Chapter 1224: Chapter 1223: The Shen Family’s Husband

There must be some other reasons unknown to outsiders behind all this. Perhaps, the remaining two families have already joined forces and are trying to push the Shen Family out, to eliminate them in one go.

"Little brother, we’ve explained everything we could, so about this..."

"Don’t worry, you don’t need to bother about the tea bill, brothers." Su Changfeng said with a smile.

"If that’s the case, thank you, little brother. We won’t disturb you any longer." With that, the group took their leave, while Su Changfeng started processing the information he had just learned in his mind.

The current situation with the Shen Family is either that the other two families have tricked the Shen Family, seizing the opportunity to eliminate them, or the Shen Family is overly ambitious, aiming to replace the City Lord, not caring at all about the opinions of the remaining two families.

However, the likelihood of the latter is quite small, as typically, the balance among the three is quite solid, and considering the strength of the Shen Family, it’s unlikely they could contend against the forces of three parties.

"Check please." Su Changfeng had been out for a while and needed to gather information progressively, so he planned to return first and start inquiring about hunting the next day.

However, after searching through his pockets, Su Changfeng was dismayed to discover that he had no money!

Not only did he have no money, he didn’t even know what the currency here looked like.

"Shopkeeper, someone’s causing trouble!" The clerk looked at Su Changfeng defensively, then shouted loudly.

Every shop probably has a contingency for this type of situation, so as soon as the clerk spoke, several clerks armed with wooden sticks rushed out and surrounded Su Changfeng.

"Someone’s actually causing trouble in my Earth Building, are they asking for death?" The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man, was glaring at Su Changfeng with a displeased expression.

Su Changfeng awkwardly touched his nose, realizing he hadn’t considered this issue at all when he left. Since he had never lacked money, he naturally hadn’t developed the habit of carrying money with him, and to his surprise, on the first day out, he encountered such a situation.

"I’m not here to cause trouble, shopkeeper. I simply forgot to bring money." Su Changfeng explained.

The middle-aged man naturally didn’t believe him, and gestured to the clerks to prepare to beat him up.

Although Su Changfeng wasn’t worried about suffering a loss, he didn’t want to attract attention either. If things got too noisy, staying low-key in the future would be challenging.

"I’m from the Shen Family, shopkeeper. If you don’t believe me, you can come back with me, and I’ll definitely pay you." Su Changfeng stated.

"The Shen Family?" The man scrutinized Su Changfeng carefully. Judging by his clothing, he didn’t seem like someone without money. After all, ordinary people couldn’t afford such material.

"What’s your relationship with the Shen Family?" The man asked.

Su Changfeng was momentarily at a loss for words. If he said he was Shen Rushuang’s husband, they’d likely think he was crazy, considering many saw him as someone missing an arm or a leg.

"I’m a relative of the Shen Family. If you don’t believe me, you can just come back with me." Su Changfeng said.

"Alright, go tell the Shen Family that a relative of theirs is having tea at my Earth Building and didn’t pay, and have someone come settle the bill." The man instructed the clerks.

Su Changfeng felt relieved, as long as the Shen Family was informed, it would be fine.

"Shopkeeper, your establishment has a nice name; what’s the story behind it?" Relieved, Su Changfeng chatted with the middle-aged man.

Upon hearing this, the man’s face filled with pride as he explained, "Kid, you may not know, but I didn’t name it lightly. Back then, I barehandedly killed an Earth Beast; that’s why I chose this name, and everyone knows the story."

The man then began recounting his battle with the Earth Beast, spitting with excitement, vividly embellishing the tale.

From the man’s account of the Earth Beast, Su Changfeng deduced it was a type of creature here. Judging from his attitude, Su Changfeng realized these creatures could be tamed, and many took pride in conquering such beasts.

"Unfortunately, the Earth Beast refused to be tamed by me, so I had to kill it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t just be a tea shop owner." The man said, sighing.

In fact, he hadn’t fought an Earth Beast back then; he’d just been lucky enough to come across one and concocted a story, which gave his teahouse some fame.

"If you had tamed the Earth Beast, what would you have done?" Su Changfeng asked.

Upon hearing this, the man looked at Su Changfeng incredulously. Normally, everyone knew this. Could this person be a fool?

"Kid, are you joking with me?" The man said with a hint of anger creeping into his voice.

Su Changfeng realized he had perhaps asked an ill-considered question, evidently something that was common knowledge, prompting the man’s suspicion.

As Su Changfeng contemplated a way to handle the situation, someone walked in from outside. Upon seeing this person, Su Changfeng froze in shock.

Originally, he thought the Shen Family would send a servant to handle his predicament, but he never expected Shen Rushuang to come personally.

"Miss Shen?" The middle-aged man was equally stunned upon seeing Shen Rushuang.

"Are you the shopkeeper?" Shen Rushuang asked.

The man quickly nodded, showing tension in his demeanor.

"He’s my husband, and he accidentally forgot to bring money this time. Truly sorry for the trouble!" Shen Rushuang nodded, expressing her apology.

As her words fell, everyone stared incredulously at Su Changfeng.

The recent gossip had been all about Shen Rushuang’s husband, leaving many speculating, yet none expected to meet him in such a setting today.

He wasn’t the supposedly maimed person; he was a perfectly normal man.

Su Changfeng was equally bewildered; he didn’t expect Shen Rushuang to recognize his identity so publicly when she had previously warned him not to wander carelessly. Truly, women were as unpredictable as drops of water in the ocean!

"Miss Shen, so this is your husband. If that’s the case, forget about the tea bill." The man discreetly marveled, knowing full well that the Shen Family’s status in Tianshui City was nothing a mere shopkeeper like him could provoke.

"Thank you!" With that, Shen Rushuang gave Su Changfeng a glance, and he obediently walked over, departing the teahouse together.

"So he’s Shen Rushuang’s husband! He doesn’t seem so bad, not like the rumors at all?"

"Yes, yes, quite a well-matched couple, indeed. Someone like Wang Junyi doesn’t quite measure up to Shen Rushuang."

"What does it matter if he looks good? The most important thing for a man is ability and competence. Can this pretty boy even beat Wang Junyi? If word of this gets out, this pretty boy’s going to suffer."

The news of Shen Rushuang’s husband appearing in the teahouse quickly spread across Tianshui City.

...