Ink Burns

Chapter 23: The Snake

"Miss He."

There was a dull sound in the hall, with a strong Songjiang Louxian accent. The sound came from the back of the nose, with no distinction between level and oblique tones, like an iron shovel inserted diagonally into the mud.

The people in the hall shrank their thin shoulders, just like a tiny speck of dust brought out by a shovel stuck into the mud.

"Your reputation is well-known in Shantang Street, Suzhou Prefecture. You can easily paint the paintings of the four great masters of Wumen, Shen, Zhu, Mi and Zhou." Sitting in the chief seat in the hall, Mr. Cheng was cheerful. He was fat, with a round waist as thick as his thighs. He loved to hold free clinics and set up porridge halls. The "Fat Maitreya" that people called him was not wrong.

"Fat Maitreya" smiled and said, "Miss He, you are a pen from Shantang Street, but you keep saying 'severing the relationship' and 'being forced', putting on layers of false faces on your face. What do you want to do by condescending to come to my Cheng family?"

He Shanyue lowered his head, stammering, his eyes anxious and timid, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Master Cheng stopped laughing, and his eyes suddenly turned stern as he looked at the people in the hall: "I didn't know that when we recruited a teacher, we actually recruited a bandit! Did he come for my paintings?"

Mr. Cheng threw the scroll of painting he had found to the ground, and the half that was exposed was exactly the "Fishing at Spring Creek Bridge" that he had taken out when testing his skills that day.

The colors of mountains and rivers are rich, while the ink splashes are light.

This painting is only half done, and you can tell at a glance that it is not finished yet.

"Did you paint this secretly in your room? After you finished it, did you wait for the right opportunity to exchange it for the three original paintings in my house?"

When Master Cheng wasn't smiling, his fat cheeks were just right for his shoulders. "You've been hiding in my house, preparing to do some sneaky business. That Chuan woman is your accomplice, right? You submitted your resignation letter the other day because you heard that the Cheng family had found out the private affairs of Zhou's lover. You were afraid that the Cheng family would follow the clues and eventually bring disaster to you, right? - Ha!"

Master Cheng sneered, "Someone, take this little thief to the authorities!"

He Shanyue suddenly panicked, her legs went limp, and she almost collapsed to the ground. She raised her head and burst into tears: "Don't - don't -" and looked at Duan anxiously for help: "Madam, Madam!"

Duan looked at He Shanyue anxiously, sighed and advised: "It's not successful yet. This girl has talent and is honest. If not."

Master Cheng interrupted him, "According to the laws of the Wei Dynasty, imitating paintings is not a crime, but forging household registers and fake name cards is punishable by severe punishment! - Your name card and household register are not real, right? Who helped to make them? That Sichuanese woman? Or the guy from 'Guoqiaogu'? Our Cheng family has always had a good relationship with the prefect. Whether your crime is light or heavy depends on whether I cry and scream or downplay it."

"I heard that forging household registration can result in the lightest punishment being stripped of pants in the market and beaten with 50 sticks; the worst punishment is exile to southern Fujian or Bulgandusi to perform corvée labor, and never be allowed to return. A tender-skinned girl like you will die if you do the former, and live a life worse than death if you do the latter. Those officials, clerks, and men who have committed serious crimes like you the most. In a cold and bitter place, one must always find some comfort."

The "Fat Maitreya" in Songjiang Prefecture smiled again: "You can eat and drink with this body, but what about those people who are 'crossing the bridge'? It's not the first time that you have helped to make fake household registration, right? In addition to selling fake paintings and making fake households, are there other crimes? For example, some counterfeit official notices? The black eats the black, the big fish eat the small fish, the small fish eat the shrimp, have you ever thrown heads into the Qinhuai River? These people either lose their heads in the vegetable market or work hard until they die. Tsk, tsk, tsk, they are really pitiful."

He Shanyue was so frightened that she prostrated herself on the ground and cried so hard that her whole body was shaking. She rushed to Duan's feet and shook her head and cried, "Madam, please help me speak up! I, I, I just painted a few pictures! I won't dare to do it again! I won't dare to do it again! I will pay the money! I will also ask Master Wu to pay the money! I will help you paint! You can paint whatever you want! Madam!"

Duan looked away reluctantly but did not dare to speak. She could only pull up the hem of her skirt to prevent He Shanyue from grabbing it easily.

Instead, the man on the lower left slowly stood up, bowed and said, "Father, you are too serious. It's just a painter from Shantang Street who sneaked into the mansion to steal paintings. It's not a big deal. Why do you want to kill him and commit a sin for no reason?"

Cheng Xinghe.

Cheng Xinghe spoke. He Shanyue looked up at him with tearful eyes, her face was as beautiful as a lotus, but her appearance was timid.

Cheng Xinghe didn't like such a woman. He glanced at her and then turned his gaze back to Master Cheng's face: "Since Miss He has come to the Cheng family, many things can be solved behind closed doors. There is no need to offend the government."

He Shanyue keenly grasped the words in between and raised his head eagerly: "Solve? It can be solved! It can be solved! I will agree to everything! I will agree to any request!"

He Shanyue suppressed her voice and cried softly, "I was born in poverty. My father died early, and I fled to the south with my mother and brother. My mother raised my brother and me with her blood, but she starved to death on the road. My brother and I's household registration and name cards were stolen by thieves, and we became invisible black households. If it weren't for the 'bridge bone' who saved me, I would have died in the snow sooner or later."

He suddenly raised his voice: "I will do whatever you ask me to do, just don't bring harm to Master Wu and his friends!"

Master Cheng and Mrs. Duan looked at each other, with hidden joy in their eyes.

Cheng Xinghe bent down and stretched out his hand in front of He Shanyue, intending to help her up.

He Shanyue blinked, and in an instant, all the murderous intent and hatred were hidden in his eyes. He turned his head slightly and put his hand into Cheng Xingchi's palm with a little embarrassment.

Cheng Xinghe half-knelt down, speaking in a gentle voice, like a lush bamboo forest: "We have a distant relative in the capital. Although he comes from a famous family, he is a bit eccentric. In such a big city, he can't find a marriage. Oh, it's not our turn to take care of it, but because the old prefect asked us to do it, this matter has always aroused mother's anxiety. Shanyue, are you willing to help Madam share her worries?"

He Shanyue didn't understand and blinked in panic.

Cheng Xinghe squatted down, his eyes locked with He Shanyue's. "You are also a poor person without a father or mother, without a clan or family. If you are willing, you can take the title of my uncle's cousin and compete for this marriage."

He Shanyue narrowed her eyes blankly, and said hesitantly with a crying voice: "There are four or five girls at home."

"My distant relative is a weird person. He just wants an innocent girl who can paint."

Cheng Xinghe's voice, which he deliberately lowered, was like bubbles swelling on a toad's skin. As soon as he opened his mouth, a bubble would burst, spraying people's faces with smelly venom.

"We have searched and selected, and Miss He, you are the most suitable." Cheng Xinghe smiled and blew out a poisonous gas that was enough to corrode rust, but he also pretended to be a spring breeze: "Miss He, don't worry, this marriage is not only what we want, but also what the Manchu and Nanzhili want. Although my distant relative has a strange personality, he is lucky enough. Now he has a respected status and is definitely not a street rogue."

"More importantly, I'm not sending you to be a concubine, but a wife."

Cheng Xinghe thought that the voice suppressed deep in his throat was bewitching enough, and coupled with his deep and confident eyes, it was enough to make any girl obsessed.

"Think about it, on one side is the bitter and cold wilderness, condemnation and exile, and on the other side is fine clothes and delicious food, and a rising family - Miss He, you should make your choice carefully." Cheng Xinghe gently stroked He Shanyue's palm with his fingertips.

In the hall, as He Shanyue expected, the new work by Zhu Siming that the Fifth Master wanted was hanging high on the ceiling.

The hunters have a clear division of labor. There are three members of the family. One uses intimidation, one uses inducement, and one uses soft words to act as an emotional buffer. The three-way offensive is bound to win.

The only prey was blinking its eyes like a fragile fawn, perfectly hiding the hissing signal of the snake.

(End of this chapter)