I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 154 Love is a Habit

Chapter 154 Love is a Habit

Liu Rushi stood on the podium and said, "That's all for today, get out of class dismissed!"

The squad leader shouted, "Stand up!"

The students in the classroom stood up, bowed deeply, and said in unison, "Goodbye, Mr. Liu!"

Liu Rushi turned around and was about to leave the classroom when Jiang Xuyang shouted and ran into the classroom.

"Mother!" Jiang Xuyang hugged Liu Rushi's leg.

"Whose child is this?" Liu Rushi squatted down, gently stroked Jiang Xuyang's head, and asked, "Are you lost? Did you go to the wrong house? Who are your parents?"

“Mother, my father’s name is Wang Wenzhou,” Jiang Xuyang replied.

"Haha..." The students in the classroom were walking towards the door when they heard Jiang Xuyang say this, and they all burst into laughter.

Liu Rushi frowned, tilted her head, and sure enough, she saw the fat man with his potbelly sticking out, walking into the classroom with a pigeon-toed gait.

"Ruru, Ruru, isn't our son adorable?" Wang Wenzhou wouldn't let go of such a good opportunity to take advantage of Liu Rushi.

"Get out!" Liu Rushi scolded playfully.

Jiang Xuyang pouted and looked back at Wang Wenzhou with a questioning gaze.

Wang Wenzhou gestured with his eyes, "Silly child, keep going. You're acting well. How did your father teach you? Have you forgotten so quickly?"

Jiang Xuyang nodded, and then started to pretend to cry with a loud "waa".

As Jiang Xuyang wiped away his tears, he sobbed, "My biological mother and father are both dead. I'm a child no one wants."

Upon hearing this, Liu Rushi felt a pang of pain in her heart. She was also an orphan; otherwise, she wouldn't have been adopted by a famous courtesan.

Liu Rushi quickly squatted down and said softly, "Don't cry, sweetie. How did your parents die?"

"Waaah..." Jiang Xuyang cried as he said, "My mother died of illness, and a few days later, my father, Jiang Peiya, was killed by thugs for trying to save my current father."

Liu Rushi suddenly realized that she had never met Jiang Xuyang, but she had met Jiang Peiya. Jiang Peiya had once disrupted Wang Wenzhou's wedding with his son, all to save his seriously ill wife. Later, Wang Wenzhou released him and asked Liu Rushi to help him.

Liu Rushi felt that Jiang Peiya was a kind and righteous husband, so she gave him some money to rent a house in Hanshan. However, Jiang Peiya's wife ultimately could not overcome her illness.

"Poor child, sweetie! From now on, I'll be your mother." Liu Rushi hugged Jiang Xuyang tightly.

Jiang Xuyang secretly glanced back at Wang Wenzhou, who immediately gave him a thumbs-up. "Good son, well done!"

"My wife!" Wang Wenzhou said tenderly, then rushed over and embraced the "mother and child" in his arms.

Liu Rushi tried to push Wang Wenzhou away, but he was holding her too tightly and she couldn't move him.

"Get out!" Liu Rushi shouted.

"Wah..." Jiang Xuyang cried even harder.

"Sigh..." Liu Rushi sighed and said softly, "My dear child, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to your father."

"Waaah... Why am I so pitiful? Why do I only have a mother and no father?" Jiang Xuyang continued reciting his lines.

"Hmph!" Liu Rushi snorted coldly, pulled down Jiang Xuyang's pants, and slapped his little bottom.

"Ah!" Jiang Xuyang shouted.

Liu Rushi scolded in annoyance, "You're so young and you're already learning bad habits. You're just like your father, never telling the truth! I told you to pretend to cry!"

"Slap slap slap..." Liu Rushi slapped Jiang Xuyang's little bottom a few times.

As Liu Rushi hit him, she said, "You fatso, get out of here! If you hug me again, I'll fight you to the death!"

"Hehe..." Wang Wenzhou chuckled and quickly released Liu Rushi.

"Dad! Help!" Jiang Xuyang cried out for help.

"Honey, stop hitting him! He's still young and doesn't understand. Violence won't solve anything!" Wang Wenzhou couldn't just stand by and watch him die. His teammates weren't the problem; it was just that the enemy was too cunning.

"Slap! Slap!" Liu Rushi asked while hitting him, "Will you dare to lie again in the future?"

"Waaah..." Jiang Xuyang really cried this time. He was just a child and couldn't take being hit like that by the pretty girl. He cried and said, "Mother, I was wrong. I will never lie again. Please stop hitting me!"

"Hmph!" Liu Rushi snorted coldly, pulled up Jiang Xuyang's pants, and said softly, "I hit you because you lied. Don't follow your father's example in the future, understand?"

"Mmm!" Jiang Xuyang wiped away his tears and nodded repeatedly.

Damn it! Wang Wenzhou smiled bitterly. How come my status in the family is so low? In my Great Ming Dynasty, the husband should be the head of the household!

Although he thought that way, Wang Wenzhou wasn't stupid. He wouldn't complain about Liu Rushi's low status before he had even slept with her.

Wang Wenzhou muttered to himself: "Ruru, just you wait! The day I sleep with you, I'll be spanking you while I'm having sex with you. All the grievances I suffered while pursuing you, I'll find a way to humiliate you when I'm having sex with you someday."

"Alright, stop crying." Liu Rushi gently wiped away the tears on Jiang Xuyang's face.

Jiang Xuyang sobbed softly a few times.

"Ruru, Ruru, you are such a good mother, I love you so much!" Wang Wenzhou said tenderly.

Liu Rushi turned around and glared at Wang Wenzhou, saying coldly, "I don't love you!"

"Ruru, I don't expect you to love me, I just need you to know that I love you," Wang Wenzhou continued with his sweet words.

"Go ahead and try to fool the ghosts!" Liu Rushi said irritably.

Wang Wenzhou always tried to please Liu Rushi, but Liu Rushi never gave him a kind look. However, Wang Wenzhou persisted in this behavior, partly due to his shamelessness.

Most importantly, Wang Wenzhou studied psychology and understood that love is sometimes just a habit. When a man constantly whispers sweet nothings to a girl, no matter how much she dislikes him, sooner or later she will fall in love with him.

……

Ma Mansion.

Ma Deyun, Yang Shan, and Sun Feng's fathers, all looking worried, drank tea together and chatted as they drank.

Sun Ming took a sip of tea, looked at Ma Biao, and said, "Brother Ma, why don't you ask Lord Yu for help?"

Yang Nan nodded and said, "Yes, Lord Yu is the Tongpan of Hezhou. Wang Wenzhou abused his power and framed him. With just one word from Lord Yu, Wang Wenzhou would have to obediently release the man."

"Alas..." Ma Biao sighed deeply and said in a mournful voice, "My two brothers are unaware of the inside story!"

Through Ma Biao's narration, Sun Ming and Yang Nan learned a great deal about court affairs. They were amazed at how powerful the newly established Earl's Mansion was!

The nobles of the Ming Dynasty were generally military generals. Civil and military officials looked down on each other, but civil officials had a voice, and the court often used civil officials to control the military.

However, the Xinjian Earl's Mansion was an exception. The first Xinjian Earl, Wang Yangming, was a man of both literary and military talent. Wang Yangming was a great Confucian scholar, and his "School of Mind" rivaled Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism.

In the Ming Dynasty, the Donglin Party held absolute power and had no rivals.

Zou Yuanbiao, one of the three leaders of the Donglin Party, studied under Hu Zhi in his youth, while Hu Zhi studied under Ouyang De and Luo Hongxian, disciples of Wang Yangming, in his youth.

The newly established Earl's Mansion not only had a good relationship with the nobility, but also had intricate connections with the Donglin Party.

Under Wang Zhixin's influence, the Donglin Party and nobles launched a fierce attack on Yu Wuzhen in the imperial court. Yu Wuzhen was merely the prefectural magistrate of Hezhou, and he was struggling to protect himself, let alone have the energy to deal with Wang Wenzhou.