Chapter 55 Falling Apart

Chapter 55: Coming Apart at the Seams

Xue Hu hid at the corner of the alley's end, coolly watching the goings-on in the alley while quietly tearing a piece of straw paper in his hand to shreds and tossing it on the ground.

The horse galloped like the wind, charging straight at Lei Ding. Lei Ding, after all, was not a trained fighter; he practiced martial arts just for daily exercise and well-being. A horse gone mad was something even experienced fighters couldn't subdue, let alone an ordinary physician. This thought emboldened Xue Hu, and he leaned out a bit further, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the scene.

Quick as a flash, Lei Ding suddenly sprang upward, kicked off the wall, and grabbed the rear eaves of a house's roof. With a surge of strength in his arms, he hauled himself up, simultaneously using his waist to press tightly against the wall. In that instant, the panicked horse brushed past his waist and back. The next moment, Lei Ding let go. Shoved by the horse, his body was unsteady and he couldn't stand firm, forcing him to adjust his posture and tumble on the ground to absorb the impact. Although his clothes were soiled and he looked somewhat disheveled, he wasn't injured, and it was this split-second maneuver that saved him from the horse's iron hooves.

The horse galloped toward the alley's entrance. A man, panting heavily, chased after it, hurriedly apologizing to Lei Ding as he passed, appearing to be the horse's owner. Lei Ding couldn't stop the horse, but there were constables on the street, and it wasn't a busy time for pedestrians, so it probably wouldn't lead to a major accident.

Xue Hu had seen this man before. When Lei Ding was being punished, this man was among those who came to fetch him; he was said to be the manager of a medicine shop in the city. Seeing the situation turn sour, Xue Hu pushed aside the person in front of him and tried to flee. That person, quick as lightning, reached out and grabbed him by the collar. Several men emerged from all around, surrounding Xue Hu. Xue Hu shouted, "I'm with the Liu family! You dare lay hands on me?" But they all acted as if they hadn't heard, pinning him to the ground in a few swift moves.

Lei Ding, straightening his clothes, walked out of the alley and stood before Xue Hu.

Yu Yuan snapped his folding fan shut with a crisp sound against his palm. "That was truly perilous just now. Watching from afar, I was sweating bullets for you."

Lei Ding moved his arms, confirming he hadn't been injured, thanked Yu Yuan, then looked at Xue Hu with a cold laugh. "So eager to harm me? Well, with witnesses and evidence present, come with me to see the authorities."

Xue Hu, always one to bully the weak and fawn on the strong, now had not a shred of his former arrogance left. Kneeling on the ground, he kowtowed to Lei Ding. "Lord Lei, this has nothing to do with me! I'm just a sedan chair carrier; how could I get my hands on such things? You're a magnanimous man, please don't send me to the authorities."

Yu Yuan waved to a few shop assistants. They hauled Xue Hu up from the ground, and several of them escorted him into a small tavern nearby. Yu Yuan had already reserved a private booth on the second floor. They entered and closed the door. Only then did Lei Ding look at Xue Hu and smile. "You think we won't report you just because you say so? You bullied my husband that day, and today you tried to take my life. Now, with a few words and a couple of kowtows, you think you can evade these grave crimes? What use would the law be then?"

Xue Hu was already kowtowing like pounding garlic on the ground. Yu Yuan hadn't had much dealings with him before, but seeing him so spineless now only increased his disgust. He said harshly, "Liang Ye, why waste words on him? Let's have a couple of drinks to calm our nerves, then send him to the magistrate's office. With multiple charges combined, he won't escape death. He's just a servant of the Liu family, not even a family-born servant, just an outsider hired as a sedan chair carrier. There are plenty more where he came from. The Liu family won't risk losing public favor and defying the law just to protect him."

Lei Ding responded nonchalantly, "That makes sense. If he dies, I can vent my anger, and Qiu Er can have less grievance. Very good."

Xue Hu panicked, kowtowing to Lei Ding with resounding thuds. "My lord, please calm your anger! Lord Lei, I was a fool! That matter with your esteemed husband that day was due to my youthful recklessness and ignorance. I only meant to tease him, I never intended to harm anyone! As for today's incident, I was truly deceived and used by others; it was absolutely not my own deliberate intent to harm you! You are the savior of Yongning City; I wouldn't dare if my life depended on it! I was truly tricked into doing this! I beg you to investigate clearly!"

Hearing him still making excuses, especially his refusal to admit his malicious intent in bullying Wu Qiu, Lei Ding felt rage surge from his heart. The veins stood out on the hand gripping his wine cup. He looked ready to grab the cup and smash it against Xue Hu's head. Yu Yuan, quick-eyed, grabbed his arm, nudging him with his elbow, signaling him to endure for now. Then, Yu Yuan himself unfolded his fan and fanned it gently, his tone sounding much milder than before. "Oh? How so? Could it be that what so many eyes witnessed has another hidden truth?"

As he spoke, he waved to the shop assistants. Someone had already brought over ink, brush, paper, and inkstone. Yu Yuan dipped the brush fully, pointed at Xue Hu, and said, "Empty words are no proof. If you dare tell the truth and then sign and fingerprint this paper, we will spare you and only settle accounts with the mastermind behind this."

Lei Ding suppressed his anger and said in a low voice, "Indeed. If the matter escalates later and an investigation ensues, we will use this as evidence to vouch for you, saying you were also framed, so you won't be punished."

Xue Hu felt as if granted amnesty and honestly recounted everything. He said Wu Peng had given him a packet of medicine. This medicine, if fed to livestock in just a couple of mouthfuls, could cause even docile animals to go mad. Wu Peng had told him to find a suitable opportunity these past days to see if he could get Lei Ding, when alone, to be hit by a crazed, charging ox or horse. Unexpectedly, today was perfect—the timing, location, and circumstances aligned. Lei Ding was alone in a narrow alley. Seeing him enter a residence, Xue Hu immediately went to quietly untether a nearby merchant's horse, sprinkling the medicine into its feed. Before Lei Ding emerged, the horse had already shown signs of madness. Xue Hu then left his own things as collateral at the horse owner's stall, borrowing the horse under the pretense of urgently needing to buy medicine. The horse's owner, kind-hearted and fearing he'd delay treatment for an urgent illness, agreed. Xue Hu barely managed to lead the horse to the narrow alley's entrance. Seeing Lei Ding had already come out, he hurriedly gave the horse a heavy whip on its hind leg and shouted that the horse had gone mad. The horse's owner rushed to chase it, and Xue Hu seized the chance to retrieve his things and destroy the evidence.

However, Lei Ding, daring to enter that alley, had actually been prepared. Not only had he scouted the terrain in advance, but people were also following behind him. For the past two days, medicine shop assistants had accompanied him on his rounds. Today, they had seen Xue Hu peeking and following early on and had reported back to Yu Yuan. Yu Yuan arrived and caught Xue Hu red-handed, also retrieving the torn paper that had wrapped the medicinal herbs.

After hearing him out, Yu Yuan snorted coldly. "You know what's good for you. So it seems this Wu Peng is truly vicious."

Xue Hu hadn't told the whole truth. He said nothing about how he and Wu Peng had conspired and planned, only claiming he didn't know what the medicine was for, that it was all Wu Peng's orders, and he was completely unaware. Yu Yuan and Lei Ding didn't press further, just took down the recorded statement and had him sign and fingerprint it. Yu Yuan then took a wine pot from one of the assistants, poured wine for both Lei Ding and himself, and also poured a cup for the assistants who had helped today, saying, "It seems things are clear now, Liang Ye. Why don't we take Xue Hu back to our medicine shop first? I have plenty of hands here; we'll keep an eye on him. Once we catch Wu Peng, we'll let him go, lest he sends word."

Lei Ding nodded. "That would trouble you. Having narrowly escaped death today, and with the help of you all, since we're here, let's have a good drink first to drive away the fatigue. Here, I toast everyone."

He drained his cup in one go. Yu Yuan and the assistants all drank as well. Only the assistant who had handed Yu Yuan the wine pot merely touched the cup to his lips before, upon setting it down, secretly poured the wine down the back of his clothes onto the floor.

They drank a few more cups. In less time than it takes an incense stick to burn, Yu Yuan yawned first, saying the wine was strong, and soon slumped over the table. Lei Ding's body also swayed; he couldn't hold on for long before collapsing onto the table as well. The remaining assistants, about to step forward to check, also began toppling over one after another, falling to the ground.

Xue Hu stared wide-eyed, not knowing what had happened. Then the assistant who had given Yu Yuan the wine stepped forward, yanked Xue Hu up from the ground, pulled the signed and fingerprinted evidence from Yu Yuan's embrace, and dragged Xue Hu out, running.

Xue Hu hurriedly asked, "Brave sir, who are you? Why help me? What happened to the people inside?"

The assistant sneered. "Lord Wu Peng long anticipated you'd bungle things. After Lei Ding was injured, he had me join the Yu household as an assistant. If I hadn't put knockout drops in their wine today for them to drink, you'd really have tried to wash your hands clean of this. Come, follow me back to see Lord Wu Peng."

He hauled Xue Hu all the way back to the Liu residence. Wu Peng was inside the inner quarters with Liu Yu; they couldn't enter freely. After waiting a long time for word to be passed, Wu Peng finally emerged. As soon as he saw the assistant, his expression darkened. "Why is it you? Has your identity been exposed?"

The assistant threw Xue Hu to the ground and handed over the paper with his fingerprint. Wu Peng read it and laughed heartily. "Truly spineless! With just a few words, you gave me away completely. Clearly, you were also strongly advocating for Lei Ding's death and volunteered to take on this job, saying only by personally killing your enemy could you vent your anger. So this was your middle way—advancing, you could side with Lei Ding; retreating, you still had us to cover for you. Isn't that right?"

Xue Hu, knowing Wu Peng nursed a grudge over the smallest slight, was scared out of his wits. He kowtowed incessantly, saying it was only a delaying tactic to temporarily placate Lei Ding and his people. He also expressed some resentment, questioning why Wu Peng had a spy planted early on without letting him know.

Wu Peng smiled. "If you'd known, you'd have given him away too, wouldn't you?"

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Author's Note: This chapter again didn't finish the originally planned plot... Tomorrow's chapter might be a bit longer and chunkier! Trying to pick up the pace; the main story is almost done~

But there are still about twenty chapters of extras... The extras are actually up to a third of the main story's length? You guy (facepalming with a bitter laugh)

The current plan for extra content is roughly: Qiu Qiu's pregnancy daily life + raising the little one daily life + husband daily life + the younger brothers' daily life + Li Gan and Su Su's story + Ling Ge'er's story + two if-lines (one where the young couple grows up together from childhood, one about a wealthy family's concubine having a secret affair with a physician, both set in ancient danmei backgrounds; the second will be set as a bonus extra~). The update frequency for extras should also be daily. The extras are just some extended little stories and don't affect the main plotline or character portrayals in the main story~

If there's anything else you'd like to see, please tell me!