Min Yueqing offered no explanation, but simply stretched out her foot again and kicked the man twice in a seemingly casual manner.

The man was laughing and joking, thinking it would be like tickling him as before. But when the light embroidered shoes touched his body, his face immediately turned purple and swollen. He felt his stomach spasming and was rolling on the ground in pain.

The strangest thing was that everyone present could see that he was in great pain, because the veins on his purplish face were bulging and even jumping around, but he did not let out any screams throughout the whole process. Although his mouth was wide open, he could only make hoarse "hoarse" sounds.

The remaining two looked on incredulously, thinking to themselves: "Dude, you're exaggerating way too much."

How much strength could such a pampered beauty possibly have, that she would go to such lengths to put on such a show? Both of them suspected that this person might be up to some bad idea again, perhaps trying to extort money from them.

If Min Yueqing could see what the two were thinking, she would probably say they were overthinking it. "You scumbags, the reason he didn't shout is simple: I just casually silenced him."

After reprimanding this person, Min Yueqing turned her attention to the next one.

The man, who had been inwardly criticizing his cronies, suddenly saw a beautiful woman walking towards him. He instantly forgot all about his companions rolling on the ground beside him, forced a smile onto his wretched face, and probably thought he looked quite good.

Min Yueqing calmly repeated the same question, "Who sent you?"

Seeing that the person on the ground was about to bare his big black teeth again, Min Yueqing immediately kicked him twice. After kicking him, she didn't look at him again and went straight to the last one.

She scoffed inwardly: "They won't shed tears until they see the coffin."

The last person was stunned, because this time he watched as his companion showed the exact same reaction as the previous one, except that this person was much fatter than the first one, so his rolling on the ground was not as agile as the first one's.

However, this also made his face even more distorted, making him look terrifying.

He finally realized that the seemingly otherworldly beauty in front of him was not as weak as they had imagined. He even had a strange feeling that she might be a fairy sent by heaven to take them away.

Could it be that even Heaven can't stand what they've done?

He was so terrified by his own thoughts that he trembled like a leaf. Before Min Yueqing could even ask, he confessed in a trembling voice.

“We…we didn’t know that person either. He gave each of us a silver ingot and told us to poison the horses in the stable. He also told us that there were fat sheep here and that the chests on the carriage were full of gold and silver jewelry.”

Min Yueqing pressed on in a cold voice, "What kind of medicine did he give you?"

The man dared not try to be clever again and honestly said, "We opened the medicine packet that the man gave us and couldn't tell what kind of medicine it was, so we took it to a small pharmacy and asked someone. The doctor said it was rat poison and that it was highly poisonous, and told us not to throw it away carelessly."

Upon hearing this, Pei Ji and Shi Tou's expressions immediately changed, and they almost burst into tears, fearing that their Ah Yao and Ah Zong were likely in grave danger.

Min Yueqing knew the man hadn't finished speaking. If it really was rat poison, the horses in the stable wouldn't have behaved that way. She continued, "And then?"

“We all felt it was such a waste and a sin to poison such a good horse, so we asked a doctor to help us prescribe some...croton oil.”

When he said the last two words, he seemed embarrassed, and his voice clearly lowered.

As for the crimes he mentioned, Min Yueqing remained skeptical. It's possible that people like them wouldn't want to poison the horses and wanted to steal them to make money, but the likelihood of them having any compassion for the horses was extremely small.

If one truly had such compassion for animals, why would they harm their neighbors every day, eat free meals with such relish, and even have their eyes light up at the mere mention of going to the yamen (government office)?

Pei Ji and Shi Tou exchanged a glance, both overjoyed. Thankfully, it wasn't rat poison; their little foal was safe.

Having clarified the matter of the drugging, Min Yueqing continued, "Did you find the gold and silver jewelry?"

The man was practically swearing to the heavens, waving his hands almost to the point of breaking, “No, no, really no, we were caught as soon as we went in, we didn’t even have time to pick the lock.”

Min Yueqing fell silent. There are many stupid people, but few are this stupid. If all bad people were as stupid as them, the common people would be much more comfortable.

The man she considered a fool was also unsettled. He thought to himself, "No wonder that person told the three of them to bring more henchmen. It turns out that none of these people are easy to mess with."

But the man only gave them three silver ingots. The more people they searched, the less they would get. The three of them discussed it and decided to scout ahead themselves. If what the man said was true, and there really was so much gold and silver in the box, they could then find their underlings to help carry it. Who knew...

After asking all the questions she wanted to ask, Min Yueqing left the room with the two children.

As soon as Lai Fu saw his wife come out, he rushed forward, waiting to receive her instructions. Min Yueqing asked first, "Has the veterinarian been found?"

"They're here. They arrived a little while ago and are in the stable. They said the medicine is made from croton seeds. It seems the horse hasn't eaten much, but it should be fine after a few days of medication," Lai Fu hurriedly replied.

Min Yueqing nodded, silently pondering how to deal with these three people. Sending them directly to the county government was a more convenient option. Although these people hadn't accomplished their task, they had still managed to keep them from leaving for at least the next few days.

So, will the mastermind behind this find someone else to do it?

The possibility is very high.

After thinking it over, Min Yueqing whispered a few words to Lai Fu. Lai Fu looked puzzled, but intimidated by Min Yueqing's imposing manner, he still agreed.

After making the arrangements, Min Yueqing took Pei Ji and Shi Tou upstairs to their room, intending to let the two children continue sleeping since it was still dark.

Back in the room, Pei Ji's first words were, "Mother, what did you talk to Lai Fu about?"

Looking at her curious child, Min Yueqing said helplessly, "Baby, if you don't get some rest soon it will be dawn. If children don't sleep well, they may not grow tall."

Pei Ji was conflicted, worried that she wouldn't grow tall enough, yet also wanting to hear the answer, her little face scrunched up in a frown.

Min Yueqing had no choice but to increase the pressure, "If you go to bed obediently now, Mom will tell you a story tomorrow, and you'll understand everything then."

Upon hearing that there would be another story to hear tomorrow, Pei Ji immediately stopped worrying and, with Min Yueqing's help, quickly took off his clothes, climbed into bed, and snuggled under the covers.

Shi Tou pricked up his ears in the outer room and heard his master's words clearly. He immediately made up his mind that he would follow Pei Ji closely the next day, because there would be stories to hear from Pei Ji.

The two children, filled with hopeful anticipation for tomorrow, drifted off to sleep one after another.