“Wait, wait for us! Wait for us!”
The team of bailiffs who had originally been waiting for Brother Hu came running over, panting and disheveled, some even bearing injuries.
“What happened?” Brother Qian already had an idea, but he showed no sign of it on his face.
“Brother Hu… Brother Hu was torn to death by wolves!”
They had been waiting for Brother Hu at a resting place, but he never arrived. Unable to bear the delay, they went looking for him—and found him being ripped apart by a pack of wolves. He was almost completely devoured.
The wolves had also targeted them. A few of their brothers were killed, and if it hadn’t been for the ones who ran fast, they too would have ended up in the wolves’ mouths.
Hearing what happened to Brother Hu, Brother Qian feigned sympathy and gave them some medicine for their injuries:
“I’m truly sorry for what happened to your brothers. You must take care of yourselves and keep your strength. There are still many dangers ahead, so protect yourselves as best as you can.”
His words made the group of bailiffs feel a chill.
From now on, they’d better follow Brother Qian’s orders, or else they wouldn’t even know how they might die.
The arrogant and cruel Brother Hu had been killed by wild beasts, and his subordinates settled down. The Xie family was very pleased.
Jiang-shi and Ruan-shi were overjoyed. Privately, they even whispered to Tang Qingluo that heaven had eyes, and Brother Hu was being punished, hence his end.
Tang Qingluo knew the truth but could not reveal it.
As for Xie Lanyi, his suspicion of Tang Qingluo grew even stronger, though he was clever enough to realize he could ask nothing, so he didn’t question her further.
Song Shishi, upon hearing that Brother Hu had been killed by wolves, was deeply unsettled.
What to do? What to do? The storyline had been altered.
She clearly remembered that the bailiff named Qian Dazhuang was supposed to have been killed by a wild animal—but now he was alive and well.
And the bailiff called Brother Hu, who, after escorting them to Yazhou, had supposedly lived perfectly fine, even returning to the capital to receive awards and gain office and wealth.
If it weren’t for later being punished by the great villain Xie Lanyi, his life would have been comfortably luxurious.
But now—he was dead.
Normally, the death of such a petty person wouldn’t matter—they were destined to die at Xie Lanyi’s hands eventually.
But he shouldn’t have died now. He was supposed to die at the correct time.
Now he was dead—what would happen to her mission?
Without this villain pushing events, how could the Xie family have died one by one during exile? How could she have had the chance to comfort Xie Lanyi?
Song Shishi was frustrated!
Tang Qingluo noticed Song Shishi behaving strangely. At the inn that night, she didn’t try to curry favor with Xie Lanyi as usual; instead, she hovered around Brother Qian, bringing him food and drink.
What was she trying to do?
Had she taken a fancy to Brother Qian? Impossible—absolutely impossible. Brother Qian was so ugly compared to Xie Lanyi. As long as her mind worked normally, Song Shishi wouldn’t change her target.
So the reason for her behavior was worth investigating.
Tang Qingluo thought for a long moment and suddenly understood Song Shishi’s intention.
She was aiming for an “abuse plot” route—yes, her true target was still Xie Lanyi.
But because Xie Lanyi had hurt her feelings, she wanted to “abuse” him in return.
Ah—using Brother Qian was the best way to do it.
Tang Qingluo felt her reasoning made sense.
After all, the sweet soup Song Shishi had previously sent to Xie Lanyi contained external elemental energy, which could confuse a person’s mind if ingested too much. It was likely she was using this to manipulate Brother Qian to carry out her plan to torment Xie Lanyi.
Yes, yes, yes—that was it! Tang Qingluo’s eyes lit up.
“What are you thinking about?” Xie Lanyi asked, noticing Tang Qingluo’s ever-changing expressions. He had never seen a face so full of expression.
Tang Qingluo looked at him with some pity.
Tsk, tsk, tsk—
Normally, she wouldn’t intervene. She would want to watch this dramatic, melodramatic “abuse romance” unfold. But this was during an exile journey, and she was involved; something could go wrong.
She didn’t want any accidents, so she had to give up watching the drama.
“Brother Qian, I need to tell you something.”
Seeing Tang Qingluo approach, Brother Qian immediately softened his fierce expression.
“Lady Xie, is there something you need my help with? Speak. Anything not too difficult, I will do for you.”
“This isn’t about that. I just wanted to warn you. That Song Shishi from the Song family—whatever food or drink she gives you, don’t touch it,” Tang Qingluo said, starting to leave.
Brother Qian called after her: “Lady Xie, does that mean the food she sent is dangerous? Did she poison it?”
Having experienced Brother Hu’s incident, Brother Qian was much more cautious. The warning made him immediately think of poison.
“It’s not poison,” Tang Qingluo shook her head, speaking softly. “It’s just a substance bad for men. You know… it’s not something I can explain plainly.” She couldn’t reveal the elemental energy in Song Shishi’s soup—how could she explain knowing that? So she had to describe it differently.
Brother Qian looked at her suspiciously. Though she didn’t state it outright, she had conveyed what needed to be said. His face turned slightly red.
This lady—
“Brother Qian, I only know this because she once sent it to my husband too. You know my husband’s background—people like him can smell this stuff immediately. I only came to warn you because she sent it to you as well.”
“Thank you so much, Lady Xie. You’ve saved me again. From now on, whatever you ask, I, Qian Dazhuang, will obey without question.”
After thanking Tang Qingluo, he turned and said fiercely: “As for Song Shishi, if she dares to harm me, I’ll teach her a lesson she won’t forget.”
Tang Qingluo smiled at the sight of Brother Qian heading off to deal with Song Shishi.
Ah—what a truly good person.
Quietly achieving great deeds, then leaving gracefully.
Song Shishi, don’t thank him too much.
Humming a southern tune, Tang Qingluo walked back briskly with her hands behind her back.
Ahead, Xie Wanying noticed her cheerful demeanor and asked, “Sister-in-law, you seem to be in a good mood. Did something nice happen?”
“We get to drink delicious hot soup tonight, of course I’m happy,” Tang Qingluo replied with a smile.
Tch—
Xie Wanying had hoped to hear something interesting, but it was just that. She rolled her eyes.
Xie Lanyi, standing nearby, smiled slightly. One look at Tang Qingluo seemed to convey that he knew something, or maybe nothing at all.
Clang!
Tang Qingluo’s ladle dropped back into the bowl.
This person… when he smiles, he really is quite good-looking.