Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 730: The Supportive Storyteller

Qin San Lang’s smile deepened. Had he annoyed her into fury?

Suddenly, he leaned forward towards her, and just as her eyes widened in shock and her mouth slightly opened, he quickly lowered his head, stopping inches from her lips, and looked at her frozen face, chuckling softly, "This is what you call a rogue."

There was a thud, and Gu Jinli heard the sound of her own jaw dropping to the ground.

Was she being teased?

"Bastard, who taught you that? Are you looking for death?!" Gu Jinli snapped angrily, tilting her head back to maintain some distance before throwing a punch at him.

But he dodged quickly and wasn’t hit.

"Still dare to dodge," Gu Jinli, even more infuriated, pointed at him and said, "Come here, I’m going to beat you up."

Obediently, Qin San Lang moved closer, rolling up his sleeves near her mouth, "It’s clean, you can bite."

His generosity left Gu Jinli choking, she twitched the corner of her mouth and swatted his hand away, "Get lost."

Though her words were crude, her face had turned red.

Qin San Lang really enjoyed seeing her blush, he couldn’t help but lift his hand and poke at her face, "It’s all red, like you’re drunk."

Gu Jinli only felt a tingling on her face, a zap passing through: "You dare to poke my face!"

Qin San Lang looked wronged, "Xiao Yu has also poked my face before."

And she poked often; every time his face turned red, she would poke and say it was fun.

Three years ago, when she mentioned he blushed easily, he had thought of getting rid of this habit. But later, he stopped wanting to change because he liked the feeling of her index finger gently poking his face... It made his heart flutter.

Gu Jinli: "So you’re saying this is my fault?"

Qin San Lang shook his head: "Of course not, I like it when Xiao Yu does this to me."

Gu Jinli: "..."

Her face felt so hot, she must be running a fever!

Seeing her initially startled and then blushing even more with her pretty eyebrows furrowed, it seemed like she was considering whether or not to slaughter him right there.

He smartly stood up and opened the window, letting the voice of the storyteller outside drift in.

It was best to stop when necessary. If he truly annoyed her, she might stop poking his face in the future.

And since she hadn’t made up her mind yet, he didn’t want to push her too far. With her quick temper, if pushed too hard, he might end up a bachelor.

That wouldn’t be good; he still wanted to be a father.

...

"Xia Gu, that old animal was truly vicious, not only deceiving the lady to be his concubine, hiring unknown wild men to sleep with her but also, after she gave birth, afraid his evil deeds would be exposed, he killed those women."

"And it didn’t stop there, after bringing those children back home, he didn’t treat them well but tortured them daily. Elder Xia Er, such a kind person, had chunks of flesh gouged from his wrists, back, and thighs by Xia Gu. Though those wounds have now healed, they left half a finger deep pits."

Guests were shocked: "Xia Gu is truly a beast, how could he commit such a terrifying act?"

The storyteller said, "Indeed, Elder Xia Er was only seven years old then, enduring such treatment daily. It was truly divine protection that allowed him to survive."

After speaking, the storyteller bowed in the direction of Gaosong Building’s entrance: "On behalf of Elder Xia Er, I thank God for His divine protection."

Many guests praised the storyteller for his kindness.

However, there were doubters as well. One person stood up, stepped on a chair, pointed at the storyteller, and scolded: "How dare you, a mere storyteller, slander Master Xia? Master Xia is a well-known madman in Great Chu, known by everyone! How could he possibly commit such an evil act?"

"Moreover, these are only your side of the story. Whether Master Xia could father a child is only known by Lady Xia and the women who have been with him. Where did you hear these things? Were you slept with?"

This elicited a burst of laughter from the hall, with many young people chiming in: "Exactly, Master Xia is a man of high stature, his status comparable to the stars and his knowledge as vast as the ocean. How could such a respected man commit the act of harming his own son? You must be talking nonsense; we should report you and have you exiled to the frontier!"

Who is the storyteller? He is one of the three major storytellers of Jinling Prefecture, rooted in Gaosong Building all year round and has seen all sorts of people.

He knew this group of youths, those who admired Xia Gu, aspiring to be madmen like him but only possessing the madness without the true skills.

Thump!

The storyteller knelt down, raising one hand to make an oath: "I, Hong Changyan, swear to God, everything I said is true, and if there is a single lie, let me be struck by lightning and be childless like Xia Gu, despised and cursed by the people until death!"

The people of Great Chu hold fast to such oaths; the sudden and fervent nature of his vow silenced the young crowd.

Dammit, arguing is one thing, but why make such a fatal oath?

Were they trying to force us to do the same?

The young ones guessed correctly. The storyteller pointed at them and said, "If you speak wickedly and wrongly accuse me, then you are abetting Xia Gu’s evil acts and deserve to be struck by lightning!"

Ha, a bunch of inexperienced brats playing arrogant with him. He was unruly before they were even born.

Even thinking of reporting him? 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Go ahead and report then. The fact that Xia Gu’s deeds have been spreading for three days without any clarification from the Xia Family proves it to be true.

If it’s the truth, then what fear does he have in speaking out?

The storyteller was very skilled. After making his oath, he began wiping tears with his sleeve, crying sorrowfully: "I know of these matters because of a friend, a close friend of Elder Xia Er. Elder Xia Er showed him the wounds on his body... Oh, it is truly unbearable to watch, his back is all mangled without a single patch of good skin."

He added: "Xia Gu, the old brute, not only abuses Elder Xia Er but also his grandson, poor Xia Er who isn’t even eight yet is also full of scars like his father."

Gaosong Building is owned by the Zheng Family, where only those with some idle money and education frequent.

Scholars condemn those who mistreat elders and abuse children the most. Upon hearing this, those who disliked or envied Xia Gu cursed him: "This old beast really isn’t human, though not his own grandson, he bears the Xia surname, how could he treat the child like this?"

With the trend of Jiangnan scholars being prevalent, out of ten scholars five are of a madman’s temperament; seeing Xia Gu’s despicable acts, they loudly proclaimed: "Let’s go to the Xia Residence in the countryside, drag out that old brute Xia Gu, and give him a good beating to serve divine justice!"

In the corner of the main hall downstairs, behind a four-paneled screen, Xia Gu was seated in the middle, forcibly listening to the storytelling, flanked by Luo Wu and Gu Jin’an, watching those in fervor talk about heading to Xia Residence to attack him.

...These were all his admirers before.

The one who shouted the loudest was from Liu Mansion, the Third Young Master, who admired him greatly and even brought a box of Silver to request a verse from him.