[Borrowing A Knife to Kill]
"Sixth Master, the Seventh Young Master and Su Liang are living well! They even visited Qiuming Manor a few days ago! Today, I learned of a piece of news: Crown Prince Bei Jingwang has recommended someone for the Imperial Examination, using his token in Bei'an County to participate in the Court Examination! That person is most likely the Seventh Young Master!" Zhao Ming's face is ugly.
Ning Huan listened with his usual expression until he heard the second half, his eyes suddenly narrowed, "What? He is participating in the Imperial Examination?"
"The Seventh Young Master has loved literature since he was a child. He didn't participate in the examination three years ago, due to the lady's illness and death. If he really passes the exam this time and becomes an official..." Zhao Ming sighed repeatedly.
Ning Huan was silent for a while, his eyes gradually filled with ruthless determination, "Yan Shiba failed, and there is no guarantee that Yanyun Building won't fail again, so we must think of a plan as soon as possible."
"It seems Sixth Master has an idea?" Zhao Ming asked.
Ning Huan nodded slowly, "Didn't you say, Su Liang has sent all her relatives from the Su Family Village to work in the mine?"
"It was the Su Family's prodigal son who owed a high-interest loan, but if the Seventh Young Master and Su Liang are willing to help, they won't end up in such a miserable situation. Moreover, the creditor has always been close with Su Liang." Zhao Ming said.
Ning Huan sneered, "Let's use the tactic of borrowing a knife to kill someone!"
...
Yesterday, Hu Er visited Su Liang in the village and met Xing Yusheng who was leaving. Knowing his identity, Hu Er was extremely respectful.
He had been taking the medicine prescribed by Su Liang, which had alleviated his symptoms, and his complexion improved significantly. He returned specially to express his gratitude and to ask Su Liang to take his pulse again.
Today is the first day of the month, and the Court Examination begins on the ninth day.
Last time they went to town, Ning Jing bought some books, but they were all miscellaneous texts.
Su Liang asked Ning Jing what the Imperial Examination would cover.
Ning Jing answered, "I'll tell you after I've taken it."
...
Su Liang was reading late into the night when she heard someone knock forcefully on the door.
She and Ning Jing both opened the door and walked out.
Lei Zheng, Su Bai, looked anxious, "Not good! Your house is on fire!"
Su Liang subconsciously looked back, fire? Where?
"Not here! The house over there!" Su Bai anxiously stomped his foot, "I've called people to help put out the fire, you should go over there quickly too!" He turned and rushed away.
Standing at the entrance, Su Liang and Ning Jing could see a blazing fire in the distance, right where Su Daqiang's house was.
On their way across the bridge, Bai Dame's family caught up, carrying basins and buckets in hand, also receiving notification to help put out the fire.
In contrast, Su Liang and Ning Jing were empty-handed, casually strolling under the moonlight...
"I don't know who the hell did it!" Bai Damen was very angry.
"It could be the cow…" Liu's wife blurted out, but didn't dare to finish.
Su Liang also suspected that it might have been the work of Niu Pozu's family.
It was because Su Liang hadn't "gifted" that house to Su Xingzhe's family, causing Su Xingzhe—who had yet to marry—a concubine that hadn't even entered the door, which had become a great joke. In the end, they could only patch up the house and make do with it.
In any case, everyone in the Su Family Village knew that Niu Pozu hated Su Liang to the core, claiming that if Su Xingzhe didn't pass the scholar's exam, it would be Su Liang's wicked heart that caused it.
However, when they arrived at the scene and saw that the neighboring Niu Pozu's house was also burned, Su Liang felt that it probably wasn't them.
All the members of the family had been rescued, Niu Pozu was crying and cursing, while her grandson's scream was tragic.
Su Liang saw Su Xingzhe. He was fairer than the young men of the same age in the village, not bad-looking, and resembled a weak scholar.
But when she thought of Su Xingzhe trying to violate the widow that night, Su Liang felt that this man's studies had gone to the dogs.
"Save my house first! Save my house!" Niu Pozu shouted.
"You don't need to save that house of mine." Su Liang told Su Bai.
The blaze was fierce, and she didn't want anyone to be injured because of it. After all, it was just an empty house, the only pity was that old pear tree, which had already been swallowed by the fire and could not be saved.
Su Bai sighed, commanding the villagers to save Su Xingzhe's house with all their might.
Bai Damen cried out in pain, so Bai He helped her back home.
Firelight illuminated the honest faces of the villagers, and Su Liang asked Ning Jing softly, "Is there anyone here with dark foreheads?"
Ning Jing surveyed the crowd and shook his head, "No."
These people were mostly young and strong, without any sign of disaster or disease.
"Let's go back." Su Liang turned around.
Niu Pozu, sitting on the ground and crying, suddenly rushed over and grabbed Su Liang's sleeve firmly, "You offended someone, which caused my house to be burned! You have to pay!"
Su Liang: …To be honest, this old devout woman's mind was quite nimble...
Liu's wife, who had not left yet, hurriedly stepped forward to pull her, "Auntie Niu, it is not right to speak like that! Who knows if it was your family who offended others? It caused poor Liang'er's house to be burned!"
"It was their house that started the fire first!" The old cow screeched.
Su Liang seemed thoughtful, "Maybe it's an enemy of your family who used the blindness trick and deliberately set our house on fire first?"
The old cow's face stiffened as Liu's wife pulled her away. "Old cow, stop making trouble! When your family's Wenchu star passes the exam and becomes a scholar in a few days, you'll have everything you want, won't you?"
There was an eerie tone to Liu's words.
Not having an education didn't mean she didn't understand the principle of "killing by applauding."
Su Xingzhe's cold gaze locked onto Liu's wife for a moment, then landed on Su Liang's face.
Su Liang's expression was light. "Let's go."
As the old cow's crying gradually faded away, Su Liang and Ning Jing returned home, still clueless about who had set the fire.
Someone was indeed trying to harm them, especially Ning Jing, but what use would it be to burn an empty house?
Xing Yusheng, who had been visiting every day recently, thought that Su Liang's courtyard was too empty and had sent some valuable tree species, which were planted two days ago.
Ning Jing locked the door and walked in, took a glance at the trees, and suddenly said, "The moonlight is not bad tonight."
Su Liang looked back and looked up at the night sky.
The moon was completely blocked by dark clouds.
Ning Jing spoke two more words, "Come here."
Su Liang didn't move, "I want to sleep."
"No, you're not sleepy," Ning Jing shook her head.
Su Liang: ...Who could tell her what was wrong with this guy?
Suddenly there was a slight noise coming from the room behind her, and Su Liang's expression instantly hardened as she walked towards Ning Jing.
The two stood side by side in the courtyard, and Ning Jing spoke, "There are always despicable people trying to harm me, what should I do?"
"How about... Move to a different place?" Su Liang suggested.
"What about here then?" Ning Jing asked.
"The house over there burned down, might as well burn this side down too! It's not like there's anything valuable here!" Su Liang said.
"Well, burn it, then go?" Ning Jing said.
Su Liang had a little hint of laughter in her tone, "Great! You're finally willing to leave this ghostly place! Circle some firewood! I'll start the fire!"
Then, the two slowly walked around the house a few times, finally stopping outside the door.
"Ignite it!" said Ning Jing.
As soon as the words fell, two shadows burst out from two separate rooms!
There was no firewood arranged in the courtyard at all. Su Liang and Ning Jing each held a tied rope, precisely looping it around the necks of the two intruders!
When Su Liang lit the candle and saw the captured people, she almost didn't recognize them at first.
One was Su Dafu, the other Su Daming.
The father and son once had fat all over their bodies; after laboring in the mine for only half a month, they were now thin and ghastly, ugly and sinister, glaring at Su Liang with eyes that seemed to want to tear her apart.
"You guys..." Su Liang's expression was inexplicable, "How did you get out?"
Hu Er had said that the mine was under the control of the government and heavily guarded; escaping would be as difficult as climbing to the sky.
So, was someone "buying" them out?
After all, people could be sold in, and if there was enough money, they could naturally be ransomed out.
Su Liang hadn't been worried before because Su Yuanzhou's incident had left the Su Daqiang family with no wealthy relatives, and even their poor relatives had a terrible relationship with them.
But it was clear tonight.
Su Dafu and Su Daming were being used as tools to kill Ning Jing and Su Liang. With or without someone's guidance, they used a "lure-the-tiger-away-from-the-mountain" tactic: starting a fire to make Ning Jing and Su Liang leave the house, taking the opportunity to sneak into their room, and waiting for them to fall asleep so they could strike...
If Su Liang were to do such a thing, she would choose to hide under the bed and strike upward with a knife.
Ning Jing had been reading in the courtyard during the day, and the chair was not put back, and Su Dafu bumped into it, changing direction, realizing someone entered the courtyard, and then he called Su Liang to stop.
Although Su Liang knew martial arts and Ning Jing did not see her life in danger at the time, they were still cautious as they did not know who the intruders were.
After claiming to set fire, they finally forced the intruders out.
"You are not Su Liang! You are a ghost! A demon!" Su Dafu stared fiercely at Su Liang's face, and laughed coldly, "You can't fool me! My niece, Su Liang, is dead! We killed her ourselves, leaving her breathless! She's not this capable! She doesn't know martial arts at all!"
Without waiting for Su Liang to speak, Ning Jing emotionlessly tightened the rope, killing Su Dafu in an instant.
Then, he turned to the frightened Su Daming, "You can confess who is behind this, or... go follow your father."