Having learned that the large dowry was prepared by Yang Wencong, Li Xiangjun scowled and asked, “Yang is the brother-in-law of the Governor Ma, and so must not be impoverished, but he is not a man who squanders money without reason. Why did he give us such lavish gifts? I must find out the real reason today so we may be able to reciprocate the generosity one day.”
Hou Fangyu noticed that the smile on Li’s face had faded and in a second she became as cold as stone. He had heard about Li’s short temper and today he saw it with his own eyes. Regardless, he agreed with his wife so he echoed, “I believe that Xiangjun is right. I and Brother Yang are only casual acquaintances and I was given such lavish gifts. I feel all these disturbing.”
Yang Wencong felt embarrassed. He hesitated for a moment and replied, “I can’t hide the truth from you anymore. I knew I would have to make a clean confession sooner or later. The truth is that it cost over two hundred taels of silver to cover all the expenses yesterday; banquet and betrothal gifts included. I do not have such wealth to support you. All the money came from Ruan Dacheng.”
Surprised, Hou Fangyu asked Yang, “Why did Ruan Dacheng give me so much money?”
“Perhaps he wants to make friends with you, Brother Hou.”
“Ruan and my father passed the highest imperial examination in the same year so I have always considered him my elder. However, I despised him for his bad conduct and broke off with the man. I find it hard to understand why he would want to make friends with me at this moment.”
“In truth, Scholar Ruan has his own reasons,” Yang replied. “He hoped that you would understand how he feels. Ruan joined the Donglin Party in the old days and became a disciple of its leader. However, he went and sought refuge with Wei Zhongxian for the sake of saving the fellow members of the Party. Unexpectedly, Ruan Dacheng was surprised to find that the Party members didn’t appreciate what he had done and instead they viewed him as their enemy after Wei Zhongxian’s downfall. Recently, the Restoration Society members have distributed leaflets tarnishing Ruan’s reputation and they even beat him up at the Imperial College. This feud will not benefit either side. Ruan does have a lot of friends, but many of them are not blameless themselves, so no one was willing to come forward and defend him. Ruan Dacheng admires you for your integrity and behavior, so he specially entrusted me with the task of arranging your marriage in the hope that he could make friends with you.”
At these words, Hou Fangyu nodded and said, “Oh, I see. It seems that Ruan Dacheng is faced with a rather unfortunate situation. Even if it is true that Ruan sought refuge with Wei Zhongxian, we should not banish him as long as he is repentant and willing to atone. What’s more, both Chen Zhenhui and Wu Yingji are my close friends and I will plead for their mercy towards the scholar Ruan when I meet them tomorrow.”
Secretly pleased, Yang Wencong told Hou, “If you could intercede, Scholar Ruan would be deeply grateful for your help”.
Having heard the dialogue, Li Xiangjun was furious: “Hou, how could you say such words? Ruan Dacheng shamelessly sought refuge with the treacherous court officials. Therefore, everyone in this world hates him. Even women and children revile the scoundrel. How can you try to save a man who is spat and cursed at by everybody else? Whose side are you standing on, Hou? It looks to me as though you promised to help Ruan simply because he has paid for this lavish dowry, clothes and jewelry. You should know that I have never treasured these things!”
With that, Li Xiangjun took off the jewelry hairpin and the brocade dresses and flung them all to the ground. Everyone present was astounded by Li’s act. Indeed, even Yang Wencong was deeply impressed by Xiangjun’s integrity and staunch resolution.
A flush of shame spread over Hou’s face at Li’s words. He could not help but praise his wife, “Xiangjun, you are a woman of great vision and I feel humble and inferior in your presence!”
He then turned around and spoke to Yang Wencong: “Brother Yang, if a courtesan can behave so nobly, how can we neglect our reputation and integrity and fail to discriminate loyal officials from treacherous ones? My friends from the Restoration Society value me because of my personal loyalty. If I associate with villains, I will be attacked, unable to protect myself, let alone others. I am afraid I can’t come forward to help Ruan. For this I am sorry”.
Embarrassed, Yang implored Hou, “Scholar Ruan’s intentions are good. He just wanted to make friends with you. Please think twice before you make any decision”.
“Your words cannot affect my decision. I will not fall into this trap again”, Hou Fangyu answered resolutely.
Yang replied reluctantly, “Since you have made your decision, I have no more to say. Farewell”.
While they were talking, Li Zhenli had put the clothes and jewelry back into the cases. Hou Fangyu said, “These clothes and jewelry belong to Ruan Dacheng. Since Xiangjun is not willing to accept them, there is no use in keeping them here. Brother Yang, could I trouble you to bring them back to him? It was then that Hou became aware of Li Xiangjun’s astonishing natural beauty and how untouched she looked without valuable jewelry and fine clothes.
Yang had no choice but to leave the Meixiang House. When he gave the clothes and jewelry back to Ruan Dacheng, He was furious with the unappreciative Li Xiangjun and Hou Fangyu. He swore to avenge this humiliation.
