Chapter 61 Lin Wen Betrays, Shop Closed, Eerie

Chapter 61: Lin Wen Switches Sides, the Creepy Abandoned Shop

“The Prime Minister wants the seal back?” Qin Yuanshan's voice went up a notch.

“Has Prime Minister Lin agreed not to break off the engagement, or agreed to a marriage swap?” Yu Shuhan asked in surprise.

“My master only instructed me to retrieve the seal. I know nothing else.” Tongsheng brushed them off with a smooth sidestep, leaving Yu Shuhan and Qin Yuanshan speechless.

“Lord Qin, please fetch the seal quickly. If I take too long, my master's gonna be pissed at me.”

Seeing that neither Qin Yuanshan nor Yu Shuhan moved, Tongsheng gave them another nudge.

Qin Yuanshan couldn't wrap his head around what Lin Wen was thinking. That day when he left the seal, he had been so resolute. Why had he changed his mind today?

But Tongsheng's urging didn't give him time to think it over. He instructed Steward Wen to take Tongsheng into the house, then had Yu Shuhan bring the seal to give to him.

After receiving the seal, Tongsheng carefully tucked it into his robes. Seeing Qin Jiao also standing nearby, Tongsheng suddenly smiled:

“Young Master, our Prime Minister said you shouldn't stay cooped up at home. If you feel bored, you can come to the Prime Minister's residence to come find him.”

“Alright, I understand.” Qin Jiao nodded with feigned politeness.

As if suddenly remembering something, Tongsheng spoke to Qin Yuanshan and Yu Shuhan again: “Our Prime Minister also said that Lord Qin and his wife shouldn't keep the young master cooped up all the time.”

Tongsheng glanced at Qin Jiao, who was smiling insincerely, and deliberately raised his voice: “After all, if the young master gets injured at home, someone's not gonna be too happy about it.”

Qin Jiao: Someone's not gonna be too happy?

What's going on? He didn't write that line in the note he sent Lin Wen, did he?

Qin Yuanshan and Yu Shuhan were also baffled by Tongsheng's last remark. But before they could ask further, Tongsheng said that Lin Wen was waiting for him to return and report, so he had to head off.

Qin Yuanshan couldn't keep him any longer, so he quickly had Steward Wen see him out.

After Tongsheng left, Qin Yuanshan fell into deep thought.

On one hand, Lin Wen said he was breaking off the engagement; on the other hand, he took back the seal. One moment he claimed to have no feelings for Qin Jiao, the next he was speaking up for him.

What the hell does he mean?

But with Lin Wen as his “protective talisman,” in the end, Qin Yuanshan didn’t punish him with the family rod for Qin Jiao. Instead, he punished him by making him kneel in the ancestral hall for two hours.

For Qin Jiao, kneeling in the hall simply meant chatting with his mother there, so he went to the hall didn't give a damn.

Cong Shuang followed him.

On the way, Cong Shuang asked Qin Jiao curiously why Lin Wen had suddenly changed his mind—not only taking back the seal, making the Qin family think he intended to be Qin Jiao's backing, but also getting him out of being grounded with just a few words.

It was late at night, and the servant girl leading the way was some distance away. Qin Jiao quietly leaned close to Cong Shuang and whispered: “Actually, after we left the residence during the day, I had Steward Wen send someone to deliver a letter to Lin Wen.

In the letter, I wrote that if he didn’t help me out of trouble, I would spread the word that his previous visit to the Qin residence wasn’t to break off the engagement but to set the wedding date—that he and I were about to get hitched.”

“That... works?”

Cong Shuang’s eyes widened. Would the big-shot prime minister really care about such a petty threat?

“I admit, I took a gamble.” Qin Jiao grinned slyly. “But it turned out I was right.”

“You’re awesome.” Cong Shuang made a “you’re awesome” gesture to him, and Qin Jiao accepted the compliment with a grin.

But what Qin Jiao didn’t say was that in the letter, he had also written that he already knew who Lin Wen’s sweetheart was. If Lin Wen insisted on going his own way, Qin Jiao wouldn't hesitate to take him down with me.

So in the end, Lin Wen compromised.

This also indirectly proved that Lin Wen really cared about his sweetheart and didn't want him to go through even the tiniest bit of trouble.

Qin Jiao smiled faintly.

He had found Lin Wen’s weak spot.

—

That night.

The abandoned shop was a wreck, all overgrown with weeds.

In a remote corner among the crumbling walls and broken tiles, an old yellow dog was anxiously digging at the ground, letting out low growls.

The old dog wore a collar around its neck. It was large-bodied with sturdy legs, its long fur combed smooth and tangle-free. In the darkness, at first glance, the dog looked more like a fierce, untamed wolf.

Not far from the dog, a stooped figure was digging with a shovel.

“Woof!” The old dog barked uneasily twice. The stooped figure immediately soothed it in a low voice: “Ah Huang, be good, don’t bark.”

“Whimper.” The old dog understood its master’s command and obediently lay down on the ground.

It was already late at night, not even the night watchman could be seen on the streets. The stooped figure continued digging. Soon, a hole about waist-deep was dug out.

“Woof!” The old dog gave two low barks. The stooped figure patted its head and said hoarsely: “Go, Ah Huang, bring him here.”

As the stooped figure finished speaking, the yellow dog sprinted forward. After a moment, it dragged a black cloth sack from the bushes.

The sack was somewhat heavy. The dog’s fangs pierced the fabric as it laboriously dragged the sack to the stooped figure.

The air carried a faint smell of burning. The dog let out a dangerous growl in its throat. The stooped figure patted its head approvingly. “Ah Huang, good boy.”

“Woof!” The old dog barked again, pleased by the praise.

The stooped figure pulled a handful of crushed peanuts from its sleeve and threw them on the ground. “Go on, eat up.”

The yellow dog bounded happily toward the peanuts. The stooped figure, with great effort, pushed the sack the dog had just dragged into the dug pit. Shovel after shovel, the stooped figure filled in the excavated soil beside it.

While filling the earth, the stooped figure muttered like he was in a nightmare, over and over: “You forced us, you forced us.”

Having finished the peanuts, the yellow dog sat on the ground, watching its master curiously.

After leveling the pit it had worked so hard to dig, the stooped figure was panting heavily. The dog nuzzled against its master’s side, trying to let its master lean on it for rest.

“No need, you're getting old, too.”

The dog had been raised for eight years; grayish-white hair had already appeared around its mouth. By human standards, it was nearly in its sixties.

“Let's go home.”

“Woof!”

In the distant, pitch-black sky, thick clouds blocked out the stars. A man and a dog walked slowly away. No one saw what had just been buried. Like nothing had ever happened...

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