Free Web NovelChapter 401: Chapter 156: Partners in Crime (Part 3)
Hearing this, the old folk sitting under the tree couldn’t help but sigh. "It’s not easy for you people."
The peddler feigned nonchalance. "Is supporting a family ever easy?"
But in the depths of his heart, he venomously hated Chen Wanyue.
If not for her coercion, why would he be out in this weather?
If a sudden thunderstorm rolled in and he was struck dead in the wilderness, who would be there to answer for it?
But Chen Wanyue had told him that if he didn’t do as she commanded, she would report him to the authorities, claiming he had taken advantage of her after rescuing her.
The peddler had, in fact, molested Chen Wanyue. He had thought her completely unconscious at the time, and so after saving her, he had first satisfied his own desires. He hadn’t gone all the way, however, because a passerby had been approaching. Worried he’d be discovered, he had hastily straightened her clothes.
He didn’t know that Chen Wanyue was playing on his character from a past life, deliberately bluffing. He simply assumed that Chen Wanyue had been conscious when he’d done those things.
On top of that, his purse was empty. He had no money for travel, and the few coins he earned daily weren’t even enough to cover his own food and drink. Chen Wanyue, however, could provide him with a place to stay. The peddler had no choice but to do her bidding.
The peddler knew Chen Wanyue had ill intentions in sending him to seduce the new Scholar’s sister, but the prospect of getting Xiang’er was simply too enticing.
She had a brother with a boundless future and a sister-in-law who raked in silver faster than one could sweep leaves. Even better, that sister-in-law’s father was the deputy magistrate of Qingshui County.
He was intensely tempted.
As long as he could get Xiang’er under his thumb, he would be able to call the shots in Qingshui County.
It was the kind of life he yearned for even in his dreams.
Besides, he wasn’t bad-looking and possessed a silver tongue. There was no reason he wouldn’t succeed if he put his mind to coaxing a young girl.
With these thoughts, the peddler turned his desire into action.
And after seeing what Xiang’er looked like, the peddler was even more satisfied with the task Chen Wanyue had thrown his way.
This wasn’t a trap; it was salvation.
That woman was practically his patron saint.
The peddler hawked his wares as he headed toward Zhao Jing’s home, but his mind was on something else entirely. He’d heard from Chen Wanyue that Chen Wanqing was not only stunningly beautiful but also incredibly capable. If he could just get that woman, too...
Passing the ancestral hall, the peddler treated it like any other all-powerful temple. He wanted to go in and pray, to beseech the gods in heaven and the emperor on earth to grant him a glorious future.
Just then, the dark clouds lowered, and fat drops of rain suddenly began to patter down.
The peddler cursed, furious at the rain’s poor timing.
If only it had held off for a few more moments! Had it started to rain after he reached Zhao Jing’s front door, he could have used "sheltering from the rain" as an excuse to openly stay at their home. If the heavens were on his side, he might even have been able to lodge with them for a night.
Just one night. That was all he needed to spread rumors about himself and Xiang’er throughout the county, forcing the Zhao Family to marry her to him.
What a shame, what a damned shame!
His seething frustration made him careless, and he failed to see the person walking toward him.
He rushed forward, taking large strides, and slammed right into them. The carrying pole on his shoulder wobbled and crashed to the ground. The object held in the other person’s hands also fell with a clatter, instantly shattering into a thousand pieces.
"I’m so sorry, so sorry! I didn’t mean to! How much was it? I’ll pay for it!"
Before the peddler could even raise his head, he was surrounded by several people who began to beat him senseless.
"Pay for it? Can you even afford to?"
"Fuck! Where did this animal come from? Do you even know what you broke? This is the golden effigy we were making for His Majesty! You’ve shattered it! You can wait for your head to roll for this!"
The peddler took a solid beating. Only when his face was bruised and swollen did the men finally stop.
Taking advantage of the lull as the men, filled with remorse and frustration, began to discuss how to handle the aftermath, the peddler loosened the hands protecting his head and looked up.
Not far away, in front of the ancestral hall, he saw a young man in blue robes with a simple wooden hairpin in his hair. He was crouching on the ground, picking up the shattered fragments.
A fragment lay near him. The peddler strained his swollen eyes to see, but he still couldn’t make out what, if anything, was written on the broken porcelain.
Instead, his movements drew the young man’s attention. The man raised his head slightly and looked in his direction.
It was the face of a strikingly handsome and noble young man, but his eyes were as dark and profound as a bottomless abyss, threatening to pull one in.
For some reason, the man’s gaze made the peddler’s scalp tingle and the hair on his body stand on end.
At that moment, a horrifying sensation, as if he were about to be flayed alive and have his bones scraped clean, rose from within him, making him shudder violently.
