Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 664 - 662

Chapter 664: Chapter 662

Shen Jingwen brought a ladder to the outer wall of Xiao’er’s house.

What a typical example he was of a delicate scholar. The short walk with the ladder left him panting for breath.

He leaned the ladder against the wall and climbed up, only to discover several shards of glass embedded in the top.

"How did I forget these things? I almost stabbed my hand! The third one is ruthless, placing such sinister things on the wall! How am I supposed to remove this?" Shen Jingwen muttered, looking around, then descended the ladder.

He picked up a stone from the ground, climbed the ladder again, and used the stone to knock off the protruding glass shards. He continued this until the shards adhered to the base of the wall, posing no more harm to him.

Shen Jingwen threw the stone away, shook his sore hands, and then finally climbed the wall. Standing on top, he looked down at the ground. It was too high; he didn’t have the courage to jump.

Shen Jingwen could only turn around, squat carefully, and stretch his body down to try and lift the ladder to the other side of the wall. Suddenly, he lost his balance and pitched forward. He tried to steady himself by standing up, but being uncoordinated, he fell off the wall.

In a stroke of luck, he fell into Xiao’er’s yard.

Xiao’er, Yang Liu, and Yang Mei watched this silently from their upstairs room, finding Shen Jingwen’s clumsiness unbearable.

Pained and strained from the fall, it took Shen Jingwen some time to muster enough strength to try and rise, only to find out that he had twisted his foot!

Looking up at the towering wall, he felt despair.

Without the ladder, how was he going to climb out later!

Never mind that for now, he thought. He decided to fill his stomach first, as he was unbearably hungry and the smell of meat was even stronger here.

Shen Jingwen hobbled towards the kitchen.

He did not encounter a single patrolling servant on the way: "Strange, for such a large family business, why is there no night patrol?"

Just then, a frosty northern wind blew by, causing Shen Jingwen to huddle his shoulders. It’s so cold that probably all the servants have gone to bed, he thought.

Dragging his injured leg, Shen Jingwen finally reached the kitchen.

Xiao’er, who had been secretly watching him, rolled her eyes. If he didn’t arrive soon, she was considering revealing herself to help him. It was even more tiring for her to watch him in secret!

In the darkness, Shen Jingwen could see that the kitchen was clean, with everything in neat order. The kitchen was twice the size of his room, provoking his jealousy even more and intensifying his desire for it all.

Mrs. Ji had said that the Buddha’s Temptation was stored in a wine jar. After a glance around, Shen Jingwen saw an exquisite wine jar in the center of a long table. That must be it, he thought!

Ignoring the pain in his foot, he hurried over to the wine jar. Just as he was about to open it, he paused, looking around and finding no one in sight. Shen Jingwen dumped a packet of poison into a water tank near him.

Just then, a sleepy Xiao’er walked into the kitchen, spotting a figure. She asked anxiously, "Who are you? What did you just put in our water tank?"

At first, Shen Jingwen was startled by her presence, but seeing only Xiao’er he felt as if the heavens were helping him! His eyes flashed with a murderous intent. He took a dagger from his bosom and, ignoring his pained foot, rushed towards Xiao’er.

He didn’t believe that he, a grown man, couldn’t kill a weak woman!

Xiao’er appeared to be scared stiff, only reacting when Shen Jingwen was about to attack. She quickly turned and ran, screaming loudly, "Catch the thief! Help! Murder!"

But in her panic, she didn’t notice something on the ground and tripped, falling flat.

The murderous intent in Shen Jingwen’s eyes intensified. He lifted his dagger and lunged towards Xiao’er.

He had to kill this damn girl quickly, or she might alert others!

Xiao’er couldn’t help but feel a chill. This man was really willing to kill her! He was beyond redemption!

Xiao’er swiftly rolled over and grabbed his hand.

Shen Jingwen tried to break free, but found he could not move, Xiao’er’s grip was too strong.

Just then, Chengyao, Yang Liu, and others came running.

Seeing the scene, Chengyao cried out in shock, "Xiao’er!"

Shen Jingwen, realizing he had been found, knew his plot was exposed. He was about to pull off his mask, when Feng Yang kicked him hard, sending him flying.

With the impact, Shen Jingwen passed out.

Chengyao hurriedly helped Xiao’er, "Are you okay, Xiao’er?"

Xiao’er got up, brushed the dust off her body, and shook her head, "I’m fine."

Jingrui stepped forward, pulled off Shen Jingwen’s mask. Chengyao was startled, "Shen Jingwen? How could this be?"

How could this be? Why did he want to kill Xiao’er?

"I saw someone sneaking into the kitchen from my room window. So, I came over to check. I just arrived in time to see him pouring some medicine powder into the water tank," Xiao’er explained.

Everyone knew that medicine powder was poison!

Mrs. Liu was furious at the revelation, "Why is this impossible? Probably life has been too hard on him and he wanted to poison our family to death, take our family’s wealth for himself! He is incorrigible!"

Chengyao was miserable. Even though Mrs. Liu’s words were harsh, he too thought they were true!

Feng Yang approached the water tank and leaned over to smell it. There was no unusual smell. He then dipped a finger into the water and tasted it.

Seeing Feng Yang’s actions, Chengyao urgently tried to stop him, "General Feng, no!"

After one taste, Feng Yang’s mouth went numb. He tried to speak, but his mouth was paralyzed. He gave a pleading look to Xiao’er, but found he couldn’t even move his head.

Zhao Yong quickly fed him an antidote pill.

After a while, Feng Yang regained movement in his head, "This must be a poison extracted from a species of ant in the Northwestern desert. After consumption, one would be immobilized. "

The Northwestern desert? Chengyao looked at Shen Jingwen. Could the old house be related to the rebellion in the Northwest?

Feng Yang signaled the guards to take Shen Jingwen away, also ordering some men to arrest and interrogate the people from the old Shen house.

"Interrogate what? Hand them all over to the government for execution!" Liu snapped furiously. "They tried to poison all of us! The Emperor is too lenient, giving a general amnesty every three years. People this vicious should be locked up for life!"

Chengyao opened his mouth, wanting to say something but couldn’t bring himself to speak.