Chapter 183: The Thieves Reported to the Authorities
It was late at night.
The cellar wasn’t cold. In fact, it was a bit hot. After all, there was a stove for heating branding irons, which also served to keep the place warm.
The nuns had confessed repeatedly.
They had heard that Lord Sima was devastatingly handsome and Madam Meng was as beautiful as Daji, so they wanted to take their youngest daughter away to “train” her properly.
“Returning to the right path”? That was just a line. It was always just a line.
When noble families heard that a girl might hinder the family’s destiny, they would more or less believe it.
Because they had inquired and found that there were no elders in the family, and seeing that the little girl was indeed exceptionally beautiful, they got the idea to just snatch her. The nuns had confessed this repeatedly.
But Jiang Changtian didn’t believe it. Jiang Feng didn’t believe it either. Meng Shaoxia interrogated them again.
Actually, he hadn’t even laid a hand on them. There was nowhere left to touch them. The two nuns and the coachman kept scrambling to confess repeatedly. They kept giving the same story. It sounded like a spur-of-the-moment decision.
There were many temples in the Prefecture City of Jingzhou, numbering around a hundred, large and small. The most famous were Guizhen Temple and Shangqiu Temple.
Guizhen Temple was full of monks. Shangqiu Temple was a place for nuns to practice. It was said to be exceptionally efficacious; as long as one was sincere, all wishes would come true.
Powerful and wealthy people worshipped Buddha, especially the female relatives, many of whom went to Shangqiu Temple. Shangqiu Temple also housed female relatives from noble families who had made mistakes. In short, it had a significant background.
When Great Marshal Zi led a rebellion before, neither of these two temples was affected. Unlike Ming County, which was managed by Jiang Changtian, where the monks obediently paid taxes and even had to come out personally to perform Dharma Rituals to earn incense money through hard work.
After getting busy until midnight, they had another midnight snack—noodles in swan soup. It was still a bit fishy, but the wild onions covered the taste, which could be considered a unique flavor.
Qin Luoxia had cultivated a patch of land in the mansion to grow wild onions; this stuff grew very fast, reaching a good height in just a month.
At this time, Jiang Mianmian was already asleep.
Ant, without anyone knowing when, had followed the scent and actually reached the cellar.
That coachman called the nuns “Mistress,” and those two nuns had quite prominent statuses in Shangqiu Temple.
They had fallen into a coma several times after being tortured, but they had stubbornly pulled through. Their recovery ability seemed extraordinary.
The two did not possess immortal arts, otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone to ordinary families to convert people to become nuns. But they did possess some secret techniques. The growing process was quite painful, involving strict diet and routine, and consuming a secret medicine from a young age, which made their bodies extraordinary.
They had light bodies, exceptional looks, fair skin, and excellent recovery abilities. However, very few of them lived long lives.
Benefiting from their looks and temperament, they had always been like fish in water among noble families. Upon arriving at this Commander Jiang’s mansion, they had inquired about the background and found there was no deep backing. With their skills, they had assumed it would be easy to capture.
In fact, they were also puzzled; usually, such matters were handled by persuasion. Generally, monks or Taoists would visit twice, then leak some news, and perhaps the families themselves would send the girl who affected the family’s fortune.
Why the rush? The family’s destiny was certainly more important than one little girl’s life. Perhaps they themselves had been sent to the temple for such reasons. And then they used the same reason to deceive others. It was an endless, vicious cycle.
But this time, their master had told them to act quickly and not to delay. And then, they had actually been subdued by a little girl, an old nanny, and Pang Ya.
That legendary Madam Meng, who was said to be as beautiful as Daji, was actually quite pretty, but not as exaggerated as rumored. On the other hand, the little girl their master spoke of was indeed very beautiful, translucent, delicate like fine jade, and radiant.
They had moved quickly. They hadn’t expected the other side to move even faster.
Lying in the cellar, the coachman was on the verge of death, with more air going in than coming out. The two nuns were no better off; after being tortured, they thought they could rest, and were even thinking of ways to escape.
As a result, in the middle of the night, they felt something biting them, but they were in too much pain to feel it, and they fell into a coma again.
The next day.
Jiang Mianmian woke up and opened her eyes to look at the ceiling. She hadn’t slept well last night. Her digestion had been poor yesterday, so she had fed herself too much spiritual spring water and had to wake up in the middle of the night to use the toilet. Pang Ya had attended to her.
As soon as she woke up, Pang Ya lightly lifted the curtain and flashed a big smile at her. Come to think of it, she had only opened her eyes; how did Pang Ya know she was awake? That was a bit too sharp. This maid’s professional standards were too high.
Thinking of her fierce, loli-like kicking motion yesterday, sure enough, some cuteness had existed since ancient times. For example, kicking someone while hooking their foot. Oh right, Pang Ya also had that “clamping” voice.
Pang Ya said her mother always told her she was destined to be a rough-work maid. She didn’t believe in fate, so she worked hard to learn how to speak like the first-class maid sisters, and her voice ended up like this. Before her was not just a maid with high professional standards, but also a maid with ideals and ambition.
Jiang Mianmian looked at her big smile and felt that the new day was sunny and bright. However, she pushed open the window. It wasn’t. It was raining. With each autumn rain, it got colder. It was very cold.
Jiang Mianmian was bundled in a cotton coat, then another cotton vest, and wore cotton shoes. Pang Ya held an umbrella and carried her to eat. Although it was raining, the path was swept quite clean.
Arriving at the dining hall, Jiang Mianmian greeted the elders one by one. She called out to everyone; she was the youngest anyway. Finally, she landed in Father’s arms. Being little was really good; she could often be a legless pendant.
After eating, it was raining today. Commander Jiang wasn’t in a hurry to go to work. Anyway, he didn’t have any real work at the Yamen. Being late for roll call didn’t matter.
Yet unexpectedly, in the heavy rain, someone came to the door. It was Judge Yu. Official Yu, who was in charge of criminal cases. Official Yu brought a group of subordinates and knocked on Commander Jiang’s door.
“Brother Jiang, excuse me, excuse me. Someone reported a case, saying two masters from Shangqiu Temple were lost in your home, and they insisted I come to take a look. You know, people like us, although we have official positions, are actually just small fries, nothing at all. Orders are hard to disobey. I apologize for the trouble.” Yu Qian had a smile on his face, but behind him stood a crowd of Yamen Runners.
The curtain of rain was somewhat white. Jiang Changtian looked at the man surnamed Yu with a smile and said, “No problem, no problem. We are all just following orders. You must have your men search thoroughly. In broad daylight, how could people just disappear?”
Facing Commander Jiang’s exceptionally beautiful face, Yu Qian’s heart inexplicably beat a little faster. He cursed silently in his heart: He had fought and struggled in Jingzhou, and in the end, only got the position of Judge. This Jiang the Second hadn’t done anything, just huddled in Ming County, and became a Commander. Could it be that he got it by selling his ass?
Yu Qian was currently gaining prominence in Jingzhou, and even the Prefect had to be polite to him; he didn’t think much of Commander Jiang. Seeing Jiang the Second so weak and compliant, he also smiled, “Sorry for the offense.”
He not only brought men, but he also brought dogs. Dogs could track scents. This Official Yu was a terrible person, but he did have some capabilities. However, after searching a large circle, he didn’t find anyone. But he did see a carriage.
This Commander Jiang was really interesting. He was so greedy for money that he kept the carriage. This was clearly telling him that the people were in his hands.
Yu Qian left with his subordinates. Looking back through the rain, Commander Jiang was still there. He cupped his hands at Commander Jiang. He galloped away on his horse. Commander Jiang and the Jiang Mansion became part of the scenery in the evening rain.
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