Chapter 41: Roses Have Thorns

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  Xu Liang, Chen Cheng and Liao Liangcai, three hoodlums, were dragged out of a pit by some masked men. They were interrogated separately and gave consistent testimonies. Then, they were blindfolded and taken to a place where they were imprisoned. From start to finish, they had no idea where these ruthless men came from, where they were now, or whether they would live or die...

  The news arrived at the Lin family's mansion in the late afternoon, and when Lin Yiqi heard that the mastermind behind the kidnapping of the good family's daughter was actually Qiū Qiū, his face changed color involuntarily.

  Tang Yao gritted his steel teeth, making a loud cracking sound, and furiously said: "Qiu Qiu? I've heard of this person, he's a well-known local gentry in our county, building bridges and repairing roads, donating to schools and helping the disabled, never falling behind others. He has always been known as a good man! Who would have thought that behind his back, he's actually a debauched and lecherous scoundrel?! Old shopkeeper, I want to rush into Qiu's mansion immediately and rescue my wife!"

  "Wait!"

  Lin Yuqi grasped him in one hand: "Tang brother, don't be impatient. Whether your wife is still hiding in the Qiufu or not is still unknown. The Qiufu family is wealthy and powerful, colluding with County Magistrate Sheng Long to commit evil deeds together. His older brother is also serving as a consultant in the Jinan Prefecture, with an extraordinary background. If we forcibly break into the Qiufu residence but fail to rescue her, what then?"

  "Old shopkeeper, the person who was kidnapped is not your daughter-in-law, so you can say that. But my wife has been taken away by that scoundrel surnamed Qiu for a whole day now, and her chastity may already be lost. My wife has always been chaste and strong-willed, if I rescue her too late, I fear even her life may not be spared. As a man, one must stand tall and protect his own woman, if he can't even do that, how can he still have the face to live in this world? Old shopkeeper, I know you have difficulties, but if you can help me find the real culprit, I will be eternally grateful. This matter doesn't need to be handled by others, I'll take care of it myself."

  He struggled to stand up, and with a heavy heart, he made a fist at Lin Yu: "Old boss, after my brother's death, I entrust all the brothers in this tavern to you. Please treat them as your own brothers and take good care of them. And also...my old mother..." He choked back tears and continued: "Please also take care of her, farewell!"

  "We're going with you!" Luo Li, Wang Hongguang and Yang Cai exclaimed in unison, their eyes wide with anger.

  "Brother Tang!"

  Lin Yuqi stopped him again: "Traveling the world, righteousness comes first. As long as we can grasp the true evidence, I, Lin Mouren, for my own brother's sake, what fear is that of Avenging Officer? Brother Tang worries about his loving wife, and I feel the same way. But you're so reckless in rushing over, it's hard to say whether you'll save your sister-in-law or harm her. Avenging Autumn has many estates outside the county town, who knows if he's hiding people inside the city? You recklessly rush in, not only will you be sending yourself to death for nothing, but also, if Avenging Officer becomes cautious and destroys all human evidence and material evidence, won't that harm your sister-in-law's life?"

  Tang Yao's pupils, which had been cloudy with blood, cleared up a bit as he asked in response, "Then what should we do, Old Boss?"

  Lin Yuqi said, "Brother Tang, don't worry, let me mobilize all the manpower to investigate whether there have been any vehicles leaving the county town for various villages and estates in the past two days. If we can grasp accurate information about the Rong Mansion, we can strike a blow and find Madam Rong on the spot. Even if we break into the mansion of the gentry, it won't be considered a crime."

  Tang Yao hesitated for a while, then reluctantly nodded and said: "Alright, I'll trouble you with this, Brother...I'll go home and wait for your news."

  Lin Yuqi smiled and said: "We're family brothers, no need to be polite. Come on, bring all the brothers who are in charge of the incense hall here immediately, I have something to say."

  As soon as they left Lin's residence, Luo Li immediately asked anxiously: "Master, do we really have to wait? The sky is already dark, and another day has passed. What about Sister...

  Tang Yao's face twitched violently as he looked up at the gloomy sky, his expression even darker than the weather. He gritted his teeth and said, "Lin Lao has a family and a business to worry about, but I have nothing to worry about. My own wife was taken away from me, what else do I have to be concerned about? I can't bear it for another moment!"

  Luoli Mo clenched his fist and rubbed it on the ground, saying: "With this sentence from the Palm Teachings, I'll go call someone!"

  Slow!

  Tang Yao's face sank as he said, "After all, this is someone else's territory. We're new here and don't know the lay of the land. We can't force our way in. You pick a few brothers with good skills to sneak into the Lin estate at night and find out where your sister-in-law is first, then we'll decide what to do next. And don't tell my mother about this, so she won't worry."

  "Yes, I know!" Luo Li replied, and hastily ran away.

  Hua Zongguan was driving a large cart back to the city when it was almost time for the city gate to close. He had just entered the city for only one moment, and the city gate closed with a loud rumble.

  A large cart was piled high with all sorts of vegetables, melons and fruits, as well as a slaughtered fat pig. All these were transported from Qiuqiu's own villa.

  The carriage arrived at the Qiu Mansion, entering through the corner gate. General Manager Hua immediately noticed that the mansion was heavily guarded, with all the servants holding knives, guns, and clubs. There were many people lurking in the shadows. As soon as his carriage entered the courtyard, the large gate creaked shut with a loud bang, as if something had happened.

  A little fish called out to a servant of the house and asked strangely: "What happened in the mansion? Why are you looking like this?"

  "Housekeeper, tonight a group of ruffians snuck into our mansion, sneaking around without knowing what they wanted to do. Fortunately, the dogs we raised in the house detected them and that group of ruffians has escaped, only one was caught by us. The master is furious and is interrogating him in the water dungeon."

  "Oh?" Little Fish hurriedly said: "Quickly, get the people off the carriage and take them into the Beauty's Bower. I'll go find Master to report."

  "That family's Ding Xi said: 'Did the steward succeed?'"

  Hua Xiao Yu said proudly: "I, Hua Lao, have made a move, can I not succeed? Bring her in, Master will be extremely pleased when he hears the news."

  Several servants gathered in front of the carriage, moving away various melons, fruits and vegetables, inside which a girl was tied up, with a cloth stuffed into her mouth, staring at them with a pair of big eyes full of terror. This was the woman the master wanted, several servants looked at her with envy, but did not dare to take advantage of her, they quickly untied the rope on her legs and dragged her down from the carriage, hurrying to push her towards the backyard.

  Outside the Qiu mansion, Ji Gang, who had been secretly following, saw the carriage enter the mansion and immediately took off in a sprint, rushing to the "Taibai Residence Inn". He was extremely exhausted from this journey, relying on his physical strength to keep up with the horse-drawn carriage for dozens of miles. Fortunately, he had practiced martial arts since childhood and had a strong physique, which allowed him to endure it. However, at this moment, he felt as if his legs were weighed down by lead.

  But in his heart, he was extremely excited. Things were going as he had expected. Now that the fish had taken the bait, the number one person in Putai County, Avenging Big Master, would soon be overthrown by him. A great man makes a name for himself and achieves greatness, and today is the day.

  Ji Gang rushed to the Taibai Hotel, which was located in the most bustling and prosperous area of Dongcheng County. Many wealthy landlords lived nearby. Since Xia Jiu and others couldn't determine their target beforehand, Peng Ziyu took a great risk by volunteering to be bait and going deep into the tiger's den. If they failed to rescue him on time, the consequences would be unthinkable. Therefore, they chose Taibai Hotel as their meeting point, which was located in the heart of Dongcheng, making it the fastest route to anyone's house.

  Taibai Residence is the largest wine house in Putai, with a constant stream of customers. Although it doesn't stay open all night, there are still many patrons who linger until two or three watches at night before dispersing. After all, this is a peaceful world, and although there may be curfews, there's no ban on nighttime revelry, so one should seize the moment to have fun.

  Du Qianhu brought more than thirty big men, all wearing casual clothes and hiding short weapons, entering the Taibai Residence Wine Tower in groups of three or five to drink and wait. Although there were more unfamiliar faces than usual, even if some of the young servants at Taibai Residence were followers of the White Lotus Sect, they only held private gatherings and secret meetings, and Lin Yuqi didn't want to rebel, so how could he always be on high alert, being cautious of strangers? Therefore, no one noticed anything unusual.

  At this time, Xia Yu and Du Long, along with his two personal guards, were sitting at a table eating meat and drinking wine. As the commander of the Thousand Households, Du Long should not have been absent from his post without permission, but he had long been suffocated in the military camp. This time, he was handling matters for one of Prince Qi's trusted officials, so even though he was absent without leave, his superiors would have to turn a blind eye; otherwise, it would be like slapping Prince Qi in the face. It was an opportunity for him to leave the military camp and relieve his boredom while also currying favor with Prince Qi, and even if he was a rough man, he understood this logic, so he came personally.

  Du Long disliked the small wine cup, so he changed to a large bowl. He was drinking happily when Xia Chou didn't even touch his wine and didn't move his chopsticks. Instead, he kept teaching Du Long in a nagging tone: "General Qianhu, if we don't receive any news tonight, we'll follow the original plan and disperse to different inns. If we do get news, you must listen to my advice and only take action when I tell you to. Don't be rash and ruin everything..."

  Du Long swallowed a bowl of fine wine, patted Xia Shuo's shoulder and said: "Young Master Yang, you can rest assured. You're a scholar, I'm a rough man. I'll take care of the physical labor, you handle the mental work. When the time comes, my brother will definitely follow your lead. If you tell me to go east, I won't go west. If you tell me to shut up, I won't speak..."

  Just then, Ji Gang rushed into the hotel, looked around and saw Xia Yu, hurriedly ran over and said: "Yang brothers."

  Xia Yu saw him and hastily jumped up to ask: "Brother Ji has arrived. This is Du Qianhu, Brother Ji, how are you?"

  Ji Gang hastily bowed his hands to Du Qianhu and replied urgently: "That scoundrel is none other than the well-known local gentry, Chou Qiū. I just saw with my own eyes the carriage carrying the Peng brothers entering his mansion. We must act immediately, or else something unexpected may happen."

  Xia Fu's face tightened, and he turned around to say: "Commander Qian Hu, quickly gather your men, let's sneak up quietly and catch him off guard..."

  Xia Jiang hadn't finished speaking, when Du Qianhu suddenly jumped up, slamming his wine bowl to the ground with a loud "crash", shattering it into pieces. He then kicked away his stool and shouted loudly: "Brothers, take out your weapons, let's get started!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  With a loud crash, those sturdy soldiers disguised as scholars, merchants and Jianghu heroes suddenly stood up, threw away the wine bowls in their hands, pulled out short knives and short swords from under their clothes, and charged over with a flash of steel.

  The whole tavern was shocked into silence, with Xia Jiu and Ji Gang also being stunned speechless...

  The old Qiu's house is very large, the landlords in Jiangbei are different from those in Jiangnan. The landlords in Jiangnan are elegant and refined, their houses are not very big, but they are well-proportioned and beautifully decorated with gardens and pools. In contrast, the houses of the landlords in Jiangbei are mostly medium-sized and lack unique designs, except for one thing - their grandeur is unmatched by those in southern China. As soon as you enter the courtyard, you feel a sense of spaciousness and grandeur everywhere.

  Qiu Qiu was known as a kind person locally, but in the Qiu family's mansion, there were two secret places: one was the water dungeon and the other was the beauty trap. The water dungeon was used by the Qiu family to privately punish and detain those who offended their authority, while the beauty trap was deeply built underground with more than a dozen rooms, adorned with silk and satin, and luxuriously decorated, but it was actually where Qiu Qiu hid the beautiful women he had abducted.

  The person caught by Qiu Qiujian was Luo Lishi. Because Tang Yao had been beaten with forty large sticks and had injuries, he was not convenient to move around, so Luo Lishi volunteered to lead a group of six men with martial arts skills into the Qiu mansion secretly. They successfully avoided two checkpoints and even knocked out a passing servant, dragging him to a hidden place to ask for information when they were discovered by the fierce dogs raised in the Qiu mansion, resulting in their failure.

  After the trail was exposed, Qiufu's family members swarmed in, and several people fought and retreated. In order to cover up the escape of his brothers, Luo Li fought alone and was captured alive by Qiufu's family members. Luo Li was a tough guy, no matter how he was tortured, he refused to tell the truth. He had just moved to this place not long ago and was an ordinary citizen who didn't attract much attention, so none of the family members in Qiufu recognized him.

  Chou Qiu was severely interrogating Luo Li's origin and the intention of sneaking into his own mansion, when suddenly Hua Xiao Yu came to report that he had already brought back that delicate little woman to the mansion. At once, his lustful heart was stirred up, and for a moment, he couldn't care about Luo Li anymore. He hastily left the water dungeon and rushed towards his harem.

  Yesterday, a family member from the mansion reported that they saw a beautiful village girl on the street. At first, he didn't quite believe his eyes, but since he was on his way to see County Magistrate Shan, he took a detour to take a look. As soon as he saw the one called Chun Village Girl, Chou Qi immediately had the intention of taking her for himself. His wives and concubines, as well as the women who had been kidnapped back to the mansion over the years, couldn't compare to that girl's beauty; just looking at her was enough to make people infatuated.

  Unfortunately, it was not convenient to take action in a crowded place, especially since he had just cleverly abducted the young daughter of the Tang family the night before, causing a stir in this small county. Although County Magistrate Single Big Master provided protection, that lecher had also enjoyed the women he offered, and could be said to be of the same kind as him. However, if there were continuous disappearances under Single Shenglong's rule, Old Single would certainly not be pleased, and it would be necessary to use many benefits to appease him again.

  Qiuqiu was determined to get rid of Chuncai, so she pretended to be a good person and helped her settle down in the village. The next day, she had Zhao's horse carriage send Chuncai away from Putai County under the witness of all the villagers.

  Now this beautiful young lady has returned, but it's not pleasant for some people.

  The enemy's outer heart blossoms one by one, two legs light as a swallow, and rushes into the beauty cave with excitement.

  P.S: Yeah, asking for votes in the wee hours, sincerity will be rewarded!