“Murder!”

The onlookers thought the unconscious Chen Jingji was dead and began shouting in alarm. “Help!” Li Jiubao, locked in the cart, frantically pounded on the door until her knuckles bled.

The mounted thug was so frightened he immediately spurred his horse to flee. The cart driver also hurried to follow, but suddenly a black shadow leaped up. This person kicked the driver off the cart shaft with one foot, stopped the cart, then used his whip to lasso the mounted thug’s neck and forcibly drag him from horseback.

In one breath, Wang Daxia knocked down two thugs. The remaining five were about to scatter and flee when Wei Caiwei pulled out both her and Wang Daxia’s money pouches, pouring out gleaming white silver. “Reward! Catch one and get two taels of silver! Payment on the spot!”

After all, acting heroically was still a minority behavior—ordinary people didn’t dare provoke thugs.

But earning money was different. Seeing Wei Caiwei so generously produce ready silver, the onlookers, emboldened by their numbers, swarmed forward and caught the five fleeing thugs to share in the reward money.

Just then, the Northern City Military Commissioner’s street patrol arrived upon hearing the commotion and bound all seven thugs. Li Jiubao was also released and saw Wei Caiwei half-crouching, treating Chen Jingji’s injuries.

“Brother Chen!” Li Jiubao was about to rush over but was stopped by the Northern City Military Commissioner’s men. “Miss, he’s not dead yet. Doctor Wei is treating him—don’t disturb.”

Chen Jingji was injured in his private parts. Blood had already soaked through his pants and even the mud by the riverbank. At this life-and-death moment, seeing he was about to bleed to death, Wei Caiwei couldn’t worry about propriety between men and women. She immediately had Wang Daxia remove Chen Jingji’s bloody pants to treat him.

Upon seeing the wound, both Wei Caiwei and Wang Daxia gasped in horror. It was truly total devastation—both his manhood and testicles had been completely flattened by the hard horseshoe iron!

Fortunately, Wei Caiwei had just returned from the imperial physician examination at the palace and had her medicine bag with all the necessary supplies. She opened the bag and skillfully took out needle and thread to suture the base, built a fire, called for strong liquor, heated the blade over the fire, then quenched it with liquor before cutting away the flattened, rotted flesh.

Finally, she poured all the hemostatic powder over the wound and bandaged it, barely managing to stop the bleeding.

“I’ve used up all my medicine. Carry him to my house for treatment.”

Wang Daxia removed his outer robe to cover Chen Jingji’s body. The Northern City Military Commissioner’s men carried him to the cart.

Li Jiubao also got in the cart. She didn’t cry but stared blankly at his blood-soaked lower body, silently making a decision.

Fortunately, they were close to home. After passing through Shichahai and Gulou West Diagonal Street, they reached Tianshui Alley. Ding Wu had prepared dinner and was waiting for Wei Caiwei to return, only to see her get off the cart with blood all over her hands.

Wei Caiwei said, “Brother Ding, quickly buy some ice to place in the side room to cool it down.”

Chen Jingji was injured in his private parts and would still need to urinate daily. In this dog days heat, the slightest carelessness could cause festering and death—extremely dangerous. That’s why castrations were never performed in summer.

Wang Daxia said, “No need to buy it. My family has an ice cellar. I’ll send someone to bring ice right away.”

Ice melts easily, so Wang Daxia had his servants deliver ice to the neighbor’s house every hour without fail.

This distressed the household’s mistress, Wu Shi. After sending ice until the second day, she lied that the ice was all used up. When Wang Daxia returned home to break open the ice cellar door, Wu Shi had to yield. She cried to Wang Qianhu, saying Wang Daxia was being unreasonable.

Mu Baihu defended Wang Daxia, saying, “He’s just trying to save someone. In all his years growing up, he’s finally doing a good deed for once. It’s better than him causing trouble outside.”

Wang Qianhu thought this made sense and told Wu Shi, “Let him be.”

Wu Shi cried, “The dog days aren’t even over yet, and the ice cellar will be nearly empty. Don’t you have only one son? I’m an adult and can endure it, but Daqiu is still small—he needs ice for his afternoon naps and nighttime sleep.”

Wang Daqiu was Wu Shi’s biological son, only three years old.

Wang Qianhu said, “Then buy ice from outside for Daqiu.”

Wu Shi said, “Those who don’t manage households don’t know how expensive rice, oil, and salt are. How much silver would we have to pour into this?”

Wang Qianhu just felt his head aching from the noise. “You manage all the income from the family’s fields, houses, and shops. Are you short this bit of silver? Whatever the amount, just make up for it. Don’t let Daqiu suffer.”

Wang Qianhu felt that having only two sons, he naturally had to treat them equally and not shortchange either. Moreover, Wang Qianhu was a fifth-generation hereditary officer with a prosperous household that had never declined, so he didn’t take daily expenses to heart.

Wu Shi stopped talking. She felt guilty because some time ago her natal brother had come asking, saying there was an excellent business opportunity—lending money, specifically to newly successful jinshi degree holders waiting in the capital for the Ministry of Personnel to assign them official positions.

The capital had high expenses and many social obligations. Many officials from modest backgrounds relied on borrowing money to get by initially—this wasn’t unusual. Once they became officials, especially in lucrative posts, salary was a small matter; people would line up to give them money, and they could pay back all previous debts.

Wu Shi’s elder brother said, “Money breeds money, interest compounds. The borrowers are all respectable people—palace examination graduates. Are you worried they’ll run off with the money? By year’s end, they’ll return the principal plus interest. When you show the account books to your brother-in-law, seeing so much surplus in one year, he’ll surely praise you for being a good household manager.”

However, Wu Shi hesitated. “Lending money does make profit, but your brother-in-law has always forbidden lending money. He says as long as the family can get by, that’s enough—he doesn’t expect great wealth.”

“My dear aunt!” Wu Shi’s brother said. “Who doesn’t like money? When you put gleaming white silver in front of your brother-in-law, how can he not like it? Besides, your brother-in-law is a steady person. This personality has advantages and disadvantages. He’s been Northern City Military Commissioner for over ten years, never moving from this position. At his age, being a military officer, if he doesn’t climb higher now, he may never get another chance. Don’t you want to raise your official wife’s rank?”

This struck Wu Shi’s vanity. “Of course I do, but what does this have to do with lending money?”

Wu Shi’s brother said, “For your brother-in-law to get promoted, he naturally needs to cultivate relationships, and cultivating relationships requires money—the more the better. As long as he gives enough money, what official position can’t he obtain?”

Wu Shi was tempted and asked, “I can provide the silver, but are these money lenders reliable?”

Wu Shi’s brother said, “You know Santong Bank, right? With the bank as guarantor, what are you afraid of? They have plenty of silver.”

Hearing this, Wu Shi took out most of the liquid funds from the accounts—about five thousand taels of silver—and gave it to her brother to lend to officials.

Wu Shi wasn’t short of money to buy ice, but with this sudden large expense, as the household mistress she had to plan for the long term. She returned to her natal home and asked her brother to return one thousand taels first.

Wu Shi’s brother said, “The money’s only been lent for a few days. Calling it back so quickly means not a penny of interest—it’s all free lending.”

Wu Shi wasn’t one to explain with good temper. She immediately turned hostile, saying, “It’s my silver. I’ll do with it as I please. I’m a married daughter—does my brother still want to make household decisions for me?”

Wu Shi’s brother said, “Aren’t I doing this for your own good?”

Wu Shi said, “The household needs to fill holes. Within three days I need to see one thousand taels. Brother, hurry up and collect it.”

Wu Shi used the excuse of being busy at home and left without even eating lunch.

Wu Shi’s sister-in-law carefully asked her husband, “What do we do now? That money’s all been lent as high-interest loans—it can’t be recovered quickly.”

It turned out there was no Santong Bank guaranteeing official loans at all—it was all illegal high-interest lending. Wu Shi’s brother wanted to use the Wang family’s money to make money, similar to borrowing chickens to lay eggs. He only needed to swallow half the interest to support the Wu family for a year.

Wu Shi’s brother said, “You know our aunt’s temper. Quickly find a way to gather one thousand taels to send her. If she doesn’t see the money in three days, she’ll come back to her natal home to cause trouble.”

Wu Shi’s sister-in-law sneered, “She’s secretly lending money behind her husband’s back, and she still dares cause trouble? It’s easy to get on a pirate ship but hard to get off. A cricket won’t eat toad meat—we’re all people from the same shovel of dirt!”

Wu Shi’s brother said, “You really have a woman’s narrow view! How much has she subsidized her natal family these past few years of marriage? Don’t you have any idea? Having Wang Qianhu as a brother-in-law makes us look good when we go out. Her personality is indeed fierce, but she’s easy to deceive. If you tear off the mask now, it’ll be hard to get money from the Wang family in the future. How can we do such a thing as killing the goose that lays golden eggs? Quickly get one thousand taels to send her. Don’t wait three days—send it tomorrow. We must keep her stable.”

The next day, Wu Shi’s brother used the excuse of visiting his nephew Wang Daqiu and gave Wu Shi a one thousand tael bank note.

With money in hand, Wu Shi felt confident and stopped pursuing the matter. She spent heavily on ice and filled the ice cellar that Wang Daxia had nearly emptied.

Under Wang Daxia’s financial support, Wei Caiwei’s medical skills, and Li Jiubao’s round-the-clock care, they managed to snatch Chen Jingji back from the Bridge of Helplessness and save his life.

At Machang Alley, Chen Jingji’s old grandmother collapsed from a stroke upon hearing the news. In her twilight years with poor health, she had been holding on just to see Chen Jingji marry and start a family. Now that Chen Jingji had lost his manhood, the old lady lost hope. Unlike Lu Bing’s fortunate rescue, she passed away the next day.

Machang Alley housed ordinary common people with good neighborly relations—if a household had an extra bowl of meat, they’d bring it out to share. When the Chen family suddenly met disaster, though Chen Jingji briefly regained consciousness, he was in constant agony, writhing in pain. Wei Caiwei fed him anesthetic powder to let him sleep through the most painful period.

Unable to move, Chen Jingji couldn’t help, so the Machang Alley neighbors all contributed money and effort to handle the old lady’s funeral arrangements. Wei Caiwei and Wang Daxia also contributed money, making the funeral quite respectable.

Li Jiubao’s father and brother rushed back from Sanlitun upon hearing the news. Li Wei used his wages to buy a burial plot and a good coffin for the old lady. He wept bitterly before the spirit, cursing his own foolishness, repeatedly slapping himself, swearing never to gamble again until his face swelled up.

But the dead cannot return to life. The neighbors ignored Li Wei. Nobody dared believe a gambling addict’s words.

Li Wei felt too ashamed to face people and returned to the Sanlitun construction site that same day, claiming he wanted to earn money for Chen Jingji’s medical treatment.

The weather was hot, so the body couldn’t be kept long. The old lady was laid out for three days before an auspicious time was chosen for burial. During this period, when Chen Jingji occasionally woke up, everyone dared not tell him.

Only after he was completely out of danger did Li Jiubao wait for him to finish his medicine before telling him the terrible news of the old lady’s death.

Chen Jingji didn’t cry. He was silent for a long time, then said, “Please trouble Miss Li to go to my house. Under the third floor tile beneath my bed, there’s a hollow space with one hundred taels of silver—originally it was… Take the silver and I want to repay Doctor Wei and Wang Yanei in full. I know these days with medicine and ice have cost a lot of money. They certainly won’t accept it, but I can’t take advantage of others. If I had no money, that would be one thing, but since there’s money at home, I should pay for my own medical treatment.”

Li Jiubao agreed, saying, “This happened because of me—I harmed you. My father and brother and I have discussed it, and I…”

Li Jiubao bit her lip and, disregarding a maiden’s modesty, suddenly sat on the bedside and grasped Chen Jingji’s hand. “After you observe three years of mourning for your grandmother, when the mourning period ends, I’ll marry you. I know what you wanted to tell me that night. You and I were childhood sweethearts with mutual affection—we just lacked that final step. I was destined to marry you.”

Chen Jingji let her hold his hand and slowly shook his head, his eyes showing pity. “It’s not your fault. This matter has nothing to do with you—it’s your father’s gambling that nearly pushed you into a fire pit. Though I was injured saving you that night… I have no regrets. How can a rootless man like me marry? Don’t do anything foolish.”

Li Jiubao’s tears fell one by one onto Chen Jingji’s hand. “I want to marry you because I like you, because my heart delights in you—this comes from within, not as compensation. Many couples live their whole lives without children and still get by. In the future, we can adopt one.”

Chen Jingji asked, “When you said you discussed it with your father and brother, you actually threatened them with death, didn’t you?”

Li Jiubao was startled. Chen Jingji truly understood her too well. That day, she had indeed held a kitchen knife to her throat to force her father and brother to agree.

At the time, her father and brother’s idea was to spend money to buy an honest, gentle older girl from the countryside to be Chen Jingji’s wife. But Li Jiubao firmly refused, insisting on marrying him herself. If her father and brother wouldn’t agree, she would run to the Chen house to serve Chen Jingji, washing clothes and cooking for him, whether she had status or not.

Her father and brother had no choice but to agree.

Li Jiubao shook her head. “How could that be? Your grandmother’s death—my father feels guilty. He agreed to let me marry you.”

Chen Jingji said gently, “I understand your feelings. I’m already much better now and can go home to recuperate. I can’t keep staying at Doctor Wei’s house. First go back and get the silver, settle the accounts clearly with Doctor Wei and Wang Yanei, then drive the mule cart from home to take me back.”

Li Jiubao wiped away her tears and returned to Machang Alley.

As soon as Li Jiubao left, Chen Jingji immediately asked Wang Daxia to come over. “I heard that Second Young Master Wang has advancement in the Embroidered Uniform Guard and has connections. I have a request—I want to enter the palace as a eunuch. Please ask Second Young Master Wang to find connections to send me in. If I can achieve success in the future, I will certainly repay this debt of gratitude.”

Wang Daxia was very surprised. “Hasn’t Miss Li already pledged herself to you for life?”

“I deceived her,” Chen Jingji said. “She appears gentle on the surface but is resolute inside. If I directly refuse, she’ll certainly seek death rather than accept it. A rootless man like me doesn’t deserve her flower-like beauty. Only by entering the palace as a eunuch—once entering the palace gates, it’s as deep as the sea—with heavy palace walls between us, can her feelings be cut off. I’ll tell her that this time I was bullied by villains, and even if she marries me in the future, with my abilities, I can’t protect such a beauty.”

“I’ll tell her that I don’t want to marry, don’t want to raise other people’s children, don’t want to be useless my whole life. Even if I hold flowers in my hands, I’d have to live in constant fear of them being snatched away. She’s no longer my beloved but my burden. I want to enter the palace as a eunuch, work hard to climb up, achieve great things, and become a powerful eunuch whom no one dares bully. This is my choice. She and I—our fate ends here. From now on, we each go our separate ways.”

Author’s Note:

A perfectly good couple was ruined by the gambling addict Li Wei—total devastation. Today I drank too much coffee and my heart’s racing with shaky hands, so I typed slowly and updated late. Please forgive me—I’ll definitely be on time tomorrow.