Chapter 31: Fire in Yihong Courtyard (I)
The madam looked outside and saw that the afterglow of the sunset had almost dissipated. It was time to go downstairs and make preparations, otherwise the early customers would have nowhere to entertain themselves, and she didn't know how much money she would lose.
"Humph, you better think it over carefully, or you'll have to bear the consequences.
Check to see if she's tied up securely. Don't let this girl get away. I spent five hundred taels of silver to buy her. If I don't make ten or a hundred times the money, I'll make you and your family make it for me."
The madam commanded the thugs hired by Yihongyuan and made habitual threats.
"Wait a minute, you guys just stay outside the house. No matter what happens, don't leave here. I'll have dinner brought up. If she runs away, you know the consequences."
The two thugs agreed tremblingly, their faces turning pale as if they had thought of something.
The madam was a cruel and ruthless person. She kept her word and such things had happened before.
That day, the madam took in a beautiful girl. As it was getting close to night, the brothel was very busy and she had to attract customers, so she asked her thugs to watch the door.
Maybe the thug was lustful, maybe he still had a conscience, or maybe the woman was too seductive, but in the end the woman the thug was guarding disappeared.
That time, the madam called all the people in Yihongyuan, including the young ladies, maids, thugs, and pimps, and tied up the thug's entire family. The thug watched helplessly as his relatives, all the women were raped to death, and all the men were tortured to death. In the end, he had a mental breakdown and went crazy.
It was too tragic. A family of eight died in front of everyone. The most terrifying thing was that no one cared. After the eight people died, no one cared about the surrounding neighbors or government officials, as if they didn't exist. What a terrible background. They had no intention of resisting at all.
After that incident, everyone in Yihongyuan became very nervous, fearing that they would follow in their footsteps. They were very careful in everything they did, for fear of being caught wrong and getting into trouble with the madam.
"Sister Li, we will keep a close eye on her and won't let her get away. Don't worry about us doing this."
The brothel owner Zhang Lihua then went downstairs, shaking her handkerchief.
"Behave yourself and don't cause trouble for us brothers. We are not the kind of brothers who show mercy to women. If we accidentally break your arm or leg, I believe Sister Li will listen to us and try to stop you from escaping, so she won't be too harsh on us."
The man with a scar on his face threatened fiercely before slamming the door.
As night fell, the convicts from Baixiang Village, who had been busy all day, finished their work early, and the women prepared meals and waited for the men to come home.
"Where's Sister Yue?"
Lin Hongzhi came back after a tiring day and looked around but didn't see his precious daughter. He felt a little anxious because someone bullied her at noon. In short, he was very worried about her safety.
Min also spent the entire afternoon searching for wild vegetables and nuts in the forest. After returning, she was busy cooking and didn't pay any attention to where Lin Yue was. Only then did she realize that she hadn't seen her daughter since she came back.
"Sister, have you seen your aunt? It's already dark, and there's still no sign of her. It makes me worry every day."
Min scolded and worried about Lin Yue'er, and was also afraid that she was bullied somewhere, even though she had a high fighting ability and could easily deal with one or two big men.
Lin Lang, who had just returned with Li Feier, was taken aback. "After you left today, my aunt told me that she was going to the county town to see if there were any ways to make money. She said she might be back later."
This afternoon, I pressed Li Feier to recite the Three Character Classic while picking macadamia nuts. The snail soup at noon was really delicious. I heard from my aunt that it was quite nutritious. For the sake of deliciousness and health, she was particularly excited about picking macadamia nuts!
As for the portion that Li Feier picked up, she was allowed to take it back herself. The Lin family was not a bandit, but they were not a very compassionate family either. They reformed them because the family would live here together in the future. If they did something to them every now and then, it would be disgusting.
Just make them behave themselves all at once so that everyone can have some peace and quiet.
"Oh no, making money is for adults, how can a child like her worry about all this? It's so dangerous to be out there alone in an unfamiliar place. This brave fool, this place is full of fugitives, a bunch of vicious people. Even if she has some skills, it's hard to defeat them!"
Lin Hongyuan sighed, and it was hard to tell whether he was blaming or caring, but the Lin family was indeed headed by Lin Hongyuan, so it was reasonable for him to say a few words.
"Her uncle, Sister Yue has been out and about since she was little, and she's had more than one or two interactions with the outside world. She said she might be back late, but it shouldn't be a problem. Everyone's tired after a day, so let's eat first."
Seeing that everyone except the Lin family looked unhappy, Min said this and invited everyone to eat. In fact, she was more anxious than anyone else.
Lin Yue and the others' faces changed only after they left. Weng Toubai, who was hiding in his clothes, was trembling and didn't dare to speak casually, for fear that the evil fire would be directed at him accidentally.
"Hurry up and untie me! Do we really have to wait until they dress me up as a whore and let them molest me?"
Lin Yue's voice was sinister, and she was obviously irritated by the madam.
Weng Toubai didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore. He quickly cut the ropes tied to his hands and feet, not daring to waste any time.
Lin Yue rubbed her aching wrist and secretly cursed the wretched man, the madam, and everyone here, hoping that she would burn down this sinful place.
He stood up quietly and looked around to see where the madam hid the money.
Many people can enter this room. The madam must have made a secret compartment and hidden it in a very safe place. However, this room is so small, there must be other places to put the silver. The silver bills are easy to put in any box, but the silver is too big to carry with me. After tonight, this place will be turned upside down and everything will be taken away.
"Weng Toubai, is there any hidden place in this county?"
Lin Yue has traveled around the entire county today and got news about various plants, flowers and trees. Weng Toubai should know everything about the entire county clearly!
"There's a haunted house in the west of town. No one ever goes there. If you want to hide there, it should be a good place."
"How far is the house from here?"
"Not far, probably only about 500 meters!"
"What about the city gate? It's not closed now, is it?"
Even though Lin Yue has lived in this era for three months, she still hasn't learned to tell time. It's already dark now, probably around Xu time, but the city gates are also closed at Xu time. She's afraid that if she doesn't go back for a long time, her parents and relatives will worry.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
