I just want to be a princess, no, you want to be a queen

Chapter 173 It’s Your Fault

Chu Mingzheng pulled the man back and said, "You beat that man, but it's his wife who is in trouble."

Lu Mingyang said angrily, "Then just ignore it?"

Chu Mingzheng took out a handful of silver coins and threw them into the air. The silver coins fell into the courtyard and made a tinkling sound. The man excitedly went to pick up the silver coins.

The man was so happy to get the silver that he let the woman go for a while.

The two of them walked out of Xihe Village and back to the city along the river. The little girl, who had been furious just a moment ago, was now as quiet as a napping kitten, only to tossing her legs.

Chu Mingzheng asked: "Do you still think you are right?"

The voice was cold, like an accusation.

"What did I do wrong?" Lu Mingyang looked up in confusion. If he was responsible for what happened to the Zhao family, could he also be blamed for what happened to Xihe Village?

"Are you right?" Chu Mingzheng repeatedly questioned, "Is the title of Marquis of Chengyang something a woman like you should have? If you had stayed in your place and not tried to seize the title, would everything that happened in Xihe Village have happened? Would the women in the village have ended up like this?"

"Was it me who attacked the village? Was it me who beat the woman? What did I do wrong?"

Lu Mingyang was furious. "You men are ambitious if you want to be a noble or a prime minister. I'm just asking for my father's things back for my elder sister, so I'm wrong?"

"Yes!" Chu Mingzheng said, "Go around the world and ask, whether men or women, how many people think you are doing the right thing? How many people really regard your elder sister as the Marquis of Chengyang? Men are granted titles and become prime ministers, while women support their husbands and raise their children. This has been the way it has been since ancient times."

"Is it right just because it's been like this since ancient times?" Lu Mingyang never expected that he thought the same as the men who bullied his elder sister. He asked disappointedly, "How is my elder sister inferior to you men? And what did those women do wrong? Why?"

"You don't have the final say in this world!"

The deafening echo lingered for a long time. Lu Mingyang was stunned by the response.

"What do you want to say?" she asked.

Chu Mingzheng asked back: "Do you want to save them?"

A shrill laugh was heard. The two looked over and saw a row of women standing on the opposite bank of the river. One after another, they jumped into the river neatly and decisively.

Chu Mingzheng jumped into the river to save people.

Fortunately, the river wasn't too turbulent, and Chu Mingzheng soon rescued all six people. Lu Mingyang saw someone he knew, the young woman who had saved him and Nian'er that day.

"Why did you jump into the river and commit suicide?" she asked.

The young woman covered her face and cried bitterly: "My husband wants to sell me to raise money to marry a new wife."

Lu Mingyang was surprised and asked quietly, "Aren't you okay?"

The young woman cried even harder. "People outside don't care about these things. My husband said he doesn't want to be criticized anymore."

The others also cried bitterly.

"Those with maternal families are fine. They'll just get beaten and scolded, and it'll pass if they endure it. Those of us without maternal families can only wait to be sold."

Chu Mingzheng wrung the water from his clothes and asked, "Doesn't the village head care?"

A woman in her thirties said, "The village head is still helping the men in the village find new wives. He said that once all the men in Xihe Village have new wives, no one will talk about Xihe Village anymore."

The youngest woman inside looked only in her teens. She stared at Chu Mingzheng for a long time, then suddenly crawled over, knelt at his feet, and kowtowed: "Benefactor, my husband wants to sell me to an old man who has leprosy. Please save me, I am willing to serve you as a slave."

"Yes, you saved us, so we are yours." With someone taking the lead, the others followed suit, kowtowed and begged.

Chu Mingzheng grabbed his clothes and tried to run away.

Lu Mingyang looked at Chu Mingzheng's cowardly face and slapped him on the thigh. The sound of the slap was clear and loud.

"I'll buy!"

Chu Mingzheng glanced sideways in shock.

"Help!" Lu Mingyang patted his chest with his backhand and said, "Take me to see the village head."

The village head was drinking in the courtyard. Lu Mingyang took off the jade bracelet on his hand and slammed it on the square table. He said, "How much did the six of them sell for? Count them. I'll send someone to pick them up tomorrow and offer double the price."

The village head knew it was a top-quality jade bracelet at first glance and agreed immediately.

Lu Mingyang began to persuade everyone to go back and pack their things. Chu Mingzheng remained silent the entire time.

After leaving the village head's house, Lu Mingyang patted his shoulder gently and said with a smile, "I know you look down on country women. I will send them back to the Chengyang Marquis' Mansion. Don't worry."

Chu Mingzheng frowned in disdain and asked, "How many people can you save if you do this?"

"Just save as many as you can!" Lu Mingyang also had a headache.

"master!"

Hearing an unfamiliar name, the two turned their heads and saw the young woman coming over with a set of clothes. "Master, this is a new dress I made for my husband. I haven't worn it yet. If you don't mind, you can make do with it!"

It was a coarse linen shirt, but at least it was dry, better than returning to the city in wet clothes! But the great man next to him probably never wore it.

Lu Mingyang decided to ask anyway, and said with a smile: "Master, are you wearing it?"

"Thank you!" Chu Mingzheng slapped Lu Mingyang on the back and turned away.

The young woman said that no one was at home and asked them to go home to change. Lu Mingyang said no and picked up his clothes and chased after her.

It's not easy to find a place away from people in this place. Lu Mingyang pointed to the woods nearby and suggested, "There aren't many passers-by here. Why don't you hide behind a tree and wait for a while?"

Chu Mingzheng refused.

Finally, Lu Mingyang followed Chu Mingzheng pitifully as she climbed the mountain. Climbing mountains was something she hated the most since she was a child, and she was so tired that she saw stars.

"Your Highness, please change your clothes. I'm almost exhausted."

Chu Mingzheng turned his head, looking at me like I was a fool: "Why didn't you tell me earlier that you were tired?"

As he said that, he carried Lu Mingyang onto the horse and continued to move forward.

Lu Mingyang: “…”

Halfway up the mountain, a waterfall appeared. Beneath the waterfall lay a two-foot-deep pool of clear water, half extending into the water curtain. Chu Mingzheng looked quite satisfied and said, "Go inside and rest for a while."

"Oh!" Lu Mingyang walked into the waterfall curtain cave, realized something was wrong, and turned around and said, "Shouldn't you go in to change... What are you doing!"

She turned back hurriedly.

"There's sand in the river. It's not clean." Chu Mingzheng took off his clothes without paying any attention to her fuss.

Lu Mingyang sat facing the curtained cave, listening to the sound of water falling on his skin, his mouth dry. After an unknown amount of time, the irregular sound of the water finally stopped, leaving only the gurgling sound of water.

"Come here and pin my hair." Someone ordered someone around naturally.

Uh..., combing your hair by yourself will kill you, you really think you are the master. It seems like you are the master, or the leader among the masters, the prince.

Lu Mingyang glanced over tentatively and saw the man leaning against the stream, his arms outstretched in a relaxed manner. She took a deep breath and smiled as she walked over.