The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 457 - 455 No Future Meeting

Chapter 457: Chapter 455 No Future Meeting

Wang Yongzhu was startled, not expecting Old Granny Zhang to think so far ahead, she nodded hurriedly, "I understand, Mother!"

Seeing her daughter was sensible and obedient, Old Granny Zhang’s heart settled down.

"Also, I want to talk to you in advance, once Song Chongjin comes back, I need to have a word with him. Being betrothed, how could he not think things through before acting? Is medicine something to be taken frivolously? The elders have said, ’Don’t fear the ten thousand, only fear the ’what if’’. What if the antidote doesn’t work? What if something happens to him, do you still want your reputation? Isn’t this trying to harm you? If he continues to act like this in the future, Mother will have to find you a different husband!" Old Granny Zhang spoke these words with great seriousness.

If something really had happened to Song Chongjin, what if he had become blind? Would her daughter still marry him?

Her precious daughter marrying a blind man and having to support him for the rest of his life, even if he were the son of the Heavenly Emperor’s Father, Old Granny Zhang wouldn’t be pleased!

Wang Yongzhu knew that Old Granny Zhang was wholeheartedly considering her best interests, and she agreed earnestly to everything.

The mother and daughter talked until late into the night before drifting off to a deep sleep.

※※※

Late at night.

Qin Family Courtyard.

Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang sat in the room with worried looks, a candle lit, without the slightest hint of sleepiness.

Wang Yongzhu had injured Hunter Qin’s ankle, and now they felt too embarrassed to step outside, but luckily, as a martial artist, Hunter Qin always had some medicines for bruises and injuries at home.

Shopkeeper Zhang’s bookshop was also closed, and the two of them stayed indoors.

Both were fretting about their futures, how could they fall asleep?

With exhausted hearts over these past two days, both their spirits and bodies had been tortured. Being a scholar, Shopkeeper Zhang had a weaker constitution and simply couldn’t hold up any longer.

Yawning, he said, "Old Qin, I think we should leave early. Staying here is like waiting for death..."

"Who’s there?" Hunter Qin suddenly sharpened his gaze and shouted toward the courtyard.

The door creaked open, and Song Chongjin slowly walked in.

Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang were so surprised that they were speechless for a moment.

But Shopkeeper Zhang reacted quickly, pointing at Song Chongjin’s nose, "You... you weren’t poisoned? Then why did you send someone to extort us?"

Hunter Qin was even angrier, his eyes turning red, "Well, I’ll be! To think we raised a viper. Was all this your doing?"

Song Chongjin let out a faint smile, his expression as cool as water, sending a chill down the spines of both Shopkeeper Zhang and Hunter Qin.

"My two masters, you both know whether that medicine was poisoned or not. Unfortunately for you, heaven hasn’t forsaken me, as I happened to encounter a good doctor who could cure the poison! You didn’t expect that, did you? You plotted and schemed to take my life, but you never succeeded even once..."

"You... you knew all along?" Shopkeeper Zhang’s heart skipped a beat, trembling as he looked into Song Chongjin’s icy eyes.

Song Chongjin smiled without speaking.

What was left for Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang to misunderstand?

Hunter Qin was a straightforward man, "Since you already know everything, there’s not much left for us brothers to say. Shopkeeper Zhang, having raised such a wolf cub, it’s not unjust for us to end up like this! Come on, kill or maim us as you wish!"

Shopkeeper Zhang was in a state of shock, indescribable in words. After hearing Hunter Qin’s words, he let out a rueful smile, "You’re right, Old Qin."

Having said that, both men fell silent, resigning themselves to whatever fate Song Chongjin had in store for them.

A hint of mockery flashed in Song Chongjin’s eyes as he tossed the box he was carrying in front of the two men.

Shopkeeper Zhang was startled, almost jumping in fright, and upon closer inspection, wasn’t that his own box?

The box was unlocked, and when it was thrown, everything inside spilled out.

The silver note, land deeds, jade pendant, and calligraphy all tumbled to the ground.

"What... what is this?"

"These items should be returned to their rightful owner, so I’d like you two to write me a receipt," Song Chongjin stated succinctly.

"You... what do you mean by this?" Shopkeeper Zhang looked at his treasures, recovered once more, both delighted and frightened.

He eyed Song Chongjin warily.

"I, Song Chongjin, would never covet your belongings, they are all ill-gotten gains, sullied—" Song Chongjin cast a meaningful glance at the two men.

Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang’s faces flushed red, then immediately turned deathly pale.

"You... you’re spouting nonsense—" Shopkeeper Zhang tried desperately to salvage some dignity.

"If I were you, I wouldn’t be stubbornly denying it. I would have quickly written the receipt and then packed my bags to flee. Who knows if your master, once informed, will send someone to deal with the traitors right now..." Song Chongjin said with a smile that was not quite a smile.

Shopkeeper Zhang and Hunter Qin shuddered, falling silent for a moment. Shopkeeper Zhang walked over to the desk, briskly wrote out a receipt, stamped his seal and finger-print on it, and tossed it to Song Chongjin.

Song Chongjin took the receipt, still wet with ink, blew on it, waited for the ink to dry, then folded it and tucked it away in his chest, nodding to the two men, "We shall not meet again—"

With that, he left the premises and quickly vanished from the courtyard.

Shopkeeper Zhang and Hunter Qin exhaled a sigh of relief only after Song Chongjin had departed.

But they quickly tensed up again, "Shall we... shall we pack our things and leave tonight?"

Hunter Qin looked down at his ankle, "Tomorrow... let’s go out and gather some information tomorrow. If it really doesn’t work out, we’ll leave tomorrow night!"

Shopkeeper Zhang, clutching his chest, nodded blankly.

Outside the courtyard, two men were waiting. Seeing Song Chongjin emerge, they hastened to greet him.

The three of them wound their way into a small alley and pushed open a modest courtyard gate.

A few simple rooms came into view; they lit an oil lamp and sat down.

One of the men asked with concern, "Eldest Brother, your eyes are really okay now, aren’t they?"

Song Chongjin nodded.

"Not to criticize, Eldest Brother, but why return the money to them? That Qin fellow and Zhang are no good, they’ve always harbored ill intentions toward you. We should’ve demanded compensation from them. It feels humiliating to return it all; we shouldn’t swallow our pride like this. Doesn’t it wipe out our own dignity?" the man complained.

The other man, finding his words out of place, promptly gave him a kick.

Song Chongjin smiled, "Do you think they’ll still be alive to spend that silver?"

The previously dissatisfied man’s eyes lit up, "Eldest Brother, do you mean we will rob them back in the middle of the night?"

The man beside him covered his face, "Are you stupid? Would our Eldest Brother do something like that? I think there’s a reason Eldest Brother did this. Think about it, they are traitors, and their own master certainly won’t spare them. Besides, now one is injured, and the other is a scholar who can’t even kill a chicken, carrying such a large sum of silver..."

At this point, the man covering his face seemed to understand something and immediately stood up, "You can rest assured, Eldest Brother. First thing tomorrow morning, we will spread the news..."

Song Chongjin nodded, rubbed his forehead, and was relieved there was at least one person with a brain among them.

He certainly wasn’t one to turn the other cheek. It was just that he had other plans and couldn’t confront Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang outright.

Nevertheless, he had no intention of really letting them off the hook. As long as he let his men spread the news of their possession of a fortune, he wouldn’t need to lift a finger; their fates would be grim.

Reflecting on this, Song Chongjin’s face revealed an exceptionally chilling cold smile.