The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 450 - 448: The Truth

Chapter 450: Chapter 448: The Truth

Shopkeeper Zhang was dying of shame and anger, yet he was also afraid of death. He swallowed his pride and nodded, covering his face with his sleeve, too ashamed to meet anyone’s eyes.

"Splash him awake! But don’t splash his face," Wang Yongzhu ordered Jindou and Jinhu.

She gathered her gloves and the remaining bit of mud mixed with the nerve toxin.

Jindou and Jinhu carefully lifted the bucket of water, avoiding Hunter Qin’s face, and drenched him through to the bone.

It was now deep autumn, and although the midday sun still had some warmth, the bucket of cold water, followed by a light breeze, was chilling.

Hunter Qin soon came to his senses.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Wang Yongzhu and reflexively made a defensive gesture, which pulled at the wound in his chest, causing him to inhale sharply from the pain.

"You venomous woman! Do you know who I am? How dare you hit me, I tell you—ah—" Hunter Qin’s eyes split with rage as he let out a wail.

The neighbors clinging to the doors and walls of the Qin Family Courtyard, reluctant to disperse, felt a chill down their spines as they listened.

Wang Yongzhu calmly looked at Hunter Qin, her foot firmly on his ankle: "What did you say just now? I didn’t hear you, louder please!"

All Hunter Qin could manage was to gasp in pain, unable to speak.

Shopkeeper Zhang’s back was soaked with sweat; he felt cold sweat for Old Qin. What a fool, not realizing his life was in someone else’s hands. Why provoke them with such useless talk?

Just hand over the silver and save your own life first!

If he continued to be so clueless, his own hard-won life, saved by giving up all his possessions, might be in jeopardy once again.

Shopkeeper Zhang steeled his heart, pulled down his sleeve from his face, and whispered to Hunter Qin: "Old Qin, don’t be stubborn. A wise man does not fight when the odds are against him. Give her the silver first."

Hunter Qin spat out a mouthful of saliva, stubbornly insisting, "Dream on! I will—"

He didn’t have the strength to finish his sentence. His body was shaking, and his face turned pale. He pounded the ground desperately with his fists, trying to alleviate the excruciating pain in his ankle.

Wang Yongzhu slowly applied more pressure with her foot; one could almost hear Hunter Qin’s ankle bone breaking. Her expression and tone remained unmoved: "No problem, I believe Hunter Qin is a tough man, and he’ll be able to withstand it! After all, there are two feet and two arms...we can take our time, no rush...."

The more calmly she spoke, the more terrified Shopkeeper Zhang became, nearly breaking down. He dropped the sleeve from his face, grabbed Hunter Qin’s hand, and pleaded: "Old Qin, we mustn’t hold out stubbornly! It’s not worth it! We’ve been confounded by greed, we’ve made a mistake! We thought following her advice, we would be able to return home sooner and enjoy wealth and splendor!"

"But we never expected to provoke such a scourge. We betrayed our master, secretly engaging in such misdeeds. This is retribution! Old Qin, Old Qin, it’s good enough if we can save our lives now, don’t hold out anymore...."

Upon hearing this, Hunter Qin trembled, closed his eyes, and tears rolled down the corners of his eyes. He said no more.

Shopkeeper Zhang, thoroughly intimidated by Wang Yongzhu’s demeanor moments ago, let down his sleeve covering his face and begged: "Miss Wang, it’s all our fault, we admit our guilt! We will compensate with money! Please spare us..."

Wang Yongzhu frowned, retracted her foot, and asked intently, "What did you just say about following someone’s advice? What do you mean by that?"

Shopkeeper Zhang had nothing left to hide and spilled everything.

It turned out that not long after they had been sent here to deal with Song Chongjin, a person sent by the wife of their Family Head had tempted and threatened them into betrayal.

"Find a way to kill Song Chongjin without arousing suspicion."

At first, the two of them were hesitant and dared not take any direct action, only instructing Hunter Qin to abandon Song Chongjin in the mountains to struggle against the wild beasts.

Several times, Hunter Qin didn’t want to save Song Chongjin and wished he would just die, but somehow, as if possessed, he kept bringing him back.

As time went by, Song Chongjin grew stronger, and the best opportunity for them to act unnoticed had passed, forcing them to cease their attempts.

The assassins sent by Madam to kill Song Chongjin were actually known to them. Sometimes, it was they who leaked Song Chongjin’s whereabouts, yet he kept escaping death, making them even more afraid to act rashly.

However, the news that Song Chongjin was not the master’s flesh and blood, once reported by both, led to the master’s command to continue managing Song Chongjin well, as he could be of great use in the future.

Madam’s order, on the other hand, was to destroy Song Chongjin, with the reward being an early return to the Capital City and a promise of wealth and honor for them.

The two of them thought it over, and since Song Chongjin was not the master’s kin, they decided it was more beneficial to obey Madam’s order.

With Madam’s order came a vial of poison.

So that’s how it was! Wang Yongzhu finally understood why Qin and Zhang were so aggressively insistent, showing no hint of past affection, forcing Song Chongjin to take the medicine.

Having tutored Song Chongjin for many years, they knew well that he was not someone to bow and scrape and live a life at others’ beck and call.

So it seemed they gave him a choice, but both knew the inevitable outcome was Song Chongjin taking the poison.

After hearing all this, Wang Yongzhu looked down at Hunter Qin lying on the ground as if dead and curled her lips, "So you were pressuring Song Chongjin like this yesterday to take poison, and today retribution has come upon you. Now you know the feeling of being forced is unbearable, don’t you?"

Shopkeeper Zhang, covering his face, seemed utterly drained of spirit and dared not utter another word.

"Alright, pack up, let’s go!" Wang Yongzhu nodded to Old Granny Zhang.

Old Granny Zhang hurriedly picked up the chest and walked out.

Wang Yonggui was still unwilling to let it go: "That Qin fellow hasn’t made his reparation payment yet!"

"Shut up!" Old Granny Zhang shot a glare at Wang Yonggui, and though Lady Lin tried to come forward to help her, she was pushed away.

Jindou and Jinhoo opened the courtyard door, and the onlookers outside hadn’t left yet, their eyes fixed eagerly on the chest Old Granny Zhang was carrying, all wanting to know just how much silver was inside.

Old Granny Zhang spat resentfully, "Pah! Parading around like lords without money? Do you actually think that such a small amount of silver, along with this shoddy deed and worthless drawings, could cover four thousand eight hundred taels? You think we’re bumpkins? Let me tell you, this isn’t over!"

"In a few days, we’ll come to collect the money, whether you have to pawn everything you own or sell yourselves to pay the debt, I only want the silver!" she huffed angrily as she walked away.

Old Granny Yang squeezed forward, "Sister Zhang, how did it go? How much compensation did the Qin and Zhang families give you? Did they really pay four thousand eight hundred taels?"

The people around perked up their ears.

"Pah! Just big talk from those named Qin and Zhang. Once inside, they pleaded for mercy, claiming they didn’t have that much silver. In the end, they scraped together this meager amount." Old Granny Zhang blatantly revealed the contents of the chest, which contained only a few ingots of silver, a deed to the house, a jade pendant, among other things.