Chapter 5

Chapter 5

News that Li Kuo and I were getting married spread through the escort agency.

Everyone there breathed a sigh of relief.

“That lecher Xu Zhaoming is finally getting married off!”

“At last, the men can take their shirts off and bathe at the agency in summer!”

“If she didn’t find a man soon, we were about to pool our money and pay for her to visit a brothel!”

My colleagues cheered for a while, then looked at Li Kuo with pity.

From their expressions, anyone would think I was going to eat Li Kuo alive.

After handing out wedding candy, we headed out.

I explained in a low voice, “I’m not nearly as lustful as they make me sound. I’m very reserved.”

Honestly, it was all a misunderstanding!

Back then, my injuries hadn’t fully healed when I arrived at the escort agency.

Every few days, I would get overheated and have a nosebleed, so they assumed I was coveting their bodies.

Men really were far too confident.

They thought far too highly of themselves.

That little bit of flesh between their legs-only they treated it like some precious treasure.

The two of us moved into Li Kuo’s two-courtyard residence and decorated it simply.

Old Woman Wang was the first to come offer her congratulations, saying I had finally reached the end of my suffering.

I laughed and said, “It wasn’t suffering. Not suffering at all.”

Old Woman Wang glanced Li Kuo up and down, then sighed. “This girl has had a hard life. Her father didn’t dote on her, her mother didn’t love her, and she was beaten from childhood. If she weren’t so stubbornly tough, she wouldn’t have lived to this day. You look like a good man too. After the wedding, you must cherish her.”

The Escort Leader brought the men from the escort agency over with several jars of good wine. They helped set up tables and prepare the feast.

The Escort Leader punched Li Kuo on the shoulder and curled his lip. “That damned woman Xu Zhaoming just likes pretty boys like you. Who knows how much strength you’ve got in bed. If you ever have a change of heart, I’ll beat you to death with one punch.”

Li Kuo smiled and said, “That day will never come.”

I shot him a glance. Just look at that handsome, tenderly devoted face of his.

He was acting like it was real.

I couldn’t even be bothered to tell him that Coroner Lin’s so-called Heartlink Gu had just been dirt scraped off the bottom of a shoe and rolled into a pill.

The people from Locust Flower Alley arrived one after another for the wedding feast, all carrying gifts.

The fishmonger brought two grass carp.

The bun seller brought two baskets of buns.

Ahem. The street singer performed two little songs.

In short, the courtyard was packed with people from every walk of life.

Li Kuo looked at the courtyard full of guests in surprise. “My wife certainly has a wide network of acquaintances.”

Lady Liu, the street singer, pinched her handkerchief and said in a delicate voice, “I’m Miss Xu’s client. For twenty copper coins a month, she protects me from being harassed.”

Granny Zhao, the fishmonger, smiled warmly. “Same here. Miss Xu drove off the thugs collecting illegal protection money from me. She only charges me ten copper coins a month. Ever since then, I’ve been able to sell fish in peace, and no one dares extort me anymore.”

Everyone began talking over one another. As it turned out, they were all my clients.

The Escort Leader drained a cup of wine, rolled his eyes, and said, “This damned woman risks her life at the drop of a hat. Last month, when Lady Liu was abducted, she stormed the thugs’ house alone with a saber and nearly killed the whole family. When Granny Zhao couldn’t afford to pay their dirty money, they stole her fish. So she went right back to the thugs’ place, hacked and fought her way in, and took the fish back. Who would want to risk their lives against her over that little bit of money? When people see her, they just hide.”

I lowered my head and smiled, a little embarrassed.

When dealing with thugs and bullies like that, small skirmishes weren’t enough to stop them.

I had to make them understand that someone with nothing to lose wasn’t afraid of those who had something to protect.

I could fight to the death over a dozen copper coins.

Only then would they fear me.

If they couldn’t kill me, then my saber would hang over their heads.

And that was not a pleasant feeling.

Li Kuo listened to all this in silence, the smile in his eyes gradually fading.

Suddenly, he took my hand and held it very tightly.

Halfway through the banquet, the front gate of my house was suddenly kicked open.

My mother and my younger brother stood in the doorway.

She shouted, “I haven’t received a single coin of bride price, and Chen Zhaodi dares to marry someone? Who gave permission for this?”

My younger brother took one look at the courtyard, and his eyes lit up.

He stuck out his neck and shouted, “I heard you’re marrying into our Chen Family as a live-in son-in-law. That means this house belongs to the Chen Family now.”

My mother looked at me and said haughtily, “Chen Zhaodi, you unfilial wretch. You’ve been away from home for years, and all this time, it was your brother who served your father and me. You got married without a word. Do you have any regard for your parents at all?”