Chapter 106: Sister-in-law is Educated and Courteous

“Because the village chief said he wants to seek justice from you.”

“Me?” Fatty could hardly believe his ears. “Seek justice from me?” Is that old man out of his mind?

“Yes, aren’t you Madam Zhu’s husband?” He Lingchuan said with a smile. “The village chief told you to find him as soon as you got back.”

Fatty was absolutely unwilling to leave the room at this point, but he wasn’t stupid. He immediately figured out the problem and squinted at Madam Zhu: “Tell me, what’s going on?”

This approach already violated Lu Han’s instructions. His exact words were to keep villagers from interacting with or speaking to the soldiers, to avoid exposing themselves.

But now, Fatty felt that if he said one more word to He Lingchuan, he might lose control.

Fatty turned his back to He Lingchuan and gave Madam Zhu a warning look.

Madam Zhu said expressionlessly, “The Lake God is a spirit turtle, said to be at least three hundred years old. Immortal Spirit Village performs a small ritual every three months and a large ritual every year. The spirit turtle only allows villagers to enter the lake to fish once a week, and they are not allowed to use fine-mesh nets. However, it ensures people’s safety in the water and blesses abundant catches. Oh, and the spirit turtle is also good at divination; in the past, villagers who sought prophecies at the Water Spirit Temple found them very effective.”

“In the past?” He Lingchuan became interested, momentarily changing the subject. “What about later?”

“There were too many villagers seeking prophecies and answers, and some even traveled from a hundred miles away, disturbing the Water Spirit’s peaceful cultivation,” Madam Zhu replied. “The Water Spirit sent a dream to the village chief to express its displeasure. So the village chief hung up the divination sticks, forbidding anyone from using them. Even if villagers secretly tried to seek prophecies or threw offerings into the lake, they were no longer effective. Gradually, everyone gave up.”

So this old turtle demon had a side hustle too?

“What happened to the spirit tablet today then?”

“This morning, I passed by the Water Spirit Temple and found the Water Spirit’s tablet broken. The village chief thought I did it.”

He Lingchuan grew even more curious: “Why did the village chief assume it was you?”

“…” Madam Zhu remained silent for a moment before saying, “I was the only one who passed by this morning.”

Fatty said angrily, “You woman, you’re the one who got me into trouble!”

Other companions were assigned villagers as docile as sheep, but he was unlucky, getting a troublemaker.

He Lingchuan asked him, “Aren’t you going to defend yourself to the village chief?”

Fatty had already thought it through: “The village chief is old; he must be asleep by now. I’ll go talk to him tomorrow morning.”

Madam Zhu suddenly asked, “Could the Water Spirit’s tablet have broken on its own?”

He Lingchuan thought for a long while before saying, “If it broke on its own, that means something has happened to the Water Spirit — either it’s severely injured or it has perished.”

He suddenly asked his personal guard, “What do you think?”

The personal guard shook his head: “I don’t know either.”

Fatty’s face fell. He pointed at the two personal guards and asked, “Wait a minute, are they staying here too?” If he were to make a move later that night, the difficulty had just increased.

“They’re personal guards, you know what ‘personal’ means?” He Lingchuan was saying when two servants arrived from outside, carrying bundles on their backs. They saluted him as soon as they entered: “Young Master, we’re here to make the beds.”

Although He Lingchuan didn’t care, Madam Ying had ordered their sons’ bedding to be packed when they left Blackwater City. Outside furnishings were dirty, and using their own felt safer.

He Lingchuan led them into the inner room, acting like the host.

Fatty Wang watched these people moving in and out of the house, bustling about, and felt like he was the outsider. He couldn’t help but sneer, thinking, *That despicable official’s family is still so fastidious even in this poor mountain village; who knows how much of the people’s hard-earned money they usually extort?*

As the servants made the beds, He Lingchuan asked one of them, “Where’s the second young master staying?”

Fortunately, the man knew he was referring to He Yue: “The Second Young Master is sleeping to the south tonight, in the second house next to the lake.”

The second young master was quite far from him and from their parents; it was hard to call such an arrangement accidental. “Why is he sleeping so far away? Move him next to me! We still need to talk tonight.” He pointed to the farmhouse across the way. “I think this house is very good and spacious too.”

Only he could be such a boisterous guest. All members of the He family were very polite, except for the Eldest Young Master. The servants were used to it; they would report the order to Butler Old Mo, as it was always up to the butler to figure things out.

He Lingchuan asked again, “Are my family members still in the house?”

“The Governor and Madam are both in, but the Second Young Master is out.”

He Lingchuan frowned: “Where did he go?”

The personal guard who remained in the hall then said to Fatty Wang, “Your family’s circumstances are difficult, and the Young Master is willing to help. However, he always has trouble sleeping when he changes places. Seeing as your wife is educated and courteous, perhaps she could talk with him for a bit?” After saying this, he placed a ten-tael silver ingot on the table.

Fatty Wang stared at the large silver ingot, momentarily speechless.

Did the brat really take a fancy to Madam Zhu?

But he understood that these two absolutely could not be left alone. So he slammed the table, expressing a perfectly timed anger: “What did you say! Take your silver and get out!”

“Why are you so worked up?” He Lingchuan said, standing at the inner room’s doorway with his arms crossed. “Ten taels of silver for a few words of conversation? You’d be hard-pressed to find such a good deal anywhere else!”

The two servants behind him were well-mannered; they even closed the door behind them as they left Madam Zhu’s house.

“You’re not staying here!” Fatty Wang walked towards the inner room, intending to use the opportunity to throw out his bedding.

In the hall, one of the two personal guards quickly stepped in front of him: “Don’t move!”

Fatty Wang, at his limit, pushed the personal guard away with a palm.

Even if he were denser, he would know He Lingchuan had become suspicious; otherwise, who would beat around the bush like this?

What’s the big deal about a confrontation? This brat is eyeing another man’s wife; shouldn’t he be beaten? Justice was on his side; even if that despicable official He wanted to show favoritism, he should consider where they were.

Just then, Fatty Wang suddenly caught a whiff of an incredibly foul, fishy stench!

The acrid intensity of it—even if his own sweaty feet had been confined in airtight boots for ten days and then placed under his nose, it wouldn’t compare to even a tenth of this smell.

Fatty Wang was overwhelmed. He bent over and retched loudly.

At that moment, all pretense, posture, and caution were cast to the winds; his body’s instincts were the most honest.

The other personal guard rushed forward and struck Fatty hard on the back of his neck with the hilt of his sword.

By all accounts, he should have collapsed instantly.

But this Fatty was thick-skinned and burly; he wasn’t knocked unconscious. Although still in severe physical discomfort, he knew to lunge at He Lingchuan, spreading his two fleshy palms to grab his throat.

If he could just seize the brat and turn around, using him as a human shield, the personal guards would surely hesitate.

The moment he lunged, the ring on his ring finger even emitted a faint black glow. This ring, called the Blackthorn Ring, was made from the long tusks of a Blackthorn Boar. While enhancing its wearer’s strength and injuring opponents, it could also inflict corrosive poison on wounds, which, if not treated promptly, would cause muscle and bone to rapidly necrotize.

However, he was still feeling unwell, and his movements were half a beat too slow. Madam Zhu had already grabbed a wooden cup from the table and abruptly splashed the more than half-full cup of boiling water onto his face.