There is no Redemption for A Scum Villain

Chapter 72

Su Binghe was a bit disappointed already when Shen Wannian was so distracted throughout the day, but when the young man suddenly excused himself around afternoon, his mood really took a dip. He had already recovered from the shock of earlier that day, Shen Wannian did not have to remain away...

Little did he know that Shen Wannian was now proceeding to literally go on a wild goose chase.

In a normal state of mind, Shen Wannian should have been more hesitant to just leave and get going with this, but for some reason, the one time he needed to think logically, his mind was just all over the place. It took him two days to locate one goose, but not once did he think about what he was doing. Shen Wannian was way too focused on his mission.

The thing that did get him to realize how flustered he was over this whole situation was when he got the gifts he wanted to use to bribe Su Binghe's adoptive parents. He stood at a shop that sold diverse ingredients for sweets and made plans on getting a bunch of high quality ink stones and ferret hair brushes to give to Yue Qingyuan when he had to use the one hand that wasn't holding the lead he had put around his aggressive new pet's neck to fan his face.

"Stop hissing, man," Shen Wannian grumbled at the animal, "You think I'm gonna let you run off like that if you are violent? You can be happy that I don't like killing and you get to live until Shen-shishu makes another decision than I and you become dinner."

The goose hissed even more aggressively and snapped its beak at Shen Wannian's leg. The man just leaned over to bring the goose further away, prompting it to flutter and hiss in frustration. Shen Wannian thanked the vendor as the man filled up the basket on his back calmly while he was unable to receive his items in his hands.

"Is the young master planning to get married?" the vendor asked curiously.

"Ye...I...the..." Shen Wannian stammered, "Maybe?"

The vendor laughed. He seemed amused that the young man before him, who had run around the forests and fields for days until he got all dirty and that just for a goose, was now claiming that he wasn't actually planning a proposal.

"If you're trying to gather good dowry gifts, why not try some perfumes or jewelry for your future mother-in-law?" the vendor suggested, "I have a good friend who sells stuff like that. If the lady of the house nags enough, the master will surely agree."

"There's no lady," Shen Wannian couldn't help but say. He imagined the reaction he would get if he even thought of giving such things to his shishu. Yue Qingyuan would side-eye him to death.

"Just the father?" the vendor asked, a little surprised. Usually the father would at least get a new wife once he lost his old one in some way. Who would take care of the child if not the mother? Or was the young Miss of a good house too and they had enough maids to take over the job?

"Hm...two," Shen Wannian informed a bit awkwardly, "They have adopted a son."

The vendor's eyebrows went skyward, but he looked more interested than anything. It really wasn't unseen to have such a constellation, but two times in two generations was curious and certainly not the norm.

"Why don't you go to the blacksmith and see if you can get some nice swords then? Every man likes swords. Grab two nice ones, a couple trinkets and you're set," the vendor suggested.

"No, I think they have enough swords. If I give them any, they would likely see the quality as an offense," Shen Wannian replied, "I think I'm good with this. The one I'm scared of loves sweet things, but he just can't eat anything from strangers, so I'm getting as much sugar as I can find. Next I'm going to buy two baskets of fruit..."