009 Selling Him Off
Using their flesh to lure the wolves would take at least several days, so Su Niao had no choice but to bide her time patiently. With nothing else to do, she ordered her guards to harness the two human traffickers alongside the horses, making them pull the carriage toward the county office.
Ping'an Lane was a considerable distance from the county office, and soon the sight of two people harnessed to pull a carriage alongside horses drew a large crowd of onlookers.
Su Niao felt a surge of satisfaction watching the two traffickers bound and pulling the carriage with the horses. Remembering the stinging pain on her own hand, she paid no mind to the onlookers and raised her whip, cracking it down on the fat woman's head. "Pull faster."
The fat woman wept and begged for mercy.
The surrounding crowd, unaware of the circumstances, only saw two elderly people being subjected to such humiliation and began chattering with accusations.
"How can such a thing happen? Even household servants shouldn't be treated like beasts of burden."
"Exactly. This young lady may be beautiful, but she's utterly vicious."
"I saw her earlier and thought she was some celestial maiden descended from heaven, but she's actually like a demon… How terrifying."
The weather was scorching hot, so Su Niao sat by the carriage door to catch the breeze. On the driver's seat were Chen Xu and Chen Yan, who was handling the reins.
When Chen Xu heard the crowd's accusations, he wanted to speak up in her defense, but was cut off by the sharp crack of Su Niao's whip.
She pointed the tip of her whip at the person who had spoken earlier, curling her lips in a cold smile. "Say one more word and I'll harness you up to pull the carriage too. Go on, try me."
Seeing the opulent carriage and the guards following behind, the man immediately shrank back and fell silent.
The others around also shut their mouths, angry but afraid to speak, though their gazes at Su Niao grew increasingly like they were looking at a monster.
Only then did Su Niao appear satisfied.
Chen Xu said with some helplessness, "Miss Su, you should have let me explain the truth, so you wouldn't be misunderstood."
But Su Niao couldn't have cared less. "Who are they to me? Why should I care about their misunderstandings?"
Her delicate features wore a look of utter indifference, her stunning profile radiant like a gorgeous flower blooming boldly under the scorching sun.
Chen Xu's gaze seemed scalded, and he hastily looked away. His eyes inadvertently fell upon the shallow wound on the young lady's hand that had yet to heal.
He seemed to hear his own voice trembling slightly. This usually reserved and shy scholar suddenly harbored an unprecedented audacious thought.
Very cautious, yet very bold, he said in a trembling voice, "Miss Su, the ointment on your hand has rubbed off. Shall I reapply it for you?"
Since they were heading to the county office and bringing Chen Xu as the aggrieved party, Su Niao had found the carriage too crowded and hadn't brought Lichun along.
Glancing at the smeared ointment on the back of her hand and the jarring wound against her porcelain-like skin, Su Niao gave a casual "mm" and extended her hand without a second thought, in the manner of one accustomed to being waited on. "The ointment is on the small table."
Chen Xu's cheeks burned. He turned and retrieved the porcelain jar and the small jade spoon from inside the carriage. Lowering his eyes, he scooped out some ointment and carefully applied it to the young lady's hand with the jade spoon.
Though he used the jade spoon and was careful not to touch even a fraction of the skin on the young lady's hand, he still felt his soul shaken, as if he were floating among the clouds.
The next moment, Chen Xu rather awkwardly put the medicine jar back, not daring to look in that direction again.
Throughout it all, Chen Yan drove the carriage and the traffickers beside the horses with an expressionless face. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his younger brother's bright red ears and dazed, absent-minded expression…
The trafficker was taken to the county office, and Su Niao couldn't be bothered with what happened afterward.
She counted the days on her fingers. After barely making it through four days, when the guard reported that packs of wolves had already begun roaming the mountain area, she couldn't wait to summon Chen Yan.
"Your injuries have mostly healed, right?"
"If you're recovered, then get back to work soon—I'm still waiting for my fox fur cloak…"
Chen Yan lowered his eyes and acknowledged, "I'll head into the mountains tomorrow."
Su Niao suppressed her excitement and, showing rare concern, gently urged, "Alright then, be careful out there—don't get hurt again."
Better yet, just get eaten by the wolves!
Hearing the young lady's smiling admonition, Chen Yan gave a calm "Mm."
However, before Chen Yan could even head into the mountains the next day, wolves came down from the mountains that evening… Because Peace Lane happened to be fairly close to the mountain path, people would occasionally go up to pick mushrooms and such, and nothing had ever gone wrong—but today, someone nearly got carried off by a wolf.
The man who escaped came back pale with terror, describing to the neighbors how there had been several wolves, and that if he hadn't sacrificed his mule—tying it to a tree and slashing it to let blood to lure the wolves away—he would have been eaten himself.
Su Niao listened from behind the crowd, her face turning somewhat pale.
She wanted to find a way to kill Chen Yan… but other people had done her no wrong.
Looking down on these common folk in daily life was one thing, but if her actions caused someone's death, that was another matter entirely.
She had never harmed anyone before—Chen Yan was the first person she'd ever wanted dead…
Unwilling to drag innocent people into this, Su Niao quickly summoned Chen Yan again.
She had changed her mind: "There are wolf packs in the mountains now. Don't go hunting for now—go find some hunters you know. I'll arrange for my guards to go too. Deal with the wolves in the mountains first."
Chen Yan looked up, taking in the young lady's clearly uneasy expression.
He gave an "Mm." "Alright."
So even though she looked down on these neighbors from her lofty position, when wolves hurt someone, she was still willing to help the neighbors get rid of them.
This young lady was indeed willful and reckless, but her heart was quite soft…
After all, wolf packs were dangerous, and skilled hunters weren't easy to hire, so Su Niao offered a high price: thirty taels of silver per wolf killed—she didn't care about the pelts or anything.
Her main concern was not wanting to cause anyone's death because of her bad idea.
She had experienced the feeling of death and knew how terrified people were when facing it… She didn't want to harm innocent people for no reason.
Soon, news spread through Peace Lane that Su Niao was paying to hire hunters to eliminate the wolves. The moment she stepped outside, she was met with praise from all sides.
Those aunties and grannies grabbed her hands and her sleeves, endlessly calling her a good child. Su Niao looked at those old women's grimy hands and barely suppressed the urge to tell them to back off.
Don't these old ladies ever wash their hands? The dirt under their nails is black—heavens… Don't grab my sleeves, ahhh!!
But at the same time, she had to force a smile and say the proper pleasantries.
"We're all neighbors here—this is the least I could do, hehehe…"
After barely managing to escape back home, Su Niao immediately bathed and changed clothes, washing her hands many times over.
Chen Yan watched from the side as the young lady forced down her disgust and strained to put on a polite smile—and for some reason, the corner of his mouth curled up slightly…
Organizing a wolf hunt required filing with the government. Early the next morning, Su Niao brought Lichun and Chen Yan to the county office to complete the registration.
The process was simple—since someone was funding the wolf hunt at their own expense, the county magistrate had no reason to refuse.
Su Niao had made the trip herself partly to browse the shops. After Chen Yan finished the registration, she leisurely planned to take a stroll before heading back. But she never expected that this stroll would bring her face-to-face with the person she least wanted to see: Ye Linlang.
At an ordinary jewelry stall, Su Niao spotted a bracelet made of chicken-blood vine.
The material was coarse, but it had a rustic charm that barely caught her eye. She decided to buy it as a little trinket—but before her outstretched hand could reach it, another hand snatched the bracelet up in a flash.
"Boss, I'll take this one."
Su Niao immediately looked up: "I saw that first."
Before she even finished speaking, she saw Ye Linlang across from her—clad in soft armor, ink-black hair tied high, radiating a dashing, heroic air.
Ye Linlang glanced at the delicate young lady opposite her and clicked her tongue: "Whoever sees it first gets it? By that logic, I already spotted this thing while drinking upstairs a moment ago."
Su Niao took in her shameless demeanor, then turned to the vendor: "I'll pay ten times the price."
Vendor: (o▽)o
Ye Linlang laughed: "I'll pay twenty times."
Su Niao's temper flared instantly, and she was about to order her guards to attack… but just then, something struck her.
In her past life, Xie Chenyan had become Ye Linlang's subordinate and was brought back to the capital by her, the two becoming close confidants. If she made them enemies now, wouldn't that add another layer of protection?
With that thought, Su Niao ordered Xie Chenyan: "Hit her!"
Chen Yan: …
He paused for a moment, then spoke slowly: "Miss, the other party did pick it up first. Seizing it by force would be unreasonable."
That single sentence instantly ignited Su Niao's fury.
She immediately recalled that in her past life, Xie Chenyan had time and again protected Ye Linlang—that homewrecker who seduced married men—and helped Ye Linlang bully her.
And now he was talking about fairness and reason?
Su Niao ignored this traitorous dog of a servant entirely and waved at the guards behind her: "Hit her."
The guards behind her surged forward all at once…
Ye Linlang's smile faded. She suddenly drew her sword, deflecting the guards' attacks while staring coldly at Su Niao: "What an arrogant display—bullying others in broad daylight. Very well, this Ye will teach you little miss a proper lesson today!"
Amid the gasps of the onlookers, a row of armored soldiers behind Ye Linlang surged forward with overbearing force.
Ye Linlang curled her lips and reached out to grab Su Niao, clearly intent on disciplining this spoiled young heiress.
Just then, the person who had remained utterly still stepped forward.
Chen Yan advanced one step and, with a reverse motion, blocked Ye Linlang's advance… In a single move, Ye Linlang's expression turned serious.
"Impressive martial skill."
Ye Linlang snorted with a laugh: "No wonder this young miss is so emboldened—she has a master guarding her."
Chen Yan clasped his hands in salute: "Our young miss is young and impulsive in her actions. I ask for your lenience."
Behind Ye Linlang, several armored soldiers drew their swords with a rasp, ready to charge forward.
Glancing at the silent Chen Yan, Ye Linlang suddenly raised a hand to stop them: "Enough. It wasn't anything major anyway—I was just teasing this pretty young miss."
"Take it. Consider it a gift from this Ye."
Ye Linlang tossed the chicken-blood vine bracelet to Su Niao, but Su Niao didn't catch it.
When the bracelet fell to the ground, she raised her foot and stomped on it, snapping the rattan bracelet in two.
Ye Linlang raised an eyebrow, then let out a cold laugh, shook her head, and turned to leave with her people.
Su Niao watched her retreating figure, grinding her teeth silently with a heart full of cold fury.
It had been exactly like this in her past life—this woman, putting on an air of carefree magnanimity, yet knowing full well that the Third Prince had a lawful wife, she would still drink and laugh with him until both were thoroughly drunk, without the slightest hint of propriety. She claimed she was used to acting like a man, that she only regarded the Third Prince as a friend… and if anyone took issue with it, then that person was simply overly sensitive, narrow-minded, and suspicious!
Utterly shameless!
Chen Yan glanced at Su Niao's icy expression, hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward: "Miss…"
"Get lost!"
Su Niao whipped her head around and snapped at him. Chen Yan fell silent.
Su Niao turned and boarded the carriage, leaving with her guards, abandoning Xie Chenyan where he stood.
However, the closer she got to home, the harder it became to suppress her rage.
When his superior and close friend Ye Linlang was entangled in ambiguous relations with another man's husband, he defended her without any regard for reason—but when it came to her, he lectured her about propriety and decorum?
What a hypocritical, sanctimonious piece of filth.
Just then, Su Niao suddenly heard voices from the building beside her.
Jining County was not small, and because there was a military camp outside the county, and the soldiers there received their pay on time and had money to spend, quite a few pleasure establishments had sprung up to meet the demand.
The Nanfeng House was one of the more famous among them.
Looking at the male courtesans behind the railings—more alluring than any woman—a wicked idea suddenly surged in Su Niao's mind. She beckoned over Xiao Wu, her baby-faced guard captain, and whispered a few words to him.
Xiao Wu entered the Nanfeng House with a complicated expression, and then Su Niao watched as he stood on the second floor, pointing out to the madam the figure of Xie Chenyan following not far behind the carriage.
Chen Yan saw Su Niao's attendant enter the Nanfeng House and was frowning in confusion when the man came back out and escorted his mistress away.
Only then did his brow relax.
At least she was being reckless in her own way, but not crossing any lines.
But just as Chen Yan was following at a moderate distance behind the carriage and passing the entrance of the Nanfeng House, a group of thugs swarmed out and surrounded him.
Chen Yan frowned at the leader: "What business do you have with me?"
The man grinned at him: "Your master has already sold you to our boss for five taels of silver. If you know what's good for you, come on in quietly—wouldn't want to ruin that handsome face of yours and spoil your value."
Chen Yan: …?