Chapter 44 An Unexpected Encounter Where is this place? Why are there so many pretty girls...?
Zhu Yi reached out and pinched her cheek, mercilessly exposing her lie: "'Skinny'? Aren't you chubby?"
Qingduo bared her teeth: "Let go!"
After Zhu Yi let go, Qingduo rubbed her face and glared at him. Zhu Yi sneered, "I told you before, I don't fall for that!"
"Fine, fine, if none of you are going, I'll go by myself!" Qingduo said stubbornly.
She said it, but the few tiny steps she took after turning around were probably fast enough for an ant to catch up with. She moved slowly, and as she moved, she secretly glanced back at Zhu Yi. She saw him standing there with his arms crossed, looking on with amusement, not moving an inch.
When her eyes met his, Qingduo quickly turned away and shouted, "I'm very brave! I'm not afraid of anything! In broad daylight, let's see who dares to take me away!"
A chuckle came from behind her. "You should have just said you were scared and wanted me to come with you, wouldn't that have settled things?" Zhu Yi walked up from behind and patted her on the head. "Let's go, but let's make this clear beforehand: I'm going to protect you, so you owe me a favor."
"Ouch!" Seriously, he either messes up his own hair or flicks her forehead, and now he's even more outrageous, pressing her head back and forth like a bamboo frog. Does he think her head is a toy?
However, he had finally agreed to travel with her, and now was not the time to talk back. She, being the wise and shrewd woman she was, knew when to yield. Qingduo caught up and flattered him, "Hehe! I knew my brother-in-law wouldn't abandon me. The chivalrous Xuanhu is the most loyal and righteous man!"
*
The performance didn't go well. Qingduo had only finished half of her clapper talk when someone in the crowd shouted, "They're all lying!"
“Yes, that’s not what I heard!” someone echoed.
"It was clearly that Lu Nong who plagiarized others, and now she's crying 'stop thief!'"
Zhu Yi shouted, "What kind of hero hides in the crowd! If you're so capable, stand up and confront them!" The man didn't speak, but as soon as Qingduo continued singing a few more lines, he said sarcastically, "Tsk tsk, these lyrics are a mess. Humph, I don't believe that the person who wrote these lousy lyrics could write 'Painting Hall Spring'!"
Qingduo was displeased upon hearing this and said angrily, "It's one thing for you to distort the truth, but how dare you say that my poem is not well written! Zhu Yi! Hit him!"
Without her saying anything, Zhu Yi had long been unable to tolerate this person's repeated insults to Lu Nong. As soon as the person finished speaking, Zhu Yi found the source of the voice, grabbed him, and pulled him out. The person was thin and tall, and Zhu Yi grabbed him by the back of the neck and pushed him down.
Qingduo sized it up and said with certainty, "Judging from its appearance, it must be one of the shrimp soldiers and crab generals under the 'Shrimp' shopkeeper! Now, tell me the truth, did Sailinfu send you to cause trouble?"
"Mantis" sneered: "Are all those who question you here to cause trouble? I just can't stand your way of spreading rumors. If this is what you call 'causing trouble,' then fine, I am the one causing trouble!"
"He admitted he came to cause trouble!" Qingduo shouted.
"That's not what I meant! I was questioning the truthfulness of your statements! I didn't admit to causing trouble!"
Qingduo frowned: "Why do you say yes one minute and no the next?" She faced the crowd and pointed to her head: "There's something wrong with him here, everyone please don't believe him!"
"You!" "Mantis Shrimp" blushed, trying to struggle, but Zhu Yi gently pressed it down, like pressing down a gourd floating on water. He said angrily, "You're spouting nonsense! You're the one with a problem!"
"No wonder your clapper talk lyrics are so incoherent; you're a complete idiot!"
Qingduo flew into a rage and shoved the clapperboard into his hands: "You say my writing is bad? You come on, here you go! You come and curse Sailinfu, I want to hear how exciting your cursing of him is!"
"I won't curse!"
"You're not going to curse?" This time it was Qingduo's turn to sneer. "You're not even cursing Sailinfu, you must be someone he sent to cause trouble!"
Good heavens! The "mantis shrimp" was trembling with anger and burst into curses. He had finally learned what it meant to "play music to a cow." No, she was even worse than a cow. A cow might not understand, but it would just moo and eat grass. She would only half-listen, and if she did listen, she would only choose what she wanted to hear, and then twist it arbitrarily, going around in circles and bringing him back to square one!
Wait, is she playing a trick on him on purpose? He reluctantly raised his head, trying to find some clues, but saw her looking down and rummaging through her pockets, muttering, "Strange, where's the handkerchief? The dog barks so horribly, there's nothing to shut him up."
Upon hearing this, he barked even more fiercely, angrily saying, "You keep saying that Lu Nong is the original author, but do you have any evidence? Without evidence, it's slander!"
“Of course! Miss Lu Nong’s manuscript is the evidence!” Zhu Yi said.
"Where is it? Do you dare to show it to everyone?"
"I dare. But why should I listen to 'mantis shrimp'? It's embarrassing," Qingduo said, shaking her head.
"Ha!" he said coldly, "You probably don't have any evidence!" He shouted, "Fellow villagers! They can't produce any evidence, they're just talking nonsense... mmm!"
Zhu Yi leaned down and covered his mouth, angrily saying, "He spoke in every word in support of Sailinfu; he must be one of his men!"
Of course! Qingduo looked at him in disbelief. This was certain from the beginning! Apart from their enemy, Sailinfu, no one else had any grudge against them. Why would they make sarcastic remarks and cause trouble?
She was about to make a sarcastic remark when she caught a glimpse of the crowd. Many people were pointing and whispering about them, some even shaking their heads and turning away. The murmur of conversation reached their ears:
"It was all made up. Sigh, all it takes is a mouth to slander someone's innocence. If you ask me, he should be locked up and beaten up!"
"How outrageous! I heard that Manager Sai took pity on that girl and let her help out in the shop, but she actually stole the manuscript and claimed it was her own! Sigh, the world is going to the dogs!"
Qingduo and Zhu Yi exchanged bewildered glances. With the rumors spreading this far, even if they retrieved the manuscript, it would likely be difficult to prove that Lu Nong was the original author. In an instant, they were met with nothing but disgusted stares, and some even spat in their direction with uncontrollable rage.
“Miss Lu Nong isn’t that kind of person! I vouch for her in the name of ‘Xuanhu Xia’!” Zhu Yi hurriedly defended himself.
"It's no use saying that!" Qingduo sighed helplessly, but the insults around her shifted direction. At first, they were cursing the three of them, but in the blink of an eye, they were "stabbing" Zhu Yi in the back, saying he was just a "show-off" and only got there because he had a good brother-in-law. She sighed, and the shift in focus did come in handy.
"Head, head, hurry up and turn!" Qingduo was anxious, but her head was buzzing and in a complete mess, so messy that even a chopstick could stand upright in it.
"Do you all have any concrete evidence to support your claim that the young lady stole the manuscript?" someone suddenly asked in a loud voice.
The question silenced everyone, and the clamor instantly subsided. Qingduo looked gratefully toward the source of the voice, then suddenly turned pale with shock. The person who spoke up for them was none other than Zeng Zhengji.
*
"Little..." Qingduo swallowed the word "little brother-in-law" and changed her words, "The young scholar is right!" She looked around and, with a boost in her confidence, she said, "You all spoke so confidently just now, accusing me of having no evidence. So where is your evidence?"
She glanced at the crowd, her gaze darting away wherever it fell. Pointing at the instigator who had just been shouting "Lu Nong stole the manuscript," she raised an eyebrow: "Where's the evidence?"
“I…” The man paused, then crossed his arms and said matter-of-factly, “I have one too, but like you, it’s not on hand.” He sneered, “Even if you have the manuscript, it’s just stolen. What does that prove? Everyone, am I right?” Before he finished speaking, several people echoed him, and the others joined in mocking Qingduo and the others.
Once Qingduo regained her senses, she was determined not to be led by the nose like she had before. In a flash, her mind shifted. Rather than arguing with them about unclear evidence, she decided to directly condemn their actions and demonstrate the righteousness of her side.
So she said seriously, "My husband is Zeng Zhengqing, the owner of 'Qingyuan Bookstore.' He has already found out that this is not the first time Sailinfu has done such a despicable thing, and he has cheated more than one person out of their storybooks. My husband is kind-hearted and signed them up to take care of their livelihood, so I should stand up for them and seek justice!"
"But it's you!" she sneered at the people spreading rumors. "You're acting as accomplices to evil, unable to distinguish right from wrong! Last time you kidnapped Sister Lu Nong and forced her to admit to copying books. When she refused, you resorted to vigilante justice. Now you're here to smear us. What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? Come on, use them!"
Qingduo suddenly sniffed twice, pinched her nose, and whispered, "What's that smell? It stinks!"
The onlookers sniffed a few times, and regardless of whether they could smell it or not, they instinctively covered their mouths and noses. Just as they were wondering what the stench was, Qingduo exclaimed dramatically, "I know! It's the rotten smell of the fish and shrimp under Selinfu's command!"
"You!" Someone grabbed his sleeve, ready to attack, but Zhu Yi stepped forward, reached out and pulled Qingduo behind him. Taking advantage of Zhu Yi's release, "Mantis Shrimp" twisted and darted into the crowd, disappearing from sight.
"Want to fight? I'm ready anytime." Zhu Yi got into a fighting stance and shouted, "Let's fight!"
Knowing Zhu Yi's prowess and having received word from "Qingyuan Bookstore," these people had no intention of continuing the fight. With a wave of their hand, the leader dismissed them, glared at the two men, and followed them away. Seeing that the spectacle was over, the surrounding crowd, except for Zeng Zhengji, also dispersed.
"Brother-in-law, thank goodness for you. If you hadn't reminded me, I almost fell into their trap and went astray," Qingduo sighed. "What are you doing here?"
“No need for formalities among family. I was just passing by and saw you here, so I came to see what had happened,” Zhengji said. He hesitated for a moment and said, “But… my brother is in the business of classics and historical books, not the kind of anecdotal novels or vernacular stories. Did you misunderstand, sister-in-law?”
Qingduo blinked: "No, he told me himself that he signed those storytelling authors."
Just as Zeng Zhengji was about to reply, someone timidly interjected, "Excuse me, does 'Qingyuan Bookstore' still sign contracts?"
The three looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman dressed as a married woman lower her head and speak softly:
"I was also deceived by Sailinfu."
*
Upon encountering Zhengji, Qingduo thought of going home with him to avoid troubling Zhu Yi. Zhu Yi glanced at Zhengji and, seeing his frail appearance, feared that if he were in real danger, he would have to rely on Qingduo's quick wit to save him. So he said, "Since we're already here, it won't hurt to go again."
The three walked through the streets and alleys, talking about what had just happened. Qingduo said with a worried look, "Sigh, I wanted to ruin Sailinfu's reputation so that he couldn't do business and would have to compromise. But the people we attracted didn't care about right or wrong. They were just there to watch the show. They're like reeds by the river, bending whichever way the wind blows. Sometimes they can be a help in getting things done, and sometimes they can become a sharp sword that pierces us!"
"No wonder Qingqing wouldn't let me go before; my method really didn't work," she said in frustration.
“As the saying goes, ‘public opinion can destroy even the most beautiful stones, and even the most beautiful trees can sink,’ but I think your approach is effective,” Zeng Zhengji comforted her. “If you don’t strike first, the other party will make the first move. If their malicious words gain the upper hand, we will be at their mercy in the future.”
"This method is not only slow to take effect, but it also consumes a lot of energy and physical strength. No, I have to think of another way!" Qingduo sighed.
Zhu Yi had remained silent until now, but suddenly blurted out, "Is that your husband?"
The two looked up and followed Zhu Yi's gaze, and sure enough, they saw Zeng Zhengqing talking to an old man dressed in brocade at the entrance of the shop.
"Qingqing?" Qingduo's eyes lit up, and she was about to run to his side when she suddenly noticed a group of handsome men surrounding them, dressed in flamboyant attire, their perfumes lingering on their bodies. She involuntarily looked up at the signboard above, bewildered, and asked, "Where is this place? Why are there so many handsome young men?"
"The Prime Minister's residence!" Zhu Yi said disdainfully.
Qingduo was utterly astonished. She stared blankly at Zeng Zhengji, who was equally surprised, her voice trembling as she spoke:
"You...your brother...your brother...he's bisexual?"
-----------------------
The author's note: "Mantis shrimp": Talking to you gives me a headache!
Qingduo proudly declared: I have my own set of problem-solving strategies!
[I'm going on a trip soon! My drafts are like my thinning hair, each strand has its own name. "Rachel" will be released today, the next chapter, "Monica," will be released on July 3rd, and "Phoebe" still needs some revisions and is pending.]
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