Chapter 93 Watching Dogs Bite
"Widow Qian and I actually got together last year."
Even Zhu Mingyue couldn't help but twitch her lips; she hadn't expected there to be a dog-eat-dog drama.
He silently hid further into the shadows. After being the butcher for so long, it was time for him to have a piece of the action.
"Shut up!" Widow Qian shrieked. "Don't listen to his nonsense! There's nothing between Wang Youyin and me!"
"You have a tiny black mole on your right thigh, and another one on your back." Wang Youyin seemed to know everything about her body, rattling off physical features that no outsider would know.
Widow Qian's face turned pale instantly, and she angrily shouted, "You peeped at me while I was bathing!"
Wang Youyin spat and said, "Me, spying on you taking a bath? You're so old and faded, who would want to watch you? If I were to spy, it would be..." He suddenly stopped speaking, afraid that saying too much would provoke an attack, and dared not say anything more.
He turned his head away guiltily and changed the subject: "Anyway, we've done everything we should. If you don't believe me, you can go to her house and search it. I left a pair of fur trousers at her house last time when I left in a hurry."
There's no point in arguing anymore now that things have come to this.
It's said that widows attract a lot of gossip, and whenever a scandalous affair occurs in the village, the widow becomes the target of everyone's ire. Moreover, Wang Youyin's words sound convincing, suggesting that the two of them are indeed having an affair.
It's unclear which man muttered a curse under his breath, but Widow Qian immediately fled in a panic.
Seeing that she had run away, Wang Youyin still took all the blame on her. "I originally had no intention of sneaking into the Xie family to steal, but I couldn't resist that widow Qian's constant urging. She had long coveted the Xie family's wealth, but she didn't dare to do it herself, so she could only ask me to do it."
His mother's eyes darted around, and she started wailing again, crying and cursing, "Everyone saw it clearly! My son had no wicked intentions! He was just fooled by Widow Qian! He's innocent!"
What nonsense about being fooled! That widow Qian was just a scapegoat that Wang Youyin wanted to use to bring down the other party, relying on his leverage over her.
Once his affair with Widow Qian is confirmed, others will naturally believe whatever he says afterward, whether true or false.
Zhu Mingyue had seen enough of the drama and was fully aware of Wang Youyin's little scheme.
Whatever the feud between him and Widow Qian was none of his business. He looked at Li Zhengming and said slowly, "Whether you are innocent or not, and who has misled you, please tell the officials."
Li Zhengming understood immediately and said gruffly, "Stop making a scene here. Theft is theft. I'll take him to the yamen in a bit. Everyone, disperse."
Everyone had had their fill of gossip and, seeing that the matter was finally resolved, their curiosity vanished, and they all went home.
Several others who harbored similar ulterior motives abandoned their schemes after witnessing Wang Youyin's fate tonight, at least for the time being, refraining from foolishly following in his footsteps.
Wang Youyin's mother held her son tightly, unwilling to let go. She was scolded by the village chief and was only reluctantly pulled away by Wang Youjin.
No matter how much they cherished their son, now that everything was settled, there was nothing they could do. They could only let their eldest son take the two of them back.
After the crowd dispersed, Li Zhengyang's mother asked with concern, "You've suffered, haven't you? You must have been quite frightened tonight."
Zhu Mingyue smiled faintly: "Thanks to Brother Zhengming's timely arrival, I wasn't frightened at all."
Li Zhengyang's mother finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "It's only right. Regardless of the relationship between our two families, catching the thief is also his duty."
Li Zhengming felt a little embarrassed to have been forced to take on this favor. He had indeed come to rescue Zhu Mingyue after being awakened by Er Ya, but by the time he entered, Zhu Mingyue had already subdued the person, so there was no need for him to lift a finger.
But Zhu Mingyue clearly didn't want to say more, so Li Zhengming didn't bring it up.
Zhu Mingyue was extremely sleepy. He yawned, and his vision became blurry.
The sound of roosters crowing echoed through the village.
Li Zhengming grabbed Wang Youyin by the back of his clothes and pulled him up. He turned to them and said, "It's almost dawn. I'm taking him to the yamen. Mingyue, Father and Mother, you should go back and rest too!"
The village chief was so angry about this incident in the middle of the night that he glared at the crowd and yelled, "What rest?! Didn't you hear the rooster crowing?" He would usually be up by this time too, and would be out working in the fields as soon as the sky began to lighten.
Li Zhengyang's mother tugged at his sleeve and scolded him: "Why are you arguing with the children? They were kept awake all night by your fuss."
Speaking of this, she became worried. Her son was a government official, and it was common for him to be out all night on official business; she was used to it, so it wasn't a big deal. But she was concerned that Zhu Mingyue's health might not be able to handle it.
"Mingyue, it's not past 3 AM yet, you can sleep for another hour. Go back now!"
Zhu Mingyue had the same idea, so she thanked them sincerely and went back to sleep soundly.
An hour wasn't enough. It wouldn't matter if he wasn't there to oversee the shop and restaurant for a while, so he simply slept until late morning to catch up on his sleep before getting up.
Li Zhengming wasn't annoyed that his rest day was interrupted by this matter. After dealing with Wang Youyin, he even went to Zhu Mingyue's house to tell her the result.
Wang Youyin attempted to steal from someone's house but failed. He was to be imprisoned for two months and then serve a year of hard labor. Anyone would say he had failed miserably. He probably never imagined that because his unloved third son, Wang Youliang, had helped him avoid military service, he would end up in prison and forced to serve hard labor in the local area.
Li Zhengming delivered the results and prepared to take his leave.
"Brother Zhengming, have you eaten?" Zhu Mingyue asked.
He woke up from a long nap feeling incredibly hungry, so he quickly cooked himself two dishes and a soup.
When Li Zhengming arrived at the Xie family's house, the rice on the stove was just cooked, and the fragrant aroma of the rice wafted far and wide with the rising steam.
Li Zhengming told the truth: "Not yet. My mother should have saved some food for me. I can eat it when I get back."
Zhu Mingyue smiled and said, "Why don't we just grab a bite here? By now, your aunt and uncle will have finished eating and gone to work in the fields."
He served himself a large bowl of rice and then served Li Zhengming a full bowl.
Li Zhengming did not refuse any longer, and the two sat down in the kitchen to eat.
When Zhu Mingyue eats alone, she usually makes simple dishes, such as boiled sliced pork, scrambled eggs with persimmons, and a vegetable soup, which is more than enough.
Li Zhengming ate with great relish and even had two more bowls.
"No wonder my older brother ignores my mother's delicious cooking and insists on coming to your place for meals every few days," he said with a sigh, wiping his mouth.
He was puzzled several times. His mother's cooking was not bad, but his older brother never really liked to eat it. At first, he thought it was because he was used to his mother's cooking and wanted to try something new. But today he realized he was wrong. Zhu Mingyue was indeed a good cook, which was why he was able to open a shop in the city.
The boiled pork slices were tender and juicy; I wondered what else they added besides chili peppers, as they were both numbing and spicy, making them a perfect accompaniment to rice.
Even the ordinary vegetable soup became exceptionally flavorful, with a fresh and sweet taste. He ate three bowls of rice and finally drank some soup to finish his meal before feeling completely satisfied.
Thinking back on how much I had eaten, I felt really ashamed.
Zhu Mingyue didn't care that he ate a lot, and even told him about Li Zhengyang's free meals at her house.
"Brother Zhengyang and Xie Pei both have big appetites, which makes it difficult for me to control the amount of food when I cook. I can't finish it all by myself. It's a good thing you came today, otherwise it would have been a waste."
No wonder, Zhu Mingyue was home alone, and the food she cooked was barely enough for the two of them to finish, Li Zhengming thought to himself.
Then the image of his older brother burying his head in his food flashed through his mind again; his mother often said it looked like a pig rooting for food in a pigsty. He never expected that this kind of foolishness would be so genuine even at the Xie family's house. He would even bring his own food bowl when he went to someone else's house for a free meal—only he could do something like that.
He said with a hint of helplessness, "My older brother really can eat a lot."
Zhu Mingyue smiled and said, "At our age, and doing physical labor, it's normal for us to have a big appetite. Xie Pei also has a big appetite."
"I wonder if they're able to get enough to eat, since they're so far away in Jizhou," Li Zhengming said with a hint of melancholy.
Zhu Mingyue pondered for a moment: "He shouldn't have been starving. When I went to Jizhou last time, I found that Li Zhengyang hadn't lost much weight; in fact, he was stronger than before. I think the food in the camp should be enough to fill his stomach, but I heard that every meal is millet porridge, and it doesn't taste very good."
Li Zhengming nodded: "The situation in Jizhou is not good right now. It would be a blessing if we could at least have enough to eat. My silly older brother has always had a big appetite since he was a child. If he doesn't eat for a meal, he throws a tantrum and yells. Even my mother can't do anything about him."
Zhu Mingyue couldn't even imagine how comical it would be to see the burly Li Zhengyang throwing a tantrum on the ground. Xie Pei also had a big appetite, but perhaps because he was used to being hungry, he wouldn't have any reaction if he missed a meal. Zhu Mingyue wanted to laugh but didn't feel it was inappropriate, so she held back her laughter and said, "Being able to eat is a blessing."
Achoo!
Li Zhengyang rubbed his itchy nose, and then sneezed again.
Zhong Hui, who was lying in the grass nearby, finally couldn't hold back any longer and complained in a low voice, "Are you ever going to stop, you bastard?"
Li Zhengyang lowered his voice and replied apologetically, "I wanted to finish it too, but I just couldn't help it."
Yuan Fei suddenly chuckled: "In my hometown, there's a saying: 'First you think about it, then you curse it, then you mutter about it.' Brother Li, you've been cursed behind your back, haven't you?"
Zhong Hui scoffed: "That makes sense, he's the kind of person who deserves to be scolded."
Li Zhengyang thought about it. His relatives in Ganzhou missed him so much that they wouldn't scold him. It was probably Li Ding or Sun Kan who were scolding him!
His sneezing had just subsided when his stomach started rumbling loudly.
Zhong Hui: ...
Yuan Fei: ...
The two men sandwiched him between them, turned to stare at him, and said in unison, "Are you ever going to stop?"
Li Zhengyang felt wronged. The army was short of food, and he hadn't had a proper meal for over half a month, leaving him emaciated and pale. The only strength he still had in his legs was thanks to the dried meat Zhu Mingyue had given him last time. Luckily, he hadn't eaten too much of it then, and it came in handy.
Most people nowadays only have a bowl of millet soup for each meal. It's called soup instead of porridge because the bowl is mostly water, with only a thin layer of millet at the bottom. How could those soldiers possibly get enough to eat? They would feel nauseous from hunger after drinking water for less than half an hour.
Zhong Hui: "I know you're hungry, but your stomach is making a really loud noise. Could you try to control it a little?"
Li Zhengyang knew his actions were dangerous, so he gritted his teeth, grabbed a blade of grass from the ground, wiped it casually with his sleeve, mixed it with dirt, and stuffed it into his mouth to chew.
It tasted bitter, astringent, and earthy. Li Zhengyang's throat tightened, and he suppressed the urge to vomit. Fortunately, the effect was immediate; his stomach stopped rumbling, and the churning sensation in his stomach subsided somewhat.
Everyone was silent for a moment, then Yuan Fei asked curiously, "How does it taste?"
"Not bad." Li Zhengyang forced himself to wipe the mud off his mouth.
well!
Someone sighed, and then a subtle rustling sound arose around them.
Even Zhong Hui, expressionless, plucked a handful of grass roots and stuffed them into his mouth.
After finishing his meal, Yuan Fei complained, "Why does this grass root taste so numb? I wish it had a sweet flavor; I've had that before."
Li Zhengyang rolled his eyes at him: "You've really gone for it. It's good enough that it's not poisonous."
Sun Kan's voice rang out: "Alright, everyone stop eating. Cheer up and listen to my orders later."
Zhong Hui quickly plucked another handful of grass roots and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing as he turned his head and pressed his ear tightly against the ground.
After a moment, he said seriously, "There's too much noise, so I can't hear clearly. The other party is probably still three miles away. We'll go around that riverbank halfway, so it's about a five-mile journey in total."
Sun Kan's face darkened: "Could you hear clearly how many carriages they brought?"
Everyone held their breath in unison, while Zhong Hui, with a half-eaten blade of grass in his mouth, listened intently. The world was so quiet that it seemed as if only the sound of the wind rustling through the grass could be heard.
After a long while, Zhong Hui looked up, his face no longer showing the confidence he had before: "The weight and size of the carriages and wheeled vehicles vary, so it's impossible to judge. If we take the ones in our army as a standard, there are definitely more than fifty, but I can't determine the exact number."
"Fifty vehicles?" Yuan Fei's eyes lit up. "These southern barbarians are really rich!"
Zhong Hui wasn't as excited as him. Instead, he said dismissively, "Don't be too happy yet. The enemy's forces are no smaller than ours. Besides, our brothers haven't had a proper meal in days. We're starving. We might not have the upper hand against these well-fed and warlike southern barbarians."
Li Zhengyang cursed under his breath, his voice filled with ruthlessness: "Who cares if we can win or not, just kill them. They'll either die in battle or starve to death. If we can capture this batch of grain, then we brothers can at least have a full meal."
Li Zhengyang's words made sense, and even Sun Kan nodded in agreement. "Don't be discouraged, everyone cheer up, take the grain, and we'll feast in the camp for three days and three nights."
Sun Kan's promises were outrageous, but the crowd couldn't help but get excited. They would be content with just one full meal, let alone eating for three days and three nights.
Everyone carefully remained motionless, lying prone in the grass, quietly waiting for the lambs to arrive.
After an unknown amount of time, the sun had moved further west, and the orderly footsteps of the Southern Barbarian army grew ever closer.
Sun Kan slowly raised the hand holding the knife, waiting for a command so that everyone could move out.
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