Chapter 65: The Humble Sycophant

On this freezing lunar month night, few people enjoy running out to loiter on the streets.

The roadside stall's business isn't great either, but the lamb skewers on the griddle still sizzle with oil, giving off a mouth‑watering cumin aroma.

The boss is a burly man with a Northeastern accent.

He looks simple and honest, with huge chunks of meat on the skewers, making one wonder if he hasn't yet mastered the refined art of Southern barbecue.

In the Southern barbecue scene, this single skewer of his could be divided into at least ten.

"Miss, want two skewers? I guarantee you'll be silent after one bite."

Seeing Chu Lingxi and Lin Dongfan approach, the boss smoothly drummed up business.

Chu Lingxi eyed the sizzling lamb skewers on the griddle, swallowed hard, and said, "Boss, keep them cooking—I'll take ten."

"Sure thing."

The boss took out ten skewers, laid them on the griddle, and began basting.

His movements were swift and efficient.

Lin Dongfan frowned at Chu Lingxi's belly. Ten skewers! Is she serious? Even with the baby inside, she couldn't possibly eat that much, could she?

Before Lin Dongfan could think of how to dissuade her, she had already shifted her combative gaze to Fang Xiaoqian.

"Hey, what a coincidence."

Fang Xiaoqian held a skewer in one hand, waved like a beckoning cat with the other, smiled and greeted—but she wasn't greeting Chu Lingxi, she was greeting Lin Dongfan.

This made Lin Dongfan blush, nodding awkwardly. His ex‑girlfriend Fang Xiaoqian's true nature remained unchanged; that seductive, half‑closed‑eye charm was like a water‑willow blossom in the night, unsure whether she wanted to attract wanton bees or conquer wandering butterflies.

"Husband, turn away—don't look at her."

Chu Lingxi angrily shoved Lin Dongfan around to face the opposite direction.

Lin Dongfan complied helplessly.

In his mind surfaced the brutal image of a one‑on‑one showdown between his ex and his current wife: Chu Lingxi was a low‑powered newbie under a hundred, while Fang Xiaoqian's strength was at least ten thousand.

He thought and thought.

In Lin Dongfan's imagination, he had already fleshed out the first round of their duel: Fang Xiaoqian unleashed a "Queen Adoration" move, releasing five clusters of fox fire that instantly slammed Chu Lingxi to the ground.

Brutal!

Lin Dongfan's brows knit slightly as he pondered whether he should act more domineering and shoulder the battle duty for his novice wife…

From behind came the novice wife's voice: "You're that… what's‑her‑name, Fang something? You owe my husband 180,800—will you transfer or pay cash?"

"Where's the IOU? Hand it over."

Fang Xiaoqian casually extended her hand, exuding an aura of overwhelming control.

Chu Lingxi furrowed her brows: "Since we can't produce an IOU, you refuse to pay. That's deadbeat behavior—illegal."

"Miss Chu."

Fang Xiaoqian struck a wounded pose: "You stole my husband and now you're extorting me—are you bullying me because I don't have a ministerial‑level father?"

"You……"

The low‑powered beauty Chu Lingxi was left speechless after just a few words.

Sigh!

Lin Dongfan turned to stare at Fang Xiaoqian and warned calmly: "Who's extorting you? Watch your words—don't go overboard!"

"Your wife is adorable."

Fang Xiaoqian smiled again at Chu Lingxi: "Miss Chu, you really aren't cut out for debt‑collecting. How about I treat you to eighteen lamb skewers?"

"Don't change the subject." Chu Lingxi said: "If you don't want to repay, that's fine—donate 180,800 to impoverished students in the mountains, and I'll consider the debt settled."

"I didn't expect Miss Chu to be such an enthusiastic philanthropist."

Fang Xiaoqian happily tore into a piece of lamb.

She added, amused: "Sure thing—when I become presiding judge, I'll definitely donate money to those mountain‑area students."

As she spoke, Fang Xiaoqian gave Lin Dongfan a meaningful glance.

Silently she seemed to say: "You know what to do next, right? If you can help me out, I won't let you lose face—donating and poverty relief are trivial."

Lin Dongfan grasped the meaning instantly.

And precisely because he understood at once, he felt relieved, grateful he had married Chu Lingxi—compared to the scheming Fang Xiaoqian, Chu Lingxi was a pure, spotless sheet of paper.

Someone like Fang Xiaoqian, if she ever held power, would likely become the next Yin Qiuhong.

Lin Dongfan replied bluntly: "I advise you to give up that dream; my not lifting a finger to suppress you is already me giving you leeway."

"Lin Dongfan, when you wanted to break off the engagement and marry Chu Lingxi, I didn't pester you—I even congratulated you wholeheartedly, hoping you'd rise straight to the top. What gives you the right to treat me like this?"

Fang Xiaoqian's face darkened slightly, and her smile vanished in an instant.

Before Lin Dongfan could reply, a sudden angry shout came from ahead: "Lin Dongfan!" It was Wang Anping, prosecutor of the Nanzhou City Procuratorate's First Department.

Wang Anping had been pursuing Fang Xiaoqian.

He had just gone to buy a bouquet for Fang Xiaoqian; upon returning he hadn't caught what Lin Dongfan and Fang Xiaoqian were saying, only hearing Fang Xiaoqian say, "What gives you the right to treat me like this?"

He therefore assumed Lin Dongfan was bullying Fang Xiaoqian.

Fueled by adrenaline, he surged forward and shoved Lin Dongfan with one hand: "You've become the Chu family's dragon‑son‑in‑law—how impressive! Others fear you, but we prosecutors don't!"

"What's wrong with you? You launch into violence the moment you appear!"

Chu Lingxi stepped forward angrily to reason with him.

Wang Anping angrily shoved Chu Lingxi with a palm: "This is just my temper—what of it!" The blow sent her stumbling back, frightening Lin Dongfan into hastily steadying her.

Lin Dongfan, who had wanted to avoid trouble, saw his face darken to the extreme.

Shoving me is one thing, but you shoved a pregnant woman too?!

Lin Dongfan coldly fixed his gaze on Wang Anping: "Apologize to my wife—right now, immediately!"

"It was you who first bullied Fang Xiaoqian, so if anyone should apologize, it's you." Wang Anping chuckled lightly: "You're not happy with that, huh? Look at you……"

Slap!!!

Before Wang Anping could finish speaking, a slap had already landed on his face.

This scene left Lin Dongfan and Chu Lingxi dumbfounded, and the person who angrily slapped Wang Anping turned out to be Fang Xiaoqian; her ear‑slap was truly forceful, leaving a clear five‑finger mark with just one strike.

Wang Anping covered his burning cheek.

He looked at Fang Xiaoqian with a wronged expression: "My little grandaunt, did you hit the wrong person? Lin Dongfan is over there."

"That's right, I slapped you." Fang Xiaoqian assumed the imposing posture of a judge: "Who let you get handsy? You have no manners at all—hurry up and apologize to Lin Dongfan and Chu Lingxi!"

"Why should I apologize to them?" Wang Anping flared up in anger: "Lin Dongfan bullied you—I was just venting for you. What did I do wrong?"

"Which of your eyes saw Lin Dongfan bullying me? This makes no sense!" Fang Xiaoqian said sternly: "You refuse to apologize? Fine! From now on, we don't know each other."

Saying that, Fang Xiaoqian turned and walked away.

Wang Anping hurried after her, panting: "Xiaoqian, hear me out…"

This dramatic scene left Lin Dongfan and Chu Lingxi staring dumbfounded—these days, even sycophants are this humble?

Chu Lingxi pondered and asked Lin Dongfan: "Husband, does Fang Xiaoqian still like you?"

"I'm quite certain—she likes power." Lin Dongfan put an arm around Chu Lingxi's shoulders, then nodded firmly to affirm his own statement: "Exactly, she likes power."

"But you don't have any power either."

Chu Lingxi still gazed up at him, bewildered, admiring his handsome profile.

Lin Dongfan furrowed his brows slightly: "I may lack power, but my father‑in‑law has it—when one attains the Dao, even one's chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. Have you heard of that?"

"Oh."

Chu Lingxi responded belatedly.

She gave a knowing smile.

Turning around, she saw the skewers sizzling and oozing oil on the iron plate, and instantly tossed the earlier incident to the clouds.

She linked arms with Lin Dongfan enthusiastically: "Husband, want to grill some lamb kidneys? They say you eat what you need to strengthen—good for the waist."

"!!!" Lin Dongfan broke out in a black line: "Actually… my waist is fine…"

Both of them stared at the sizzling, oil‑dripping skewers on the iron plate.

They didn't notice a black business car parked across the street, inside which sat Yin Qiuhong and Prosecutor General Chang Ming.

Yin Qiuhong stared at Lin Dongfan from afar: "Prosecutor Chang, is it really that hard to sign an arrest warrant?"

"He hasn't done anything wrong—this arrest warrant can't be signed arbitrarily." Prosecutor Chang, stressed to the point of having two big heads, replied: "You need to let him commit something first before we can talk about arresting him."