Chapter 40: The Fish Takes the Bait

  Suddenly thought of Guan Guan's current 50,000 collections. If one person votes for one ticket, how many recommended tickets should there be in a day? Moreover, now there are still many reader friends who vote with all their might, which can prove that many readers just read it and didn't even cast a single vote!

  Xu Liang, Chen Cheng and Liao Liangcai, the three rascals, were locked up in a large prison for one night. The next day, they were quietly taken out of the prison by someone. At the gate of the prison, there was someone waiting to receive them. That person took them to a secret alley, handed over three small packages and whispered: "There are clothes in the package, change into them. Also, the reward money that Master promised you is also inside. Take the money and get out of here quickly. First go somewhere else to have some fun, wait until everything calms down before coming back. Old rules, if you accidentally reveal your tracks..."

  "It's only natural that the little ones would escape and run away, and then come back to eat a few more days of prison food, thanks to the reward from Master Hua's household, thanks to the reward from the great master."

  Three rascals smiled and changed their clothes, hiding the stacked treasure in their waistbands. They bowed and thanked the man known as Huaguanjia before leaving Putai County with their heads down. The man called Huaguanjia also quickly left after glancing around.

  Only three people, Lin Xiao, Lin Li and Lin Lang, are familiar with the streets of Putai County. They can walk through alleys and streets with ease, knowing every nook and cranny. Even if you're highly skilled, it's hard to keep up with these three slippery guys. However, there is someone who can keep up with them, because Lin Fei Qi is also a local snake, and the leader of a group of local snakes.

  Lin Yuqi was familiar with both the black and white ways, and he knew the rules and routes that others didn't know. With enough manpower in his hands, his men had been keeping a close eye on the three thugs, never letting them escape. As soon as the three thugs left Putai County, they quickened their pace and headed towards a distant place, about seven or eight miles away from the city. They bypassed the main road and turned into a forest, intending to take a shortcut to a neighboring county. Suddenly, seven or eight masked men with jujube wood clubs appeared out of nowhere, surrounding them in the middle.

  Liao Liangcai's face changed, and his cunning eyes scanned around, begging: "Good Han brothers, we two brothers are poor and penniless, with no food to eat, you good Han brothers want to help the heavens and kill the rich to help the poor, shouldn't you be looking for someone else?"

  The leader of the Han people shouted loudly: "Less nonsense! Liao Zai, know your place, honestly confess, which family did Tang's little girl get kidnapped by?"

  Liao Liangcai's face changed greatly, and he shouted "Go!" as he quickly dodged into the bushes. The other two thugs also had rich experience in escaping, and they immediately dispersed in different directions. However, no matter how fast they ran, they couldn't outrun the seven or eight jujube wood clubs. The sound of the clubs swinging through the air was deafening, and it was as if they were beating a stray dog. The clubs specifically targeted the three men's ankles, and with just one hit, the pain pierced through their bones. In an instant, the three men were knocked to the ground, clutching their legs and rolling around in agony, their cries barely human.

  The leader of the Han people sneered: "If you don't give them a bit of trouble, they won't know that Marquis Ma has three eyes! Are you willing to confess now?"

  Liao Liangcai cried out in a miserable tone: "Good sir, we don't know what you're talking about. We were just being used by others, we..."

  "Pffft!"

  A date wood stick heavily hit his mouth, several front teeth instantly fell off, Liao Liang's mouth was full of blood, lips were broken and torn, and he cried out in a voice that couldn't be heard. The other two thugs looked pale, the masked big man walked to Xu Liang's face, with a cold smile in his eyes, shouted: "You say!"

  "Good fellow, I don't know what you're saying..."

  "Thud!" The blood-stained locust stick struck his coccyx with a loud thud, and Xu Liang let out a pained cry, his whole body convulsing in agony.

  "Are you inviting me?"

  "I... I don't know..."

  "Pffft!"

  Another leg was also swept by the date wood stick, Xu Liang curled up his body, snot and tears streaming down, wailing: "I really don't know, I really don't know!"

  "What a backbone! He really has a backbone!" The big man sneered: "Drag them over and bury them!"

  Several big men rushed up, dragged them away like dead dogs, and walked into the woods where a large pit had already been dug. The pit was not big enough, so three people were tied up and stuffed in, feeling a bit cramped. The big men kicked with their feet, then poured soil inside. Three people opened their mouths to shout for help, but one mouthful of yellow soil made them shut up.

  Seven or eight people worked together, and soon the three were buried alive. However, the pit was shallow, and with a fierce struggle, they managed to lift their heads out of the soil. But as soon as they did, they were hit on the head with a club, causing them to bleed profusely. This happened three or five times, until the three were gasping for breath, their heads covered in blood like a bloody gourd. Seeing these masked men's ruthlessness and disregard for the law, they finally collapsed. Lao San suddenly stretched out his neck, his face and head covered in mud and blood, looking like a ghost that had just crawled out of the ground. He wailed: "We confess! We confess!"

  At the same time, a young scholar went to the local county school to visit the instructors, teachers and various masters. This young scholar was a visiting student from another county, named Gao Xianning. The Gao family was very wealthy, and he had come to the county school on a tour of learning, bringing several fine inkstones and some local specialties as gifts. With many gifts, people are not suspicious, and Gao was also a refined and courteous person, so he quickly became familiar with them, and even called the students of the county school "brothers" and became good friends.

  That morning, a pretty young village girl also arrived in Putai County. As the old saying goes: "Deep mountains breed beautiful birds, and thatched cottages produce beautiful women." This little girl is indeed the most correct, although she is dressed in simple clothes, her appearance is really good-looking.

  The girl had a lively and lovely three-bun hairstyle, with bangs covering her forehead, a slightly yellow complexion, delicate features, and a pair of bright, intoxicating eyes. Just looking at her was enough to see that she was an extremely beautiful young woman, and what's more, she had a slender and elegant figure. The little girl wore a patched-up two-piece peasant outfit, the kind that best showed off a girl's curves. Her figure was just right, with everything in proportion - big where it should be big, small where it should be small. Probably because her family was too poor to afford new clothes, she had on a flower-patterned shirt and pants with patches, clinging tightly to her long, round legs, as if they might burst at the seams at any moment.

  As soon as she appeared in the county town, passersby couldn't help but take a second glance. After wandering around the streets and alleys for half a day, even more people recognized her. After noon, this beautiful village girl stood at the entrance of an alley, covering her face and sobbing, which drew even more attention to herself. A large crowd gathered around her, and kind-hearted people asked questions in unison, and couldn't help but sympathize with her.

  This young village girl is called Chun Cun Er, a poor and miserable girl. Her parents died early, and she was left alone to make a living by doing needlework for others. Unfortunately, her home was also burned down in a big fire, so she had no choice but to go through hardships from Yunzhou Prefecture to Putai County to seek refuge with her distant uncle. Who would have thought that after asking around for half a day and finally finding her uncle's house, the door was shut tight by an iron-faced general.

  She had a distant uncle who went to Jinling last year because this distant uncle was a bricklayer and was summoned by the imperial court to build palaces in Jinling, and it is unknown when he will return. The little girl's savings were exhausted, she had nowhere to turn, and could only cover her face and cry bitterly in front of her uncle's rusty iron gate. The neighbors couldn't help but feel sympathetic, but they weren't particularly wealthy families either, who would be willing to provide too much assistance? At most, kind-hearted people sent a few buns, just enough not to let the little village girl starve to death on the street.

  There are still good people, it's just that today Mr. Qiu Da is in a good mood, lightly swaying his fan and coincidentally passing through this alley where many poor people live, seeing a group of people surrounding a young girl, Mr. Qiu Da was surprised and hurriedly went forward to ask, after learning about the situation, kind-hearted Mr. Qiu Da couldn't help but shed sympathetic tears.

  Chou Da Shanren had reached the age of knowing his fate, and his heart was soft. He couldn't bear this, so he accompanied her for a while, wiping away tears, and looked at the girl's appearance. Chou Da Lao Ye said: "Pitiful one, if you have nowhere to go, my old manor is still short of a few servant girls. Are you willing to come to my manor to work? Firstly, there will be food to eat, secondly, you can also wait for your uncle, he will definitely return sooner or later."

  Chun Cun'er said timidly, "Thank you, sir. I...I have a maternal aunt who lives in Baizhou, Hebei Province. I want to go and find my aunt."

  "Oh..." Qiuqiu used her folding fan to gently tap her palm, and then asked: "Do you have any money on you?"

  Chun Cun'er shook her head, unable to bear it, and covered her face with her sleeve, sobbing again.

  "Alright, alright, don't cry, little girl." Qiu Yuanwai took out a handful of silver coins from his pocket and handed them over, saying with a smile: "Since that's the case, I'll help you out. Here, take it, don't be shy."

  He stuffed the money into the little girl's hand and then turned his head to instruct: "Little fish, little fish."

  The housekeeper of the Qiu mansion, Hua Xiaoyu, hastily came forward: "Master."

  "Arrange for this young lady to rest at the inn, and tomorrow morning take the long-distance bus to the ferry terminal. Hmm... a single woman, with no one to take care of her locally, let's arrange for her to stay at Lin's 'Taibai Residence'. The old master will pay for her accommodation, 'Taibai Residence' is our county's largest and most proper inn, it's safe."

  The villagers and neighbors all praised, their hometown had such a generous gentleman who could help the poor outsiders, didn't they have face too? Chun Cun'er blinked her big talking eyes, tearfully looking at Qiu Yuanwai, somewhat at a loss. Someone beside her hurriedly shouted: "Little lady, don't you thank Qiu Yuanwai, he's your great benefactor!"

  "Ah, ah, thank you, sir, thank you, Master Chou."

  "Hey, no need to be polite, no need to be polite, I'm just doing a good deed and getting a good result, hehe..." Qiū Autumn's eyes gazed deeply at the young lady for a moment, then he unfolded his fan and walked away.

  Qiu Dàyé is going to visit County Magistrate Shan Dàyé at the county yamen. Qiu Dàyé's paternal cousin, who serves as a consultant in Jinan Prefecture, is himself a wealthy and influential landlord in Putai County, and he has a very close relationship with County Magistrate Shan Dàyé. Both of them are fond of wine and chess, and from time to time they set up a chessboard in the backyard of the county yamen and play a few games. Now he is on his way to meet his old friend at the county yamen.

  The next morning, Hua Zongguan rushed to Taibai's residence. The Lin family's shopkeeper and the young servants politely sent the poor girl out of the door. Hua Zongguan led her to Zhao's Mule and Horse Station. Zhao's Mule and Horse Station had a long-distance route that passed through the ferry terminal in the west, with one departure per day, starting at dawn. Hua Zongguan paid the fare and instructed the staff of Zhao's Mule and Horse Station to take the girl to the ferry terminal, making it convenient for her to board the boat to go to Hebei Province, before taking his leave.

  The little girl thanked her profusely, carrying a small bundle, boarded the long-distance bus to Baoding in the west. Many early-rising citizens of the city witnessed her departure, and those who had seen her the day before still waved goodbye from afar, offering their blessings for a safe journey.

  Puta is a small county, and it's early morning again. The road to the ferry terminal is deserted, with few travelers, except for this long-distance passenger carriage from Zhaojia Inn. When the mule cart arrived at Sangxi Ferry Terminal, there was a fork in the road. Going straight ahead would take you over a small hill to the river crossing, while left and right led to separate roads heading south and north respectively. The southern route was an official highway, the widest and most level of all, which is where this long-distance passenger carriage was headed. The northern route was a small path leading to a small village more than ten miles away.

  There were a few people at the crossroads, who had come from the ferry and small villages to prepare for their journey. A few of them squatted under the shade of trees, chatting and waiting for the mule cart to arrive. When the cart stopped, the carter first helped Chun Cun down from the cart, pointing to a small hill and laughing: "Look, after crossing this ridge, it's the ferry terminal. There are two ferries there, one large and one small. The big one is for horses and cargo, while the small one is only for pedestrians. Miss, you can take that small boat, otherwise the fare for the big boat is three times more expensive than the small one."

  "Thank you, big brother."

  Chun Cun'er bowed her head in respect, tightened the small bundle on her body, and waited as the guests who were waiting here got on the carriage one after another. The coachman bid farewell to her and whipped the horse to go south.

  "It's strange, why is it so quiet, did he not notice that villain or did the rascal look down on this young lady's appearance?"

  Peng Qixi, the wife of Chun Village's son, rolled her eyes around, looked around and hesitated secretly. She had been inquiring and asking for directions in Putai County from morning till noon, and even cried loudly on the street. If there really was someone with ill intentions, they should have heard the news by now. But from last night to now, no one has made a move. With that person's greedy nature, how could he possibly let go of any woman in the county? Could it be true as County Magistrate guessed, that Tang's wife had eloped with her lover?

  After a moment of contemplation, Peng Qi secretly made up his mind: "Never mind him, I'll calm down and go to the ferry terminal to take a look. If there's nothing unusual, I'll change into men's clothing again and head back to Putai County to meet up with them."

  As he thought of this, Peng Ziqi stepped up the hill, walking on flat ground was fine, but as soon as he started climbing, his legs moved and he felt that those pants were a bit tight. Peng Ziqi's face turned slightly red, and in his heart, he secretly cursed: "Yang Wenxuan, that big scoundrel, couldn't find suitable clothes or... or is he intentionally messing with me? Once this is over, I'll definitely get back at him, humph!"

  Just halfway through the journey, they stopped under a tree to catch their breath. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the woods and two burly men emerged with ropes in hand, standing on either side of a third person - none other than Hua Xiaoyu, the steward of the Qiu household.

  "Ah!" Peng Ziqi exclaimed in surprise, covering her cherry-like mouth and asking: "Hua Guanjia, how...how did you end up here?"

  "Hah, little girl, I, Hua Xiao Yu, have been waiting for you for a very long time..."