He Yue had a secret affection for someone else, and upon hearing Liu Youxing’s teasing, she stamped her foot in frustration, pointing a finger at him.
“Whoever ends up marrying you, Liu Youxing, is the one who’s truly down on their luck!”
Her petulant display was that of a pampered, high-born lady. As Shopkeeper Wang returned to the front, he found them locked in a heated, overbearing spat and rushed over to play the peacemaker.
“Please, both of you, let’s have a civil conversation. There’s no need to damage a long-standing friendship over a couple of wooden boxes.”
After leaving the woodworking shop, Li Miaomiao visited a drapery shop to buy needle and thread, along with a bolt of the cheapest linen. She had intended to head straight to the bookstore, but as she passed by an apothecary, the image of Xiao Xian’s leg pain from that night flashed in her mind. She pulled the half-pendant he had given her from her bodice, bit her lip in thought, and stepped inside.
At that same moment, Lin Dalang was escorting Li Xiaorou to a restaurant for a meeting with Guo Ce. Seeing Li Miaomiao enter the apothecary, both of them immediately thought of Xiao Xian.
Lin Dalang sneered coldly. “She’s buying more medicine? A cripple is a cripple, no matter how much you try to fix him.”
Catching the hidden meaning, Li Xiaorou asked softly, “Brother Lin, are you saying Xiao Xian’s leg cannot be healed?”
Guo Ce had once told Lin Dalang about Xiao Xian’s history. Though he hadn’t provided many details, Lin Dalang had gathered that Xiao Xian had been a high-ranking official in the capital who had been exiled here after being crippled for offending the wrong people.
“It’s not just that it won’t heal. His legs are destined to slowly rot away.”
Li Xiaorou covered her mouth and gasped, her eyes brimming with a fragile, feigned terror that made her look even more delicate than a freshly bloomed flower. Lin Dalang adored this weak, submissive act; he found it most captivating in the bedroom. He pulled her into his arms, using a voice he felt was filled with strength to reassure her.
“Don’t be afraid, Xiaorou. That is simply the retribution Li Miaomiao deserves. She chose Xiao Xian herself, and she has no one else to blame.”
With that single sentence, they absolved themselves of any wrongdoing. As Li Xiaorou imagined Li Miaomiao lying in bed with Xiao Xian, waking up in the middle of the night to find a pair of festering, suppurating legs beside her—and the fool-like terror that would surely cross Li Miaomiao’s face—she felt a strange, smug sense of satisfaction.
“Husband, what if… what if she regrets her choice and wants to come back to you?”
Before she could finish, Lin Dalang cut her off, his expression triumphant, as if he were already on the verge of promotion and wealth. “Don’t overthink it, Xiaorou. Even if she knelt and begged me, I wouldn’t give her a second glance.”
Hearing this, Li Xiaorou laughed happily. But moments later, she wouldn’t be laughing at all.
Once the pair entered the private dining room, Guo Ce was initially polite. However, upon hearing that Lin Dalang had no new information regarding Xiao Xian’s day-to-day activities, he flicked his sleeve and sent the tea set on the table crashing to the floor.
The teacup shattered into pieces. As he unfolded his fan, the gentle facade vanished, leaving behind only arrogance and disdain. Li Xiaorou shuddered, half-hiding behind Lin Dalang.
Lin Dalang was equally startled by the sudden change; he had been friends with Guo Ce for some time and had never seen him lose his temper. Seeing the naked contempt on the other man’s face, he felt a jolt of genuine fear. His usually flippant tone turned tremulous.
“Brother Guo, what is the meaning of this?”
Guo Ce fanned himself, resuming his placid mask, but his voice and words told a different story. He looked at Lin Dalang with utter contempt. “Brother Lin, you think you can brush me off with a mere ‘he stays in his room all day’? Do you take my two hundred taels of silver for an easy profit?”
“Or perhaps you think my father’s position as County Magistrate is just for show?”
At the mention of the Magistrate, Lin Dalang’s face drained of color; he nearly collapsed out of his chair. He had boasted too much to his father before leaving the house. If he were to be dragged to the magistrate’s office for even three or five days of detention, and the news got back to the village, he would never hear the end of the gossip.
He could not let that happen. He stood up and bowed obsequiously to Guo Ce, his earlier air of arrogance completely vanished. “Brother Guo, I would never dare to cheat you! It’s just that Xiao Xian is like a sheltered maiden; he stays in his room all day, never stepping foot outside his door…”
Before he could finish, Guo Ce interrupted with a slow, chilling grin. “Brother Lin, even if Xiao Xian is paralyzed and bedridden, I need to know every detail—even down to his bowel movements. Do you understand?”
A flash of humiliation crossed Lin Dalang’s face. The demand meant he had to monitor everything, from Xiao Xian’s toilet habits to the smallest bite of food he took each day.
Seeing his expression shift, Guo Ce fanned himself lazily, his tone brimming with icy confidence. “If you aren’t up to the task, Brother Lin, I shall find someone else.”
At the mention of hiring someone else, an image of Li Miaomiao’s smug, triumphant smile flashed through Li Xiaorou’s mind. If that two hundred taels of silver fell into her hands, her life with Xiao Xian would surely improve…
No. She could not allow Li Miaomiao the chance to get back on her feet.
Seeing Lin Dalang lost in thought, she nudged his arm and shot him a meaningful look. Lin Dalang snapped out of his trance, immediately understanding her intent. He masked his embarrassment and bowed to Guo Ce once more.
“Brother Guo, it was my failure to handle this properly. Please, give me one more chance. I promise I will not let you down.”
Guo Ce let out a pair of cryptic, sinister chuckles. He took a sip of tea, eyeing them with pure disdain. “Very well. I shall give you one more opportunity.”
It wasn’t that he couldn’t find anyone else; it was simply that Lin Dalang knew how to be useful, and for some reason, the man caught his eye.
The couple left the restaurant, walking down the street with heavy expressions. Li Miaomiao had just stepped out of the apothecary. Standing on the outer steps, she let out a long, weary sigh.
“It’s just too expensive.”
She felt the weight of her purse and pursed her lips, sighing again. At this rate, when will I ever save enough to treat his legs?
She was still debating whether to head to the bookstore or the blacksmith’s shop when she looked up and spotted Lin Dalang and Li Xiaorou on the street. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at them and turned toward the blacksmith instead.
Li Xiaorou had spotted her the moment she emerged from the apothecary. She tapped Lin Dalang’s arm, signaling him to look ahead. Lin Dalang caught sight of her instantly, his eyes filled with unfiltered coldness and disgust.
“She’s everywhere we go.”
Watching Li Miaomiao walk away, Li Xiaorou looked up at the sign above the apothecary—Yi’an Hall—and an idea took root in her mind.
“Brother Lin, since Guo Ce is willing to pay you two hundred taels just to spy on him, why doesn’t he just go to Li Miaomiao directly to handle these tasks?”
Lin Dalang looked in the direction Li Miaomiao had vanished, a mocking sneer on his face. “Ha! Her?”
“Does Guo Ce not know that Xiao Xian is married?”
“He doesn’t.”
“Indeed.” Lin Dalang nodded. “I saw Li Miaomiao on our last market trip. When Guo Ce asked me who she was, I realized then that he hadn’t bothered to send anyone to our village to investigate.”
“I was as confused as you at first, but I’ve thought it through.”
Li Xiaorou didn’t quite follow. “And what did you figure out?”
“Xiao Xian may have been a high-ranking official in the capital, but now that he’s been exiled here, he’s nothing more than a prisoner in the eyes of people like Guo Ce. To them, such trivial matters aren’t even worth looking into.”