TNIBFT -Chapter 290 Let Him Wait

Her emotions were a tangled mix of nervousness, excitement, and fear.

After all, twelve years had passed since they last met. Brother Erniu had already become a city lord, while she was nothing more than a widow in Sifang City. Years of hardship had taken their toll—her beauty had faded, her youth long gone.

Would Brother Erniu still recognize her?

Feng Jiaojiao raised her head and looked at the Great Zhou soldiers mounted on tall horses. Each of them had sharp, cold eyes, radiating arrogance and indifference.

Instinctively, she lowered her head, feeling even smaller in comparison.

To hide her unease, she reached up and touched the smooth hair at her temples.

Ye Shuangxue smiled. “Beautiful!”

“Aunt Feng is the prettiest aunt of them all!”

Feng Jiaojiao couldn’t help but laugh at that.

On the way here, Ye Tian had already told her that Brother Erniu had once sent people to Jiangyang City to look for her. But by then, her in-laws had already passed away, and upon hearing the news of Brother Erniu’s death, she had refused to accept it and set out on a long journey to find her husband.

All these years, she had never returned to her hometown. After learning that Lin Erniu was dead, the men in the village had all eyed her with greed.

To force her into submission, they constantly slandered her and smeared her name.

She could no longer stay in Lin Family Village!

As long as everything was explained clearly and the misunderstanding resolved, perhaps she could even help Ye Tian. Brother Erniu would listen to her, and Ye Tian was her savior—which meant he was also Brother Erniu’s benefactor.

Besides, Lord Meng’s words could not be wrong!

Whether for Brother Erniu or for Ye Tian, this was a journey she had to make.

Feng Jiaojiao steadied her emotions and let out a quiet breath. She looked ahead with anticipation, waiting for a reunion with her husband.

Just then, a deputy general came galloping over on horseback, his expression cold as he shouted, “The Great General orders—execute them on the spot!”

“Kill without mercy!”

What?!

Feng Jiaojiao’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the messenger.

The deputy general’s words were ruthless and icy, completely shattering her hopes.

She shouted angrily, “Lin Erniu, heartless and unfeeling! I waited for you twelve years, sent off your parents with my own hands—this is how you repay me?!”

“I must have been blind!”

“I actually believed the city lord’s words, thinking you had your reasons! But someone who clings to wealth and glory—how could he remember a wife who shared his hardships? This is nothing but self-deception—utterly ridiculous!”

Feng Jiaojiao laughed and cried at the same time, hurling curses at the deputy general.

The deputy general felt something was off.

If this woman was acting, then her performance was far too convincing—so much so that even he felt like crying. What was going on?

But Lin Erniu wasn’t him!

“Enough nonsense! Seize them at once!”

“Take their heads and send them back to Ye Tian!” The deputy general drew his sword and charged toward Feng Jiaojiao.

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound rang out as sparks flew.

The deputy general’s sword was knocked aside by a pebble. His entire arm went numb, and the web of his hand split open, blood instantly flowing. He looked up in shock and saw an old man with graying hair sitting atop the carriage, his gaze as deep and unfathomable as an abyss.

“Shopkeeper Feng, shall I go kill Lin Xianzhong right now?” Sun Wuji asked.

With tear-streaked cheeks, Feng Jiaojiao shook her head. “Senior, someone like him is not worthy of your hand.”

“Since he wants to kill me, let him say it to my face. I will take my own life in front of him—no one else needs to do it!”

Her spine straight, her eyes resolute, Feng Jiaojiao stood unyielding.

The Great Zhou soldiers surrounded the carriage, yet none dared to step forward. The deputy general’s arm hung limp at his side, blood dripping from his fingers and staining the snow beneath him.

Step by step, Feng Jiaojiao walked toward the central carriage.

“Lin Erniu!”

“You once said you would never betray me in this lifetime—come out!”

“You want to kill me?!”

“When your parents were still alive, why didn’t you kill me? When you had nothing, why didn’t you kill me?”

She took another step forward—and Sun Wuji drove the carriage forward alongside her.

The soldiers of the Great Zhou stood ready with weapons in hand, prepared to strike at any moment.

“General, are those Ye Tian’s people arriving?” Jiang Yunxi let out a light laugh.

Lin Xianzhong said nothing. Hearing the commotion outside, he lifted the curtain of the carriage. His voice turned stern and furious as he shouted, “Useless trash! You can’t even kill a single woman?”

As his words fell—

Lin Xianzhong looked up.

Standing across from him was a vaguely familiar figure from the past. In the wind and snow, she wore simple, clean clothes, her face streaked with tears and despair. That single glance left him frozen in place.

In an instant, the face he had longed for day and night surfaced in his mind.

Only, he never expected that his Jiaojiao had become an old woman, with graying hair at her temples. Just how much suffering had she endured?

“Jiao… Jiaojiao?”

“Is it really you?”

Lin Xianzhong’s voice trembled. At this moment, everything felt unreal—like countless dreams. He feared that if Feng Jiaojiao nodded and they embraced, before he could even feel her warmth, the dream would shatter.

“Hmph!”

Feng Jiaojiao let out a cold laugh.

Inside the carriage, upon hearing the dazed tone in Lin Xianzhong’s voice, Jiang Yunxi instantly became alert. She abruptly pulled open the curtain.

A young and beautiful face appeared before Feng Jiaojiao.

The woman stood behind Lin Xianzhong. Seeing the two of them together, Feng Jiaojiao felt a stabbing pain in her eyes. In fury, she drew a long sword from a nearby soldier and cut off the hair by her ear. Her eyes reddened as she looked at Lin Xianzhong and said:

“From this moment on, all ties between us are severed. Let’s just pretend Lin Erniu died long ago on the battlefield of Sifang City.”

“Jiaojiao?”

Lin Xianzhong rushed forward.

Sun Wuji had already figured out what was going on. Seeing Lin Xianzhong approach, he kicked him several meters away and coldly shouted, “Get lost!”

“If Shopkeeper Feng hadn’t stopped me, I’d have castrated you right now, you heartless bastard!”

“Master, hurry!”

Ye Shuangxue waved urgently at Sun Wuji, her small face filled with vigilance.

Sun Wuji leapt onto the carriage. With a crack of the whip, the carriage charged forward recklessly, leaving Lin Xianzhong’s forces far behind.

Lying on the ground, Lin Xianzhong had never expected things to turn out like this.

Watching the carriage grow farther and farther away, he clutched his chest and muttered, “Jiaojiao, I will definitely bring you back!”

…

At this moment, inside the hotpot restaurant—

Sun Wuji stood there with snow piled on his head, his hair a complete mess, his face full of grievance as he glared at Ye Tian.

Ye Shuangxue’s big eyes darted around.

Ever since returning from seeing Lin Xianzhong, Feng Jiaojiao looked ashen, as if lifeless. The atmosphere in the hall was heavy. Ye Tian felt helpless—wasn’t the original plot supposed to go differently?

Why had it failed?

“Yingying, take Sister Feng to rest first,” Ye Tian instructed. Duan Yingying immediately stepped forward, supporting Feng Jiaojiao as she led her to the backyard.

Everyone looked worried. “That Lin Xianzhong… isn’t he Lin Erniu?”

Old Yang voiced the question.

Ye Shuangxue whispered, “He is Lin Erniu. But this Lin Erniu already has a wife, so Aunt Feng is very upset. Erniu’s been taken by someone else.”

“Huh?!”

Old Yang’s eyes widened.

Beside him, Ye Tian said, “What does a child like you know?”

Just as he finished speaking, someone reported from outside:

“City Lord!”

“City Lord, bad news! Lin Xianzhong is on horseback outside the city, challenging us. You should go take a look!”

“So soon?”

Everyone stood up in shock.

Since the original plot and clues no longer worked, the only option left was to use strength to subdue Lin Xianzhong. Ye Tian rose to his feet and said:

“Let him wait!”