Chapter 176

Chapter 176

The next day, Wang Ying rose early, determined to uncover the truth behind the man who had been running and shouting wildly through the streets.

After thorough inquiries, he learned that the man was a fur merchant from the northwest who had inadvertently become caught in the clash between two armies. He had witnessed firsthand the Border Guard Army’s crushing defeat—and the Northern Border King being unhorsed by an arrow.

Terrified, he fled in panic all the way to Jizhou Prefecture, carrying the grim news with him.

Could it be true? Had the Marquis truly met his end?

Wang Ying returned home in deep anxiety, too hesitant to tell Lin Sui the news directly. Instead, he merely informed her that the man from the previous day had been spreading rumors and inciting unrest—and had already been arrested by the authorities.

Lin Sui looked haggard, dark circles shadowing her eyes from sleepless nights. “Sister-in-law, I’m fine. No matter what befalls the Marquis, I will raise Qing Er to adulthood.”

“What worries me now isn’t that. Even while the Marquis was alive, the Li family dared openly persecute Qing Er. If they learn of his death, I fear they’ll immediately move against his estate.”

“Then… what should we do?” Qing Er was Lin Sui’s entire world now; anyone attempting to take her away would be akin to tearing out her very life.

“At this moment, we must urgently clarify the situation to the Marquis’s mother—and urge her not to yield to any demands from the Li family. Once she consents, I fear none of us will be able to intervene.”

“Then I’ll go to the Marquis’s residence later!”

Meanwhile, the Li family had also received word of the Marquis’s death in battle. Upon hearing it, Lady Li clapped her hands triumphantly and burst into wild laughter. “Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! That wretched spawn is finally dead!”

The maid standing nearby could not fathom why her mistress was so overjoyed—after all, the Marquis was also a member of the Li family, the Patriarch’s own son.

The story traced back more than twenty years. That year, Lady Luo had been ten months pregnant and on the verge of giving birth, while Lady Li had already delivered her second son before Lady Luo’s labor began.

Yet on the very day Lady Luo gave birth, Lady Li’s infant son succumbed to illness. Lady Luo’s child survived—but Lady Li’s son died. To make matters worse, Li Mu was born with a large, bluish birthmark across his face, as if a fierce spirit had descended upon him.

The coincidence was too striking. Even the Li Patriarch found it unbelievable—and immediately summoned a mystic to divine its meaning.

The mystic declared that the child born to Lady Luo had come to collect a debt: in a past life, the Li Patriarch had slaughtered five members of his family, and in this life, he would repay that debt with five lives from the Li family. Lady Li’s son was the first to pay.

Lady Li was terrified—and, consumed by grief over her lost son, redirected all her hatred onto the newborn.

The Li Patriarch immediately ordered the infant drowned—but the mystic added, “If you drown him, the Li family’s fortune will vanish entirely. Not a single accomplished individual shall arise from your lineage henceforth.”

Helpless, the couple loathed this concubine-born son yet could do nothing. The Li Patriarch even named him Li Mu—“Li Grave”—a name signifying early death. Later, when he joined the army, a general deemed the name inauspicious and changed it to Mu—“solemn.”

During his childhood, Li Mu endured extreme hardship within the Li household. Deprivation of basic necessities was routine, and Lady Li employed every possible means to hasten his demise.

Yet, as if fulfilling the mystic’s prophecy, the boy possessed extraordinary resilience—and thrived robustly into his teens without ever falling ill.

With no other recourse, the Li Patriarch sent him to the military camp—not for training, but in hopes that external forces would deliver him to an early grave. Unexpectedly, not only did the boy survive, but he repeatedly distinguished himself on the battlefield—and was ultimately ennobled as a Marquis by the Emperor.

This enraged the couple. With the concubine-born son’s wings now fully grown, their control over him evaporated completely. Lady Li could only arrange a marriage with the daughter of a shameless merchant—hoping to ensure Li Mu left no heirs.

Who could have foreseen that Li Mu would uncover the scheme involving the merchant’s daughter? Not only did he divorce her, but he publicly exposed the scandal throughout the city—laying bare Lady Li’s malice and ultimately forcing a formal division of the household.

The Li Patriarch fell gravely ill from fury and nearly died. After recovering, he dared not act openly against his concubine-born son—but cursed him bitterly in secret, praying daily for his swift demise.

Now that Li Mu was truly “dead,” how could Lady Li not rejoice? She longed to beat gongs and drums, set off firecrackers—to celebrate the fact that this fierce spirit had finally received his due retribution!

“Madam!” A flurry of hurried footsteps interrupted her jubilation.

“What is it? Why are you so flustered?”

“It’s… it’s terrible! The Young Master… he’s… he won’t make it…”

Hearing this, Lady Li trembled violently and rushed toward the backyard.

The Young Master was Li Chen’s second son. Several days earlier, both children had suddenly contracted smallpox. Numerous physicians had been consulted across the city—but their condition showed no improvement.

Originally, Lady Li had intended to spread the smallpox to Li Mu—but unwittingly, it infected her two grandsons instead. The elder grandson, being older, barely survived—but was left horribly scarred and blind in one eye. The younger grandson, still too young, had been taking medicine for days with no progress—and now lay wasting away.

As Lady Li reached the backyard, she heard her daughter-in-law’s anguished wails. She froze mid-step, clutching her robes tightly, her face contorted in agony.

It was all Li Mu’s fault! He was the one who had cursed her son and grandson!

That debt-collecting specter—even in death—had dragged her grandson down with him. Very well, then let his daughter pay with her life for her grandson’s!

*

Wang Ying and Lin Sui rode in a carriage toward the Marquis’s residence. Both remained silent, lost in thought throughout the journey.

Upon arrival, Er Shun spoke with the gatekeeper, who promptly opened the gates and ushered them inside. Before departing, the Marquis had instructed that Lin Xiaolang was welcome to visit at any time during his absence.

Once inside, the two followed a servant to the backyard, where Lady Luo resided.

Lady Luo was tending to flowers in the courtyard. The weather had recently warmed, and the azaleas planted there had bloomed—delicate pink blossoms shimmering beautifully in the sunlight.

Hearing footsteps, Lady Luo turned. “Lin Xiaolang—you’re here. Why didn’t Qing Er come with you?”

“In reply, my lady, Qing Er caught a slight chill yesterday and isn’t feeling well—so I didn’t bring her.”

“Then she must rest well. Later, I’ll have someone prepare some herbal remedies for you to take home—see if any prove useful.”

“Thank you, my lady…” Lin Sui glanced at Wang Ying, uncertain how to broach the subject. After all, the matter was grave—and she had no idea whether Lady Luo could bear it.

Wang Ying stepped forward. “We came today also to discuss something important with you, my lady.”

“What is it?” Lady Luo wiped her hands and walked over.

“Recently, rumors have surfaced that the Marquis… may have encountered misfortune at the border…” Wang Ying paused, watching Lady Luo closely—she looked sorrowful, yet shed no tears.

He continued, “Of course, the news may be false. The Marquis is under divine protection—and surely safe. Yet we fear the Li family may stir up trouble once again.”

Lady Luo said, “I understand your concern. Before Mu’er departed, he told me that if he fell in battle, Qing Er should be entrusted to Lin Xiaolang—to remain with you from now on. I am elderly and unable to offer much assistance. Should the Li family come for the child, I fear I cannot stop them.”

Lin Sui covered her mouth, unable to suppress her sobs. She truly hadn’t expected the Marquis to die in battle—and grief overwhelmed her.

Lady Luo sighed. “Mu’er must have left you a sum of silver, correct? You may withdraw only half of it now—the remainder can be claimed only when Qing Er turns sixteen. I trust you will treat her well.”

“My lady, rest assured—I will raise Qing Er as my own daughter!” Even without the money, Lin Sui would never mistreat her.

Having delivered her instructions, Lady Luo was utterly spent. Years of suffering had taken their toll on her health—and the shock of this news left her severely unwell. She bid her guests farewell and retired.

The two left the Marquis’s residence in heavy silence. Lin Sui mourned the Marquis; Wang Ying grieved for Lady Luo.

Had she possessed greater strength, she might have broken free from the Li family entirely. With her son’s achievements and title, she could have lived comfortably as a dowager noblewoman. Alas, her mindset had long been subdued by tradition—leaving her with neither will nor capacity to resist. She could only wait for the Li Patriarch and Lady Li to arrive and reclaim the Marquis’s residence.

Returning home, Wang Ying prepared to open his shop as usual. “Lin Sui, you needn’t come. Business has been slow lately—stay home and rest properly.”

Lin Sui did not insist. Having stayed awake all night, she was exhausted. She thanked Wang Ying and retreated to her room to rest.

Wang Ying went to the shop. As soon as he opened the door, a customer approached, asking about renting a house. “Shopkeeper Wang—you’re finally here! I came several times yesterday but couldn’t find you.”

“What’s the matter?” Wang Ying set down his broom and asked.

“I heard you have houses available for rent on Zhenghe Street—I came specifically to inquire. A distant relative of mine just arrived from the Western Pass yesterday, and his family is looking for lodging. Rents on Zhengyang Street are too high—they simply can’t afford them—so they’re searching for options on Zhenghe Street instead.”

Wang Ying said, "There are indeed a few rooms left, but the prices have also risen quite a bit. As you know, properties in the prefectural city are in high demand lately."

"How much per year?"

"For others, I charge seventy taels of silver per year, but since you're a regular customer of our shop, I’ll give you a discount of five taels—sixty-five taels per year, with the security deposit separate."

The man considered it; the price was indeed much cheaper compared to others. Nowadays, houses on Zhenghe Street were hard to come by, and even the slightly better ones cost over a hundred taels.

"Deal. I’ll go back and let my cousin know, then come back this afternoon to see the house."

Wang Ying said, "You’ll need to hurry. With so many people looking to rent, I’m afraid I might not be able to hold it for you."

"Alright, alright, I’ll go fetch him right away." The moment he left, another tenant arrived. After settling on the price, Wang Ying arranged to show them the house together in the afternoon.

Wang Ying looked at the vegetables in the shop and couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. The vegetable business was sluggish, but unexpectedly, the rental business was booming. When one door closes, another opens—after all, money was money wherever it came from.

As noon approached, Wang Ying had Tian Ju close the shop. They brought the fresher unsold vegetables home and distributed the rest to the neighbors.

After lunch, Wang Ying took the two prospective tenants who'd made appointments to see the houses. Both families were refugees from out of town—one was a country gentry, the other a small-time medicinal herb trader. Both families were quite easy to talk to, though the long journey had clearly taken its toll, leaving them looking weary and worn-down.

As they walked, Wang Ying asked, "How is the situation at the border now? I heard the Northwest Army suffered a major defeat—is that true?"

"Ah," the country gentry sighed and said, "if the fighting weren’t so fierce, who would willingly leave their hometown and travel so far?"

"And the death of Wuping Marquis—is that true?"

Both shook their heads. "We’re just commoners measuring our rice by the cup; how would we know about such major events?"

After showing them the houses and finalizing the deals, Wang Ying collected the silver and wrote up the contracts. One hundred and thirty taels of silver were now in his hands—this was much easier money than selling vegetables.

If only he'd had more money back then, he could have acquired more properties and become a major landlord by now.

When he returned home, he saw an unfamiliar carriage parked at the gate, with several people gathered noisily around the entrance and Lin Sui’s angry shouts.

"Last time you took Qing Er, she caught smallpox within a day. If it weren’t for Taoist Master Qingxu’s treatment, the child might not have survived. You can't take her again!"