At three o'clock in the night, the waning moon in the inky sky was half-obscured by thin clouds. Suddenly, a line of dark figures began to gather in the shadows beneath the west wall of the General's Mansion. Liu San, the leader, rubbed his face, the copper ring on his nose gleaming coldly in the moonlight. He shouted at the twenty or so thugs behind him, their necks hunched and shoulders hunched, in a low voice: "Everyone, pay attention! Madam Liu said that after we seize the treasures in the warehouse, we'll give you 30%! If anyone slacks off—" He slammed the ring-handled sword at his waist, the scabbard hitting the brick wall with a dull thud, "I'll chop him up and feed him to the turtles in the moat!"
The skinny thug hunched his neck and rubbed his hands, his lips trembling with cold, turning purple: "Master Liu, I heard there's a trap in the general's mansion..."
"A trap?" Liu San spat at the wall, his scabbard clanging against the brickwork. "This knife of mine can even pry open the gilded lock of the county government office, so why would I be afraid of a ruined mansion owned by a dead general? Come on!"
The ruffians hurriedly set up a human ladder, their coarse clothes rustling against the wall. Liu San was the first to leap over the wall. As his toes touched the ground, there was a crisp "crack," and he plummeted downwards. A loud "thump" exploded in the silent night, splashing green manure three feet high and filling his nostrils with a pungent stench.
"Fuck him!" Liu San was struggling in the pit, his brocade boots soles swollen from being soaked. "What the hell?!" He wiped the dung water on his face and saw in the dim moonlight that three or four thugs around him were also struggling in the pit. A skinny thug had a trembling dung ball hanging from his bun.
"Master Liu! It's a cesspool!" The skinny monkey cried, frantically picking at the slippery moss along the edge of the pit. "That little bitch Shen Weiwan must have dug the pit long ago and is waiting for you!"
It turned out that Shen Weiwan had long learned from the servants who had been turned against the Liu family that they were planning to collude with the ruffians. She had specially ordered the guards to dig a five-foot-deep manure pit at the foot of the west wall and cover it with a layer of thin wooden boards soaked in tung oil. Not to mention a person, even a mule would fall through the boards and into the water if it stepped on it.
"Hurry up and pull me up!" Liu San was struggling in the manure when he suddenly saw a fire in the corner of the yard. Chun Tao rushed out with a dozen servants holding torches, beating gongs and drums loudly: "Catch the thief! There are hooligans breaking into the house!"
Torchlight illuminated the messy ground. The hooligans scrambled out of the pit in panic, stumbling forward on the slippery moss, only to trip over the hemp ropes scattered across the yard. As the skinny monkey struggled to his feet, another rope entangled his ankle. He fell with a yelp, his mouth denting the mud.
"Who the hell pulled the rope?!" Liu San wiped the sewage off his face and ran forward. Suddenly, there was a loud "clang" above his head. Someone pushed a washing basin down from the second floor, and the whole basin of soapy water poured over his head, covering his face with white foam.
Chen Weiwan stood at the second-floor window, clutching her stomach and laughing so hard she couldn't straighten her back. The pearl pendants on her red gold hairpin trembled with her body. Chuntao handed over the handkerchief, her shoulders shaking with laughter. "Miss, your trick of 'welcoming guests in the cesspool' is absolutely amazing! First the trap, then the tripwire, and then this laundry tub that fell from the sky..."
"That's called tailoring," Chen Weiwan wiped the tears of laughter and looked at the thugs running around like headless flies downstairs. "Liu wants to use the outsiders to rob the storehouse? Then let her precious 'outsiders' taste the 'hospitality' of the General's Mansion."
The old butler walked up the stairs on crutches, his goatee quivering with laughter. "My lady, the Seventh Prince has arrived and is watching the fun in the front yard."
The front yard was brightly lit. Xiao Yu leaned against the hitching post, the hem of his dark brocade robe brushing the dew-soaked bluestone slabs. He looked at the thugs, covered in manure and tied up like dumplings by the servants, a playful smile on his face. Seeing Chen Weiwan approach, he pointed his folding fan at Liu San, who was groaning on the ground. "I heard someone wants to tear down the gate of the General's Mansion?"
Liu San was choked by the manure and could only make a "wuwu" sound from his throat, his cloudy eyes filled with resentment. As Shen Weiwan bowed, the hairpin on her temples shone with a tiny stream of light: "Your Highness, please forgive me for making fun of you. There are mice in the house and I'm cleaning them out."
"Clean it up?" Xiao Yu took a half step closer, his voice low and tinged with the scent of pine. "I think this 'Catching Thieves in the Dung Pit' is even better than the 'Three Strikes on Zhu Family Manor' in the theater." He waved his gilded folding fan, and the guard behind him held up a brocade box. "This is a coming-of-age gift for Miss Shen Er. Please pass it on to Miss Eldest."
Chuntao opened the brocade box, revealing a pair of red gold and jade bracelets. The lotus pattern on the bracelets shone brightly in the firelight. Chen Weiwan raised an eyebrow and said, "Your Highness, this gift is too precious."
"It's not expensive," Xiao Yu said, looking at the faint red mark on her wrist, his smile deepening. "Compared to the 'surprise' someone prepared, this is just a few ounces of silver."
After the Seventh Prince left, Shen Weiwan sat alone by the window, opening the brocade box. Her fingertips traced the delicate plum blossom pattern on the inside of the bracelet—it was her mother's favorite pattern. Back then, her mother often held her hand and said, "The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold." Her heart warmed slightly when she suddenly heard Chuntao pointing outside the courtyard and asking, "Miss, what should we do with these ruffians?"
"Send it to Shuntian Prefecture," Shen Weiwan closed the brocade box, a cold light flashing in her eyes, "send it along with Liu's testimony of promising to share the spoils and the ruffian's confession. Let her drink feces in prison for a few days."
The next morning, the streets and alleys of the capital were like boiling oil poured into boiling water:
"Hey! Have you heard? The general's mansion has been invaded by thugs, and everyone has fallen into the cesspool!"
"That's right! Twenty or so people, all tied up like dumplings with hemp ropes by the servants, as if they had just been pulled out of the toilet!"
"I also heard that it was the Second Madam who seduced her here! She wanted to steal the treasures in the storehouse!"
"Oh my goodness! The things going on in this general's mansion are more exciting than a storybook. Go to the west wing and take a look. I heard that the second lady was so angry that she cursed in the street!"
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
