NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 46
Luckily there was a fabric shop at the entrance to the market.
He Zhiran bought over thirty cotton quilts and large quantities of needle and thread, and still asked the fabric shop owner to deliver them to the inn.
Looking at the clock in the space, there was still half an hour before the time she had agreed with The Eighth Old Zhou.
He Zhiran strenuously pushed the cart and rushed over, intending to find a shady place to rest for a while.
The cart stopped outside a high wall, and He Zhiran casually sat on a large rock.
Taking advantage of her free time, she entered the space with her consciousness to check whether her shop had passed the review.
The result was somewhat disappointing to her, with the words "Please be patient and wait" displayed on the phone screen.
He Zhiran boredly withdrew her consciousness and looked around.
She didn't know why, but she inexplicably had a bad premonition.
She always felt something would happen.
It was very likely that Li Hu had done something.
Although she had this sense, He Zhiran really couldn't guess for a while how Li Hu would make things difficult for her.
Time passed bit by bit, and when it was already past noon, He Zhiran increasingly felt something was wrong.
Given The Eighth Old Zhou's personality, he didn't seem like the kind of person who would break an appointment.
What's more, they were just going to buy some rations, which really wouldn't take so much time.
He Zhiran immediately made a decision - that was, not to wait any longer, she would go back to the inn alone.
No matter what medicine Li Hu's gourd sold, it was definitely not wrong for her to go back on time.
So, He Zhiran pushed the cart towards the Western Inn without hesitation.
Yunlai County was not big to begin with. After walking for about two quarters of an hour, she saw the gate of the inn.
Just as He Zhiran was about to push the cart through the gate, a whip came flying at her face.
Luckily she was agile and dodged it in time.
The other party didn't give her any chance to catch her breath at all, and the second whip lashed out at her face again.
"Ms. He, you actually dared to run away. Watch me beat you to death."
Li Hu brandished the whip in his hand, looking extremely fierce,
As if he and He Zhiran had some deep enmity.
He Zhiran was suddenly attacked when she least expected it, and was already angry.
Seeing Li Hu's hideous face made her anger rise sharply. She raised her hand and mercilessly grabbed the whip that hit her.
With a clever twist, she pulled Li Hu along with the whip outside the gate.
Taking advantage of Li Hu not having stood firm yet, He Zhiran flew up and kicked him in the waist.
Li Hu yelled in pain, and the whip slipped from his hand.
Clutching his kicked waist, he pointed at He Zhiran, cursing viciously.
"You cheap woman, you actually dare to attack an official. I see you don't want to live to go to the northwest."
The commotion at the gate was not small, and other officials and prisoners also came over to see what was going on.
They saw He Zhiran with her hands on her hips, glaring angrily at Li Hu.
While Li Hu was just like a shrew, not daring to fight back but only cursing.
Seeing his companions come over, Li Hu suddenly gained courage.
"Boss, it's good you guys are here. Quickly catch this cheap woman. She is unruly, not only trying to escape, but also daring to attack me."
He Zhiran was now completely infuriated by Li Hu. Seeing him still falsely accusing her, she flew up and kicked him squarely in his dirty mouth without hesitation.
Li Hu gave a muffled grunt, and put his hand over his mouth.
When he took his hand away, there were two bloody teeth in his palm.
This showed how much strength He Zhiran had used.
This still wasn't enough for He Zhiran to vent her anger. She was about to go up and give Li Hu a beating when Peng Wang finally spoke.
"Ms. He, stop."
No matter how angry He Zhiran was, her reason was still there.
She was very clear in her heart that of all these officials, the one she could not offend was Peng Wang.
He was the boss of this group. Once she offended him, there would be endless trouble from the Mo Family people in the future.
"Lord Peng, I will spare him for now because of the face you have given me, but this matter today must be explained to me."
If it was in the past, when his subordinates were beaten, Peng Wang would have chosen to protect them without listening to any explanation.
However, today's protagonist was different.
This Li Hu had been inexplicably arranged in his team half a year ago.
At first Peng Wang thought that having a newcomer was nothing much, but he found that Li Hu was greedy and lecherous, and often played mind games with his brothers.
After a long time, Peng Wang became very displeased with Li Hu.
Thinking that someone might be backing him, Peng Wang didn't kick him out of the team, but would reprimand him from time to time.
The other protagonist He Zhiran, in Peng Wang's eyes, was not only resourceful but also smart. She would not inexplicably fight with Li Hu.
Moreover, looking at He Zhiran's angry appearance, Li Hu must have done something unforgivable.
In fact, Peng Wang had thought too much. He assumed it was Li Hu coveting He Zhiran's beauty and his old problem had recurred.
If it were other matters, with He Zhiran's composure, she would not have been angered to this extent.
In any case, Li Hu was his own subordinate. He could not let He Zhiran expose Li Hu's true face in front of everyone.
That would reflect badly on him as the boss.
"Don't argue anymore, come with me, all of you."
Seeing the officials silently following Peng Wang towards the guest room, He Zhiran quickly scanned around but did not see any sign of The Eighth Old Zhou.
He Zhiran suddenly had an enlightened feeling.
The reason Li Hu was waiting at the door to hit her was probably just to get back at Li Rou'er.
What would really ruin her was The Eighth Old Zhou's disappearance.
Thinking of this, He Zhiran ignored the cart in front of her and hurried to catch up.
"Lord Peng, Lord Zhou is in danger."
Li Hu, who was walking at the back of the officials, hurriedly turned his head and glared angrily at He Zhiran.
He said unclearly with his swollen mouth, "Isn't this your fault?"
He Zhiran was too lazy to listen to his nonsense.
"Lord Peng, I agreed with Lord Zhou at the market entrance that we would each go purchase supplies separately and meet up there by noon.
I went back to the market entrance at the agreed time and waited for a long time without seeing Lord Zhou's shadow. I thought he was anxious and went back first.
I was worried that everyone would be anxious, so I rushed back in a hurry. But when I got to the gate, Li Hu attacked me and kept yelling that I ran away.
I didn't see Lord Zhou come back just now. He went with Li Hu to buy supplies, so why did Li Hu come back alone without seeing Lord Zhou, yet falsely accused me without discernment?
I suspect Lord Zhou must have encountered some danger."
After hearing He Zhiran's account, the Mo Family women were immediately outraged.
The fiery second sister-in-law rushed over first.
"My Lord, although we were sentenced to exile, everyone has seen the things my younger sister has done these past few days. Even if she has no credit, she has worked hard. She absolutely cannot be bullied like this!"
"Anyone who bullies my ninth sister-in-law is bad." Mo Hanyue also plucked up the courage to chime in.
In their hearts, whether Lord Zhou was in danger or not was not as big a deal as He Zhiran being bullied.