Chapter 560 Chasing the Thief
The bustling city center was teeming with people.
A carriage was parked by the street, surrounded by several guards, and a well-dressed maid stood beside the carriage.
She looked up at the car window and said gently, "Miss, would you like to come out for a drive?"
"No need, I'll wait here."
The voice coming from inside the carriage wasn't gentle; it was somewhat shrill, and it didn't sound like a young girl, but more like a married lady. Yet the maid was calling her "Miss."
“Yes, Shuang’er will go get it now. Please wait a moment, Miss.” Shuang’er said, glancing around at the shops. “Miss, I’ll go buy you some snacks. You can eat while you wait.”
A delicate hand reached out from the car window and waved gently twice, signaling the other person to do it.
Shuang'er accepted the order and headed towards the nearby eatery with the money bag.
After a while, Shuang'er came out of the restaurant, her expression not good. She was muttering to herself, "The pastries are so-so, and they're so expensive. If it weren't for Miss's taste, I wouldn't bother with you..."
As she spoke, she tied the money pouch and hung it back on her waist.
Just then, someone suddenly darted out from the crowd and bumped into Shuang'er, knocking the pastries out of her hands.
Shuang'er was already unhappy because of the restaurant incident, and now that she had been hit by someone, her anger flared up even more.
"stop!"
She shouted sternly.
The man paused, turned around and glanced at Shuang'er, a hint of fear in his expression.
Seeing his expression, Shuang'er sensed something was amiss.
He casually touched the money pouch at his waist, only to find it was empty.
She immediately realized what had happened and shouted, "Quick, grab him! He's a thief!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the thief realized he had been discovered and ran away.
Only two of the guards surrounding the carriage rushed out; the rest remained guarding the carriage, seemingly believing that protecting the carriage was more important than chasing the thief.
After Shuang'er called out, she didn't chase after them. Instead, she picked up the snacks on the ground, opened them to check if they were still edible, and strolled to the carriage.
"Miss, please have your snacks first. Shuang'er will definitely catch this person and beat him to death with sticks!" Shuang'er's eyes turned fierce, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "This person is really bold. Doesn't he know who he's robbing?"
Gamblers don't care who the robber is; they only care about the full purse of silver, which can pay off their gambling debts and allow them to gamble a few more times, perhaps even turning the tables.
The guards behind him kept chasing, while the gambler ran wildly ahead.
Even if the guards were skilled in martial arts, they could not attack passersby.
They chased him for a short while, but lost him in the alley.
The gambler shook off the guards, a smile curving his lips as he opened his money bag to check the silver, feeling quite pleased with himself.
Just as he bent down to check, he bumped into someone, and the silver in his hand fell to the ground.
"Mine, mine! Nobody's allowed to take it!" The gambler didn't even look at who he had bumped into before he quickly squatted down to pick up the silver from the ground.
He froze, his scalp tingling, when a pair of black boots came into view.
Looking at the silver beside the boots, he slowly raised his head, but his hand didn't stop, reaching for the silver.
Then he saw a knife with an official seal and a badge that represented his identity.
Above that was a rugged face and a pair of inquisitive eyes.
Because of his previous theft, he felt a chill run down his spine, grabbed the silver from the ground, and ran away.
"Hey, why are you running?" Xiao Fan shouted at the gambler, but instead of stopping him, the gambler ran even faster.
Chen Yongnian squinted, seemingly understanding something, and turned to the person beside him, saying, "Chase him! This person is a thief!"
Before he finished speaking, Chen Yongnian had already run several meters away.
Xiao Fan lagged behind, paused for a moment, and then saw two men dressed identically run up to her side, panting heavily.
"Hey kid, have you seen a short, skinny guy, about this tall..." one of the guards gestured to Xiao Fan.
Xiao Fan looked somewhat dazed, but he realized they were describing the person Chen Yongnian was chasing. He pointed in the opposite direction and said, "Over there... over there..."
Before he could finish speaking, the two guards chased after him, seemingly not taking him, a mere yamen runner, seriously.
After a while, Xiao Fan finally came to his senses from what had just happened and followed the guards.
Most of the constables were skilled in martial arts, but the gambler was as fast as a rabbit, disappearing into the street in the blink of an eye.
Their leader, Chen Yongnian, also disappeared along with them, vanishing into the street.
The constables looked somewhat bewildered, exchanged glances, wondering where to stop the fleeing people, when they saw the guards stop in front of them.
"Where is the person you were chasing?" the guard asked bluntly, his tone even bordering on accusatory.
“He ran away, we don’t know where he’s hiding. He knows the streets very well,” one of the constables explained.
Upon hearing this, the guard frowned and cursed, "What a bunch of useless trash! I really don't know what use the magistrate of Yunhe County has for keeping a bunch of good-for-nothings like you!"
"If our people are useless, then are you useless for failing to catch anyone?"
Chen Yongnian walked out of a small alley and pushed the person he was holding against the yamen runners.
The constables immediately apprehended the gambler, giving him no chance to escape.
The guard glanced at Chen Yongnian, seemingly trying to determine his identity, then looked at the gambler and said coldly, "We need to take this person away."
Just as these people were about to make their move, Chen Yongnian stepped forward to stop them, patted his somewhat disheveled and dirty uniform, and said, "This person is a thief; hand him over to the authorities for processing."
He then took out his money pouch and said, "This belongs to your master. Take it back and report."
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