Love Lock

Chapter 87: Life is hopeless
Night had fallen, and Wei Chengchao, who had not yet seen Han Lei return, was extremely anxious.

Today was an agonizing day for him.

The brewery was full of men exuding a murderous aura; they were unaware that they were the ones who had kidnapped Han Lei.

Although they were all busy with their own things, Wei Chengchao felt guilty staying there! He was afraid they would strike up a conversation with him, and afraid he would accidentally let something slip.

At that time, he won't even know how he died.

The Wei family is the most prominent family in the Great Jing Dynasty. Their influence has long been extensive and deeply rooted, and they naturally have relatives in Taoyuan County.

Wei Chengchao spent the day at a relative's house with two servants, but they had to take the antidote every night, so they had to return to the brewery as soon as it got dark.

At his relatives' house, Wei Chengchao, that coward, didn't even dare to mention that he had been poisoned, let alone bring his relatives to cause trouble for Han Lei, for fear that Han Lei would stop giving him the antidote in a fit of anger.

Moreover, he, the dignified young master Wei, was outmaneuvered by a girl; he was afraid of being laughed at if word got out.

Before figuring out what kind of poison he had been given, he dared not make any rash moves, for fear that he might accidentally kill himself.

It wasn't until late in the evening that Han Lei's carriage slowly came to a stop at the entrance of the winery. The brothers, who had just finished work and were about to have dinner, all came out to help carry Yang's mother.

To Han Lei's surprise, Wei Chengchao, a wealthy young master who was used to being waited on hand and foot, also came up to help her with two servants, looking very obsequious and ingratiating.

At first glance, it's clear they want something from me.

After settling Yang's mother in, all the brothers sat down at a table for dinner. Everyone chatted and laughed, enjoying their meal immensely.

Han Lei glanced at Wei Chengchao and noticed that he was not eating the food on the table, but instead rubbing his face and feeling restless.

Han Lei ignored him and continued eating. After returning to her room, she was about to write a letter to Zhao Zun when there was a knock on the door.

Clang! Clang! Clang!
The knocking was quite rhythmic.

Han Lei smiled slightly, opened the door, and sure enough, Wei Chengchao was standing outside.

"Hehe, Grandma. You haven't rested yet!" Wei Chengchao said with a fawning smile.

"Oh! Look at my memory." Han Lei pretended to have just remembered. "I forgot to give you the antidote today. You came here to get the antidote, right?"

"Hehe, it's okay if you forgot, I'll come and get it myself."

Han Lei grinned, reached into her sleeve, and took out three digestive tablets, placing them on Wei Chengchao's outstretched palm.

"Thank you, Grandma." Wei Chengchao quickly popped a piece into his mouth and started chewing it.

Han Lei tried hard to suppress her laughter, rolled her eyes at him, and was about to close the door.

Wei Chengchao quickly raised his hand to support the door, "Hey, Grandma. Wait, wait. Hehe..."

"Anything else?"

I already knew you had a problem, but Han Lei asked the question knowing the answer.

Wei Chengchao looked around suspiciously, like a thief, and asked cautiously with a pained expression, "Grandma, can I go inside to talk?"

"It's late at night, isn't it inappropriate for a man and a woman to be alone together?" Han Lei's sweet face turned cold.

"Grandma, please! I can't possibly tell anyone about this!"

Wei Chengchao clasped his hands together and pleaded with a pained expression.

Han Lei could roughly guess what he wanted to do, and seeing how scared he was, she just found it amusing.

"come in!"

Han Lei stopped pressuring him, turned around, walked to the table, sat down, and leisurely poured herself a cup of tea.

Wei Chengchao quickly came in, turned around and peeked outside before gently closing the door. "Speak! What is it?" Han Lei looked at him calmly.

Wei Chengchao walked over and knelt down in front of Han Lei with a thud, startling her.

"Grandma, Grandma, please! Don't make me go to Cangzhou with you, let me go back to the capital! If I go to Cangzhou, the Prince of Xiaoyao, uh, no, the Prince of Cangzhou will beat me to death."

Sure enough, Han Lei guessed it was about this.

"No way!" Han Lei refused outright, but left him a glimmer of hope. "What if you go back and cause trouble again?"

"No, no, absolutely not."

Wei Chengchao got anxious, shook his head like a rattle drum, raised two fingers, and swore an oath.

"Having learned my lesson this time, how could I dare not to? I swear, when I go back, I will definitely turn over a new leaf, be a good person, and treat everyone kindly like you, my dear. As long as I don't go to Cangzhou with you, you can do whatever you want, like a slave. I'll do anything you ask."

"Oh? You can do anything?"

Han Lei raised an eyebrow; that's exactly what she was waiting for.

Seeing that there was a chance, Wei Chengchao nodded vigorously without thinking.

"Yes! As long as I don't have to meet with the King of Cangzhou, I'll do whatever you ask."

Seeing that the time was right, Han Lei's eyes flashed with a sly glint, and she asked lightly.

"So... what do you think of my wine?"

liqueur?
Wasn't this about sending him back to the capital? Why are you suddenly asking about wine?
Wei Chengchao's lips twitched, but he didn't dare to disobey Han Lei, so he could only answer truthfully: "That wine is wonderful, it's simply a heavenly brew."

Wei Chengchao was, after all, a notorious playboy in the capital, a regular at all the major restaurants, and he had even tasted the tribute wine from the imperial palace. Indeed, no wine could compare to Han Lei's Drunken Immortal Brew.

"Hmm! Looks like you know your stuff." Han Lei nodded and got straight to the point. "I want to sell this wine in Beijing, and I also want to sell other things in Beijing in the future, but I need someone to nominally manage the business."

"Grandma wants me to run your place? But all I know how to do is eat, drink, and have fun; I don't know how to run a place!"

"No, I only need you to be nominally owned. I can let you go back, and I can give you three months' worth of antidote in one go. After that, I will send someone to deliver it to you every three months. The condition is: all the properties under my name in the capital must be officially claimed to be yours. You cannot let anyone know that they are mine. Can you do that?"

"This...Grandma, are there any other options?" Wei Chengchao hesitated.

He is self-aware enough to know that with his appearance, does he look like someone who can run a business?

"No. Even if you were, you're not cut out for it." Han Lei hit him right where it hurts.

"..."

Wei Chengchao slumped his shoulders and sat down on the ground, looking utterly hopeless.

Han Lei wasn't in a hurry. She slowly said, "You don't need to answer me right away. You can think about it carefully. Anyway, you only have two choices. One, come with me to Cangzhou and let Zhao Zun tear you to pieces. Two, register under my name and protect my business. Of course, I won't let you register for nothing. I can give you 10% of the profits as a reward. That's equivalent to giving you 10% of the shares, which is something others would love to do! But you must remember, if any third person besides you and me finds out that those businesses belong to me, I will immediately cut off your antidote."

"..."

Han Lei tried hard to suppress her laughter and continued to escalate the situation, coercing him with an air of seriousness.

"Do you know why I can pull out poison at any time? I forgot to tell you, I'm a master of poisons. Even the imperial physicians in the palace wouldn't be able to detect anything amiss with the poisons I concoct. So don't expect to go back to the capital and find an imperial physician to concoct an antidote for you. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to try."

"Uh……"

Should we return to the capital to find the imperial physician for an antidote?
Upon hearing this, Wei Chengchao's eyebrows twitched.

Who exactly is this bitch Han Lei? How does she know everything I'm thinking?
Thank you all for your support and encouragement. I love you all.

(End of this chapter)