GBP Chapter 164 Kiss Me?
Chapter 164 Kiss Me?
Li Xiaonuan looked at Sang Moyun, who was filled with anger, and felt that her delicate face was full of disappointment and resentment. However, her stubborn expression evoked a feeling of pity in her.
Li Xiaonuan thought so, and Qi Ji thought so too.
He couldn't help but say, "Miss Sang, it's not impossible for me to help you. However, it might damage your reputation. After all, I'm notorious in the capital. If you get involved with me, you might be mistaken for my lover."
Seeing that Qi Ji was finally willing to discuss the matter directly with Sang Moyun, Li Xiaonuan tactfully left. Passing by the pharmacy, she said goodbye to Xiao Gang and went home.
Walking down the street, Li Xiaonuan learned that a major event had occurred in the city the previous night. The largest brothel in the prefectural city, Qunfanglou, was actually the hideout of spies from an enemy state. Last night, it was raided by the authorities.
When she reached the city gate, Li Xiaonuan glanced at the wanted poster and recognized the face of the fugitive spy. In this day and age, without photographs, even the most lifelike portrait was still vastly different from the real person.
Moreover, the official painter in this small prefecture was a mediocre one. Therefore, Li Xiaonuan believed that even if she did see the fugitive, she wouldn't be able to recognize him at a glance. Besides, her ability to recognize people was always a beat slower than others.
Just as they were turning into the village road, Li Xiaonuan ran into Wei Yu, who was leading the pursuing army back to the city. Wei Yu looked different from before. Without those brightly colored clothes and seductive expressions, Wei Yu could actually be considered an upright man.
Wei Yu was dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit, his long hair simply tied up on top of his head. His devilishly handsome face wore a cold and solemn expression. Behind him, in the group, was a person who was bound hand and foot.
Li Xiaonuan carefully examined the disheveled face and finally matched it with one of the wanted spies. There was only one person tied up in the entire group. Clearly, Wei Yu had been successfully escaped by one of the spies.
No wonder he looked so grumpy. With Wei Yu's personality, he's bound to be sullen for days after things turned out this way.
After the people who had been waiting for Wei Yu by the roadside had all passed by, Li Xiaonuan turned onto the village road leading back to the village. In the distance, Li Xiaonuan saw a large group of villagers gathered under the big banyan tree at the village entrance. They seemed to be arguing about something, and the scene was getting a little out of control.
When Li Xiaonuan finally reached the banyan tree, she realized that those people were discussing spies. The extremely agitated women were denouncing brothels, believing that all brothels and similar establishments in the city should be shut down.
Without exception, those women were among the more shrewish ones in the village. Their husbands, more or less, had all had affairs. The reason for the standoff was that they accused each other of their husbands of infidelity.
Li Xiaonuan was speechless and quickened her pace to get home. As she passed the large stone bench, a woman called out to her.
"Xiao Nuan, you're back? I wonder where you've been all morning? Your house is in complete chaos. I heard someone broke into your house and accused your whole family of being spies for the enemy country," Zhou Rong's wife said with a gloating look.
Li Xiaonuan was shocked, feeling that her whole family was incredibly unlucky. Getting involved with spies at this critical juncture was practically suicide. She really wanted to know which idle idiot had framed her family like this.
Rushing home, Li Xiaonuan found the house unusually quiet, nothing like the lively atmosphere Zhou Rong had described. Puzzled, Li Xiaonuan pushed open the door and went inside.
Upon entering, Li Xiaonuan was terrified. Several soldiers in official uniforms stood in the courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard, three people knelt: a thin old man, two middle-aged men and women, and the Su family standing on the lower left of the steps. On the steps stood a man dressed in general's armor.
As soon as Li Xiaonuan entered the courtyard, the villagers gathered outside began to whisper among themselves again. The discussion centered on whether Li Xiaonuan's family were spies.
Just as Li Xiaonuan was about to step forward to ask what had happened, two little children ran in from outside. The older child, holding the younger one's hand, went straight to the three kneeling figures and angrily questioned them.
"Grandpa, Uncle, Aunt, what are you doing? I already told you that it was my parents who did something wrong and were arrested and punished. You're framing Sister Xiaonuan. I don't like you!" Da Bao accused angrily.
"Dabao, what do you know, you're just a kid. Hurry up and take your brother home. Adults' business is none of your concern." These were the middle-aged man's disdainful words to Dabao.
"Yes, yes, Da Bao, hurry up and take Er Bao home. Grandpa will take you to buy candy later. Be good." This was the old man's loving coaxing voice.
"Brother, are Grandpa, Uncle, and Aunt very close to you? Are they as close as our parents, or as close as Grandpa?" Erbao asked, bewildered.
Everyone present was completely bewildered by the question. Only Li Xiaonuan knew that Erbao was trying to make a comparison. In Erbao's young heart, his grandfather was the closest person to him. As for his parents, they were dispensable. Dabao, on the other hand, was the person he relied on and trusted the most, the person he depended on for survival. Therefore, "close" couldn't be used to describe him.
Da Bao knew exactly what Er Bao was asking: "Er Bao, they're even less close to each other than Dad and Mom."
Erbao nodded knowingly and said, "Oh, they're not close. Okay, then I won't eat their candy. Brother, quickly tell that adult that Mom and Dad took us to steal chili peppers, and when we didn't want to, they beat us to death. That way, won't Mom and Dad be afraid to beat us anymore?"
Following Erbao's small, black, claw-like fingers, people looked at the man in military armor on the steps.
Li Xiaonuan was once again shocked by the conversation between the two children. She had always thought that even if the brothers' parents were scoundrels, they at least had some love for their children. But now it seemed that some people were truly worse than animals.
"Oh, these two children, what a heartless bunch! If it weren't for our family, you two brothers would have starved to death long ago. Don't you have any conscience at all?" The speaker was the middle-aged woman.
Da Bao was not intimidated at all: "Aunt, you have never given Er Bao and me a single bite to eat. If it weren't for Aunt Fu Qi, my brother and I would have starved to death when we were sent to your house. If it weren't for Aunt Fu Qi sending us to Grandpa, we would have been sold long ago."
"Alright, we can settle your personal grudges later," the general on the steps said in a gruff voice. "You people below, you say the Li family are traitors who collude with the enemy, do you have any evidence? And how do you know the Li family are traitors?"