Horses stretched their necks and neighed, their wheels kicking up dust. Under the midday autumn sun, a gilded and jeweled carriage slowly drove out of the Wei mansion and merged into the bustling flow of people, horses, and carriages on the long street.
Juan sat in the passenger seat, his brow furrowed the entire time, until the carriage stopped in front of a mansion. The driver pushed him off the carriage, and he finally let out a sigh of relief, as if resigned to his fate.
Then, turning back every few steps, he walked between the two stone lions, stared at the vermilion gate for a few moments, and then hesitated before turning back to look at the carriage.
Inside the carriage, Miaoxiang had already lifted a corner of the brocade curtain, and Ziqiao made a throat-slitting gesture to the hesitant Hu An. Urged to act, Hu An frowned again, still somewhat undecided.
At that moment, he saw Wei Shuwan's hand gently reach out of the car window. She had removed the stopper from the glass bottle without him noticing. She tilted the bottle slightly, and the greenish powder inside flowed slowly into the puddles on the ground like a thin stream…
Juan's eyes widened instantly, becoming even bigger than a bull's. He clasped his hands in a pleading gesture, then made a firm decision, turned around, and shouted at the gate, "Everyone from the Song family, listen up!"
"I have lived an honest life, and even when I was a slave, I earned my living honestly with my own strength! But you forced me to harm people, to loosen the pond embankment in an attempt to murder Miss Wei. Fortunately, a kind person saved me from committing a terrible crime! Now that you have failed to harm her, you are spreading rumors to slander Miss Wei and claim that she has lost her innocence! This is outrageous!"
"I swear on this very day that I will turn over a new leaf and never associate with your Song family again! If you disagree, just take my indenture to the authorities and I'll repeat myself when I see the magistrate! Let's see who ends up in jail, me or your Song family!"
...
At the gate of the Song residence, Hu An continued to shout and curse. At first, he seemed a little uncomfortable, but the more he cursed, the more genuine his feelings became, as if he truly disdained to associate with him.
This place was already a bustling area, and it was noon. Many people who were out doing odd jobs were taking a break at the teahouses and noodle stalls. Seeing the excitement, they all gathered around, and soon the Song family's house was completely surrounded.
Inside the gate, Master Song and Madam Su, having received a report from the gatekeeper, hurried towards the front courtyard. As soon as they passed through the hanging flower gate, they saw that Song Zichen had also arrived, with Su Xueyi, who was still recovering from her illness, by his side.
"Didn't you send Juan to the Wei family to settle things? Why is he suddenly helping the Wei family and coming to our door to curse us? Could it be that you didn't give him enough money?" When Master Song asked his son, his voice was clearly unsteady.
Song Zichen also frowned: "It's been given... I don't know what's wrong with him."
Besides, what Juan wanted wasn't silver, but Wushi San (a type of powder). When assigning the task, he deliberately gave Juan a whole bag full of it, and Juan swore that he would never betray his master, even if he died in the Wei family.
"No matter what, let's let them in first, so as not to make a fool of ourselves in front of outsiders," Su suggested.
Master Song waved his hand hastily, "Hu An knows some kung fu. If we let him in, he'll probably cause a huge commotion... Let's send a few people to chase him away first."
Song Zichen hurriedly ordered the steward to summon two teams of guards, while Madam Su reminded him, "Don't go empty-handed, have them all bring their weapons!"
So the two teams of guards, each armed with a stick, marched out of the side gate and circled around to the main gate to drive away the shouting and cursing people. But upon closer inspection, they realized it was Juan!
Juan had served in the Song household for many years and enjoyed the master's favor. He had amassed considerable influence and was considered the leader among the servants. Upon seeing him, none of the others dared to actually fight. They merely made a few feints and quickly retreated through the side gate.
"Master, they can't beat them..." the butler stammered.
"More than a dozen people couldn't beat Juan?!" Master Song was so angry that he almost fell over, but luckily Madam Su and Song Zichen were quick-witted and caught him.
The shouting and cursing outside the door continued. After a moment, Master Song said in a trembling voice, "Report to the authorities!"
"No, sir!" Madam Su exclaimed, her face pale with fright. "Didn't you hear what Hu An said? If we report this to the authorities, who knows who will end up in jail!"
"What else can we do... Are we just going to let him block the door and keep yelling?" Master Song was at a loss.
Madam Su could only look at Song Zichen: "You brought this trouble upon yourself, so figure out how to deal with it! Don't let your selfishness drag the entire Song family down with you! Your brother is about to marry the princess. If this gets to the Prince Jing's residence, how will the prince and princess dare to send the precious princess over?"
Song Zichen was so anxious that sweat poured down his forehead. To this day, he still couldn't understand why Hu An, who had always been loyal, had suddenly turned against him! What exactly had the Wei family done to him?
With a heart pounding in his chest, Song Zichen paced back and forth a few steps before walking to the front door. He opened the small window where he usually delivered letters and bent down.
From a round hole slightly larger than a fist, Song Zichen's eyes appeared. "Hu An!"
Juan's cursing stopped, and he looked down to meet those eyes. Facing his former master, he felt momentarily embarrassed, after all, Song Zichen had treated him quite well in the past.
"Young Master," he called out habitually.
Hearing the somewhat respectful "Young Master," Song Zichen knew that Hu An still held him in awe, and thus gained some confidence: "Don't you want to live? Don't forget that there are some things only I can give you! You can have as much of that thing as you want, but now get out of here immediately!"
These words made Hu An waver for a moment. After all, agreeing to Wei Shuwan's challenge at the Song residence was only a temporary measure. If Song Zichen could really give him some more Wushi Powder, he wouldn't need to be led by the nose by that young lady.
But thinking of what Wei Shuwan had said, he didn't dare to believe that Song Zichen still had any goods. Since they had to break off their relationship and could no longer be master and servant, he asked directly, "Gentleman, give them to me now, and I'll leave immediately."
"Didn't I just give you a pack five days ago? That's enough for you to last for six months!"
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