Chapter 160
Thinking of this, Zhou An coughed lightly and said in a somewhat ingratiating tone, "Madam Shen, could you spare some meat for me? Once my brother returns, I will have him reimburse you for the meal expenses."
Shen Qingnian remained indifferent, but little Shen Xi, who was eating with her mouth full of oil, reminded her in a childish voice: "Uncle Zhou, you've stayed at my house for five days. A bowl of plain noodles costs one tael of silver. Including the money spent on medicine for you, you already owe my family a lot of money. Are you sure you want to eat meat?"
"It's a total of one hundred and fifty taels of silver. We've already signed and sealed the deal, so there's no way we can renege on the debt. I'm sure Officer Zhou won't back out either," Xiao Ju added with a smile.
The young lady calculated the price, and although she felt it was a bit expensive, it was reasonable. Zhou An was an official, so naturally it was more expensive.
After wiping the blood off Zhou An's face that day, they finally recognized him. Combined with the bloodstains on Zhou An's body, Shen Qingnian immediately realized that this was a big problem and understood that she had been tricked.
But Zhou An had already entered their courtyard. If they threw him out, the group that captured him might follow the clues and find them.
Shen Qingnian was furious and naturally wouldn't let Zhou An get away with it.
When Zhou An heard Xiao Ju say this, his face turned red. He wanted to angrily denounce the other party's robbery, but he was afraid that he would be thrown out directly.
Now, Lord Jiang, who manages the granary, orders people to search outside every day; if he goes out, he will walk right into a trap.
Given this situation, he had no choice but to endure it...
“My brother is a centurion, and he’s already on his way back. He has a very high salary and will certainly not mistreat Master Shen,” Zhou An said, his eyes practically popping out of his head.
Shen Qingnian curled her lips into a smile, her tone a mix of teasing and sarcasm: "Oh, Constable Zhou, you really come from a family of officials. Your brother must have come to investigate your serious injuries?"
An refused to explain why she was injured this week, which made her uneasy.
Zhou An was speechless at Shen Qingnian's words and said somewhat awkwardly, "Master Shen, please rest assured, as long as my brother returns, this matter will not implicate you."
He did have ulterior motives when he fell into the courtyard that day; he knew it would be difficult for anyone to find him there and to arouse suspicion.
Upon hearing Zhou An's words, Liu Yurou slammed her hand on the table, a fierce glint appearing on her gentle face: "So you mean that if your brother doesn't return, we'll all be implicated?!"
"What a scourge!" Xiaoju exclaimed angrily.
Little Shenxi also looked disgusted and said in her childish voice, "If you still want to eat meat, you might as well go eat dog poop!"
As she spoke, she jumped off the chair, ran over to Zhou An, and took the noodles from his table.
Shen Qingnian's expression turned cold. She waved to the two old women beside her and said, "Gag him, tie him up, and lock him in the woodshed."
This week, An is dangerous and restless. If that's the case, it would be better to just slit his throat!
The old woman standing nearby immediately stepped forward, gagged Zhou An, and dragged him into the woodshed and locked him up.
Zhou An then realized how wrong it was to have chosen Shen Qingnian's courtyard.
In the following days, Zhou An didn't even have plain noodles. He was tied up in the woodshed and only had one hard steamed bun for each meal, which was sometimes spoiled.
Having witnessed Shen Qingnian's ruthlessness, he dared not cause any more trouble. He silently ate his spoiled steamed bun, hoping in his heart that his brother would return soon, and that Shen Qingnian would not slit his throat...
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Three days later, a black carriage arrived in the misty city.
Inside the carriage sat two men and a small child. One of the men was exceptionally handsome but rarely smiled.
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