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墨書 Inktalez
Due to Xuanyuan Rui's influence, Yu Yang had been behaving himself these past few days, refraining from any outrageous actions. However, he remained unwilling to interact with the villagers, spending his days holed up in his hut, lost in thought—until a few days later when trouble arose again.
"Why is there no rice?" With Xuanyuan Rui backing them, the villagers no longer feared Yu Yang as they had before. When they arrived at mealtime today, they found the stone stove devoid of the large pot. Upon inquiry, they learned there was no rice left. This outcome was unacceptable to them, and they began to stir up trouble.
The villagers cornered Yu Yang, who finally realized the gravity of the situation. Yet, he couldn't articulate his thoughts and merely huddled like a frightened bear. Ultimately, Xuanyuan Rui dragged him out like a chick, tossing him onto an open space where everyone began to question him.
"Where's the food?" Old Man Lin was furious and was the first to voice his anger. "When you entered the village, there were dozens of carts filled with grain. How could it be gone in just a few days?"
Yu Yang felt a surge of panic but was not without cunning. He blinked his eyes and feigned innocence. "I don't know! Everyone saw the grain being brought in. Now it's mysteriously gone; someone must have stolen it... Yes, someone stole it!" Better to blame others than admit his own failure.
"Who stole it?" His words ignited further anger among the villagers.
"I... how would I know? People come and go every day..." Yu Yang trembled under pressure but stubbornly refused to admit anything. He pointed randomly, "It was them! They stole it!"
Unfortunately for him, his finger landed on Qing Luan and her companions. All eyes turned to Qing Luan, who smiled bloodthirstily at the clueless man before her, itching to give him a good beating.
"You say I stole it?" She pointed at herself with a gleeful smile.
A chill swept through the air; for some reason, meeting her smiling gaze sent shivers down Yu Yang's spine. After stammering for a while, he finally nodded and said, "Yes, it's you! I've never seen you before; you're not from this village! You brought people to steal!"
He hadn't overlooked the fact that her companions clearly weren't ordinary villagers. Hmph! They had no evidence against him; he might as well stick to this story.
"Do you all believe this?" Qing Luan asked sweetly.
"No!" The villagers shouted in unison, causing Yu Yang's body to fall back as if he had poked a hornet's nest.
"If everyone doesn't believe I took it, then hand Yu Yang over to me. I'll ask him properly," she said in her usual gentle tone, prompting immediate agreement from the crowd.
"What... what are you going to do?" Yu Yang retreated in fear as he was taken to a secluded spot.
Seeing Yu Yang clutching his arms with terror in his eyes made Qing Luan shake her head and smirk. "Look at him; I feel like I'm forcing someone into prostitution."
The seriousness of the situation shattered as laughter erupted among the crowd—everyone except Yu Yang.
Yu Yang seemed to have hit his head on something hard because upon hearing her words, he thought perhaps he wasn't so bad-looking after all. Maybe she had an interest in him? He flattered her eagerly, "Miss, I'm very willing... very willing!" After saying this, he even shot her a shy glance.
The crowd was left speechless by his audacity; they were utterly dumbfounded.
"You're quite proud of yourself," Xuanyuan Rui thought angrily. How dare you mock my woman? You must be tired of living. As he pondered this, he stepped forward and threw a powerful punch at Yu Yang's stomach—this was purely personal vengeance!
"Oh my god, help!" Yu Yang's family wasn't particularly influential, but they lived comfortably. Even the slightest pain felt like a death sentence, let alone Xuanyuan Rui's punch.
"Shut him up, Qin'er!" Qing Luan said calmly, scratching her ear.
"Yes!" Qin'er initially pulled out her handkerchief but then reconsidered and picked up a piece of rag from the ground, stuffing it forcefully into Yu Yang's mouth with a look of disdain.
"Mmm...," Yu Yang's eyes widened in terror as he mumbled incoherently through the gag, unable to stop.
"Are you threatening me?" Qing Luan asked with a smile.
"Mmm...," Yu Yang shook his head vigorously, making Qing Luan dizzy just watching him.
"Stop!" Qing Luan scoffed disdainfully and said to him, "If I take this rag out, will you answer my questions honestly?"
"Mmm-hmm!" At this moment, Yu Yang obediently nodded.
Once Qin'er removed the rag, Qing Luan squinted her eyes and coldly asked, "Where did the food go?"
"I... I don't know," Yu Yang realized he couldn't make up a story this time and decided to play dumb.
"The court gave you how much food? It must have been inspected. If this gets reported... not only will you gain nothing, but you'll also be executed. Do you really think it's worth hiding everything?" Seeing the fear flash in his eyes, Qing Luan gently coaxed him, trying to uncover the truth.
"But... if I tell you, I'll still die," Yu Yang understood he was holding onto a hot potato now.
"As long as you tell me, I can protect you and even help you achieve great merit!" She had seen enough; not only was he foolish but also stupid. How did his mother let him come here to mess around?
If she hadn't come, he would have been killed by the mob in just a few days.
"You can protect me?" Yu Yang was somewhat skeptical.
"You're going to die anyway; what's wrong with trusting me?" Sighing, she thought it was exhausting to coax someone like a child when she wasn't even buying candy.
"If you don't speak up, I'll kill you right now!" Xuanyuan Rui shouted angrily at Qing Luan's gentle demeanor—someone so pathetic deserved such treatment; there was no need for gentleness.
"I... I'll tell you," Yu Yang was pushed to his limits and helplessly swallowed hard before saying, "The food sent by the court has all been taken by Prime Minister Huang..." Once he revealed this matter, he knew his head was already on the chopping block.
“Prime Minister Huang?” Qing Luan exclaimed, astonished. “How dare he?”
“It’s true,” Yu Yang quickly explained, interpreting their surprise as disbelief. “I wasn’t supposed to be the one here, but Prime Minister Huang insisted that I could achieve great things, and my mother was persuaded. When I took over, I found that two-thirds of the food was missing, so I went to ask around… They told me there was only that much food and that I had to figure it out myself… If that didn’t work, then…” He suddenly paused.
“Then what?”
“Please, just tell us!” Qin'er urged anxiously.
“Then everyone here would die,” Yu Yang said timidly, revealing the grim conclusion.
“What?” Everyone, including Xuanyuan Rui, was stunned into silence.
“Whose order is this?” Xuanyuan Rui grabbed him by the collar, his eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty light as he demanded an answer.
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