Chapter 47 "It would be best to kill you."...
"It would be best to kill you."
Zhu Mingyue felt a chill run down his spine. He had been focused on making money, living an ordinary yet fulfilling life. He believed he had never offended anyone, but little did he know that someone was already watching him from the shadows.
He took a deep breath: "How much silver did they pay you to save my life?"
The bearded man hesitated for a few seconds before confessing, "Twenty taels."
Someone asked a crucial question: "Boss, didn't you say it was fifteen taels?"
Bearded man: ...He's the boss, what's wrong with taking a kickback?
Zhu Mingyue's feelings were complicated, a mixture of emotions.
So his life was only worth twenty taels?
Unfortunately, the bearded man misunderstood and continued to stab him in the heart, saying, "We definitely wouldn't have taken this job before, it's too cheap. But we're on the run now, and life is tough. We can only take on small jobs along the way to make ends meet. Everyone's having a hard time!"
Zhu Mingyue felt aches and pains all over his body – his heart ached, his stomach hurt, his head ached, and everything hurt. Now that he had gotten the answer, he didn't want to say another word to this incorrigible person. He reached out his hand: "Give me the money."
"What silver?" The bearded man tried to play dumb.
Zhu Mingyue twirled the tinderbox between his fingers, narrowed his eyes, and said fiercely, "The money you paid to take my life. You took the money but didn't do the job. Shouldn't you give me back all the money?"
Not only was the bearded man bewildered, but even his brothers were dumbfounded. It seemed like there was no such rule in their line of work, right? Even if money was refunded, it should be refunded to the buyer, not to the person whose life was bought.
The bearded man's eyes gleamed: "None of us have any money on us."
Hearing him say that, the others chimed in, chattering away until Zhu Mingyue had a headache.
"Xie Pei, beat them up until they're willing to cough up the silver."
Upon hearing this, the group immediately shut their mouths. They had witnessed the martial prowess of this man named Xie Pei, who was dressed in black, and had a deep understanding of it. His fighting style was unique, making it impossible to predict his moves. Every strike drew blood and flesh, which was truly terrifying.
"I'll confess! I'll confess, okay? Don't get that person's hands dirty."
The money was hidden in the bearded man's boots, and a sour, pungent odor permeated the air when one got close. Zhu Mingyue covered his mouth and nose, his eyes stinging from the stench. He instinctively wanted to call He An to get it, but when he turned around and saw that everyone had already run away, he remembered that he had just sent He An out on an errand not long ago. He glanced at Xie Pei, whose usually expressionless face showed a rare hint of disgust. Well, he would have to rely on himself after all.
The face value of Li Chao's silver notes ranged from ten taels to ten thousand taels. Zhu Mingyue held two ten-tael silver notes and one fifty-tael note in her hand.
The silver notes were tossed out the window to air out, and he pointed at the fifty taels and asked, "How many did you kill?"
Before the bearded man could even speak, someone next to him interjected, "There's only one, and this one is more expensive than yours."
"We don't want the twenty taels, just give us back the fifty taels!"
"Yes, we were outmatched and got beaten up by you, so we just accepted our bad luck. Those fifty taels have nothing to do with you."
Zhu Mingyue smiled silently, waiting for He An to return.
As they were talking, a series of noisy footsteps came from outside the door, and then five or six constables dressed in identical uniforms stepped into the shop. He An, who was in the lead, took a couple of deep breaths and pointed at the men, accusing them: "Sir, these are the men who came to our shop in broad daylight to cause trouble and said that someone had ordered them to kill our manager."
Upon closer inspection, the leader seemed somewhat familiar. Zhu Mingyue went through the few faces she could recall before realizing that the man's features were very similar to Li Zhengyang's.
The man glanced at him once and then ordered the arrest of the bearded man and his brothers.
The bearded man was completely bewildered. For this twenty-tael deal, he had lost both his life and his money, only to end up benefiting someone else. He was unwilling to accept this and loudly defended himself: "Why are they arresting us? We didn't hurt them at all, but they beat us up and stole all my money. They're just robbers."
The leader frowned deeply, then suddenly kicked him hard in the waist: "Behave yourself!"
After everyone else had walked away, Zhu Mingyue softly called out, "Brother Li."
"Do you know me?" the man asked curiously.
Zhu Mingyue smiled and said, "We know each other. Brother Zhengyang and I met you beforehand."
He knew that Li Zhengming, the village chief's youngest son, worked in the county government, but he had never met him. Li Zhengyang had mentioned his brother to him more than once, talking about how his outstanding abilities had earned him the appreciation of his superiors, who intended to promote him, his words filled with pride.
The man nodded: "He also told me about you in advance." However, he didn't know before coming that the person who reported to the authorities was Zhu Mingyue. Fortunately, his brother had a strange fondness for Zhu Mingyue. He had told him everything, from the fact that Zhu Mingyue owned a food shop in town to the fact that he had two small brown moles on his eyelids. In addition, Zhu Mingyue was very good-looking. Given all these factors, as long as he wasn't stupid, he could recognize the man in front of him at a glance.
Zhu Mingyue asked He An to bring over the fifty-tael silver notes drying on the windowsill and handed them to him, saying, "This is what I found on those people. They specialize in murder. These silver notes were payment for another victim of mine who was hired to kill someone. Once the truth is out, please deliver this money to the victim's family." The deceased is gone, and their family probably doesn't care about this money for killing someone, but regardless of whether the other party cares or not, this money should be given to them.
"Alright, you can come to the yamen to find me if you need anything in the future. I have to take my leave now."
Zhu Mingyue immediately agreed, thinking that having a connection with someone working in the yamen would save him a lot of trouble. She sincerely thanked him, saying, "Brother Li, come often when you have time. We don't have anything else, just dumplings." With his conspicuous yamen uniform sitting in the shop, he was sure to deter many troublemakers.
Li Zhengming took a few steps outside, then suddenly stopped, turned back with a serious expression: "The southern barbarians have invaded, and recently there have been many refugees fleeing from the southern prefectures and counties in the city. They are a mixed bag, so be careful." After speaking, he shifted his gaze to Xie Pei, "Kangyang County may be conscripting troops to march south, so be prepared."
"Recruiting soldiers?" Zhu Mingyue was stunned for a moment, then his face turned serious. Watching Li Zhengming's figure disappear into the distance, he turned around and carefully looked Xie Pei up and down.
To be fair, his brother-in-law, in terms of height, physique, and age, seemed like good material for joining the army.
The more he looked, the more nervous he became. But Xie Pei's face remained completely calm, showing no sign of nervousness. He couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you worried at all?"
Xie Pei carefully wiped the dagger in his hand. The large bloodstains on the white handkerchief were very glaring to Zhu Mingyue's eyes, making him dizzy for a moment.
He steadied himself and wanted to ask something more, but He An panicked first, "Oh no, I'll be sixteen next month."
The Li Dynasty's conscription age requirement is sixteen to fifty-five years old, which may be relaxed to fifteen to sixty years old in special and emergency situations. In either case, He An has already met the standard.
“If I go to fight in the south, what will become of my mother all alone? She is in poor health and needs me to take care of her.” He An said, tears welling up in his eyes.
Zhu Mingyue was unaware of the current situation, and it was clear that Li Zhengming had only heard bits and pieces of information, lacking specifics. Seeing He An cry, he felt extremely distressed as well.
Not only will He An's mother be all alone, but if Xie Pei leaves, his life in the village will likely not be easy.
He and Xie Pei had lived together for so long, and their life had finally started to improve; everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction...
He pursed his lips, feeling down, but still forced himself to cheer up and said, "Let's pack up and close up shop. We'll take a break tomorrow."
He An wanted to go back to take care of his mother as soon as possible, so he cleaned with extra effort.
This sudden news overwhelmed Zhu Mingyue's mind, and a depressed mood lingered in his heart all night, impossible to shake off.
I didn't even realize that I had cut my fingertip while chopping vegetables in the morning. Blood dripped onto the vegetable leaves, and I only realized I had cut my finger when I caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of my eye.
quack!
Standing on top of the cabinet, Er Ya tilted her head and stared at his fingers, her yellow pupils filled with doubt.
"I'll feed you meat after I chop the vegetables." Zhu Mingyue looked up at it, thinking it was begging for food because it hadn't caught any prey that day.
He threw the blood-stained vegetable leaves into the slop bucket, then turned and casually rinsed the wound with cold water. This time the wound was cut a little deeper, and blood immediately oozed out as soon as he stopped rinsing.
When Xie Pei came in, the first thing that caught my eye was him sucking on his fingertip. There were even some bloodstains on the corner of his lips, which made his lips look even redder and his face even whiter, adding to his bewitching appearance.
Xie Pei's eyes darkened suddenly, and he strode forward to grab Zhu Mingyue's wrist.
Zhu Mingyue licked her lips and asked him cautiously, "What's wrong?"
He was met with Xie Pei's frosty face, which made him shiver with coldness after just one glance.
He was out of sorts all day, and it wasn't until the powder was applied to his wound that the pain brought him back to his senses.
"It hurts!" he complained softly.
Xie Pei glanced at him, and after a long while said, "It won't hurt in a bit."
Huh? Zhu Mingyue felt a sense of novelty; this was the first time he had received such a response from Xie Pei. Was he trying to coax him?
As the sun rose over the distant mountains, Zhu Mingyue ate the breakfast Xie Pei had prepared for him: a bowl of vegetable porridge.
To be honest, it wasn't very tasty; it was a bit too thick. He suspected that if he hadn't specifically reminded Xie Pei to add more water, Xie Pei would have turned the rice porridge into rice.
He used to blow on the rim of the bowl a few times before slowly sipping his porridge. Now he can't drink it by hand anymore, so he can only scoop it into his mouth with a spoon. After two bowls of thick porridge, Zhu Mingyue was so full that he didn't want to move.
A gentle breeze swept through the courtyard, ruffling two stray strands of hair at her temples. Zhu Mingyue felt a tickle on her face and rubbed it with her hand.
“Xie Pei,” he called out.
“Don’t be afraid, only one person will be charged per household,” he paused, then added, “I will go.”
Zhu Mingyue: ...That's not what he meant at all.
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