Chapter 42 A group of bandits came to the village
"Suzhou, is the new grain your sister-in-law developed really as miraculous as you described in your letter?" Wang Lin sat down on his level with him, his expression serious. "If what you say is true, then helping farmers develop is a great achievement."
"I'm planting in my fields. Although I don't know the results yet, my eldest sister-in-law is a reserved person. If she wasn't absolutely sure, she wouldn't ask me for this." Xie Suzhou's face remained calm, his voice clear, "My lord, it was my eldest sister-in-law who brought the seeds. If we're talking about merit, it should be hers."
"I have my own thoughts." Yan Ci nodded, his slender fingers gently stroking the lid of the cup. "A man has come to Ganping County. His surname is Pang, and his single character is Shan. He was once a senior eunuch who served the Empress Dowager. His men are furtively searching the county, seemingly looking for someone."
Xie Suzhou frowned slightly, "Pang Shan?"
"That's the man your ex-sister-in-law would rather sacrifice her own son to curry favor with." Wang Lin shook his head and sighed, picking up the cup and taking a sip of warm tea. "I guess there must have been a big mess, otherwise why would the Queen Mother send her chief eunuch out of the palace? Pang Shan is no ordinary person. He's forty-five years old and a master of martial arts. His subordinates are also extraordinary people."
Yan Ci slowly raised his eyes and looked at the figure sitting below, "Suzhou, what do you think?"
Xie Suzhou lowered his eyebrows and pondered for a moment before whispering, "Several wealthy families in the county had already heard the news and knew he was from the capital. They all tried to curry favor with him, and he accepted them all. In my opinion, he revealed his identity himself."
"My nephew almost got into trouble, so I've been keeping an eye on him. For a few days, seven or eight boys have entered Pang Shan's temporary residence. We haven't heard from them since, and we don't know whether they're alive or dead." Xie Suzhou's brows furrowed, his face growing more serious. "Someone rushed to send them away, and his men are still trying so hard to find them. It's clear that lust is just a pretext for him."
Yan Ci frowned and said calmly, "My men disguised themselves and blended into the crowd. They saw his men asking around, questioning the people nearby if they had seen an old man with gray hair and a red mole at the corner of his mouth."
"Strange, why does this description feel so familiar to me?" Wang Lin pondered for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes. "That old man with a red mole at the corner of his mouth...isn't that Du Yuanpan from the Imperial Hospital?"
Xie Suzhou's body froze, and his eyes unconsciously glanced towards his own main hall.
"President Du... the miraculous doctor Du Heng?" Yan Ci paused, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes. "Isn't there a rumor in the capital that he's dead..."
Xie Suzhou's face turned pale as he murmured, "Dead?"
Who is lying in his own house?
"Many people have red moles on the corners of their mouths, but not many have connections to the palace." Wang Lin said slowly with a sullen face, "Although Court Judge Du was over sixty, he was still very strong. His sudden death, don't you find it strange, my dear?"
Yan Ci held his forehead with his hand and remained silent.
Xie Suzhou picked up the warm tea on the table and took two sips. His eyes dimmed slightly. "Could it be that... this Divine Doctor Du made a diagnosis that caused this disaster?"
"It's very likely." Wang Lin nodded. Just as he was about to take a sip of tea to moisten his dry throat, he caught a glimpse of a bright red outside the window. It was so bright that it was a bit dazzling. "Suzhou, where does the fire outside come from?"
By the time the three rushed out, Xinghua Village was already a sea of fire, and the sounds of smashing, smashing, and cursing could be faintly heard.
Xie Suzhou suddenly felt something was wrong and turned around to persuade the two to go back to the house. "My dear, my lord, please stay in the house and don't go out. I will take care of everything outside."
"Suzhou, I'll go with you..."
Xie Suzhou stopped Wang Lin as he was about to leave, and remained calm in the face of danger. "Sir Wang, my husband's safety is above all else. Please, sir, guard the house."
Wang Lin showed reluctance, "But you are alone—"
Xie Suzhou walked out of the room sideways, closed the door tightly, and left only one sentence, "My sister-in-law and brother are still outside, I can't just ignore them."
"Thank you, scholar! Ah Cheng!"
The gate of Xie's courtyard was slammed so hard that even the low wall was shaking. Su Cheng shook off the water droplets on his hands and ran out of the kitchen, only to see Xie Suzhou standing alone in front of the door.
"Suzhou, was that Aunt Liu's voice just now?" Su Cheng wiped his hands and looked up to see the sky glowing red from the fire. His brows furrowed instantly. "What happened?"
Xie Suzhou shook his head, opened the courtyard door a crack, and looked outside cautiously, "Aunt?"
Aunt Liu's hair was disheveled, and there was a lot of dirt on her face. Her voice was filled with pleading, "It's me, it's me, Mr. Xie, please open the door quickly and let me in!"
Xie Suzhou then opened the door. Aunt Liu said thank you and turned around to drag the unconscious Uncle Liu into the yard, followed by the frightened little girl.
"Aunt, what's going on outside?" Su Cheng hurried over and asked softly, "Uncle Liu, what's going on..."
"Ah Cheng, a group of bandits have come to our village!" Aunt Liu saw her, as if she had seen a savior. She grabbed her hand and cried softly, "They burned and looted all the way from the village. Your uncle Liu and I were in the fields. When we saw something was wrong, we immediately ran home to find Xiao Ni'er. Your uncle wanted to grab a weapon and fight them, but he got so angry that he fainted. Xiao Ni'er and I were the only ones left at home. I had no choice but to come find you!"
"Bandits?" Xie Suzhou's face instantly lost color, his thin lips pressed into a line. "Xinghua Village is close to Pingchuan Town, so how could it attract bandits for no reason?"
Aunt Liu hugged her little girl tightly in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "They're holding torches and robbing anyone they see. Anyone who can't hand over their silver and food will be killed. I'm afraid our village is finished!"
Xie Cuicui ran out of the main hall. Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, she quickly ran to Su Cheng and grabbed her hand. "Mother...what happened to Aunt Liu?"
"It's okay." Su Cheng bit his lower lip tightly, forcing himself to calm down. "Cuicui, call Grandpa Du and Xie Chen, take Auntie and Sister Ni and hide in the new cellar your fourth uncle dug. No matter what noises are heard outside, you can't come out."
"I don't..." Xie Cuicui seemed to have noticed something and held Su Cheng's hand tightly, "Mom, I'm with you!"
"Cuicui, be obedient." Su Cheng's face was rarely serious. Xie Cuicui's eyes were a little sore. She obediently took Liu Nier's hand and pulled her to the back of the main hall, looking back every few steps.
Xie Suzhou was stunned and asked in a low voice, "When did your family get a cellar?"
"Ever since we started planting potatoes, I've had Xie Ming dig a cellar behind the main hall for storage. I never thought it would be put to such a good use." Su Cheng watched the fire approaching the Xie family's house, his eyes slightly closed. "Suzhou, go get the axe and call Xie Ming over."
"Brothers, look carefully. The family with the word 'Fu' pasted on their door is the Xie family."
A man's rough voice was heard outside the door, mixed with a woman's pleading for mercy.
Cui Yong smiled grimly, the tip of his knife stained with blood as he pointed it directly at the Xie family. "Chop off the men with your sword, and drag the women back to the village for the brothers to enjoy!"
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