Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 45: Offending a Powerful Person

Behind them was the brewing area, and the fire originated from there. Ji Meiqing had people replace the sand with soil to extinguish the fire. The people behind her didn't know why she was doing this. Although they complained, they could only put out the fire for the time being.

Ji Meiqing watched as the fire gradually died down, disappearing into wisps of smoke. Fortunately, the fire wasn't particularly large and didn't reach the front yard, otherwise the entire house would have been destroyed.

“It was man-made,” she said.

“That princess,” Lu Yu said as well, their eyes meeting. Ji Meiqing looked at him, and the answer slowly became clear in her mind.

Seeing that the fire was out, the villagers offered a few words of comfort and then went back inside, yawning. Ji Meiqing also went into the house. They dared not light candles, fearing that the flames would rise with the wisps of smoke and reignite.

"Let's go rest first. The silver that princess sent is enough for us to renovate this place again," she comforted, not only Lu Yu but also herself. This place where they could finally find shelter was one they had worked so hard for; how could she possibly let anyone destroy it again?

Back in her room, she deliberately left the door open to dissipate the smell.

She finally fell asleep after a long night of crying. In her dream, she felt like she was in an ice cave, and she couldn't bear it any longer. When she opened her eyes, she saw a sharp light flash by.

Ji Meiqing instinctively rolled off the bed, then kicked him hard in the groin, coldly watching him clutch his crotch. Because of the darkness, Ji Meiqing couldn't see his face clearly, and the man, seeing her potential attack, immediately slithered away.

The next second, Lu Yu burst in, holding a candle in his hand.

"Are you alright?" Upon seeing Ji Meiqing, he immediately ran over, his anxious expression genuine.

Ji Meiqing shook her head. "It's nothing. How about you?"

"I'm fine too."

Neither of them was seriously injured. Ji Meiqing got up from the ground, but her legs were still weak after what had happened, and she needed his help to get up.

Looking at all this, Ji Meiqing thought, "I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep well tonight."

"You rest, I'll stay here and watch over you." Lu Yu said calmly. He left the room and after a while, he brought back all his bedding.

Ji Meiqing watched as he made a makeshift bed under her bed and then went back to his own bed to continue lying down. With another person in the room, she felt a sense of relief.

The two of them fell asleep together, and probably because they were exhausted most of the night, they didn't wake up until noon. When Ji Meiqing woke up, she lay on the bed with her eyes wide open, feeling quite weak, her mind filled with everything that had happened the night before.

It was like a nightmare. Just thinking about it made her immediately get up and search her dressing table. Thankfully, the gold was still there. Seeing the gold, Ji Meiqing finally breathed a sigh of relief and closed the box.

The contents inside are enough for them to build another courtyard.

"Awake?" Lu Yu asked from behind, sitting up from the ground. "Let's have breakfast together, and then think of a solution."

"No need to think about it anymore, let's just start preparing to build the house. This place is too old." She looked around her room. "I have to thank that princess."

Lu Yu sighed, picked up his things, and went back to his room. Ji Meiqing looked at him, her gaze falling on the floor; last night had been too dangerous.

She didn't know what she had done to offend that person, which led to this deadly disaster.

Ji Meiqing had already planned out the house, but just as she was about to put it into action, another uninvited guest suddenly arrived.

"Where is my husband?" The village chief's wife barged in, her face grim.

Ji Meiqing was taken aback. "The village chief isn't here. What are you doing here?"

"He came looking for you last night, and he hasn't come back yet! If I don't come looking for you, who else can I look for?"

"Wasn't he here to see the princess? He heard yesterday that the princess had left, so he hurriedly left." Ji Meiqing explained directly.

The village chief's wife was skeptical. "But he hasn't come back yet."

Ji Meiqing's heart sank, and she looked at her and said, "Your husband... he has most likely been killed."

"What!" Her face turned pale instantly. "How could this happen?"

Ji Meiqing's expression turned serious. "This person probably found out something, which is why they were killed."

"I'm going to report this to the authorities! Is there no justice or law anymore? The princess can kill people indiscriminately!" She left crying. Ji Meiqing stood at the door, and Lu Yu stopped when he saw her staring blankly.

"what happened to you?"

“We… seem to have gotten ourselves into serious trouble.” She said gravely, “The village chief was killed yesterday.”

Lu Yu also fell silent. Looking at the worry on her face, he could only smile and ruffle her hair, comforting her, "It's okay, I'm here. Everything will be alright."

"Hmm..." She was just worried.

The news of the village chief's murder spread quickly, and Ji Meiqing and Lu Yu searched the surrounding area for his body, finally finding it on the main road.

The corpse, lying in the field crawling with insects, still stared wide-eyed in shock. Ji Meiqing couldn't bear to look at it, and Lu Yu glanced at it before looking away as well.

The state of the corpse was too gruesome; the ground next to its neck was stained with blood in an unknown way.

The village chief's wife stood at a distance, constantly wiping tears from her face with her sleeve. Ji Meiqing looked at the people around her; they were all puzzled and sorrowful.

In the end, the body was wrapped up and taken away from here. Ji Meiqing and the others went back with it. She didn't know what the village chief's wife would do, but if she were to report it to the authorities, she would inevitably lose.

Ji Meiqing looked at everything before her, wishing none of this had happened. She didn't understand why the village chief had gone to find that princess.

Sitting in her seat, she couldn't quite come to her senses for a long time. Lu Yu called her several times before she reacted, looking at him blankly: "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong with you? You've been so distracted since earlier. Were you frightened?"

She nodded. "Yes, some."

Li was bringing Li Ming over, their faces beaming with excitement. Upon seeing Ji Meiqing, they quickly walked over.

"I heard that the village chief is dead. That's good. He won't make things difficult for us anymore."

"Is it really okay?" Ji Meiqing looked at him. "This is a living, breathing life!"

Li Ming didn't care at all. "So what? Who told him to commit so many evil deeds? It's good that he's been killed now."

"You all go back and rest first. I want to be alone for a while." Ji Meiqing turned her head away, not wanting to talk to them anymore. Seeing this, Li Shi could only pull her son away.