Then I’ll Leave My Yangyang in Your Care
Su Jingyang really did get hit right on the mark by what Rong Ci had said. In less than three days, he carried his ghost-scribbled script straight into the private room to ask Rong Ci and Rong Hua for advice.
Rong Ci flipped through the pages of Su Jingyang’s draft one by one. The more he read, the harder it became to look. His words were full of unhidden disdain. “Even the chickens in your courtyard scratching around with their claws could probably write something more legible than this.”
Su Jingyang actually admitted that much. His handwriting had never been good to begin with, let alone written with a brush. He said to Rong Ci, “Just look at the content, alright? Do you guys think this idea can work?”
Rong Ci finished reading without saying a word. Rong Hua took the script from him and skimmed through it instead, his expression remaining cold and focused the entire time. Su Jingyang leaned forward with both hands on the table, eyes bright with expectation. “Murong, what do you think? Give me a straight answer.”
Rong Hua looked at Su Jingyang and asked, “This story of yours, is it based on Ah Li’s situation?”
Rong Hua had always been protective of Ling Li. After Liu Yue’s parents came to cause trouble that day, if Ling Li hadn’t stopped him, he would have already gone to kill someone.
Su Jingyang nodded hard. “Yeah! I want to hire an opera troupe to rehearse it, then stage it and perform it continuously for ten days or half a month. I refuse to believe it won’t stir up at least some waves.”
Su Jingyang’s script used Ling Li’s past as its framework, but he had made some changes. He omitted the part about Ah Xuan’s other father, as well as the part where Ling Li tipped off the bandits.
The main plot was about a man who owed gambling debts and cried as he knelt, begging his lover to sell off a family heirloom to help repay the debt. He then tricked his lover into handing over all the remaining money as well.
Soon after, the man fell for someone else. Afraid that his lover would cling to him, he followed his parents’ suggestion and deliberately deceived his lover into drinking poisoned wine together in a suicide pact, when in truth he intended to poison his lover to death.
Unexpectedly, in the chaos, the man mixed up the cups himself. He drank the poisoned wine, while the lover drank the untainted cup and survived by sheer luck, only to be misunderstood and cursed by the public, falsely accused of murder by the man’s parents, and nearly beaten to death.
Rong Ci pondered for a moment before saying, “Some things really are just people blindly echoing each other. Your method has plenty of flaws, but I think it’s feasible.”
Su Jingyang had never intended to overturn everyone’s opinions with a single play. At the very least, he wanted to reduce the number of people who hated Ling Li for no reason. He had actually had this idea for quite some time but hadn’t dared to put it into action.
After all, he had been thinking it through alone and wasn’t sure whether it was good or bad. Now that even Rong Ci, who usually despised him, said it could work, Su Jingyang’s confidence inexplicably rose a few notches.
Rong Hua tilted the corner of his mouth and looked at Su Jingyang. A trace of murderous intent flickered in his beautiful eyes as he said slowly, “Jingyang, actually, I can help you add a bit more color to this play of yours.”
With support secured, Su Jingyang immediately got to work. He hired a small opera troupe, had them adapt the script into a compelling play, and personally oversaw rehearsals day after day. Once the rehearsals were complete, the play titled Poisoned Wine Stratagem was staged in town and performed for free.
In ancient times, there were no televisions or mobile phones. Watching opera was popular entertainment, but usually required paying for tickets, or wealthy families hiring troupes to perform privately. Free performances had never happened before.
Who would miss out on such a good thing? Poisoned Wine Stratagem toured different venues and ran for over ten consecutive days. With Liang Lu’s help, every show was packed with people.
The townsfolk weren’t foolish. They had long since connected the play to Ling Li’s past, not to mention that the scumbag’s name in the play was Liu Yue, and the actors portraying his parents were Liu Yue’s actual parents.
This was naturally the contribution of that murderous deity Ronghua.
Those two old geezers had been whipped until they cried for their parents. They confessed early on that Liu Yue’s scheme to deceive Ling Li back then had indeed been planned with their involvement.
Rong Hua personally escorted them to the stage every time. Without costumes, trembling with fear, they reenacted their own ugly faces in full view of the crowd. Before the final performance even ended, the two of them fainted right on the stage.
Because of the play, the old events once again became the talk of the town. Some believed it, some didn’t. Naturally, there were also people who questioned Ah Xuan’s origins and the purpose behind the play. As Ling Li’s staunch supporter, Rong Hua dragged Rong Ci along for several days, wandering around town.
Whenever they heard people discussing it, they would insert themselves and guide public opinion. As for those who continued to openly despise Ling Li and spread extreme views, Rong Hua simply followed them.
Some were beaten senseless in sacks, some were hung from bridges for a full day and night, and some were drugged mute for several days. If anyone dared keep talking afterward, Rong Hua would deal even more ruthlessly until they shut up for good. In just a few days, the number of doubters dropped sharply.
Su Jingyang knew nothing about this. He only thought his script had worked wonders, which was evident from the gradual recovery of business at Lin’s Small Eatery. Although it still wasn’t as bustling as before, Su Jingyang was already very satisfied, because the gloom in Ling Li’s eyes had finally faded a little.
After being busy for quite a while, Su Jingyang planned to sleep early one night, only to be dragged into a dream where this happened and that happened. He suffered miserably. Fortunately, that person only went at him twice before letting him go. Su Jingyang returned to bed, wrapped himself in the blanket without even opening his eyes, and fell asleep.
When he woke up, Su Jingyang discovered that his energy progress bar had turned into 2.5%.
He was instantly dumbfounded. He clearly remembered that over these days, he had intermittently received gratitude-based energy from Ling Li that added up to 3%. How could it have gone down instead?!
The system emerged coldly. “You think only you can collect energy? Can’t I? The more energy I accumulate, the lower the proportion you complete becomes. Did you really think you could compete with me?”
Su Jingyang pressed his lips together tightly, his chest rising and falling heavily as he told himself not to get angry, not to get angry, not to get angry. In the end, he still couldn’t hold back. He slammed the bed and snarled viciously, “I can compete with you, you dog sh*t, just wait!!!”
Maintaining calm in front of the system was practically harder than ascending to the heavens.
When Su Jingyang got up, he found Rong Ci already in the courtyard teaching Ah Xuan wooden sword practice. With his hair a complete mess and yawning, Su Jingyang came out to wash up. Rong Ci heard the movement and glanced back at him. Seeing him rinsing his mouth with his eyes still closed, he said, “You’re already listless first thing in the morning. What were you doing last night?”
Su Jingyang spat out the mouthful of water, wiped the droplets from his lips, lifted his eyelids, and snorted. “I dreamed about you last night. Got into a fight with you, then beat you to death.”
Rong Ci shook his head. “That’s something you can only fantasize about in dreams.”
Just as Su Jingyang was about to scoop cold water to wash his face, Ling Li hurried over from the kitchen carrying a basin of hot water and took the ladle from his hand. Su Jingyang grinned at him. Using hot water to wash his face, Ling Li was always this considerate toward him.
As he washed, Su Jingyang asked, “Ah Li, what are you stewing? It smells amazing.”
Ling Li replied gently, “Chicken soup.”
Su Jingyang’s head was still foggy at the time and he didn’t react. Only after sitting at the table did he stare at the bowl of soup for a long while before suddenly rushing out to the chicken coop to look for that wall-climbing chicken. To his shock, he couldn’t find it. Of the original five chickens, only three remained.
The coop hadn’t even been opened. There was no way it could have flown off on its own.
Su Jingyang dashed back into the house like a gust of wind. Rong Ci saw him panicking and seemed to know exactly why. Unhurried, he said, “It’s already been stewed into soup. What are you still looking for?”
Su Jingyang stared at him in disbelief. Rong Ci added, “Oh, I paid Ling Li and bought that chicken. Told him to stew it.”
Ling Li looked like he wanted to speak but stopped. Su Jingyang angrily pointed at Rong Ci. “You, you heartless man! It loved you so much, running over to see you every day without regard for anything, and you could actually bring yourself to do this?!”
It was funny when you thought about it. Although Su Jingyang chased it around and cursed it as a cheating chicken every day, over time he had developed an inexplicable attachment. Now that he knew it had been stewed, he couldn’t help feeling genuinely sad.
Rong Ci found it both funny and absurd. Talking about love with a chicken, there was probably only one person in the world like this. He really didn’t know what was going on inside Su Jingyang’s head.
Rong Ci tapped the soup bowl with his chopsticks and gestured at it. “See that? Falling in love with me always ends like this. Miserable!”
Seeing Su Jingyang fuming, Ling Li finally couldn’t stand it anymore. He said, “Ah Yi is lying to you. He did buy the chicken, but he’s keeping it next door.”
Su Jingyang froze, casting a suspicious glance at Rong Ci, who was smiling inscrutably. Ling Li sighed helplessly. “You should trust me at least. Today’s soup is a different one.”
After breakfast, Rong Ci went home. While it was still early, Su Jingyang grabbed a big broom and started cleaning the courtyard. Suddenly, he heard Rong Ci’s slightly raised voice from next door. “Come, Yangyang, Yangyang, come eat. Yangyang, hurry over, there’s still plenty here.”
Su Jingyang frowned. His instincts told him something wasn’t right. He tossed aside the broom, climbed up the ladder, and peeked over the wall.
One look nearly made him faint from rage. Rong Ci was actually feeding that cheating chicken.
“Hey, are you sick or something?! Why are you giving a chicken a name?!”
After scattering the remaining grain, Rong Ci patted his hands and turned to him with a smile. “What’s wrong with naming it? I feel like it.”
Su Jingyang snorted angrily. “Then you’re not allowed to name it Yangyang. What if you end up slaughtering and eating it later? How inauspicious.”
“But it seems to like it a lot. It comes running every time I call it.” Rong Ci turned and called again, “Yangyang.”
The chicken really did come trotting over happily. Su Jingyang’s temple twitched violently. Just as he was about to climb down, Rong Ci called out, “I’m taking Ah Xuan back to Rongcheng tonight. We’ll be gone for seven days. This chicken, I’ll leave it to you to feed.”
Su Jingyang was extremely unwilling. “Why? Why should I?”
Rong Ci replied, “Like you said, if Yangyang starves to death, how unlucky would that be? You come over every day to feed it. I’ll give you the key.” As he spoke, he stepped closer and tossed something toward him. Su Jingyang instinctively reached out to catch it, only to realize it was a silver ingot. His previously stern face instantly broke into a wide grin.
Su Jingyang extended his hand eagerly. “Fine, give me the key. I’ll feed your chicken.”
Rong Ci tossed him the key as well, his expression sincere as he instructed, “Then I’ll leave my Yangyang in your care.”
Su Jingyang pocketed the key and silver, flashed an OK gesture, then remembered Rong Ci might not understand it and added, “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of it.”
Seeing how serious he looked, Rong Ci suddenly laughed softly. It wasn’t his usual mocking or cold laugh, but a genuinely gentle, youthful smile. His picturesque brows curved upward, so beautiful it was almost dazzling.
Su Jingyang asked in confusion, “What are you laughing at now?”
Rong Ci pressed a fist lightly to his lips and said solemnly, “Nothing. I was just thinking that maybe… you won’t need to come to my place to feed it after all.”
Rong Ci was absolutely right. That night, after Rong Ci left with Ah Xuan, the chicken ran back on its own and crawled into the coop. Su Jingyang tried tossing it next door, but it ran back again shortly after. After several attempts, Su Jingyang finally couldn’t help pointing at it and cursing, “Cheap and shameless. As expected, what you can’t have is always the most tempting!”
On the fifth day after Rong Ci left, snow fell over the town. When Su Jingyang set out to deliver fruit wine to Liang Lu’s place, the snow on the ground was still thin. By the time he was kept for a cup of hot tea and came back out, the snow was already crunching loudly underfoot.
Su Jingyang’s nose tip was red from the cold as he hurried toward Lin’s Small Eatery. He never would have expected to run into someone who gave him endless headaches halfway there.
From afar, he saw Hao Jiasheng and Old Madam Hao arguing and shoving each other by the riverbank. He thought it best to detour. Every encounter with that family was like being cursed by bad luck.
However, fate seemed determined to work against him. Just as he turned to leave, Hao Jiasheng appeared to lose his patience and shoved Old Madam Hao hard in a fit of anger. Before falling into the water, the old woman instinctively grabbed at his clothes.
The result was that the grandmother and grandson both plunged into the river.
They splashed about briefly before going still. It was obvious neither of them could swim. Su Jingyang’s mind went numb. He was a thousand times unwilling to save them, but when he shouted that someone had fallen into the water, passersby hurried past in the cold wind without even glancing over.
Su Jingyang cursed under his breath. No matter how much he hated them, they were still two human lives. He couldn’t get past his own conscience. In the end, he ran over and jumped into the icy, bone-chilling river, exhausting himself to the brink to drag both of them out.
By the time Su Jingyang climbed back up, he was completely spent, soaked to the bone and freezing. He collapsed on the cold, hard ground, barely able to catch his breath. Fortunately, patrol officers arrived nearby and took all of them to the clinic.
When Su Jingyang returned to Lin’s Small Eatery, he had already bought dry clothes to change into, but he was still shivering uncontrollably from the cold. Ling Li’s eyes turned red with distress. He stoked the stove fire until it burned fiercely, moved a small stool over so Su Jingyang could sit close to the warmth, and brewed ginger soup for him to drink.
That night, Su Jingyang lay in bed thinking that he had saved their lives this time. Surely Old Madam Hao wouldn’t come looking for trouble again.
He had severely underestimated just how shameless that old woman was. The very next day, officials came to summon Su Jingyang for questioning. Hao Jiasheng was on the brink of death, and Old Madam Hao accused Su Jingyang of harboring a grudge and deliberately attempting to murder them.
Su Jingyang exploded in rage and confronted her. “Damn it, I was the one who saved you, and you turn around and twist the truth like this? Do you have any conscience at all?!”
Old Madam Hao snarled, “If you didn’t push us in, then why did you save us? Isn’t that just a guilty conscience?!”
Su Jingyang felt like his lungs were about to explode. People like this really should have been left to drown. The old woman insisted on demanding compensation, opening her mouth for at least one hundred taels of silver.
After Liang Lu investigated, he told Su Jingyang that Hao Jiasheng’s condition was dire, and Old Madam Hao was clearly trying to extort money to treat her grandson. Strangely enough, despite both falling into the water, the old one was mostly fine, while the younger one was on the verge of death.
Su Jingyang naturally refused to accept this. Liang Lu reassured him not to be afraid, explaining that the authorities were only conducting routine questioning and would release him afterward. Su Jingyang wasn’t afraid of that.
He was worried about Ling Li. When he’d been brought in earlier, Ling Li had followed along at a distance. It was snowing outside, and Su Jingyang feared Ling Li would foolishly wait outside and fall ill.
Because questioning involved procedures and fingerprinting, Su Jingyang asked Liang Lu to go check whether Ling Li was still waiting outside. Before Liang Lu even made it out, one of his subordinates rushed in with news.
Because he was nearby, Su Jingyang heard it clearly.
“Young master, that Hao Jiasheng… he’s dead.”
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