Chapter 331: The Legitimate Husband

Chapter 331: Chapter 331: The Legitimate Husband

Huang Juncai’s gaze was utterly venomous. He neither begged for mercy nor backed down, just kept repeating the insult "little bastard."

’I have no direct quarrel with him,’ Ji Huan thought to herself. ’This deep-seated hatred of his must have been instilled by Ji Xiu’e.’

’What an amazing woman, Ji Xiu’e. After the tragic loss of her eldest son, you’d think she would cherish her only remaining one even more. Instead, she’s raised him to be a gloomy, narrow-minded revenge machine.’

"I’m flattered, but you can keep the title ’little bastard’ for yourself."

"You!" Agitated, Huang Juncai tried to sit up, but the movement pulled at his wound, and he fell back with a cry of pain.

Ji Huan smiled sweetly. "No need to be so modest. Considering everything you’ve done, the title is well-deserved."

Huang Juncai craned his neck, his face a mask of defiance. "What did I do? I didn’t do a thing! Stop making baseless accusations!"

"A young man like you shouldn’t be so forgetful. Even if you can’t remember the distant past, why don’t you explain your current situation? You climbed over my wall in the middle of the night. Don’t tell me you were just admiring the view."

Huang Juncai turned his head away, refusing to speak.

Having been caught red-handed, he had nothing to say for himself.

Ji Huan crouched down, moving the oil lamp closer to his face.

An even deeper look of disgust spread across Huang Juncai’s face. "Get lost! Stay away from me!"

Ji Huan paid him no mind. She said nothing, simply staring at him.

She watched him until his whole body went rigid, then she feigned surprise.

"Cousin Juncai, have we met somewhere before?"

Huang Juncai immediately grew uneasy. "I don’t know what you’re talking about!"

"How could you not know? We’ve definitely met. Think harder. Not recently, and not the last time at the Ji Family’s old house. Think further back... New Year’s Day, the army conscription, Chicken Crown Mountain..."

With every keyword Ji Huan uttered, Huang Juncai’s face grew another shade more panicked.

"Looks like you’re starting to remember." Ji Huan blinked. "Then do you also recall, while everyone was desperately fleeing for their lives, you used the chaos to shove a brother and sister..."

"You’re lying! I didn’t do it!"

Huang Juncai was all bluster, clearly wracked with guilt but refusing to admit it.

Ji Huan ignored his denial and continued, "Did you think it was a cliff below? That the two of them would surely die if they fell? What a pity for you, it was just a steep slope."

"What nonsense are you spouting! What does that have to do with me? If you fell, you deserved to die! You deserved it!" Huang Juncai exploded in a rage.

"How did you know it was me? Did I say it was?"

Huang Juncai’s shouting stopped abruptly.

Ji Huan’s expression slowly turned cold. "To have such a malicious heart at such a young age... so vicious. Now, who’s the real bastard?"

"You’re the vicious one! Your whole family is! If it weren’t for..."

"Because of what?" Ji Huan pressed.

But Huang Juncai refused to continue.

"So you won’t tell the truth, is that it? You called me vicious, didn’t you? It’s a dark and windy night, perfect for murder. Believe me, I could have Dahuang kill you and dump your body on some deserted mountain."

She said it so casually that anyone who didn’t know her might think she did this sort of thing all the time.

Guan Shan lowered his gaze to Ji Huan, his expression unreadable.

Huang Juncai’s eyes widened in fear. He instinctively glanced at Dahuang while pushing himself backward with his elbows.

"W-what are you going to do?"

"I just want to know why you tried to harm me. What did I ever do to you? Or did someone tell you to do it? And why?"

"Stop your slander! You fell because you weren’t watching your step! Why are you blaming me? I never pushed you!"

’He really is Ji Xiu’e’s son,’ Ji Huan thought. ’Even now, his mental defenses are this strong.’

"Don’t be in such a rush to deny it. It’s all in the past, and I’m perfectly fine now, so I don’t plan on pursuing the matter. I just want to know why."

Huang Juncai snorted. ’Does she think I’m that gullible?’

Ji Huan smiled. "Actually, I know the reason even if you don’t tell me. It’s just that old squabble between your mother and my parents. Heh. Aunt is being a little too petty, don’t you think? Holding a grudge after all these years?"

Huang Juncai’s face twisted with rage. "You call that a ’squabble’? You call my mother petty? It was your father who..."

Ji Huan held her breath, waiting for him to reveal something.

Just then, a thunderous POUNDING erupted at the front gate.

Ji Huan was tempted to ignore it, but Huang Juncai had already snapped out of his trance.

"Mom! Mom! I’m back here! I’m back here!"

Ji Xiu’e heard her son’s shouts coming from the backyard. Moments later, someone started kicking the back door.

"Ji Huan, open this door! Open it right now! What have you done to Juncai? I’m warning you, if you..."

Before she could finish, the door SWISHED open.

Ji Xiu’e’s gaze shot past Ji Huan and immediately landed on Huang Juncai, who was lying on the ground.

She didn’t rush to his side. Instead, she stared daggers at Ji Huan, GRINDING her teeth so loudly it sounded as if she wanted to eat her alive.

’She must hate me so much that her son’s well-being isn’t even her first priority.’

Ji Huan stepped aside. "Perfect timing. You can take him away now."

Ji Xiu’e hadn’t come alone. Behind her were Granny Kang, Mrs. Zhu, and the young man named Huang Junping.

When Granny Kang saw her grandson’s injuries, she nearly fainted. Unable to restrain herself, she leaped up, ready to start screaming curses.

Ji Huan raised a finger to her lips. "Shhh. If you don’t want your only grandson to end up in jail, you’ll be quiet."

But Granny Kang wasn’t so easily intimidated. "You jinx! You’re the one who hurt Juncai! If anyone’s going to jail, it’s you!"

Ji Huan crossed her arms and scoffed. "Let’s get something straight. He snuck into my house in the middle of the night, and that’s why my dog bit him. If he’d stayed where he belonged, do you think my dog could have even touched him?"

"How can you call it ’sneaking in’? He’s your cousin! Is he not allowed to visit?"

"Climbing over a wall late at night? Isn’t that what a burglar does? Have you ever heard of a male cousin sneaking over to his female cousin’s house in the middle of the night?"

"Burglar! What burglar! No matter what, you can’t just hurt him like this! You’re going to have to pay for this! If you don’t pay, we’ll have you thrown in jail!"

"Fine, go ahead! I suspect Huang Juncai climbed my wall tonight with ill intentions toward me. Maybe he was even planning to rob and murder me. Let’s go to the county government and let them sort it out."

Granny Kang panicked.

Ji Xiu’e spoke, her face dark. "You’re an unmarried girl. Aren’t you afraid of ruining your reputation by talking about ’ill intentions’?"

Ji Huan held up her hands. "How else can I explain why he was here at this hour? It’s not like he sleepwalked over, right? Besides, this isn’t the first time for Cousin Juncai. We were just reminiscing about fleeing to Chicken Crown Mountain during the New Year..."

The corner of Ji Xiu’e’s eye twitched. She obviously knew about the incident.

Ji Huan asked innocently, "Aunt, why do you think Cousin Juncai would do something like that?"

Ji Xiu’e knew exactly what she was asking.

But she could only pretend not to know, saying to Granny Kang with a tense expression, "Let’s just leave it at that, Mother. Juncai was just being mischievous, wanting to come offer early congratulations for the wedding. That’s why he came. Let’s just take him away."

Granny Kang couldn’t understand. Her boy had been bitten this badly; how could they just let it go?

"You jinx! Nothing good ever comes from being near you! I’m going to beat you to death today!"

It was dark, and she had come leaning on a cane. Now, she raised it and swung it straight at Ji Huan.

Ji Huan instinctively took a step back, her back pressing against a wall of muscle.

Guan Shan pulled Ji Huan into his arms with one hand and caught Granny Kang’s descending cane with the other.

Granny Kang looked up but couldn’t see the person’s face. She craned her neck higher and finally saw Guan Shan.

She stared, dumbfounded. "Y-you... Are you a man or a ghost?!"

Mrs. Zhu’s reaction was far more direct. She let out a bloodcurdling shriek and scrambled out of the courtyard, vanishing into the night.

Perhaps afraid of causing gossip for Ji Huan, Guan Shan had automatically retreated into the shadows under the eaves when the knocking started, so no one had noticed him.

It wasn’t until Granny Kang tried to hit Ji Huan that Guan Shan had stepped forward.

His sudden appearance was far more effective than all of Ji Huan’s arguments combined.

Even Ji Xiu’e was staring, her face a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Wuan, you’re an unmarried girl, yet you’re hiding a strange man in your house! You..."

’Her mind works fast,’ Ji Huan thought. ’She immediately thought to turn the tables on me.’

Ji Huan reached out and linked her arm with Guan Shan’s.

"Let me introduce you. This isn’t some ’strange man.’ This is *my* man. My legitimate husband-to-be, the one I’m about to marry."

Guan Shan tossed the cane aside. He looked down at Ji Huan’s slightly smug expression, and much of the gloom on his own face faded.

Seeing their stunned faces, Ji Huan raised an eyebrow. "Did you all forget? I’m getting married tomorrow."

Granny Kang, who had backed away to the gate, and Mrs. Zhu, who was just outside it, stared at each other in utter disbelief.

’T-this is that beggar?’

’Good heavens! So he isn’t a cripple after all! And he looks like... this!’

In truth, Ji Huan’s statement wasn’t flawless.

Even if he was her legitimate fiancé, the wedding ceremony was still a day away. For the two of them to be together the night before was against propriety.

But who would dare bring that up now? The man looked ferocious enough to scare a person to death with a single glance. It seemed like he might actually kill someone over the slightest disagreement.

Granny Kang wasn’t ready to give up and decided to pull rank. After all, she was Ji Huan’s grandmother. If this man was marrying into the family, that made her his elder.

"Let me tell you something," she started, addressing Guan Shan. "You’d better think twice before marrying this jinx. You never know when she might..."

Guan Shan frowned. "Get out."

His voice wasn’t loud, but Granny Kang still flinched as if she’d been struck.

She stumbled backward, catching herself on the doorframe before scurrying over to pull on Ji Xiu’e’s sleeve.

"Xiue’e, let’s just get Juncai and go! Don’t provoke this monster..."

Ji Xiu’e had recovered from her initial shock. For some reason, as a new thought occurred to her, her grim expression actually softened.

Her gaze flickered between Ji Huan and Guan Shan. Then she called out, "Junping."

Huang Junping, who had been standing silently in the background, moved to hoist Huang Juncai onto his back. He gave Ji Huan one last look before the group hurried off and vanished into the night.