Chapter 007: Ruining Your Reputation

Floral Lang and Floral Wan'er could no longer stay at home. After burying Floral Xingyi's body, the two of them left their dilapidated courtyard on East Street.

When they left, Floral Wan'er was filled with sorrow. She had lived in this place for over a decade, and now that she was leaving, she really felt reluctant. Moreover, where could they go after leaving?

Floral Lang didn't know where to go either. He had to take revenge and naturally couldn't leave Tianchang County. However, if he didn't leave Tianchang County, he would face the danger of being hunted down by Zhou Sixing's men.

If they wanted to stay in Tianchang County, they had to escape from Zhou Sixing's pursuit. But Zhou Sixing must have hated Floral Lang's exorbitant demands, so he wouldn't let Floral Lang off.

Just thinking about it, Floral Lang felt something was off. If it was really for the 600 taels of silver, would Zhou Sixing take such a risk? As the county magistrate, hiring a killer to murder someone was too unreasonable. Although 600 taels of silver was a lot, it wouldn't shake his foundation. There must be some secret he couldn't reveal.

Floral Lang and Floral Wan'er checked into the Yuan Sifang Inn. The inn was very busy, with many people coming and going every day. Staying here made it less likely for them to be noticed.

After they settled in, Floral Lang began to ponder the secret. Why wouldn't Zhou Sixing let him go? But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't find any clues.

Helpless, Floral Lang could only hide for a while and see how things developed.

For several days, everything was peaceful. Floral Lang spent most of his time in the room, having the waiter bring meals to him. Although the days were boring and tedious, it was better than being hunted down.

One noon, there weren't many people in the inn, so Floral Lang thought he would go downstairs to sit and listen to any recent news from Tianchang County.

In a corner of the inn, a few guests were chatting, and they were quite engaged.

"Have you heard? Emperor Renzong is selecting consorts from across the country. I wonder whose daughter will have this good fortune!"

"Such a big event, who hasn't heard? Now, families with daughters are eagerly waiting, and those without daughters regret not having a daughter!"

"Indeed, the current emperor is benevolent. Any daughter who marries into the palace will surely be blessed."

Hearing this, Floral Lang became excited. He had been thinking about why Zhou Sixing was relentlessly pursuing him. Now, hearing this news, he finally understood.

The emperor was selecting consorts, and everyone hoped their daughter could become a phoenix. Zhou Sixing must have the same wish. However, Zhou Ting had once been engaged to him, and although the engagement was dissolved, Zhou Sixing must still be uneasy. Only by killing him could Zhou Sixing feel safe sending his daughter to the palace.

Floral Lang quietly went upstairs. Now that he knew why Zhou Sixing was relentlessly pursuing him, he could think of a way to deal with Zhou Sixing.

Dealing with Zhou Sixing was difficult, but making him behave and not make things hard for him was easier.

After making this decision, Floral Lang and Floral Wan'er rested in the inn until nightfall. Then, they quietly left the inn and went directly to the county office, where they secretly posted a note on the drum at the county office.

After doing this, they quietly left again.

Back at the inn, Floral Wan'er asked worriedly, "Brother, will sending a letter to Zhou Sixing make him let us go?"

Floral Lang nodded slightly and said, "Definitely. In the letter, I warned Zhou Sixing that if he wants his daughter to enter the palace, he'd better not provoke me. Otherwise, I will expose all his secrets."

After hearing this, Floral Wan'er looked at Floral Lang. She felt that her brother had indeed changed, becoming more cunning.

The next day, Floral Lang left the inn and walked around the county office, making sure everyone there saw him. However, no one from the county office made any move. Seeing this, Floral Lang knew that Zhou Sixing no longer dared to take any action against him.

Now that Floral Lang was safe, he set his sights on Wen Meng. To marry Wen Meng, he needed to understand her well. To get information, he had to spend money, but fortunately, he had money.

After some effort, Floral 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 learned martial arts from her father since childhood and had mastered all his 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 were close and held a high status in the Jiangnan martial arts world. Wen Yidao was highly respected in Tianchang County, even the government had to give him some leeway.

After finding this out, Floral Lang rented a house near the Wen family's residence and moved in with Floral Wan'er. Being close to the Wen family would give him more opportunities to meet Wen Meng.

After moving in, Floral Lang often wandered around the Wen family's residence. However, he wandered for several days without seeing Wen Meng, and several times he was almost beaten up for being mistaken as a thief.

Despite this, Floral Lang didn't give up. He continued to wander around the Wen family's residence. One evening, the sky was overcast, and it looked like it was going to rain. Floral Lang was hiding and waiting in front of the Wen family's gate. Just as he had been waiting for a short while, he was suddenly caught by the gatekeepers who were about to beat him up because they didn't like being watched.

Just as the two gatekeepers were about to beat Floral Lang without any explanation, the gate of the Wen family's residence creaked open, and a clear voice said, "What are you doing? Let him go."

Floral Lang looked up and saw Wen Meng, dressed in white, walking out with a spirited demeanor. The two gatekeepers, seeing it was their young mistress, quickly said, "Young Miss, it's this person. He has been wandering around our residence for several days. We can't tolerate it anymore, so we want to teach him a lesson."

After hearing the gatekeepers, Wen Meng smiled smugly and then looked at Floral Lang and asked, "Why are you wandering around my residence for no reason?"

At this moment, Floral Lang had composed himself. He came to Wen Meng and smiled, "I am wandering around your residence because I want to see you, Miss Wen. You saved my life, and I don't like owing people. I have been looking for an opportunity to repay you."

Wen Meng dismissed the two servants and then looked at Floral Lang and said, "You have also helped me. We are even, so you don't need to look for an opportunity to repay me."

Floral Lang shook his head repeatedly, "How can that be? The favor of saving a life is greater than the sky. I only helped you a little, so we can't be even."

Just as they were talking, they suddenly heard the sound of hooves. Wen Meng quickly said, "You must leave quickly. Fang Baiyu is coming. If he sees you, it will be bad."