newbobooks Chapter 640 He set up a trap, but we went to a death trap.
Chapter 640 He set up a trap, but we went to a death trap.
Chen Jing was startled and turned around abruptly.
In the shadows of the house, a person was standing there.
The moonlight slanted in from the doorway, illuminating just half of his face while the other half remained hidden in darkness.
"It's you?!" Chen Jing's pupils shrank to a single point, his expression a mixture of shock and anger. "You weren't drugged? Where are my men?"
He instinctively took a step back, his heel hitting the threshold.
After a brief moment of shock, the spoiled arrogance regained its advantage.
"You are so brave!"
He shouted, his voice snarling but his voice betraying his fear: "Do you know who I am? My father is Chen Taimo, the prefect of Chengdu! If you dare to lay a finger on me, my father will make sure you die a horrible death!"
"The prefect?"
Gu Junze emerged from the shadows.
He walked slowly, his footsteps were light, but every step felt like it was treading on Chen Jing's heart.
"I have killed more kings and nobles than you have ever seen."
This statement is very plain, as if it were about something extremely ordinary.
But to Chen Jing's ears, it was no less than a thunderclap.
He was completely panicked.
He saw something in the man's eyes that he had never seen before.
That was not anger, nor hatred, but a utmost contempt for power and a complete indifference to life.
It was as if his proud status as the son of a prefect was nothing but a fart in his eyes.
run!
The idea grew wildly in his mind like weeds.
He turned and rushed into the yard, but his legs felt like they were filled with lead, so weak that he couldn't muster any strength.
A black shadow flashed.
Gu Junze had already stood in front of him.
He didn't touch Chen Jing, he just looked at him calmly.
"You shouldn't have, you absolutely shouldn't have, set your sights on her."
Chen Jing felt an indescribable, excruciating pain in his lower abdomen.
The pain instantly pierced his entire body, and what he saw in his vision was the man's cold, almost cruel gaze.
"what--!"
A bloodcurdling scream shattered the silence of the mountain forest.
He curled up on the ground like a boiled shrimp, convulsing violently.
Gu Junze destroyed what was most fundamental about him as a man.
For someone like Chen Jing, this was a hundred times more painful than being killed with a single blow.
In the days that followed, the Weaver Girl Competition proceeded exceptionally smoothly.
With the harassment of the local thugs gone, Jinxiu Pavilion also ceased its activities, and the square in the south of the city became the liveliest place in Jinguan City.
Every day, new patterns and techniques are presented to the public, drawing gasps of amazement.
Chu Ruohan sits on the judging panel every day, her expression focused and meticulous.
Gu Junze remained like a shadow, saying little and only fanning her when she needed it...
Everything went according to their plan.
Inside the prefectural government office, Chen Taimo was also waiting.
He was like the most patient hunter, quietly waiting for the fruit tree planted by Chu Ruohan and the others to bear the most abundant fruit.
At that time, he will only need to reach out and claim all the achievements for himself.
That afternoon, the butler hurriedly entered the study, a hint of embarrassment on his face.
"My lord, the young master has not returned to the manor for three days."
Chen Taimo was holding a teacup when he heard this. He didn't even raise an eyebrow, but simply brushed off the tea foam.
"That unfilial son is probably having a good time in some brothel again, so let's not worry about him."
The butler opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing Chen Taimo's impatient expression, he could only bow and retreat.
Five more days passed, and there was still no news of Chen Jing.
At this point, Chen Taimo could no longer sit still.
Although his son was a scoundrel, he would never go seven or eight days without showing up.
"Useless!" Chen Taimo kicked the butler, his leisurely expression replaced by impatience. "It took you so long to report! Send people to search for him right now! Turn every place in the city he frequents upside down!"
The yamen runners came out in full force and searched every restaurant and brothel in Chengdu, but they couldn't find even a single hair on Chen Jing's head.
An ominous premonition began to spread in Chen Taimo's heart.
Until a yamen runner who had been sent to question Chen Jing's servant brought back a message.
"My lord..." The constable knelt on the ground and replied tremblingly, "I have learned that before the young master disappeared, he met with Lin Wanjin once."
"Lin Wanjin?" Chen Taimo's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Yes, it was Manager Lin who told you, young master, that a merchant from out of town had come to the city, and that the merchant's wife was... as beautiful as a fairy. After hearing this, you, young master, began to have designs on her."
The bailiffs' voices grew softer and softer, and their heads were lowered further and lower.
The air in the study seemed to freeze instantly.
Chen Taimo's mind went blank for a moment, as if something had exploded.
A businessman from out of town, a wife as beautiful as an angel, and his own son who was blinded by lust.
At this moment, all the clues came together.
He recalled the fleeting fear in Lin Wanjin's eyes when he mentioned that man after Lin Wanjin came to complain.
"Idiot! Idiot!"
Chen Taimo suddenly waved his hand, sweeping the set of his most beloved purple clay teaware off the table.
"Clap!"
“I warned him long ago that the out-of-town businessman was a tough nut to crack, and told him not to mess with him! That wicked fool who’s been blinded by lust!”
He wasn't angry that his son had caused trouble, but that he had messed with the wrong person and ruined his important plans!
But more than anything, it was a cold, bone-chilling panic and anger.
He only has one son!
Chen Taimo's eyes were bloodshot, and the muscles on his face were contorted with extreme anger, like a wild beast whose scales had been touched.
"Fine, what a fine businessman from out of town!" he gritted his teeth, squeezing out a few words.
"Dare to touch my son, Chen Taimo's son? I don't care if you're a dragon or a tiger, I'll grind you to dust and make your whole family pay the price!"
In the evening, when Gu Junze and Chu Ruohan returned to the villa, they found a luxurious carriage quietly parked at the gate.
A middle-aged man who looked like a butler stood beside the car.
As the two approached, he immediately went to greet them and bowed deeply to them.
"Master Chu, Madam Chu."
"My master, Prefect Chen, invites you both to his residence for a chat tonight."
As he spoke, he took out an invitation from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.
"The lord said that the Weaver Girl Competition is a grand event in Chengdu. As the local official, he should discuss the follow-up matters with the two of them to recognize their achievements."
The neighbors watched from afar, whispering among themselves, their faces filled with fear.
For them, the prefectural government's carriage was a symbol of imperial authority.
Chu Ruohan accepted the invitation without any surprise on her face; instead, she revealed a faint smile.
"Good work."
Her voice was clear and crisp, as if she hadn't caught the hidden meaning in her words.
"Please wait a moment, butler, while we change our clothes and leave immediately."
The butler bowed again, stepped aside, and stared blankly into the distance, like an emotionless stone sculpture.
The two walked into the courtyard side by side, and the wooden door behind them creaked shut, blocking the view from the outside.
Chu Ruohan casually placed the invitation on the stone table, looked up at Gu Junze, and her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
"Looks like our fish has taken the bait."
Gu Junze's gaze fell on her smiling face, and he reached out to tidy up a strand of hair that had been ruffled by the evening breeze.
“He set up a trap.” Chu Ruohan’s smile deepened.
“What we’ve gone to is a death trap,” Gu Junze continued her words.