Actually, Su Ning didn't need to feel too much regret. For some people, losing face is worse than being killed.
At the teahouse.
After quite a few people gradually left, the atmosphere here became increasingly silent due to Deputy Mayor He's low spirits, but most of those who stayed were his own people.
They could only pretend not to care.
Fortunately, as time went by, everyone's actions became more excessive. The decadent atmosphere of luxury made the scene look much better—more importantly, Deputy Mayor He had won several hands at the card table.
Flattered and complimented by the people around him for his good financial luck, his mood soared, feeling it was an omen from the God of Wealth.
It seemed that things were going well on his son's end.
A woman who has lost her virginity would have no choice but to let their family take whatever they wanted.
Hmph, it wouldn't be that easy for her to enter the He family's door this time.
Just as he was happily thinking about whether to ask for money or for foreign connections, an unfortunate event spoiled the mood. A sudden commotion broke out outside.
"What is it now?"
Truly bad luck. Deputy Mayor He's face darkened. Without waiting for his subordinates to reply, he walked out unhurriedly with his hands behind his back, taking slow, splayed steps.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, he heard sounds of wailing and howling. The voice was incredibly familiar. A sense of foreboding rose in his heart as he saw a person tied to a pole like a pig.
The person's clothes were disheveled, tears and snot streaming down his face, and his body was covered in filth. A foul stench could be smelled from far away.
Looks of disgust appeared on everyone's faces.
This appearance clearly showed that he was suffering from severe opium withdrawal, delirious and unable to even control his bowels...
"Hutou, what happened to you!"
While others turned their faces away in disgust, Deputy Mayor He's expression changed instantly. He couldn't believe it. How could his son return in this state... Right, it was Su Ning. It must be that bitch Su Ning.
By this time, Lin Sen and the others were long gone.
He wasn't stupid.
Staying behind would truly be courting death.
"Dad, Dad, is that you? It hurts so much, my whole body hurts. Save me, save me, I want opium... I don't want Su Ning as my wife anymore, she's so fierce, I can't beat her..."
Seeing the father he relied on, Young Master He cried and laughed, shouting in a highly delirious state. His voice rose and fell as he looked at Deputy Mayor He expectantly.
However, although his father looked worried, he never came over to hold and comfort him, and even seemed a bit disgusted? Young Master He's muddled brain couldn't process it, leaving him with only one thought—did his father not want him anymore?
He didn't notice the strange looks from the people around him. Relying on the dim light and the mentality that the law cannot punish the majority, they began to whisper among themselves.
"Young Master He really smokes opium?"
"You didn't know? Not only does he smoke it himself, but he also forces those who serve him to smoke it. Sometimes when he gets high, men and women all mix together and play around."
"More than a dozen people have died because of this!"
"No wonder he's nearly thirty and still hasn't married or had children..."
"Who would be willing to marry their daughter to him? Even those who don't love their daughters have to consider their face. Young Master He plays dirty; if a daughter marries him, it might even ruin her maiden family's reputation."
"Then when he said he didn't want Su Ning as his wife and that he was beaten so fiercely, does that mean..."
No one was a fool. Connecting the dots, what was there left to be unclear about?
It was nothing more than Young Master He trying to do something to Su Ning, only to be taught a lesson in return. That Miss Su still wasn't satisfied, so she threw him back here to embarrass Deputy Mayor He.
Deputy Mayor He's lips trembled with anger.
"Men, men! Are you all dead? The young master is drunk and you don't even know to help him up."
The servants hurriedly came over. Looking at the filth all over him, they felt disgusted in their hearts but didn't dare show it in the slightest. However, Young Master He kept acting up, wriggling like a maggot:
"Get lost, I don't want you."
"Dad, do you not want me anymore? Don't abandon me. I'll be obedient. I'll marry Su Ning as your daughter-in-law, and I'll snatch all her money and give it to you."
Delirious, Young Master He thought that saying this would make his father happy and continue to indulge and spoil him.
However, in the very next second.
Another slap mark appeared on his already bruised face.
"Slap!"
Deputy Mayor He felt no regret. He angrily rebuked, "Your brain is muddled from drinking, what kind of hysteria are you having? If you like Su Ning, then pursue her properly. What does it have to do with money? If you keep spouting nonsense, it won't just be one slap."
Some things are fine to plot in the dark.
But they must never be brought out into the open!
For the first time, Deputy Mayor He regretted indulging his son in smoking opium. Originally, he thought that his family could afford it. How much money could he spend smoking it for a lifetime? Why make his son suffer the pain of quitting?
He hadn't expected it to make him lose so much face in front of others.
He didn't even let the servants untie the ropes, simply having them carry him directly back into the room. Fortunately, after being slapped, Young Master He was stunned, neither speaking nor moving.
Otherwise, it would have been difficult to handle if he struggled.
Once the person was taken inside, Deputy Mayor He's expression improved a bit. He cupped his hands to explain and apologize to the others, using the same excuse that his son was drunk and speaking nonsense, disturbing their banquet.
Everyone seemed to believe him.
In reality, everyone had their own judgments in their hearts about what was truly going on.
Deputy Mayor He understood this too, and precisely because he understood, his hatred for Su Ning deepened.
…………
On the other side.
The hated Su Ning felt nothing at all. No matter how high Deputy Mayor He's status or how powerful he was, in the original novel, he didn't even count as a tier-three plot character.
So, who cares?
"Host, why aren't you afraid at all?" Seeing Su Ning writing and drawing on paper as soon as she returned, the system couldn't help but ask. After saying it, it deeply felt like the eunuch worrying more than the emperor.
Bah, it wasn't a eunuch... and Su Ning certainly wasn't an emperor!
"What do I have to be afraid of?"
Su Ning put down her pen, feeling her eyes were a bit sore. Following the steps of the eye exercises from her memory, she began to do them meticulously.
This was her own original body. How could she not take good care of it? When she returned to the modern world, she wouldn't even be able to count the zeros when checking her bank card balance!
"Well, that guy named He."
Offending a powerful deputy mayor to the death, especially in a chaotic era with weak rule of law like the Republic of China, how could she act as if nothing happened!
"Afraid, of course I'm afraid. The highest official I've ever seen before was the Director of Education who came to give a speech at school. But being afraid doesn't stop me from offending him."
After finishing the first section of rubbing the Tianying acupoints.
Su Ning didn't open her eyes, chuckling lightly:
"A mediocre person who, even without me in the original novel, would have been defeated by Chen Huaiqian. If I didn't even dare to arm-wrestle him, how could I expect to run amok and be a ruthless rich person in the Republic of China?"
"Sooner or later, I'd be treated as meat on a chopping block and eaten clean bite by bite!"
The system was speechless.
It suddenly felt fortunate that the host it chose was Su Ning. In a chaotic melting pot like the Republic of China, only true gold could survive...
After completing all four sections of the eye exercises, Su Ning blinked her eyes, feeling the effect was good. Looking at the nearly finished plan pressed under her elbow, she flicked the paper:
"Old Dog He is nothing to worry about. As long as we are careful to guard against those underhanded methods, there is nothing to fear. At most, he should be dead in two months."
"What you should care about is this."
The System glanced at the paper, its voice listless. "I knew you were just going to boss me around. I get it. I'll deliver the firearms and ammunition you purchased according to the plan."
"How can you call it bossing you around?"
"This is my rightful privilege as a valued customer after purchasing your goods."
Su Ning retorted. She then skillfully buttered it up with a few sweet words, smoothly coaxing the System into total submission. Resting her chin in her hand, she hummed a happy tune.
In a world of chaos, firepower was the only truth.
Now that she had flexed her muscles, she would finally be able to sleep a little more soundly.
