Exile after Divorce? Empty the Scumbag Husband First!-Chapter 296 - 288: Dusk Revelry—A Tavern Ablaze with Light, Songbirds Flitting, Cups Overflowing, What Merriment
Even without Ruan Mian needing to say much, he emptied all the horse urine from the cup.
In the end, he didn’t forget to shake the cup, indicating it had all been drunk. Ruan Mian saw his face gradually turning red and smiled, pouring him two more cups.
Wen Yuan, captivated by beauty, only realized something was off after drinking two cups.
Yet, before he could ask more, Ruan Mian had already handed him the third cup.
"Mr. Wen, I wonder how the Jade Brew I poured tastes?"
"Of course, it’s good! The Jade Brew of such a beautiful lady outshines the Emperor’s Imperial Court Wine, indeed my greatest honor, come on, Miss, have a drink too."
Seeing his high spirits, others relaxed, and Manager Yi even brought in musicians and instrumentalists.
At dusk, the restaurant was brightly lit, with singing and dancing, cups raised high, truly a merry scene.
Meanwhile, just a few streets away, chaos erupted, as government officers mercilessly drove away gathered civilians, arresting those protesting for the women without cause.
Narrow streets were filled with wails, and the porridge pots in the charity field lay overturned, leaving some frozen porridge behind.
The ragged, famished beggars and refugees crawled on the ground, licking the remnants of porridge.
Witnessing all this, Aunt and Shaoxi were deeply moved and couldn’t bear it!
With complex emotions, the two continued their actions, as the poor suffered in dire straits, while Wen Yuan lost himself in the indulgence of wine and song.
As the effect of the horse urine medicine took hold, he ignored interventions and stumbled out the main entrance of the restaurant.
With one arm around the wine-pouring woman, he staggered outside in disarray, drinking and singing aimlessly, fully enjoying himself.
Someone tried to intervene, but Manager Yi stopped them: "Sir, Mr. Wen is in high spirits, we shouldn’t disturb his mood, should we?"
Just then, Wen Yuan joyously stripped his clothes, drunkenly reveling in the street, his disgrace laid bare.
Passersby realized that their local official, at such a critical time of distress, was still indulging in debauchery, heedless of the people’s plight!!
Who wouldn’t be enraged by that sight?
It felt as if a raging fire had been lit in their hearts, provoking them to loudly scold him in public.
"Mr. Wen!! What wrong did those brothel women commit? And what have those people outside your mansion done wrong? What right do you have to arrest them?!"
"Our Magistrate of Runing City, at a time when the people suffer, revels in such decadent scenes?! How ironic!"
"He’s nothing but scum!!"
As the crowd grew, so did the anger of those present. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Until someone in the crowd, beyond furious, picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at him. With that lead, others couldn’t hold back, picking up whatever they could and swarming toward him.
The barely conscious Wen Yuan, still under the influence, felt his body heating up as he gazed at the beauties beside him, as if a force was welling up inside.
There was simply no time to escape!
What awaited him were the fists of those who hated him to their core.
With each wave of intense pain, the effects of the drug dissipated, and Wen Yuan helplessly found himself pinned among the crowd, rendered a powerless punching bag.
The crowd stripped him of his gold and silver rings, jade crown, and fine clothes, pinched his tender flesh, and pummeled his body, causing him to howl in agony!
Those in the restaurant were also frightened but dared not intervene, instead hastily sending someone to inform the Wen Mansion.
Wen Yuan, stripped bare, was tied to a street post like a pig for breeding.
Beaten nearly to death, his senses returned.
As the drug wore off, he looked around at the crowd in disbelief, face full of terror, unable to move!
His shame was exposed, being mercilessly mocked, held together only by a thread of consciousness, feeling as if he wished he could disappear into a crevice in the ground!
Yet at this moment, he couldn’t even utter a plea for mercy, his face swollen like a pig’s head, unable to open his eyes.
The crowd, still unsatisfied, shouted furiously: "Let those women go!! Release the innocents!"
"You’re unfit to hold office, unfit to step foot in our Ru Ning!"
"You’re worse than a beast, just how much have you looted from Ru Ning?! The people suffer, yet you care not at all! You’re condemned by heaven, a debt paid in blood should be paid in blood!"
As the cries of outrage rose and fell, Wen Yuan thoroughly became like a rat crossing the street.
It wasn’t until government officers arrived and amidst chaos took away the battered and confused Wen Yuan that the uproar gradually subsided.
Seeing all this from atop the restaurant, Manager Yi also felt a great sense of relief.
But he didn’t understand one thing: "Miss Ruan, why did you send someone to inform the government earlier? For someone like Mr. Wen, perishing under the hands of the people should be the best outcome."
"Even if it resulted in a death, with so many involved, there wouldn’t be a thorough investigation. Moreover, he was in the wrong first, not facing family execution is already the greatest leniency."
Ruan Mian gently smiled, placing the pipa aside and looking at the remaining horse urine on the table.
"Just as you said, for someone like him, no act of evil left undone, not facing family execution is already the greatest leniency. But... why should we forgive him?"
"Today is but a small reprimand, he should suffer attacks on his heart, torment, and ultimately die at the hands of the people to account for those who perished due to him in the past."
Ruan Mian changed into plain clothes and dispatched birds and beasts from the space to the Wen Mansion.
Wen Yuan, tormented to the brink, was kept alive only by the timely intervention of a doctor summoned by his household.
Yet, as dawn broke, he anxiously screamed for his servants as soon as he opened his eyes.
Ignoring his pain, he struggled to rise even if it took all his strength.
Seeing this, the servant hurried forward: "Master, master, what are you doing? The doctor advised you to rest well, you shouldn’t..."
"Rest?! Those unruly commoners outside have caused an upheaval!! Hurry! Hurry and prepare the carriage for the private vault! Quick!" What mattered most was relocating the wealth from the private vault out of Ru Ning, that way he’d be relieved, otherwise, with this much commotion, if something went wrong, he’d lose everything.
If the private vault’s wealth could be safely moved, he’d still have time to negotiate, in the worst case, he could simply leave!
The servant, seeing his rush, knowing the gravity of the situation, dared not delay for a moment, immediately prepared the carriage and horses to take him to the private vault.
In the early hours of the city, there were hardly any people, they moved in darkness, just in case, Wen Yuan went with only one servant.
A few trusted ones took charge of escorting, waiting in a grove outside the private vault.
