Chapter Thirty-Three: A Chance Encounter with the Scholar Liu Wenbo
Qin Zhining wasn't idle either. Although she wasn't as combative as Qin Xiaoxiao, her superb skills were beyond question.
A thug attacked her from behind. She bent down to dodge, and at the same time grabbed his wrist, lifted it up, and pushed it forward. The thug's arm was twisted and dislocated, and he screamed in pain.
Seeing that things were not going well, the remaining two thugs turned around and tried to run towards the alley entrance.
Qin Zhining reacted quickly, grabbing a stone from the ground and throwing it at the back of one of the thugs' legs.
The thug's legs buckled and he fell to the ground. Another thug had just run to the alley entrance when Qin Xiaoxiao caught up with him, grabbed him by the back of his collar, pulled him back, and threw him heavily to the ground.
In no time, all five thugs were brought down to the ground. Some were groaning while clutching their arms, while others were moaning while covering their legs. They had lost all their previous arrogance.
The scarred man lay on the ground, looking at Qin Zhining and Qin Xiaoxiao with fear in his eyes. "Who...who are you people?"
Qin Zhining walked up to him, squatted down, and said in an icy tone, "Who I am is not important. What's important is, what did Aunt An, Liu Pozi's mistress, send you here for?"
Scarface gritted his teeth and refused to speak.
Seeing this, Qin Xiaoxiao stepped forward and gently placed her foot on his injured arm, applying a little force.
Scarface turned deathly pale with pain and hurriedly shouted, "I'll talk, I'll talk! It was—it was Granny Liu's husband, who served the new wife of Magistrate Qin, who sent us brothers."
He said, "You came back to the county town from the countryside, which bothered his wife, Consort An. So he gave us twenty-five taels of silver to kidnap you both, ruin your reputations, and sell you to some other place, preferably so you can never come back."
Qin Zhining frowned. She knew that Aunt An was wicked, but she did not expect that the other party would be so ruthless and act so quickly, directly trying to sell them out.
She then asked, "What else did Aunt An say? Did she mention anything else about the Qin family?"
Scarface shook his head. "That's all. We're just street thugs. We take the money and do our jobs. We don't know anything else."
Qin Zhining stood up, glanced at the five thugs on the ground, and said to Qin Xiaoxiao, "Tie them up and throw them at the alley entrance so that passersby can see them and it will also serve as a warning to Aunt An."
Qin Xiaoxiao nodded, tore the clothes of the thugs into strips, and began to tie them up one by one.
Those thugs dared not resist and could only let Qin Xiaoxiao tie their hands behind their backs tightly before dragging them to the alley entrance.
Qin Zhining also found five taels of silver on them, which were given by Aunt An. It was probably a deposit paid in advance.
After dealing with the thugs, Qin Zhining picked up her bag and said to Qin Xiaoxiao, "We can't delay any longer. We need to get down to business and also check if Aunt An has any other schemes."
Qin Xiaoxiao responded with "Aba aba" twice and followed Qin Zhining out of the alley.
As soon as the two turned the corner, they saw the woman who had sold wontons earlier standing in front of her stall, looking in their direction.
Upon seeing them come out, the proprietress hurried over, her face filled with concern, "Girls, are you alright?"
I saw those thugs follow you into the alley just now, and I've been thinking about it ever since. Sigh... you guys, you didn't get hurt, did you?"
Qin Zhining felt a warmth in her heart and said with a smile, "Auntie, we're fine, we just taught them a lesson."
Thank you for your concern. Look—over at the alleyway, a few people are all wrapped up like dumplings, their faces bruised and swollen. My sister and I gave them a good beating.
The proprietress looked Qin Zhining and Qin Xiaoxiao up and down a few times, and seeing that they were indeed alright, she breathed a sigh of relief and then gave them some more instructions.
"You two young ladies need to be careful out there. Those thugs aren't good people, so stay away from them in the future."
As she spoke, she picked out a few of the largest apricots from the bamboo basket and stuffed them into Qin Xiaoxiao's hand, saying, "Take these and eat them on the way, so you don't go hungry."
Qin Zhining couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to accept it and thanked him repeatedly.
After saying goodbye to the proprietress, the two continued walking.
Looking at the apricots in her hand, Qin Zhining thought to herself that although there were wicked people like Aunt An in this county town, there were also kind-hearted people like the landlady, so it wasn't too bad.
They were heading to a brokerage firm in the county town. Qin Zhining had heard that there were many well-informed people in the brokerage firm who might be able to find out more about Aunt An and also find ways to make money.
The two walked along the street, and when they passed a fabric shop, Qin Zhining stopped and looked at the floral fabrics hanging at the entrance. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind.
To keep things a secret for a long time, it's better to make some small underwear and target women's money. This way, you can make a steady profit and won't attract attention.
Just then, I suddenly heard someone call out from behind, "Zhi Ning, my little sister!"
Qin Zhining turned around and saw a handsome young man in a blue cloth robe walking towards them. It was Liu Wenbo, the scholar who was her neighbor in her ancestral home in the countryside.
Liu Wenbo walked up to them, took a breath, and said, "I saw you at the teahouse up ahead and thought I had mistaken you for someone else. I didn't expect it to really be you. What brings you to the county town?"
Qin Zhining said a few words briefly, without mentioning that Aunt An had sent people to harm them, only saying that she had come back from the countryside on business.
Upon hearing this, Liu Wenbo frowned and said, "I heard that things haven't been peaceful in Lincheng County lately. You two young ladies should be extra careful while you're out there."
I've heard that things have been unsettling at Magistrate Qin's residence lately. Aunt An, relying on Magistrate Qin's favor, is running rampant in the mansion and is even suppressing the eldest daughter of Magistrate Qin's first wife.
"Alas... Magistrate Qin's favoritism towards his concubine over his wife, his failure to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children, will surely lead to disaster. If you encounter any trouble, you can come to me."
It turns out that Liu Wenbo didn't know that Qin Zhining was the unfortunate eldest daughter he was talking about.
He was studying in Qin Family Village, but he was temporarily staying at his cousin's house.
Qin Zhining nodded.
She knew Liu Wenbo was an upright person.
He had helped me a lot when I was in Qinjiacun.
The two chatted for a few more minutes. Liu Wenbo had to go to the academy, so he said goodbye to them. Before leaving, he gave Qin Zhining some loose silver coins so they could have some money in case of emergency.
Qin Zhining naturally refused the gift.
Favors are not easy to owe, especially favors given in the form of money; those with weak shoulders simply cannot bear the burden.
Liu Wenbo felt bad when he saw that Qin Zhining was determined not to accept his good intentions, but since she wouldn't take them, he had no choice but to give up.
Watching his departing figure, Qin Zhining felt a warmth rise in her heart once again.
Qin Xiaoxiao clutched the hem of her clothes, her voice tinged with urgency, babbling and gesturing as she spoke.
Qin Zhining patted the back of her hand, her gaze steady. "Don't rush, everything has to be done step by step. This Liu Wenbo is a top scholar, we can't let his reputation be damaged because of me, understand?"
Qin Zhining knew that Liu Wenbo secretly liked her.
But—she and he could never be together, and Qin Zhining knew that very well.
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