allonlinenovel Chapter 118 The Man in Black and the Man in White
Chapter 118 The Man in Black and the Man in White
Wood Brother's older sister, Qiu Haixia, was kneeling on the ground, trembling all over.
Her hands were still gripping the edge of the sack tightly, her eyes filled with resentment and panic, and her voice was sharp and urgent.
"What exactly are you all trying to do? Are you trying to snatch a child in broad daylight? Is there no law anymore?!"
The leader of the men in black walked forward slowly, a slight smile playing on his lips, his tone so cold it could freeze anyone.
"The law certainly exists. However, you just tied up the young master our master wanted to invite and stuffed him into a sack. Isn't it a bit late to bring up the law now?!"
The man in black didn't waste any words with Qiu Haixia. He simply raised his hand, and several of his men immediately and swiftly untied the sack.
When the sack was opened, weeds scattered everywhere, debris flew all over the place, and some ginseng root remnants also spilled out, making the scene a bit messy for a moment...
The leader of the men in black was also taken aback by what he saw. His eyes widened instantly, and his face turned ashen. He was clearly terrified.
"This...this..." He gasped, regretting his life choice as if it were a mistake. "Tsk tsk, you really dared to be ruthless! Young master, Sizi, are you in pain?"
Upon hearing the voice, Xiao Si looked up and immediately shouted, "Brother Zi'an?! Why are you dressed in black?! Don't worry, these ginseng roots are from my pocket, not my arms or legs..."
This was the first time Si Zi had ever seen her brother Zi An, who was usually so cold and aloof, look at her with such concern.
He looked at Xiao Si's teary, gem-like eyes, awkwardly scratched his head, and muttered under his breath:
"Uh, it's for work. You're not 'home,' so I can't stay with Consort Wu and all those beauties, can I?! Your brother Zhinu and your second father would have to castrate me, wouldn't they?!!"
At this moment, another man in black had successfully cleared the weeds out of the sack. He glanced at the sack, his lips twitching slightly, and gave Qiu Haixia a cold snort:
“Our master gave you a large sum of money and a land deed just to find this young master. And what you did was just stuff the child into a sack. Is that appropriate? Do you want to fly to the moon?”
When Qiu Haixia heard the mocking "Why don't you just fly to the sky?", she felt as if her heart had been hit by a hammer.
She clutched her chest, forcing herself to calm down, but her mind was a complete mess.
First of all, Qiu Haixia, with her complicated thoughts, really didn't expect things to develop to this point—after all, her younger brother doted on that little girl, his eyes filled with affection and his words with tenderness.
Qiu Haixia thought to herself, no matter how valuable this girl is, her younger brother would definitely not be willing to part with her.
Secondly... she never expected that when the other party presented the land deeds and gold and silver, her own "little calculations" would start running even faster than she anticipated—
"This is a whole three acres of fertile land plus a courtyard house! And all this gold, so heavy! It will allow me to marry into a good family and never have to worry about my brother's tuition for the imperial examinations or medical studies, my parents' medical expenses, or the family's food expenses again!"
Qiu Haixia pondered to herself, her lips twitching slightly involuntarily.
She took a few deep breaths, trying her best to appear less anxious, but the helplessness and guilt she felt were hard to hide.
"Oh dear," she sighed inwardly, "marriage and life are like a blessing from heaven, yet I find them so hard to grasp!"
She gently touched the hem of her dress, trying to calm herself, but when her gaze fell upon the yellowed land deed in her hand, her heart began to race uncontrollably.
She was once again caught in that conflicted emotion:
On the one hand, they yearn to get rid of those tedious housework and long to have their own independent living space;
On the other hand, she helplessly realized that she was getting old. Although a plump figure was considered desirable in the Tang Dynasty, her figure was starting to resemble that of an older woman, almost comparable to a golden-brown roast duck...
“This land deed is more reassuring than love,” she murmured to herself.
"At least, with this settled, I can have some peace of mind, so I won't be overwhelmed by the 'urgency' from all those distant relatives every day."
Her eyes darted around, a subtle smile playing on her lips, and she made a decision in secret.
"Once I have this capital, even without marriage, I will at least have the capital for 'love's redemption'!"
Qiu Haixia glared at the man in black, a surge of anger at her own powerlessness almost bursting forth.
She was about to retort when the man's cold, piercing gaze choked her, silencing all her words of rebuttal.
That gaze seemed to penetrate all her thoughts, directly hitting her weak spot, making her involuntarily stop all her impulses.
The man in black looked at her with a half-smile, his lips slightly twitching, his tone laced with sarcasm:
A few days ago, the villagers who loved to watch the excitement were calling the little rhinoceros a monster, but now they have started talking about her.
"Look at how she's been spreading rumors in the village lately, she's so eloquent and persuasive..."
"That's right. After all that, an adult gave her a land deed, but that was out of gratitude for her younger brother raising that little girl! Young Master Qiu really went to great lengths to gather wild ginseng for this child, but she turned around and sold the child."
"Of course, did she really expect her few rumors to cause any trouble?! We have no idea what she's after; she just wants to gain some advantage for herself."
"Hey everyone, take a closer look. She's all alone. Doesn't she know her own limitations? She lacks power, but she's certainly heavy enough. She really should lose some weight, otherwise, even if she gets the land deeds and treasure, she probably won't find 'true love'!!"
The villagers who were all friendly with her yesterday now spoke to Qiu Haixia like sharp blades, striking her heart and turning her face pale instantly.
Those words were not just sarcastic, but more of a blow, as if they completely exposed her inner unease and inferiority complex.
She was so angry that her chest heaved, her throat tightened, and she almost suffocated.
"You...you..." she tried to speak with difficulty, but no matter how hard she tried, the words remained stuck in her throat and she couldn't get them out.
She could feel the contempt and coldness in the eyes of the men in black. These people were clearly not good people; they showed no mercy and didn't even bother to pay attention to her slight resistance.
Despite the turmoil in her heart, she could only grit her teeth and force herself to lower her head.
Looking at their disdainful expressions, she knew that if she tried to argue further, even the last shred of her self-respect would be crushed.
"Alright, forget it," Qiu Haixia said self-deprecatingly in a low voice, sighing helplessly in her heart.
She looked away and touched the half of the land deed she had sewn into her clothes, as if the thin silk document could bring her a sense of security.
At this point, Qiu Haixia's head was buzzing. She clutched the cloth bag tightly in her hand, and a few regrets flashed through her mind.
I thought to myself, "Is he a jinx or a jinx? Putting that aside, just selling this child to someone else like that just doesn't feel right..."
But then I thought, with this land and gold in hand, my life would be secure. My brother is unreliable; he'd rather take care of a little girl he found than his own sister…
The shouts of the man in black and the sounds of the villagers kicking her while she was down still echoed in her ears, pulling her back from her reverie.
She wished she could disappear into the ground: "If I had known this was so embarrassing and scary, I would never have taken this job!"
Little Si said, "Sister, you shouldn't sell our house without considering your brother's feelings. We're family!"
He then said to the man in black, Zi'an, "But it's alright now, don't scare her anymore, Brother Zi'an. Let's have a drink!"