Water Margin: From a White-Robed Scholar to Donning the Yellow Robe

Chapter 38 Wang Po's Sleeping Potion

Wang Lun's guess was absolutely right.

Ximen Qing was brought to the county government office, but he only walked around the courtroom once. Afterwards, it seemed that he and Wang Lun and others were taken to the prison one after another. In fact, only Wang Lun entered the prison. Ximen Qing had already left through the back door of the county government office.

His legal wife, Wu Yueniang, was also waiting at the back door.

Upon seeing Ximen Qing, Wu Yueniang was on the verge of tears: "You heartless bastard, of all people to seduce, you had to go and seduce Pan Jinlian. She's a married woman, why did you have to provoke her for no reason?"

Ximen Qing smiled and helped Wu Yueniang into the carriage, saying, "Thank you for coming to my rescue, madam."

Wu Yueniang said irritably, "That magistrate took two hundred taels of silver from me, you have to compensate me."

Ximen Qing then leaned in and tackled Wu Yueniang to the ground inside the carriage, laughing, "I'll pay, I'll definitely pay."

In a corner not far away, Gongsun Sheng, his face grim, cursed, "Bah!"

Zhao Si, who was standing nearby, said, "What should we do now? The chieftain is already in jail."

"Just do as the chieftain ordered. You go and protect Wu Da, and I'll wait for Wu Song. Remember, the chieftain said to pay extra attention to the medicine Wu Da drank," Gongsun Sheng instructed earnestly, though he didn't know why Wang Lun insisted on emphasizing the medicine Wu Da drank.

Zhao Si nodded and said, "Don't worry, leader. I will take good care of Wu Dalang these next few days and make sure nothing happens to him."

Wang Lun and Yang Zhi were in prison, and the county magistrate didn't know what to do with them, so he simply left them to their own devices, thinking that he would release them after a few days, which would also be a way of saving face for Wu Song.

Meanwhile, Ximen Qing returned home and invited a doctor to examine his injuries. They turned out to be nothing more than superficial wounds, nothing serious.

After finally managing to recover for a day, he was reminded of the beautiful and charming Pan Jinlian.

As the saying goes, no flower is as fragrant as a wild one. Although he had one wife and two concubines at home, the novelty had worn off, and none of them could fascinate him like Pan Jinlian.

By the third day, he was already restless. Taking advantage of Wu Yueniang's inattention, he slipped out again and went straight to Wang Po's teahouse.

When Wang Po saw Ximen Qing come again, she quickly pulled him inside and scolded him, "Why didn't you hide for a few days to avoid trouble? This matter has become such a big deal. If that tiger-slaying Wu Song finds out, neither of us will be in good shape."

Ximen Qing laughed and said, "Godmother, I can't stand not seeing this young lady for even a day. It's been three days already, how can I bear it?"

Granny Wang spat and said, "Can your body still handle this?"

Ximen Qing said smugly, "Let alone one Jinlian, I could eat two Jinlians. If my godmother were thirty years younger, I might be able to eat her too."

Granny Wang laughed and said, "You little rascal."

Ximen Qing then took out a silver ingot, about five taels, and handed it to Wang Po, saying with a smile, "Please go and see what Jinlian has been doing these days. If she has nothing to do, she can come and play with me."

After receiving the money, Granny Wang said, "Wu Da has been lying in bed recovering from his injuries these past few days and hasn't been selling pancakes, so Jinlian is naturally staying home with him. Strangely, there's been an extra person at his house, a Taoist priest, who seems to be in cahoots with the guy you fought with the other day."

Ximen Qing was furious, but then he remembered that the other two were still in prison. Although this man was part of the same group, he was only there to protect Wu Da.

He thought for a moment and said, "If he were here, things would be difficult."

Granny Wang smiled and said, "That's easy to do. I have some excellent sleeping potion here. Just give it to him, and he'll be asleep for a whole day and night, let alone a person."

Ximen Qing was overjoyed and quickly said, "Godmother, thank goodness for you! I, Ximen Dalang, will treat you as my own mother from now on."

With a smile, Granny Wang went to buy some groceries. Returning to the teahouse, she filled a pot with wine, poured a small packet of sleeping potion into it, and said with a laugh, "I'll give this to Jinlian. If she still thinks of you, she'll persuade that person to take the medicine. If she doesn't care about you, she'll return the wine, and you can leave."

"I know, godmother, hurry up and go."

Ximen Qing was certainly confident that Pan Jinlian was still thinking about him. With his abilities, couldn't he tell whether he had conquered Pan Jinlian or not?

Granny Wang carried the wine and dishes to the opposite side. Through the crack in the door, she saw the Taoist priest sitting at the table dozing off, Pan Jinlian sitting not far from the door doing needlework, and Wu Dalang, who was injured, presumably bedridden.

She then coughed softly.

This cough startled Pan Jinlian and Zhao Si, who was dozing off, awake.

Upon seeing Wang Po, Pan Jinlian immediately knew what had happened and her face lit up with joy. She stepped forward and said, "Godmother, what brings you here?"

Granny Wang handed over the wine and food, saying, "You have a guest here, and I thought he had nothing to do, so I brought some wine and food for him to eat."

He then winked at Pan Jinlian and said, "I'm doing needlework, and there's something I don't quite understand. I'd like to ask you to come and take a look."

This was their secret code, which meant that Ximen Qing was waiting.

Pan Jinlian, impatient, brought the wine and dishes to Zhao Si and said, "Daoist, this is a gift from your godmother, you don't need to be polite."

Zhao Si glanced at Wang Po, then at Pan Jinlian, and was about to decline.

Then Pan Jinlian said, "I will personally pour you more wine."

She then lifted the wine pot and poured Zhao Si a full cup.

Zhao Si sniffed the wine and recognized its rich aroma; it was indeed fine wine. He had been incredibly bored these past few days guarding Wu Da, and dared not go out to drink and relieve his boredom. He thought to himself that with his imposing stature, this old woman wouldn't dare harm him.

He then picked up his wine cup, drank it all in one gulp, and exclaimed, "Good wine!"

But Wang Po laughed heartily, saying, "You silly fool, you weren't on guard at all."

Zhao Si was taken aback: "What?"

Granny Wang shook her head, "It's over, it's over."

Zhao Si rolled his eyes and collapsed onto the table with a thud.

Hearing the commotion, Wu Dalang, who was lying in bed upstairs, asked, "Wife, what has happened?"

Pan Jinlian ignored him and quickly left with Wang Po, rushing into Wang Po's teahouse. Seeing Ximen Qing, whom she had been longing for, sitting there, she instantly felt weak in the knees and softly leaned into Ximen Qing's arms, scolding, "You rascal, I thought you wouldn't come again."

"I was hoping to spend my whole life with you, how could I not come?"

"But now that people know, how can I..." Pan Jinlian said, tears streaming down her face, as she reached out her sleeve to wipe them away.

Ximen Qing's heart melted, and he immediately embraced Pan Jinlian and kissed her affectionately for a while.

Granny Wang chuckled from the side, "If you want to stay together forever, it couldn't be simpler."

Pan Jinlian was overjoyed and quickly asked, "Godmother, do you have a solution?"

Granny Wang pulled out a small bag of medicine from her sleeve and said, "This one isn't a sleeping potion. If Wu Da takes it, even an ox won't wake up."

Ximen Qing frowned and said, "But... if I beat him and he got injured, wouldn't I be charged with murder?"

Wang Po said very bluntly, "Master Ximen, how can you be so dim-witted? Isn't there a Taoist priest sleeping in Wu Da's room? His origins are unknown, so let's frame him."

Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing's eyes lit up.