Chapter Fifty-Four: I Refuse to Go Home

Lin Rou, furious, kicked him hard several times and cursed, “You heartless cur! My father values you so much, and yet you would try to kill me!”

“Even if I beat you to death right now, you should still be grateful to the Lin family.”

The man gasped for breath, blood streaming down his face from the beating.

Yet he continued to insist that he had never intended to kill Lin Rou. The orders he had received were only to kidnap her, to disrupt the alliance by marriage between the Shi and Lin families. As for what would become of her afterward, he could not say.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. You know full well how my father deals with traitors!”

At this moment, Jiang Chen spoke up, “Actually, I’ve been thinking. Strictly speaking, this man hasn’t really betrayed the Lin family.”

Lin Rou shot him a suspicious and astonished look. “What do you mean by that? How is someone as vile and shameless as him not a traitor?”

“If, from the very beginning, he was working for someone else, and only joined your family to act as a spy, then he never truly served the Lin family. He can’t be considered a traitor, because he never pledged genuine loyalty.”

“Isn’t that right?”

Jiang Chen’s words, sharp as a blade, struck straight at the man’s heart.

Lin Rou exclaimed in horror, “If that’s true, then all the more reason for you to die!”

“I held back earlier on purpose, just to draw out your full strength. With your skills, you could have made a name for yourself anywhere. Why lower yourself to be a servant in the Lin household?”

“Unless you only used that position to hide within the Lin family, waiting to carry out some nefarious purpose!”

Jiang Chen’s assessment was accurate and shrewd. The man glared at him with gritted teeth, but there was nothing he could do.

Unable to contain her anger any longer, Lin Rou rushed forward and kicked him over, sending him tumbling to the ground. After a savage beating, the man finally passed out cold.

“He hasn’t even told us who he’s working for, and you’ve already gone and knocked him out!” Jiang Chen looked at the fuming Lin Rou in surprise, never expecting that this pampered young lady could deliver such a thrashing so quickly.

“What’s the point of asking? Once we drag him back, he’ll talk eventually.”

Jiang Chen began to ponder. With the night barely half over and the matter already resolved, the Lin household might not even realize their young mistress had been kidnapped. If that were the case, all his efforts would have been for nothing.

What he’d imagined was to save the Lin family’s young lady from the kidnappers and bring her back in grand fashion. By then, Lin Xuesong and the others would be frantic with worry, and upon seeing their daughter returned safe by a wandering hero, they’d be overwhelmed with gratitude—perhaps even moved to tears.

With Lin Xuesong’s wealth, surely he would offer at least a thousand taels of gold as thanks. If not, he might at least agree to purchase the thousand jars of medicinal wine. That alone would secure Old Wu’s family’s future, so they’d have no worries even if they left Shanguan Town.

But now, things were going off script. If he returned Lin Rou right away, the Lin family would probably assume their daughter had simply slipped out to play, never realizing the gravity of what had happened.

With this in mind, Jiang Chen asked Lin Rou, “Hey, Miss Lin, I’ve saved your life twice now. Shouldn’t your family show a little gratitude?”

“You can’t seriously think it’s just your due, can you?”

At his request for a reward, Lin Rou’s face filled with disdain.

“So you do have ulterior motives. I wondered why you’d be so generous as to save me—it turns out you’ve had your eye on the Lin family all along.”

Jiang Chen immediately denied it. “What nonsense! I had no idea you were the Lin family’s young lady. A true lady of a grand house should be educated and gracious. There aren’t many like you.”

“Say one more word and I’ll tear your foul mouth apart!”

The two began to quarrel as expected, until Jiang Chen realized it was pointless to argue and suggested that he escort her back to the Lin residence. If he could meet Lin Xuesong, all the better.

However, Lin Rou flatly refused. “No, I’m not going back!”

“Don’t be stubborn. You’d rather stay here than go home?”

It was the dead of night, and for a pampered young lady like Lin Rou, this wild, remote forest was a nightmare.

But despite Jiang Chen’s warnings, she remained resolute. “Take me away from here, but I’m not going back to the Lin residence!”

“Are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?” Jiang Chen said, annoyed. “Lin Rou, let’s get one thing straight—I’m not your servant, so I don’t have to indulge your whims. Getting you safely back to your family is the best I can do.”

“What you do after returning is none of my concern.”

Lin Rou still refused to cooperate. As the pampered darling of the Lin household, she had never before encountered anyone as obstinate as Jiang Chen, who dared to defy her. The two of them matched each other’s stubbornness, and it seemed their conversation would end in discord.

“If you don’t want to go home, then stay here with the three corpses for company. I’m not going to bother with you anymore.”

Jiang Chen pretended to leave. Lin Rou glanced at the three bloodied dead bodies on the ground and shuddered involuntarily, a chill creeping through her heart.

“Hey!”

“Get back here!”

A smile crept onto Jiang Chen’s lips. “What is it now, young lady? Have you changed your mind?”

Instead, Lin Rou asked, “Do you want to make a fortune?”

“What do you mean?” he replied.

Lin Rou replied earnestly, “Didn’t you say you wanted a reward? Just do as I say, and you’ll get a handsome sum when it’s done!”

“I’m the Lin family’s young lady. My word is good as gold!”

Jiang Chen frowned, replying cautiously, “I just want to do business with your father. There’s nothing for me to discuss with you—and who’s to say you’re not planning to trick me?”

Surprisingly, Lin Rou didn’t get angry. Instead, she seemed emboldened, sensing she had grasped Jiang Chen’s intentions.

“Why go to my father? He’ll do as I say. If I tell him not to do business with you, what then?”

This willful and headstrong young lady was clearly trying to take charge of him now. Jiang Chen found it amusing, but said nothing, deciding instead to listen closely to what she had in mind.

“Listen carefully. I don’t want to go home. What you need to do is keep me safe—and make sure no one from the Lin family finds me!”