Chapter 204: The Fat Fish That Won't Bite the Hook

I don't understand.

I simply don't understand.

There are more oddballs in this world than Du Shanü originally thought.

However, we can't abandon our plans just because people are strange.

Du Shanü still hadn't given up her original plan; she simply sat down and repeated her earlier cart-pulley explanation:

"Young Master Ruan, from afar I saw you clearing away a rather lavish breakfast... Is it not to your taste?"

Many people don't realize that the so-called 'selling of people' actually has its own tricks.

The key to those tricks lies in how to sell someone without being discovered.

What if we openly beat someone today, tie them with rope, and trade them for money—would that work?

It would work, of course it would.

But then the enemy would clearly know Du Shanü had beaten them and tied them up like livestock—how could they not seek revenge later?

Therefore, the best situation is actually——

Du Shanü spoke softly and calmly, exchanged a few words with this person, then tossed out a 'bait'—either the rumor that the prefecture's magistrate had gone mad, or that an An Nan scout had arrived on inspection, stirring doubts and prompting an outward inquiry......

The person went along with it, and Du Shanü then seized the chance like a mantis catching a cicada, with the oriole waiting behind.

Thus, even if the person suspected this matter was linked to Du Shanü's escape, what of it?

As long as no one catches them in the act, it's a case of 'no suspicion, no guilt'; nobody would be foolish enough to go to war over a mere doubt, and everyone would remain harmonious......

At least on the surface they'd stay harmonious.

This is why Du Shanü had repeatedly urged Ouyang Yan to have her people disguise themselves as bandits—pretending and striking directly are certainly different.

This person had almost followed her back to Dun Cheng, and Du Shanü wasn't sure whether Ouyang Yan had alerted the enemy, so she now had to feign cooperation and exchange pleasantries......

However, what Du Shanü never expected was that Ruan Jintian before her seemed 'seriously ill', and her words weren't even acknowledged.

Ruan Jintian sat upright at the table, his expression dazed, as if he hadn't heard her at all; instead, he occasionally glanced toward Chinu......

Wait, what is he staring at Chinu for?

Could this guy actually have a thing for men?!

Du Shanü suddenly realized, and was about to subtly hide her own slave behind her, when she heard Ruan Jintian across from her speak again:

"... I want to watch...... how you conduct yourselves......"

I didn't understand, still didn't understand.

But this time Du Shanü did grasp a little something——

She and this Ruan Jintian, from the moment they entered, have basically been talking past each other.

Du Shanü was eager to get this little piggy out to sell for money, so she rushed through the formalities to draw closer.

This person also seemed to have his own agenda, thus remaining lost in his thoughts, muttering those two lines......

But Du Shanü truly didn't catch what those words meant.

Conduct?

What conduct?

Could it be that this person has finally seen the light, preparing to serve her by watching her carry out a heaven‑shaking, earth‑rending rebellion?

No way?

The emphasis in the other person's voice fell on the word 'watch', suggesting he wasn't planning to help......

Du Shanü pondered a few breaths, reached no conclusion, and simply turned to look at her own clever, virtuous Chinu.

Chinu was squinting at Ruan Jintian, his expression faintly showing a hint of contempt.

That familiar expression relaxed Du Shanü somewhat, but since Chinu didn't speak up to remind her, she couldn't.

So Du Shanü simply dropped the pleasantries and probed, saying:

"Young Master Ruan, do you have free time today? May I invite you to go out of the city for a leisurely stroll?"

Anyway, once outside the city, there are fewer prying eyes than inside, so we'll surely find a suitable chance to strike.

If we set an ambush and Du Shanü herself gets caught first, the two would have shared hardship, and they might not even suspect her!

Du Shanü sorted out her thoughts, and the smile on her lips grew warmer and deeper.

But what she never imagined was——

Ruan Jintian today was practically possessed, utterly lost in his thoughts; hearing her speak, he only drifted for a few breaths before bluntly saying:

"I'm not going."

"My grandfather sent me here to be your catamite, not to go out and run errands."

What on earth is wrong with this person?

Speaking bluntly, he just outright said the two words 'catamite'.

If you thought he'd be flexible, he stubbornly refuses to bite the 'go out for a stroll' hook......

If this were an ordinary person, wouldn't they just seize the excuse, or mistakenly think she's after beauty and get tricked right away?

I can't take it anymore.

I can't take it anymore.

Even though Du Shanü was scheming for money, this time she's completely unable to tolerate it!

We've wasted so much time here, and the result is talking past each other like chickens and ducks.

In her anger, Du Shanü recalled how this person had earlier cleared away so many dishes, and then remembered that single bite of pickled vegetable she'd eaten this morning......

She was angry, and grew even angrier.

She wasn't exactly a paragon of patience, but seeing this person cling like stubborn gristle, refusing to take the bait, she also lost her patience.

Du Shanü exchanged a few more laughs and casual words, then rose to say goodbye—but the smile at the corner of her mouth flattened completely as she turned.

Chinu has always followed her, coming and going.

The two left the guest house, stepped into the empty corridor, and Du Shanü finally managed to cool down a bit:

"Good slave, can you tell what exactly is wrong with this Ruan Jintian?"

She has, after all, seen a fair share of scenes, but where has she ever seen such a strange person?

Now that they refuse to leave no matter what, she can't very well send people disguised as bandits to storm the county office and kidnap them, can she?

If she were a bit thicker‑skinned, this might not be impossible, but then, in others' eyes, how weak would Dun Cheng appear? To the common folk, would this city not have not even a shred of dignity?

We can't just keep thinking back and forth; wouldn't it be more reliable to seize them, give them a beating, and force the Ruan clan to hand over their money?

Du Shanü clicked her tongue repeatedly; Chinu was unusually calm today, even overly calm.

He stood in attendance behind Du Shanü; as the sun rose higher, their shadows almost overlapped:

"I think the Wife Master is overthinking; maybe this Ruan Jintian simply wants to stay constantly by the Wife Master's side."

"He only said he wanted to watch, never outright said he wanted to help, but if he were far away, how could he see anything?"

Ever since just now seeing Ruan Jintian, that sneer on Chinu's lips has been impossible to suppress.

Now that he has spoken, even within that sneer there is a hint of teasing:

"In my view, the plan has changed—Wife Master might as well openly tell him that she can take him into her household and then ask him for some silver......"

"Besides, that Ruansizong likely thinks the same way; if you do this, you might just hit his sweet spot—you wouldn't need to spend silver to buy him off, and afterward the Ruan family would willingly give money."

Winter days drifted by, the corridor quiet and still.

The sun couldn't reach into the shadows, so it couldn't conceal the silhouettes of the two little spouses; Du Shanü remained silent the whole time, not interrupting once.

She merely stared at Chinu for several glances, confirming that his expression and tone were sincere, then suddenly asked:

"Chinu, am I very lustful?"

?? We're gonna fight, we're gonna fight——!

? There's a map of Yongzhou Zhoufu in the next chapter; drawing it took a bit of time, so today I'm just typing and releasing it as I go—look forward to the next chapter later~