Chapter 63: The Legal Wife Catches An Adulterer
The shop assistants shouted as they rushed forward together. A cold glint flashed in Shang Wan’s eyes, her figure like a ghost. In the blink of an eye, all the shop assistants were lying on the ground wailing in agony.
The woman covering her face and crying shrank into the corner in fear, hugging her arms and trembling.
The rice shop shopkeeper was so angry his face turned ashen. A bunch of useless trash, they couldn’t even beat a mere woman!
“Shi Tou,” Shang Wan helped Lu Chengjing clean his wound and stop the bleeding, saying coldly, “How your brother-in-law got injured, return it on him double.”
“Good.” Shi Tou agreed and strode toward the shopkeeper.
“You dare! I’m the Young Master’s man!” The shopkeeper glared at Shi Tou threateningly, “If you hurt me, the Young Master won’t let you off!”
Shi Tou hesitated and stopped in his tracks. Shang Wan ordered, “Do it.”
Shi Tou no longer hesitated and pounced, grappling with the shopkeeper.
He struck with ruthless ferocity. The shopkeeper was older and usually indulged in pleasures without exercising, so how could he be a match for the young lad?
Shi Tou grabbed the shopkeeper’s hair and smashed it viciously against the sharp corner of the stone mortar. The shopkeeper immediately let out a miserable howl, blood flowing from the gash on his head, smearing half his face. Where was his earlier arrogant demeanor?
Shi Tou remembered it had to be two gashes. With a cold face, he yanked up the shopkeeper’s hair and without blinking, smashed it against the stone mortar again.
“Ah!” The shopkeeper howled miserably like a pig being slaughtered, his vision going black, blood flowing even more.
If they kept beating like this, someone was bound to die. Someone in the crowd saw things weren’t right and hurriedly ran off to report to the officials.
The onlooking crowd erupted in an uproar.
“Wasn’t it that guy holding the doll who harmed someone’s innocent young lady? How come they’re fighting now?”
“From what I see, it looks like the main wife came to catch him in the act.”
“That cracked me up. Didn’t you hear what that young lady said earlier? She was properly resting in the room when that young master barged in and tried to assault her. Catching in the act at least requires both parties to be willing, right?”
“But that young master earlier spoke quite reasonably. Maybe there’s some misunderstanding in between?”
“What misunderstanding? There are plenty of beasts in human guise in this world.”
The crowd chattered noisily, saying all sorts of things. Shang Wan listened and pieced together most of it, actually amused.
The person behind this scheme wanted to ruin Lu Chengjing’s reputation. Couldn’t they come up with a smarter way?
With Lu Chengjing’s temperament, he would almost combust from shyness just from a kiss on the cheek. How could he possibly do such a thing?
Fine, stepping back ten thousand steps, even if he wanted to, he didn’t have the conditions for it.
His leg injury hadn’t healed yet. It couldn’t be that Xiao Huan and Shi Tou had to carry him over, right? And there was Yuan Yuan too.
“I didn’t.” Lu Chengjing grabbed Shang Wan’s sleeve, ignoring the dizziness in his head, and hurriedly explained. His face was pale as if transparent.
“Okay, okay, don’t get agitated.” Shang Wan comfortingly pinched the back of his neck twice. Once he relaxed, she said, “I know you didn’t. If you’re feeling unwell, don’t talk first. I believe you.”
Hearing those last three words, Lu Chengjing’s mind eased, and just as his lips curved up, he fainted.
Xiao Huan cried out in alarm: “Sis, Brother-in-law fainted!”
“It’s fine. His body was already weak, and he hit his head and bled. It would be strange if he didn’t faint.” Shang Wan removed the handkerchief and saw that the wound on Lu Chengjing’s forehead had stopped bleeding. She thought to herself that the spiritual spring water was indeed effective.
She folded the handkerchief and tucked it into her sleeve, glanced at the woman huddled in the corner, and said to Xiao Huan, “Before the officials arrive, tell me the whole story from beginning to end first.”
Xiao Huan rocked Yuan Yuan, who had cried herself to sleep in her arms, and said softly, “Half a shichen ago, we drove the ox cart…”
Half a shichen ago, Lu Chengjing and the others drove the ox cart to East Street. Xiao Huan went to various rice shops to ask prices and found that the prices for rice and flour were all about the same.
After the three discussed, they decided to buy at Lu Shi Rice Shop.
Lu Shi Rice Shop was right across from Lufeng Rice Shop. Shi Tou parked the ox cart steadily, carried Lu Chengjing down from it, while Xiao Huan held Yuan Yuan, and they entered Lu Shi Rice Shop.
While the shop assistants were packing the grain, Shopkeeper Ge from Lufeng Rice Shop sent someone to invite Lu Chengjing over, saying there was something to discuss.
Lufeng Rice Shop was the Lu Family’s business, and Shopkeeper Ge was Lu Chengyuan’s man. Lu Chengjing originally thought Lu Chengyuan was looking for him, so after thinking for a moment, he agreed to go over.
Lu Chengjing had difficulty walking, and Shi Tou and Xiao Huan were worried, so they naturally followed.
Shopkeeper Ge invited Lu Chengjing to the backyard to talk, and had the shop assistants entertain Shi Tou and Xiao Huan in the side room, preparing plenty of tea and snacks.
Xiao Huan picked up a piece of date paste cake to feed Yuan Yuan, but the sweet-loving Yuan Yuan turned her little head away and refused to eat.
When Xiao Huan wanted to eat it herself, Yuan Yuan suddenly reached out her small hand and knocked the date paste cake out of her hand, shaking her head vigorously at Xiao Huan.
Xiao Huan grew suspicious and didn’t touch the tea or snacks. She called for Shi Tou to leave, but was stopped by the shop assistants.
Shi Tou tangled with the shop assistants, telling Xiao Huan to hurry to the backyard to find Lu Chengjing. Midway, someone came to block Xiao Huan, but was scratched in the face by a suddenly darting orange cat.
Yuan Yuan seemed to sense something, struggled free from Xiao Huan’s arms, and crawled very quickly toward the side room.
Xiao Huan hurriedly followed and saw Shopkeeper Ge coming out of the side room. Just as she wanted to ask Shopkeeper Ge where Lu Chengjing was, Yuan Yuan rushed toward the side room shouting for Daddy.
Shopkeeper Ge blocked Xiao Huan from entering, but that scratching orange cat ran out again, leaping onto Shopkeeper Ge’s face. Xiao Huan took the chance to hug Yuan Yuan and push the door open to enter.
There was a strange smell in the room, with women’s clothing scattered messily on the floor.
Behind the screen, Lu Chengjing lay on the bed with his eyes tightly closed. The woman beside him had disheveled hair, wearing only her undergarments, and was reaching to undo Lu Chengjing’s belt.
Seeing Xiao Huan burst in, the woman shrieked, grabbed her outer garment, and ran out. Xiao Huan wanted to stop her but it was too late.
The rumors spread quickly. Shi Tou came looking and wanted to take Lu Chengjing away first, but it was already too late.
That woman earlier was shop assistant Fang Bao’s younger sister. Shopkeeper Ge claimed Lu Chengjing had harmed the girl and wanted to seize Lu Chengjing to send to the officials.
Shi Tou and Xiao Huan naturally refused. As the crowd pushed and shoved, a group of wild cats came running from somewhere, chasing and scratching the rice shop people.
Shi Tou and Xiao Huan were delighted and wanted to take the chance to leave with Lu Chengjing, but he woke up. Though his mind was still a bit muddled, Lu Chengjing knew they couldn’t leave now, or the slander would stick forever.
Lu Chengjing proposed confronting the woman. Shopkeeper Ge deliberately wanted to make a big scene and had the two explain things clearly in the shop, drawing a crowd of onlooking crowd.
Faced with Lu Chengjing’s questioning, the woman didn’t answer, just crying softly.
The woman still had lingering charm at the corners of her eyes and brows, with several red marks on her exposed neck. Any sharp-eyed person could tell what had happened and began denouncing Lu Chengjing.
Xiao Huan and Shi Tou naturally couldn’t just watch idly and tried hard to speak up for Lu Chengjing. Shopkeeper Ge used the excuse that they had damaged things in the shop and had the shop assistants seize the two, to send to the officials together later.
Fang Bao angrily stepped forward and shoved Lu Chengjing, which was exactly the scene Shang Wan saw when she squeezed into the crowd. She knew everything after that.
After Xiao Huan finished, Shang Wan frowned and tsked lightly.
Though this trap wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny, in this world, if not handled well, Lu Chengjing’s reputation would truly be ruined.
She took back her earlier words. Though the method wasn’t clever, it was ruthless enough. If the slander stuck, Lu Chengjing could forget about the official path for life.
