Dandy Escapes From Marriage - Chapter 35

As Shen Ke handed the drawing back to Liu Shu, a pitiful voice called out from a short distance away: “…Hey, isn’t anyone going to untie me? My father is the county magistrate; how dare you treat me like this!”

The staff master cautiously glanced at Shen Ke. “Young Master Ke, now that you’ve found the two young ladies, could you…”

“Who are you calling ‘young ladies’?” Liu Shu asked, staring directly at him.

The staff master was momentarily confused and took a closer look in the dim light, finally realizing that this beauty… was actually a man?!

“He deceived my feelings! He was supposed to be my destined Chen Yinglian!” Fang Qiong shouted in anguish.

The staff master was startled.

“If you keep talking nonsense, do you believe I won’t—” Liu Shu turned and raised his hand, but someone beat him to it, slapping Fang Qiong on the head.

“I am Chen Yinglian! If you keep confusing who is who, do you believe I won’t drag you back to feed you to wild boars?” The woman who had been standing in the corner had somehow appeared beside them.

Fang Qiong stammered and didn’t dare make a sound—he was too scared of being hit again.

“This is Chen Yinglian,” Zhang Mosheng introduced.

Everyone simultaneously looked at this extraordinary woman. Her build could be described as robust, with muscles bulging on her arms. It was said she had personally driven away her husband and remarried Fang Qiong, disregarding others’ opinions. Evidently, she treated her new husband with the same iron-fisted approach.

“Are these your friends?” Chen Yinglian asked Zhang Mosheng.

Zhang Mosheng nodded and then pointed to Zhang Moyang. “This is my brother; the rest are friends.”

“How did you meet them?” Zhang Moyang asked quietly.

He remembered tricking Fang Qiong into marrying Chen Yinglian, and now they were all here together. Chen Yinglian hadn’t killed them; instead, she seemed somewhat friendly?

“It’s a long story,” Liu Shu said with a smile.

Two days ago, Liu Shu had let Zhang Mosheng experiment with cosmetics on him. He discovered the quality of the local cosmetics was subpar compared to those in Jinling. The powders were rough and expensive. He decided to check out the shops and left without even washing off his makeup. Zhang Mosheng, along with two maids, accompanied him to understand the market.

After visiting several shops, they took a shortcut back, only to be ambushed in an alley. Two sacks were thrown over them, and the two maids were knocked out in the chaos.

When the sacks were removed, they were already in the cellar, and as light returned, they saw Fang Qiong’s large face.

“Chen Yinglian,” Fang Qiong gritted out through his teeth, staring at Liu Shu. “Who are you really?!”

“I’m Chen Yinglian,” Liu Shu said, his hands bound, glancing around before shifting back against the rice bags piled like a wall.

“You’re still lying!” Fang Qiong punched the wall behind him, sending dust flying and causing him to cough. “These—these rice bags, I carried all of them for you!”

“Thanks. Can I take them with me?” Liu Shu asked.

“Do you have any heart?!” Fang Qiong’s eyes reddened. “I was fooled by you, and I ended up marrying a tigress. It’s humiliating!”

“That’s not fair. There are no ugly women, only women who aren’t loved by their husbands. Love her more and bring her to me; I’ll give her a makeover,” Liu Shu said, not forgetting to promote his business.

“Love her? Look what she did to me!” Fang Qiong suddenly leaned in, and Liu Shu saw it wasn’t just that his face was dark—his eyes were black and blue.

“Are you laughing?”

“Yes, sorry,” Liu Shu couldn’t help but laugh.

Fang Qiong, infuriated, grabbed his collar and suddenly smiled darkly. “I treated you sincerely, but you didn’t appreciate it. Don’t blame me for forcing myself on you then.”

“Can we at least find a better place? The environment here isn’t great,” Liu Shu suggested.

Fang Qiong paused. “You’re still picky at a time like this?!”

“Yes, one should not mistreat oneself.”

Fang Qiong thought about it and agreed. Since Liu Shu couldn’t escape anyway, he dragged him out of the cellar and violently took him to the bedroom, not expecting to find someone else there.

The real Chen Yinglian was sharpening a knife. She looked up and saw Fang Qiong bringing in a “beauty” with a sinister grin and slammed the knife onto the table.

Fang Qiong was immediately terrified but still blustered, “What are you looking at? This is none of your business. Get out!”

Chen Yinglian didn’t move.

Fang Qiong turned and took Liu Shu to another room. Just as he closed the door, a hand suddenly covered his mouth from behind.

“Mmm! Mmm mmm mmm!”

As Fang Qiong reached out to grab the person, he felt a cold blade against his neck.

“Don’t, don’t, don’t! Let’s talk this out!” he exclaimed, panic-stricken.

“Stretch out your hands.”

Fang Qiong obediently stretched out his hands, and the ropes that had bound Liu Shu fell into his grasp.

It was a bit challenging to hold him hostage and tie him up simultaneously, but fortunately, someone arrived.

When he opened the door, it wasn’t a servant but Chen Yinglian.

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment before Chen Yinglian walked in, closed the door, picked up the rope from the floor, and firmly tied Fang Qiong’s hands.

Confirming she was an ally, Liu Shu sheathed his dagger and said cheerfully, “Aren’t you afraid he’ll retaliate?”

“Abducting women deserves a bad end,” Chen Yinglian said, kicking Fang Qiong.

“There’s a misunderstanding. I’m not a woman; I’m a good man,” Liu Shu said, waving his hand, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Hearing this, the other two were stunned.

“Impossible!” Fang Qiong shouted in horror, disbelief written all over his face. “How can you be a man?!”

“I was using my real voice earlier, but you were too panicked to notice,” Liu Shu cleared his throat, stepped forward to pat Fang Qiong’s face, and laughed. “But it’s not your fault; with your brain and eyesight, it’s no wonder you couldn’t tell.”

Chen Yinglian, who also couldn’t tell: “…”

“That’s how it happened. Because of a common enemy, Yinglian and I hit it off right away!” Liu Shu reminisced. “Then we threw Fang Qiong into the cellar to keep him entertained.”

“Entertained… with what?” Zhang Moyang asked cautiously.

“Archery, pitch-pot,” Liu Shu smiled. “Yinglian’s archery is impressive, befitting a hunter, but my pitch-pot skills are even better.”

Looking at the apple on Fang Qiong’s head, pierced and chaotic, they realized they must have used it as the “pot.” If Fang Qiong dared to move, the arrows could have landed anywhere on his body, which explained his trembling fear and reluctance to make any sudden moves.

“Let’s talk outside,” Hui Shang suggested.

They all left the cellar, with Zhang Moyang checking the headcount and noticing Shen Ke holding Liu Shu’s hand, never letting go.

He whispered to Hui Shang, “Don’t you think they’re a bit too clingy? Something seems off.”

Hui Shang glanced at them indifferently. “They’ve always been like this. It’s nothing unusual.”

“Really???”

“Yes, I’m used to it. Their friendship leaves no room for a third person,” Hui Shang replied in a world-weary tone.

“That’s called friendship?!” Zhang Moyang couldn’t agree.

“What about Fang Qiong?” Liu Shu asked, finally remembering the issue after leaving the cellar. He had kept him there to avoid trouble when the county magistrate returned.

“Lock him up for now,” Shen Ke said.

Liu Shu was stunned by Shen Ke’s nonchalant tone, thinking, “What nonsense are you talking about? This is Fang’s residence, and he’s the county magistrate’s precious son!”

To his surprise, the staff master immediately ordered Fang Qiong to be locked up.

Liu Shu: “???”

The shock wasn’t his alone; the Zhang siblings and Chen Yinglian also displayed varying degrees of surprise at this outcome.

“I borrowed soldiers from the prefect,” Shen Ke explained.

They finally understood and were overjoyed. Liu Shu circled him, pinching his arm and poking his face. “Did you really persuade the prefect? Are you hurt?”

“No,” Shen Ke replied with amusement, grabbing Liu Shu’s constantly poking fingers and heading outside. “Let’s go to the yamen and deal with the bandits first.”

“Wait a minute!” Liu Shu suddenly remembered he hadn’t washed off his makeup, and after two days in the cellar, he was probably quite dirty. He ran to the well, washed his face clean, and then ran back, pondering how to casually slip his hand back into Shen Ke’s.

At that moment, Shen Ke extended his hand towards him.

Liu Shu was momentarily stunned, not reacting immediately.

So Shen Ke simply grabbed his hand again and continued walking, naturally holding it.

With each step, Liu Shu’s face grew redder. By the time they exited Fang’s residence, his face was almost as red as a tomato.

“How did you find us?” Liu Shu tried to divert his attention, asking the question that had been on his mind.

“Right, I thought it was bandits who took them, worrying me to death,” Zhang Moyang said, then turned to Zhang Mosheng to confirm she wasn’t hurt.

Shen Ke replied, “Although the soldiers haven’t caught the bandits yet, the frequent searches have made the bandits cautious, so they wouldn’t dare commit crimes in the city at such a critical time. Since Xiao Wu intentionally led the soldiers outside the city to investigate the missing persons, he definitely wouldn’t take Miss Zhang out of the city.”

After hearing his analysis, Zhang Moyang slapped his forehead. “Look at my brain, I immediately thought it was related to bandits.”

“Ah Ke, you’re amazing! How do you figure everything out?” Liu Shu said, his eyes sparkling.

Looking into his bright eyes, Shen Ke suddenly smiled and said, “No, there are some things I haven’t figured out.”

“Like what?”

Like I still haven’t figured out when exactly I fell for you. In those simple, hard days, how many moments became interesting and vivid because of you?

At first sight, it’s a sudden joy, but even after a long time, my heart still races.

Seeing him smile without speaking, Liu Shu started to feel a bit guilty and cautiously asked, “You didn’t figure out that I snuck into your bedroom to sleep a few days ago, did you?”

“…?” That wasn’t it.

Liu Shu swallowed, his expression becoming increasingly awkward. “No way, did you figure out that I also have a marriage engagement?”

Shen Ke: “…………?”

That really hadn’t crossed his mind!