Chapter 59: The Prodigal He doesn't want to be a real man, he just wants to be...

Shen Changfeng was in dire straits, and his agent, too lazy to conceal his position, had already taken advantage of the salt merchant and betrayed the seller. Now everyone outside was waiting to find a way to hurt Shen Changfeng, and the salt merchant, unable to swallow this humiliation, was certain that the Shen family wouldn't dare speak out, so he gathered a group of hooligans and gangsters and came to the door.

But Shen Changfeng was thinking that she was indeed courageous, but her methods were still a little naive. Those merchants were cunning and shrewd, and they acted without thinking. If she ran into such scoundrels, she didn't know if she would be scared. He should make some arrangements.

He slowly sat up from the rattan chair, stepping on the walking stick, and the bones in his body creaked with the movement, like an old man on his deathbed.

"Bring the salt merchant to me."

The salt merchant had been agonizing outside the palace for several days, not daring to actually file a complaint but unwilling to leave. He was feeling frustrated and had no way out. He was overjoyed, and seeing the wealth and extravagance of the palace, he was even more determined to extort a large sum of money from it.

As he reached the inner hall and stood still, the salt merchant heard someone in the corner ask him, "Do you want money or your life?"

The salt merchant asked curiously, "Why would I want Shen Changfeng's life? Of course I want money!" He thought it was a servant waiting in the hall, and seeing the servant dare to ask such arrogant questions, he was a little indignant. He squinted at the shadow and said, "Of course I want money! Where's Shen Changfeng? Tell him to come see me!"

A face that looked neither human nor inhuman appeared from behind the door. He lowered his head, and the corners of his scabbed mouth were slightly raised, just connected to the black and red scar. His blood-red mouth seemed to be grinning to the back of his ears. The long, dim setting sun fell on him. His tall figure was in half light and half dark, and he looked towards the salt merchant with stiff and sluggish movements, revealing a sinister smile.

The salt merchant's breath suddenly caught in his throat. After all, he had traveled extensively and seen the world. He calmed down and took another closer look. He recognized that this was probably the seriously injured Shen Changfeng himself. He swallowed his saliva and restrained his arrogance. "I don't want to cause trouble either. Just return the money you paid for the land to me, and we'll let this matter go."

Shen Changfeng nodded gently: "Okay."

The salt merchant was a little surprised to see that he was so easy to talk to. Just as he was about to say a number, he suddenly heard the clanging sound of a sharp blade slowly being unsheathed. His scalp went numb, and in an instant a big knife was pressed against his neck.

The salt merchant finally realized: the life Shen Changfeng was talking about was his own life! He stretched his neck as far away from the icy blade as possible, sweat dripping from his face, and raised his hands: "Let's talk it over nicely. Harmony brings wealth! Harmony brings wealth!"

Shen Changfeng looked at the dark red veins reflected under the tip of the knife, as if considering which angle to cut from to make the blood plasma spray higher. The salt merchant was so scared that he begged for money and repeatedly said that he didn't want any money. Shen Changfeng sneered and said, "If you don't want it, then I won't be polite."

Chief Steward Shen, holding up a book, added, "The West Mountain Hunting Grounds have a wealth of timber, herbs, and game. A fine sable pelt is worth a fortune, not to mention tiger bones, deer antlers, and other valuables. It says here that Mr. Jiang hunted twice in the past two months, capturing fifty sheep and deer, as well as fifty hawks and falcons..."

Shen Changfeng laughed, "You hunted and cut down trees without permission, and stole royal assets. You have committed a grave crime that will implicate your entire clan. I don't want to cause any trouble. Give me 50% of the money you earned from the trade, and we'll let it go."

"Don't go too far..."

Shen Changfeng smiled grimly with his white teeth: "Seventy percent."

Manager Shen had known countless people, but today he realized that there were people who could be so shameless. It turned out that being notorious had such advantages. This tactic of giving someone a taste of their own medicine was brilliant! Brilliant!

Holding those banknotes, Manager Shen was very happy. However, at that time, Shen Changfeng had boasted in the Huguo Temple that he would rebuild the golden body of the temple and melt the gold to cast the small Buddha in the Longmen Grottoes. The six thousand taels alone were not enough.

"Except for the Jade Lion Zhaoye, the rest of the horses have been pawned. I'll send the silver to Huguo Temple first, and then divide the rest among those people. If there's still not enough, tell them to come to me."

These horses were registered under Shen Zhongda's name, so they were not taken away.

In fact, as long as Shen Changfeng denied it and stayed in the palace, those people would have no way to do anything to him, but it was obvious that Shen Changfeng was not the kind of person who would hide and deny his debts.

When Shen Zhongda and Li Jieyi were arguing, Shen Changfeng would often hide in the stable and sleep with his foals. Those horses had been with him for over a decade, and they were incredibly human. They would wag their tails and neigh softly when they saw him approaching, and in their spare time, they would even roll over and rub against him to show affection. Shen Changfeng loved these horses dearly, even feeding and grooming them himself. Steward Shen was somewhat surprised that he could bear to part with them so much, and asked, "So, my dear, do you want to die or..."

"Damn it."

After Shen Changfeng finished speaking, he turned and left. Manager Shen didn't see what expression he had. But judging from his tone, he didn't seem reluctant to leave.

The sky darkened, the setting sun frozen to a pale red. Leaden clouds hung low, spreading over the eaves like murky ink. Lanterns lit up in the distance, their dim shadows scattered and shattered by the north wind.

Manager Shen turned around inadvertently and saw the dark figure walking slowly, one step deep and one step shallow. When he reached the eaves, he suddenly stopped, looked up at the mottled plaque in a daze, with a look on his face that seemed to be neither smiling nor crying.

The wind and snow messed up his hair, and snowflakes hit his face, but he was like an ice sculpture frozen in place, without any awareness. Only his fingertips were still curled up unconsciously, clenching and unclenching, as if trying to catch the remaining warmth that had long been blown away by the wind.

Manager Shen took another look at the three red characters "Pingxiangwu" on the plaque, shook his head and sighed before leaving.

Shen Changfeng didn't know how he came to Pingxiangwu. It seemed that his body had its own ideas. By the time he reacted, his hand had already touched the tightly closed door.

With a soft "squeak," the dust began to swirl and dance beneath the candlelight. Shen Changfeng suddenly felt like retreating, hastily averting his eyes from the scene inside, practically leaping back two steps.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a rustling sound from the flowerbed on one side, and a young man's head popped out from among the flowers and plants. Shen Chali had a head full of broken leaves and said with bright eyes, "Brother! You can leave now!"

Before Shen Changfeng could reply, two white shadows flashed through the flowers, one on the left and one on the right, and fled quickly. Shen Chali cried out, "My rabbit!" and ran after one of them. Turning back, he saw the other one scurrying into the house from beside Shen Changfeng's feet. He hurriedly said, "Don't just stand there and watch. Help me catch the rabbit!"

Shen Changfeng, who still has to walk with crutches: ...

He recognized the two rabbits; they were sent by the Lin family to Lin Meizhu. In the afternoons, she used to like sitting under the grape trellis in the courtyard, holding the rabbits on her lap, gently caressing them and occasionally picking them up to give them a few puffs. When she'd had enough, she'd put them down, tell them to stop playing and remember to come home, patting their heads and saying, "Go! Don't run too far!"

Sometimes when he was off duty, the two rabbits would be playing and digging in the soil in the yard. When they saw someone coming, they would prick up their ears and look around, but when they recognized him, they would lower their heads again.

Lin Meizhu slept on the recliner, her cheeks flushed, her forehead slightly sweaty. A few strands of raven-black hair clung to her temples and fell to her neck. Her cherry-red lips softly whispered. He stepped softly, wanting to get closer to hear her dream talk. He could smell the delicate sweet fragrance that seeped into her bones. For a moment, he forgot his purpose and leaned over to gently kiss her lips.

Lin Meizhu's lips dimpled, and even before she opened her eyes, she recognized his presence. She gently tilted her head and caressed his face, her beautiful eyes flickering as she pecked his lips in response. She smiled, then opened her eyes, staring at him silently, intently and attentively, as if she were sketching his features with her gaze, every stroke, etched in her eyes and hidden deep in her heart.

She didn't say anything, but he saw surprise in her eyes, saw tenderness and affection, saw a heart full of unspoken but passionate love. For the first time, he knew that happiness could be so simple, so simple that it only required a glance from her. It turned out that having someone waiting for you to come home was the happiest thing in the world.

Whenever he closed his eyes, her joy, anger, and stupidity would come to his mind, making him unable to stop and making him feel itchy.

The snow kept falling, there was no stopping it, it was like crazy and it never ended.

When I opened my eyes again, everything was back to square one.

The furnishings in the room were as usual, simple and clean. There was a half-read book on the desk, three or two woven threads in the sewing basket on the incense table, and the hairpins and eyebrow pencils were still in front of the dressing mirror, as if she had just gone out for something and would be back soon.

The rabbit circled under the rose chair where Lin Meiju often sat, as if wondering why no one picked it up as usual. It stood up, touched its feet and looked up, then ran to the small couch in front of the window where she often sat, and searched back and forth.

Shen Changfeng followed the rabbit as it ran through the empty house, feeling lost.

During the ten days he'd been bedridden, he'd told himself to forget her. She was just a woman. He was still so young, what kind of woman could he choose? What was the result? He stroked the brush she'd used, the scrolls she'd read, searching for traces of her presence in the lingering incense. He recalled their past with a greedy urge, as if possessed by a poison. He struggled repeatedly with painful regrets in those memories. He'd tried to stop himself from thinking about her, but the reality was that he still didn't dare face her departure. Even entering her room required the courage of a rabbit.

It was just a woman, but when that person became Lin Meiju, everything was different.

Shen Zhongda scolded him for being decadent and listless, saying that a real man would always have a wife, but he didn't seem to want to be a real man, he just wanted to be Lin Meiju's husband.

The peonies in the Rujiao Beauty vase by the window had faded, their petals scattered to the ground, a mess on the pear wood desk. Shen Changfeng recognized them as the bouquet she had held in her arms on the day of the Qionglin Banquet. Back then, he was so angry he wanted to kill someone, but she had coaxed him back home with a single flower.

There are many famous flowers, but she only loves peonies. She is like a full and strong peony, loving passionately, boiling her fiery heart into honey and presenting it to you; when she is about to leave, she refuses to leave even a petal to the old branch, and would rather let the whole flower be smashed to pieces than grind it into the dust to leave completely.

The wind blew up the fallen petals, and the withered petals on the desk were swirling, and a piece of yellowed rice paper fluttered to the ground.

It was the divorce letter. Now that the matter was settled, there was no need for him to ignore it. He unfolded the folded rice paper—a blank sheet of paper.

Shen Changfeng uttered a soft "Ah." So that's what happened. This wasn't a divorce letter at all; she was using a blank piece of paper to test his attitude. She knew his pride and timidity well, and she had him completely under her thumb, certain he wouldn't dare or would open this so-called divorce letter. She knew he wouldn't let go, so she turned and went to Li Jieyi, leaving him no chance to maneuver.

No wonder! No wonder she could remain so calm even after knowing that he didn't agree to the divorce! She had already thought of another way out! No wonder Li Jieyi showed up at the hunting ground so promptly, no wonder Li Jieyi was able to predict his plan and force him to change horses! Shen Changfeng recalled the person who reported to Lin Meizhu in the boat by the lake, and cursed three times: "Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!"

His most loyal subordinate turned out to be a spy and sold him out early on!

A huge surge of grief and anger suddenly rose in his heart. He tore the white paper into pieces in a few strokes, swept down the paper, ink, pen and inkstone on the table, and kicked over the table and chair in front of him with great force. His muscles bulged and twitched all over his body. Because he exerted too much force, the wound burst open again, making a slight hissing sound, and the gurgling blood quickly dyed the bandages red.

A fishy-sweet taste surged up his throat, and he began to cough violently, his hoarse coughs like the throes of an old bellows. Fury burned in Shen Changfeng's eyes, and his heart was filled with pain and scars. This woman! This cunning, hateful, ruthless, cold-blooded villain! He wanted to destroy and burn every trace of her!

Her books and albums, her dressing table and dressing table, her embroidered fabrics, and this brocade cloak with goldfinch holding flowers that he had painstakingly made for her - this cruel woman even refused to wear it for him to see once under the pretext of mourning!

When Shen Zhongda heard that Shen Changfeng had gone out for the first time since waking up, and that he had been blackmailing salt merchants, he decided to teach him a lesson, telling him to keep his head down and not cause any more trouble. He went to Qinghui Hall, only to find out that Shen Changfeng hadn't returned. Upon asking, he realized he hadn't returned yet, so he had no choice but to brave the snow and wind to go to Pingxiangwu to look for him.

Shen Zhongda was halfway there when he heard a commotion in the other wing, as if someone was demolishing a house. His face darkened. What the hell was he up to? Wouldn't it cost money to repair the house if it was damaged? Didn't he realize how much money he'd spent on cleaning up these days? And he still thought it wasn't enough?

Thinking of this, Shen Zhongda quickened his pace angrily. When he arrived at Pingxiangwu, he found that no one was lighting the lamp and it was pitch black. He felt even more unhappy. The words of cursing were on the tip of his tongue, but for some reason, an idea came to his mind and he took a look inside first.

Amidst the chaos, a dark mass stood out. It looked like a quilt, but it wasn't quite there; it was actually thicker. A long ridge bulged in the middle, and the other end quilt shivered and twitched, like a kitten or puppy burrowed in it, whimpering muffledly.

Shen Zhongda saw the scene inside clearly in the pale moonlight. The quilt was not a quilt, but a cloak. It just looked a bit like a quilt because of the bright colors. There were no cats or dogs underneath, but his son Shen Changfeng.

Shen Zhongda listened attentively for a while with bated breath, and was startled when he realized that his son seemed to be crying.