Grass and mustard reign supreme

Chapter 154 Lies of Love
Yang Can's performance has begun.

"I expected the Luo family wouldn't let me go. But you didn't come here to take my life, did you?"

Yang Can's voice was crisp and clear, like frost and snow, and his gaze fell coldly on Luo Meier, who was bound by the hunting net.

"Huh? How did you know?" Luo Meier's eyes widened. How did he know? I just wanted to cut off his tongue?
The mocking smile on Yang Can's lips slowly turned into a bleak color. He felt that he had given the best performance of his life.

Yang Can asked with deep emotion, "Did Mei'er know that the Luo family sent you to kill me?"

"Eek~", Luo Meier got goosebumps. This bastard called her so cheesy. Meier is my given name. How dare you call me that?
What puzzled Luo Meier the most was why this guy was making such a ridiculous face. Didn't you know you were lying?
I am Luo Meier. You don't even know me, yet you pretend to be deeply in love with Luo Meier.

Luo Meier couldn't help but ask tentatively, "So what if she... Miss Luo knows, and so what if she doesn't?"

Yang Can smiled faintly, looking both heartbroken and deeply affectionate, and said, "If Mei'er knows that it was Mei'er who wanted me to die, then I... will die!"

Luo Meier was trapped there by the hunting net and couldn't move, otherwise she would have definitely shaken her body and gotten goosebumps all over the ground.

At this moment, she was even more confused and didn't understand what Yang Can was saying at all.

This person's expression and tone don't seem like they're lying.

If she weren't actually Luo Meier herself, one would believe that such a love story truly existed in this world, which is why he entrusted his life to her and vowed to never leave her side.

Luo Meier blurted out instinctively, stammering, "I...she told you to die, so you went to die? You...you wouldn't really be so deeply in love with...Miss Luo, would you?"

Yang Can glanced quickly at the hunting net, hmm...

If no one helps her, the net, with its crisscrossing weave, covers her body with no leverage. Without assistance, it would take her at least 15 minutes to break free.

So Yang Can walked away with peace of mind, his back to Luo Meier, as if he had already seen through life and death.

Luo Meier immediately lifted the hunting net. The net was heavy and soft; when she lifted it on one side, it would droop on the other. It would take at least a quarter of an hour to break free. But would this guy just sit and watch her spend half a quarter of an hour untangling the net?
Luo Meier had no choice but to give up. She gently supported herself on the net with both hands, her gaze fixed on Yang Can's back.

Yang Can walked slowly to the window, and suddenly pushed it open with both hands. With a creak, the window opened, and the wind carried in a few snowflakes, ruffling the hair at his temples.

His profile looks so melancholic...

"I remember when we first met, I had a sugarcane stall at the alley entrance. She came over, bought a cup of freshly squeezed sugarcane juice, and paid three extra coins..."

Yang Can spoke very softly, as if afraid of disturbing those beautiful old times.

"I remember that in early spring we went to fly kites together. The string broke and the kite flew away, getting caught on the top of the old locust tree."

I climbed the tree to get it, scraping my knee. She squatted beside me, tears streaming down her face. The tears fell onto the wound, cool and soothing, more effective than medicine at relieving the pain…

Yang Can paused slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing gently, his voice tinged with a hint of emotion: "I remember once, deep in a bamboo forest, all around was so quiet that only the soft rustling of bamboo leaves could be heard."

Overwhelmed with emotion, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her lips.

That taste was sweeter than freshly squeezed sugarcane juice, and it carried the delicate fragrance of osmanthus cake that she often ate, a fragrance that still lingers to this day…

Luo Meier blushed, her face turning red all the way down to her ears.

She could swear to God that she had never seen this man in her entire life, but what he said... was so vivid that she couldn't help but think about it.

The warmth of the three coins, the coolness of the tears, and the sweet fragrance on her lips seemed to linger in her senses, making it impossible for her not to immerse herself in them.

She thought about it, and her face couldn't help but turn red.

Yang Can gazed at the snow falling outside the window, his expression wistful, as if his soul had drifted away with the snowflakes to a distant place.

But out of the corner of his eye, he precisely caught Luo Meier's flushed face and slightly hot ear tips.

Yang Can thought to himself, "It seems to be working!"

Luo Meier bit her lower lip lightly, her fingertips unconsciously fiddling with the knots in the hunting net. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and pressed, "How exactly did you and she meet?"

Although she was certain she didn't know the man, what he said didn't seem like a lie.

Luo Meier suddenly felt that there might be some major misunderstanding, so she wanted to ask to clarify.

Yang Can suddenly turned around, his face showing just the right amount of surprise: "Mei'er never mentioned these past events to you?"

Luo Meier felt quite awkward being called "Meier" by him, but... the way he spoke his name with such deep affection made it hard to scold him.

Luo Meier explained somewhat awkwardly, "I...I already said, I'm just an assassin hired by the Luo family. Why should I hear a young woman's secrets?"

Yang Can nodded, and with a "bang," shut out the cold wind and snow.

This act of showing off only lasts a while; if you keep doing it, you'll catch a cold.

Yang Can sighed softly and said, "I am an orphan from Lingnan. Back then, I went to live with relatives in Wu County with only half a yellowed note in my hand."

My relative is an honest farmer; the whole family makes a living from just a few acres of sugarcane fields.

Sugarcane originated in South Asia and spread to the Central Plains as early as the pre-Qin period. During the Western Han Dynasty, it took root in Lingnan and Minyue.

Even today, in the Kuaiji and Wujun areas of Jiangnan, lush and upright sugarcane stalks can be seen everywhere along the field ridges.

At that time, sugar-making techniques had not yet been developed, and the most common way to eat sugarcane was... to gnaw on it!

Young ladies from humble backgrounds would naturally be too ashamed to eat it in public, but the taste of the sweet juice seeping into their tongues was simply irresistible.

So people came up with a clever idea: to use a wooden press or a stone mortar to crush the sugarcane, filter out the pulp, and drink the juice, thus preserving both dignity and the sweetness of the juice.

Even so, sugarcane juice was a rare commodity for ordinary people, and they could only enjoy it occasionally.

Only during aristocratic banquets would sugarcane be finely peeled and cut into sections, and served on a gilded plate along with fresh lychees and bayberries, as an elegant and luxurious snack.

A faint smile unconsciously appeared at the corners of Yang Can's mouth, and even her eyes were filled with a sweet light:
"One day I was helping a relative watch over a sugarcane stall on the street when she just happened to walk into my sight."

The sun was warm that day. She wore a slightly worn blue cotton blouse with a cross-collar and narrow sleeves, and only a plain silver hairpin adorned her hair. She looked like a village girl from a neighboring village who had come to the market.

Yang Can paused for a moment: "But I could tell at a glance that she wasn't a village girl. How could a village girl be so beautiful? Her skin is as delicate as a tender lotus root in early spring, and when her eyebrows and eyes curve together, they are sweeter than sugarcane juice."

Luo Meier was a little shy from his praise, even though she knew he probably wasn't praising her.

Yang Can sighed and said, "I thought to myself, this must be a noble lady from some family who came out incognito and came to join in the fun in the marketplace because she found something new."

Of course, I wouldn't say anything and spoil the young lady's mood.

Looking at Yang Can's serious expression, Luo Meier was a little confused.

When exactly did I buy sugarcane juice on the street?

She racked her brains, but still couldn't recall anything.

Yang Can changed the subject, slightly puffed out his chest, and added a touch of self-satisfaction and pride to his tone.

“I squeezed a glass of sugarcane juice for her and told her that the taste of sugarcane is much more than just that.”

Nowadays, if you want to preserve sugarcane for a longer period of time, you can only make it into sugarcane syrup, sugarcane candy, or rock sugar.

But that approach is ultimately a bit crude, and I have a better way.

"What method?" Luo Meier blurted out.

She grew up in luxury and had tasted many kinds of sugarcane snacks, but she had never heard of any other way of making them.

Yang Can said confidently, "I told her that I can turn this sugarcane into golden, transparent ice crystals, and I can also turn it into a pure white shape, as fine as snowflakes, that melts in your mouth."

"How is that possible? You are lying!"

Yang Can smiled, a very gentle smile: "That's what she said back then."

Luo Meier suddenly fell silent.

Yang Can does indeed possess some skills that he hasn't yet revealed.

Some of it was knowledge gained by people of later generations, knowledge they already possessed.

Some of what he learned was from designing lifestyle games while typing lines of code.

These were all unique skills he, as a transmigrator, possessed. Therefore, he had carefully considered which skills he could reveal, which he should keep hidden, which he could use now, and which he should never use again.

He has no choice but to reveal a little bit right now, but as long as he doesn't disclose the detailed production process, it won't be a big problem.

"Coincidentally, I had just made a small jar of snow-white icing that day and was carrying it with me, so I took it out and showed it to her."

Yang Can's voice pulled Luo Meier back to reality: "She held the porcelain jar, her eyes shining like they were filled with starlight, and she kept praising me for being clever."

Yang Can suddenly sighed deeply, his tone tinged with melancholy: "But she didn't stay long, she paid for the sugarcane juice and left."

I stared at the empty sugarcane stand, thinking about her for days, as if we were just strangers who had met by chance and would never cross paths again.

A few days later, when I went to the temple to offer incense, I unexpectedly ran into her again in front of the temple gate.

Yang Can said with rapture, "That time she changed into a gorgeous white dress embroidered with peach blossoms, with a red gold and kingfisher feather hairpin in her hair, and four or five maids and servants following behind her, she was very impressive."

Just as I guessed, she wasn't some country bumpkin. She smiled and told me her name was Luo Mei'er, the eldest daughter of the Luo family of Wuzhou.

"She treated me very gently, and sat with me under the peach tree for half an hour, without the slightest airs of a noble lady."

She was also very understanding. Knowing that I wasn't good at poetry and prose, she chatted with me about how to improve the method of pressing sugarcane and how to make snow-white sugar frosting..."

Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Let alone the fact that my Luo family is a prominent family in Wuzhou, even among ordinary noble families, there is absolutely no reason for a noble lady to be chatting idly with a common man under a peach tree!
This is simply impossible!

The vague doubts that Luo Meier had previously held in her heart have now finally coalesced into clear questions.

Yang Can said with great interest, "She even asked me if this icing could be mass-produced. She said she was willing to pay for a workshop so that this snow-white icing could be placed on the desks of more people..."

Upon hearing this, Luo Meier suddenly felt a sense of relief.

She understood! She understood everything! The cause and effect suddenly connected!
What an idiot! What a complete and utter idiot! He's clearly run into a conman!

The female con artist discovered that he could make icing, so she deliberately approached him, hoping to steal his unique skill!

In this era, the only sugar available to people was crude maltose. If someone could really turn sugarcane into sugar frosting that was as dazzling as gold and as lustrous as snow, it would be more than just making money; it would be like digging up an inexhaustible gold mine!

But no matter how profitable a business is, it would never be possible for a noble lady to lower herself to fall in love with a poor boy!
That female con artist was impersonating me, being gentle and attentive to him, but she was clearly after his sugar-making skills!

Thinking of this, Luo Meier became anxious and hurriedly asked, "So, you stupidly told her everything?"

Yang Can was stunned for a moment, then said with a hint of displeasure, "Who are you calling stupid? How am I stupid?"

Luo Meier was so angry she wanted to stomp her foot, but she was trapped in the net and couldn't get up from the ground: "You...you..."

Yang Can said, "The method of making sugar is both tedious and complicated. How could I possibly offend the ears of someone as celestial as Miss Mei'er with such mundane matters?"

Luo Meier felt a wave of helplessness wash over her; this idiot was truly beyond saving…

Oh well, thankfully the imposter didn't succeed in scamming me. If she had impersonated me and stolen my exclusive secret techniques, I would have been even angrier.

Yang Can's eyes softened again, and he murmured to himself like a boy in love: "From that day on, we started seeing each other secretly. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, and General Luo found out soon enough."

Luo Meier stared wide-eyed at Yang Can through the mesh. Could it be... the fake General Luo is going to make an appearance too?
Then Yang Can said, "General Luo sent his old steward. The old steward said that the general is very angry because I am a poor boy from a humble family and I am not good enough for the eldest daughter of the Luo family."

Later, Mei'er returned home and argued with General Luo. Only then did the general send his old steward to find me again, saying that if I donated the method for making icing to the Luo family free of charge, he would agree to my marriage with Mei'er.

That's utter nonsense! Luo Meier rolled her eyes in anger. How could that be?!
Even if it were a highly profitable business, my father would never exchange me for a poor scholar.

Luo Meier couldn't help but say, "Stop dreaming! The Luo family would never marry their eldest daughter to you just to get the secret sugar-making method!"

The smile on Yang Can's face gradually faded, leaving only a bleak expression that made one's heart ache.

Luo Meier suddenly felt a pang of pity, and her tone softened: "I...I didn't mean to look down on your humble origins, I meant..."

Yang Can nodded, and said sadly, "You're right, the Luo family... did indeed lie to me."

"Huh?" Luo Meier was confused again.

Yang Can became indignant: "I stayed up all night writing down every single step of the sugar-making process."

I thought I could use this method to get a perfect marriage.

But to everyone's surprise, after the old steward received it, he immediately ordered his guards to kill me to silence me!

Luo Meier tensed up instantly. Even though she could see the person standing right in front of her and knew he was alright, she still involuntarily held her breath.

"I was both shocked and furious. I desperately snatched the paper back from his hand and swallowed it whole!"

"Good! Well done!" Luo Meier couldn't help but exclaim, "That's more like it! I knew that so-called 'Luo Meier' was a fraud!"

No! She isn't!

Yang Can roared angrily, glaring at Luo Meier: "Meier would never lie to me! She's so cute, her eyes crinkle into crescents when she smiles, and her voice is sweeter than honey. How could she lie to me?"
She must be under house arrest by General Luo. It's General Luo who's lying to me, not her.

Luo Meier: "..."

Destroy it, hurry up, she's tired, she doesn't want to talk to idiots anymore.

Yang Can, on the other hand, got into character and his performance became more and more convincing.

He gasped for breath, and it took him a long time to calm down before he said with a heavy heart, "My relatives... were all killed by the Luo family's guards."

They didn't kill me immediately because they needed to extract the sugar-making method from me, which is how I escaped.

"Then why didn't you report it to the authorities?" Luo Meier asked anxiously.

"Report to the authorities?" Yang Can gave a bitter laugh and said indignantly, "I went to the yamen, but they were lying in ambush at the yamen gate."

Moreover… they’ve erased every trace of my family’s existence. How can I sue them?!

Luo Meier was confused and asked, "Erased? What do you mean?"

Yang Can took a deep breath and said, "That means our family's names have disappeared from the government's household register."

It's as if our family never existed in this world.

Luo Meier gasped in shock; this was something no ordinary swindler could do!
These people must be from powerful and influential families, or even high-ranking officials in the imperial court, otherwise how could they have such a large-scale operation?

Yang Can looked at Luo Meier and said with a wry smile, "I never thought that even after I fled to Longshang, they would still find me. Is it because I improved the plow and waterwheel, and my reputation has spread back to the Central Plains?"

Luo Meier was speechless for a moment. What should she say?
She had just heard this story and hadn't fully processed it yet.

Yang Can stared intently at Luo Meier, then suddenly asked, "Brother Chu, tell me, is Meier... alright?"

Luo Meier's lips twitched uncontrollably. You've been tricked like this, and you're still thinking about that "Meier"?

Can't you be a little more assertive? You're not a proper man, why are you acting like such a heartless...lovesick fool!
But seeing the expectation and concern in his eyes, Luo Meier's heart softened inexplicably: such a affectionate man, even if he's a little foolish, is hard to be heartless with.

She chuckled dryly twice and mumbled, "She...she's doing well, she should be doing well. I heard her family arranged a marriage for her with a young master from the Zhao family in Jiangnan, but she rejected it all..."

"She still cares about me after all!"

Yang Can's eyes lit up instantly: "Mei'er, no matter how the Luo family treats me, I will never hate you, never."

Luo Meier was about to roll her eyes again.

At this moment, Yang Can suddenly turned around and took a knife from the wall.

A ferocious tiger head hung next to the knife.

As Luo Meier watched him approach her, knife in hand, her eyes wide with surprise. "What...what are you going to do?" she asked.

“Mei’er is Mei’er, the Luo family is the Luo family, and you are you.”

Yang Can's eyes suddenly turned icy: "Now that you've found me, of course you can't live!"

With that, a flash of cold light appeared, and Yang Can thrust his knife at Luo Meier's chest!

(End of this chapter)