The Ruthless Female Forensic Doctor's Husband-Destroying Story

Chapter 30

When Yang Huan saw that there seemed to be a hint of reproach in her eyes as she spoke, he felt as if she was coaxing him. His heart fluttered, and he couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Yes, yes. Don't worry, my wife. We'll sleep in the same bed from now on. You can do whatever you want me to do. I would never dare to do anything against my own will."

Xu Shirong rolled her eyes at him when she heard him start to talk so glibly again. She then mentioned what she had been thinking about and told him that if he couldn't wait, she would go back to Qingmen County first.

Yang Huan had finally managed to coax her into letting him sleep in the same bed with her. Although nothing much had actually happened, he had at least gotten a taste of intimacy, and he felt a surge of excitement, even more so than when he was having affairs outside. Now, he certainly didn't want to go back alone first, and naturally didn't offer to wait for her. Xu Shirong knew he was in a playful mood, so she gave him a few instructions and then went to Madam Lu's place first.

As Yang Huan watched her departing figure, he muttered to himself, "One must endure for a moment in order to plan a greater scheme."

When Xu Shirong arrived at Madam Lu's place, she found that Madam Lu was much better than yesterday, though she still looked somewhat weak. She chatted with her for a few minutes, then helped her drink her medicine and lie down. Around noon, Yang Huan rushed in, shouting, "The groom has been arrested! They found a lot of silver in his bundle. He confessed that his younger brother had also been sold into servitude at the Huang family's house, but was beaten for a trivial matter and died from poisoning. He harbored resentment ever since. So, he took this opportunity to pour kerosene on him, tied him up, and burned him to death. He escaped only two miles outside the city before being caught!"

"Tell me where that money came from, and who orchestrated it?" Xu Shirong asked.

"Before he could even speak, he was beaten to death on the spot."

Xu Shirong frowned slightly as she recalled what Xu Jinrong had said yesterday.

"It's a miracle that God has finally opened his eyes. He was indeed murdered. Although it's bad luck to die here, it's still better than being burned to death in my house."

Madam Lu didn't care about the coachman's life or death. Hearing that someone had taken the blame, she felt much more relaxed, and her complexion improved considerably. When Magistrate Lu returned in the evening, he was already able to get out of bed and walk around. Magistrate Lu was naturally happy and drank a few more cups of wine with Yang Huan before letting him go.

Yang Huan returned to his room, pleaded a few times, and repeatedly assured her before he was finally allowed to get into bed. At first, everything was indeed fine; he only occasionally brushed or touched her, which he always claimed was unintentional. Xu Shirong didn't pay much attention at first and tolerated it a few times. But when he seemingly unintentionally placed his hand on her waist again, she finally couldn't bear it any longer. Her brows furrowed, and she was about to tell him to get off, but Yang Huan mumbled something, rolled over, and naturally withdrew his hand, then began to snore loudly. The next morning, Yang Huan looked energetic, while she herself felt a bit sickly, yawning constantly.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Huang, the inspector, died in the residence of Prefect Lu, simply because Huang was known for his harshness and was resented by a petty person close to him, leading to his death. Prefect Lu, though negligent, was caught off guard by the scheming man and nearly unjustly took the blame. Now that the murderer has confessed and been executed, the case is closed, and this is reported. Prefect Lu should be fine, and the others involved, though the process was somewhat unexpected, have finally had a weight lifted from their shoulders, so it can be considered a happy ending for everyone.

Now that Madam Lu's heart was at peace, she recovered in just a couple of days. She busied herself with demolishing the burned-down south wing and preparing to rebuild it. The memorial Lu Tongpan submitted to the Huainan canal transport commissioner soon received a response, saying that Lord Zhang highly praised it, stating that it was a beneficial act for the country and its people, and that a report had already been sent to the capital for approval.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do in Tongzhou, Xu Shirong decided to return to Qingmen County. However, Madam Lu, who had no daughter of her own, found Xu Shirong's words and actions to be very agreeable, and who had also been very fond of her cousin-niece who had taken good care of her and shown concern for her well-being a few days earlier, so she was reluctant to let her go. She persuaded Xu Shirong to stay for a few more days before finally deciding that she would return the next day.

Tongzhou City is crisscrossed by waterways, with cargo ships constantly coming and going, making it a hub for goods from both the north and south. Since she was leaving tomorrow, Xiao Que kept urging Xu Shirong to go shopping and bring back some things, saying that once she returned to that remote corner of Qingmen County, she feared they wouldn't have such a complete selection of goods. Seeing her expectant look, Xu Shirong couldn't bear to refuse. She also had nothing else to do, and buying some daily necessities would be convenient if she needed them later, so she agreed. After saying goodbye to Madam Lu, who was busy calculating the house's finances, the two headed outside together. When they reached the porch, Yang Huan happened to be coming in. Hearing that she was going out to shop, he immediately volunteered to lead the way, saying that he had already explored every street and alley in Tongzhou City and could show her the way.

Seeing that he was talking to himself and had already ordered the servants of the Lu family to prepare the carriage, and that he had pulled the reins back from the servant, who was now sticking to him like a piece of chewing gum, Xu Shirong thought that if she bought too much stuff later, it would be good to have him carry it, so she let him go.

Today happened to be the first and fifteenth of each month, the main market day in Tongzhou City. The streets were packed with people and carriages. They stopped and started along the way, buying quite a few things, which they loaded onto the carriage. Seeing the crowds ahead, Xu Shirong was considering turning back, but Yang Huan stopped her, saying, "The rouge and face powder sold in Qingmen County are quite coarse; I'm afraid you won't be used to them. There's an old shop across the bridge ahead; their perfumes, face powders, and soaps are top-notch, no worse than those in the capital. Have the carriage stop here, and I'll go with you to buy some to take back."

He had barely finished speaking when he noticed Xu Shirong giving him a somewhat cold look. Suddenly remembering something, he broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly explained, "Don't get the wrong idea. I know this store. I didn't buy it for some young lady myself. I specifically inquired about it a few days ago, intending to buy it for you myself before leaving. Since we're going the same way today, we'll go buy it together."

Xu Shirong glanced at him, instructed the coachman to wait there, and then took Xiao Que with her to follow Yang Huan across the bridge.

The cosmetics and face powder in this shop were indeed excellent. Not only were the products of high quality, but even the boxes and jars were exquisitely packaged. Seeing that Xiao Que was delighted with them, he bought two jars of rose rouge for her. Just as he was about to look around, Yang Huan had already swept up a large pile and placed it on the counter. The shopkeeper was overjoyed, flattering him endlessly, saying that he had encountered a generous customer. He was about to tell the clerk to pack them all up when Xu Shirong stopped him, saying that she had only picked out a couple of face powders and a few bars of soap. Yang Huan paid, and then they left the shop together.

"I have money with me. It's not like I can't afford it, so why not buy more to take back with me?"

Seeing that the shopkeeper's expression had changed, Yang Huan felt humiliated and left the shop, still muttering to himself.

"It's not flour to eat, why buy so much? It'll just go bad if you leave it for too long."

Xu Shirong replied to him. Yang Huan shrank back and stopped.

The two of them walked ahead, with Xiao Que following behind, retracing their steps. As they neared the bridge, they saw a crowd gathered on the riverbank, seemingly watching something commotion. Getting closer, they saw a little beggar had fallen into the river and was struggling in the water. Because of the heavy rain the previous night, the river was quite wide and the current rather swift. The little beggar clearly couldn't swim and had been swept to the middle of the river, about to sink. The people on both banks just watched, and no one went to rescue him. One of them said angrily, "That little beggar, he comes to steal buns from my shop every few days. Stealing is one thing, but what's worse is that one time when I wasn't looking, he smacked my entire basket of white buns with his black fingerprints. Now that he's fallen in, he deserves to drown. Even if we pull him out, he'll only cause more trouble."

Seeing that the little beggar was about to drown, Xu Shirong hurriedly pushed Yang Huan and said, "What are you looking at? Go down and save him!" Seeing that he was stunned and his eyes were a little blank, Xu Shirong thought that he was also unwilling to go down and was annoyed. He said angrily, "A beggar is a human life too. No matter what he is like in the past, now that I have seen him, I can't just stand by and watch him die! If you don't want to go down, I will!"

Yang Huan was startled. He hurriedly said "Oh!" and jumped into the river without even taking off his shoes, splashing a lot of water.

When the onlookers saw someone jump down to save someone, they all pointed and watched.

Xu Shirong breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Yang Huan finally go into the water to save the person. But before she could catch her breath, Yang Huan's head surfaced, his face filled with panic as he frantically flailed his arms, thrashing about the water's surface, shouting, "Help..." Before he could finish the word "help," he swallowed a mouthful of water, and his head sank again, leaving only his dark top visible. With another struggle, he managed to get his head back up, but he was swept away by the current towards the middle of the river, swallowing several more mouthfuls of water.

Xu Shirong was taken aback; judging from his appearance, he couldn't swim. In her haste, she hadn't thought things through and had forced him into the water. Seeing that she was about to sink like the beggar, in her panic, she didn't care about anything else. She placed what she was carrying in the hands of the terrified little sparrow beside her, took off her embroidered shoes, and was about to go into the water herself when she suddenly felt someone behind her say, "Madam, there's no need!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than two men appeared out of nowhere beside him, plunged into the river, and swam toward Yang Huan and the beggar. In no time, they each grabbed one of them and swam back to the shore with all their might.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events. Now, seeing someone go down and rescue both people, others rushed over to help pull them ashore. Someone started cheering.

Seeing that Yang Huan and the beggar had been rescued, Xu Shirong finally felt relieved. She put her shoes back on and hurriedly parted the crowd to go over.

Although the little beggar had fallen into the river earlier, he only choked on some water and coughed a few times before regaining consciousness. He sat on the ground, soaking wet and pale, clearly frightened and still somewhat shaken. Yang Huan, though he had entered the water later and was swept away, was still lying there motionless with his eyes closed.

Xu Shirong quickly reached out and checked his carotid artery. There was still a pulse, so she knew he was alright. He must have swallowed a lot of water and was too frightened, which was why he had stopped breathing for a moment. Relieved, she remembered the two men who had gone into the river to save him and quickly looked up at them, saying, "Thank you both for your righteous rescue. We are extremely grateful."

The two men, dressed similarly, had just come ashore and were soaking wet. However, they were very respectful. When Xu Shirong thanked them, they hurriedly waved their hands and said, "No, no. You flatter us. We were just following my master's orders."

Xu Shirong was startled and turned around. She then saw a man in black standing not far behind her, looking at her. Who else could it be but Xu Jinrong? Presumably, the "Madam, there's no need" she had just heard must have been his. Hesitating for a moment, she saw that he was already walking towards her, so she could only smile and bow, saying, "Thank you very much, Third Master."

Xu Jinrong waved his hand and said, "I just happened to pass by and saw it. It's a trivial matter, nothing to mention. You flatter me, Madam."

Xu Shirong turned to look at Yang Huan, and seeing that he was still unconscious, she didn't bother to be polite with Xu Jinrong. She nodded and hurriedly returned to Yang Huan's side, pressed his abdomen a few times, and slapped his face hard. Seeing that there was still no response, she hesitated for a moment, then used her hands to pry open his jaw. Just as she was about to lean down and blow air into him, she saw some water gurgling out of his mouth, and he groaned a few times in his throat. Finally, his eyes opened.

Yang Huan opened his eyes, sat up abruptly, pressed down on the ground with his hand, and realized it was hard. He then let out a long sigh and spat out the mud and sand in his mouth repeatedly. After he had finished spitting it out, he looked up at Xu Shirong in front of him, his face tearful, and said, "I just drank at least dozens of mouthfuls of muddy water. My nose is choking and my stomach is really uncomfortable."

Xu Shirong ignored his complaints and said in a low voice, "If you can't swim, why did you jump in? Not only could you not save him, but you would also need another person to go down and retrieve you!"

Yang Huan had deliberately put on a miserable act to win the shrew's sympathy, but instead of receiving any comforting words, he was met with a cold shoulder. Feeling wronged, he snorted and said, "Didn't you push me and force me to get down?"

Xu Shirong choked, speechless for a moment, before finally scolding in a low voice, "I told you to jump, so you just closed your eyes and jumped? How was I supposed to know you couldn't swim! When did you become so obedient that you wouldn't even utter a sound!"

Yang Huan scratched the back of his head and said sheepishly, "When I saw you glaring at me and saying you wanted to go down by yourself, I forgot I couldn't swim until I jumped in..."

Little Sparrow, feeling sorry for her young master, had finally managed to show off his bravery by going back to save someone, only to be scolded mercilessly. She quickly tugged at Xu Shirong, pleading, "Madam, the young master truly can't swim. Today, he must have been so eager to save someone that he momentarily forgot and jumped in. He's incredibly brave. When I was at the manor, I heard people say that once, when he accompanied the Second Master back to the capital, he fell into the Bian River from the boat and almost lost his life. When the First Madam found out, she was terrified and repeatedly warned the young master never to go into the water again. Now that he's safely back, that's all the better."

Yang Huan was initially secretly pleased when Xiao Que spoke up for him, but to his surprise, the conversation turned to his shameful past that he desperately wanted to erase. Afraid that Xu Shirong would pry into the details and expose his past, he stopped complaining and scrambled to his feet, looking around as he said, "Who pulled me up? I'm not ungrateful; I must thank this hero properly."

Author's Note: Thank you zzlili1971 for the grenade...

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Qingge bows deeply.