Chapter 31: Rescue

Li Qiang was drinking with his rowdy friends in the courtyard when a servant reported that Shen Zhiyuan and the young master of the Wang family had arrived. He was puzzled—he had no dealings with either of them. Why would they suddenly come to his residence? He wondered if this visit was ill-timed. After all, he was already betrothed to Miss Shen Zhiyuan. Could it be that his forced abduction of a common girl had been exposed?

He tidied his clothes and put on a composed, genteel smile as he walked toward the main hall.

Upon entering, he saw the two sitting opposite each other, the atmosphere tense.

“Oh! Cousin, what a surprise to have you visit! And young Master Wang, what a pleasure to see you at my humble Li residence!” Li Qiang greeted warmly, trying to ease the mood.

“I wonder what brings you both here to seek Li,” he said.

Shen Zhiyuan pointed at the chubby kid and said, “He has some business with you.”

The chubby kid was about to explode in frustration; with no good reason to offer, he pushed the matter onto the kid.

The chubby kid awkwardly smiled at Li Qiang, “I heard that Brother Li recently bought a colt. I wonder how much it would cost to buy it from you. I have money.”

“You’re here just for this?” Li Qiang almost laughed at them.

He thought they had come with some serious business.

Turns out the chubby kid had come at night to flaunt his wealth and mock him.

The Li family wasn’t wealthy; Li Qiang had spent a lot on the colt and had been scolded by his own father for it.

“Hmm,” the two nodded resolutely.

Li Qiang asked Shen Zhiyuan, “And you, Miss Shen?”

Shen Zhiyuan replied calmly, “I came to see what the colt looks like.”

Seeing how dark it was, Li Qiang reluctantly said, “It’s late; the colt is in the barn. I’ll send it to the Wang residence tomorrow morning. What do you think?”

They shook their heads and said in unison, “We want to see it now.”

Li Qiang’s temples twitched with frustration.

If they were ordinary merchants, he would have kicked the chubby kid out immediately. But since his aunt married a fourth-rank official’s son from the capital—and rumor had it she was visiting the town recently—he couldn’t just be rude.

So Li Qiang spoke nicely, “The colt is already asleep for the night. I’ll deliver it to your residence first thing in the morning.”

The chubby kid was about to say more when a commotion came from the backyard. Then, Xiaojiu and her group dashed out carrying the tied-up young girl.

Seeing this, Li Qiang knew something was wrong and tried to stop them, but the chubby kid suddenly grabbed him tightly.

“No way! I want to see the colt tonight! Are you worried I can’t pay? I’ll pay you three times the price. Will you sell it or not?”

Li Qiang struggled but found the kid’s grip surprisingly strong; he couldn’t break free.

Furious, he shouted, “Cousin, young master, what are you doing sneaking into the Li residence at night with thieves?”

By now, Li Qiang realized they were stalling for time.

Shen Zhiyuan, seeing the girl had been brought out, gave up pretending.

“Li Qiang, I came hoping to see you because of your engagement to my cousin. But I never imagined you’d be this kind of man! Forcibly abducting a girl, yet you still call yourself a scholar!”

Li Qiang’s expression darkened, but he quickly regained his composure and sneered, “Cousin, where did you hear such nonsense? I, Li Qiang, have always acted with honor and integrity. You must have been misled by rumors.”

Shen Zhiyuan had never seen anyone so shameless. She pointed at Xiaojiu, who had just rushed out: “I saw it with my own eyes — you had a girl tied up in the backyard, and you still dare to deny it?”

“Exactly, we all saw it,” the chubby kid quickly chimed in.

Li Qiang flicked his sleeves and replied unhurriedly, “Oh! That’s just my maid who was being disobedient. The steward locked her in the backyard to teach her a lesson. Why do the two of you care about how Li Manor disciplines its maids?”

“Perfect timing — I want to ask you two something: breaking into my manor to steal my maid, what exactly do you think you’re doing?”

Shen Zhiyuan snorted coldly, “Li Qiang, we’ve taken note of today’s events. If you really have a clear conscience, you’d better stop resorting to these shameful tricks.”

The chubby kid nodded in agreement, “Yeah, do you think we’re fools? Who are you trying to fool?”

After saying this, Shen Zhiyuan and the chubby kid exchanged a glance and strode out of the Li residence, leaving a sullen Li Qiang standing behind.

Xiaojiu and the others had already carried Xu Hao’s sister out of the manor and were now riding in the chubby kid’s carriage. Seeing Shen Zhiyuan and the chubby kid come out, they hurried to drive back to the village.

Xu Hao’s sister burst into tears when she saw her brother.

Xu Hao, relieved that his sister was safe, almost knelt down to thank Xiaojiu.

The two carriages sped swiftly along the empty country road and soon reached the village.

Xiaojiu jumped out first, followed by the others.

Back in Xiaojiu’s courtyard, Lin Qi frowned and said, “Li Qiang is vindictive and has Biao Ge backing him. He’s done many unjust things to women. He will definitely come back to take revenge.”

Shen Zhiyuan stood nearby and said, “Don’t worry, my father is the county magistrate. He won’t dare do anything. When the time comes, we’ll say I saw him abducting a girl on the street and that we retrieved her for my cousin. The authorities will be on our side.”

The chubby kid patted his chest and promised, “Yeah, and I’ll tell my father. He’ll definitely stand with me.”

Xu Hao gratefully thanked everyone while holding his sister.

Xiaojiu arranged for Xu Hao’s sister to stay temporarily in her courtyard with Sister Xiao Xiao.

The next morning, Sister Xiao Xiao got up early as usual to prepare breakfast. Today, unlike usual, she had a diligent little girl helping her.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hu and the others came early to the chubby kid’s room and dragged him out of bed.

“Come on, time for martial arts practice!”

The chubby kid buried his head under the covers, “No, I want to sleep.”

“If you don’t come, there’s no breakfast for you today,” Xiaojiu threatened from the doorway.

Between sleeping and food, the chubby kid chose food.

“Get up, get up, get up right now!” He hurriedly got out of bed, washed up, and joined everyone at the foot of the mountain.

He had thought the delicate Shen Zhiyuan wouldn’t be up so early and planned to tease her later, but to his surprise, she was already waiting at the back mountain.

Since Master Yan wasn’t here today, everyone continued training as usual.

Ding! A task popped up: “Inspire the villagers’ enthusiasm for martial arts. Reward: 20 points + one lottery chance.”

Xiaojiu stared at the task message, pondering.

Enthusiasm?

Suddenly, she had a great idea.

A competition.

Yes! A competition!

Xiaojiu signaled for everyone to stop and said, “Today, we’ll do something different.”

“What different thing?”

“We’ll have a race — around the big mountain, and rank according to the order in which you return.”

“The winners get prizes,” Xiaojiu added.