The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 451 I Want to Marry Pei Qin (1)_1

Chapter 451: Chapter 451 I Want to Marry Pei Qin (1)_1

Shen Songming genuinely didn’t want to leave, and even if he had to, he wanted to take advantage or grab a little benefit before doing so.

Having packed his belongings and loaded everything to take with him onto the cart, Shen Songming still lingered around Pei Qin, clinging to her side and humming. He just wouldn’t leave.

Pei Qin couldn’t do anything without him tagging along, short of accompanying her to the latrine.

Actually, Shen Songming did want to follow her there. The restroom seemed intimate, and the washroom suggested passion... But he knew well enough that if he tried, he’d first have to win a fight against Pei Qin. Suddenly it dawned on him: Pei Qin was so formidable, he had married her yet couldn’t defeat her. If he ever wanted to get close and she disagreed, he’d just have to stand by and watch!

Pei Qin went to the Sweet Potato Base to pick sweet potato leaves, then came back and steamed them into sweet potato leaf cakes, "Take these as rations!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Songming’s eyes lit up with delight, practically brimming with hearts, "So touched, so happy! I need a hug!"

"Hurry back and get the investigation cleared up," Pei Qin glared at him.

Being reminded of the assassination attempt, Shen Songming suddenly lost his enthusiasm. He took the sweet potato leaf cakes and said solemnly, "I will definitely get to the bottom of this!"

Pei Qin gestured a salute to him.

Shen Songming clenched his teeth in secret, thinking how they were both young people from modern society, yet they had started following the customs of the ancients, where men and women couldn’t casually touch. He wanted to! Not caring about others like Lu Hai being present, he rushed forward and embraced Pei Qin, "I’ll get this sorted out quickly and come back to spend New Year’s with you!" He couldn’t let Mo Heng, that blind fool, spend New Year’s with Pei Qin again.

"Okay!" Pei Qin had just responded.

Shen Songming then turned his head and planted a firm kiss on a discreet spot on her cheek. Before she could retaliate, he swiftly retreated, wearing a triumphant smile, "I’m off now!"

Pei Qin vigorously rubbed her face, exclaiming angrily, "You’re lucky you run fast!"

Having successfully stolen a kiss and feeling elated, Shen Songming waved goodbye joyously, calling for the guards to bring the carriage over, "I’m leaving!" He wanted to add that she should miss him, but with outsiders around, he decided against it.

Finally having sent off this buffoon, Pei Qin could relax a bit.

Yet Shen Songming didn’t leave straight away. Instead, he made a detour to the County Government Prison, still with three large hemp bags, and packed Zhao Junchao and Zhang Shiqian inside them. After giving them a thorough beating, he left in a carefree manner.

When Wu Dongsi arrived, Shen Songming was already far away. Seeing the three people who had been beaten again under the cover of hemp bags, Wu Dongsi couldn’t help feeling a bit of pity. They could have offended anyone but choosing to offend Pei Qin was like digging their own graves, especially with Shen Songming backing her.

"Young Master Shen said they ate too much, so they should contribute some grain and return home to eat!" The Prison Head conveyed Shen Songming’s words.

"Are they being released?" Wu Dongsi was surprised. Yet with the assassination case being difficult to investigate and lacking solid evidence, even if Zhao Junchao and the others were forced under torture to implicate Lady Qian, without having found the assassin, it was impossible to convict them.

"Then let them contribute some grain and release them!"

The Prison Head agreed and set out to arrange it.

The Zhao family, misunderstanding "contributing grain" as contributing silver, went to Lady Qian and Pei Zongli, expecting them to provide the silver.

Upon hearing this, Lady Qian knew they hadn’t found any concrete evidence to convict her and was unwilling to pay.

The Government Office had loosened its grip, implying a willingness to release Zhao Junchao. Any further accusations at this point wouldn’t hold much credibility.

With no other options, the Zhao family consulted with Zhang Shiqian and the other two families involved and collected one hundred taels of silver to bail out the three men.

The one hundred taels of silver were forwarded to Pei Qin to alleviate her shock.

Zhang Shiqian also got kicked out of the county school. Zhao Junchao’s family took silver to their teacher, asking for leniency to let him reflect at home. He needed to read "The Four Books" once more and rewrite his essays a few times before he could return to the county school.