OFTLHFRO C82

Chapter 82 Add a Little Poison

Yang Cuifen, her foot aching, roared, “Who stepped on me!”

Holding the child, Luo Mingchen rolled his eyes. “Me. So what? You tried to snatch my child, and I’m not allowed to step on you?”

“You—!”

Yang Cuifen’s bluster deflated by half when she saw Luo Mingchen, and she gasped, “Why are you back?”

The onlookers were stunned—something about this development seemed off.

But when Huo Xinyue saw Luo Mingchen, her crying immediately subsided a lot. Her little hands clung tightly around his neck. “Papa!”

Hearing the aggrieved catch in her voice, Luo Mingchen’s heart ached. He patted her back gently and soothed her: “Good little one, don’t be afraid, Papa’s here.”

Finally seeing someone she could rely on, Huo Xinyue babbled a long string into his ear, then pointed her reddened little hand at Yang Cuifen and declared with perfect enunciation, “Bad!”

At this, the crowd silently stepped back a pace or two—especially those who had just criticized Xiao Lin; they hunched their necks and didn’t dare speak.

Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan both looked at Yang Cuifen.

Sensing things were going poorly, she immediately said, “I’ve got something to do, I’ll be going now—since you’re here, that’s fine.”

But she had barely taken a few steps before Luo Mingchen yanked her back.

Because he was strong, she stumbled and slammed into a table. “Ow!”

“Aren’t you going to explain how my girl’s hand got injured?”

So furious that he seemed calm, Luo Mingchen stared her down.

About to lash out, Yang Cuifen faltered and said guiltily, “That woman wouldn’t let go! I thought they were kidnappers…”

Xiao Lin’s mouth twitched; he was appalled by her shamelessness. “Have you no shame? Hua Niang was here taking good care of Yueyue. You barged in saying you had to sit here, claiming to be Captain Huo’s cousin-in-law and demanding money from us. When Hua Niang refused, you grabbed the child—so hard, too. She let go because she was afraid of hurting the child, and you even shoved her.”

So she’d been trying to take advantage…

Passing the child to Huo Yan, Luo Mingchen took a couple of steps toward Yang Cuifen.

She recoiled in fear. “Wh-what are you going to do!”

“Me?”

Seeing she knew fear, he smiled slightly. “Normally, I don’t hit women. But figuring you snatched a child, you don’t count as a person.”

Terrified, she backed away over and over. Seeing him about to strike, she shrieked, “Murder—”

Before she could finish, Luo Mingchen drove a fist into her abdomen, then slapped her across the face.

If she hadn’t been so flimsy, he would have kicked her twice more.

Holding the child, Huo Yan palmed a poisoned needle, stepped up, patted her shoulder, and lifted her effortlessly. “Cousin-in-law, next time be careful your own child doesn’t get taken by real kidnappers.”

The pain in her body was so intense she didn’t notice the prick in her shoulder, but his words startled her. “He’s your nephew!”

“I’m only reminding you out of kindness,” Huo Yan said evenly. “When parents fail to do good, isn’t it normal for retribution to fall on the child?”

Yang Cuifen: “…”

Seeing they didn’t plan to continue beating her, she scrambled away on hands and knees.

The gawkers gradually dispersed.

Once they sat down, Luo Mingchen took Huo Xinyue back from Huo Yan and asked in a low voice, “What did you just do?”

Huo Yan tilted his head close and murmured in his ear, “Poisoned her.”

“Huh?”

Luo Mingchen’s eyes widened. “Will she die?”

“She’ll be paralyzed for two months.”

Huo Yan had originally prepared that poison for the Lin Tianlei family, but with Luo Mingchen present—and given those people were cowed for a while by his earlier words—he hadn’t used it.

Today, at least, it wouldn’t go to waste.

“Oh.”

Curious, Luo Mingchen asked, “How did you make that poison?”

“It’s a bit complicated,” Huo Yan said. “I’ll tell you when we get home.”

“Alright.”

The two huddled together whispering, making Xiao Lin’s head ache. “You’re still in a restaurant—be careful.”

What if someone with sharp ears overheard?

Hua Niang hadn’t caught a word, so she didn’t understand what Xiao Lin meant and looked puzzled.

Smiling at them, Luo Mingchen remembered something. “Where’s Xiaoxiang?”

“The guards took him to buy milk cakes and candied haw,” Xiao Lin said.

He’d gone to the latrine, and when he returned, he’d seen Hua Niang being shoved by Yang Cuifen.

Luo Mingchen nodded to show he understood. As he stroked his daughter’s back and arms, he asked, “Yueyue, does anything still hurt?”

Huo Xinyue shook her little head; her long lashes were like tiny wet brushes.

So there shouldn’t be any other injuries…

Luo Mingchen let out a breath of relief.

“How are you back so fast?” Xiao Lin asked, bewildered.

Holding Huo Xinyue, Luo Mingchen received a clandestine kiss and said with delight, “We finished the job.”

Then he kissed her soft little cheek; the whole child was a bundle of softness, with a tiny topknot on her head.

Judging by the complexity, it probably wasn’t done by Huo Yuhui or Huo Xiang—likely the Ming household’s maids had helped. Adorable.

“So fast?!” Xiao Lin could hardly believe it.

These were allied rebels—large in number—not docile chicks waiting to be caught.

He had thought returning within half a month would already be quick; instead, they were back in seven or eight days.

“We went early, and they made their move quickly,” Luo Mingchen said, glancing at Huo Yan.

Though Huo Yan had described the events of that night simply, the respectful looks from the soldiers showed it had taken a lot of careful planning.

“The leader was very impatient,” Huo Yan said.

Xiao Lin nodded slightly at that.

Impatience was the great taboo in war. If the enemy thought they were pushovers and grew careless, defeat came swiftly.

“So what are you planning next?” he asked.

“Sell tofu,” Huo Yan said.

“…You’re not going to the capital?” Xiao Lin asked.

Hearing Huo Xinyue yawn—likely tired from crying—Luo Mingchen shifted his hold and softened his voice. “What would we do in the capital?”

“You’ve both rendered merit. Go to the capital and get a good post,” Xiao Lin said, then looked at Huo Yan. “Back when we took gig jobs with the escort agency, it was all licking blood off the blade, and we didn’t dare go to the yamen. Now that you’ve earned merit, you can clean up your old identities.”

“I thought escort work was proper business?” Luo Mingchen said, confused.

Why would identities need “cleaning”?

“They took odd jobs,” Hua Niang said helplessly. “That is, they were external hires. Sometimes they’d take other tasks, like escorting valuables for wealthy families or the goods of certain caravans. If anything happened, the agency wouldn’t be responsible. If the yamen looked into it, it would be hard to explain.”

“Doesn’t the county constable know you?” Luo Mingchen asked Huo Yan.

“We met during a bandit hunt,” Huo Yan said. “The Yuelan County constable only knows us as escorts.”

No wonder Huo Yan had saved so much money, Luo Mingchen thought.

Before, someone had suggested Xiao Lin go to the yamen to sort things out with Yang Cuifen, but he hadn’t wanted to.

Seeing Xiao Lin still waiting for an answer, Huo Yan said, “We’ll see.”

“These days, the world can plunge into chaos in a breath,” Xiao Lin said. “If you’ve got plans, decide early. If not, don’t get involved later—spare yourselves calamity.”

They chatted a while, and then Huo Xiang returned from buying food. Seeing his two fathers, he whooped with joy and launched himself at them like a cannonball.