Chapter 90: He’s Blind, You’re Vile

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: He’s Blind, You’re Vile

The messenger soldier scratched his head.

He had only said Doctor Zhen’s sister was here to make a delivery, not that she was here specifically to see him. It was the doctor himself who’d bolted without hearing him out.

Of course, he only dared to think such things. After all, Doctor Zhen was notoriously difficult and petty.

He pointed at Tian Jiao beside him. "Your sister... isn’t that her?"

Zhen Jili looked at Tian Jiao again.

A smile had just begun to form on Tian Jiao’s lips when Zhen Jili rolled his eyes heavenward.

"Your sister’s the one who looks like that. My sister is much more beautiful than her!"

Tian Jiao was fuming.

’A grown man being so sarcastic was one thing, but to say she wasn’t pretty?’

"Oh, so it wasn’t her," the messenger soldier said, scratching his head again. "She said she was from Dafeng Village and here to deliver dehydrated vegetables, so we all just assumed..."

Zhen Jili had been about to leave, but at those words, he turned back. Narrowing his eyes, he walked toward Tian Jiao and Jiang Wu.

"You’re from Dafeng Village, too?"

Tian Jiao was still sulking from being indirectly called ugly and didn’t want to speak. Jiang Wu, looking a bit timid, nodded.

Zhen Jili pressed, "Why do you know how to make dehydrated vegetables? As I recall, Ji Huan is the only one in Dafeng Village who knows how."

’He hadn’t been among the men who came to pick up the goods that day, yet he knew Ji Huan...’

Putting it all together, Tian Jiao figured out who he was.

’This man visits Dafeng Village once, and suddenly Ji Huan has a connection with the army. He must be her influential benefactor.’

The displeasure and resentment in her heart vanished instantly. She stepped forward and said in a sweet, wheedling tone, "Lord, Ji Huan isn’t the only one who can make dehydrated vegetables. Take a look at ours. I guarantee they’re even better than hers."

She paused, glanced at Zhen Jili, and gave him a meaningful smile. "Lord, you’re so far away, you probably don’t know much about what goes on in our village. It’s understandable that you might have been deceived. I just think that business should be conducted with honesty. Some people not only have poor character, but their reputation in the village is absolutely rotten..."

Everything she said, both directly and indirectly, was an attack on Ji Huan. Anyone who wasn’t deaf could tell.

Zhen Jili stroked his chin thoughtfully, then suddenly asked, "You must be Jiang Wu and Tian Jiao."

Jiang Wu and Tian Jiao were both stunned. "Lord, you know us?"

Then, Tian Jiao’s expression soured.

"Did Ji Huan mention us to you? What did she say? I’m sure it was nothing good. Lord, you don’t understand. She’s been like this since we were children. Maybe she’s jealous of me. I’ve always tried to be patient with her, but she..."

Zhen Jili held up a finger and wagged it at her.

"Don’t you dare drag her into this. Your names aren’t even worthy of passing her lips. As for how I know... didn’t you just say that some people have a rotten reputation in the village? All it takes is asking around a little to hear quite the dramatic story."

Tian Jiao choked on her words. This man was obviously speaking with a double meaning.

Her expression flickered for a moment before settling into a look of utter humiliation.

"I don’t believe I’ve done anything to offend you, Lord. Why are you humiliating me like this?"

"For no particular reason," Zhen Jili said with a smirk. "Just because he’s blind, and you’re shameless."

"You..." Tian Jiao bit her lip, on the verge of crying from pure rage this time.

Jiang Wu mustered his courage and stepped in front of Tian Jiao. "You... you can’t talk to Jiaojiao like that..."

"What? Am I wrong? Did you not break your marriage engagement? Did she not betray her best friend? And did the two of you not sneak around and have an affair?"

Jiang Wu’s face flushed crimson. He stammered, unable to form a single word, utterly humiliated.

Tian Jiao pushed him aside and faced Zhen Jili, her eyes red. "You can’t just take Ji Huan’s word for it! It’s not at all like she says! What happened between the three of us..."

"Let’s not drag Ji Huan into your business with your man. She hasn’t said a single word about either of you. I have no interest in hearing the sordid details of your affair, but I do have a piece of advice for you."

Tian Jiao asked through gritted teeth, "And what’s that?"

Zhen Jili strolled over to the ox-cart and ripped the cover off.

"As long as I’m around, don’t even think about doing business with the army. As for these dehydrated vegetables, I don’t care how you managed to steal the method, but you are not to..."

His eyes caught a glimpse of what was in the baskets, and he stopped short.

His eyes flickered, and the rest of his harsh threat took an abrupt turn.

"Ahem! In any case, what’s done is done. I won’t pursue the matter this time. It wasn’t easy for you to come all this way. Even if you can’t sell to the army, you can always sell to others! Like the inns and restaurants in town... Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Heaven is merciful, after all. So, no need to thank me."

Tian Jiao and Jiang Wu were completely confused.

’He’d just been so nasty to them, and now he was turning around and giving them advice?’

Tian Jiao wasn’t about to thank him. If he hadn’t blocked them, they could have sold their goods directly to the army. They didn’t need him standing here playing the good guy.

But she didn’t dare offend someone from the military camp, so she had no choice but to swallow her anger. She and Jiang Wu drove the cart away.

The moment they left, Lu Danian came rushing out.

"Everyone was saying your sister is here! Where is she? Did she bring any little yellow croakers?"

He was drenched in sweat, obviously having just come from the training grounds. He stood on his tiptoes, craning his neck as he looked around.

Zhen Jili, still in a foul mood, shot him an irritated glare.

"Even if my sister did bring me something, it’s none of your business. And even if she did, I wouldn’t give you any. So you can just worry yourself sick!"

"Now that’s just low, Zhen!" Lu Danian glared.

"Just the other day, you had me go into town to rough someone up for you, and you were calling me ’Brother Lu’ then. And all that business about your sister? I was the one who asked around and got all that information for you."

As he said this, Lu Danian belatedly realized something was off.

"That’s strange. Isn’t she your sworn little sister? How could you not even know that her engagement was broken off? She was nearly sold off several times! What kind of big brother are you, anyway?"

He had been duped by Zhen Jili. At first, he’d thought Ji Huan was Zhen Jili’s biological sister. When that lie was exposed, it was only a partial exposure; he still believed Zhen Jili and Ji Huan had known each other for a long time.

Zhen Jili’s expression darkened, and his tone was harsh. "None of your business!"

He turned and stalked back toward the barracks.

After getting the full story of what had just happened from the messenger soldier, Lu Danian immediately trotted after him.

"Hey, I’m just saying, that scummy couple shows up right at our doorstep, and you just let them go? That’s not like you! Aren’t you going to stand up for our little sister?"

Zhen Jili shot him a glare as sharp as a dagger. "She’s *my* sister, thank you very much."

"Eh, same difference!"

In Lu Danian’s mind, if the sister belonged to everyone, then so did the little yellow croakers.

How could Zhen Jili not know what kind of person he was dealing with?

He scoffed.

"I was originally planning to find an opportunity to teach that wretched couple a lesson, but after seeing them in person, I realized it wasn’t necessary. People like that... they’ll dig their own graves long before karma catches up with them. Don’t you think?"

Lu Danian knew Zhen Jili was a schemer. No matter how fancy his words were, it didn’t change the fact that the man was full of wicked plans.

"You’ve definitely got some other dirty trick up your sleeve."

Zhen Jili spread his hands.

"I really don’t. On the contrary, I almost want to praise the man for being so blind. A guy like him is completely unworthy of Ji Huan."

’He could have been much harsher, but he’d forced himself to hold back.’

’He was afraid if he berated Jiang Wu too much, the man might actually see the error of his ways. If he decided to turn over a new leaf and go crawling back to Ji Huan, what then?’

"He tossed aside a Golden Phoenix for a mere sesame seed. An idiot like that isn’t worth my brainpower."

There was one thing Lu Danian could never quite figure out.

He’d met Ji Huan, too. The young woman was delicate and pretty, but she was so thin and hadn’t even fully developed yet. So why was it that every time Zhen Jili mentioned her, he acted as if his sister were a peerless, heavenly beauty?

"So, who do you think is good enough for your sister?"

Zhen Jili actually gave it some serious thought.

"Naturally, only the absolute best will do."

He clapped his hands together abruptly. "Someone like the General, for example, would be perfect!"