Chapter 65: When the rat man is unlucky, even drinking water will get stuck in his teeth.
"This is a newly bought soapberry. Why don't you soak it in another lake?" Qingsong placed the newly bought towels, clothes and other items on a big rock by the lake and cautiously took a few steps back.
Shen Changfeng's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He picked up the things on the ground and turned around without saying a word.
After he left, Qingsong fanned his hands and took two deep breaths. He accidentally inhaled the residual exhaust gas in the air, and his stomach churned. He couldn't help but vomit twice.
But this was considered good. When he just climbed out of the ditch, Qingsong didn't realize how serious it was and rushed forward to hand him a towel. He accidentally inhaled the smell on his body and almost rolled and crawled, vomiting while running away. Just thinking about it made him scared.
The locals nicknamed the river "Moxi" (Black Stream) because the residents and merchants on both sides of the river had long dumped their sewage into it, leaving the water perpetually murky. The recent heavy rains had swirled the river's dark blue sludge, layers of greasy oil floating on the surface. Occasionally, bits of rotten vegetables, rags, and rotten wood drifted in and out. The stench permeated the banks, making passersby cover their noses and frown. After Shen Changfeng fell into the river, the onlookers leaned in, covering their mouths and noses, and exclaimed, "How could you be so careless?" Then they quickly dispersed.
Shen Changfeng reeked so badly that even the bathhouse refused to take him in. He suppressed his anger and only managed to avoid overturning the bathhouse. He simply didn't have the courage to walk through the market again. He covered his head and rushed into the forest, rubbing two or three lakes until his skin was nearly red and rotten, but the odor still lingered.
Qingsong watched Shen Changfeng wash and then run ashore to retch. He wanted to ask him if he was okay, but he felt that asking was nonsense. He had even vomited out the jaundice and acid water, so how could he be any better? Shen Changfeng had always been very clean and could not tolerate filth. Now he was afraid that the sight of rivers would be a shadow over his life.
Shen Changfeng soaked in the water all night, and only after confirming that there was no smell on his body did he start to go down the mountain.
The sky was gloomy, damp, and stuffy, making it inexplicably unpleasant. Soon, a light drizzle began to fall. By the time the two of them braved the rain and rushed to their rented house, it was already pouring down outside. Just as they were about to knock on the door, it creaked open.
Qingsong recognized the owner and breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she was here to hand over the keys, and said, "Auntie Hu, we are..."
Unexpectedly, Aunt Hu slammed the door shut behind her, glared at Shen Changfeng, snorted coldly, and threw the two packages onto the pine tree. "I'm so sorry, the house has been rented out. You should find another place to live."
Qingsong missed the chance to catch the package, and saw one of the packages fall to the ground. He was so anxious that he didn't even bother to respond and squatted down to pick it up. You have to know that they didn't have much savings. The small part was eaten by the rabbit family, the middle part was used for travel expenses, and the largest part was used to manage relationships at the garrison. The monthly salary for the two of them was paid in grain, which added up to only two or three taels of silver. There was a lot of work and little pay. They risked their lives to catch thieves, and they had to buy equipment at their own expense. It was really hard-earned money. These clothes were enough to wear for a season, and buying new clothes would be another expense!
With the heart of a young man, he thought that it would be great to travel the world with high spirits. But after experiencing it for a while, he realized that there were a lot of trivialities and he needed to be frugal everywhere. He had to save every penny in the past few months. He never thought that his arithmetic could be so good.
By the time he had picked up the wet clothes, Aunt Hu had disappeared. Qingsong was furious and was about to argue with her when Shen Changfeng suddenly said from the bottom of the stairs, "Let's go."
Raindrops as big as beans hit him, meandering down along the folds of his black cloth. The thin material was soaked through and stuck to his broad back, outlining his thin and stubborn figure.
He stood like a silent mountain in the inky rain, unmoved by the pelting raindrops. His dark hair clung to his soaked chin, further accentuating the paleness of his face. He lowered his head slightly, making it difficult to discern his expression. His voice was so low that, if we weren't so close, it would have been drowned out by the sound of the rain.
Aunt Hu crossed her arms and muttered, "You're a good boy!"
It turned out that Aunt Hu and Chen Huisheng were old acquaintances. After Chen Huisheng found her last night and said a few words to her, Aunt Hu was furious. She only regretted that she was not present when the beating happened yesterday. How could she be willing to give Chen Changfeng a good face? Tearing up the contract like this was easy to talk about. She thought to herself that if Chen Changfeng dared to get entangled, she would make him pay for it!
Shen Changfeng walked silently towards the market, searching for the nearest inn. A waiter saw him from a distance and ran back to the shop. Shen Changfeng slowly frowned. Sure enough, before he even entered the shop, he heard the shopkeeper say, "Sir, our place is full. Please find another one."
After this went on for a few times, the shop owner at the back stopped pretending and just waved his hand: "It's full!" He turned around and put on a smiling face, welcoming the rest of the customers in.
When had Shen Changfeng ever suffered such a setback? His face visibly worsened. When he heard the word "Shangman" for the last time, he gritted his teeth and unconsciously pressed his hand on the scabbard.
Qingsong couldn't help but swallowed lightly and whispered, "General, let's go to the next town. There must be something there."
Shen Changfeng closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, forcing down the anger and resentment within him. He could certainly punish those who looked down on him and teased him, but he couldn't. He was going to stay here for a long time, and among these people were relatives and friends of Lin Meizhu or Chen Huisheng. If he truly offended them, he'd be done with this place.
What's more, they were all venting their anger for Lin Meizhu, and they were good people. Even if the target of their anger was himself, he had to endure it, he deserved it.
When he opened his eyes, the last trace of violence in his eyes had disappeared, and his voice became calm again: "I will go with you."
Qingsong hesitated, a bitter look on his face. Shen Changfeng quickly realized that news spread quickly in Jiali. If he followed them, he might not be able to find a place to stay for several days. After all, he was now a rat crossing the street, and everyone was shouting and beating him.
After Qingsong left, Shen Changfeng stood under the eaves of the shop to shelter from the rain.
"Do you smell anything?"
"What's that smell?"
"No, what smell is there?"
Shen Changfeng suddenly felt like ants were crawling all over his body, and he started to itch. The people behind him hadn't said he smelled, but for no reason he felt like old, rotten wood that had been soaked in water and was about to smell moldy and rotten. He subconsciously raised his sleeve to smell, but when his arm was raised in the air, he suddenly remembered what he had said to Lin Meizhu, "Wash more, you smell."
Only then did he realize how destructive this sentence was. For a person who was already inferior and sensitive, it was almost devastating.
He felt that from today on, he would probably feel that there was a smell on his body that could never be washed away.
"Is that him? He looks like a decent person, how can he be so bad?"
"Who says it's not true? As the saying goes, you shouldn't cheat on your brother's wife. How shameless!"
"If that wasn't the case, why would his parents disown him?"
"Poor Eleventh Lady, I wonder how much suffering she has endured?"
"How dare he come here?"
Listening to the surrounding discussions, Shen Changfeng initially felt angry and even tempted to argue, but after hearing so much, he gradually became numb. Seeing that he didn't react, standing like a stone statue at the door, the people behind him gradually stopped talking and instead cast more naked and impudent glances at him. These mixed glances were more aggressive and rude, and Shen Changfeng's inner irritation was immediately aroused.
But in the end, he chose to keep the peace. The moment he walked out of the eaves with his horse, he heard tacit and mocking laughter in the house. A thought suddenly occurred to him: Did Lin Meiju encounter such a situation in the capital?
No, I'm afraid she'll be even more embarrassed, even more frightened, and even more isolated and helpless than I am. After all, women are more vulnerable to groundless malicious speculation and criticism.
He found that everything that had happened to Lin Meizhu before seemed to be repeating itself in his own life. He endured it masochistically and without complaint, experiencing the pain she had once endured, savoring the grievance she wept silently. He thought with emotion, wasn't this a kind of empathy? Wasn't this a kind of common language with her?
I also feel regret and remorse. If I had met her earlier and understood the whole process, would everything have been different?
The rain was getting heavier. A vendor was hurrying along carrying a shelf on his back. Suddenly he saw a man standing in the middle of the road, washing his face with the rain. He couldn't dodge and bumped into the man's shoulder. He and his bag fell into the mud puddle.
The vendor hurriedly put the shelf on the ground, picked up the bag, and apologized repeatedly, "I'm so sorry, little brother..."
After seeing Shen Changfeng's face clearly, the man suddenly let go of his hand and cursed without saying anything: "Are you blind? You have no reason to be a door god in the middle of the road! You made my goods wet!"
As he spoke, he strode forward carrying the shelf, and the rising mud and water just splashed into Shen Changfeng's eyelids.
Shen Changfeng paused as he squatted down to pick up his bag. The sound of raindrops was clearly audible in his ears, and mud and water rolled down his angular jaw. He couldn't tell whether it was raindrops or something else.
After a moment of silence, he continued his previous actions, picking up the fallen copper coins one by one, and then put the wet clothes in the package on the horse's back, and walked into the depths of the rain curtain.
He passed by a pharmacy with a splendid plaque. The three characters "Hui Sheng Tang" were inscribed on it, their calligraphy as powerful and sharp as iron and silver. However, a large black dog was tied to the door, staring at him with bared teeth, somewhat spoiling the aesthetic.
The iron chain around the black dog's neck was rattling as it was pulled, and its barking was full of hostility. It did not scare the person away, but instead called out its owner.
Chen Huisheng rushed out, a cane in hand, but was pulled back by a pair of white hands just as he was about to leave. Then, with a bang, the door slammed shut, and nothing could be seen. Shen Changfeng withdrew his gaze with regret, then continued walking forward, taking one deep step and one shallow step.
At dusk, the rain gradually subsided, and wisps of smoke rose from the rain and fog. Warm yellow lights were lit in the houses one after another, and people who had been working outside returned home.
Shen Changfeng was still sheltering from the rain under a dilapidated post station, smelling the faint aroma of food all around him. He suddenly remembered that he had not eaten or drunk anything for a whole day and a night - if you didn't count the few mouthfuls of water he drank from the sewage river.
He had no appetite, but the smell of the food seemed to have touched some taboo. His stomach began to spasm uncontrollably, with waves of burning and acid reflux. His temples also began to twitch. He covered his abdomen, held onto the wooden pillars of the pavilion, and began to dry heave again, but he could not vomit anything and felt extremely uncomfortable all over.
At some point, the wind and rain outside started to get stronger. Shen Changfeng suddenly heard a "crack" sound. He looked up and saw that the thatched roof above his head swayed in the wind and collapsed crookedly.
Shen Changfeng looked at the crumbled pavilion and sighed. "When you're unlucky, even drinking water gets stuck in your teeth." Now he had no place to stay for the night.
At this moment, an uncertain voice came from behind: "Prince, is that you?"
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