Meanwhile, Jiang san-niang sat at home for a while. Gritting her teeth, she took a food box and went out to see Jailer Feng.
The men who worked with Jailer Feng had arranged for him to stay at an inn.
When Jiang san-niang arrived, he was drinking. The moment he saw her, he flew into a rage, seized her by the throat, and slammed her to the ground.
“Was it you, you little bitch, who set the fire?!”
Jiang san-niang struggled desperately. Just as she was about to suffocate, he finally released her. Clutching at her throat, she crawled up from the ground, her face covered in tears.
“Master, I heard what happened and was worried sick. The moment I saw Father had escaped death, I immediately brought food to see you, and yet… yet you treat me like this!”
Jailer Feng staggered back to his seat, hugged the wine jar, and gulped down wine.
“She was the daughter of a martial arts school. Ever since she was little, she followed her father all over the country escorting goods. Even bandits couldn’t kill her, so how did she end up dying after finally living a good life…” Jailer Feng muttered to himself.
Jiang san-niang got to her feet. Picking up the food box, she took out the dishes that had not been dirtied and arranged them on the table.
“Master, you must take care of your health. Madam would worry for you…”
At those words, Jailer Feng smashed the wine jar and burst into sobs, crying so hard that snot streamed from his nose.
Disgust flashed through Jiang san-niang’s eyes, but she quickly concealed it. Gently patting Jailer Feng’s shoulder, she said, “Those yamen runners dare not say it, but I do. Master, you offended Clerk Huang before. I’ve heard he’s narrow-minded. Could it have been him…”
Jailer Feng immediately denied it. “It couldn’t have been him. The moment Clerk Huang heard about this, he came straight to me and said he’d uphold justice for me. After all, I’ve done plenty of things for him before.
“Besides, what would he gain from attacking my household? If something happened to my family, everyone’s first thought would be him!”
Using the little wit he possessed, Jailer Feng eliminated one suspect.
He rubbed his nose, smearing snot all over his face. “Who the hell was it?! Once I find out, I’ll slice him into ten thousand pieces!”
Alarm rose in Jiang san-niang’s heart, but she barely managed to maintain her composure. “Master, if it wasn’t Clerk Huang, could it have been the person who came to ask you for help last night?”
“Bullshit! Do you know who came asking me for help? It was… Magistrate Wang’s adviser! He came on Magistrate Wang’s behalf to ask me to do something.
“He wanted me to take men and deal with the Lin couple.
“Once the job was done, he’d recommend me to the neighbouring county for a proper clerk’s position, with the chance to become an official in future.
“Magistrate Wang is such a good man…” Suddenly, he remembered Madam Feng’s words.
Why had they come to him for this matter?
Did Magistrate Wang not have subordinates of his own to use? He was clearly trying to use him to strike at Magistrate Gu.
Cold sweat broke out across Jailer Feng’s back. Regret flooded him. He should never have allowed Madam Feng to question Magistrate Wang’s adviser.
The man had influence everywhere. He must already know Madam Feng had doubted them, and because of that, no longer trusted him.
To prevent him from informing Magistrate Gu, they had silenced her permanently. Who could have known that he would take men out early that morning to handle the task…
Bitterness filled Jailer Feng’s mouth.
Madam, ah, Madam. Your ending came partly because I failed to stop you, but even more because of your own fault.
Why did you have to question them?
If you hadn’t, today I’d have dealt with Lin Yue and the other one, and tomorrow we could have lived an even better life.
Jiang san-niang watched him shift from crying, to shock, to rage, to grief, as though someone had dumped seven or eight different seasonings into him all at once. For a moment, she could not tell whether she had completed the task Young Master Lin had given her.
Carefully, she probed, “Was it really the person who asked you to do the job?” She stamped her foot. “That person truly has the heart of a wolf and the lungs of a dog. Even if I have to stake my life on it, I’ll avenge Madam!”
Jailer Feng grabbed her at once. “You’re no match for him. Having the thought is enough.”
Jiang san-niang knew then that the task was complete. Suppressing her delight, she said, “Are we really just going to endure this? If he could kill Madam, then he certainly won’t spare us either! He’ll fear we might avenge Madam, so he’ll definitely want our lives too.”
Jailer Feng said, “Then we just won’t avenge Madam!”
Disdain flashed through Jiang san-niang’s eyes. “If we say that, do you think he’ll believe us?”
Jailer Feng stammered, “Th-this…”
Jiang san-niang dropped to her knees and cried, “I want to live too, Master! Think of a way!”
“What way could I possibly have?!”
Jiang san-niang grabbed his hand. “Master, go to the county magistrate and ask him to uphold justice.
“We never actually laid a hand on Young Master Lin. If the magistrate asks why you brought men to watch the Lin residence, then say you learned of Magistrate Wang’s scheme and were protecting the Lin family for their own safety.
“If the magistrate asks why you didn’t report it to him immediately and instead acted on your own initiative, then say you feared he wouldn’t trust you and wanted to catch Magistrate Wang red-handed.
“And if the magistrate asks why Magistrate Wang chose you for the job, then say you truly don’t know. Because you genuinely don’t. But guide his suspicions towards Clerk Huang and use the opportunity to get rid of that hidden danger.”
Jailer Feng stared at her dumbfounded. After a long while, he sighed. “You have Madam’s bearing.”
Jiang san-niang lowered her head and wept. “Madam always taught me how to help ease Master’s burdens. I never wanted to learn. With Madam around, there was no need for me to. Who would have thought…”
At once, Jailer Feng began crying again.
After he finished crying, he dismissed Jiang san-niang. Pacing circles around the room, he hesitated over whether to follow her advice. Just then, a yamen runner arrived to say that the county magistrate wished to see him.
Could the magistrate already have guessed something?
Jailer Feng no longer hesitated. He immediately decided to act exactly as Jiang san-niang had instructed.
The moment he arrived at the magistrate’s residence, before Magistrate Gu could even speak, he blurted out everything Magistrate Wang’s adviser had asked him to do. Afterwards, he tried to excuse himself.
Magistrate Gu had summoned him there in order to reward him. Not long earlier, Lin Yue had come looking for him and said that Jailer Feng’s home had burned down, his wife had died, and that Jailer Feng had once shown him kindness. He hoped the magistrate would show consideration on his behalf and grant Jailer Feng a few days’ leave.
Magistrate Gu had thought: if Lin Yue personally came to speak for the man, how could he merely grant him leave? That would be far too lacking in official dignity. So he had decided to reward Jailer Feng as well, seeing as the man was still one of his own subordinates.
Who could have imagined it? Who could have imagined it! This Jailer Feng had actually stabbed both him and Lin Yue in the back!
Magistrate Gu might not understand practical affairs, but he was not stupid. The moment he heard Jailer Feng’s explanation, he immediately grasped the man’s true intentions.
Shock and fury surged through him as he stared coldly at Jailer Feng. Uneasy, Jailer Feng faltered and stopped talking.
Magistrate Gu said coldly, “Drag him out and beat him to death.”
“What?!” Like a bolt from the blue, Jailer Feng cried out in horror. Before he could beg for mercy, someone clamped a hand over his mouth and nose and dragged him away.
Magistrate Gu’s chest rose and fell violently. Bracing himself against the desk, he said through gritted teeth, “Wang Zhi, just you wait!”
…
Lin Yue returned to the courtyard. The moment he stepped through the door, Gu Yun came up to greet him. He immediately caught the faint smell of something burnt on him.
Lin Yue said flatly, “What did you do?”
Gu Yun replied, “Made dinner.”
Lin Yue walked into the room. On the table sat millet porridge, stir-fried cabbage, and a basket of bean-flour flatbreads. The millet porridge was thick to the point of absurdity. The cabbage was blackened, yellowed, wilted, and swimming in liquid. Apart from two flatbreads that had escaped disaster, the rest were burnt pitch black, as though coated in soot scraped from a wok.
Lin Yue: “……”
Expressionless, he turned and walked out.
Gu Yun grabbed his hand at once. “Where are you going?”
“Out to eat.”
Gu Yun exploded. “Didn’t I already cook?!”
Lin Yue said, “Mm. Since you made it yourself, you can eat it yourself.”
Gu Yun: “……”
“I’m holding a grudge against you!”
Lin Yue turned to look at him.
Gu Yun glared viciously at him for a while, then flung his hand away and sat down at the table to eat by himself. At practically the same moment, Lin Yue strode away.
Gu Yun sneered and continued eating seriously. So what if it was a little thick, a little overcooked, a little burnt? And he was disgusted by that? Such a delicate man.
Gu Yun thought resentfully that if someone had helped tend the fire, things would never have ended up like this.
Cooking while tending the fire at the same time was genuinely difficult.
As he ate, his expression gradually twisted. In the end, he could not help shedding a tear. Although he did not want to admit it, it really was dreadful…
I’m a delicate man too.
Was the first meal protected by some sort of beginner’s blessing?
Is this food going to kill me?
“Creak—”
The half-closed door opened. Gu Yun looked up warily. To his surprise, it was Lin Yue.
“Why are you back?” Gu Yun asked in astonishment. “You finished eating that quickly?”
Lin Yue noticed his damp eyes. Just as expected, crying again. If he really settled that bastard’s account with him, this person would probably cry enough to drown himself. His gaze lingered on him for a few moments before he stepped inside.
Only then did Gu Yun notice the small earthenware jar in his hand.
“What’s that?”
“Pickles.”
Gu Yun twisted open the lid. A fragrant spicy aroma rushed out at once, making his mouth water immediately. “Can I eat this?” He held the jar tightly, unwilling to let go.
Lin Yue washed his hands, took out a coarse pottery bowl, ladled himself a bowl of millet porridge, sat at the table, and said, “Suit yourself.” As he spoke, he frowned slightly and took a sip.
So he had not actually eaten after all. But why had he come back to eat…? Hadn’t he said that whoever cooked it should eat it themselves?
Gu Yun could not understand him. Silently withdrawing his gaze, he flipped his chopsticks around and used the blunt ends to scoop out a huge lump of pickles into his bowl.
The pickles had already been minced into mush, making it impossible to tell what vegetables they were made from, but they were intensely fragrant and spicy, unbelievably delicious. With just a little of the pickles, Gu Yun found himself able to happily swallow the terrible meal.
After finishing dinner, and seeing that Lin Yue was still eating, Gu Yun went to the kitchen to heat his medicine. Just then, the dog tied near the back door by the landlord began barking loudly.
Gu Yun stepped outside to look. The landlord had beaten him there. After pacing around the doorway for a while, the man slapped the dog on the head.
“There’s nobody there. What are you barking for?!”
After being hit, the dog tucked its tail between its legs and shrank away miserably. Seeing this, Gu Yun returned to the kitchen and continued brewing his medicine.
Late at night, after taking the medicine and washing the bowls, the two of them went out to buy two sets of ready-made clothes, after which Gu Yun went to bathe.
Lin Yue had not bathed yet. Sitting at the table doing his schoolwork, he found the constant splashing of water drilling into his ears and distracting him from writing.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked towards the corner. Steam drifted through the gaps in the bamboo screen, filling the whole room with damp warmth.
Thinking of the unfinished bastard’s account, he lowered his gaze to the spreading blot of ink dripping from his brush onto the paper. Slowly setting the brush down, he walked to the bamboo screen and said, “Stop making such a racket.”
Half-settling the account was enough. If he did not settle it at all, sooner or later this person would climb onto his head.
Gu Yun: “?”
“I’m already moving very quietly.”
The words had barely left his mouth when he saw the bamboo screen sway. The other man was about to lift it and come in. Startled, Gu Yun shot upright in the tub and grabbed hold of the bamboo screen. “I’m not finished washing yet!”
“You’re making too much noise bathing. I’ll help you.”
“I’ll keep quieter!”
“Wouldn’t that make things difficult for you?”
“It won’t!”
Gu Yun could not stop him. Seeing one corner of the bamboo screen already being lifted, he immediately let go with one hand, snatched the brand-new inner robe hanging nearby, threw it over himself, and yanked the hem down to cover the important parts.
To his utter disbelief, the bamboo screen, halfway lifted, was suddenly lowered again. Then he heard Lin Yue laughing.
“Are you sick in the head?!” Gu Yun snapped furiously. He had lost count of how many times he had called him mad already.
Lin Yue replied, “I’m a bastard, aren’t I? Bastards naturally do inhuman things.”
Gu Yun: “……”
No wonder he had said during the day that he would settle accounts again tonight. Gu Yun shut up completely. Lin Yue gave a snort of laughter, sat back down at the desk, and resumed his schoolwork.
Seeing that he was no longer pursuing the matter, Gu Yun relaxed. While regretting his earlier impulsiveness, he stripped off the damp inner robe and continued bathing.
After washing up, he cautiously asked Lin Yue to pass him the other newly bought inner robe, since the one he had planned to wear was already soaked and unusable.
Lin Yue answered with a vague sound and stood up to fetch the clothes. Gu Yun waited.
Instead of receiving the clothes, however, he suddenly heard an enormous crash, followed by a chaotic flurry of footsteps and the sound of objects colliding.
