Chapter 230: Who Are You Guarding Against by Making Yourself So Ugly?

When Shen Jing Bin woke up, it was already the next night.

Counting it up, he had been in a coma for a full twelve hours.

The moment he opened his eyes, Shen Jing Bin's brain was completely blank, as if he had amnesia.

Who is he? Where is he?

What happened?

It wasn't until the wailing of his servant Xunhua reached his ears that his memory returned in full.

Right, he remembered. Jiang Li, Wang Buji, and Lin Ruonan went up the mountain at night to scout the path, and as a result, they accidentally stepped in dog shit and wiped out all the bandits.

Didn't leave him a single one!

How was he supposed to claim credit now?

So he ran angrily to block Jiang Li, offering favors before resorting to force, intending to take Jiang Li back to Fengyang Prefecture to be his guard.

In this way, the credit for suppressing the bandits would naturally be counted toward him.

But he never expected that the one surnamed Jiang wouldn't give him face and refused on the spot.

Could he take this anger?

Certainly not!

From childhood to adulthood, except for his uncle Prefect Su and grandmother Old Madam Zhao, who dared to make him angry?

A mere Ya Men head constable, what is he? If he wanted to crush him to death, it would be as easy as crushing an ant!

He was just about to give Jiang Li a little color to see, when suddenly his whole body went numb, and then he lost consciousness...

"Xunhua, what illness did I get?" Shen Jing Bin was full of suspicion.

"Young master, don't worry." Xunhua hurriedly helped his master sit up and comforted him, "The doctor has already seen you and said you just have kidney deficiency, nothing major. Just touch fewer women."

Hearing this, Shen Jing Bin's expression stiffened.

Kidney deficiency for a man is not a glorious thing.

"Nonsense, which quack doctor saw me? Do you believe I'll revoke his medical license!"

Xunhua shrank to the side, trembling, not daring to speak.

Shen Jing Bin glared at him, "What are you standing there like a fool for? Want to starve me to death? Why don't you go get some food!"

"Yes, understood, young master..." Xunhua hurriedly ran away.

Shen Jing Bin got off the bamboo couch and paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back.

The more he thought, the more depressed he became.

Recently, everything had been going wrong. Bandit suppression didn't work, and he was upstaged by that dog thing Jiang Li;

His body was also uncomfortable, not only fainting for no reason but also suffering from kidney deficiency.

Deficiency my ass!

For this errand, he hadn't touched a woman for almost a month, okay?

Forget it, there are no reliable doctors in this military camp. Maybe it was a misdiagnosis. Better wait until he returns to Fengyang Prefecture and ask Wen Shiyuan to take a look.

Wen Shiyuan is the head of the Xinglin Association and has excellent medical skills. Plus, he has a long-standing connection with his grandmother Old Madam Zhao, so he should give him this face.

But the bandit suppression matter...

Shen Jing Bin gritted his teeth. No, he had worked so hard for so long, he absolutely couldn't end up with nothing and hand the credit over to others!

After Xunhua put the food on the table, he ordered, "Go find Prefect Li and Prefect Lin, and tell them I've woken up and have something to discuss with them."

Xunhua agreed and turned to walk quickly out of the tent.

Less than half a quarter of an hour later, he was back.

"Young master, neither of them is willing to come." Xunhua said angrily, "They said they have to deal with the aftermath and are very busy, no time."

What 'no time', they clearly just didn't want to pay attention to him.

Shen Jing Bin's face was extremely gloomy, and he couldn't even eat his meal.

His eyes rolled, and he soon had an idea, "You go pass the word again, say I'm taking troops back to Fengyang Prefecture the day after tomorrow, so let's set the farewell banquet for tomorrow."

Let's see how you can refuse now.

When the time comes, I'll drop hints at the dinner table and bring out my uncle's banner; I don't believe you'll dare not give me this face!

After receiving Xunhua's message, both Prefects were silent.

There was indeed such an unwritten rule: when a superior comes to a subordinate's jurisdiction to handle business, after it's finished, the subordinate should prepare good wine and food and invite a few important guests to send them off grandly.

Mixing in officialdom, being too aloof won't get you far.

Prefect Li and Prefect Lin were both very reluctant, but they had no choice. Who told Shen Jing Bin's rank to be higher than theirs?

"Lord Lin, this glorious task is handed to you." Prefect Li laughed.

Prefect Lin hurriedly declined, "No, no, better leave it to Lord Li. I heard Lord Li's wife is of the same clan as Prefect Shen's maternal family. Strictly speaking, Prefect Shen should call you uncle-in-law, so it's better to get closer."

Prefect Li spat secretly.

'Uncle-in-law', he didn't acknowledge it.

His wife Su Wanjun was indeed from the same family as the Prefect, but they were separated by several branches, and they didn't have much contact.

And Su Wanjun didn't have a good impression of that nominal big sister, Shen Jing Bin's mother Su Jin Xiu.

The two hadn't been in contact for eight hundred years.

"Lord Lin's words are wrong. The most taboo thing for an official is to form cliques. If someone with ulterior motives finds out, and reports me, wouldn't I be wronged?"

Prefect Li pushed the hot potato back, "Better let Lord Lin do it, it's closer to your residence, which is much more convenient."

The two were competing openly and secretly, neither willing to entertain that piece of trash Shen Jing Bin.

In the end, they had no choice but to draw lots.

The one who drew the turtle was Prefect Lin.

Prefect Lin's face was as foul as if he had just crawled out of a latrine, but having lost the bet, he had to accept it.

And so it was decided.

Prefect Lin returned to his residence that night to make arrangements and took his daughter Lin Ruonan back with him.

At the same time, the news was conveyed to Shen Jing Bin, inviting him to grace the Lin residence at noon tomorrow for a casual meal.

Shen Jing Bin crossed his legs triumphantly.

See, they softened, right? Some people are just cheap bones; if you don't force them, they won't do it.

It wasn't just Shen Jing Bin who got the news, but also Jiang Li, Du Ruo, and Wang Buji.

Jiang Li and Wang Buji had merit in suppressing bandits, so naturally, they were on the invitation list.

As for Du Ruo, firstly she was Jiang Li's wife, so she should go together; secondly, Du Ruo's secret recipe saved Xiong Er and others, which was also a great merit, so Prefect Lin naturally wouldn't forget her.

"Husband, do I really have to go?" Du Ruo actually didn't want to join in this excitement.

Especially when she thought that the farewell banquet was specifically held for that piece of trash Shen Jing Bin, she had even less interest.

Jiang Li thought for a moment and said, "Better go."

To prevent all possibilities of rotten peach blossoms, the best way was to keep his wife by his side and nip every flower in the bud.

The next day, the couple hitched a ride on Prefect Li's carriage and drove toward the Lin residence.

Of course, Wang Buji was also there.

Wang Buji looked at Du Ruo, who was sitting opposite him with a face full of pockmarks, every whisker on his face showing disgust, "I say, sister-in-law, is it necessary to make yourself so ugly? Everyone present is not an outsider, who are you guarding against?"

Du Ruo snorted coldly, "None of your business."

Prefect Li had guessed her thoughts and said with a smile, "It's not necessary to be overly cautious. Usually, when hosting a banquet, male guests and female guests are seated separately."

"Furthermore, Lady Du's face also represents Jiang Li's face. Looking like this... I'm afraid it's inappropriate."

The implication was that Shen Jing Bin shouldn't have a chance to see her and thus develop bad intentions.

But Du Ruo was too ugly, and others might very well laugh at Jiang Li. ===== CHAPTER 231 =====