Conquering the Male Supporting Character – CH 017

Chapter 17. Trouble

“You heartless shopkeeper! Who knows what they put in the food that made my son vomit like this? They are so vicious and cruel; do they not fear retribution?!”

The sharp, angry shouts echoed upstairs. The middle-aged woman’s voice was so loud that Lu Wan could hear it clearly from upstairs.

It sounded like a customer had gotten sick from the food.

She pondered expressionlessly. Now that she had encountered this situation, she could not ignore it; this was her mother’s shop.

Besides, causing problems for customers was no small matter.

With a slight smile, Lu Wan put down her lotus leaf cup and explained softly to Xie Yu.

“Please wait a moment, Lord Yu. This is my mother’s shop; I need to go and check on it.”

As she spoke, she gently lifted her skirt, preparing to go out and investigate.

Suddenly, Xie Yu moved swiftly, blocking her path. She was too quick and lost her balance, bumping right into his arms.

A cool, slightly bitter masculine scent filled her nostrils. Instinctively, she placed her hands on Xie Yu’s chest; the touch was warm and firm.

From behind, it looked like a couple deeply in love, embracing passionately.

Lu Wan looked up and met his eyes, even seeing her own reflection in them. This time, she did not need to pretend; her face flushed slightly.

Slightly regaining her composure, she took a hasty step back, a hint of apology in her voice. “I was impulsive.”

Seeing her shyness, Xie Yu coughed lightly, a slight smile playing on his lips, and changed the subject. “I will go with you.”

As they descended the stairs, Lu Wan saw a large crowd of onlookers gathered inside and outside the shop, several layers deep, most whispering amongst themselves.

“Is that not Widow Qin, who runs the incense and medicine shop? She only has this one son, and she raised him with great difficulty. It is a shame he got sick from eating at the shop; she cannot let it go easily.”

“Oh dear, I only ate half of it. I hope I do not get sick too…”

Xie Yu walked ahead, letting her follow behind to avoid being bumped.

Even though the crowd did not recognize him, seeing his refined manners and distinguished appearance, they assumed he was some kind of nobleman or official, and spontaneously made way for him.

Lu Wan had initially thought something serious had happened and was somewhat anxious.

But upon seeing the middle-aged woman wailing incessantly without shedding a tear, she immediately felt relieved.

If her only son were truly in trouble, would she not be shedding tears? This empty wailing was clearly an act.

She was probably trying to extort money.

Perhaps the tavern was indeed having a run of bad luck; coincidentally, the shrewd head manager was out collecting debts, leaving only the second manager. He was a refined, thin man, clearly educated.

But this scholar, who usually only knew how to handle accounts, was now wringing his hands anxiously in front of the loud, tantrum-throwing woman, his face turning red with embarrassment.

“Sister-in-law Qin, why not call a physician to examine your son first…”

“Pah!”

The woman spat in his face, shouting, “Your shop is big, and you have many employees, so you think you can just lure us, a widow and her child, away? Then you can do whatever you want with us! I will not fall for that!”

She started wailing again, “My son… my poor son! He’s almost vomited blood just eating here! What kind of heartless shopkeepers are you? They are doing nothing but shady business!”

The poor, refined second-in-command was held tightly by his clothes, unable to escape, and was pointed at and whispered about by the crowd. He lowered his head in shame.

Lu Wan, listening nearby, almost sneered.

She beckoned A-Yun over, whispered a few words in her ear, and A-Yun retreated.

“Auntie, what’s wrong? Why are you crying without shedding a tear?”

Lu Wan, emboldened by Xie Yu standing in front of her, raised her voice slightly and asked.

The first reaction of those around was to look at who had spoken; then they saw a beautiful young woman standing behind the handsome young man, looking puzzled.

Many people, momentarily blinded by her striking beauty, quickly composed themselves and looked at the woman.

And indeed, she was crying without a single tear, just empty sobs.

The wailing abruptly stopped. The woman forcefully wiped her reddened eyes with her sleeve, avoiding answering, only repeatedly shouting, “I only have this one son!”

She repeated this several times, her words aimed at Lu Wan, but her hand was pointing at Xie Yu.

“Madam, you are clearly from a wealthy family! How could you know the suffering of us lowly people? You are born beautiful, so you have a powerful and influential husband to protect you. Why would you care about the lives of people like us?!”

What? Being born good and beautiful was now her original sin? Lu Wan was almost laughing in anger, her words implying that she used her looks to please others.

Upon hearing the latter part of her statement, Xie Yu’s gaze turned cold, as if frozen solid. The woman shrank back in fear and began to feign tears while holding her son.

But many discerning people had already realized that this feigned crying without shedding tears suggested something fishy was going on.

The surrounding murmurs subsided considerably.

Seeing something was wrong, the woman quickly pinched her son, who was lying unconscious in her arms, under her clothes. The unconscious boy vomited a lot of filth.

A foul, sour stench filled the air, accompanied by the woman’s accusations. “My son said he was going to have a drink at this place this morning, but he vomited like this so soon after we got home. It must be the food here that’s unclean; it has harmed my son!”

As she cried, the man lying on the ground twitched a few times, as if he was about to die.

The murmurs that had just stopped started up again. People had a sense of compassion, and seeing such a pitiful sight, it was hard not to be swayed.

Even those who had been suspicious earlier hesitated to speak, lest they be accused of being cold-hearted by the more compassionate ones.

“Ah Wan, I…”

Xie Yu immediately noticed something amiss. He had already gestured to Xie-Jue, and this was merely a convenient way to curry favor with Lu Wan.

But before he could finish speaking, something unexpected happened.

A large basin of steaming hot water was poured down from above, splashing onto the man’s feet.

A scream rang out, and the seemingly unconscious man suddenly sprang to his feet, thrashing about and clutching his leg in pain.

The onlookers were stunned by this turn of events. When they recovered, they realized someone had deliberately put on an act to extort money from the shopkeeper.

The discerning person who had seen through the ruse triumphantly told those around him, “I saw through it all along! Widow Qin was clearly faking it.”

Those overflowing with sympathy mostly looked embarrassed; some remained silent, while others, more extreme, began to genuinely grit their teeth in anger.

They were disgusted by the woman’s deception, yet also harbored a hidden resentment towards the smug onlookers. Why had they not warned them when they saw through it? They just wanted to see him make a fool of himself.

The woman who had been wailing earlier had stopped, her face pale and ashen. She never expected to be exposed so easily.

Lu Wan finally relaxed, her fist clenching at the corner of her soft sleeve, loosening.

She had been taking a gamble.

She was betting that Widow Qin only had this one son, and she could not bear to let him actually eat something unclean while pretending. That’s why she had someone pour a basin of hot water on him to test the waters.

If she had guessed wrong, besides the possibility of unclean food, there would be another charge—throwing hot water at a customer seeking justice. The shop’s reputation would likely suffer even more.

Fortunately, she won her gamble.

The onlookers gradually dispersed, leaving scattered, disdainful glances on Widow Qin, who sat slumped on the ground, dazed and confused. Beside her was her son, clutching his foot and crying in pain.

They looked like two pathetic rats, despised by the people.

The shop’s second manager, having recovered his composure, came over, greeted Xie Yu and Lu Wan, and then instructed the staff to apologize to each of the first-floor customers, asking them to come back later.

The puddle of vomit was still there, a complete mess, and needed to be cleaned up.

At this moment, Xie-Jue also summoned the constables patrolling the street. Among the men in blue robes wearing black turbans, one recognized Xie Yu and stepped forward to bow to him.

“I did not know that you made such an arrangement, Lord Yu.”

Lu Wan smiled sweetly at him.

“It’s nothing, Ah Wan, no need to be so polite.”

Xie Yu sized up the mother and child, noticing the man’s dark expression; his brow twitched slightly, sensing there was more to it than met the eye.

He waved to several men, who methodically began to direct the officers: “Guard all areas; do not let outsiders near.”

Sure enough, just as the constables were about to arrest the man, he began to retch again.

“Stop pretending, stop pretending! Do not make a mess in jail later.”

The constables shook him impatiently, and the man collapsed, limp and lifeless.

“Wake up, stop pretending, wake up!” But this time, nothing they did could rouse him.

Lu Wan carefully walked around the vomit, looked closer, and saw the constable test the man’s breath before reporting to Xie Yu with a look of astonishment.

“Commander Xie, this man…this man is dead!”

The stunned Widow Qin, upon hearing this, quickly crawled over, ignoring the filth, and tightly embraced her son.

This time, she did not wail loudly. Large tears streamed down the dead man’s face, mingling with her snot and tears, as she sobbed, making her look several years older.

Xie Yu frowned. He approached and examined him closely. Seeing that his mouth and eyes were blackened, he gave the order.

“Find a carriage and take them back first. Do not let anyone see them.”

The man was dead.

This was the first time Lu Wan had seen someone die so easily in front of her. She was stunned, and a bizarre thought even crossed her mind.

Could it be that her basin of hot water scalded him to death?

“Ah Wan, Ah Wan… do not panic; come upstairs with me first.”

Xie Yu noticed her unease and instinctively felt that she might be frightened.

He softened his voice, and seeing her blank stare and silence, he took her slightly cold hand and offered to lead her back.

If Xie Yu had acted this way before, she would have been overjoyed and would have immediately checked his favorability rating.

But now, she could only let Xie Yu lead her back to the private room.

What on earth was going on?

Lu Wan felt her head spinning.

How could this person suddenly die in front of her?