10: Chapter 10 Sprouting and the Unspeakable

Meng Li had finished all the tasks he came out to do, but he wasn't in a hurry to leave.

Firstly, he needed to prepare some things, and secondly, Xiao Baiyan's body had not fully recovered and was not suitable for travel.

Thus, Meng Li chose to continue his stay.

The next morning.

Jiang Yuyan had just finished brewing medicine for Xiao Baiyan, and halfway back to the room with the medicine, she suddenly overheard an unexpected conversation.

"Have you heard? Hu Zuo, who runs the King of Hell's Ledger, is in trouble!"

"Really?"

"No way! His sister is the county magistrate's third concubine, and I heard she's very favored. How could he get into trouble in this small area?"

"It's said he touched something he shouldn't have. This morning, his fingers swelled up like radishes, then they became itchy. He kept scratching, rubbing, and grinding them until his skin was torn and bleeding purple blood. It looked terrifying!"

"Is this some strange illness?"

"The doctor said it's not an illness, but more like being possessed by evil."

"Possessed by evil? I think he did too many immoral things and got his just deserts!"

"Exactly! Ever since his sister married the county magistrate as a concubine, he started to run wild in the countryside and even got into the King of Hell's Ledger business. He never considered that such a business completely harms one's yin virtue. When he goes down below in the future, the King of Hell will settle accounts!"

"Now it's good, his yin virtue was depleted too much, so the King of Hell gave him his retribution in this life."

"Bah, he deserved it!"

"Shh!"

Jiang Yuyan didn't listen to the rest of the conversation and quickened her pace.

After Xiao Baiyan finished her medicine, she chatted for a bit before going to Meng Li's room.

After knocking and getting permission, she pushed the door open.

"Young Master, Hu Zuo is in trouble!"

Meng Li, who had just finished putting away his things, was startled: "Who is Hu Zuo?"

Jiang Yuyan's expression froze, then she explained: "Hu Zuo is the one who deliberately came to cause trouble yesterday, the one with a lot of beard."

"Oh, it's him." Meng Li suddenly understood, then asked: "What happened to him?"

"I just heard someone say..."

Jiang Yuyan truthfully recounted what she had just heard.

Meng Li nodded slightly after listening, then asked: "And then?"

And then...

Yes, and then?

Jiang Yuyan was stumped, then blinked her sparkling eyes and deliberated: "His sister married the county magistrate, so he's considered the county magistrate's brother-in-law. Now that something has happened to him, the county magistrate will definitely send people to investigate."

"We had an encounter with him yesterday, and I'm afraid this might implicate us."

Meng Li's expression grew more puzzled: "We did have an encounter with him yesterday, but he came to collect a debt, and I paid the debt, five taels of silver."

"Many people in the Inn saw it at the time, is there a problem with that?"

Hearing these matter-of-fact words, Jiang Yuyan was stunned.

Indeed, there was no problem.

Could it be that she guessed wrong, and Hu Zuo's incident was not done by the Young Master?

It should be.

After all, yesterday the Young Master and Hu Zuo didn't have any conflict, nor did they have any physical contact.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yuyan nodded: "Yu Yan was overthinking it."

"No matter, it's good to think things through more."

Meng Li casually dismissed the matter, then asked: "Can you sing songs?"

Jiang Yuyan nodded, a hint of sadness unconsciously flashing in her eyes.

Her mother, Xiao Baiyan, was originally a courtesan. After giving birth to her, she left the red-light district and made a living by singing for a long time.

Under her influence, she also learned some.

It's just that this was not something to boast about.

Meng Li smiled: "That's perfect. Since there's nothing to do now, I'll write some lyrics and teach you to sing. Once you've learned them, when we return to the manor, you can sing them for me in your free time."

The Young Master writing lyrics and teaching her to sing?

Jiang Yuyan was very surprised.

Immediately after, she realized that she seemed to have misunderstood. Her Young Master didn't intend to touch her sore spot; he was just on a whim and wanted to listen to songs. And he didn't look down on singing.

Realizing this, Jiang Yuyan's mood instantly improved, and she smiled with narrowed eyes: "Okay, I'll get the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone for Young Master."

Meng Li nodded.

Soon, Jiang Yuyan brought the Four Treasures of the Study and began grinding ink beside him.

Just as Meng Li was about to write, someone knocked on the door.

Jiang Yuyan stopped what she was doing and went to open the door.

The visitors were two constables, one middle-aged and one young.

Her eyelids twitched, and she felt a little flustered, but remembering Meng Li's words, she quickly calmed down.

At this moment, Meng Li walked over, cupped his fists slightly: "Officers, may I ask what brings you here?"

After speaking, he reached out and pulled Jiang Yuyan behind him.

This unconscious gesture made Jiang Yuyan pause.

Protecting her behind him?

In Jiang Yuyan's memory, only one person would do this, and that was her mother.

But now, there was another.

She subtly raised her gaze, looking at Meng Li's back, and felt a sense of peace.

Jiang Yuyan had felt this feeling yesterday when Meng Li gave her thirty taels of silver as promised, but it wasn't as obvious as it was now.

As for the reason for this peace of mind...

Firstly, there was hope for her mother's illness.

Secondly, she had signed the deed of sale, and her future was settled.

Thirdly, Meng Li's attitude was peaceful.

Peaceful, equal, gentle.

This was the feeling Meng Li gave her after she interacted with him.

She had never felt this feeling from anyone else.

Therefore, she felt that Meng Li was very different.

She didn't know why he was different, but she could feel that it stemmed from him as a person, not his clothing or status, and she liked it very much.

That's why she told Xiao Baiyan yesterday that she liked Meng Li, liked him as a person.

Now, Meng Li's unconscious act of protecting Jiang Yuyan behind him made her previously vague feelings clearer, further cultivating the budding of her affection.

This change made Jiang Yuyan a little distracted, unconsciously giving rise to some reverie...

After a while, Meng Li finished his conversation with the two constables, closed the door, and looked back to see Jiang Yuyan staring blankly, her sparkling big eyes even showing a hint of bewilderment. He couldn't help but find it strange: "What's wrong?"

Jiang Yuyan didn't react.

Meng Li frowned, bent his finger, and lightly flicked her forehead, which was framed by air bangs.

Jiang Yuyan instantly felt the pain and snapped out of her reverie.

"What are you thinking about? So engrossed." Meng Li asked curiously.

Jiang Yuyan lowered her head: "No, nothing."

Meng Li didn't believe her but didn't press the matter: "Help me grind the ink."

"Okay."

Jiang Yuyan agreed, then asked: "Were those two officers just now here about Hu Zuo's matter?"

Meng Li knew she had been distracted earlier and wasn't surprised now, merely saying casually: "That's right, but it was just a routine inquiry."

"That simple?"

"Mm."

...

On the other side, after the two constables left the Inn, they found a secluded corner to rest.

The young constable had some complaints about this routine procedure: "Uncle, isn't what we're doing a bit inappropriate? Hu Zuo's situation is clearly suspicious."

The middle-aged constable glanced at him sideways: "What's suspicious?"

The young constable thought for a moment and replied: "From what I saw, he was probably poisoned, most likely by someone from the Jianghu."

"And then?" the middle-aged constable asked.

The young constable was slightly taken aback.

Shouldn't he first ask how I figured it out?

Why did he go straight to 'and then'?

Though puzzled, he followed the question: "We should conduct a strict investigation, find that Jianghu villain, and deal with him according to the law."

"Find him?"

The middle-aged constable's expression was strange, then he slapped the young constable on the head: "I think you're like the God of Longevity eating arsenic, tired of living! If that person could silently poison Hu Zuo, he could do the same to you and me."

"If we really find them, I'm afraid they won't be brought to justice, but we'll be reporting to the Underworld first."

The young constable froze, then instantly reacted, exclaiming: "Uncle, you knew Hu Zuo was poisoned all along? Why didn't you say anything and pretended not to know?"

Seeing that he still hadn't caught on, the middle-aged constable slapped him again, then instead of answering, he asked: "How much is your monthly salary and mine?"

"I get seven qian of silver, you get nine qian."

The middle-aged constable sneered: "Less than one tael of silver a month, and you want to risk your life? Your head was kicked by a donkey, but mine wasn't."

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and added: "And it's for a scapegoat who aided and abetted evil."

"Aiding and abetting evil, a scapegoat?" The young constable was astonished.

The middle-aged constable glanced around and lowered his voice: "You don't really think that Hu Zuo could bully people and even run that immoral King of Hell's Ledger without anyone caring, just because his sister is favored by the county magistrate, do you?"

"Isn't that the case?"

"It is, but not entirely."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Unspeakable. Figure it out yourself."