie Daoheng's special care and the Xie family's readily available rich collection of books, and with the added bickering of the two women in the family, Xie Wan's former fiancé's learning speed, as everyone expected, began to decline significantly.

This was another point that made the Xie family feel relieved, besides the mess their family was in.

However, Xie Wanniang was different from the other members of the Xie family; she was very calm about annulling the engagement.

Sensing Xie Wei's deep resentment towards that family, Xie Wan's mother was both touched and amused. "The engagement has already been dissolved, why are you still so hung up on that family?"

She gently advised Xie Wei, "They're just a few insignificant people. You can just pretend they don't exist."

Xie Wei explained, "We didn't do anything. Even the benefits they took before, Uncle didn't ask them for compensation."

It was merely cutting off their path to continue taking advantage; he considered it a rather generous approach, even one that seemed to be akin to sowing seeds of great injustice.

Xie Wanniang sighed, "If you had done something, it would be fine, but you haven't done anything and are just making yourselves angry. What are you trying to achieve?"

She paused for a moment and then said, "Don't say anything about taking advantage. All they did was copy a few books from the Xie family's collection and have my father tutor them a couple of times. My father didn't even care. You're making yourself so angry. Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

Xie Wei didn't say anything, but judging from his expression, he was clearly not convinced by Xie Wanniang's statement.

Xie Wanniang couldn't help but sigh again, "If you can't be as magnanimous as my father and not take this little loss of food to heart, then find an opportunity to put a sack over his neck and beat him up to vent your anger. Once you've beaten him up and feel better, won't this matter be over?"

Xie Wei: ......

This was an idea he had never considered.

Seeing his blank expression, Xie Wanniang couldn't help but smile. "You can't get over their kicking you when you're down, but you're bound by social norms and have to force yourself to be a kind and benevolent gentleman. If you're not upset, who is?"

Xie Wei was speechless.

Xie Wanniang waved her hand at him, "I don't care, why are you making things difficult for yourself? It's human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm, there's nothing to criticize. If we know that the other person can only share the good times but not the bad, then we should just keep our distance."

The main message is: I understand you, but I will not continue to associate with you.

She doesn't care what outsiders think; she has only one principle in life—following her heart.

Upon hearing this, Xie Daoheng couldn't help but cast a gratified and admiring glance at his daughter.

In terms of character, among his nephews and nieces, only his eldest nephew Xie Cheng is comparable to his daughter.

"Listen to your sixth sister, don't let your studies make you stupid." After saying this, Xie Daoheng changed the subject and started talking about other things, "Do you want to stay in Mingfu Village?"

Xie Wanniang nodded, "I need time."

She paused for a moment, then added, "Perhaps I will also leave Tang County."

Xie Wei and Xie Bao, who had always been dutiful but whose heart was already churning with turbulent waves, once again showed the same expression, both looking at Xie Wanniang in astonishment.

Xie Wanniang explained, "A Yuan plans to join the army at Zijing Pass, and Uncle Hao will most likely follow him. For safety's sake, I don't plan to stay in Mingfu Village alone."

Since she couldn't go back to the Xie family, leaving with Jiang Yuan was clearly the best option she could make.

Xie Daoheng paused for a moment, then pulled a bulging money bag from his sleeve. "This is my savings. You can take it."

Before he arrived, he had already guessed Xie Wanniang's thoughts fairly accurately, assuming that she hadn't lost her memory. Therefore, he had already put most of his savings into his purse before he set off.

He also considered whether to give Xie Wanniang his private property in the county town—two shops with courtyards—but compared to money, real estate whose origin and destination could be traced was obviously more likely to expose Xie Wanniang's whereabouts.

If the mother and son are not giving up and really arrange for people to keep an eye on the Xie family, then once the shops under his name change hands, the other party will inevitably follow the clues and investigate the buyer.

Fortunately, the amount of his private savings was not small: a two-hundred-tael silver note that he had recently exchanged, a pile of gold leaves weighing a total of twenty taels, and a ten-tael silver ingot.

Based on the current exchange rate of one to twelve gold to silver, he essentially gave Xie Wanniang a total of four hundred and fifty taels of silver.

After taking out this money, he only had less than twenty taels of loose silver left in his money box, and he suddenly became a poor man who could only live on his monthly allowance.

He's such a loving father who dotes on his daughter!

Unaware that Xie Daoheng was indulging in self-praise, Xie Wanniang pushed the money bag back, saying, "I have money, you don't need to give me any."

Her father was not only the head of the Xie clan, but also the headmaster of the academy. There were so many clansmen and students who needed his private assistance that Xie Wanniang couldn't even count them all.

He used almost all of the profits from his private property each year to subsidize his clansmen and students who were struggling financially.

Otherwise, given the Xie family's deep financial foundation, Xie Daoheng wouldn't have only less than five hundred taels of cash at most.