35 usury
Tian Nongxi said with certainty: "You are sick."
Ever since he came through, Tian Nongxi's biological clock has become even more accurate than in the second half of his senior year of high school.
In addition, she had something on her mind, so she got up at dawn.
Sitting on the bed, she sighed silently - the days when she could sleep until she woke up naturally were ruined by this damn system!
After capturing the key words, the system popped up, "Host, it's a pity that Caicai can't die."
Tian Nongxi gave a perfunctory compliment, yawned, and put on his clothes.
She was a little nervous when she opened the door, fearing that Tian Nongle had already arrived.
Unexpectedly, the courtyard was empty, even Huang and Tian Yaozu were nowhere to be found.
The already deserted Tian family courtyard was devoid of even the sound of insects, like an abandoned stage after a big show ended.
Tian Nongxi walked to the only place in the yard where there was sound, squatted down and watched the chickens eating feed.
Just as her hand tentatively touched the feather, a tall shadow suddenly appeared in her sight.
"Awake?" Wen Tingluan changed into a crescent-shaped white dress, and he looked out of place in the dilapidated courtyard.
"Yeah." Seeing that he was about to squat down, Tian Nongxi stood up and inexplicably patted his hands that had not touched the chicken at all.
Wen Tingluan smiled without saying anything and pointed in the direction of the main house. His smile crushed the loneliness in Tian Nongxi's eyes.
"Is this... prepared by you?" After washing up, Tian Nongxi looked at the table full of delicious food in astonishment.
"Um."
Tian Nongxi wanted to praise him but didn't dare, so he forced himself to swallow the words and could only stuff his mouth with buns.
"I had someone prepare it and brought it in." Wen Tingluan touched his nose. "Eat it while it's hot."
Tian Nongxi nodded rapidly, and did not forget to call Wen Tingluan to come along. He sat aside and did nothing but stare at her, making Tian Nongxi blush.
Wen Tingluan shook his head and just said that he had already eaten.
She was being stared at and unconsciously started to eat in small bites.
His appetite was so good that he spent an hour finishing the meal.
Tian Nongxi was still holding the chopsticks in his hand until someone came into the house.
The man, wearing a veil that covered his entire face and a tattered linen robe, walked in on his own.
Only after taking off the hat did Tian Nongxi dare to recognize him.
She sighed, "Actually, it's more conspicuous this way." The unshaven Tian Nongle glared at her angrily but dared not say a word.
"Mr. Lin, I'm sorry to bother you." Tian Nongle pretended to be a decent person, but the gleam in his eyes could not be hidden.
Wen Tingluan put away his smile and nodded indifferently.
It felt uncomfortable to be able to only stand in his own territory, and Tian Nong Le's self-esteem made him furious.
However, after he was rescued from prison, he fell into death again.
You have to find your own way to survive.
Tian Nong Le felt that he had made it to where he is today from a mere scholar by relying on his own judgment of the situation.
Someone wants to kill him.
If Heaven wanted him to die, he would go to a higher Heaven.
If someone wanted him dead, he would send them to the execution ground first.
He looked at Tian Nongxi first and said, "You go out first."
They both spoke at the same time.
"good."
“No need.”
Tian Nongxi stood up, took a tray of dumplings, and said with a smile, "You guys chat."
"You stay with me." Wen Tingluan suddenly spoke, stopping her and adding, "Okay?"
Tian Nongxi blinked and sat back.
Rather than staying here and being forced to be more deeply bound to Wen Tingluan, she would rather return to her own cabin and make mothballs.
But she sat back down.
Because of that burning gaze.
Tian Nongxi felt that something was wrong with him.
She didn't have time to care about the strangeness of it, so she sat down next to Wen Tingluan and moved the remaining dishes on the table to the side.
Life is more important than self-respect, Tian Nong Le did not comment.
He knelt straight down.
"King Qi wants to kill me." Tian Nong Le's voice trembled, his right shoulder was in unbearable pain, and he was still deeply in fear of being pierced by a hidden arrow.
“It’s not safe here.”
"Please give me shelter."
He is gambling.
Betting on the dignity of the person in front of you.
"If I die, no one in the Tian family will be able to escape."
Bet on how much he cherishes his niece.
"The sentence I was sentenced to was nothing more than death, but King Qi couldn't even wait that long. He took me out and wanted to kill me again."
He was willing to travel thousands of miles to get the enemy's head.
Tian Nongle gritted his teeth as he spoke each word. The sound of his teeth chattering was like the ice lake being pecked by trapped animals in the cold winter, striking at Tian Nongxi's heart again and again.
She fidgeted uncomfortably and moved to the other side without making a sound.
I really want to leave.
Tian Nongxi lowered her eyes to hide the turbulent waves in her vision, and her curled fingers were wrapped in tenderness.
She looked up, and when she heard Tingluan retract his hand, her eyes curved into a beautiful arc, silently comforting him.
Tian Nongle, kneeling on the ground, had tears in his eyes and did not notice the undercurrent between the two.
A tear splashed onto the ground and was blocked by his lowered head.
Again and again, as if to vent his resentment, he banged his head heavily on the ground, and the blood oozing from his forehead stained the air.
The room, which had been filled with the aroma of food half an incense stick away, was now filled with the stench of blood, and the overlapping blood clots on the floor tiles solidified into a bright-colored grave.
Wen Tingluan was as calm as an ancient well, and the look he gave to the person on the ground was as light as alms.
"I can't help you."
Tian Nong Le raised his bloody head in astonishment.
The voice from the underworld mercilessly tore off his fig leaf.
"If I help you, won't the people who died in vain at Naihe Bridge be unable to wait for you?"
"Sir! Sir!" Tian Nongle's face was covered in blood and sweat. The pain forced him to squint his eyes. He crawled towards the source of the sound, grabbed the man's clothes and begged desperately, "I know everything, I know everything."
"King Qi used me as his sword and never hid anything from me."
"He was worried about the truth being exposed, so sending assassins to kill me was proof!"
He suddenly thought of something and tore the clothes off his shoulders with brute force. The smell of rust instantly filled the noses of everyone present.
Tian Nongxi was not close to him and could only see his pale skin that was almost invisible to the sun due to his frailty. He could not see the source of the rust smell - the eroded skin on his shoulder was flowing with thick dark brown fluid, and in the middle was an unpulled arrow.
Even so, the tragic sight made her hiss softly and look away.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty sent you here. If you only take my life, I will not be able to report you!" Tian Nong Le bowed his head and kowtowed three times. "I am willing to be your servant and make amends."
He was well versed in the game of chess and felt that he had distanced himself from death. With a gleam in his eyes, he straightened his bent back, trying to regain some dignity.
Wen Tingluan was unmoved and chuckled softly, "It's just a weapon that Prince Qi is not good at handling. It's even more useless to His Majesty."
Tian Nong Le collapsed into a puddle of mud, his hands trying to hold himself back from collapsing, his fingertips turning white. "No, how would I know if it's suitable?"
He was silent for a moment, then suddenly regained his strength and pointed at Tian Nongxi who was standing beside him, adding, "She! I'm her second uncle, and I'm giving her to you as a concubine!"
Tian Nongxi, who was suddenly mentioned, came back to his senses in shock and astonishment.
"Is this funny?" Her almond-shaped eyes widened, and she stood up with a bang, slamming the table and shouting, "Are you sick?"
"Your parents died young, and I raised you for so many years in vain. You should also know how to read the language of honor and gratitude." Tian Nongle gave her a cold look, straightened up, and bowed to Wen Tingluan. "Lord Lin is His Majesty's confidant, a high and powerful position. For you, an illiterate country girl, to be able to serve him is a blessing you have earned in eight lifetimes."
"You can read, so go and serve." Tian Nongxi gave him the middle finger.
Although no one understood the meaning, her face looked extremely ugly, and Tian Nongle was so angry that he almost stood up.
His legs were numb from kneeling for so long that he staggered and fell backwards.
Wen Tingluan's eyes moved slightly, and he stood up and helped Tian Nong Le up. The light white fabric was stained with blood, but he ignored it.
"Please take a seat, sir."
The man who had just been crying bitterly now raised his crowned head like a victorious rooster, was helped to sit slowly on his throne, and glared at his defeated opponent with disdain.
The provoked Tian Nongxi gave him the middle finger with both hands, then sat down without even giving Wen Tingluan a glance.
She was afraid that she would not be able to hold back her laughter.
Tian Nongle's words were full of loopholes. He didn't know what the eye-catching white fox in front of him was up to.
The fox narrowed his eyes and said, "Tell me what you know."
Tian Nong Le chuckled, "Sir, I, I, I dare to ask you to spare my life."
"What are you talking about, Second Uncle?" Wen Tingluan curled his eyes and pushed the teacup in front of Tian Nongle. After watching him take a sip, he continued with a smile, "You are worthy of being called my father-in-law."
"Yes, yes." Tian Nongle smiled happily, stroking the handle of the cup in his hand and glancing at Tian Nongxi beside him. He hesitated and said, "Women are not very careful with their words about things like this. How about..."
Tian Nongxi said firmly: "You are sick."
"Second uncle is so hesitant, I'm afraid he's just trying to trick me for fun." Wen Tingluan stopped laughing, his eyes stern, making Tian Nongle shudder. "Since that's the case, I won't force you."
"Sir..." Tian Nong Le hesitated, closing his eyes and making up his mind, "I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"
Prince Qi is the younger brother of the current emperor from the same mother. He was granted a title and a mansion by the late emperor before he even came of age, and was given the highest honor.
However, when he led his troops to war and was trapped in Sukjin, rumors spread and he missed the throne.
As for how he got on this big ship, Tian Nong Le said - five years ago, he went to Beijing to take the imperial examination. He did not have enough money and had to sleep in the wild. It was King Qi who passed by on horseback and saved him when he was almost eaten by a wild wolf.
He immediately vowed to go through fire and water for his benefactor.
At that time, he didn't know that the person in front of him was a prince from a wealthy family. Two years later, when he failed the imperial examination and was forced to marry into the Zhuang family to make a living, he was visited by a man who claimed to be a close confidant of King Qi.
"That man asked me to lend King Qi two million taels of gold. King Qi has done me a favor, so I should have agreed to his request immediately. However, I am short of money, and the amount is really staggering. I had no choice but to refuse him."
"That night at midnight, I felt guilty and wanted to commit suicide, but as I was about to unsheathe my sword, someone interrupted me with a hidden weapon."
"The long-lost Prince Qi stood by the window, so elegant and graceful that the Zhuang Mansion was eclipsed. I invited him in, and his words made me feel like I was falling into an icy cave."
"He wanted me to use the power of the Zhuang Mansion to lend money at high interest rates, specifically to those who have encountered unexpected misfortunes and cannot afford it."
"He's my benefactor, how can I refuse him again and again?" Tian Nongle closed his eyes, a tear slipping down his cheeks. "I helped him despite suffering so much, and now he wants to take my life."
Wen Tingluan raised an eyebrow, "Since he gave you your life, it's only natural for him to go back now."
After saying what she wanted to say, Tian Nongxi looked at him approvingly.
After choking for a moment, Tian Nong Le continued as if nothing had happened, "It was only later that I realized there aren't so many misfortunes in this world."
"It turns out that most of these are done secretly by King Qi's men. They look for their targets, and once they find them, they do everything they can to ruin their lives. Then I have to persuade them to lend money at high interest rates."
"They would leave people with a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of hope that they would neither live nor die. This way, few people would refuse to lend money, and few people would be willing to be beaten to death for not paying back the money."
"I remember clearly who King Qi has harmed in the past few years. Since I took over, I have written down every poor person in my directory."
"This record contains their names, places of origin, reasons for borrowing money, and time." Tian Nongle looked out the window at the sunlight, his gaze faraway, and sighed, "King Qi never knew. I wanted to alleviate my shame, so when I had some spare money, I would go to these people's homes and leave some."
"This list is crucial evidence. It can help us find the people King Qi has harmed over the years. Now I have put it in one place, and no one knows about it except me."
He cleared himself of all blame and became a kind-hearted man with no way to repay his gratitude.
After he finished speaking, Tian Nong Le waited quietly for the verdict.
"Second Uncle is so pitiful." Wen Tingluan sighed half-heartedly and knocked on the table. A man in black, whom Tian Nongxi had never seen before, descended from the sky. "Go and heal your wounds first. Wait for Second Uncle to be well and send the list back."
Tian Nongle held the crucial evidence in his hand, smiled triumphantly, bowed and followed the man away.
Looking at Tian Nongle's limping back, Tian Nongxi asked, "He has committed such a serious crime, do you want to protect him?" As if to arouse Wen Tingluan's conscience, she added a resounding "Your Highness the Crown Prince".
Wen Tingluan glanced at her and said, "I was just saying what he said."
"I didn't promise him."
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