Chapter 271: All For Naught
Xiao Yanci watched as the subordinate he sent out returned, and asked urgently: “How did it go?”
The subordinate reported: “In response to Master, many villagers caught strange insects to sell today. The ones in charge of acquisition were lords from the Ministry of Revenue. They first bought the strange insects from the people, then sold those strange insects to large restaurants. The large restaurants even held small auctions for the selling rights of the strange insects, with the highest bidder winning. Lin Family Restaurant obtained the exclusive acquisition right at a high price of five thousand taels.”
“What is exclusive acquisition right?” Xiao Yanci heard this term for the first time.
“Only Lin Family Restaurant can get the strange insects acquired by the Ministry of Revenue. Lin Family Restaurant launched this delicious food on the same day, selling one portion for two taels of silver. Now the Ministry of Revenue has posted a notice saying that this strange insect can only be acquired by the Imperial Court, and Lin Family has to buy from the Imperial Court.”
Xiao Yanci frowned: “That kind of strange insect really has people eating it, aren’t they afraid of being poisoned?”
Xiao Yanci didn’t believe it and had the servant prepare a horse-drawn carriage, planning to go to the countryside himself to see.
In his previous life, he had seen this kind of strange insect in the farmland and knew how strong their destructive power was. Precisely because he knew, he was very clear that if they weren’t eliminated, this year’s crops would definitely yield nothing, which would be a great disaster for the Imperial Court and the people.
Su Yaoguang handed over the strange insect stall to the people from the Imperial Court to arrange, so she could relax.
The subsequent developments were within her expectations. The insect plague had been brought under control, and those strange insects had been caught almost to extinction. Some people with quick brains even left two plots of land specifically to raise them. Needless to say, this portion of the people who used their brains were about to escape poverty.
The next day, Zhou Wangshu returned from the morning court and said that the Emperor had praised him in front of the civil and military officials. He told His Majesty that it was Su Yaoguang’s idea, so the Emperor would send someone to deliver rewards later.
Xiao Yanci’s pest extermination plan was angrily rebuked by the Emperor on the spot for not caring about the lives of the people. The Emperor’s impression of him worsened to the extreme again. The impression that had originally improved now returned to the starting point.
Zhou Wangshu held the information in his hand, his eyes full of surprise.
“Yaoguang…” Zhou Wangshu called out to Su Yaoguang.
Su Yaoguang walked over and hugged his neck from behind, rubbing against him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Come take a look at this.”
Su Yaoguang saw Zhou Wangshu hand her the booklet in his hand, took it over without understanding, opened the booklet, and carefully read the content on it.
When she finished reading the content, her expression was dazed.
This was investigative information regarding Xiao Yanci.
She and Xiao Yanci had been husband and wife for one lifetime, done so many things for him, and only now did she know that even his name was fake.
Not only that, he was actually a descendant of a criminal.
His family was currently suffering the suffering of being exiled and sent to the frontier as convicts.
If the news that Xiao Yanci was a descendant of a criminal was spread out, who knew if this person could still make a comeback?
Zhou Wangshu kissed Su Yaoguang’s forehead: “I’m by your side, no matter what happens, you don’t have to force yourself to hold on alone.”
Su Yaoguang hugged him tightly back: “Wangshu, fortunately there’s you, fortunately it’s you.”
If it weren’t for Zhou Wangshu, she was afraid she wouldn’t believe in the men and love in this world anymore.
Because of one Xiao Yanci, she didn’t believe in the men in this world, didn’t believe that there was true love in this world—it was really unnecessary.
She had always been fine;
In her previous life, Xiao Yanci and Jiang Yihuan had an affair behind her back. In this life, with no one to stop them, they instead each had their own big legs to hug.
“Husband, what do you want to do?”
“That old fox Prime Minister Wang is extremely cunning. My subordinate couldn’t even find any problems with him. However, a person who is invincible in officialdom like this cannot possibly be pure white. The only reason he appears so clean now is that he is disguising himself very well.”
“Is Husband wanting to use Mr. Xiao’s existence to get at Prime Minister Wang’s big scoop?”
“That’s right. Since we need to clean up the source, we must first let the tiger return to the mountain, so we can follow the tiger’s trail to find the real scourge.”
Xiao Yanci has such a big handle in their hands, so dealing with him is no difficult matter. Therefore, for now, they should hold back and not act.
Su Yaoguang did not understand matters in the Imperial Court. She only knew that a man like Xiao Yanci was unworthy of being an official. If he became an official, that would be a disaster for the people.
Zhou Wangshu recalled the scene he had once seen, his gaze lingering on Su Yaoguang’s body.
Su Yaoguang noticed that his gaze was a bit strange and looked at him doubtfully: “What’s wrong?”
Zhou Wangshu took her hand and said, “Let’s go to the night market tonight. We haven’t gone for some time.”
“Great!” Su Yaoguang hugged Zhou Wangshu’s arm.
Zhou Wangshu somewhat regretted letting Su Yaoguang see Xiao Yanci’s information. Originally, she had almost forgotten this man’s existence. Even if she saw this man on the street, she wouldn’t think of the things that happened in her previous life. Now that she had pulled out Xiao Yanci’s detailed information, it further stimulated Su Yaoguang to feel that her previous life was just a joke.
At night, Zhou Wangshu pulled Su Yaoguang to stroll through the night market.
On the street, the people were all talking about the matter of completely eliminating the strange insects.
“If it weren’t for the boss of Peach Blossom Workshop, who is the daughter of the Great General Who Protects the Nation, mentioning that those strange insects are edible, we wouldn’t have been able to plant crops in our fields for at least three years. It is said that Prime Minister Wang’s son-in-law wanted to use drugs to kill those pests. But drugs have a fatal flaw: after using them to kill the pests, the crops in the fields can’t be eaten either. Most importantly, once those drugs enter the soil, the toxins will remain in the soil.”
“The Great General Who Protects the Nation’s daughter had suffered in the countryside before and knew how hard life is for us common people. That son-in-law who lives with Prime Minister Wang’s family had also lived in the countryside, but he always relied on women to get by, so of course he doesn’t understand the difficulties of us common people.”
Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu listened to the people’s discussions.
Zhou Wangshu bought a lantern and gave it to Su Yaoguang to carry.
Su Yaoguang held his arm and strolled down the street. Suddenly, the figures of Xiao Yanci and Wang Ruyan appeared ahead.
“Husband, I’m a bit thirsty. Can you buy me some iced drinks?” Wang Ruyan grabbed Xiao Yanci’s arm and asked.
Xiao Yanci said softly, “Sure, Madam, go ahead and wait for me up front!”
Zhou Wangshu didn’t expect to encounter something as unlucky as Xiao Yanci here.
As soon as Xiao Yanci left, Wang Ruyan headed toward the inn not far away.
Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu looked at each other, both with gossiping expressions.
At this time, Xiao Yanci, who had just left, also came back, without iced drinks in hand, and he was heading toward the inn opposite.
“I smell the scent of a big drama.”
“Shall we go take a look?”
“Yes.”
Zhou Wangshu pulled Su Yaoguang into the inn and asked the shop assistant for a room.
“Customers, are you staying overnight or just resting temporarily? We offer temporary rest here, two hundred wen per hour.”
“We’re resting temporarily,” Su Yaoguang said. “The customers who just came in are our friends; we’re together. Just arrange us in the same place.”
“Alright.”
Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu took the room number tag upstairs, found the dormitory room by number, and pushed the door open to enter.
Voices came from next door, and listening carefully, it was Xiao Yanci and Jiang Yihuan talking.
“Husband, taking this opportunity, let’s invite Marquis Jing’an over to witness Jiang Yihuan’s true face.”
“I’ll send someone to invite him right away.” Zhou Wangshu went to the window and whistled outside.
Soon, a subordinate leaped up through the window and appeared before Zhou Wangshu.
“Go invite Marquis Jing’an. Say an old acquaintance invites him to the inn for a chat,” Zhou Wangshu said. “If he still doesn’t believe it, say this old acquaintance came from his old residence.”
After the subordinate left, Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu continued listening to the commotion next door.
Xiao Yanci and Jiang Yihuan really were a match made in heaven, both equally despicable.
Did they particularly like the thrill of stolen passion? Otherwise, why was Xiao Yanci the same sleazy way in his previous life?
If he liked Jiang Yihuan, he could have just told her openly. Even if she was unwilling, she would have made way for them; there was no need to use such despicable means to kill her.
However, in his previous life, Xiao Yanci had pursued a reputation for being deeply affectionate and righteous. If they divorced, his deeds couldn’t be hidden, and his reputation would be affected.
Xiao Yanci and Jiang Yihuan grew more passionate.
Listening to those lewd sounds, Zhou Wangshu said to Su Yaoguang, “Let’s go!”
“Listen to the other side,” Su Yaoguang said. “It’s true that birds of a feather flock together. Wang Ruyan is also having an affair.”
The husband and wife calculated that the time was about right and vacated this spot for Marquis Jing’an to listen to the drama.
They left the inn.
In a moment, the subordinate would bring Marquis Jing’an directly to this room. When Marquis Jing’an arrived and heard Jiang Yihuan’s voice, everything would be clear; no need for them to say more.
At this time, Xiao Yanci and Jiang Yihuan were getting intimate at the window.
Xiao Yanci saw Marquis Jing’an’s figure and pushed Jiang Yihuan away.
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Yihuan looked at Xiao Yanci in a daze.
Xiao Yanci said while putting on his clothes, “I just saw Marquis Jing’an going upstairs.”
“What is he doing here?” Jiang Yihuan’s expression changed drastically. “He wouldn’t be here to catch us in the act, would he?”
“If I just walk out like this, I’m sure to run into him. If he sees me here and sees you here, I’m afraid he’ll immediately guess the reason. There have already been many rumors between us, and no matter what, we can’t let him catch us red-handed.”
Xiao Yanci looked outside from the window and climbed down from the window.
“What are you doing?” Jiang Yihuan watched his actions in shock.
“This is the second floor, not very high. It shouldn’t be hard to jump down from here.” Xiao Yanci said as he climbed down from the window.
Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu hadn’t gone far. Seeing this scene, both of them had mischievous looks in their eyes.
Zhou Wangshu picked up a stone on the ground and flicked it toward Xiao Yanci.
Bang! Xiao Yanci’s forehead was struck by the stone.
Xiao Yanci winced in pain, his hand slipped, and he fell from the second floor just like that.
“Ah…” He let out a miserable cry.
People who hadn’t been paying attention to him looked over. Upon seeing him fall from upstairs with his clothes in disarray, their expressions were all strange.
Wang Ruyan was in the room getting intimate with her lover when she heard a familiar cry from outside. She looked down from the window and happened to see Xiao Yanci falling to the ground.
Xiao Yanci struggled to lift his head and met Wang Ruyan’s gaze exactly.
At that moment, their expressions were meaningful.
Marquis Jing’an pushed the door and entered.
When he heard the sound, he looked out from the window and saw Xiao Yanci who had fallen to the ground.
It was as if he thought of something. He immediately came out and pushed open the door to the room next door, but there was no one in the room on the left.
He then pushed open the door to the room on the right. Upon seeing Wang Ruyan, a surprised look flashed in his eyes.
Aren’t these two husband and wife? They have such a spacious mansion but don’t stay there, instead coming to the inn to get intimate. Could they have some kind of illness?
Marquis Jing’an didn’t see Jiang Yihuan, nor did he see Wang Ruyan’s lover.
Xiao Yanci had drawn everyone’s attention to himself, which actually alerted Wang Ruyan’s lover and Jiang Yihuan in advance, and they hid.
When Xiao Yanci saw Wang Ruyan, a fierce look flashed in his eyes.
He had clearly told Wang Ruyan to wait for him at the stall, but this person had come to the inn. Could it be that she got the news and came to the inn specifically to catch him in adultery?
Wang Ruyan quickly went downstairs and helped Xiao Yanci up.
“Husband, are you alright?”
Xiao Yanci said indifferently, “Why are you here?”
“Someone said they saw you enter the inn, so I came to the inn specifically to find you. Husband, where were you just now?”
“Someone also said you entered the inn, so I came to take a look. Now it seems someone is trying to stir up trouble in our relationship.”
Xiao Yanci and Wang Ruyan each harbored their own secrets.
In order to cover up their own adultery, neither dared to probe too deeply into the other’s purpose for being here. In any case, they didn’t want to continue the topic now, lest they expose their own matters.
At first, Wang Ruyan had quite admired Xiao Yanci, after all, he was good-looking and had some talent. But after marrying Xiao Yanci, she saw him constantly getting into trouble and always being scolded by her father until he couldn’t hold his head up, so her initial admiration vanished completely.
She thought of her cousin who had seduced her and broken her precepts back then. This cousin of hers was the best at coaxing women into happiness, and he was quite skilled in bed.
She had originally come to the inn to catch up with her cousin, but couldn’t resist the temptation and was lured to bed by him again. Fortunately, Xiao Yanci hadn’t caught them, otherwise if it blew up, it would lose the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s face, and her father would beat her to death.
Marquis Jing’an thought that someone had called him here, definitely not just for him to stroll around. He stood at the inn’s counter and asked what kind of person had come with that Mr. Xiao earlier and what they looked like.
“That benefactor indeed had a woman by his side, but that woman was wearing a veiled hat, so her appearance couldn’t be seen clearly.”
“How tall was she?”
Jiang Yihuan and Wang Ruyan’s heights differed greatly.
The shopkeeper gestured, roughly half a head shorter than Marquis Jing’an.
Seeing the shopkeeper’s gesture, Marquis Jing’an breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Yihuan is not this tall.
Wang Ruyan is even less this tall.
In that case, Xiao Yanci did indeed come here to meet his lover, but it is not Jiang Yihuan.
After Marquis Jing’an left, the shop assistant asked the shopkeeper beside him: “Shopkeeper, that veiled hat the woman was wearing makes one appear taller—why didn’t you explain it clearly to that master?”
“What do these trivial matters have to do with us? If that person is someone related to him, he’ll find out sooner or later.”
