Chapter 217 Accepting My Bad Luck
There is a curfew in Nanjing, and you can't see a single pedestrian on the streets until late at night.
Tonight was an exception. Those scholars who attended the Deer Cry Banquet were either from wealthy families and had to travel by carriage, or from ordinary families and had to walk back to their lodgings.
The inn where Xu Huaining stayed was some distance from the government office. He had drunk a bit too much at the banquet that night, and with no one else around to take care of him or anyone traveling with him, he had no choice but to return to the inn alone.
Reaching a fork in the road, Xu Huaining checked the direction before continuing towards the inn.
Just walk through this alley and then along the main street for a while, and you'll be back at the inn to rest.
As Xu Huaining was thinking this, he vaguely heard faint footsteps behind him.
He didn't think much of it, assuming it was someone getting up in the middle of the night, so he didn't turn back and continued walking.
As the footsteps grew closer and faster, Xu Huaining felt a sense of unease, worried that he might encounter some villains who could harm him.
He suppressed his fear and was about to turn around to see who was behind him when a large sack fell from the sky, covering him from head to toe.
Xu Huaining instinctively opened his mouth to scream, but a sharp pain in his face stopped him from uttering the words he was about to say, and only a short groan escaped his lips: "Ugh—"
Then, fists and feet rained down like hail, and he could no longer find a chance to call for help.
Who is it? Who is it? Who is lying in ambush here?
Were they the students at the inn who failed the exam and were jealous of him?
Or was it a passerby who couldn't sleep at night and took it out on him?
Or perhaps someone he had offended in the past has come looking for him?
Xu Huaining was in excruciating pain all over his body, and a great sense of fear welled up in his heart.
Will he die in this quiet alley?
No, he can't die. He just became a scholar and has a bright future ahead of him. He absolutely cannot die here!
Xu Huaining gritted his teeth and endured the pain, his voice weak as he said, "I...I have no grudge against you, why are you so cruel?"
The punches and kicks landing on him paused for a moment, then rained down again in quick succession, but no one answered his question.
Unable to figure out his opponent's tactics, Xu Huaining felt a renewed sense of fear. Knowing he couldn't escape, he could only curl up tightly, protecting his head with his hands to avoid injury to vital organs.
This one-sided beating lasted for a full quarter of an hour.
Just when Xu Huaining thought he was going to be beaten to death, the punches and kicks stopped without warning.
He was overjoyed, thinking it was all over, when a chilling "crack" sound rang out, and a sharp pain shot through his right leg, almost making him faint.
In fact, Xu Huaining did indeed faint.
Throughout the entire ordeal, the perpetrator did not utter a single syllable; he had no idea who the attacker was.
In the darkness, the large sack covering Xu Huaining was removed, and a large, bony hand groped around his chest and waist before taking away the fifty taels of silver that the government had awarded him at the Deer Cry Banquet that evening.
Then, the shadowy figure picked up the large sack on the ground and leisurely left the crime scene, meeting up with a petite figure at the fork in the road at the end of the alley.
Two people, one tall and one short, left as quickly as they had come.
Xu Huaining was unconscious for an unknown period of time until he was discovered by the night watchman who had finished his shift and returned home. He was then rushed to a nearby clinic.
According to the doctor's diagnosis, he was covered in superficial injuries, with the most serious injury being to his right leg, which would require at least three months of rest to fully recover.
Xu Huaining was covered in bruises, and his face was swollen. After hearing the doctor's diagnosis, intense hatred flashed in his eyes: "Report to the authorities! I'm going to report to the authorities!"
The news that a newly appointed scholar who had just attended the Deer Cry Banquet was beaten by bandits on his way home and suffered a broken right leg quickly spread among the other scholars.
For a time, everyone was filled with anxiety, fearing that they would be the next ones to have their legs broken.
Especially after hearing that the fifty taels of silver awarded to Xu Huaining by the government had been stolen, the candidates unanimously concluded that bandits had targeted them and treated them like fat sheep.
Therefore, the candidates dared not linger in Jinling and packed their bags to return home ahead of time.
The government officials who received the report also believed that the bandits were after money, and had been secretly staking out the vicinity of the government office long before the scholars attended the Deer Cry Banquet.
Unfortunately, Xu Huaining was alone when he returned to the inn, which made him a target for the bandits.
Despite a thorough investigation by the authorities, no witnesses were found, and even the large sack used in the crime was nowhere to be found, making it impossible to locate the robber.
This heinous robbery was destined to end badly.
Even though Xu Huaining was unwilling, there was nothing he could do but accept his bad luck.
Perhaps because Xu Jinnian had presented himself as too virtuous and upright in public over the years, Xu Huaining had no suspicion that he was the one who committed the crime that night.
Moreover, even if he had suspicions and informed the investigators, it would be futile without evidence.
Perhaps because he had vented his anger by doing something "bad," Sheng An was in an exceptionally good mood these past two days, granting Xu Jinnian's every request, and their relationship became even more harmonious.
Liu Xiaoyun and Liu Yanran assumed she was just happy for Xu Jinnian's success in the imperial examination, and they dragged her out every day to spend money lavishly, buying piles and piles of things back home.
As soon as Sheng An bought something he liked, he would scatter small pieces of silver and copper coins to the little beggars or ragged people on the street.
These broken silver and copper coins added up to exactly fifty taels.
Liu Xiaoyun and Liu Yanran were both well-off, and seeing Sheng An doing this, they followed suit and threw money at the little beggars.
These past few days, the little beggars in the city have been absolutely ecstatic.
Having completed their tasks in Jinling, the group packed their belongings and prepared to return to Qingzhou.
The day before he returned, Tan Zhenlin hosted a dinner at Ruyi Restaurant.
Tan Qingrou was a little downcast and held Sheng An's hand with great reluctance: "Sister An'an, I don't know when we will meet again after this parting."
Sheng An was also reluctant to part with her, and comforted her with a smile: "Your brother Jin Nian is going to participate in next year's spring imperial examination. I will accompany him to the capital. If nothing unexpected happens, we will be able to meet at the end of the year."
Upon hearing this, Tan Qingrou excitedly asked repeatedly, "Really? Is Sister An'an really going to Beijing?"
Sheng An nodded solemnly: "I'm not lying to you, I will definitely go!"
Having received Sheng An's promise, Tan Qingrou's low spirits vanished, and a bright smile returned to her beautiful face: "Sister An'an, I'll be waiting for you in the capital."
Sheng An smiled and agreed, but felt a little heavy-hearted.
Whether it was what Liu Huazhi said before her death or the nightmare she had, the calamity of her previous life should have occurred on her way to the capital to find Jin Nian.
Especially Da Kui, who was killed by the people who ambushed her on the way in her previous life while protecting her, causing his aunt and uncle to outlive their child, Zhao Di to lose her husband at a young age, and their two children to lose their father's protection at a young age.
This time, Da Kui doesn't need to go to the capital. Even if he faces death again, it won't cost him his life.
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