“Lin Ge’er, isn’t this a bit much? We could just find someone else to look at.”
“No way, I want to marry Qiao Yue,” Lin Ge’er said angrily.
Lin Ge’er didn’t want to go this far. If he could marry into the Qiao family smoothly, he wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble. Who knew that even after he graciously took a liking to a lazy man, that lazy man would reject him time and again. Today, he had looked at that man several times, but the man didn’t even glance at him once. Lin Ge’er realized that if he waited for the man to like him, it would probably never happen.
But that’s okay.
This is his uncle’s house, and his uncle is the village head. If something happens here, would the Qiao family dare to deny it?
As for being disliked by Qiao Yue after marrying into the Qiao family, he wasn’t afraid. He was interested in Qiao Yue not because he liked him, but because he was the cousin of a scholar, because he was lazy, and because he only had a little father and a younger brother. Once they became a couple, controlling the second branch of the Qiao family, would the affection of a lazy man even matter?
Even if word got out, he wasn’t afraid. By then, with a scholar and a village head backing him, who would dare to gossip?
“But…”
Lin Ge’er said firmly, “No buts, little father. We’re just one step away from success. If you don’t help me, who will?”
Zhao Fulang was still scared. “But what if he sees me? He’ll definitely realize we set him up. Maybe we should just forget it…”
Lin Ge’er gave his little father a sidelong glance. “What are you afraid of? Even if he sees you, he’ll still have to marry me. Besides, I’m just following your example.”
Zhao Fulang’s face turned red with embarrassment. Back then, he managed to marry Zhao Laosan by lying next to him after he got drunk with his brother. Because of his own experience, he knew that even if you used tricks to marry into a good family, life wouldn’t be easy.
Seeing his little father’s eyes turn red, Lin Ge’er softened his tone. “Alright, little father, if I don’t marry a lazy man, how will I get food and money from my in-laws to support my younger brothers? Even though the Qiao family is currently broke, they won’t be for long. Maybe my younger brothers can even work with the scholar in the future.”
Hearing this, Zhao Fulang urged, “Alright then, let’s hurry before anyone finds out.”
Lin Ge’er smirked self-deprecatingly.
“Here they come, here they come,” Lin Ge’er patted Zhao Fulang. “Remember, be quick and precise.”
Zhao Fulang’s breathing became rapid.
The village head’s house was even more spacious and bright than the Qiao family’s, with blue bricks and black tiles, and a layout modeled after a two-entry courtyard in the county. Qiao Yue walked through the main hall and quickly turned towards the outhouse.
After relieving himself, his mind felt much clearer.
Qiao Yue hummed a little tune as he walked along the corridor. Just as he was about to turn a corner, a hand suddenly reached out to cover his mouth and nose.
Qiao Yue’s pupils shrank in shock, and he opened his mouth to shout, “Help… mmm…”
The drug quickly entered his lungs through his nose, making him dizzy. He staggered back a few steps and collapsed to the ground.
Seeing that he was still conscious, the person raised their arm, “Why…” and then added another dose.
Before losing consciousness, Qiao Yue’s mind was filled with one thought—
Damn it, why am I fainting again!
“Is he out?” Lin Ge’er came out and asked his little father.
Zhao Fulang nodded, “He’s out. Lin Ge’er, are you sure this will work? I think he might have seen my face.”
Lin Ge’er looked at Qiao Yue lying on the ground and said coldly, “He didn’t see anything. You covered him so tightly, and he doesn’t know you. It’s done now, there’s no turning back.”
“Alright, hurry up. They’ll be leaving soon.”
…
Who knows how much time passed.
In a daze, Qiao Yue felt like someone was sometimes pressing down on him, sometimes touching him here and there.
A thief?
Or a pervert…!
Qiao Yue’s muddled mind suddenly cleared in fear. He opened his dark eyes and looked at the person pressing on him. With a burst of strength, he shouted angrily, “Thief…”
“Uh… why is it you?” The dim light softened the side of his face, and Qiao Yue immediately withdrew his strength, but it was too late as his arm had already pushed out.
Fang Chuyue fell to the ground, glaring at him angrily, “What are you doing? No good deed goes unpunished.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know it was you. I thought someone was touching me.”
“If I didn’t check, how would I know why you fainted?” Fang Chuyue patted his butt and sat back on the bed. “Now’s not the time to talk about this. Let’s figure out why you fainted again.”
He had sneaked in, hoping to see the scholar, but instead found a fainted lazy man.
Qiao Yue sat up, his mind still a bit foggy. “I came in to pick up my cousin, and suddenly, at the corner, a pair of hands covered my mouth and nose with some drug… Now, could it be that I stumbled upon a thief stealing, and he knocked me out, and then you happened to come by, so he left in a hurry?”
Otherwise, it was hard to explain why he was knocked out, yet his purse was still there.
After speaking, Qiao Yue looked at him, and Fang Chuyue said, “Or maybe someone saw you passing by and wanted to take advantage of you?”
“Crude! Don’t joke about that,” Qiao Yue retorted, his ears turning red.
“That person was a head shorter than me, wearing a brown short coat…” He carefully described what he noticed in his panic.
Fang Chuyue pondered, “Hmm… that description… does match someone.”
“Who?” Qiao Yue was overjoyed, ready to catch this person and give them a good beating.
Fang Chuyue smirked, “In this village, aren’t there plenty? A head shorter than you, wearing a brown short coat, there must be at least eight or ten.”
Qiao Yue: “…I’m not joking with you.”
Fang Chuyue: “Neither am I!”
Just then, the noise outside grew louder, with footsteps and voices approaching, quickly drowning out their conversation.
“Let me see who is so shameless to do such a filthy thing on someone else’s happy day!”
“Shameful, people like this used to be drowned in a pig cage.”
“Exactly!”
The two exchanged a glance: “Not good!”
Two men alone in a room, no amount of explanation would suffice. Fang Chuyue paced anxiously, “What do we do, what do we do?!”
“Hide!” Qiao Yue got up from the bed, opened the cabinet, and tried to stuff him inside, “No, you’re too tall.”
He then tried to push him under the bed.
At that moment, as Qiao Yue grabbed his arm, the door, which wasn’t tightly closed, was suddenly pushed open.
Fang Chuyue: “…” Well, hiding is out of the question. This matter won’t end well today, and hiding won’t help!
He lowered his voice and quickly asked, “Are you sure you were drugged?”
“Yes,” Qiao Yue knew he intended to call a doctor. It hadn’t been long, and a doctor might be able to tell!
“Your reputation…”
“Reputation or not, if this blows up, there’s still room to maneuver… Anyway, entering this room today, it’s already gone. Judging by the situation, someone really might have wanted to take advantage of you.”
Qiao Yue didn’t have time to argue with him and quickly agreed.
Qiao Yue hurriedly lay back down, and Fang Chuyue shouted, “Help, there’s a thief who drugged…”
“Help for what?” The crowd poured in, surrounding them and chattering. Zhao Fulang, hidden among them, turned pale upon seeing Fang Chuyue, “How could this be?”
“Exactly, how could it be! Maybe they saw us coming and are just pretending?”
Ma Ershen chimed in, having already cursed a lot on the way there. She looked at Qiao Yue and Fang Chuyue with eyes as bright as daylight, “You two young ones, how could you not hold back and do such a thing on someone else’s wedding day?”
“Believe it or not, if I hadn’t happened to see it, Qiao Yue might have lost his life today. I want to ask why you’re not helping but surrounding us instead!” Fang Chuyue said with a dark face.
“A man and a Ge’er in a room… haha… how can we believe what you say?”
The village head’s wife, looking like a black-faced god, pointed at Qiao Yue and scolded, “You’ve ruined our Wang family’s celebration, and you still claim to be our youngest’s good brother!”
Qiao Yue was so angry he rolled his eyes. What an undeserved disaster!
Fang Chuyue didn’t want to waste time arguing with these people, it was useless! He called out to Fang Chuqing, who was bouncing in the corner, “Qing Jie’er, go get Doctor Li, and be quick!”
Fang Chuqing shouted crisply, “Got it! I’ll be super fast!”
With that, she grabbed Yang Ge’er and dashed off.
Someone in the crowd suddenly said, “Calling a doctor, isn’t it bad luck to do that on a happy day?”
Ma Ershen turned to look at the village head’s wife’s face and said, “Exactly, Yue Ge’er, you’ve already messed up the Wang family’s wedding, and now you want to call a doctor? And what about your reputation?”
Calling a doctor would make it impossible to keep this under wraps.
“I’m upright and honest, what do I have to fear! It’s those who are like snakes in the dark, with ill intentions, that are truly frightening!”
With that, Fang Chuyue sneered.
Ma Ershen was left speechless with embarrassment.
Qiao Yue, “weakly” leaning against the bed, spoke, “If it weren’t for Fang Ge’er, I might have… This is the second time he’s saved me, but I can’t always be so lucky. It’s better to get to the bottom of this.”
“When Doctor Li arrives, he’ll know if I’ve been drugged with just a pulse check, and we’ll be cleared!”
The more Zhao Fulang listened, the more scared he became. He kept glancing outside the door.
Where on earth did Lin Ge’er go! Didn’t he promise it was foolproof?
Fang Chuyue nodded, “Indeed, it’s been such a short time, a doctor will definitely be able to tell. And it’s not like you can buy knockout drugs just anywhere.”
The crowd watched their every word and action, falling into chaos.
Weren’t they here to catch a pair of illicit lovers? They thought they could make a big fuss and shame them.
How did it turn into the supposed illicit lovers claiming someone was out to harm them?