Chapter 118 [VIP]
Huang Yong was knocked unconscious by Chen Guang, stuffed into a sack, and carried all the way to the porters' camp.
There was an empty room in the backyard of the footwalk, where Wang Ying and her group were already waiting.
"Brother Chen, come back!" Cao Kun ran over from the front yard.
"Has Huang Yong been brought over?"
"We've brought him here, but he's still unconscious. What should we do?"
Wang Ying said, "Quickly lock him in, so no one can see him."
Before long, Chen Guang came over carrying a sack. As expected of someone who had practiced martial arts, he carried a person weighing over 100 pounds without any effort and walked with a light step.
"Where should I put my husband?"
"If I leave him indoors, how long will it take for him to wake up?"
"If left unattended, he should wake up in about an hour. But if you splash some water on him, he'll wake up right now."
"Could we let him remain unconscious for a while longer, preferably until dark?"
Chen Guang nodded; this was no difficult task for him. He patted Huang Yong's back a few times, and the man slumped to the ground. This was the method of "acupoint striking" used in martial arts, completely different from the techniques shown on television, but the effect was similar—both blocked the meridians, causing great harm to the body.
However, this kind of person didn't deserve sympathy. After locking him in the house, to be on the safe side, they tied his hands and feet and gagged him to prevent him from waking up in the middle of the night. After locking the door, everyone went home as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Madam Ma reported the incident to the authorities with her eldest son. The clerk in the government office was Huang Yong's uncle. Because of this connection, upon receiving the news, he immediately summoned several yamen runners to go out and find the person.
Ma's first suspect was Cao Kun, because only he had the ability to kidnap her son without anyone noticing. Given what had happened before, Lin Qiu couldn't possibly have ignored it; her son must have been kidnapped by them!
Ma and several officials rushed to the Cao family's house and banged on the door.
Upon hearing the sound, Uncle Chen opened the door and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"Where is Cao Kun? Hand over my son right now!" Without another word, he pushed Chen Bo aside and led a group of yamen runners straight into the courtyard.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Uncle Chen was pushed so hard he stumbled and quickly called for someone to come out.
Before long, Cao Kun, Chen Qingyan, Chen Qinghuai, and Wang Ying all came out and blocked Ma's way back.
When Ma was first seen with so many people suddenly appearing in the Cao family, she was a little frightened and didn't know who they were.
However, relying on the support of the yamen runners, he said, "I don't care what method you used, just hand over my son!"
Cao Kun was about to speak when Wang Ying stopped him and stepped forward, asking, "Are you Huang Yong's mother?"
"Yes, who are you?"
Wang Ying raised her hand and slapped her across the face. The slap was so sudden that it caught Ma Shi off guard, landing squarely on her face.
"Ah, what are you doing!" Madam Ma was so shocked by the blow that she saw stars and quickly hid behind the officers, covering her face.
Two constables drew their swords and shouted, "Don't be rude!"
Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai stepped forward to block Wang Ying, glaring angrily at the people opposite them.
Wang Ying showed no fear whatsoever, pointing at Madam Ma and cursing, "You've come at the perfect time! We haven't even come looking for you yet, and you've already delivered yourself to our doorstep! My Lin Sui married into your family without any wrongdoing or adultery, so why did you resort to such cruelty, beating her to the point of miscarriage?!"
Mrs. Ma's eyes darted around as she said, "He miscarried because he wasn't careful. What does it have to do with us?"
"If it's alright, why did you hide away? We haven't seen you for six or seven days."
Upon hearing that such a thing was going on, the officers sheathed their swords and stood aside to listen to the gossip.
Seeing that Wang Ying was not someone to be trifled with, Madam Ma softened her tone slightly and said, "What couple doesn't bicker in their daily life? They have to work things out to make it last. Lin Sui said something unpleasant that angered Yong'er, so she pushed him with her hand. Who would have thought that she would fall and miscarry like that?"
Madam Ma took out a handkerchief and pretended to cry, saying, "We are also heartbroken by what happened. After all, he is my own grandson. Huang Yong was sad for several days after losing this child, so we took him to the estate to relax."
"Pah! Listen to this! Lin Sui suffered a miscarriage, and instead of taking good care of her, you took the culprit out for a walk? Are you even human? You're worse than pigs and dogs!"
"Furthermore, if it was just a gentle push, how did Lin Sui get all those injuries? Do you dare swear to heaven that if you tell a single lie, your Huang family will be wiped out and your entire clan will be exterminated?"
"You!" Madam Ma naturally wouldn't dare to come to the door; she wouldn't have dared to come if her son hadn't been unable to find her.
"Bring Chen out here. I don't know you. I need to talk to her!"
Wang Ying naturally couldn't call her third aunt out; her health was already poor, and if she came out and got angry with her, her illness might worsen.
"I am Lin Sui's own sister-in-law. If you have any questions, just tell me. If your family is willing to go to court, then we'll go to the yamen and let the officials judge who is shameless!"
The commotion in the courtyard quickly attracted the attention of the neighbors, and a large crowd gathered at the Cao family's gate to watch the excitement.
Mrs. Ma's anger was rising rapidly. She wasn't afraid of going to court, but she didn't want to make a big fuss, lest it expose his and her son's dirty secrets.
"Since you don't appreciate my courtesy, then don't blame me for being ruthless! My son and Lin Sui have never even slept together since they got married. Whose child is he carrying?"
"Bullshit!" Lin Qiu was furious when he heard this, and picked up the shovel next to him, ready to chop at her.
Several constables reached out to stop them, but Madam Ma became even bolder, raising her voice and saying, "Your husband is protecting Lin Sui so much, who would believe there's nothing fishy going on? Maybe Erlang is having an affair, and my son was already being lenient by having him abort. Such a disreputable man should be beaten to death with a big stick!"
Lin Qiu almost fainted as her vision went black, but Cao Kun quickly supported her, saying, "Don't listen to her nonsense. We have a clear conscience, so let her make up whatever she wants!"
Wang Ying never expected that this woman could be so shameless, actually calling white black and black white.
Since her family shows no remorse whatsoever, things are even easier to handle. Whether Huang Yong lives or goes mad is entirely up to him.
Lin Qiu shouted, "Get out! Get out! Huang Yong isn't in our house. If you don't believe me, let the yamen runners search. If Ma dares to step into our house again, I'll definitely kill you with a knife!"
Ma clutched her chest and feigned grievance, saying, "Everyone heard it. He was going to kill me. I've never seen a family like this before."
The constables were quite frightened by the look of this whole family ready to kill someone, and quickly pushed Madam Ma out the door, lest they cause trouble and they end up taking the blame.
After thoroughly searching the courtyard and confirming that no one was there, they left.
However, the crowd that had been waiting at the entrance to watch the commotion didn't disperse, and people started discussing the matter in small groups.
"I never imagined that this young man from the Lin family would be this kind of person. He always seemed so honest and upright, yet he had an affair with his brother-in-law..."
"You really can't judge a book by its cover. No wonder she got a miscarriage. No one could stand being cuckolded like that."
Hearing these words, Lin Qiu felt dizzy again. The Huang family had done terrible things and was leaving Lin Sui no way out!
Women and men value their reputation most. Now, Ma is spreading rumors that Lin Sui has an affair with her husband. Isn't she trying to drive her to the brink of despair?
Wang Ying was also furious. "Uncle Chen, Ershun, quickly close the gate!"
"Hey." The two shut the door out to the onlookers.
Wang Ying pulled Lin Qiu aside and said, "Not a single word of what happened today can be told to Third Aunt and Lin Sui. Qiu, you must stand firm. Leave everything else to us."
"Mmm." Lin Qiu burst into tears. Luckily, his cousin and his wife were there, otherwise he really wouldn't know what to do.
After calming down, everyone went inside. Chen Rong asked, "What's all the noise outside? I think I heard Ma's voice."
Lin Qiu quickly said, "You misunderstood. How could the Ma family dare to come to our house? They did such a thing. If they came, they would have been kicked out with a big stick long ago."
Chen Rong nodded, "I guess it couldn't be her. If she had the guts, she wouldn't have hidden away with her whole family."
Lin Qiu breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully her mother didn't think too much about it. As for Lin Sui, it wasn't so easy to hide it from her. She was familiar with her mother-in-law's voice and recognized it as soon as Madam Ma entered the room.
He was somewhat agitated by his mother-in-law, and would tremble with fear at the sound of noise. Fortunately, Chen Qingyun was by his side and covered him with a quilt, so Lin Sui could not hear the noise outside.
Lin Qiu lied to her, saying that Ma was there to take him back.
"I don't want to go back! I don't want to go back!" Lin Sui trembled with fear.
Lin Qiu hugged him tenderly and said, "Brother has already chased her away, don't be afraid."
Madam Ma searched everywhere but couldn't find her son. Still unwilling to give up, she planned to go to Cao's porter shop to look for him again. However, it was already late, and the constables needed to rest, so they declined and said they would continue to help look for him the next day.
Without the support of the yamen runners, Madam Ma didn't dare to go looking for the person herself and had to go home and wait.
Meanwhile, Wang Ying and her group pretended nothing had happened and stayed at the Cao family's house until the afternoon, then returned to the inn for a meal.
It wasn't until it was completely dark that the group climbed over the wall and went to Cao Kun's porter's shop.
To avoid alerting the enemy, Cao Kun was not involved in this matter. After all, if anything happened to Huang Yong, the Huang family would first suspect Cao Kun.
So tonight there are only four people: Wang Ying, Chen Qingyan, Chen Guang, and Chen Bo.
Wang Ying changed into the clothes she had prepared in advance. These were Lin Sui's clothes. She was a little taller than Lin Sui, so they were a bit tight, but it wasn't a big problem. The room was dimly lit, so Huang Yong definitely wouldn't notice.
Chen Bo had a white beard, his eyes were blackened with ink, he wore a fake wooden crown, and a thick cloth cloak.
Wang Ying whispered, "Have you memorized the lyrics?"
Uncle Chen nodded. "I'll remember. There are three sentences in total: 'You audacious lowly commoner, how dare you not kneel before me! Do you know your crime? If you do not confess, I will punish you by sending you to the Hell of Tongue-Pulling!'"
"That's right, you can speak when the candlestick lights up."
"Hey hey."
Chen Guang glanced at them, wondering what the young man was up to. However, he simply followed orders, hanging the white cloth he had prepared in advance in the room and scattering paper money all over the ground.
Chen Qingyan changed into black clothes and was to be in charge of lighting the lamps and disguising himself as Ox-Head and Horse-Face.
With everything ready, Chen Guang untied the ropes binding the man on the ground, tapped him on the back a few times, and Huang Yong finally woke up after about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
He opened his eyes and was stunned for a long time. He felt something on his face, and when he reached out and grabbed it, he found a handful of paper money. He was so frightened that he screamed and sat up.
I was immediately terrified by what I saw: many white cloths were hanging in the room, swaying back and forth in gusts of cold wind.
"Where am I? Let me out! Let me out now!"
"Yonglang, where are you going?" A delicate voice came from the darkness; it was Wang Ying imitating Lin Sui's voice.
If you listen carefully, you can immediately tell that their voices are different; Wang Ying's voice is brighter, while Lin Sui's is softer. Unfortunately, Huang Yong is too terrified to notice.
He turned around and saw a figure moving behind him. Then, "Lin Sui" suddenly appeared behind him with disheveled hair, holding an empty swaddled baby in her arms.
"Yonglang, where is our child?"
A note from the author:
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