Chapter 61: Yan Qing Exclaims: Song Jiang Truly Does Despicable Things!

Ah, now that is what I call professional!

Cai Fu felt an urge to slam the table and applaud: Yan Qing is truly the man for the job, managing to investigate all the way into a lady's private chambers!

And truly, it could only be Yan Qing. After all, Yan Qing was a friend to all women, capable of handling even the number one courtesan in the entire Great Song.

Officially certified as the supreme master among the romantic winds and moonlit bowers.

Dealing with a mere Aunt Gu was simply child's play for him, wasn't it?

Although Shi Xiu was also quite adept at catching adulterers, when it came to dealing with women, the Wandering Prodigy Yan Qing remained peerless.

"Brother, Song Jiang truly acts without a shred of human decency!"

Though Yan Qing possessed a flower-like appearance, his heart was upright, and he held a profound contempt for Song Jiang's actions:

"Hujiazhuang had already surrendered to Liangshan Marsh, yet Li Kui slaughtered Third Miss Hu's entire family!

"The very day Song Jiang led his troops back to Liangshan, he hosted a grand banquet!

"The next day, he hosted yet another grand banquet. Song Jiang had Old Man Song adopt Third Miss Hu as his sworn daughter, declared it an auspicious and propitious day, and took it upon himself to marry Third Miss Hu off to Wang the Dwarf Tiger on the spot!"

"What?"

Lu Junyi felt their pain as if it were his own, his face contorting with fury as he demanded:

"Did Song Jiang punish Li Kui?"

"Punish him? How could he?"

Yan Qing shook his head. "Song Jiang merely said—

"'You scoundrel have violated my military orders, which rightfully calls for decapitation.

"'Consider this punishment offset by your merit in slaying Zhu Long and Zhu Hu.

"'Should you violate orders again, I shall certainly spare you not.'"

Cai Qing scoffed. "How is that any different from being sentenced to three cups of wine?"

Yang Xiong curled his lip. "Li Kui is Song Jiang's trusted favorite general; how could he ever bear to behead Li Kui?"

"Third Miss Hu had just lost her entire family, yet he hosted a grand banquet that very day!

"And the next day, claiming it was an auspicious date, he forced Third Miss Hu into an immediate marriage!

"Even if he had simply waited until the souls of the deceased had passed their seventh-day mourning period, he might still have been considered a human being!"

Cai Fu spat out a glob of saliva in utter disgust:

"Ptui!"

Lu Junyi gnashed his teeth:

"That little black fatty not only plunged me into the abyss of imprisonment, but also destroyed Third Miss Hu's home and family!

"Heaven knows how many other righteous heroes have been ruined by his hands!

"Big Brother, when shall we exact our revenge upon him?"

"Do not be hasty, brother."

Cai Fu wrapped an arm around Lu Junyi's shoulder and said:

"As your brother has said before, the best way to exact vengeance upon Song Jiang is to strip away everything he currently possesses!

"Does he not have a band of sworn brothers?

"We shall make his followers turn against him and abandon him!

"Is he not hailed as the 'Timely Rain'?

"We shall make him utterly infamous and disgraced!

"Does he not rely on Liangshan Marsh as his foundation?

"We shall snatch his foundation away from him!

"Does he not crave an amnesty from the Imperial Court?

"We shall sabotage the amnesty and have him thrown into the death row prison!

"When he has lost everything he holds dear—

"That shall be the hour of his doom!"

"Exhilarating!"

Lu Junyi was radiant with delight as he listened:

"Big Brother, let us make him taste the very bitterness that younger brother and Third Miss Hu have endured!"

The conversation had strayed off course, so Yan Qing hurriedly reined it back in:

"Though Song Jiang could force Third Miss Hu to marry Wang the Dwarf Tiger, he could not, after all, stand guard to watch over their bridal night.

"That very night, Third Miss Hu gave Wang the Dwarf Tiger a severe beating, declaring that she intended to observe a three-year mourning period for her parents and would never share a bed with him.

"If Wang the Dwarf Tiger dared to lay a hand on her, she would first chop off his dog's head and then take her own life.

"Wang the Dwarf Tiger cared deeply about saving face; having been beaten, he dared not speak of it to anyone and hid away to tend to his injuries for half a month.

"Half a month later, once his wounds had healed, Wang the Dwarf Tiger crept into Third Miss Hu's room in the dead of night.

"Who would have thought that Third Miss Hu slept with her senses extremely sharp? She gave Wang the Dwarf Tiger another vicious beating on the spot.

"Wang the Dwarf Tiger was once again bedridden for half a month.

"When other brothers asked Wang the Dwarf Tiger what had happened to him, he cared too much about his pride and brushed it off, claiming he had caught a cold.

"Another half a month passed, and Wang the Dwarf Tiger somehow managed to procure some knockout drops.

"While Third Miss Hu went to the mess hall for a meal, Wang the Dwarf Tiger seized the moment when she went to fetch more rice to slip the drug into her soup.

"As fate would have it, Aunt Gu witnessed the whole thing.

"Aunt Gu is a woman of great loyalty and righteousness, so she immediately warned Third Miss Hu.

"Consequently, Wang the Dwarf Tiger was beaten black and blue by Third Miss Hu yet again, resulting in another half-month of bed rest.

"It was precisely because of this incident that Aunt Gu and Third Miss Hu became bosom friends.

"After another half a month of healing, Wang the Dwarf Tiger tried his old trick again, sneaking into Third Miss Hu's room in the middle of the night.

"To his dismay, Third Miss Hu had remained ever-vigilant in her sleep and thrashed Wang the Dwarf Tiger soundly once more.

"Wang the Dwarf Tiger was confined to his bed for yet another half month..."

Cai Fu chuckled merrily: Wang the Dwarf Tiger truly cared so much for his face that he was willing to suffer any torment!

Then again, which man would ever willingly admit to being beaten so badly by his wife that he couldn't even get out of bed?

Yan Qing continued, "Aunt Gu and Third Miss Hu grew exceptionally close; they always sat at the same table when eating in the mess hall.

"Aunt Gu would also frequently invite Third Miss Hu over to spend the night at her home.

"Whenever Third Miss Hu was not sleeping in her own quarters, Wang the Dwarf Tiger was completely helpless."

Cai Fu was startled. "What about Sun Xin?"

Yan Qing smiled broadly. "Aunt Gu chased Sun Xin out to sleep in the guest room, and Sun Xin didn't dare to harbor any anger nor utter a single complaint!"

Lu Junyi and Yang Xiong exchanged a look of utter astonishment:

"Could there truly exist such a henpecked man in this world?"

And yet, what standing did the two of them have to utter such words?

Cai Fu was too polite to expose Lu Junyi and Yang Xiong. At that moment, Cai Qing chimed in:

"Did Wang the Dwarf Tiger never seek revenge on Aunt Gu?"

Yan Qing said dismissively, "Aunt Gu's husband Sun Xin is no pushover!

"Her eldest brother-in-law Sun Li is an even harder man to cross!

"Not to mention that Aunt Gu has two cousins, Xie Zhen and Xie Bao!

"How could Wang ever dare to seek vengeance against Aunt Gu?"

Hearing this, Cai Fu finally understood.

No wonder Third Miss Hu managed to hold out for a whole year. Aside from her own formidable martial prowess, she had Aunt Gu providing crucial backup.

Aunt Gu possessed a fiery temper, valued deep bonds of loyalty, could fight fiercely herself, and had an entire family of violent enforcers at her back...

Thus, Aunt Gu's household became a safe harbor that helped Third Miss Hu's little boat weather the raging waves.

Of course, it was also because Wang the Dwarf Tiger cared about his reputation and could never bring himself to ask his sworn brothers to come and hold down Third Miss Hu's hands and feet...

Besides, even if he did, those two sworn brothers of his, Yan Shun and Zheng Tianshou, couldn't possibly subdue Third Miss Hu either.

Third Miss Hu single-handedly could take on all three of those brothers!

Surely Wang the Dwarf Tiger couldn't go and complain to Song Jiang, asking him to dispatch top-tier powerhouses like Qin Ming and Hua Rong to hold Third Miss Hu down, could he?

What would Song Jiang think of him then?

What would Qin Ming and Hua Rong think of him?

What would all the heroes of Liangshan think of him?

Would he throw away all his dignity just for the sake of his second brother?

However, this was merely what Yan Qing had gathered from chatting with Aunt Gu; after all, Aunt Gu herself was not one of the principal parties involved.

Therefore, how things truly stood could only be known by Third Miss Hu alone...

Amidst laughter and chatter, Cai Fu and his companions arrived at the Hall of Loyalty and Justice before nightfall, where a banquet had already been laid out.

"The brother has arrived!"

The moment they saw Cai Fu step into the Hall, every Liangshan hero seated inside stood up to greet him.

Naturally, not every single one of them was entirely sincere, but the superficial courtesies had to be impeccably observed.

Even Song Jiang's disciples, "Maverick Star" Kong Ming and "Fire Star" Kong Liang, had to wear beaming smiles across their faces.

Cai Fu smiled and nodded in acknowledgment. At that moment, a man who bore a seven to eight-tenths resemblance to the little black fatty stepped forward to welcome him:

"Brother Cai Fu, I am younger brother Song Qing, in charge of arranging the banquet banquets.

"Your grand chair is set at the seat of honor, please follow me."

"Iron Fan" Song Qing?

Cai Fu cast an observational glance at the fellow:

Was this the very same Song Qing who had climbed up the mountain without contributing a single merit, relying entirely on nepotism to secure the seventy-sixth seat in the grand ranking?

Cai Fu had once read a comment online arguing that Song Qing's ability to properly arrange everyone at the banquet seating was a talent in itself.

Cai Fu pondered to himself: the chairs and ranks of the one hundred and eight chieftains had all been strictly ordered beforehand—did they really need Song Qing to arrange anything?

Furthermore, if Song Qing had tried to seat Zhu Tuo and Li Kui at the same table, would Zhu Tuo have ever listened to him?

Who sat with whom was dictated either by their official ranking or by factional ties and personal friendships—what possible use was his arrangement?

To take ten thousand steps back, could the merit of organizing a banquet ever possibly surpass that of shedding blood on the battlefield for the collective?

He ranked seventy-sixth, while in the original novel Cai Fu had to risk his life to rescue Lu Junyi just to rank ninety-fourth—was there any shred of fairness in that?