Dongdu
Chapter 110
As soon as Pei Qing came back, he had endless things to do. The reconstruction of Fengcheng and the defense of several fortresses on the Zhongzhou border had to be done. He got up before dawn and rested in the middle of the night.
When the news about the mute girl came to light, she had already been thrown into jail by County Magistrate Xie.
Xie Heng's confidant handed a silk handkerchief to Pei Qing, "Master Xie said that this handkerchief was found on that girl, and he saw the name of the prince on it, so he sent a little boy to ask the prince if he knew this person."
Pei Qing recognized it at a glance.
The handkerchief was found by him when he was in the village on the hilltop of South City. When he was leaving, he felt compassion for the mute girl and wanted to give her a smooth second half of her life, so he gave it to her as a proof of contact with Brother Xie in the future.
He had only sent her to one person in his life, and he knew who the other person was.
I thought she was still in Dongdu, but I didn't expect her to come to Fengcheng. No wonder he couldn't find her.
On the way to the dungeon, Xie Heng's servant explained the whole story. "The girl seemed unable to speak. The shop owner who chased her was an official from South City. It was said that he was the son of the village chief. He accused her of killing her father. Your Excellency repeatedly confirmed whether it was true. The girl did not say a word and nodded to confess to killing her father. But she also accused the constable and showed Your Excellency the wound on her arm. There were several scratches on it. It should be that the constable was tempted by her beauty and had evil intentions. South City is under the jurisdiction of Dongdu. Your Excellency cannot convict her and can only detain her temporarily. Now both of them are in prison. Your Excellency is waiting for the prince's instructions on how to deal with them."
After experiencing swords and life and death, and walking around the King of Hell's Palace, he returned to Dongdu. His face was still the same as before, but his expression and demeanor were different.
I have become more mature and capable.
When they arrived at the county government office, Xie Heng had not left yet. He held a lamp and waited for someone to come. When he heard footsteps outside, he knew that Pei Qing did know the girl. He went out to meet her and took her to the dungeon, and ordered the officers to open the door.
The mute girl was huddled in the corner in the cell. When she heard the noise coming from the cell door, she stepped back and hugged her arms defensively. She saw a lamp shining towards her, the light stinging her eyes. She didn't see who it was and didn't dare to look. She just curled up tightly and waited for Pei Qing to come up to her and put the lamp in his hand on the ground. She didn't say anything for a long time. Then the mute girl slowly raised her head. After seeing Pei Qing's face, her eyes froze. She was stunned for a moment, then immediately dodged again, not daring to look at him.
Pei Qing held her arm and said, "Get up."
The mute girl just shook her head and refused Pei Qing's help.
She killed someone, she must pay with her life.
She was already content to be here and die cleanly.
Although she could not speak, she could hear with her ears. She heard everything Pei Qing said to Pei Yuanqiu's confidant that day. She knew who he was and the identities of the young man and girl who were traveling with him.
Those were all distinguished people that were beyond her reach.
How could she deserve his mercy? She never thought of taking out the handkerchief that he left with her, but she put the dagger that he kept to good use.
She killed her father after all.
After they left, all the suffering and insults that her father had suffered from them were vented on her, and he whipped her even more severely. "Didn't the young master sympathize with you? Why didn't you ask him for some money?"
After her father took away the two taels of silver the girl had left for her, he still refused to give up and kept asking her every day, "Did they tell you who they were? Did they leave anything for you?"
The whip hit her body, and she begged for mercy, "No, nothing..."
Finally one day when he was drunk, he pushed her onto the bed and told her fiercely that she was just a baby he had stolen from someone else's home and that she had no mother at all.
She said she wanted to sell her to the village chief's son, a constable, but before that she wanted her to serve him first.
Faced with that strange and ugly face, she couldn't help it and used the knife that Master Pei left for her to kill the man who had raised her for seventeen years and whom she truly regarded as her father.
Master Pei told her, "Live for yourself." But she didn't even know who she was, so how could she live?
She killed someone and deserves to be killed.
She had learned from Lord Xie during the day that Master Pei was now a prince. She was happy for him to survive safely and to have the status he had today.
He was so kind and noble, she couldn't dirty him.
After being chased by the sons of the village all the way, she fled here, having used up her last bit of strength. Being able to find a sensible official and get out of the way with a clean conscience was a relief for her.
Pei Qing didn't pull her, so he leaned over and picked her up. He ignored her shocked expression and said calmly, "Kill her if you want. I, the King of Ning, want to protect someone, so can't I?"
Fortunately, there was the constable, and Pei Qing forced everything out of the mute girl's mouth that she couldn't say.
"How could Wang Mazi, who doesn't even have a wife, give birth to such a beautiful daughter? The villagers on the hilltop all know that he stole her from outside..."
At first, Wang Mazi wanted to have a baby, and he finally brought one back home. He really loved the mute girl, but good times didn't last long. A few days after he brought her home, he suddenly discovered that the girl had lost her voice, no longer making noises, and even stopped crying.
In order to make her speak, Wang Mazi tried every trick, including threatening and beating, but no matter how he beat, the mute girl could only shed tears and could not make a sound.
Not long after, the news was discovered by the villagers, who secretly laughed at him for stealing a mute baby. Wang Mazi was furious, and when he came back he took it out on the mute girl.
Firstly, they were afraid that she would run away, and secondly, they didn't want to be laughed at, so they moved to the other side of the mountain and didn't allow the mute girl to go out to see people. If she went beyond the top of the mountain, she would be beaten.
The constable came back a few days ago to take a break and visit his relatives. He accidentally saw the mute girl and was attracted by her beauty. After learning that she was Wang Mazi's mute girl, he became evil-minded and offered Wang Mazi twenty taels of silver to sell the mute girl to him.
The village chief's son became his son-in-law, and he was a constable working in South City. Wouldn't it be an honor for him as his father-in-law in the future?
Wang Mazi was naturally happy.
But when the mute girl put on the wedding dress bought by the village chief's son, Wang Mazi suddenly realized her beauty.
I have raised her all my life, so I have to repay him first.
Then there was the scene where the mute girl killed someone.
When the village chief's son came with a sedan chair to pick them up, they found Wang Mazi lying in a pool of blood, dead, and the mute girl was nowhere to be seen.
Relying on his connections in South City, the constable soon got news of the mute girl and chased her all the way to East Capital. The mute girl looked petite, but she had been doing farm work for more than ten years and her legs were as nimble as a rabbit, but she managed to escape several times.
After finally catching the person in Fengcheng, she bit the back of my hand again, and the flesh almost fell off. I had to let go. Before I knew it, she had the guts to run to the yamen and beat the drum.
The constable was not able to seduce her, and was fooled all the way. He was also locked up in the dungeon. He was furious and didn't know Pei Qing's identity. He said excitedly: "The dagger in my hand is physical evidence. I saw Wang Mazi's death with my own eyes, which is human evidence. As a constable, I have the obligation and responsibility to arrest her, but she slandered me and put me in jail. Your Excellency has sharp eyes and will not let this person who killed his adoptive father succeed. Please let me go and hand the person over to me. I will take her back to South City for disposal."
The girl dared to fight with the official. If she falls into his hands this time, he will definitely kill her.
After talking for a long time, there was no response from the person in front of him, "Sir..."
Pei Qing asked: "Are all the witnesses and evidence you?"
The constable nodded.
Pei Qing exchanged glances with Ah Fu, "Be more straightforward."
Before the constable could react, Ah Fu stepped forward and slashed his throat with a knife.
Pei Qing turned around and looked at Xie Heng who looked calm behind him, "Master Xie, please handle this."
Pei Qing brought the mute girl to Prince Ning's mansion and arranged her in the backyard. "You can stay here peacefully. You can go wherever you want. No one will arrest you again."
The mute girl wanted to kneel down to him, but Pei Qing held her back and said, "You are not wrong, you don't have to kneel."
The mute girl was stunned and stared at Pei Qing blankly. How could she be blameless if she killed someone?
"If it were me, I would have killed him long ago." Pei Qing raised his hand and gently touched her head, comforting her: "Don't be afraid."
Compared with the other three, Pei Qing is a big and strong guy. Even when he smiles with the corners of his lips curved upwards, he doesn't look elegant at all. Instead, the more he smiles, the more honest he looks.
But in the eyes of the mute girl, it is the most beautiful and the warmest.
When the nightmare woke her up again at night, the mute girl remembered that smile and went to his study with no other choice. Fearing to be discovered, she squatted behind the pillar of the corridor and secretly looked at the light that came on in the room.
After her adoptive father died, the only person she knew in this world was Master Pei.
Apart from her adoptive father, he was the first stranger who spoke to her and the only one who treated her kindly.
Nightmares and the fear of the unknown were more terrifying than living alone in the woods. Only by being so close to that warmth did she feel less afraid.
When Pei Qing came out of the study in the middle of the night, he saw a shadow squatting in the corridor in front.
After walking over, the mute girl didn't know how long she had been curled up. Her legs were numb and she couldn't get up for a while.
Pei Qing glanced at her pale face and asked, "Are you scared?"
The mute girl nodded.
Those who have come out of the abyss know what it feels like to be in the abyss. Pei Qing pulled her up, stretched out his hand and hugged her gently, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
The mute girl knew that she shouldn't touch him, but she couldn't control herself. Greedy for the warmth, she couldn't help but gently pull at the sleeve that hung on his waist.
Feeling her dependence on him, Pei Qing was slightly stunned.
He had been taken care of by countless people in his life, including his mother, Brother Xie, Zhou Kuang, Cui Nian, and finally Prince Jing... He had never thought that one day he would become someone else's hope.
The self-pity in his heart turned into a strong desire to protect her. He lowered his head and said to the mute girl, "Live in my room."
After a while, rumors spread in the palace that the prince had taken in a new personal maid, who not only took care of his food and clothing, but also ate and lived with him.
When the rumor spread, everyone started talking about it. Some people sighed and said that although the person was smart, it was a pity that she was mute. Otherwise, with her beauty, she would have been made a concubine.
"Your Majesty, there is something I am not sure whether I should tell you or not."
Pei Qing squinted at him and said, "I'll have someone sew your mouth shut."
"It's still not hard, Your Majesty." Ah Fu hesitated, "It's all spreading..."
"What did you say?"
"Does the prince want to take a mute girl as his concubine?"
Pei Qing frowned, but before he could say anything, Cui Nian walked in from outside. He looked completely different from the previous days. He seemed to have been fished out of the water. He dragged his legs and walked to Pei Qing. He lay weakly on the chair and said, "Your Majesty, I want to report to the police."
Pei Qing wondered, "Was he robbed?"
Almost. "I was deceived, Brother Pei, I was deceived again..." Cui Nian didn't care about her face at all. In front of the guards, she hugged Pei Qing's thighs and cried loudly, "That damn liar Jiang, Brother Pei must find her for me. You can't believe anything she says this time. If you find her, tie her up and throw her into the sea. No, I want to see her alive or dead. I still want to kill her with my own hands."
Pei Qing was confused, "Miss Jiang?"
"Miss Jiang, she's just a liar." Cui Nien regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. "Five hundred taels, the money that the shop received yesterday, was all taken away by her..."
He didn't believe her at first, but she was just too capable. She was quick and smart in her work, and could do the accounting and collection for him. She even gave him advice and helped him defeat his competitors.
In just half a month, he let down his guard.
Just yesterday, I handed over the accounting of a shop to her, and this morning I found out that both my money and my people were gone.
Five hundred taels of silver was not a lot for Cui Nian, but it was his dignity.
There is no smart businessman who will be cheated twice after being cheated once. He will never get back at this humiliation and will be ridiculed for the rest of his life. He has no use doing business anymore.
Pei Qing was also a little surprised. She had already revealed her identity. How could an ordinary girl have the courage to cheat under the prince's nose?
After some investigation, it was found that there was indeed a fisherwoman named Jiang Yao in Fuzhou, but she had always been staying at home and had never left Fuzhou.
The portraits were brought over, and the two people looked completely different. The real person was the black pearl beauty, while the female swindler was as white as a beam of light.
Pei Qing then asked people to investigate, but half a month passed without any news. Finally, Xie Heng gave a clue, "I heard that after the two princes of Hexi and Hebei fell, the bureaucracy in the city was in chaos, and some famous people in the underworld emerged. According to Mr. Cui's description, there is one person who fits the description."
"who?"
"Huai Yao, known outside as Goddess Bodhisattva, is good at disguise and has good leg skills."
It must be her who can climb such a high boat with bare hands.
Cui Nie hurriedly asked: "What does she do?"
"A great thief."
Cui Nien: ...
"He is not a good guy indeed. Brother Pei, lend me some money. I want to go to Hexi. If I don't catch the person, I don't have to come back."
Eastern Palace of the Eastern Capital.
Wen Shuse watched as two maids carefully helped the Crown Princess in. Her flat belly looked like there was nothing on it, but inside there was already a genuine little grandson of the Emperor.
As for me, my period has just passed ten days ago.
When she married Xie Shao, A Yuan had just been engaged to Prince Zhou. Later, she and her husband collapsed the bed, and then she got married.
She had been ahead of her in everything in her life, married before her, consummated her marriage before her, but what was the use? A-Yuan had a child before her, and in the future, no matter whether it was a boy or a girl, her child would call the one in A-Yuan's belly "brother" or "sister".
If parents don't live up to their expectations, their children will be shorter.
The husband works hard every day, and the doctor has checked his health, which is fine. He doesn't know what the problem is.
Ming Wanrou was completely unaware of the jealousy and envy in her mind. After sitting down, she became anxious for her, "I heard that the emperor issued an order today that Commander Xie will go to Hexi and Hebei?"
The treasures are here, and the young lady's decree is on the way~ (hundred red envelopes~)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com