Chapter 49: Drunken Words Are True Words

  The chrysanthemum trembled again, but didn't say a word.

  His voice was filled with majesty and yet conveyed concern: "You don't have to be afraid, what we say today, I won't tell anyone. Do you understand?"

  Chrysanthemum nodded, saying: "I don't know either. It was Luo Cunzheng who told my father. My father said to let me follow Luo Cunzheng and do everything according to his arrangements... If I didn't listen, Father would beat me to death..."

  Xiao Jiading picked her up and lay down beside himself, changing the subject, asking: "What's Luo Cunzheng like?"

  "Hmm..." Daisy hesitated for a moment before saying: "Alright..."

  "What's a good way?"

  The chrysanthemum fell silent.

  Xiao Jiading waited for a while, and when she didn't respond, he continued: "I think your village chief is actually a very good person, very enthusiastic and authoritative, right?"

  The chrysanthemum simply hummed in agreement.

  "The big girls and young wives in your village must have a good relationship with him, right?"

  This time, Chrysanthemum didn't say a word. It was clear that he was very sensitive to the topic of Xiao Jiading and couldn't respond. There was only silence.

  Xiao Jiading didn't get the answer he had hoped for, but he wasn't surprised either. He asked again, wanting to know the most: "What is Zhao's character like in daily life?"

  "It's fine..." Chrysanthemum's words were clearly somewhat insincere.

  "Then her husband is not at home, does she have close contact with other men?"

  The chrysanthemum didn't speak again.

  Xiao Jiading didn't ask any more questions, he had already thought of what to do next. He sat up and said: "I still want to drink wine, go get the wine jug and bring it onto the bed, also bring a dry plate for drinking, no need for chopsticks, let's just drink like this."

  Chrysanthemum agreed, got out of bed in the dark, brought the wine jug and a plate of cold dishes to drink with the wine, but forgot to bring the wine cups on the table. Just about to get out of bed to fetch them, she was pulled back by Xiao Jia Ding, saying: "No need, we'll just eat like this." After speaking, he picked up the wine jug and took a big gulp, letting Chrysanthemum also drink a big mouthful according to his own standard.

  Chrysanthemum can only follow suit.

  Xiao Jiading asked her about her childhood, and what made her the happiest as she grew up, then bragged on and on. At the same time, he kept refilling Chrysanthemum's wine cup.

  He did this for one purpose only, and that was to get Daisy drunk and have her speak the truth.

  A pot of wine was quickly drunk, and the chrysanthemum also changed from being shy and few words at first to talking more and more, chatting non-stop. Xiao Jia Ding knew this was the effect of alcohol, he now felt his whole body burning hot, as if there was a fire in his heart. Chrysanthemum was the same, although she was already wearing very little, but still felt very hot.

  At this time, Chrysanthemum took another sip of wine and wanted to speak, but choked and started coughing.

  Xiao Jiading waited until she had almost finished coughing, then used his fingers to pick up a piece of cold meat and brought it to her mouth: "Come on! Eat a piece of meat and you won't cough anymore." However, because there was no light in the room, but there were lanterns on both sides of the corridor outside, the light shone into the room, making everything hazy and only able to see a silhouette. Xiao Jiading was also slightly drunk, his movements inaccurate, and he accidentally touched her smooth and delicate face.

  Chrysanthemum exclaimed, and Xiao Jia Ding also felt that something was wrong. He quickly put down the cold meat dish and wanted to find something for her to wipe with, but there wasn't anything, so he used his other clean hand to help her wipe off the wine.

  Chrysanthemum felt Xiao Jiading's hand touch her face and couldn't help but let out another "ah" sound, yet she didn't move, instead leaning in closer.

  Xiao Jia Ding felt that the tender face of the chrysanthemum was extremely delicate, and when he touched it with his hand, it was as if he had grasped a ball of fire, and he couldn't help but feel an inexplicable sense of affection. This gentle touch caused the blood in his body to start boiling.

  But Chrysanthemum was more like a lily in the wind, swaying gently, her small face pressed against his palm. Xiao Jiading knew she was already drunk.

  The perfect time to pry open her mouth had finally arrived. He put the plate and wine jug on the bedside table, turned over, and suddenly hugged Chrysanthemum, falling onto the bed.

  The chrysanthemum was like a gentle little kitten, curled up in his arms. His breathing was very rapid.

  Xiao Jiading said in a low voice: "Chu Ju, you're so beautiful, have those stinky men in the village ever bullied you?"

  "Hmm! They want to, but they don't dare." Chrysanthemum giggled and said in Xiao Jiading's arms. After the two people in front of her had chatted on the bed, Chrysanthemum had completely let go of her reserve.

  "Why?" asked Xiao Jiading.

  "I always carry a pair of scissors with me, once someone teased me, I took out the scissors and scared him away, since then no one dared to mess with my idea."

  "They can't move you, I'm afraid they'll have to move someone else?"

  "Well, that's natural. Zhang the widow from the village - the woman who was just sitting next to you, and Li Auntie and Liu's wife, those people often sneak into homes."

  "How did you know? Did you see it?"

  "Of course, last autumn when we were harvesting, we still saw them flirting and fighting in the rice field, even hugging and kissing!"

  "Who are you?"

  "Yes, at that time everyone was threshing wheat, and there were many people on the drying field."

  "You're kidding, right?"

  Chrysanthemum didn't quite believe Xiao Jia Ding's words, so she hastened to prove it: "It's not a joke, Zhang the widow and Zhao Er Gou from our village had an affair, they were caught in bed by Zhao Er Gou's wife, they fought and scratched each other's faces until they were all bruised, many people saw it, I also saw it."

  Xiao Jiading secretly congratulated himself, fortunately, he was sharp-eyed and saw that this woman was not easy to mess with, so he chose Chrysanthemum instead. If not, it would have been impossible to open the gap, and who knows, maybe even get into trouble.

  Chrysanthemum continued: "That Li aunt was also discovered to be secretly communicating with outsiders, her husband went to the door and demanded a head of cattle as compensation! That Liu family's wife is even more outrageous, she had an affair with someone and almost got drowned in the pond!"

  "Oh? Chen Tang, you're so fierce?"

  "Of course, do you know who Liu's wife's man is?"

  "Who?"

  "It's Liu Xiangzheng's older brother!"

  "Liu Xiangzheng? The one who just had a drink with us?"

  "Yes. The one who had an affair with his sister-in-law was our village's wealthy man, Jin Lao San. Liu Xiang Zheng's brother found out about this and told his older brother. Liu Xiang Zheng then sent people to capture Jin Lao San and Liu Jia Sao, stripped them naked according to the village rules, paraded them through the streets, and beat them at the village entrance until they were half dead. Liu Xiang Zheng also said that according to the Liu family rules, adulterers should be drowned in a pond. Jin Lao San was scared to death, but Liu Jia Sao was not afraid, shouting loudly: 'If I have an affair with a man from Huang Yan Village and get drowned, then what about you having an affair with a woman from Huang Yan Village?' Liu Xiang Zheng then said that drowning them was just a scare tactic, and meting out private punishments would be against the law, which he wouldn't do. Only then did he release the two of them."

  Xiao Jiading's heart skipped a beat as he asked, "Who in your village is having an affair with Liu Xiangzheng?"

  "I don't know about this. She didn't say anything, and then she was taken back home. I heard that after returning home for a few days, because of the shameful thing being exposed, she couldn't face people and hanged herself to death. Jin Lao San also disappeared soon after, and his body was found in the Jinjiang River three days later, presumably having jumped into the river to die. The two families felt that they had died unjustly and went to the government office to file a complaint, but since there was no evidence, it ended without any further action."

  Having obtained this important clue, Xiao Jiading was secretly delighted and prepared to follow the trail, but he didn't expect that both people who might have known something had died. This suddenly cut off the lead, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. After thinking for a moment, he asked again: "When did this happen?"

  "Zhang's widow and Li's aunt's matter, it has been one or two years ago. As for Liu's wife's matter, it happened not long ago, about a month ago, I think it was just after the New Year."

  Xiao Jiading said: "I heard Luo Cunzheng say that your village has a good reputation and has never had such an indecent thing happen, how did several such things happen one after another?"

  Chrysanthemum got drunk and became bolder, saying: "Is he a decent man? He's the most indecent one! That widow Zhang and Aunt Li, they both have an affair with him! It's just that the men of the two families benefited from him, so they willingly became cuckolded."

  Xiao Jiading secretly smiled to himself, this wine was indeed good stuff. Previously he didn't dare say anything, but now he dared to say everything. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist. Chrysanthemum was very obedient and even leaned happily into his embrace, her breathing becoming more urgent.

  Xiao Jiading stroked her fiery face and said, "Actually, many people who look very proper on the surface are secretly debauched! Take Zhao's wife, for example. I took one look at her and thought she was a sly vixen! On the surface, she seems like a virtuous woman, but behind closed doors, who knows what kind of illicit affairs she might be having with other men?"

  "Hmm!" Chrysanthemum nodded and blurted out: "Luo Cunzheng is just as unclear as she is!"

  "Oh? Did you see it?"

  "I didn't see it myself, I heard it from Tóng's niece."

  "What did she say?"

  "After Zhao was caught, the villagers were all talking about her having an affair with another man. She was seen by Tong's son and killed him. The only thing is that nobody knows who she had the affair with. Later on, Tong's younger sister told me privately that she suspected it was Liu Xiangzheng! I asked her why she said that. She said that the night before the incident, she came back from a neighboring village after drinking and saw a man coming out of Zhao's house from behind when she stopped to relieve herself by the side of the road, then rode away on horseback at the village entrance."

  "He saw that person was Liu Xiangzheng?"

  "No, because it's a bit far away and can't be seen clearly, but he recognized the horse he was riding, which is a big Wu Long colt. It's said that Liu Xiangzheng spent a lot of money to buy it from Western merchants. This horse is very tall and much taller than local horses, and can be identified at a glance. It's extremely valuable, and except for running fast, it's not good for carrying things or plowing fields, so except for him, no one in our village has such a horse."