The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 85

It just so happened that today, some people came to the Li household to see Xiaoman’s big belly. It’s a local custom that those close to the family during early pregnancy must visit, have a meal, and bring gifts.

Lian Meng returned while everyone was chatting. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, someone spotted him and said, “Ah, isn’t this your eldest’s husband? Didn’t you say he went back to the Mu family? And now he’s back again!”

Li Amu saw him walk in without any shame. He greeted Li Amu, then said to the one who asked, “Today is Xiaoman’s special day. Of course I must return.”

Li Amu couldn’t expose him right now. There were so many people around. If an argument broke out, it would never end.

Lian Meng walked in confidently and saw Tian Xiaoman surrounded by people.

“Xiaoman, I brought back some bird’s nests from my Amu’s house. I heard this is really good for pregnant gers!”

As soon as he said that, the crowd erupted.

“Oh, I’ve heard of that! I heard one tael of silver can’t even buy one tael of bird’s nest!”

“Exactly! I heard it’s really nourishing. Only the rich and powerful can afford it!”

“No wonder he’s so generous. I heard his uncle is an official. No wonder he can buy bird’s nest!”

Everyone chimed in excitedly. 

Tian Xiaoman, however, looked at Lian Meng awkwardly. Why was this brother-in-law suddenly treating him so well?

“There’s no need—it’s too expensive,” Tian Xiaoman said, unwilling to accept his kindness.

“It’s fine. You’re carrying the Li family’s child. That’s extremely precious. What’s a little bird’s nest compared to that? I’ll stew it for you right now!”

Lian Meng’s tone was a little off, but everyone was too caught up in the excitement over bird’s nest to notice.

“There’s really no need, brother-in-law…” Before Tian Xiaoman could finish, Lian Meng had already turned and left.

Tian Xiaoman thought it over and decided to talk to Li Amu.

After hearing about it, Li Amu immediately excused himself and went to the kitchen, saying he had something to do.

“Meng’er, what are you trying to do?” he asked, watching him warily.

“Amu, I don’t want to be separated from Yiran…” Lian Meng lowered his head, looking sorrowful.

“Then why did you do what you did in the first place? Sigh…” Li Amu sighed.

“I know I was wrong. Please, just give me a chance to prove myself today. Maybe if Yiran’s in a good mood, he’ll forgive me!” Lian Meng pleaded.

Li Amu still held a small hope that things could be reconciled. Seeing his sincerity, his heart softened, and he let him go. 

Just then, someone outside called for him, so he left the kitchen.

A strange light flashed in Lian Meng’s eyes as he muttered to himself, “Let’s see if you don’t die this time. That’ll teach you for harming my child and stealing my fate.” 

He took out the talisman ash and poured it in. Anyway, country folk had no idea what cooked bird’s nest was supposed to look like after cooking.

Clang! A clay pot was knocked over near the door. 

Lian Meng’s heart skipped a beat. When he turned around, he saw a small figure dart away—it was Le-ge’er! He couldn’t let him talk!

Without thinking, Lian Meng ran after him. 

Le-ge’er ran faster when he saw Lian Meng chasing, but he was still just a child. He was caught quickly.

Le-ge’er giggled, turned his back to him, and said, “My turn, my turn!” Then he started counting.

Phew… Lian Meng breathed a sigh of relief. So, he was just playing! 

Without another word, Lian Meng turned back toward the kitchen.

A while later, the bird’s nest was done. Lian Meng returned to the main hall. “Xiaoman, eat it while it’s hot!”

Tian Xiaoman was sitting at the table. Lian Meng placed the bowl in front of him and took a few steps back. What if he suddenly had a reaction and hurt someone?

Under everyone’s gaze, Tian Xiaoman felt a lot of pressure. Eating like this would definitely upset his stomach. But it was hard to reject such hospitality, so he picked up the spoon and began to eat.

Lian Meng watched closely, waiting for him to have a reaction. But even after finishing the bowl, Xiaoman remained calm.

People gathered around to ask, “Xiaoman, how does it taste? Is it good?”

Tian Xiaoman smacked his lips. “It’s alright… kind of tastes like Tremella soup.”

The crowd wasn’t satisfied with such a vague answer and pressed for more details. 

Lian Meng stared at Tian Xiaoman in disbelief. Impossible! He had spent over a hundred taels. Why wasn’t he poisoned?

Just then, when no one was looking, Lian Meng was grabbed and dragged away with a hand covering his mouth—completely silent.

Panicking, he realized he was taken into his own room, where Li Yiran and Li Amu were waiting.

Once released, he turned around to see Li Wenxuan glaring at him. “Brother -in-law, explain—what’s with this bowl of bird’s nest?”

The bowl was set on the table in front of him. The liquid was murky, with powder floating on top.

Others might not know what bird’s nest looked like, but Li Wenxuan did. He had been treated well in the city after saving his master, and he knew real bird’s nest didn’t look like this.

“What, Xiaoman didn’t eat the bird’s nest? No wonder!” Lian Meng suddenly realized. So, it wasn’t that Daoist Zhang’s talisman was useless—Xiaoman hadn’t eaten it!

“You poisoned Xiaoman?” Li Amu stared at him in disbelief. He had really thought he was repentant!

“Who said I poisoned him? It’s just another tonic!” Lian Meng denied it outright.

“Then drink it,” said Li Yiran. 

His younger brother had called him back and told him what happened. He could not believe the person who had shared his bed was this vicious.

“Drink it!” they demanded.

Unfazed, Lian Meng gulped it down. In his mind, talismans like this were only harmful to evil spirits. He wasn’t one—he could always go back to Daoist Zhang for cleansing.

Seeing his casual attitude, everyone started to think they may have been wrong. Even Li Yiran relaxed a little.

After finishing the bowl, Lian Meng set it down and said, “See? Don’t accuse people without evidence!” Then he left. 

Even so, he decided to go find Daoist Zhang just in case.

Li Wenxuan was a bit embarrassed. When he heard Lian Meng brought food for Xiaoman, he had rushed to the kitchen. Not seeing Lian Meng, he opened the pot himself and found the contents gray and powdery—not like bird’s nest at all. He quickly switched it with another pot, stewing white fungus instead.

It seemed they’d wrongly accused Lian Meng…

That’s what everyone thought—until they heard of Lian Meng’s death that night.

After leaving the Li household, Lian Meng took a carriage back. After a quick greeting with Lian Amu, he was about to go find Daoist Zhang. But suddenly, he had intense stomach pain and rushed to the toilet.

When he didn’t come out for a long time, Lian Amu went to check and found him collapsed on the ground, bleeding from his lower body. He was already dead before the doctor arrived.

The Lian family was in chaos. How could this happen so suddenly? He had been fine just moments ago!

Cries erupted throughout the house. 

The eldest brother of the Lian family said, “Second Brother just came back from the Li family. I’m going to find them!”

He was about to storm out when Lian Amu stopped him. “You can’t go!”

“Why not?” Eldest Brother Lian was confused.

Lian Amu thought: if he went to the Li family, they’d surely call the authorities. Then the truth about Lian Meng’s death would come out.

Lian Meng had told them he drank Daoist Zhang’s talisman water voluntarily. Now it looked like that was what killed him. But they had obtained that talisman with the intent to harm Tian Xiaoman. If that came to light, they’d all be implicated as accomplices.

He couldn’t go!