"They suddenly broke in last night, I don't know what they wanted, they were making a ruckus in the backyard, sob sob sob," Chunying said to the head constable, wiping away her tears.
"And then? How did the person die?"
Liu Cheng felt like his head was about to explode. Before dawn, the county magistrate summoned him to the yamen and ordered him to bring people to the Fengyue Tower to take a look.
Once he entered the backyard, well, he thought the brothel had changed its business from a brothel to a coffin shop.
They were lying on the ground, and there was hardly any room to step in the whole yard. The blood dried into clots, and because of the low temperature in the dead of winter, it froze solid in less than two hours.
This is a major case. The county magistrate has said that it should be investigated thoroughly to find out who these people are and what they are here for.
As the year draws to a close, the entire Pingyang County hopes to have a peaceful holiday. The sudden appearance of Xiongnu bandits is no small matter for ordinary people.
Today it's the brothel and the Huo family, but what about tomorrow? Will it be my turn tomorrow?
Those two families were lucky and had the help of heroes from the martial arts world. When it's their turn, will they still be so lucky?
The red-light district was packed with people, all eager to see what was happening. All the county constables were mobilized, forming a human wall to separate the red-light district from the crowd.
"Then, then my sisters and I heard the noise and came down to check. We saw several middle-aged strong men fighting with them," Ruyi said, wiping away her tears. Her slightly trembling body showed that she had not yet recovered from the fear of last night.
Liu Cheng nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
He asked everyone in and out of the brothel, and they all gave the same answer, including the Huo family.
"Have you lost anything?" the constable asked.
The girls shook their heads, and two or three couples huddled together, supporting each other.
Liu Cheng thought to himself: They're just teenage girls, and with all these corpses on the ground and what happened last night, they're probably terrified.
"Go back and rest, we'll move the bodies out of the yard."
Cen's mother nodded in agreement.
"Thank you for your hard work, Officer Liu. It's windy in winter, please have a cup of hot tea."
After saying that, she slipped a piece of silver into the man's hand. Even though she and Wang Zheng had a good relationship, she still had to do the favor she was supposed to do.
Liu Cheng waved his hand, and a group of constables carried in a stretcher. After placing the body on it, they covered it with a straw mat, as a final act of respect for the deceased.
As the corpses in the backyard of Fengyue Tower were carried away, the onlookers scattered like birds.
What should we do with this land?
Mrs. Cen frowned as she looked at the blood and ice scattered on the ground. "What bad luck," she thought.
She couldn't help but curse under her breath.
At this moment, Ping'er led a group of young maids in, the twelve or thirteen-year-old girls holding small hammers in their hands.
"What brings you here?" Cen Ang asked.
Ping'er rolled her eyes inwardly and replied.
"Let's tidy up the backyard."
Mother Cen was the kind of person who had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. If this were any other brothel, these girls would have been taken away to serve customers long ago. But she was a little reluctant to part with them. Although she couldn't compare to Huo Xiaolong, Cen Ang still took good care of them within his capabilities.
She never wanted them to know about such bloody things. What were a bunch of growing children doing getting involved here? Besides, she was disgusted by all the blood.
Before she could even speak, Ping'er waved her little hand, directing the group of girls to squat down and start digging.
"Don't fight in the building next time. It's almost Chinese New Year, look at the mess you've made!"
Chunying and the other girls wanted to lend a hand, but were glared at by Yuan Xixi's little eyes and turned back.
"You don't need to lift a finger, young lady," Huanlu said.
Besides serving the girls in the building, their job was to clean the brothel.
They were all children from poor families, and they all thought that being sold to a brothel would lead to a difficult future, but they ended up living better lives here than at home.
When Ping'er got back, she told the group of girls what had happened the night before. The girls were terrified and immediately begged Madam Ye to bring them over.
Now these young maids are being taught by Madam Ye, who can be considered their teacher.
"Stop chiseling around the greenery, I'll go get someone to do it later."
"Yes, you young girls shouldn't touch such bloody things."
Chunying and Liuxu tried to persuade them from the side, while the remaining girls also patiently coaxed the little girls.
Cen's mother remained silent.
These young maids were nominally there to serve the girls, but in reality, their relationship was more like that of teachers and friends, like sisters.
The hierarchy wasn't as strict as in wealthy and powerful families, since these young girls would be taking over their positions in the future.
Ping'er pouted, ignoring her daughter, and swung the hammer even more vigorously.
Seeing that Ping'er and Huanlu didn't move, the other maids were even less able to move them. After the ice broke, they used a shovel to pry it open, revealing the original color of the stone slab.
"Our job is to clean the brothel, young lady, please let us do it," Ping'er said to Chunying.
"Where should we put the ice?" a maid asked.
"Why don't we bury it under the tree? It'll melt when it gets hot," Ping'er replied.
"But there are willow trees in our building! You're going to bury this thing under the willow tree?"
"Ping'er, you still have some reservations, don't you? Burying her under the willow tree, that's really something."
"Where should we take it then?"
Huanlu directed the maid to place the ice on a large piece of tattered cloth, and several girls pulled on the tattered cloth that wrapped the ice, and together they lifted it onto the donkey cart.
"We can take them with us when the masters go to the deep mountains to bury the dead tonight," Huanlu said to everyone.
Hash's body wasn't taken away; it was hidden in the dark room of Cen's mother's room. His face was too conspicuous, and he was quite famous on the grasslands. Hash could die anywhere, but not in the Great Yan.
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