Picking Up Shen Lang and Taking Him Home

Xu Qianqian really did think highly of herself.

I could abandon and trample you, but you still had to be as infatuated with me as before. When you, Shen Lang, were useless, I could sweep you out the door. When you became useful, you could enter my home and work like an ox or a horse.

Shen Lang said nothing and turned to leave.

Xu Qianqian said, "Even if you know dyeing techniques, Shen Lang, it changes nothing. You are still the same old you. Don't think defeating our family's craftsmen with your Dye makes you anything special. Our family has dozens of dyeing craftsmen, and none of them even have names."

That was true enough. So-called dyeing craftsmen were no more than lowly servants. In this world, the notion that technology was the primary productive force was hardly popular.

So even if Shen Lang could make Dye, Xu Qianqian still saw him as nothing but a country bumpkin. Even if he was exceptionally handsome, he was still a lowborn man.

"You cannot read, you cannot practice martial arts, and you cannot do anything. Other than entering my family's dye workshop, you cannot even find yourself a meal," Xu Qianqian said. "And do not forget, you still owe Tian Heng a thousand gold coins."

Lin Mo would not buy Shen Lang's new dye formula, and the Xu Family wanted to seize it through trickery and force. Naturally, there would be no way to obtain those thousand gold coins.

At that moment, Tian Shisan appeared before Shen Lang like a ghost and said, "I will say this again: if we do not get a thousand gold coins by tonight, we will kill your entire family. The Black Clothes Gang always keeps its word."

Xu Qianqian said softly, "Shen Lang, you have reached the end of the road. You have less than a day left. Where will you earn a thousand gold coins? Your only path to survival is to submit to my family and hand over both dye formulas unconditionally. Then I can have Tian Heng waive this debt of yours."

Tian Shisan said, "Dawn is nearly here. Tonight, we will go to your home to collect the money. You do not have much time left—less than seven hours."

Xu Qianqian said, "Surely you are not still hoping for Chief Registrar Wang Lian, Shen Lang? He will not come save you again. Besides, he was not saving you today. He merely had a grudge against my fiancé Zhang Jin and deliberately suppressed the Xu Family. He will not care whether you live or die."

Xu Qianqian was right about that.

Tian Shisan said, "Do not worry, Shen Lang. Our Black Clothes Gang will surely arrest your entire family under a perfectly righteous charge, then find some excuse along the way to make you vanish from the face of the earth. Your family are outsiders, truly like duckweed with no roots."

Xu Qianqian said, "If the Xu Family does not see the new purple and Rainbow Color dye formulas before nightfall today, I truly cannot guarantee what will happen. The Black Clothes Gang has always acted with ruthless cruelty. Your brain may not work well, Shen Lang, but you should be smarter about this matter."

Then Xu Qianqian boarded her carriage and left at once.

Tian Shisan turned back and said, "Before the sun sets, we will come to your home for the money."

Then he slung the saber at his waist over his shoulder and sauntered away.

He no longer needed to follow Shen Lang, because Shen Lang was extremely filial. As long as they kept an eye on his parents and Younger Brother, Shen Lang had nowhere to go.

Throughout the entire exchange, Shen Lang had not said a single word. He had merely watched the man and woman perform in silence.

After traveling several dozen meters, Xu Qianqian lifted the curtain of her carriage and looked at Shen Lang standing all alone in the middle of the street. Suddenly, she burst into laughter.

"Weakness truly is the original sin. He really looks like a dog."

"Given your status, Shen Lang, being able to enter my family as a servant is already an enormous blessing. Otherwise, a useless man like you can only starve to death."

Xu Qianqian only voiced these true thoughts when no one was around. Otherwise, they would damage her bearing and make her seem too mean-spirited.

Shen Lang stood in the middle of the street.

Making money no longer held any meaning for him.

No matter how much money he made, without the protection of power and influence, it would only bring disaster. This was a world where the strong devoured the weak.

The Xu Family, the Lin Family, and Tian Heng's Black Clothes Gang.

Any one of these three forces was a colossal monster to Shen Lang.

Tian Heng and the Xu Family would definitely make their move tonight. They would use the lives of his parents and Younger Brother to force Shen Lang to hand over the two dye formulas.

And even if Shen Lang surrendered them, unless he spent the rest of his life as a servant in the Xu Family, endlessly developing new dyes and working like an ox or horse, his family would still know no peace.

He had to solve this problem once and for all.

Originally, he had wanted to wait until his lifelong plan of living off a wealthy woman was more mature. It required some groundwork and momentum.

Now, it seemed he had to move ahead of schedule.

Shen Lang ran through the plan in his mind again and again.

By then, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

The time was about right. Shen Lang had to leave the city quickly and head for the domain of the greatest noble within several hundred li.

Xuanwu Earl's Manor! Yet just then, a burst of furious hoofbeats suddenly rang out behind him, tearing apart the stillness before dawn. Even the ground trembled faintly.

Shen Lang turned around and saw a cavalry unit.

It was an elite cavalry force, with more than a hundred riders. Every knight wore armor, rode a tall horse, carried a Great Sword, and bore a large shield on their back.

Shen Lang could almost tell at a glance how much money it had taken to build this cavalry force. Whether in ancient China or the medieval West, such cavalry would have been an absolute trump-card force.

What kind of household could possess such elite cavalry and such magnificent pomp?

Soon, Shen Lang saw the banner of the cavalry and the crest upon their shields.

This was the cavalry of Xuanwu Earl's Manor! The Jin Clan of Xuanwu Earl's Manor was a true aristocratic house with a hundred-year legacy.

Three hundred years ago, the Jin Family had already guarded Xuanwu City. Even the name Xuanwu City came from the Jin Family's title. In a sense, the Xuanwu Earl was the master of Xuanwu City.

The commander of this cavalry wore silver armor and had a slender figure. Because she wore a face-covering helmet, only her eyes were visible.

Yet those two exposed eyes were as cold and sharp as swords reflected in autumn water.

This was a woman, and a woman with extraordinarily beautiful eyes.

Though he had not seen her face, her identity was already obvious.

She... was the legendary Goddess within several hundred li, Princess of Xuanwu City, the dream lover of countless young heroes, and the pillar of Xuanwu Earl's Manor—Jin MuLan.

Shen Lang was slightly taken aback. He had been heading to the Earl's Manor, yet he had not expected to encounter her here.

"Move, move!"

"Make way, make way!"

"Clear the street, clear the street!"

The two warriors at the front of the cavalry held flags and shouted loudly, driving away Shen Lang, who stood in the middle of the street.

With Shen Lang's frail body, if this cavalry struck him, every bone and tendon in his body would surely break, and he would die miserably! He hurried to the side of the street and cleared the way for the cavalry.

Yet just as Shen Lang was about to leave the street, he deliberately stumbled and slowed down.

Because he had suddenly added a little plan.

Bang...

A cavalryman at the edge of the formation brushed directly past Shen Lang. The tremendous force sent Shen Lang flying!

He was pulling a scam! Wife, you hit me once three years ago. Why not hit me again and take me home?

Shen Lang thought to himself as his body flew several meters before crashing to the ground.

He was not a professional scam artist, but this time, he had judged the force, angle, and timing to perfection.

Since his injuries were not serious after landing, he bit through his gums hard enough to let blood seep from the corner of his mouth. At a time like this, he had to play up the misery.

Jin MuLan's eyes narrowed. Then she raised a jade-like hand, and more than a hundred riders came to a stop within a very short distance.

The two cavalrymen in front immediately dismounted and moved to inspect Shen Lang's injuries. Yet Jin MuLan was faster. Her delicate body leaped straight from her horse, soaring more than ten meters through the air.

Shen Lang was shocked. So impressive!

Jin MuLan walked up to Shen Lang, crouched down, removed her glove, and placed her jade-like hand beneath his nostrils to check his breathing.

This young man is so handsome. And why does he seem a little familiar? That was Jin MuLan's first impression.

Shen Lang was not badly hurt, so naturally his breathing was steady and strong.

But he was a doctor. He easily pretended to be on his last breath, his breathing thin as gossamer. Combined with the blood at the corner of his mouth, he looked truly miserable, making Jin MuLan's beautiful eyes tremble.

Everyone in Xuanwu City was one of her family's subjects. Since childhood, her father had taught her to love the people as her own children.

Though commoners who blocked an army's path and were trampled to death only had themselves to blame, Jin MuLan would never allow an innocent commoner to die before her eyes.

"General, shall this lowly one send him to a nearby clinic for treatment?" an attendant beside her asked.

Absolutely not, Shen Lang thought. Wife, take me home!

Jin MuLan shook her head. "No. I do not trust ordinary clinics. The doctors at the Earl's Manor are more skilled. Take him back to the manor for treatment. We absolutely cannot let an innocent commoner die beneath our hooves."

Wow! Her voice was wonderful too, as crisp as ice falling into a lake! "Yes!" her attendant replied, then lightly lifted Shen Lang into her arms. With a gentle step on the stirrup, she mounted the horse.

Jin MuLan's attendant was also a woman, though she was more fierce and powerfully built than an ordinary man. Being carried bridal-style in her arms made Shen Lang feel rather ashamed, yet he still had to keep pretending to be unconscious.

"Return to the manor!" Jin MuLan gave the command and led the cavalry swiftly back to Xuanwu Earl's Manor.

The injured yet handsome pretty boy Shen Lang had been picked up and brought home by Princess of Xuanwu City Jin MuLan.

"Shen Ritian, the moment that will decide the fate of your life has arrived." Shen Lang desperately encouraged himself.

"Whether you can save the whole family, whether you can crush the Xu Family, whether you can crush Tian Heng, whether you can live in luxury and enjoy glory and riches from now on—it all depends on what you do next!"

Note: Brothers, please vote with recommendation tickets and let the protagonist run wild!