The old man and the old woman were surprised that not only did Mrs. Huang agree to sever ties with Wang Youliang, but she also decided to move out of Qingshan Town. They had expected Mrs. Huang to put up more of a fight; they hadn't anticipated her agreeing so readily and even offering to leave Qingshan Town, which completely eliminated their worries.

"However, I can't just leave on the spot. Give me a few more days to sort things out, please?" Mrs. Huang asked tentatively.

The old man and the old woman exchanged a look. They hadn't expected Mrs. Huang to be so quick. Her decision to leave Qingshan Town was already a great relief to them, and now she was only asking for a few days to pack. Since Mrs. Huang had already conceded as much as they wished, the elderly couple certainly wouldn't make things difficult for her, so they nodded their assent.

Only when the elderly couple agreed did Mrs. Huang let out a sigh of relief. Thinking that she would soon cut ties with Wang Youliang and likely never see him again, the heavy weight pressing on her chest finally lifted. She knew her affair with Wang Youliang had greatly wronged the Wang family, especially Wang Youliang’s wife. Every time she thought of it, a deep guilt washed over her, making her feel shameless for stealing another woman's husband. Afterward, she had resolved not to continue down the wrong path and wanted to leave Wang Youliang, but whenever the words reached her lips, they wouldn't come out. After all, she couldn't ignore the affection Wang Youliang held for her. Having been widowed young, her sensibilities were naturally more complex than the average person's, and she had certainly recognized Wang Youliang's feelings. Thus, every time she considered leaving, she would recall Wang Youliang's kindness toward her and couldn't bring herself to mention it.

Now that Wang family members had shown up, any future with Wang Youliang was impossible. Knowing this clearly, Mrs. Huang naturally offered to leave; it was the last small thing she could do for the Wang family. It was not just for the Wang family, but for herself too. Going forward, she wouldn't have to worry or feel guilty about Wang Youliang, and her heart felt lighter.

After both sides reached an agreement, the old man and the old woman took their leave.

Since the elderly couple had been too preoccupied with their son’s affairs earlier, they hadn't felt like eating. Now that the matter was resolved and their spirits lifted, they found themselves with an appetite when they returned home.

Tian Shi was evidently quite anxious, eager to know how the situation had been handled. The old woman, seeing Tian Shi’s anxious expression, didn't deliberately make things difficult for her, instead informing her that the matter was settled and the widow would voluntarily leave Qingshan Town.

Tian Shi was satisfied that the widow was sensible enough, but the thought of letting her off so easily rankled her. In her view, even if the widow wasn't punished by being drowned in a pig cage, her face should at least have been scarred. However, remembering what the old woman had said about considering the Wang family's reputation and the children, she suppressed her feelings and turned to prepare food for the elderly couple.

The old woman recalled Tian Shi’s fierce look just now, contrasting it with the Mrs. Huang she had seen today, and sighed inwardly. No wonder her son’s heart was entirely set on that widow! She just wondered how her son would react when he learned the widow was leaving. The thought of such a scene gave her a feeling that they had rejoiced too soon.

Still, successfully separating the two for now was a victory. The old woman silently prayed that her son would stop dwelling on that widow in the future.

Wang Youliang, currently confined, had no idea that Mrs. Huang was preparing to leave Qingshan Town. He was still thinking that this time he would stand firm against his family until they agreed to let him marry Mrs. Huang. Truthfully, he held a sliver of uncertainty—he didn't know if Mrs. Huang would agree to marry him. But the current situation didn't allow him to dwell on it; he could only tell himself that once his family agreed, Mrs. Huang likely wouldn't object, as it was very difficult for a widow to raise a child alone.

The old man and the old woman felt much more at ease seeing Wang Youliang obediently "reflecting." By the time their son was released, Mrs. Huang would presumably be gone, never to cross paths with him again.

The younger generation in the household was somewhat surprised to learn that Wang Youliang had been locked up by the elders for reflection. Wang Youliang had recently transformed from a negative example into a positive one; how could he still be punished by the family like this? It was clear he had committed a serious offense this time. Although they wanted to know exactly what mistake Wang Youliang had made, seeing the elders remain silent about it extinguished their curiosity, and they dared not ask.

Meanwhile, Wang Qingchen noticed for several days that Wang Youliang's food stall hadn't opened, making him somewhat puzzled. He hadn't heard anything unusual happening at the old residence; why the sudden closure? Some students at the academy who often frequented Wang Qingchen’s stall for breakfast were also confused, and after the food stall remained closed for several consecutive days, they even came to Wang Qingchen for news.

Wang Qingchen, naturally, knew nothing and could only say that his family had moved to town recently and he wasn't aware of village matters. After sending away those who came inquiring, Wang Qingchen could no longer contain his own curiosity and prepared to go back to ask his parents. However, before he could question Wang Youfu and Yang Shi, he heard about something else.

It turned out that Zhao Cheng had told the tutor he wanted to go to the county seat earlier to prepare for the court examination. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be strange for someone taking the exam to go early for preparation, but what was odd was that it was too early! And this person was Zhao Cheng, who, due to his family's circumstances, was usually extremely frugal. Logically, would he go that early? After all, arriving early meant spending more money.

Wang Qingchen pondered Zhao Cheng's strangeness, then recalled Wang Youliang’s uncharacteristic closure of the stall. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind: Could the secret be out?

It wasn't surprising that Wang Qingchen thought this way; linking the two events immediately brought this possibility to mind. He wondered if the situation would escalate to the worst outcome. If things went badly, the Wang family and Mrs. Huang would both be disgraced. Not only that, but if someone instigated matters, Mrs. Huang could even be drowned in a pig cage, and Zhao Cheng would suffer repercussions too.

Thinking of this, Wang Qingchen couldn't sit still. Ignoring whether the tutor was lecturing, he immediately told the tutor he had an urgent family matter and left after packing his things.

Since Wang Qingchen generally gave the tutor a good impression, the tutor didn't suspect anything, assuming something genuinely had happened at Wang Qingchen's home, and thus let him go without much thought.

Leaving the academy, Wang Qingchen didn't head home first; instead, he went to Wang Qing-tong’s stall. He planned to gather some information from Wang Qing-tong first.

Wang Qing-tong hadn't expected Wang Qingchen to visit him at this time and looked at him questioningly. "Hey, shouldn't you be in the academy right now? Why do you have time to come here? You didn't skip class, did you? Wait, that's not something you'd do!"

Wang Qingchen rolled his eyes at that. "Stop guessing. I asked the tutor for leave. I came to ask you something today. Why has Uncle's food stall been closed these past few days? You don't know how many people from the academy have been coming to me asking questions; it's driving me crazy, so I came here to find out."

Wang Qing-tong didn't answer immediately, instead looking Wang Qingchen up and down as if meeting him for the first time. "The more I listen, the more confused I get. Are you saying you specially asked the tutor for leave just to come ask me why my father's food stall is closed?"

Wang Qingchen felt the urge to roll his eyes again. "That's not the point!"

Wang Qing-tong quickly said, "Actually, I don't know anything about this either, even if you ask me. My father made some mistake, and Grandpa and Grandma locked him up for reflection. Big Brother and Second Brother are also confused. Logically, ever since Father opened the food stall in town, whenever Grandpa and Grandma mentioned him, they were always proud. I don't know what happened this time for them to punish him so severely!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Qingchen pressed further, "After Grandpa and Grandma punished Uncle like this, didn't Auntie intercede for him?"

"Now that you mention it, that's also strange. This time, Mother didn't say anything on Father's behalf, and she didn't seem very worried either," Wang Qing-tong admitted, sounding perplexed.

Wang Qingchen was now quite certain that the matter between Wang Youliang and Mrs. Huang had been discovered, and seeing that Wang Qing-tong and the others were unaware, it must have been discovered by a member of the Wang family themselves, who were even concealing the news from their own kin.

After getting the information he needed, Wang Qingchen exchanged a few more words with Wang Qing-tong and then left his stall.

Wang Qingchen considered that since the old residence hadn't publicized the matter, even concealing it, it seemed they wouldn't blow things up. In that case, Mrs. Huang and Zhao Cheng should be fine. But would the old residence just let Mrs. Huang off? After all, even if Wang Youliang was confined for a while, he could still seek out Mrs. Huang upon his release; no one could stop that.

Thinking of this, Wang Qingchen suddenly remembered Zhao Cheng wanting to go to the county seat early. Could Zhao Cheng's urgency to go to the county seat be related to this? The old residence locking up Wang Youliang, and Zhao Cheng leaving for the county seat in a few days—linking these, Wang Qingchen suddenly stopped in his tracks. Wouldn't Mrs. Huang be leaving Qingshan Town? This would also explain why the old residence hadn't taken drastic action against Mrs. Huang. After all, as long as Mrs. Huang left Qingshan Town and ceased contact with Wang Youliang, the old man and the old woman’s goal would be achieved, and there would be no need to take further action against Mrs. Huang.