Free Web NovelChapter 404: Chapter 157: Murder for Money (Part 3)
’Before I kill him, I still need to make good use of him. But he’s just a good-for-nothing, unable to handle even a simple task.’
Chen Wanyue was furious that things weren’t going smoothly.
She didn’t spare the peddler a glance, turning and heading back into the room.
After Chen Wanyue left, the peddler finally loosened his grip on his carrying pole. Mrs. Shi snatched everything from his baskets.
"Go on, take it all. I owe you for room and board anyway. You might as well have everything as payment for my debt."
His utter dejection made Mrs. Shi eye him a few more times.
’She wanted to take advantage of the peddler, but she saw him as a sheep to be fleeced over the long term, not one to be slaughtered immediately.’
Mrs. Shi’s eyes darted. "Now, now, my boy, what kind of talk is that? You saved our daughter-in-law’s life, after all. We wouldn’t really push you to your death. There, there... I’ll just take these two silver hairpins, and you can have the rest back."
Mrs. Shi turned to head into her room, but in the instant she turned, her sharp eyes caught sight of something hidden in the peddler’s coat. It glinted with a golden light, looking like a gold hairpin.
Mrs. Shi immediately turned back to look, but the peddler had already clutched his lapels shut, feigning sleepiness with a yawn.
Mrs. Shi suspected the peddler was pretending to be poor and, more importantly, that he had gold on him. For the next two days, she watched him closely, looking for a chance to take the gold for herself.
But before she could get her hands on the gold, Mrs. Shi overheard that cheating couple scheming in their room. They were plotting to kill the old couple, steal all their property, and then elope.
This is how it happened.
That day, the peddler had specifically bought a roast goose. Mrs. Shi, craving meat, couldn’t resist eating a few extra pieces. Perhaps it was because she had suddenly eaten too much greasy food, but her stomach was upset, and she had frequent bouts of diarrhea that night.
Coming out of the outhouse yet again, Mrs. Shi’s sharp eyes spotted a figure darting across the veranda and heading towards her son’s room.
Mrs. Shi was all too familiar with that figure. Who could it be but the peddler?
Mrs. Shi wanted to explode with rage right then and there.
’So that’s how it is! That spot by the little river is usually deserted, so how could it be a coincidence that several people were there that day? And as soon as Chen Wanyue fell into the water, the peddler just happened to save her. How could that black-hearted, rotten-livered woman be so lucky?’
’They must be an adulterous couple who had arranged to meet by the river. Chen Wanyue arrived first, not expecting someone to make a vicious move against her. The peddler timed his arrival perfectly to "rescue" her, setting himself up as her savior.’
’Their goal must have been to have their affair openly while also getting their hands on all the family’s property.’
Realizing this, Mrs. Shi didn’t dare make a sound. She hurried back to her room to wake up Mr. Shi. The two of them, armed with a rolling pin and a kitchen knife, crept outside their son’s room to eavesdrop.
’If we can confirm their sordid affair, we’ll kill them and dump their bodies in the cesspit at Wo Laicai’s place next door.’
’They dug up some old bones from that pit, and it still hasn’t been filled in. We can just fill it up ourselves and say the stench was ruining our appetites.’
’As for the daughter-in-law and the peddler disappearing together? They must have eloped, obviously.’
’Good heavens, we let a wolf into our house, and our poor son is the one who suffers for it!’
Inside the room, the peddler saw the shadows on the window and whispered to Chen Wanyue, "Zhao Jing is too sharp. I only went to his gate twice, and he sent people to tail me. If I hadn’t run fast, they might have caught me."
Then, raising his voice, he said, "That old couple runs a dirty business; who knows how much silver they’ve hidden away. I’ve already bought the poison. Tomorrow night, we’ll drug them, grab their silver, and run. The life we’ll have then, even immortals couldn’t compare."
Outside, Mrs. Shi and Mr. Shi gnashed their teeth, their eyes wide with fury.
’The peddler is daydreaming,’ Chen Wanyue thought.
’Stealing all the old couple’s silver? I’m on board with that. But when did we become a ’we’? A life fit for immortals? More like a life in hell for him.’
’Once I get my hands on the old couple’s silver,’ Chen Wanyue plotted, ’I’ll catch the peddler off guard and finish him from behind. Then I’ll just toss his body into the cesspit next door and immediately go report the crime.’
’I’ll just say the peddler stole my in-laws’ silver. When they discovered it, he flew into a rage, grabbed a knife, and killed them both. Then he absconded with the vast sum of money.’
As this idea took shape, Chen Wanyue felt a wave of immense satisfaction.
’That way, they’re all taken care of, I come out of it completely clean, and I can get my hands on all the family’s assets.’
Thinking this, Chen Wanyue decided not to refute the idea that they were a pair of illicit lovers.
She gave the peddler a suggestion. "Are you planning to use arsenic? Using too much at once will easily arouse suspicion..."
