008 Is It Enough to Bite Him to Death
The next morning, Chen Yan went into the mountains as usual with his broken bow and worn-out sword.
Although he had agreed to serve as a servant in the Su household for three months, he also wanted to pay off his debt as soon as possible.
Su Niao, on the other hand, was extremely leisurely. After finishing her breakfast, she strolled out for a walk to aid her digestion.
Although Jining County was not particularly prosperous, the local customs were decent, and the residents of Ping'an Lane were quite kind.
Su Niao had already woken up late, and after taking her time to finish breakfast, it was almost time for lunch. At this hour, the able-bodied men in the household were out earning money, while the women were busy cooking, so there were few people to be seen in the alley.
Even at the stone bridge where neighbors liked to gather and chat, there was hardly anyone around, making the scenery look even more elegant and beautiful.
Su Niao brought Lichun and headed toward the stone bridge. Just as she reached the edge of the bridge, she saw that there were indeed people there after all—a tall one was bent over in the river below the bridge, fumbling for something in the water, while a little bean of a child was playing by the roadside on the other side of the bridge.
Lichun also recognized them—weren't those the Chen siblings, the ones called Chen Xu and… Chen Ning?
Somewhat curious, she called out, "Hey, what are you looking for?"
The moment she spoke, her tone carried a hint of her young mistress's arrogance.
Chen Xu looked up from the river and saw Su Niao and her maid on the stone bridge. His face immediately flushed slightly. "My sister's shoe fell into the water. I'm looking for it."
Lichun laughed. "If a shoe falls into the water, it's probably been washed away by now. How could you possibly find it?"
Chen Xu resisted the urge to glance at Miss Su standing beside Lichun and pressed his lips together, looking a bit embarrassed. "I'll take a look. If I can't find it, then I'll have to give up."
Lichun waved her hand. "Then take your time searching."
Just as she was about to help her young mistress move forward, Lichun suddenly spotted something. "Hey, look—is that shoe stuck in the crack between those rocks up ahead your sister's?"
Chen Xu quickly looked over. "Where?"
Lichun leaned over the edge of the stone bridge to point it out to him. "To the left, up ahead—that big blackish-green rock. Do you see it…"
Su Niao watched as Lichun bent over, sticking her rear out while reaching out to guide Chen Xu, and a thought couldn't help but cross her mind: That rear looks like it would be perfect for a kick.
Chen Xu still couldn't see it, and Lichun grew so anxious that she went down from the side of the bridge to point it out to him directly. Su Niao, meanwhile, sat down by the stone bridge and watched the two of them talk past each other with amusement.
She suspected this scholar might have some problem with his eyes—the shoe was so obvious, yet he simply couldn't see it.
Just then, hearing some commotion, Su Niao poked her head out from behind the large rock and saw a carriage stopping on the other side of the bridge. It was midsummer, yet the carriage curtains were extremely heavy.
A plump old woman got down from the carriage, walked over to the little bean of a child playing alone by the roadside, and said something with a smile on her face.
Su Niao was just thinking this was strange when she saw the woman, without any warning, grab the thin little girl in her arms, press a handkerchief over the child's face, and dash several steps toward the carriage.
Su Niao had vaguely heard before about child snatchers, but she never imagined they would be so bold.
She let out a furious shout: "What do you think you're doing?"
Lifting her skirt and running over, Su Niao shouted at the same time: "Chen Xu, your sister is being stolen by a child trafficker!"
Lichun turned her head and saw it too, immediately yelling: "Someone help! Catch the trafficker!"
The plump woman hadn't noticed anyone behind the rocks at all, having only assumed the little girl was alone.
By this time, she had already stuffed Chen Ning into the carriage. Ordinarily, the moment she boarded, the driver would crack his whip and the carriage would bolt off—no way those people on foot could catch up. But as luck would have it, when the fat woman caught sight of Su Niao chasing after them, her gaze landed on that face, and the greed in her heart could no longer be suppressed.
Even for someone in her line of work, who had seen all kinds of beauties, one this stunning was a rare sight indeed. Add to that the fact that she had scouted the area for days without hearing of any household of consequence in Ping'an Lane, she figured this peerless beauty was at most the daughter of some wealthy family.
A face like this was a money tree—the kind that rained gold ingots…
So the fat woman held the carriage back, poised and waiting for the beauty to catch up. The moment she reached them, the woman grabbed her hand and tried to haul her onto the carriage—but with a sudden yank… she couldn't budge her.
A young lady of a noble household, especially one who looked like this, was surely pampered, delicate, and frail. But the instant the fat woman seized her, she was instead yanked clean off the carriage before she knew what hit her.
She crashed face-first onto the ground, dazed and dizzy. Before she could recover her senses, she saw the pearl-like beauty flip over and, to her shock, mount her back directly.
Su Niao had been spoiled rotten since childhood, and over the past year or nearly two, she had followed Xie Qinglan riding horses, playing polo, and even learning a few punches and kicks from him. On top of that, she had always had a strong constitution and abundant vitality—she didn't look it, but she was packed with strength.
She pressed the fat woman down flat, grabbed her hair, and started swinging punches.
The fat woman howled in pain. The driver beside her saw things going wrong and scrambled off the carriage to help, but by then, Lichun had also pounced over.
Lichun was even more full of brute strength—one kick sent the scrawny driver toppling to the ground, where he writhed and screamed in agony.
By the time Chen Xu came running over barefoot, the Su family guards had already flown in from the corner across the bridge and subdued both traffickers.
Chen Xu rushed forward in a panic and saw the previously ethereal Miss Su perched atop the fat woman's back, one hand twisting her ear and the other yanking her hair: "Still trying to grab your granny here… let's see how many lives you've got!"
Only when the guards stepped forward did she clap her hands and rise to her feet. As she stood, she gave the fat woman another kick to the face: "Wretched thing."
In an instant, the fat woman had been beaten into a disheveled mess, nose bleeding, one eye socket bruised, sobbing pitifully…
Chen Xu hurriedly gathered his little sister into his arms. Seeing the little bean's dazed expression, he let out a long sigh of relief.
Su Niao glanced at him sidelong, dusting the dirt off her hands: "What broken shoes take half a day to find? By the time you found your shoes, your sister would've been gone."
Chen Xu looked at the young lady across from him—one who was beautiful even when throwing punches—and, holding his sister, bowed to her with solemn gratitude.
Su Niao waved a hand dismissively, feeling thoroughly satisfied from the fight… though the back of her hand was scraped raw and stinging.
Before dusk, Chen Yan crossed the stone bridge carrying yet another fox, returning to Ping'an Lane. A bloody gash ran along his left arm, roughly bandaged.
Before he reached Su Garden, he spotted a figure walking ahead—it was Miss Su herself.
And his sister Chen Ning was trotting alongside her. At whatever she had just said, the girl giggled and wrapped her arms around Su Niao's leg.
The next instant, Chen Yan heard Su Niao shriek in disgust: "Get your paws off me… filthy!"
Two black handprints now stained her freshly changed skirt—her favorite one these past few days.
Su Niao's vision went black. She barely restrained herself from kicking away this filthy girl who looked like she couldn't withstand even one of her kicks. Through gritted teeth, she said, "Go home. Don't come looking for me again."
From the moment she had saved this little girl that morning, this little black monkey had been circling around her all afternoon, grinning at her like a little fool, impossible to chase away.
Su Niao was about to lose her mind from being pestered. When her skirt got dirtied again, she exploded: "If you dare come find me again, I'll sell you to a trafficker."
Chen Yan's expression suddenly turned icy cold.
He strode forward, scooping up his sister with his injured arm, gave Su Niao a cold look, tossed the fox at the entrance of Su Garden, then turned and took his sister home.
Just as they entered the courtyard gate, they saw Chen Xu hurrying out. Seeing his elder brother and sister, he let out a sigh of relief and scolded in a low voice, "How did you sneak out again?"
Chen Yan set the little bean down, then bent over and said gently, "A-Ning, go play by yourself. Don't go to Su Garden, alright?"
He knew that pampered young ladies from wealthy families looked down on common folk, but Su Niao's words about selling his sister to a trafficker were too vicious.
Being spoiled wasn't a great sin, but being malicious was… For her to say such a thing, she must have had such thoughts.
Chen Yan knew that great households often sold their servants, but his sister was not a servant of the Su family!
Chen Xu read something from his elder brother's expression, then asked Chen Ning, "Did you go looking for Miss Su again?"
Chen Ning nodded sheepishly.
Chen Xu said helplessly, "Even if Miss Su is kind-hearted, you shouldn't have pestered her for the whole day. That would annoy anyone."
Chen Ning pouted, her big eyes pitiful and pleading, and whispered in grievance, "I just like Miss Su… I won't go tomorrow, so Big Brother and Second Brother don't be angry."
Chen Yan's brows furrowed. "You pestered her the whole day?"
Thinking of the disdain the young lady had shown toward his sister earlier, Chen Yan asked, "Why were you pestering her?"
Chen Xu quickly told his elder brother what had happened that morning.
"If Miss Su hadn't rushed forward without regard for her own safety to save A-Ning, A-Ning would probably have been taken by traffickers… It was all my carelessness. Miss Su even scraped the back of her hand while saving A-Ning."
Only then did Chen Yan realize why Su Niao had earlier threatened to sell his sister to traffickers to scare her.
It was because they had encountered traffickers that morning…
Thinking of the fox carcass he had expressionlessly hurled at her feet, Chen Yan paused for a moment, handed his sister to Chen Xu, and turned to walk back toward Su Garden.
The gates of Su Garden were tightly shut, and the fox lay just outside on the ground.
Chen Yan picked up the fox, then knocked on the door…
Su Niao had just changed into a new dress when Lichun told her that Chen Yan had arrived.
"Let him in."
A moment later, Chen Yan handed the fox to the guard and entered the flower hall. The first thing he saw was Su Niao in a set of magnificent robes different from before.
"Thank you, Miss, for saving my sister today."
Chen Yan knew he had misunderstood Su Niao earlier. Though his expression remained unchanged, his words of gratitude were sincere.
After all, given Su Niao's status, the fact that she would risk danger to save his sister was enough to show she had a good heart.
A delicate young lady raised amidst gold and jade—being a little spoiled was only natural.
At that moment, however, Su Niao's gaze fell on Chen Yan's left arm. It was bandaged with bloodstains visible. So… he was injured!
Suppressing her joy, Su Niao wore a casual expression. She ignored Chen Yan's thanks and instead asked him, "How did you get hurt?"
Chen Yan paused for a moment, then said, "It's nothing. I ran into a wild wolf."
Su Niao's heart leaped with even greater delight.
"Wild wolves… Are there many wolves in the mountains? Is it dangerous?"
Enough to bite him to death, she thought.
Chen Yan looked up and saw the delicate young lady's cat-like eyes staring directly at the wound on his left arm.
The wound, which had felt like nothing before, suddenly seemed to sting…
He shook his head. "At this time of year, wild wolves rarely hunt in packs. It's not too dangerous."
Su Niao was disappointed at first, but then a sudden idea struck her.
Suppressing her excitement, she waved dismissively at Chen Yan, putting on an air of understanding grace. "Alright, since you're injured, rest for a couple of days. Go back into the mountains in a few days."
Giving her time to prepare properly.
Chen Yan lowered his eyes. "Yes."
As he was leaving the Su estate, he saw Steward Su approaching with a smile, offering a porcelain bottle. "This is a medicinal salve from the young lady for your wound. It was prepared by the imperial physician and will do your injury good."
This bottle of salve was probably worth far more than even that fox.
Chen Yan shook his head. "Thank the young lady for her kindness, but there's no need."
With that, he turned and strode out of the Su estate without looking back…
That night, several guards of the Su estate received their orders. Dressed in black night attire, they carried a sheep that had been bought and slaughtered elsewhere, and dumped it into the mountain woods where Chen Yan often frequented.
That evening, Su Niao had a dream. In it, the Chen family wailed and sobbed, saying that Chen Yan had been torn apart and killed by wild wolves. They came to her demanding compensation, and she generously paid them one hundred taels of silver… She was still smiling when she woke up.
She was going to have her revenge!