Amidst the laughter and chatter of the crowd, the dragon boat from Xiahe Village surged ahead, leaving the others several zhang behind after rounding the bend. Sure enough, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Lu Dongqing and Qiao Ruifeng, seated at the front oars, crossed the finish line first.
Once the stern of the boat also passed the mark, the rowers drove their oars deep into the water in unison, pulling against the boat’s momentum. The dragon boat, which had been speeding forward, came to an abrupt halt.
The seamless maneuver stirred the onlookers into a frenzy, their cheers and shouts nearly piercing the heavens!
“Brilliant!”
“Well done!”
“By the heavens, that was incredible!”
Even the county magistrate was impressed, nodding repeatedly before bursting into hearty laughter. “Xiahe Village! Excellent!”
With the magistrate’s approval, the wealthy merchants nearby naturally echoed him in agreement. A few accompanying scholars even began composing poems on the spot using the victory as their theme.
By the Qiao family’s cart.
“First place!” Chen Xiasheng leaped three feet into the air, shouting at the top of his lungs the moment Xiahe Village’s dragon boat crossed the line.
“This year, we might actually take the top prize!” Chen Ping exclaimed excitedly, with Zhou Shuifen and Chen Xuesheng nodding vigorously in agreement.
Qiao Suiman and Qin Yu’s gazes were also fixed on the scene. Qin Yu watched his husband with pride, grinning from ear to ear.
But Qiao Suiman’s eyes remained glued to Lu Dongqing. Even though he knew he shouldn’t be staring so much, he couldn’t stop himself from looking at him again and again.
Lu Dongqing tugged at his collar, panting heavily, his face flushed from the exertion. Still riding the high of their victory, he grinned broadly. Then, as if sensing something, he looked off into the distance.
Their eyes met across the crowd, and in that instant, the world around Qiao Suiman seemed to fall silent. His face slowly warmed, his breath hitching as he hastily averted his gaze.
He… why was he looking this way?
Lu Dongqing’s smile widened even further, as if he had already won the grand prize. He reached into his chest and touched something tucked inside, then used his other hand to slowly paddle the boat toward the riverbank.
“He’s looking over here!”
“Did he see me?”
“What nonsense! I think he’s looking at me.”
“Tch, stop deluding yourselves. He’s clearly looking in my direction.”
“Alright, you two, that’s enough. Shameless, aren’t you? How embarrassing.”
A group of young girls and ge’r near the stall huddled together, whispering among themselves. Their chatter filled Qiao Suiman with both joy and an inexplicable bitterness.
Why did he feel this way? He doesn’t understand himself anymore. He should be happy for Lu Dongqing’s triumph. So why did his heart feel sour? Why was there even a hint of dislike?
The thought startled him, but before he could sort out his feelings, a commotion snapped him back to reality.
“You heartless thing! Come home with me now!”
It was that troublesome fulang from before, now accompanied by four men, who lunged forward to grab Qiao Suiman.
“What are you doing?!” Qiao Suiman dodged just as the man tried to seize him.
“You still have the gall to talk back? You took our betrothal gifts and now pretend you don’t know us? Come home with me right now!” The ruffian fulang rolled up his sleeves and tried to drag Qiao Suiman away.
“Who the hell are you? What nonsense are you spouting? What betrothal gifts? Don’t you dare slander him!” Qin Yu snapped, his face dark with fury. With so many people around, this scoundrel’s lies could ruin Xiao Man’s reputation!
“Bah! You heartless bunch! You took our money, and now that my son’s leg is useless, you’re breaking off the engagement? You think the world works like that?!”
“Bullshit!”
“Get off me!” The fulang kept yanking at Qiao Suiman’s clothing. Flustered and furious, Qiao Suiman shoved him away. But the man refused to give up and grabbed at Qiao Suiman’s clothes again, trying to drag him off.
Zhou Shuifen and Chen Xuesheng rushed to pull the fulang away, only to be blocked by the men he had brought. Chen Ping and Chen Xuesheng, seeing their family being manhandled, flew into a rage and threw themselves into the fray.
Chaos erupted. Qiao Suiman and Qin Yu also began scuffling with the fulang, but their strength was no match for the men. Qin Yu was pinned down by one of the men and could only watch helplessly as Qiao Suiman was being bullied.
“Help! They’re abducting someone!” Qin Yu screamed.
“Lies! This little whore took our betrothal gifts, then ran off at the last minute! And now he dares to use our silver to set up a stall here? Since when is that fair?”
What a blatant distortion of the truth!
Qiao Suiman bit down hard on the fulang’s hand, making him yelp and loosen his grip. Seizing the chance, Qiao Suiman rammed into him, knocking him down, then snatched an empty wooden barrel from the cart and hurled it at the man holding Qin Yu!
“To hell with you, you rotten bastards! Who the hell took your betrothal gifts? Open your damn eyes! I don’t even know you!”
“And another thing… Let him go!” As the words left his mouth, the wooden barrel crashed down hard on the man’s head with a loud bang. Blood began to pour.
The man howled in pain, touching the back of his head and staring in horror at the blood on his fingers. His eyes burned with fury as he glared at Qiao Suiman. “You little bitch, you’re courting death!”
He raised his hand and slapped Qiao Suiman across the face. Still holding the barrel, Qiao Suiman couldn’t dodge in time and was struck hard, his head jerking to the side.
“Xiao Man!” Qin Yu saw his younger brother get hit and felt a fiery rage erupt inside him. He screamed and lunged at the assailant.
Though their group had numbers on their side, most of them were women and ge’r. Chen Xiasheng was still young, and only Chen Ping could put up a decent fight, but even he was beginning to falter. Some villagers from Xiahe Village saw what was happening but didn’t dare step in, only shouting repeatedly for the yayi.
The fulang tried to take advantage of the chaos to drag Qiao Suiman away, but Qiao Suiman was too fierce. Not wanting to waste any more time, the fulang grabbed a wooden stick and swung it toward Qiao Suiman’s head.
Qiao Suiman quickly raised his arm to block it. Just as the stick was about to land, a large hand suddenly snatched it away, twisting the fulang’s arm in one swift move before delivering a brutal kick that sent him flying.
“Ahhh!” The fulang screamed in agony.
It was Lu Dongqing.
Qiao Suiman was still swaying unsteadily when Lu Dongqing gently steadied him, his eyes red as he stared at the man who had just hit Qiao Suiman.
Lu Dongqing had just gotten off the boat with Qiao Ruifeng, and while Qiao Ruifeng was pulled away by Liu Tian to discuss something, Lu Dongqing had nothing to do. He decided to come back and check on Qiao Suiman, only to witness that slap. It was like oil had been poured over a raging fire. His fists clenched with a cracking sound as he grabbed the man and slammed a punch into his face.
Qin Yu, who had been grappling with that same man, froze for a moment. Regaining his senses, he rushed over to check on Qiao Suiman. Seeing the swollen half of his brother’s face, his eyes turned red with fury. These damned bastards!
Lu Dongqing held nothing back, raining blows on the man’s head. The other few who were entangled with Chen Ping tried to step in and help when they saw the situation, but the red-eyed Lu Dongqing easily dodged them. When one particularly reckless fool charged at him, Lu Dongqing flung aside the man he had been pummeling, pivoted sharply, and seized the attacker’s arm. He hurled him over his shoulder and slammed him onto the ground before stomping down viciously.
Lu Dongqing was already tall and cold-faced, his appearance fierce and intimidating. In this moment, he looked like a wrathful god descending upon the mortal world. The two remaining men were scared out of their wits at the sight, their legs trembling as they tried to flee.
Translator [LUNE]: That’s all the updates for today!
Thanks for the chapter!
I knew it those good for nothing greedy mongrels where seeking trouble but to create such outrageous lies and dare to hit my boy ……..I’m so furious. (╥﹏╥)