The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 141 Rogue Indeed Sniffed the Scent (Second Update)

Chapter 141: 141 Rogue Indeed Sniffed the Scent (Second Update)

Another villager, hearing this, spoke up harshly, "What are you planning to do? I’m telling you, don’t scheme anything wicked. The benefactor is helping the village solve the problem of unsold fruit. We can’t be ungrateful. If you dare to harm the benefactor, watch out for my fists—they don’t see reason."

Shart, emboldened by this challenge, placed his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest, and stuck his neck out, saying, "Come on then, hit me! Go ahead and hit me!"

He actually wanted someone to hit him so he could extort money.

Shart’s aggravating demeanor was truly infuriating, and the villager was about to hit him when he was stopped by his companion.

"Don’t stoop to his level. He’s like a plaster that won’t come off; you can’t let him stick to you. Let’s go, in these times, it’s good enough if we take care of ourselves. Don’t get entangled with him any longer."

"But, he’s really infuriating..."

"Let’s go, let’s go..."

The man pulled his companion away.

After they had gone a few steps away, Shart, with hands on hips, spit forcefully and said, "So much for the great benefactor, pah—"

The upset villager turned back, intending to hit him, but was forcibly dragged away by another villager.

Once the two men were far away, Shart muttered to himself, "Didn’t expect that half-wit would actually come."

He "heh" laughed out loud and walked with light steps towards an abandoned orchard.

Li Xianyun was overseeing Zhuo Ma’s bookkeeping when she heard a commotion not far away.

A skinny man spoke out loudly, "The grapes I brought were all fine to begin with, they only got ruined when you two kept flipping them over. What are you gonna do about it? I was counting on selling these grapes to make a few hundred coins."

Another man retorted, "Stop spouting nonsense here. Your grapes clearly weren’t any good to begin with, we didn’t even need to flip them."

"How could you say you didn’t flip them?" Shart interjected, "You two were bending over and flipping them like crazy. Why else would I be so angry?"

The man replied, "We did bend over for a look, but..."

"There you see, you admit it. Call your supervisor, I won’t let this go until I get a satisfactory resolution."

"Stop playing the bully here..."

Seeing this, Li Xianyun walked over, with Bater following closely behind, ready to protect her if necessary.

Up close, Li Xianyun saw the grapes in the three dilapidated baskets. They were very unripe, not ready for picking, and many were damaged with crimson ants crawling over them. It was obvious to any observer that they were freshly picked wild grapes.

These grapes were not at all suitable for making raisins.

Li Xianyun understood immediately but pretended to inquire, "What’s the issue?"

The two stout men inspecting the grapes, seeing Li Xianyun approach, said, "My lord, there’s a problem with the quality of the grapes Shart brought. We just bent down to look, and he accused us, saying we spoiled his grapes and demanding compensation."

Shart cursed and complained, "Damn it, it was you who damaged them, and now you won’t own up to it. Picking on someone because you have the numbers, huh?"

Li Xianyun looked at Shart and spoke calmly, "Do you believe it was these two who damaged your grapes?"

Shart looked at Li Xianyun with contempt and said, "Didn’t I make myself clear just now? Are you deaf?"

His ugly face was exceedingly aggravating.

Bater stepped forward, wanting to beat Shart to a pulp.

Shart, with a cold gaze towards Bater, stepped towards him, looking up and patting his own chest, saying, "Come on, then, hit me!"

Seeing Bater about to get physical, Li Xianyun said, "Bater, stay calm."

Bater, with fists clenched, had no choice but to step back and look towards Li Xianyun.

Li Xianyun glanced at him, then turned to Shart and said, "Ripe grapes, yes, they would spoil easily if flipped. But your grapes are rock hard, nowhere near ripe. How could they possibly get ruined by flipping?"

Shart responded, "The type of grapes my family grows looks hard, but they’re actually fully ripe."

Everyone heard this and thought the excuse was far-fetched.

Seeing that Li Xianyun was silent, Shart declared, "If you don’t resolve this today, I absolutely won’t leave, and you can forget about proceeding with the grape purchasing."

The villagers were furious upon hearing this.

A villager spoke out, "Shart, if your own grapes aren’t good and can’t sell, you can’t affect the rest of us."

"That’s right, you laze around all day, pilfering and sneaking, how could you have any grapes? Everyone can tell these are wild grapes picked from an abandoned orchard, they’re inedible."

"The young master is here to help us, you cannot repay kindness with ingratitude!"

...

Everyone took turns accusing him.

Shart was unable to hide his embarrassment and simply sat on the ground, yelling, "No matter what you say, without money, I’m not leaving!"

He looked at Li Xianyun and said, "Aren’t you very rich? And everyone calls you a good person—what’s a few hundred coins to you? Consider it charity to me!"

This man was truly unreasonable.

Bater couldn’t hold back anymore, stepped forward, grabbed Shart’s collar, lifted him, and was about to punch him.

Li Xianyun intervened, "Bater, don’t act impulsively."

Bater turned his head to look at Li Xianyun and said, "But he’s really infuriating."

Li Xianyun said, "Let him go."

Her voice wasn’t loud, but her resolute tone demanded obedience.

Bater had no choice but to release Shart’s collar.

Li Xianyun watched Shart coldly and said, "Have you been suffering from frequent headaches and feeling lethargic lately, especially when you wake up in the morning, do you notice swelling in your face and hands?"

On hearing this, Shart looked at Li Xianyun with scorn and asked, "How do you know?"

It seemed to be true.

Li Xianyun said, "I practice medicine, so naturally, I can tell at a glance."

Someone in the crowd piped up, "Nata’s mother has been bedridden for years with a chronic illness. The young master gave her a prescription, and within a few days, she recovered completely. The young master’s medical skills are profound; how could he not recognize your problems?"

Shart had heard of this, so he quite believed what Li Xianyun said.

"What’s wrong with me?" Shart asked gruffly.

"Your life’s candle is nearly spent," Li Xianyun said indifferently.

"Impossible!" Shart exclaimed, "How can I, so young, be at death’s door?"

Li Xianyun sighed softly and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Shart became anxious, chased after Li Xianyun, and tried to grab his arm, only to be caught by Bater, who asked coldly, "What do you think you’re doing?!"

Shart replied, "Let go of me. I just want to ask the young master if my illness can be cured."

Li Xianyun turned around, his tone tinged with regret, "I could treat this disease in someone else, but for a person who has done as much wrong as you, it’s not necessary."

Upon hearing this, Shart hastily bowed to Li Xianyun and said, "I beg you to save me, young master."

Li Xianyun said, "I can save you, but you have to listen to me."

Shart immediately agreed, "Of course, of course."

Li Xianyun said, "You must stop doing evil and find legitimate work. If you show good behavior and I think you’re worth saving, I’ll write you a prescription."

Shart quickly agreed, "Understood, understood."

Li Xianyun looked at him and said, "Then let it begin from today."

"Agreed," Shart said and naturally was extremely thankful to Li Xianyun.

After Shart left, Bater told everyone to disperse and tend to their own business.

He said to Li Xianyun, "Young master, did you stop me from hitting him earlier because you knew his life was short?"

Li Xianyun replied, "No, didn’t you see that he was hoping for you to hit him? If you had hit him, he could have extorted you. One beating from you would let him live in comfort for many days; naturally, he would welcome it."

"The man is truly despicable, he deserves his incurable disease," Bater said.

Seeing that the villagers had dispersed and no one was around, Li Xianyun said in a low voice, "Actually, he doesn’t have an incurable disease."

Bater looked at Li Xianyun in surprise and said, "But he has all the symptoms you mentioned."

Li Xianyun smiled and said, "If you lie in bed doing nothing every day, you will also feel weak and out of sorts. His heavy dark circles are clearly due to frequent late nights. People who often stay up late swell up in their hands and feet the following morning."