Chapter 25: Pressed Underwater

  Chen Er Chen Ying's banquet, although it was not yet late afternoon and not the time to start eating, still had fine wine, small dishes, fragrant tea, and snacks laid out for guests to fill their stomachs and have a good time.

  Today, the guests who came to the banquet were mostly in their late twenties, except for Chen Erben's family and a few young brothers. Shen Changyu had a reputation as one of the Eight Great Talents of Jiangnan, so everyone intentionally tried to make friends with him, either by offering tea instead of wine or simply by toasting him and trying to build a relationship with him.

  Shen Changyu couldn't refuse, otherwise he would be known as a ruthless and unyielding person, so he had to drink one by one.

  He is very concerned about his reputation and willing to make friends. Who knows if these unknown people will have a great future?

  It's better to accept others' friendship than to refuse them and try to curry favor when they become successful.

  After drinking a few cups of wine, Shen Changyu's stomach didn't feel very comfortable. Chen Er's cousin came with two people, and Chen Er was talking to his cousin, so Shen Changyu took the opportunity to go to the outer courtyard to find a toilet.

  Hu Zhen, who came with him, followed him to find a toilet together.

  After relieving herself, Shen Changyu felt much lighter.

  Like the Shen family's gate, even going to the toilet is a matter of great importance. After relieving oneself, one must change clothes; otherwise, carrying a few hints of an unusual smell on one's body would be a loss of dignity.

  Today I came out as a guest, but there's no change of clothes.

  Shen Changyu and others who came with Hu Zhen also took the opportunity to come out, and said to Hu Zhen: "This South Villa is built in a particularly exquisite and beautiful way. There is still an hour before dinner, let's take a walk around and see if the scenery is good?"

  This can also blow away the smell that was just caught in the toilet.

  Hu Zhen was also a wealthy family's son, so he naturally knew the taboos and understood the implied meaning of Shen Changyu's words. He said: "This is for the best. Just now we arrived late, as soon as we came in, we were listening to the play, and didn't have the chance to take a look around this courtyard..."

  The two of them started from the northwest corner, walking slowly and talking about poetry or current events.

  In the late spring, the courtyard is full of lush trees and vibrant flowers. The warm breeze gently caresses several pavilions, where weak willows sway in the wind, their green waves undulating; fallen petals flutter about, entwining everything with their enchanting charm.

  The courtyard has several stone tables and chairs, spotlessly clean; or a few sprigs of green bamboo are planted, slender and elegant. The dense and light colors complement each other, neither monotonous nor gaudy.

  "This courtyard is built with great care." Shen Changyu, who was proud of his own noble status, couldn't help but praise it.

  "That's right." Hu Zhen echoed, "I heard it was made by Old Master Chen himself."

  The two of them were talking and had arrived at a high place on the westernmost side.

  That is the highest pavilion in Nanzhuang, called "Wan Yuan Ting". Standing on Wan Yuan Ting, you can see the whole Nanzhuang at a glance. What is said to be the highest terrain is actually only half a person high, it's just higher than other places.

  Looking at the stairs that were not too many, Hu Chen suggested: "Anyway, it's still early, let's go up and take a look."

  "Alright." Shen Changyu said.

  They said, and climbed up to the pavilion.

  Standing on the Wishing Pavilion, you can't see all of Nanzhuang, but just take a look at the nearby "Loop Water Lake". At this moment, it's blowing southeast wind, and the Wishing Pavilion is in the leeward position, so you can hear the sound of Loop Water Lake water slapping against the stone shore clearly.

  Hu Zhen and Chen Er have a good relationship, this is not their first time coming to Nan Zhuang, he is quite familiar with Nan Zhuang.

  He introduced to Shen Changyu: "This Wanjing Pavilion is not a natural one. It was built by excavating the water from Lianhua Lake, and the earth that couldn't be placed elsewhere was piled up to form a small hill, on which the pavilion was constructed."

  "Ah, I see," Shen Changyu said with a smile. "I was saying that this place shouldn't have such peaks and hills."

  Just as they were talking, three figures appeared at the entrance of Loushui Pavilion.

  The boats at Shuijingting have been put away, leaving only a small boat for the servants to use when clearing fallen leaves from the lake surface. As a result, Shuijingting is now deserted and quiet.

  The three people who came were all dressed in silk clothes and were today's guests. Their arrival broke the tranquility of the Luoshui Pavilion.

  "Isn't that Chen Ying's younger brother and Chen Zhang's younger brother?" Shen Changyu had sharp eyes, and at a glance, he recognized them as Chen Jing and Chen Qi. He even remembered their courtesy names.

  Hu Zhen narrowed his eyes and looked, saying: "Right, right, it's them. The one wearing a fur hat, isn't that He Zhen, the brother of the He family who just arrived?"

  Shen Changyu nodded.

  They are third cousins.

  The boats have all been put away, and now the three of them come running to row a boat, what a childish thing to do.

  Shen Changyu and Hu Chen came out for a stroll, mainly to blow off the strange smell on their bodies. The wind at Wangyuan Pavilion was quite good, refreshing and pleasant, so they planned to stand there for a while, dispel the smell and then return. Coincidentally, they saw the three brothers at Xunshui Pavilion, Shen Changyu and Hu Chen unintentionally took a look, not specifically to admire them.

  The three brothers then boarded the only small boat left.

  Chen Qi waved his oars, cutting through the ripples, creating a moderate-sized whirlpool, and steered the small boat towards the center of the lake.

  Chen Jie and He Zhen sat at the back of the boat, talking all the time. Specifically what they said, Shen Changyu and Hu Chen couldn't hear clearly.

  Watching three kids playing in the lake is also quite boring.

  "It's almost time for the wind to blow, and there's no unusual smell on our bodies. Shen Changyu said: 'Let's go back, lest someone from the visitor's house comes to look for us.'"

  "What Brother Changyu said is absolutely right." Hu Zhen said.

  He prepared to let Shen Changyu ask first and go back down the stairs.

  Suddenly, Shen Changyu and Hu Zhen heard a loud splash, as if someone had fallen into the water. Before they could turn their heads, they heard a mournful cry: "Ah......"

  Shen Changyu has already gone down two flights of stairs and is now climbing back up again.

  The tranquility of Lushuiting was completely shattered.

  In the middle of the lake, a small boat with its paddles thrown aside, Chen Xuan and Chen Qi were throwing He Zhen, who was weak and afraid of the cold, into the water.

  He Zhen wore very thick clothes and also had a fur hat on, so when he fell into the water, he kept sinking down.

  "Ah..." Shen Changyu's face suddenly changed. He had always thought that the child was very kind-hearted, but he did not expect that this pair of Chen brothers were so vicious, throwing a person who had contracted a cold poison into the water.

  At this time, the river water is only warm on the surface, but extremely cold at the bottom. Normal people would get sick from it, let alone He Zhen who was already weak and afraid of the cold after catching a chill.

  "Too much, too much!" Hu Zhen's face also changed with anger.

  The two were about to rush down to rescue him, but they heard Chen Jiong in the center of the lake shouting loudly at Chen Qi: "Ah, you're pressing his shoulders! You press his head hard, he'll drown even if he doesn't sink. You press his shoulders, I'm holding his arm, he won't sink, you press harder."

  You hold his shoulder, don't let him come up; I lift his arm, he can't fall down...

  "Haha!" Chen Qi laughed loudly.

  "Help! Help!" He Zhen let out a shrill cry for help. His clothes were all soaked, and his two hands were being held by Chen Jing, he was unable to move up or down, his whole body submerged in the cold lake water.

  He Zhen was extremely afraid of the cold. Not to mention such cold water, even a slight breeze would make him shiver.

  At this moment, he felt countless chills, all surging up, like the pain of a thousand swords converging.

  His cries were mournful and seemed to be cut by a thousand knives.

  "What's the matter with you!" Chen Qi pressed down on He Zhen's shoulder, not letting him climb up. "You're a murderer! When you killed people, didn't it feel good? Now you're afraid of the cold? That's what you deserve, you should also be pushed down and frozen to death!"

  Shen Changyu and Hu Zhenwei were slightly stunned.

  They had also heard about He Zhen's past misdeeds of killing his mother and brother. However, the He family strongly denied it, and outsiders couldn't be certain whether it was true or false. Now that Chen Qi said so, it should be true.

  The calamity caused by killing one's mother is pitiful, yet also detestable.

  Shen Changyu looked at the Chen brothers in the center of the lake again, and his hatred for them lessened a bit.

  It's not possible for them to kill people at will either.

  Only government officials have the right to sentence someone, the Chen brothers don't.

  "Go, go quickly." Hu Zhen saw Shen Changyu dazed and pulled him, "Those Chen brothers are ruthless and want to kill people."

  If they just wanted to kill him, they could have pushed him down and let He Zhen drown, then said he slipped and fell. But the Chen brothers, one holding He Zhen's arm and the other pressing his head, clearly intended to freeze him to death.

  This is torture to death, it's too excessive.

  "Spare my life, spare my life!" He Zhen cried out loudly. Due to his illness, his voice was weaker than ever before, but at this critical moment of life and death, his voice was surprisingly loud and sharp.

  He struggled desperately.

  Everyone has a desire to survive, and He Zhen's desire to survive is particularly strong at this moment.

  He gritted his teeth and kept trying to climb up.

  The water was too cold, and his body and legs were numb. Normally, he didn't have the strength to do so. But at this critical moment, a person's potential is fully exerted, and He Zhen struggled with all his might.

  Everything in the water was stiff and icy cold, but it couldn't stop He Zhen from climbing up. In this struggling process, his forehead was full of water, and he didn't know whether it was splashed river water or sweat.

  "You will come to a bad end!" He Zhen cried out, one moment begging for mercy, the next cursing, struggling ceaselessly in extreme agony.

  Gradually, his physical strength reached its limit, golden flowers appeared before his eyes, and he was about to faint.

  "Stop! Stop!" A man's roar came from the shore, "I've seen it all, you can't escape even if you kill someone, stop quickly, I won't tell your second brother!"

  The one speaking is Hu Xun.

  Chen Qi turned around and saw that it was Hu Zhen and Shen Changyu, and his heart skipped a beat. He had always admired Shen Changyu, and the Shen family was the most prestigious family in the county, with great influence.

  Chen Qi was afraid that Shen Changyu would go and report him.

  He just listened to Chen Jiong's words and wanted to tease He Zhen a bit.

  Seeing He Zhen struggling so desperately in the water, Chen Qi felt extremely pleased.

  Chen Qi didn't know that the water was so icy, nor did he know how much pain He Zhen's cold body felt when it was soaked in the water. He still thought that the bottom of the water was as warm and cool as the surface. Chen Qi's hand pressed against He Zhen, also touching the water, and he didn't feel cold at all.

  So in Chen Qi's view, He Zhen's painful screams were just out of fear.

  Chen Qi felt relieved and thought it was fun because he had no idea what kind of torture He Zhen was going through.

  "What should we do?" Chen Qi asked Chen Jing.

  Chen Jing didn't even turn his head, just staring at He Zhen in the river. He Zhen had endured too much suffering and was on his last breath.

  "Hurry up and pull him out!" Hu Zhen shouted, seeing Chen Jing still holding He Zhen under the water, Shen Changyu also got angry and shouted.

  There was only one boat at the Shui Ting Pavilion, Shen Changyu and Hu Zhen couldn't get across, they could only anxiously wait.

  Chen Qi also felt a bit apprehensive and asked Chen Jing: "How about we just forget it and pull him up?"

  "Wait a moment." Chen Jiong pulled hard on He Zhen's arm, observing his complexion, and said, "Just wait another moment, he'll be fainting soon."

  The two people on the shore became more and more angry.

  Chen Qi became increasingly uneasy.

  "Never mind, let's go." Chen Qi advised Chen Jing to go and help He Zhen, "Next time we'll teach him a lesson."

  "This is for treating illness." Chen Jing finally spoke the truth, "We have to wait until he freezes and passes out..."

  "Huh?" Chen Qi was taken aback for a moment.

  Cure illness?

  What disease are you treating? You little scoundrel, didn't you just say that you would tease He Zhen first and then treat the illness? Is this teasing or treating an illness? Who has ever heard of curing someone by dunking them in water?

  He Zhen caught a cold.

  Drowning someone who has caught a cold in river water will only aggravate his condition, what kind of treatment is that?

  "Alright, help me get up." Chen Qi was stunned for a moment when Chen Xuan suddenly shouted at him. As he was dazed, He Zhen finally fainted with a roll of his eyes.

  Chen Jiong's goal has been achieved.

  The two banks' Shen Changyu and Hu Zhen were still shouting, telling them to hurry up and pull people up.

  He Zhen had already fainted over here.

  Chen Qi hastily reached out and pulled He Zhen up.

  He Guoren pulled him up, and Chen Jing also sat weakly on the boat.

  Chen Jiong's back was completely soaked, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

  He Zhen was originally not heavy, but he wore a lot. So many clothes, soaked in water, added ten times the weight. He Zhen still struggled non-stop, increasing the weight even more; and to prevent him from surfacing, Chen Xuan deceived Chen Qi, letting him press He Zhen underwater. This pressing process also increased the weight.

  And all these weights were carried by Chen Jing.

  He Heng finally pulled himself up, Chen Xun relaxed the tight breath he was holding, and his whole body felt exhausted, almost fainting.