Chapter 7: Ruining Your Reputation

  Home can no longer be stayed, Hu Lang and Hua Wanyu buried the body of Hua Xingyi after they left their old courtyard on East Street.

  When leaving, Hua Wanyou was full of melancholy. She had lived in this place for over a decade and now that she's leaving, she really couldn't bear to part with it. And after leaving, where could they go?

  Hualang didn't know where to go either. He wanted revenge, so he couldn't leave Tianchang County. But if he didn't leave Tianchang County, he would face the danger of being hunted down by Zhou Siping's men.

  They want to stay in Tianchang County, they must get rid of Zhou Ping's pursuit, but Zhou Ping is now extremely resentful of Hualang's lion-like open mouth, so he can't let go of Hualang.

  Just thinking about it, Hua Lang felt that something was not quite right. If it were really for those six hundred taels of silver, would Zhou Si Ping need to take this risk? He was the county magistrate, and hiring someone to kill people was unreasonable. Six hundred taels of silver might be a lot, but they wouldn't shake his foundation. There must be some unmentionable secret involved.

  Hua Lang brought Hua Wannier to stay at Yuan Sifang Inn, Yuan Sifang Inn was booming with business, and there were many people coming and going every day. It was the easiest place to stay without being noticed.

  After they settled down, Hua Lang began to ponder the secret behind it. Why wouldn't Zhou Ping let him off? But no matter how hard he thought, there was not a single clue.

  Helpless, Huā Láng could only hide for now and wait to see how things would change.

  For several days, everything went smoothly, and every day, the flower gentleman only let the shopkeeper bring food to the room, and he didn't go out for the rest of the time. Although this life was boring and suffocating, it was better than going out and being chased by people.

  That noon, there weren't many people in the inn, so Hualang thought of going downstairs to sit for a while and also listen to see if anything big had happened recently in Tianchang County.

  In a corner of the inn, several guests were sitting and chatting, and they were getting along quite well.

  "Have you heard? Emperor Renzong is going to hold a nationwide selection of imperial consorts! I wonder whose daughter will be lucky enough to be chosen!"

  "Such a big thing, who hasn't heard of it? Nowadays, those with daughters at home are eagerly waiting, while those without daughters can only regret not giving birth to a girl back then!"

  "It's not like that, nowadays the emperor is benevolent and kind, whichever family's daughter marries into the imperial palace will certainly have good fortune."

  Those people said so, and Hua Lang heard these words after, suddenly excited, he had been thinking about the reason why Zhou Si Ping was bitterly pursuing himself, now hearing this news, he finally understood.

  The emperor chooses his concubines, and everyone hopes their daughter can fly high as a phoenix. Zhou Si Ping is no exception, but since he had a marriage agreement with me that was later dissolved, he must still be uneasy in his heart. Only by killing me would Zhou Si Ping dare to send his own daughter into the palace with peace of mind.

  Hualang quietly went upstairs. Now that he knew why Zhou Sipeng had been pursuing him relentlessly, he could think of a countermeasure to deal with Zhou Sipeng.

  It's a bit difficult to deal with Thursday now, but it's easy for Thursday to be at peace and not make things difficult for himself.

  After thinking about it, Hua Lang and Hua Wan'er rested in the inn until nightfall. The two of them quietly left the inn and went straight to the county government office, where they secretly posted a piece of paper on the drum.

  After doing so, the two of them quietly left again.

  After returning to the inn, Hua Wanyou asked with some concern: "Brother, if we send a letter to Zhou Siping, will he let us off?"

  Hualang nodded slightly and said, "I'm sure I can. In that letter, I warned Zhou Siping that if he wants his daughter to enter the palace, it's best not to provoke me, otherwise I will expose all his affairs."

  Hua Wannier looked at Hualang after listening, and now she felt that her brother had indeed changed, becoming more cunning.

  The next day, Hualang left the inn and walked around the county government office, making sure that the people in the county government saw him. However, those people didn't make any moves, so Hualang knew that Zhou Ping had become afraid to provoke him casually.

  Now that Hua Lang is safe, he has set his sights on Wen Meng. He wants to marry Wen Meng, so he must get to know her well enough, and in order to get the information, he needs to spend money. Fortunately, Hua Lang has money at this time.

  After some inquiries, Hua Lang finally found out that Wen Meng was the only daughter of Wen Yidao, one of the three major families in the martial arts world. She had been learning martial arts from her father since childhood and had already mastered the true skills. The three major families were the Fang family of Yangzhou, the Yin family of Huainan, and the Wen family of Tianchang.

  The three major families of the martial arts world get along with each other, and they have a high status in Jiangnan's rivers and lakes. Wen Yidao is particularly prestigious in Tianchang County, even the government has to give him some face.

  After hearing this, Hua Lang rented a house near the Wen Mansion and moved in with Hua Rong. Being close to the Wen family's residence would provide opportunities for him to meet with Wen Meng.

  After moving in, Hua Lang often lingered around the Wen Mansion, but he had been doing so for several days and hadn't caught a glimpse of Wen Meng's shadow. Moreover, he was nearly mistaken for a thief and beaten up several times.

  Even so, Hua Lang still refused to give up and would occasionally sneak around the Wen Mansion. On this particular evening, with a gloomy sky that seemed to be on the verge of rain, Hua Lang was hiding in front of the Wen Mansion when he was suddenly caught by the gatekeeper who wanted to beat him up because they really disliked being stared at like that.

  Just as the two gatekeepers were about to beat Hualang, the Wenguo's door creaked open and a clear voice came: "What are you doing? Let him go."

  Hualang looked up and saw Wenmeng walking out in a white dress, her hair styled elegantly. The two doormen, seeing that it was their young mistress, hastily said: "Young Mistress, this is the person who has been lurking around our estate's entrance for several days. Today, we really can't tolerate him, so we want to teach him a lesson."

  After hearing the gatekeeper's words, Wen Meng smiled slightly with some complacency and then looked at Hua Lang and asked: "What are you doing wandering around in front of my mansion for nothing?"

  At this time, Hua Lang was already free. He came to Wen Meng's side and smiled: "I've been wandering around your mansion, naturally I wanted to see Miss Wen. Miss Wen has a lifesaving grace on me, I don't like owing people favors, so I've been looking for an opportunity to repay her."

  Wen Meng let two servants return to the mansion, then looked at Hua Lang and said: "You have also helped me, we are even now, you don't need to look for opportunities to repay me."

  Hualang shook his head repeatedly: "How can this be, the favor of saving a life is greater than heaven, I just helped Wen girl with a small matter, it's not something that can be cleared up."

  Just as they were talking, the two of them suddenly heard a horseshoe sound. Wen Meng saw this and hurriedly said: "You quickly leave, Fang Baiyu has come, let him see you is going to be bad."