Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Who Sleeps With a Knife by Their Pillow?

The night was still, and the people of Lihua Village were deep in their dreams. A figure slipped quietly into the village, heading straight for Su Qing’s courtyard.

The intruder was none other than Liang Fushan.

Liang Fushan crept up to the outside of Su Qing’s courtyard and stared at the earthen wall. At two meters high, it was taller than those of the other houses. Su Qing had specifically requested this from Zhao Youcai when the wall was built. Considering she was a young woman living alone, with the unfriendly Old Su Family right next door, Zhao Youcai had agreed and had the walls around her courtyard built to a height of two meters.

Climbing a two-meter-high earthen wall was no difficult task for Liang Fushan. Soon, he had silently scaled the wall and dropped into Su Qing’s courtyard.

However, the moment Liang Fushan’s feet touched the ground, Su Qing knew.

Su Qing had deliberately planted climbing vines all around the base of the wall. She had established a connection with these plants, her original intent being to guard against any schemes from the Old Su Family. Unexpectedly, while her old relatives remained quiet, an outsider had arrived.

Su Qing only opened her eyes, remaining perfectly still. Through the vines’ perspective, she could clearly see Liang Fushan’s every move. She watched as he cautiously approached the house, produced a small piece of metal, and deftly picked the door latch open.

Su Qing raised an eyebrow. ’He’s quite the professional!’

Liang Fushan crept into the house. By the moonlight filtering in, he saw Su Qing lying on the bed. He quickly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and tiptoed toward her.

Su Qing was lying on her back, her face turned away from him. From Liang Fushan’s angle, he could only see the right side of her profile. In the moonlight, her delicate, smooth skin seemed to glow. Her curved eyebrows, thick, long eyelashes, and small, elegant nose left him momentarily stunned. He’d never realized Su Qing could be this beautiful.

His breathing instantly grew heavy and his heart began to race. Thrilled, he moved toward Su Qing, ready to press the handkerchief over her mouth and nose. The thought that this young woman would soon be his to do with as he pleased made him even more excited.

However, just as Liang Fushan thought everything was going according to plan, the situation took a sudden turn. Su Qing’s eyes snapped open, and her hand shot out, grabbing his outstretched right wrist with an iron grip. Then, she squeezed.

An excruciating pain shot through Liang Fushan’s wrist. He was about to cry out when a rag was stuffed into his mouth.

"MMMPH, MMMPH..." Liang Fushan’s eyes flew wide open. Ignoring the pain in his right wrist and the rag in his mouth, he balled his left hand into a fist and swung at Su Qing.

Su Qing tilted her head to dodge the blow, using the momentum to sit up. With another burst of strength, she flung Liang Fushan straight to the floor.

"OOF—" A sharp pain flared in Liang Fushan’s back, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Before he could even react, he felt something cold press against his neck.

It was a knife!

Liang Fushan’s eyes bulged. He didn’t even dare to cry out in pain. He stared at Su Qing in disbelief. He had never, ever imagined that Su Qing slept with a knife by her pillow! ’Who the hell sleeps with a knife under their pillow?!’

"Don’t scream," Su Qing threatened in a low voice. "If you do, I’ll finish you right here and make you disappear without a trace."

How could Liang Fushan dare to scream? The blade was still pressed against his throat. He nodded frantically.

Su Qing pulled the rag from his mouth and tossed it to the floor with a look of disgust. "What are you doing in my house in the middle of the night?" she asked quietly.

"I... I came to the wrong house... W-Would you believe me?" Liang Fushan stammered, his voice trembling. The cold steel on his neck kept him frozen in place, terrified that his life would be over if Su Qing’s hand so much as twitched.

"Heh, do you think I believe you?" Su Qing asked with a raised eyebrow and a cold smile.

"I... I was wrong. C-Could you put the knife down first?" Liang Fushan pleaded in a whisper.

"No." Su Qing let out another dry laugh and pressed the knife a little deeper. Liang Fushan felt like the blade could slice his throat open at any second and nearly fainted from fear. "Ma’am! Ma’am, I was wrong, so wrong! I shouldn’t have had these wicked thoughts, shouldn’t have come here to bother you! I swear, I’ll never do it again! Please let me go this one time, I really won’t dare to do it again, I promise!"

"Tell me. Why did you come here today?"

Liang Fushan swallowed hard. Heaven and earth may be vast, but his own life was what mattered most. At a time like this, how could he dare to lie? He quickly confessed his entire plan to Su Qing, holding nothing back.

Liang Fushan was resentful. He couldn’t be the only one to earn Su Qing’s hatred for this. If he was going down, he was taking someone with him. He hurriedly said, "Su... Su Qing, at first, my family proposed marriage to your grandmother, but she refused, and my family was ready to give up. It... it was Su Tao, your cousin! She came to my mom and said she had a way for me to marry you. She gave me this powder and said that as long as I covered your mouth and nose with it, you would... you would be at my mercy. Then, you’d willingly marry me."

Seeing Su Qing’s gaze turn fierce, Liang Fushan was on the verge of tears. "Ma’am, I was wrong! But... but I didn’t succeed, right? Spare me, please spare me, okay?"

Su Qing narrowed her eyes and stared at Liang Fushan for a long time, her gaze making his skin crawl. Only then did she ask, "I want to know why you’re so obsessed with marrying me. I refused you, yet you still went to the Old Su Family, trying to use them to get what you want. What is your real goal in all of this?"

"I..."

Before Liang Fushan could think of an answer, Su Qing’s voice turned cold. "Tell the truth. Don’t give me any nonsense about liking me. It sounds fake. If I find out you’re lying, I have plenty of ways to deal with you. Making you die a silent death wouldn’t be difficult at all."

Liang Fushan was about to cry again. ’This Su Qing must be a demon! She talks about killing people so casually!’

For some reason, Liang Fushan just knew that Su Qing meant what she said. If he displeased her in the slightest, he had no doubt this devil woman could and would do exactly as she promised.

"I’ll talk, I’ll talk!" Liang Fushan was so scared the tears were about to spill. "I want a job in the county town, but I haven’t been able to find one. I know your aunt in town has a relative who’s a factory vice-director. I figured if I married you, I could get a job through you."

Su Qing nodded. "Hmm, so you weren’t lying about that."

Liang Fushan started to cry for real. "I wouldn’t dare! I wouldn’t dare, ma’am! I wouldn’t dare lie to you!"

"And after you got the job?" Su Qing asked, raising an eyebrow. "What were your plans for me then?"

"I..."