The Bully General's Spiritual Husband

The lights are on, and night falls.

Along Hua Man Lou Street, bright red lanterns hung high, and the sounds of string and wind instruments disturbed the crescent moon in the sky.

Li Jinhu arrived at Hua Man Lou with his gang of lackeys.

The happiest people were Zhu Sheng and his group. They didn't have any spare money to spend in such places, so it was better to stay with Li Jinhu!

The group watched with wide eyes as the scantily clad girl danced gracefully on stage.

Li Jinhu kicked Zhu Sheng: "You good-for-nothing, hurry up and find where Young Master Jin is!"

Zhu Sheng looked around furtively and soon spotted Jin Cheng surrounded by a group of brightly dressed girls drinking wine. "Brother Hu, Young Master Jin is over there," Zhu Sheng pointed in that direction.

Li Jinhu stepped forward obsequiously, "Young Master Jin, what refined taste you have!"

Jin Cheng squinted, his eyes wide with disbelief, as he looked at Li Jinhu who was greeting him: "Tiger, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be at the private school?"

Li Jinhu embellished Shen Jin's words and told them to Jin Cheng, even showing him the bruises left by Shen Jin. "Young Master Jin, look, I stood up for Master Jin, and that kid beat me up."

Jin Cheng stood up abruptly, slamming his short, thick hand on the table. "How dare they not put the Jin family in their eyes! Tiger, let's go and meet that pretty boy. Let him know that there are some people he can't afford to mess with."

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Li Jinhu bowed and scraped, "Young Master Jin, let's go. I heard that kid is staying at Yong Sheng Casino now!"

Upon hearing that Shen Jin was from Yong Sheng Gambling House, Jin Cheng hesitated for a moment. Shen Li from the gambling house was a ruthless character, and his father had warned him to avoid provoking him.

However, since Shen Li can't even manage his own subordinates, I'll go and manage them for him.

Jin Xiang resembled a fierce, fat rooster, leading Li Jinhu and his group in a grand procession toward the gambling den.

Yin Baicai had no interest in listening to the village gossip, and he'd been quite busy lately. Li Zhe was leaving early and returning late every day, and Yin Baicai also had to look after Li Mo and the fields, so he was naturally busy on both fronts.

Then they saw a group of people making a lot of noise as they walked toward the village. The leader was the matchmaker, Li, and next to her was a tall man whose build was comparable to Li Zhe's.

With a beaming smile, Matchmaker Li called out to the people behind her, "Everyone, get excited! This is a joyous occasion!"

Yin Baicai, the matchmaker, was no stranger to him; she was the one who arranged his marriage to Li Zhe.

Like a little tail, Li Mo tugged at Yin Baicai's pants, and the two of them stood at the gate of the courtyard watching.

Yin Baicai asked curiously, "Grandma Li, what's the occasion? It's so lively!"

Matchmaker Li said with a smile, "Brother Cai, you don't know yet! Today is Brother Qing's wedding day!"

After saying that, he led a group of people and walked towards Liu Xiaoqing's house in a lively manner.

Yin Baicai stood at the door, stunned. Wasn't she just going to town to do some business? And Liu Xiaoqing got married? Didn't he like Li the bully? This is infidelity.

Yin Baicai suddenly remembered something. Wait a minute, I saw Liu Xiaoqing being all lovey-dovey with a man in town last time. Could it be that tall guy?

But his figure doesn't quite look like it! But whatever, that man looks like he's from another village. It's good that I won't see Liu Xiaoqing, who always argues with me, anymore.

Liu Xiaoqing sat in the room wearing a bright red wedding dress. Zhang Ke kept her company and said to her privately, "Qing-ge'er, just forget about Tian Wenyan and live a good life with Lu Yun. He is an honest man."

Liu Xiaoqing understood that things had come to this point, and there was no point in backing down. He'd announced his engagement so long ago, but Wenyan hadn't come looking for him. So be it!

Lu Yun, carrying Liu Xiaoqing with her head covered by a red veil, and the wedding party happily passed by Tian Wenyan at the village entrance.

Tian Wenyan was now only concerned with getting home to pay back Li Jinhu's debts, so he didn't care about anything else.

Yin Baicai was startled when she saw Tian Wenyan, who was so thin he was practically skin and bones. The last time she saw him, he looked like a human being, but now he had a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, and he looked terrifying.

Tian Wenyan has been thinking about repaying Li Jinhu's money every day lately, and he is exhausted, so he has naturally lost a lot of weight.

Chen Jufen felt annoyed listening to the lively chatter at the Liu family's house not far from hers. "So what if she married a lowly butcher? Look at that slut's mouth, he's practically smirking."

Suddenly a thin figure came into view. Chen Jufen looked at her son, who hadn't seen her for just over half a month, and saw how thin he had become.

Tears welled up in her eyes from heartache. She stepped forward, grabbed Tian Wenyan's sleeve, and looked him up and down, "Oh... son! How did you become so thin..."

When Tian Wenyan saw his mother, he quickly asked, "Mother, don't worry about it. I've been reading every day lately. Give me some money so I can buy books."

Chen Jufen pulled him home with heartache, saying, "It's all my fault for being so useless. You've worked so hard. Come in quickly, I'll cook for you. After you eat, I'll give you some money."

Fearing he wouldn't make it back to town in time, and that Li Jinhu would raise the price again, Tian Wenyan shouted at Chen Jufen, "I'm not eating anymore! Quickly give me the money, I need to go to town to buy books. They'll be sold out if I'm late!"

This was the first time Chen Jufen had ever been spoken to in such a tone by her son, but looking at his thin frame, she couldn't bring herself to say anything harsh, even though she was unhappy.

"Okay, okay, wait for me to get it for you." Chen Jufen hurriedly ran into the house and took out the small handkerchief containing the money: "This is all I have, son..."

Before Chen Jufen could finish speaking, Tian Wenyan snatched the handkerchief containing the money from her hand, opened it anxiously, and exclaimed, "How come there's only two taels of silver! Mother, do you have any more? This isn't enough!"

Chen Jufen: "No, that's all. This is all thanks to my mother's frugality..."

Hearing his mother say there wasn't any left, Tian Wenyan frowned unhappily. How could such a small amount be enough to return to Li Jinhu?

They took the money, turned around, and left without anyone listening to Chen Jufen finish speaking.

As Chen Jufen watched Tian Wenyan leave, tears streamed down her face. "My son worked so hard all for our family—" Thinking of her husband who had died young, Chen Jufen cursed and swore in the yard.

With clearly not enough money in his pocket, Tian Wenyan suddenly had an idea: why not go to that Tu Ge'er and see if he could give him some?

Those country bumpkins who can be persuaded with just a few words will obediently hand over the money as long as I ask.

Tian Wenyan, still lost in his own fantasies, was having a daydream!

When Tian Wenyan arrived at Liu Xiaoqing's house, he saw many villagers having a lively meal.

A surge of joy welled up in his heart. What good thing must Liu Xiaoqing's family be doing, with such a festive atmosphere? They must have a lot of money! He figured he could "borrow" some from them, and Liu Xiaoqing would surely give it to him.

Maybe he'll give me a lot, and when I pass the imperial examination, I might even be able to marry him and become his concubine!

Zhang Ke, who was serving food to the villagers, saw Tian Wenyan coming towards his house, and the smile on his face faded.

Before Tian Wenyan could come over, he strode out of the courtyard gate and closed it behind him.