Chapter 47: You Kill, I Commit Arson
The eighth day.
Sunny.
Suitable for burial, sacrifices, encoffining, and moving the coffin. Avoid: –
A brothel in He County caught fire.
The fire burned fiercely.
The flames were bright, like the scorching sun.
The raging fire incinerated every dark corner.
It warmed the bones of many unknown young women buried beneath the ground.
The sun never reached them, so the bones had grown cold.
A single fire was just right.
The great Buddha at Qingyuan Temple shimmered with golden light under the sun.
My Buddha is compassionate and saves all living beings.
They ate vegetarian meals.
They worshipped the Buddha.
They chanted sutras.
They made a generous donation of incense money.
After spending the night.
The grandmother and granddaughter returned home.
Jiang Wan was not very happy; she felt as if she had missed something in the dark.
Moreover, she had not slept well last night. In her dream, the Buddha’s tears fell like stone slabs, smashing into her and leaving her covered in blood.
She had seen the faces of infants several times throughout the night and had woken up in a fright repeatedly.
Her expression was not very good in the morning.
When her grandmother asked.
She only said she was not used to the bed, as the rooms in the temple were not as comfortable as home, and she did not mention the nightmares.
She knew her grandmother did not like hearing bad news.
So she picked happy things to talk about.
“There is a Little Tree in the temple that smells very good. The master said it is a Michelia; its fragrance can calm the mind. Grandmother, I had someone transplant it into a pot to take back and place in the Buddha hall.”
Old Madam nodded in agreement.
She must not have slept well either, as her eyes were half-closed.
After the grandmother and granddaughter returned to the manor.
There were many things to attend to.
Madam Wu, the mistress of the house, did not concern herself with anything. As long as her husband treated her well, that was enough for her, and she had no real authority to manage the household.
There was a rather urgent matter.
Guard Wu Liu, who was by the young master’s side, had disappeared and had not been seen for three days.
Guard Wu Liu had always been dutiful by the young master’s side, and recently, he had only had a conflict with Jiang Feng.
When it came to matters involving that side, Old Madam frowned deeply.
Seeing Old Madam’s expression, A-Yao spoke up and instructed the household manager, “Go to the yamen and invite someone over.”
She acted as if the yamen were run by their family.
It was evident that although the Jiang Family was not prominent now, they indeed had deep connections.
Soon, a man who looked like a yamen secretary arrived.
Jiang Wan accompanied her grandmother and did not avoid the meeting.
When the secretary heard that a guard from the house had been missing for two or three days and they were reporting it, he scoffed inwardly. What kind of matter was this? The guard had probably just gone to sleep at some girl’s house. Truly, it was such a trivial matter, yet it was worth his time to make a trip.
However, making the trip would surely earn him a generous reward.
Moreover, arriving here to find elegant seating with incense, along with an extremely beautiful, delicate, and jade-like young lady by the side, the secretary decided to treat it as an opportunity to broaden his horizons.
He politely inquired about the case.
When he heard it involved the dissolute Jiang Feng.
The secretary hesitated and said, “As it happens, there is a case in the yamen related to Jiang Feng. Jiang Feng and his group caught a pair of The Peddler couple who were Kidnappers, claiming they had abducted his two younger sisters and a girl from the village.”
Jiang Wan was stunned when she heard this.
She felt relieved in her heart; she hadn’t expected…
She also felt a bit awkward; she hadn’t expected that those two were actually Kidnappers, and she had kindly given them a reward.
And Old Madam’s prayer beads paused in her hand.
“Amitabha. Are those children alright?”
“The children are fine, but those two Kidnappers were beaten very badly.”
“Why would they abduct children and commit such an act that harms their virtue? Are they not afraid of retribution?” Old Madam said, enunciating every word, as the speed of her prayer beads increased.
“Sigh, it is actually pitiful. Those two Kidnappers said they had a sick child at home who needed medicine to survive, and they were forced to do this. They claimed it was their first time and they had never done it before. They were too flustered, which is why their tracks were discovered.” The secretary picked words that the wealthy family liked to hear.
The servant A-Yao kept her eyes lowered, not interrupting, but thought to herself that those two The Peddler were clearly experienced hands; how could it be their first time?
Old Madam chanted a Buddhist invocation: “Amitabha. Although they are hateful, they are also pitiful. The hearts of parents everywhere are the same; their crimes do not warrant death.”
The beautiful young lady beside her also sighed slightly: “The hearts of parents everywhere are pitiful.”
The secretary praised them: “Old Madam and the young lady truly have compassionate hearts.”
He thought to himself that Kidnappers should be beaten to death, and why was he running his mouth, but since Old Madam and the young lady had expressed their stance, he would have to go back and tell the County Magistrate to change the sentence.
Fortunately, he did receive a generous tip, which was equivalent to a month’s salary.
He returned happily and ordered his subordinates to make arrests. Regardless of where the guard was, he would first arrest the dissolute Jiang Feng.
Then he hurried off to find the County Magistrate.
The largest restaurant in the county, Qingfeng Restaurant.
A few youths had drunk a little alcohol and it went to their heads; they were retching loudly in the corner of the backyard.
As they vomited, they expressed regret.
What a waste of such good food.
Jiang Feng did not vomit; his alcohol tolerance was surprisingly good.
One couldn’t tell at all that he didn’t usually touch alcohol.
He and his companions had accepted an invitation from two wealthy young masters to attend a banquet.
Everyone had changed into their most presentable clothes—the ones with fewer patches.
Even so, they still looked like a ragtag bunch.
Either they had injuries on their faces, or they were handicapped in their hands, or they limped.
Their bearing was also lacking; they had no posture when standing or sitting, and because of their nervousness, they made a fool of themselves.
After all, they were just shiftless, dissolute youths and street urchins who had never seen much of the world.
Their background and experience were far inferior to the guards of the young masters.
On ordinary days, they wouldn’t even dare to beg for leftovers at Qingfeng Restaurant.
Today, however, they had gone upstairs. They were very restrained.
In fact, the two young masters mainly wanted to invite Jiang Feng.
But Jiang Feng did not agree alone; he called his companions along.
This action of his did not make Meng Shaoxia and Young Master He Chen feel that he was pushing his luck; instead, they felt he was loyal and someone worth associating with.
Jiang Feng was not particularly worldly, but he spoke of local customs and the scenery on the nearby mountains. His attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, his voice was pleasant, and his gaze was clear, leaving a very good impression on others.
“You looked like you were injured quite badly yesterday, and I was worried you wouldn’t be able to come today. By the way, are your younger sisters and the others doing well?” Meng Shaoxia asked.
“My older younger sister was a bit frightened last night and had a low fever, but she was better this morning. My little younger sister is fine. Thank you both for your righteous actions. We boys don’t have a good reputation in the county. If we had taken that Kidnapper to the yamen, we might have been beaten with boards first and falsely accused by the Kidnapper instead.” Jiang Feng said with a bitter smile.
Meng Shaoxia and Young Master He Chen were not surprised. Although they were young masters from wealthy families with excellent upbringings and broad experiences, they could naturally see the awkward situation Jiang Feng and his friends were in.
Hearing Jiang Feng speak so frankly, they appreciated his honesty even more.
As Jiang Feng spoke, he took out two brick-sized items wrapped in leaves.
They were tied with hemp rope, and on one side of each, a small square of red cloth was pasted. It looked simply beautiful.
“This is a thank-you gift my sister prepared for you two. We are poor and have nothing impressive to offer. This is meat from beasts hunted in the mountains, smoked and dried. If you are traveling and it is inconvenient to find lodging, it can be used to stave off hunger on the road.”
Meng Shaoxia and Young Master He Chen had indeed never received such a humble gift.
Dried beast meat?
But seeing the youth before them, polite and not ashamed, with a sincere face, and looking as if he cherished the beast meat he brought out.
Thinking of those youths devouring their food, although Jiang Feng didn’t eat quite as ravenously, he still ate quickly; it seemed they couldn’t even eat their fill.
They were very surprised.
Having come this far, the two of them would no longer say things like “why not eat meat porridge.”
Therefore, this humble gift must have been very precious to Jiang Feng.
The gift was heavy, and the sentiment was also heavy.
They accepted it very happily.
Young Master He Chen had initially thought highly of Jiang Feng because Brother Meng did, but now he actually really liked this youth.
Doing good deeds is a pleasant thing; it fulfills one’s expectations of oneself.
Receiving grateful returns from those helped by doing good deeds is even more pleasant; it fulfills one’s expectations of the world.
Meng Shaoxia looked at the dried meat and thought, the little girl’s words were indeed unreliable. At first, she said she would offer herself, then she pushed her brother out, and now she wouldn’t even give the brother, changing it to a pack of dried meat.
The square of red cloth on the dried meat was actually quite cute.
Little Square Face smiled.
