I Crossed Over with My Enemy, Only to Find Him Running the Empire - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Snatching the Silver

Returning to the small room, Li Qiaoqiao fished out another piece of candy from under her pillow and popped it into her mouth to suck slowly. The sweetness dissolved in her mouth, temporarily suppressing the bitterness left by the mixed-grain steamed bun.

Outside the window, the moonlight was cold and clear, spilling into the courtyard like a layer of frost.

The light was still on in the second branch’s room, and the low sobbing of Mrs. Yuan could be heard faintly.

Li Qiaoqiao lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Today’s incident was merely a small disturbance. She knew clearly that a bigger storm was waiting further ahead.

“Golden Pill for Delivering Sons…” she murmured to herself, a bitter smile surfacing at the corner of her mouth.

In the original book, the second branch’s obsession eventually pushed them into an irredeemable abyss. This beating today would likely change nothing.

As the night deepened, the Wu family compound finally fell completely silent. Only the occasional bark of a dog broke the stillness.

Li Qiaoqiao closed her eyes, trying to dispel the chaotic thoughts in her mind.

In this world, she could barely protect herself; how could she have the spare energy to mind other people’s business?

However, thinking about how those thirty tales of silver were swindled away, she still felt somewhat unwilling in her heart!

…

The moon was dark and the wind was high; the village was so quiet only a few dog barks remained.

In the Wu courtyard, the lights in every room were out, except for Li Qiaoqiao, who was crouching as she slipped out the back door, clutching a small cloth bundle in her hand.

“Are you truly going to do this?” Wu Ya’s lowered voice came from the shadows.

Li Qiaoqiao was startled. Turning back, she saw Wu Ya leaning against the base of the wall, his dark, coarse cloth clothes almost merging into the night.

“I can’t just stand by and watch Mother ruin her health out of anger over those thirty taels.” Li Qiaoqiao handed over the cloth bundle. “Here, this is that ‘Stretch-the-Leg-Stare-the-Eye’ pill you spat out earlier. We’ll say this is the one Second Brother’s family bought and go find Divine Physician Gong to get a refund.”

Wu Ya knit his brows as he took the pill, examining it for a moment under the dim moonlight, a cold sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth: “And if that swindler Gong refuses to refund it?”

“Then it’s time for your performance.” Li Qiaoqiao blinked. “You pretend to have a relapse, and I’ll be on the side saying you turned out like this only after eating his medicine. We’ll make a scene and see if he refunds it then.”

Wu Ya didn’t speak, but simply nodded.

The two of them, one following the other, headed toward the town along the small village path. The night wind blew through the rice fields by the road, making a rustling sound.

“Do you think Divine Physician Gong might have already retired for the night?” Li Qiaoqiao asked in a small voice.

“Swindlers never retire early,” Wu Ya’s tone was flat. “They specifically pick the night to run away.”

These words turned out to be a prophecy.

…

In Lechuan Town, at the entrance of the inn, Divine Physician Gong and his apprentice were frantically stuffing luggage into a carriage.

“Master, are we really leaving?” the young apprentice asked while tying up a box. “Didn’t you say there were several patients coming to seek medicine tomorrow?”

Gong wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around: “What do you know! When that second Wu son bought the medicine today, I felt something was off; that family clearly isn’t one to be messed with. Thirty taels of silver is no small amount. If they realize what’s happened and come knocking on the door, we’ll be in for it!”

The carriage was hired on short notice. The driver was a man with a face full of rough flesh, holding a whip and looking on coldly without lending a hand.

With great difficulty, they finished loading. The master and apprentice climbed into the carriage, and Gong urged repeatedly: “Go, go quickly, head east out of town.”

The driver was in no rush, slowly cracking his whip: “Where is the guest in such a hurry to go? The night road isn’t easy to travel.”

“Cut the nonsense! Double the fare, just go!” Gong was anxious as if his heart were on fire.

The carriage finally began to move with a creak and a groan, traveling along the dirt road outside of town.

Gong peered out from the carriage curtain from time to time to look back, always feeling as if there were eyes watching them from the darkness.

The young apprentice was uneasy: “Master, are you being oversensitive? In this pitch blackness, where would people come from?”

“Shut up!” Gong barked in a low voice. “I’ve been in this trade for over a decade; I rely on this intuition. Today, as soon as that second Wu son left, several ruffians came by asking about the price of the medicine. There’s definitely no good coming of it!”

Sure enough, after the carriage had traveled two or three li, the driver suddenly gave a “Whoa!” and reined in the horse.

“Why have we stopped?” Gong poked his head out to ask.

The driver jumped off the carriage and gave a cold laugh: “Divine Physician Gong, stop pretending. The brothers have been waiting for you for a long time.”

As soon as he finished speaking, four or five dark shadows lunged out from the woods by the road, each holding a club, surrounding the carriage.

Gong’s heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to remain calm: “Good heroes, what is the meaning of this? If it’s money you want, I have some silver scattered here.”

The leading ruffian spat: “Scattered silver? Divine Physician Gong, do you think we don’t know your ‘Stretch-the-Leg-Stare-the-Eye’ pills are thirty taels apiece?”

The driver now tore off his disguise as well, standing with the group of ruffians: “Boss, I searched—it’s just some junk luggage on the carriage. The silver must be on his person.”

Gong’s face turned deathly pale. Only now did he realize the driver was one of them.

“Good heroes!” He hurriedly bowed with folded hands. “This old man practices medicine to help the world; where would I get a thirty-tael pill? Someone must have framed me…”

“Save it!” The ruffian chief swung his club against the carriage shaft. “The second Wu son just bought ten taels’ worth of Golden Pills for Delivering Sons from you today. Do you think we aren’t clear on that? And the day before yesterday, that fool from Li Family Village bought a worthless pill from you for thirty taels, saying it could cure his mother’s consumption! The person died yesterday!”

Another ruffian chimed in: “And the Wu family’s fourth son, Tieniu, he clearly got better on his own, yet you claimed he took your medicine! It’s already spread all over town!”

Seeing he could no longer hide it, Gong fell to his knees with a thud: “Heroes, spare my life! I’ll hand over all the silver…”

Trembling, he fished out two money bags from his bosom, which were obviously heavy with a significant amount of silver.

The ruffian chief snatched them away, weighed them, and a look of greed appeared on his face.

Several ruffians gathered around to look, momentarily forgetting to keep an eye on the Gong master and apprentice.

At this precise moment, the young apprentice suddenly pulled a handful of greyish-brown powder from his sleeve and violently threw it into the faces of the ruffians!

“Ah! My eyes!”

“What did this god-forsaken wretch throw!”

The ruffians instantly fell into chaos, clutching their eyes and howling in pain. Gong took the opportunity to jump off the carriage, and the master and apprentice bolted into the woods by the road, vanishing in an instant.

The ruffian chief struggled to open his red and swollen eyes, flying into a rage: “Chase them! Chase them for me!”

But his subordinates were all in searing pain, tears flowing uncontrollably; how could they possibly give chase? They could only stand there cursing loudly.

…

All of this was seen clearly by Li Qiaoqiao and Wu Ya, who were hiding behind the bushes.

“Good heavens, it’s a dog-eat-dog world!” Li Qiaoqiao whispered in exclamation.

Wu Ya narrowed his eyes: “There’s at least fifty or sixty taels of silver in those bags.”

Li Qiaoqiao suddenly tugged at Wu Ya’s sleeve: “Can we snatch that silver back?”

Wu Ya raised an eyebrow at her.

“It’s ill-gotten wealth anyway!” Li Qiaoqiao explained hurriedly. “The ruffians robbed the swindler, and we robbed the ruffians. This is called doing justice for heaven! Taking it back to Mother will also make up for the Second Brother’s loss.”

Wu Ya remained silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled: “You certainly know how to think.”

He looked around, took the handkerchief from Li Qiaoqiao’s hand, and tied it over his face, leaving only his eyes visible.

“Wait here. Don’t make a sound.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Ya slid out of the bushes as silently as a ghost.

Li Qiaoqiao held her breath, watching with wide eyes as he used the cover of night to approach the group of still-cursing ruffians without a sound.

The ruffian chief was counting the silver in the money bags, cursing while stuffing them into his bosom. Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed past, his hands lightened, and the money bags had vanished into thin air!

“Who?!” He cried out in shock and anger, looking all around, but not a soul was to be seen.