Qin Su poured herself a glass of water, but the water had already gone cold.
A knocking sound came from outside the door, and Qin Su's gaze fell on the somewhat dilapidated wooden door.
"Open the door."
Xieyang obediently opened the door. Aunt Chen, wearing an outer robe, dared not look at Xieyang and cautiously asked, "Is there anything you need here, Madam? I've come to check."
She couldn't just sit idly by after something like this happened; even if there was nothing she could do to help, it would be good to ask around.
Qin Su shook her head at Xie Yang, who understood how to handle the situation.
"Boil some water for us to drink." The tea would definitely be cold by now. "No need to make tea."
"Okay, okay, I'll go right away."
As long as there's something I can do with them, I'll feel better.
After closing the door, Qin Su simply put the teacup aside and said to the two people kneeling on the ground, "Can you talk now? If you don't talk now, I'll cut you once for not talking. Don't worry, I'm a good person and I won't take lives lightly."
The two men were in excruciating pain, wanting to scream but unable to cover their mouths, and could only writhe and struggle on the ground like insects.
"Nod if you'd like to talk."
Qin Su was very patient; she didn't mind waiting for them.
She spoke at a measured pace, seemingly quite calm.
But neither of the two men doubted that she was capable of doing such a thing.
As the setting sun shone, it removed the gag from one of the men's mouths. The man, his eyes bloodshot, glared at Qin Su. "You vicious woman! Do you know who's in your mouth?! Even if we're gone, someone else will come to kill you. You won't live!"
Qin Su waved his hand, and Xie Yang immediately covered his mouth with a gag, then swiftly cut him open with a knife.
The man's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, he couldn't breathe through his mouth and was panting rapidly through his nose, with his nostrils contracting violently.
"And you? Will you tell me or not?"
The man nodded immediately, showing none of the courage of the people around him.
Qin Su knew they weren't assassins, and it was precisely because they weren't that she could interrogate them.
If these were the assassins from Kyoto, even if they chopped someone into pieces, it wouldn't matter.
Qin Su toyed with the cup in her hand. "Speak properly, don't try to fool me."
"No, we wouldn't dare. The county magistrate sent us. He heard that someone was writing a petition and many people had put their fingerprints on it, so he sent us to kill you."
"According to the investigation, besides the village chief's wife, you are the only woman. It's easy for women to do it."
But who would have thought that there were other experts around her?
They had absolutely no chance of winning against those people; they couldn't even withstand a single move.
Who exactly are these people?
That's all?
Qin Su guessed that it was someone sent by the county magistrate, but she didn't expect that it would only involve the county assistant.
That's all, really all.
It seems some people in the village aren't tight-lipped, but that was within Qin Su's expectations.
However, not much information was leaked, so the Liu family could still trust them.
There was another knock at the door; it was Aunt Chen bringing water.
The setting sun told her to go back and rest, and brewed Qin Su a pot of tea.
The tea was brought from Kyoto, because he thought there probably wasn't any good tea here that his master wouldn't be used to.
Qin Su smiled wryly, "After drinking this tea, I stared wide-eyed until dawn."
Xieyang's hand froze, and he realized the problem.
"Throw them into the county magistrate's house."
The setting sun nodded, asking no further questions.
Qin Su didn't drink much of the tea; she only drank one cup and put it on the table, planning to use it again tomorrow.
...
Before dawn, Aunt Chen cautiously approached and whispered, "Madam, how did things go yesterday?"
Seemingly remembering something, she waved her hands repeatedly, "Please don't misunderstand, I had no intention of interfering in this matter, it's just... it's just..."
She "just" doesn't come out.
"You don't need to worry about this matter; I'll handle it."
Aunt Chen nodded. "Then should we still prepare the petition?"
"Of course, the more people who can leave their fingerprints, the better."
It has been four or five days since she wrote the letter to Kyoto. If it were Yu Shuo's carrier pigeon, it should have arrived long ago.
I wonder if Emperor Mingyang will send someone.
Headache.
Zhuang Heyu should be fine; he should be back today.
After a quick breakfast, Qin Su and Aunt Chen took a car to another village.
This village is the same Zao Village where Qin Su found Yu Shuo before.
Compared to other villages, life in Zao Village is much better. I wonder if anyone would like to leave their handprint.
No sooner had Qin Su left than a young man in white robes rode into Liu Family Village on horseback.
He looked around for a long time, and like Qin Su, asked the woman washing clothes at the village entrance.
He was good-looking, had a clean and handsome demeanor, and spoke with great respect. The women had a very good impression of him.
"Are you asking about the lady who came to the village a few days ago?"
"What does he look like?" The boy seemed unsure as well, and asked the woman with a gentle smile.
The woman smiled as well, "Looks? She's like a fairy, I've never seen anyone so beautiful in my life. But I heard she's here to find her family, and that she's divorced from her husband."
The boy froze on the spot upon hearing this.
Searching for relatives? Seeking a divorce?
This doesn't sound like the Qin Su they're talking about at all.
But the address Qin Su mentioned was Liujia Village in Huang County.
"Where does she live now?"
Let's check it first, just in case.
"They're staying at the village chief's house. Strangely enough, ever since she moved in, the food at the village chief's house has improved dramatically. You can smell the aroma of meat from far away."
The women chattered amongst themselves, their tone tinged with envy and a hint of sourness.
They are united on important matters, but they inevitably bicker over trivial ones.
"Could you please show me the way, sister? Here's a small reward." He took out a silver coin, which weighed a full tael.
"I'll do it, I'll do it."
"Young man, what's your name? Where are you from? Your accent doesn't sound like you're from around here."
"My name is Regular Moon, and I come from the north."
"What a lovely name. This way."
Not long after, Liu Bai was taken to the village chief's house. Because it was close to the end of the year, Liu Bai did not go to the private school; he was looking after the house. There were other people in the house, though he did not notice them.
Today he felt there was a strange smell in the yard, like the smell of blood.
Was it not cleaned properly last night?
With that in mind, Liu Baizai began to clean carefully.
"Young man Liu! You have guests!"
This auntie has a loud voice; when she shouts like that, all the neighbors can hear her.
He touched his nose and carefully looked around the yard.
The courtyard isn't particularly large; it has several thatched huts and is kept very clean.
However, it seems to have a bloody smell.
Something happened?
It seems Qin Su is here. Where would you find the smell of blood on an ordinary person?
Liu Bai came out carrying a broom. He looked the boy, who was about his age, up and down and asked, "Who are you looking for? I've never seen you before."
The aunt said, "He's here to see the guests who are staying at your house. I have to go now. Young man Liu, please take good care of them."
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