Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 133 I’m afraid that thieves will miss me
Xixi Dianzi is a mudflat.

Green meadows and patches of water are interspersed with each other, as if a god had broken a jade mirror and scattered it on the grass on earth.

There are rivers, ports, ponds, lakes and swamps everywhere, with waterways like alleys, branches like nets, fish ponds lined up and islands dotted around.

If you are not a fisherman familiar with the place, you will be sure to get dizzy once you go in, and may not be able to get out even after three or two days.

The cavalry of the Song Dynasty's imperial guards was stationed here because of the abundant water and grass here.

But their military camp only occupied a small area on the edge of Xixi Wetland and could not go deeper.

Deep in the Xixi River network, on a meadow about ten feet square, stands a small thatched cottage.

There are some dried fish hanging under the eaves, indicating that someone lives here.

A few ruddy ducks were swimming leisurely on the calm water beside the meadow.

On the grass, two egrets were standing on one leg, seemingly taking a nap.

Brother Ya was paddling the boat and leisurely casting his net not far away.

In the cabin, several big silver carp, black carp and grass carp were still jumping lively.

Inside the wooden house, Yang Yuan placed the Yang family's spirit tablets one by one on an earthen platform.

These spirit tablets have been covered in smoke and fire for many years. When my eldest brother moved south, he only brought these spirit tablets with him. When Yang Yuan disappeared, he also only took these spirit tablets with him.

Shen He, who was tied to a pillar, woke up slowly. Then he saw the back of Yang Yuan who was arranging the spirit tablets one by one, and also saw clearly the environment he was in.

His memory quickly came back to him, Shen He's eyes narrowed, and he said in a deep voice: "Who are you? You don't know..."

A spirit tablet was handed to him. When Shen He saw the words "Yang Che" on it, his whole body froze.

The spirit tablet was taken back and placed on the altar, at the lowest position.

Then Yang Yuan turned around and Shen He recognized him at once.

However, at this moment, Yang Yuan did not show any of the cowardice and greed that he had shown when he met him that day.

He looked at Shen He calmly, with a condescending gaze, as if he was looking at a piece of dead pork that had just been bought, indifferent and without a trace of emotion.

Shen He's throat was a little dry: "You... do you know what the crime is for kidnapping an official of the imperial court?"

Yang Yuan sat down on the hay in front of him and said leisurely, "'Zhiweitang' has been burned down to a white ground."

Shen He suddenly remembered the terrible fire and couldn't help shivering.

Yang Yuan said: "There were less than 200 people from the Guoxin Office who were burned to death in Zhiweitang. They included your superiors, your colleagues, and your subordinates. You say, am I still afraid of the crime of kidnapping officials?"

Shen He said in horror: "You are crazy, you are really crazy!"

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "You should know why I did this. I want to know who else did this with you.

"And who sent you there? Third, why did you... kill the people from the Imperial City Division?"

Shen He suddenly laughed strangely: "You have killed so many people and committed unforgivable crimes, how could you let me go? I knew I was going to die, do you think I would say it?"

"Why not?"

Yang Yuan raised his eyebrows: "Sometimes, people would rather die. I really won't let you go, but I'm sure you will beg me to kill you."

Shen He felt a chill run down his spine as he heard this. There wasn't even a hint of anger in Yang Yuan's tone.

It was precisely because of this that Shen He felt even more terrified.

How angry does a person have to be to turn around and become so calm?
Yang Yuan looked at him face to face, and when he saw that he was about to make a move, Yang Yuan suddenly said, "You are not stupid enough to chew your tongue and commit suicide, are you?"

Shen He opened his mouth wide and stared at Yang Yuan.

Yang Yuan said slowly: "Biting your tongue won't kill you. It's like if you break your leg, even if you are not afraid of pain, you can't walk like a normal person.

"Because your body won't allow you to do that, so you can't bite off your tongue."

“When you bite down, your body stops you from pushing any further.

"I can help you, for example, by kicking you in the jaw when you bite your tongue, but even then you won't die.

“Because the only parts you can bite off are some capillaries and small arteries, and your teeth can’t reach the vital parts.

"With these small cuts, your clotting mechanism stops the blood from bleeding before you bleed enough to kill you.

"Have you heard of the governor of Changshan whose tongue was cut off by An Lushan? Someone hooked his tongue with a hook and cut it off with a knife. He didn't die, but he couldn't speak..."

Shen He had no idea what he was talking about, capillaries, arterial coagulation and so on, it was like listening to a foreign language.

But this did not affect his understanding of Yang Yuan's meaning.

Shen He collapsed and screamed: "What on earth do you want to do?"

"The first question is, who are your accomplices?"

Shen He closed his mouth.

Yang Yuan shook his head, grabbed his ankles and pulled his legs over.

Shen He watched him raise a short knife expressionlessly, as calmly as a cook examining a piece of bacon.

"You have to believe that death is really not the hardest thing. There are many ways to make people just want to die quickly!"

Yang Yuan seemed to have found the pattern for cutting beef, and cut it lightly with a knife...

Scream and get up!

... "Dan Niang, you are a young lady with both wealth and beauty. The eldest young master of the Liu family has not yet married. If you go there, you will be his legal wife. You say, for a married woman, we are not at a disadvantage, right?"

Matchmaker Liu wiped the sweat from her head and smiled attentively.

The matchmaker who had previously acted as the shopkeeper Fang of "Shuiyunjian" died on the wedding night.

After a lot of effort, another marriage was arranged, and it was announced that Lu Xi, a young lady from the Song family, was engaged to Yang Yuan.

As a result, not long after, Yang Yuan changed his heart, ran away with a noble lady from the Jin Kingdom, and publicly broke off the engagement.

Matchmaker Liu was so frustrated that she felt she couldn't continue in this line of work.

If there weren't so few people looking for her to be a matchmaker, she would never have come to "Shuiyunjian" today. How sad.

Matchmaker Liu said, "Young Master Liu and his father are sitting in the front hall. Dan Niang, go sit on the counter and I'll show you where they are. Maybe you'll get to know each other."

Dan Niang lazily brewed tea and handed a cup to Liu the matchmaker: "Mother Liu, please don't worry about me. I have also thought it through. This big matter of marriage is all about fate. If fate is not there, it's all nonsense to say anything."

There are many guests in the living room.

In addition to the scholars who wanted to see the true appearance of the "Eleven Scenic Spots of West Lake", there were also many who came to see Dan Niang.

Many people have heard the news that Wanyan Quxing, the young prince of the Jin Dynasty, was obsessed with Dan Niang, the shopkeeper of "Shuiyunjian", and because of this he had a dispute with the deputy envoy and eventually died.

Moreover, the stories about the deaths of Wanyan Quxing and Deputy Envoy Han became more and more bizarre. Some people even said that the two were killed in a fight for Dan Niang. This was what was written in the Lin'an tabloids.

As a result, the reputation of "the 11th Scene of West Lake" became famous throughout the city of Lin'an.

Many students who come to Lin'an to take exams linger in "Shuiyunjian", hoping to have a chance to catch a glimpse of the beauty's true face.

At the same time, the news that Dan Niang won the lawsuit and saved the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant spread quietly.

The porter who carried Dan Niang's things to Phoenix Mountain said this when he came back.
Lin'an Prefecture has already issued a verdict that if Dan Niang remarries, she can take away assets not exceeding five thousand strings of cash.

Now Dan Niang is a young, beautiful and wealthy woman.

Nowadays, those who stay at the Shuiyunjian restaurant every day are not only those who want to make friends or find a match.

There are also some poor scholars who fantasize about having a romantic encounter.

If I fail the scientific examination, I can still stay in "Shuiyunjian" and eat some free food.

Such delicious soft rice smells so good.

However, to this day, few people have actually seen Dan Niang.

I only heard from the shop assistant that the girl sitting behind the counter was Dan Niang's sister, and her appearance was three points less beautiful than Dan Niang.

Everyone looked at Qingtang. Although she had not yet fully grown, she was already a beauty with picturesque eyebrows and eyes.

She is not even as good as Dan Niang. Is there any need to talk about Dan Niang's appearance?
This makes people even more imaginative.

Liu Ti sat in the corner with his son, looking worried.

Not long ago, Doctor Yuan finally came to his house, examined his son's injuries, and prescribed some internal and external medicines. However, after taking them for a while, the effect was not obvious.

His son has thick body hair and a beard that grows quickly. Since he is not old enough to grow a beard, he used to shave with a razor.

But in recent days, I found that after my son's beard was shaved, the regrowth rate was much slower than before.

Liu Ti secretly felt that something was wrong. He was worried that if he endured it for too long, his son's "secret" would get out, and then it would be even more difficult for him to find a wife.

So he hurriedly arranged a marriage for his son.

He originally thought that although Dan Niang had some family background, she was ultimately no match for him, the second in charge of the "Moshanghua" embroidery workshop.

Moreover, Dan Niang had been married once. There was no reason for her to disagree when he brought his son to propose marriage.

But now, listening to what other guests sitting in the adjacent seats say, this Dan Niang is actually still very popular?
This is a bit outrageous. After all, she is a young woman. Why is she so popular?
It's outrageous!
Liu Mo sat opposite his father in a rather strange sitting posture. He was not fully recovered yet.

He really didn't understand why his father was so anxious to find him a wife.

But... look at the little Qingtang behind the counter...

A woman more beautiful than her... That's not impossible.

But, my injury hasn’t healed yet. Will it affect my wedding night?

Liu Mo thought about it and became deeply worried.

At this time, the conversation of people at the next table caught his attention.

"That's right. Dan Niang's mother is not her biological mother, but a foster relative. Everyone in the store calls her Madam Li..."

Mrs. Li?
A trace of resentment suddenly flashed in Liu Mo's eyes. Is this Madam Li the Madam Li I thought she was?
……

No matter how much Liu the matchmaker tried to persuade Dan Niang, she just didn't want to meet him.

During this time, there were a few matchmakers hanging around the door, obviously urging Liu the matchmaker.

Seeing this, Matchmaker Liu couldn't help but sigh and said with a wry smile, "Forget it, since Dan Niang doesn't have that intention, I won't force it.

"Alas! This old man has had a bad year. Since the beginning of spring, I have only helped to secure two marriages.

"One is between you, Danniang, and Manager Fang. As a result, Manager Fang unfortunately passed away.

"The other one is Miss Luxi and Yang Yuan from Qingshi Lane. But Yang Yuan... Hey..."

Matchmaker Liu shook her head and was about to leave. Dan Niang, who was fiddling with the tea set out of boredom, suddenly raised her head:
"Mother Liu, what about Luxi and Yang Yuan in Qingshi Lane?"

(End of this chapter)