Who has been spreading such idle gossip? The culprit is now being thoroughly scolded with their ear in someone's firm grip.
"Ay, mum, you're about to twist my ear off; why are you so heartless? I'm your own son, not some foundling from a filthy ditch," Cheng Zhi tilted his head and pleaded with his mother, "Besides, it's not like I've done anything. Wasn't I just sticking up for my sister? Instead of praising me, you scold me; where's the justice in that?"
"Pah! You little rascal, you could talk a flower into blooming. What's there to praise? You spread gossip about your sister's in-laws, and I should praise you for that?" Mother Cheng retorted incredulously.
She too had heard the idle chatter of Huangtian Village. The two villages weren't far apart, and there were plenty of marriages between them. With all the gossip that goes on, I tell you, you tell me, there simply are no secrets between the two hamlets.
