It would take at least several days to lure the wolf pack with flesh and blood, so Su Niao had no choice but to wait patiently. Since she had nothing better to do, she ordered her guards to tie the two human traffickers to the horse and make them pull the carriage all the way to the county yamen.
Ping’an Alley was quite a long distance from the yamen, and before long, the sight of two people harnessed to a carriage like draft animals drew a large crowd.
Watching the traffickers, bound and forced to pull the cart alongside the horse, filled Su Niao with satisfaction. Then she remembered the pain in the back of her hand. Paying no attention to the stares around her, she raised her whip and cracked it sharply across the fat old woman’s head.
“Move faster.”
The old woman immediately burst into tears and begged for mercy.
The onlookers, unaware of the circumstances, only saw two elderly people being humiliated in such a manner. One after another, they began voicing their criticism.
“How can anyone do such a thing? Even household servants shouldn’t be treated like beasts.”
“Exactly. That young lady is so beautiful, yet so vicious.”
“When I first saw her, I thought some fairy had descended from heaven. Turns out she’s more like a demon. Terrifying.”
The weather was scorching. Su Niao sat by the carriage doorway to catch the breeze. On the driver’s bench were Chen Xu and Chen Yan, who was handling the reins.
Hearing the crowd’s accusations, Chen Xu was about to explain the truth when the sharp crack of Su Niao’s whip interrupted him.
Pointing the tip of the whip at one of the speakers, she curled her lips into a cold smile. “Keep wagging your tongue and I’ll harness you to the carriage too. Go ahead, say one more word if you dare.”
The man took one look at the luxurious carriage and the guards following behind it. Immediately, he shrank back, too intimidated to say another word.
The others also fell silent. Though angry, none dared speak up. Their gazes toward Su Niao became even more fearful, as if they were looking at some monster.
Only then was Su Niao satisfied.
Somewhat helplessly, Chen Xu said, “Miss Su, you should have let me explain the truth. Otherwise, people will misunderstand you.”
Su Niao could not have cared less. “Who do they think they are? Why should I care about their misunderstandings?”
Her exquisite features held nothing but casual indifference. Her stunning profile blazed in the sunlight like a brilliantly blooming flower, flourishing exactly as she pleased.
Chen Xu’s gaze seemed almost scorched by the sight. He hurriedly looked away, only for his eyes to inadvertently fall upon the injury on the back of the young lady’s hand, which still had not healed.
He could almost hear his own voice trembling slightly. The scholar, usually reserved and shy, suddenly found himself entertaining a bold thought unlike anything he had ever dared before.
Both cautious and daring, he asked in a trembling voice, “Miss Su, the ointment on your hand has rubbed off. May I reapply it for you?”
Since they were going to the county yamen and needed to bring Chen Xu, the victim in the case, along, Su Niao found the carriage too crowded and left Lichun behind.
Glancing at the ointment that had been rubbed away and the conspicuous wound marring her porcelain-smooth skin, Su Niao hummed in acknowledgment. Completely unconcerned, she extended the back of her hand as if she were long accustomed to being waited on.
“The ointment is on the table.”
Chen Xu’s face grew burning hot. Turning around, he retrieved the porcelain medicine jar and the small jade spoon beside it from inside the carriage. Lowering his eyes, he scooped up a spoonful of ointment and carefully spread it over the back of the young lady’s hand.
Although he used the jade spoon and took care not to touch her skin in the slightest, his heart and soul still felt shaken, as though he were floating among the clouds.
The next moment, somewhat flustered, Chen Xu quickly put the medicine jar back where it belonged, no longer daring to look in her direction.
Throughout it all, Chen Yan remained expressionless as he drove the carriage and kept an eye on the traffickers walking beside the horse. From the corner of his eye, he noticed his younger brother’s reddened ears and dazed expression.
The human traffickers were delivered to the county yamen. As for what happened afterward, Su Niao could not be bothered to concern herself with it.
Counting the days on her fingers, she finally made it through four long days. When a guard reported that packs of wolves had begun roaming the designated area of the mountain, she immediately summoned Chen Yan, unable to wait any longer.
“How are your injuries recovering?”
“If you’re mostly healed, get back to work as soon as possible. I’m still waiting for my fox-fur cloak…”
Chen Yan lowered his eyes and replied, “I’ll head into the mountains tomorrow.”
Suppressing her excitement with difficulty, Su Niao revealed a rare look of concern and gently reminded him, “Alright then. Be careful, and don’t get hurt again.”
Better yet, get eaten by the wolves outright!
Hearing the wealthy young lady’s smiling words of concern, Chen Yan simply replied calmly, “Mm.”
However, before the next day could arrive and Chen Yan could enter the mountains, wolves came down from them at dusk.
Ping’an Alley was quite close to the mountain path. People frequently went into the mountains to gather mushrooms and the like, and there had never been any trouble. Yet no one expected someone to be nearly carried off by wolves that day.
The man who escaped returned terrified out of his wits and described what had happened to the neighbors. There had been several wolves. If he had not sacrificed his mule, tying it to a tree and cutting it to draw blood and distract the pack, he himself would have been eaten.
Su Niao listened from the back of the crowd, her face immediately turning somewhat pale. She wanted to find a way to kill Chen Yan, but those other people had done nothing to deserve harm. Looking down on common folk in everyday life was one thing. Causing innocent deaths because of her own actions was an entirely different matter. She had never killed anyone before. Xie Chenyan was the very first person she had ever wanted dead.
In the end, unwilling to drag innocent people into the matter, 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 send my guards as well. You should deal with all the wolves in the mountains first.”
Chen Yan raised his head, taking in the obvious anxiety on the young lady’s face. “Alright,” he replied. So, even though she carried herself as someone above these neighbors and looked down on them, when she saw that wolves were hurting people, she was still willing to help rid the area of the danger.
This wealthy young lady was indeed spoiled and willful, but her heart was actually quite soft.
After all, it was a wolf pack, and therefore dangerous. Skilled hunters were not easy to hire, so Su Niao offered a high reward: thirty taels of silver for every wolf killed. As long as the wolf was dead, she did not care about the pelt or anything else.
The main reason was that she did not want her own foolish scheme to cost innocent people their lives. She had experienced death herself and knew how terrifying it was when a person stood on the brink of dying. These people had done nothing to her. She did not want to harm them.
Before long, the news that Su Niao was paying hunters to eliminate the wolves spread throughout Ping’an Alley. Whenever she stepped outside, people showered her with praise.
The aunties and elderly women grabbed her hands and tugged at her sleeves, constantly telling her what a good child she was. Looking at their dark, weathered hands, Su Niao fought hard to suppress the urge to pull away.
Do these old ladies never wash their hands? Heaven help me, their fingernails are black. Don’t grab my sleeves, ahhh!
Yet at the same time, she had no choice but to force a polite smile and exchange the customary pleasantries.
“We’re all neighbors here. It’s only right that I do my part. Hehe…”
After finally escaping back home, Su Niao immediately bathed and changed clothes. She even washed her hands over and over again.
Standing nearby, Chen Yan watched the young lady struggling to conceal her disgust while forcing out courteous smiles. For some reason, the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
Organizing a wolf-hunting operation required official registration with the authorities. Early the next morning, Su Niao took Lichun and Chen Yan with her to the county yamen to file the necessary paperwork.
The registration process was simple. Since someone was willing to fund the wolf hunt and the county government wouldn’t have to contribute manpower or money, the magistrate naturally had no reason to refuse.
In truth, Su Niao had made the trip partly because she wanted to go shopping. After Chen Yan finished registering, she leisurely set off to stroll around town before heading home.
Unexpectedly, during that stroll, she ran into the very person she least wanted to see: Ye Linlang.
It started at an ordinary jewelry stall.
Su Niao spotted a bracelet made from jixueteng vine. The workmanship was rough, but its simple, rustic charm was just barely good enough to catch her eye. She decided to buy it as a small trinket. But before she could reach it, someone else’s hand shot out from the side and snatched up the bracelet.
“Boss, I want this one.”
Su Niao immediately looked up. “I saw it first.”
Before she could finish speaking, she recognized the person opposite her: Ye Linlang, dressed in light armor, her black hair tied high, looking every bit the heroic warrior.
Ye Linlang glanced at the spoiled young lady across from her and clicked her tongue.
“So whoever sees it first owns it? By your logic, I spotted this thing while drinking upstairs a moment ago.”
Taking one look at her shameless attitude, Su Niao turned to the shopkeeper. “I’ll pay ten times the asking price.”
The shopkeeper’s eyes nearly popped out. (Oﾟ▽ﾟ)O
Ye Linlang smiled. “I’ll pay twenty times.”
Su Niao’s anger instantly flared. She was just about to order her guards to seize it when she suddenly remembered something.
In her previous life, Xie Chenyan had become Ye Linlang’s subordinate and had followed her back to the capital. The two had become extremely close friends. If she could make them enemies now, wouldn’t that be one more layer of protection?
With that thought, Su Niao immediately ordered Xie Chenyan: “Hit her!”
Chen Yan: …
After a brief pause, he spoke calmly. “Miss, she did get it first. Taking it by force would be unreasonable.”
That single sentence instantly ignited Su Niao’s fury. At once, she remembered how, in her previous life, Xie Chenyan had repeatedly taken Ye Linlang’s side, protecting that shameless woman who had seduced a married man and helping Ye Linlang bully her. And now he wanted to talk about fairness? About what was right?
No longer paying any attention to this ungrateful, traitorous servant, Su Niao waved a hand toward her guards.
“Hit her.”
The guards immediately surged forward.
Ye Linlang’s smile vanished. With a sharp motion, she drew her sword. As she fended off the guards’ attacks, she fixed Su Niao with a cold stare.
“What an overbearing little tyrant. In broad daylight, and in front of so many people, you think you can bully others with your family’s power. Since that’s the case, I’ll teach you, young lady, a proper lesson today!”
Amid the gasps and cries of the surrounding crowd, a group of armored soldiers behind Ye Linlang rushed forward, imposing and aggressive.
The corners of Ye Linlang’s lips curled upward. She raised her hand and reached directly toward Su Niao, clearly intending to teach the pampered young miss a lesson. Just then, the man who had remained motionless at the side stepped forward.
Chen Yan took a single step and, with one move, forced Ye Linlang back. That one exchange alone made her expression turn serious.
“What profound skill.” Ye Linlang let out a low laugh.
“No wonder this little miss is so fearless. Turns out she’s got a master protecting her.”
Chen Yan cupped his hands politely. “Our young lady is still young and acts impulsively at times. I ask for your understanding.”
Behind Ye Linlang, several armored soldiers drew their swords with a series of metallic shings and moved forward.
After glancing at the silent Chen Yan, Ye Linlang suddenly raised a hand to stop them. “Enough. It wasn’t anything important to begin with. I only wanted to tease this pretty little lady.”
“You can have it. Consider it a gift from me.” She tossed the vine bracelet toward Su Niao.
But Su Niao did not catch it. As soon as the bracelet fell to the ground, she stomped on it. The rattan bracelet immediately snapped in two.
Ye Linlang raised an eyebrow, then gave a short laugh. Shaking her head, she turned and left with her men.
Watching her retreating figure, Su Niao secretly gritted her teeth, her heart filled with cold resentment. It had been the same in her previous life.
Ye Linlang always acted carefree and magnanimous, yet even though she knew the Third Prince already had a lawful wife, she still drank and caroused with him without the slightest concern for appearances. She claimed she was simply used to acting like a man and regarded the Third Prince as nothing more than a friend. If anyone took issue with it, then that merely proved they were narrow-minded, overly sensitive, and suspicious. How utterly shameless!
Chen Yan looked at Su Niao’s icy expression. After a moment’s hesitation, he stepped forward. “Miss…”
“Get lost!” Su Niao spun around and shouted.
Chen Yan fell silent.
She climbed into the carriage and left with her guards, abandoning Xie Chenyan where he stood. Yet the farther she traveled, the harder it became to suppress her anger.
When Ye Linlang, his superior and close friend, was entangled with another woman’s husband, he had defended her without reason. But when it came to Su Niao, suddenly he wanted to talk about what was proper and reasonable? What a hypocritical, disgusting fraud.
Just then, Su Niao heard voices coming from a building beside the road.
Jining County was not small. Moreover, a military camp sat outside the county, and the soldiers received regular pay and had money to spend. As a result, many entertainment houses and pleasure establishments had sprung up to meet the demand.
This Nanfeng House happened to be one of the more well-known ones.
As she watched the young male escorts behind the railings, each more alluring than many women, an evil idea suddenly sprang to mind.
She beckoned over Xiao Wu, the baby-faced captain of her guards, and whispered instructions into his ear.
Wearing a complicated expression, Xiao Wu entered Nanfeng House. Soon afterward, Su Niao saw him standing on the second floor, pointing toward Xie Chenyan, who followed some distance behind the carriage while speaking to the madam of the establishment.
Chen Yan had noticed one of Su Niao’s attendants entering Nanfeng House. He frowned in confusion, but then saw the man come back out and resume escorting his mistress as she departed. Only then did his brow relax.
At least, while she was prone to causing trouble, she had not done anything truly outrageous this time.
However, just as Chen Yan passed the entrance of Nanfeng House, keeping his usual distance behind the carriage, a group of thugs suddenly rushed out and surrounded him.
Frowning, Chen Yan looked at the leader. “What do you want?”
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 along quietly. Otherwise, if we damage that handsome face of yours, it’ll ruin your value.”
Chen Yan: …?