"...would soon be forgotten by everyone."
The Woodcutter sounded fairly certain.
The woman nodded. "That's right."
"In a village, all sorts of news spread every day..."
"Your..."
"It'll soon be drowned out by other news."
"It's fine."
It was just that when she'd first heard it, seeing how confidently everyone talked about it had inevitably angered her.
She'd stepped in to argue her case, but those people wouldn't believe her.
They even thought she was covering for her own family.
Though if her younger brother's situation really had been like that, she would indeed have covered for him...
But the problem was, that wasn't the case!
How could they spout such nonsense and ruin her younger brother's reputation!?
Unfortunately, she couldn't stand against everyone's chatter alone.
In the end, she'd come back full of anger.
"Mm."
The Young Scholar nodded.
Since his older brother and sister-in-law both said so, he felt a little better.
"Or..."
The Young Scholar's eyes lit up slightly.
He looked at the woman.
"Sister-in-law, next time you go to the market, take me with you."
"You want to come with me?!"
The woman was very surprised.
Going to the market and back took quite a lot of time.
The Young Scholar was racing against the clock to study. Why would he suddenly want to go to the market?
"Mm."
The Young Scholar nodded.
"I want them to see... me."
The Young Scholar spoke one word at a time.
To see him...
To see whether he was completely different from what they'd heard.
That way...
The rumors about him would fall apart on their own.
Realization dawned on the woman and the Woodcutter.
So that's what he meant.
"That's right."
The Woodcutter nodded.
"That's a good idea."
How had he not thought