Casting Nets to Catch a Husband

Chapter 199: Never a good person

The news about Liu Yu spread quickly through Liu Family Village. With so many people talking, even though the Liu family wasn’t well-regarded in the village, they soon caught wind of it.

The villagers only knew bits and pieces, mostly overheard in town. They’d heard that Liu Yu had married into the Lu family, that she had brought a generous dowry, and that she now owned an embroidery shop in the county.

Just this was enough to make everyone in the Liu family green with envy.

Wang Shi looked at their greedy faces, and then at Liu Dalang’s expression, twisted with jealousy, resentment, and greed, and she felt a shiver run through her.

After dinner, the two who had been at odds with each other for over a year, with little affection between them, went into the main room, deliberately avoiding her once again.

Standing by the kitchen window, Wang Shi stared at the direction of the main room. A deeply bitter thought suddenly crossed her mind—if only there was a poison, something she could add into the food like salt, perhaps she could be rid of the entire lot of them at once.

But as soon as the thought emerged, she repressed it, thinking of her daughter, Liu Yan, and the life she still wanted to lead. She found herself both ridiculous and pitiful.

As soon as Liu Dalang and his wife left, Wang Shi silently returned to the main room, startling Liu Kangsheng.

She curled her lips slightly. “Such a big reaction—guilty conscience?”

Liu Kangsheng frowned, ready to scold her, but Wang Shi said icily, “Don’t forget the signed declaration and the confession about what happened back then, all in Wei Shi’s hands. And don’t forget that she has a son working at the government office.”

For the first time in her life, Wang Shi was leveraging Wei Shi’s influence to protect her daughter.

No, it was the second time.

If it weren’t for Wei Shi…

Wang Shi’s hand trembled. She didn’t dare to imagine what would have happened to Liu Yu. In that moment, Wang Shi finally understood what Liu Yu had meant when she once said, without Wei Shi, there might not be a Liu Yu standing before her now, alive.

A chill ran from her feet to her bones.

Liu Kangsheng calmed down after Wang Shi’s reminder, and, unable to meet her cold gaze, lowered his head. “It was just some idle talk. You’re reading too much into things.”

Wang Shi sneered, “Idle talk, I hope so. Liu Kangsheng, even a rabbit will bite when it’s desperate.”

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Anyi County.

With the New Year festivities over, businesses resumed, and the county was bustling. At the docks, a ship had just arrived, and passengers disembarked, among them a man dressed in plain clothes with a bamboo hat. He stood there for a moment, then approached a dock worker to inquire about the Ruyi Embroidery Shop.

If Liu Yu had been there, she would have recognized him immediately—the man in the hat was none other than her stepbrother, Liu Dalang.

The dock worker gave him directions, and after thanking him, Liu Dalang looked around the busy Anyi County.

It had been over a year. This was Liu Dalang’s first time setting foot in Anyi County since that incident, and he had come by boat to avoid the trauma of riding a mule cart.

His feelings toward Liu Yu were a mix of fear and hatred.

In countless nightmares, he saw Liu Yu’s cold, merciless eyes and the memory of her scissors raised high, then plunging down, bringing searing pain and endless terror he’d never forget.

In the past, Liu Kangsheng and Wang Shi had never told him who had taken Liu Yu or where she was, so he’d been unable to track her down.

But now he knew that Liu Yu had married into the Lu family in Changfeng Town and ran an embroidery shop in the county. Despite Liu Kangsheng’s attempts to suppress the news and the threat that Liu Yu held evidence that could send them to prison, Liu Dalang had found an excuse to come to Anyi County on his own.

Standing in an alley opposite the Ruyi Embroidery Shop, he watched the women entering and exiting, adorned with hairpins and fine silk clothing.

Even without the hairpins, just their clothes must cost several taels of silver.

As he looked at the Ruyi Embroidery Shop, his eyes darkened as if a storm had swept through.

A large shop selling clothes that cost a few taels each—how much must the shop be worth?

It was beyond Liu Dalang’s imagination. Even back then, eighty taels had seemed like an astronomical amount to him, and for those eighty taels, he’d been ruined by Liu Yu.

Liu Dalang clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.

Why should Liu Yu live so well when he was left broken?

His hatred boiled over; he wanted to kill Liu Yu, to end her life.

In the tea house next to the embroidery shop, Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanqing had chosen a seat by the window.

It was the third day they’d been there.

The tea house was small and near the embroidery shop. The owner was a cultured person and had decorated the space with plenty of green plants.

The spot they’d chosen had an advantage—they each kept watch on one side, with a clear view of the street outside the embroidery shop. And from the outside, unless someone came close, the two of them were hidden behind the greenery.

When Liu Dalang appeared on the street where the shop was located, Lu Chengxiao noticed him right away. It was an overcast day, neither rainy nor sunny, and there he was, leaning against the wall in his bamboo hat, staring fixedly at the shop. Even with just half his face visible, Lu Chengxiao was fairly certain—it was Liu Dalang.

This had come up just before the New Year, when they’d run into Wang Shi, and Liu Yu had mentioned it the next day.

In the past, few people in town knew her true identity, but after that encounter with Wang Shi, word spreading to Liu Family Village was only a matter of time.

There wasn’t much need for Wang Shi and Liu Kangsheng to guard against anything. As for the second branch of the family, Lin Shi was somewhat greedy, but Liu Kangsheng could control her. If there was a real threat in the Liu family, it was the gravely wounded but still alive Liu Dalang.

After seeing Wu Shi entangled with another man in the county last time, Liu Yu had a hunch about Liu Dalang’s situation. No one hated her more than Liu Dalang, after all.

Liu Yu didn’t mind; she also wished Liu Dalang were dead. The feeling was mutual.

But thinking of it reminded her that precautions were necessary, so she privately informed Lu Chengxiao of what had happened that day and shared her suspicions about Liu Dalang’s potential for revenge. That led to Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanqing waiting here today to see if he would show up.

Lu Chengxiao gave Liu Yanqing a look. “See the guy by the corner of the alley near the pastry shop—isn’t that Liu Dalang?”

Liu Yanqing immediately grew alert and turned to peer through the branches by the window.

Liu Yanqing had only seen Liu Dalang once, at another teahouse on a nearby street. He had just reunited with his cousin and been privately informed that there was trouble in the mule cart.

He still remembered lifting the cart curtain to see Liu Dalang lying like a dead fish, mouth gagged with a drug-soaked cloth, in an awkward position. The air was filled with a foul stench—his cousin’s handiwork upon her return.

Well done!

Afterward, they took Liu Dalang to the clinic and sent him back to Liu Family Village.

As a constable, Liu Yanqing was keenly observant. Even though he’d only seen Liu Dalang in such circumstances, he remembered his form and features well.

Even from a distance, seeing only the lower half of Liu Dalang’s face, Liu Yanqing was certain.

“It’s him. Go tell Yu’er.”

They were only here to ensure Liu Yu’s safety. How to deal with Liu Dalang was her decision; she had only instructed them to monitor the area and notify her if Liu Dalang appeared.

Now that Liu Yanqing confirmed it was Liu Dalang, Lu Chengxiao’s eyes narrowed as he fought the urge to settle things himself. He instructed Liu Yanqing to continue keeping watch and slipped out the back door of the teahouse.

In the back courtyard of the embroidery shop, outside the tailoring room, Lu Chengxiao called out to Liu Yu.

Seeing him here at this time, Liu Yu raised an eyebrow, already guessing why. She put down her scissors and followed Lu Chengxiao to the flower hall to talk.

“He’s here?”

Her question was implicit.

But Lu Chengxiao understood, nodding. “He’s by the alley corner near the pastry shop. What next? How do you want to handle this?”

Liu Yu curved her lips, leaned close to Lu Chengxiao, and whispered a few words.

Surprised, Lu Chengxiao nodded. “Alright, I’ll oversee this myself. I’ll call your brother over. Stay in the shop, and unless one of us is with you, don’t go anywhere, understand?”

Lu Chengxiao couldn’t deny he had been shocked to hear Liu Yu had crippled Liu Dalang with a single scissor cut. He could imagine the danger she’d faced then—if she hadn’t wounded him and escaped, she’d never have encountered her aunt and cousins. Without that, who knew what fate might have awaited her?

Knowing she was brave and resourceful only made him more concerned about her confronting Liu Dalang now.

Having lost his manhood, it wasn’t hard to imagine Liu Dalang had grown even more twisted.

Such a person was dangerous, and knowing he was nearby left Lu Chengxiao unwilling to be far from Liu Yu.

Watching her return to the tailoring room, he quickly returned to the teahouse, told Liu Yanqing he had to leave, and urged him to return to the embroidery shop. After all, with so many women around, if Liu Dalang acted out, who could stop him?

Liu Yanqing agreed, and after settling the tea bill, the two left through the back door. Then Liu Yanqing finally asked what Lu Chengxiao planned to do.

With no one around, Lu Chengxiao answered quietly, “I’m going to keep an eye on Liu Dalang’s brother-in-law Wu Jin’s place to see if Wu Shi’s staying there since she arrived in the county. Last year, Yu’er happened to catch sight of her here, and it seems she’s involved in shady dealings.”

Liu Yanqing’s eyebrows lifted in understanding. Liu Dalang had been ruined, and Wu Shi, staying with Wu Jin in the county, had taken up a lover.

He clapped Lu Chengxiao’s shoulder. “You don’t need to go. I know where Wu Jin works and lives. You go back and keep watch; I’ll handle this.”

Lu Chengxiao realized Liu Yanqing, once in the government, was more suited to this task and thus left it to him, then quickly returned to the embroidery shop.

Many things are interconnected by fate.

Liu Dalang had used picking up Wu Shi as an excuse. Wu Shi was indeed not in Liu Family Village, so the story of “going to her family home” was just a ruse to fool Liu Dalang. In reality, she was staying in the county.

Liu Yanqing had been out for half a day and only returned around evening.

It turned out that Wu Shi had arrived in the county the previous day. She’d spent the night with a man in Wu Jin’s house, slept through the day, and only went out for dinner around dusk, arm in arm with that same man.

That was when Liu Yanqing finally spotted her.

He hurried back to the embroidery shop to report to Liu Yu.

Liu Yu raised an eyebrow. “Quite the coincidence, isn’t it?”

In that instant, Lu Chengxiao caught a fleeting emotion in Liu Yu’s eyes, one so brief he couldn’t fully decipher it.

Liu Yu asked where Wu Shi was dining and then took Lu Chengxiao’s arm. “Care to accompany me for a walk?”

Lu Chengxiao looked at her, and Liu Yu returned his gaze, open and unflinching.

She was determined to avenge grievances from both her previous life and this one. Liu Yu never considered herself a “good person”—in this game, it was either her or them. If she didn’t retaliate, Liu Dalang certainly wouldn’t spare her.

She didn’t need to do much; their fates—life or death—would be in the hands of that husband and wife.

Facing Liu Yu’s firm gaze, Lu Chengxiao said nothing more and nodded. “Let’s go.”

They informed Wei Shi that they’d return for dinner and told Xu’er to head home separately to prepare a few dishes. With everything arranged, they set off.

Liu Yanqing watched them leave through the main entrance of the embroidery shop. When he saw Liu Dalang, disguised with a straw hat, tailing behind them, he let them walk a bit farther before following behind Liu Dalang.

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