Chapter 1169: Arrest

The two guards brought Madam Zhao to dig for the silver under the moonlight. Little Bear, who was very interested in the ways the commoners hid silver, followed behind excitedly.

Perhaps because he had seen Mother Zhang’s favoritism and his younger brother’s shamelessness, Zhang Dazhu did not dare to hide the silver at home. Instead, he hid it in his fields.

The 20 acres of freehold field that the Imperial Court gave him were divided into several plots. In one of the fields which was only the size of a table, there was a pile of hard rocks.

As the good fields nearby had been divided up due to his late return, this piece of land was given to him.

Before he passed away, Zhang Dazhu had reminded Madam Zhao that he had hidden the money here.

Madam Zhao had long made up her mind to only use this money when her daughter got married. Because she had never touched the silver here in the past two years, she really did not know how much money there was.

After the bag was pulled out, she vaguely felt that the weight was wrong. When she opened it, she saw more than ten silver ingots inside.

Madam Zhao was so shocked that her limbs turned cold. “This, this much?”

The guard shook his head and said, “The value of silver is five taels per ingot. This is only about 50 taels.”

Little Bear said, “Sounds about right. The villagers all say that he brought back 100 taels, but that’s just what was officially counted. He should also have obtained some spoils of war when he went to the battlefield. Coupled with the silver he saved from working over the years, this amount sounds about right.”

Relieved, Madam Zhao hugged the silver as she cried. She did not expect her husband to be so considerate of her and their daughter…

The guard waited for her to wipe her tears before quietly bringing her back. Little Bear reminded her, “Rest well tonight. The people from the government office should be here tomorrow morning.”

Madam Zhao nodded.

As this village was too far from the county office, it took them a day to walk here. The guards did have horses to go back and forth, but the bailiffs in the county office did not and could only rely on their two legs to get here.

Hence, after trekking through mountains and rivers, they finally appeared at the entrance of the village at dawn.

As soon as the authorities appeared, the village was filled with crows and dogs barking. It was extremely lively.

The village chief came out with a pale face. Before he left, he even glared at the guards, knowing that these people must have helped Madam Zhao to report this matter to the authorities. Otherwise, how could a woman like Madam Zhao have the time to report the case when she had been taking care of her daughter in the house?

The guards happily grinned at the village chief.

The officials had been rushing all night and their tempers were not good. As soon as they came up, they shouted, “Who’s the victim, Madam Zhao?”

Just as the village chief was about to speak, a guard led Madam Zhao out and shouted, “The family of the victim is here. Sirs, the victim, Niuniu, is in the house, still unconscious.”

Actually, Niuniu had woken up twice midway, but she was indeed unconscious now.

The officials immediately bypassed the village chief and ran into the house to check on the victim. After confirming that this was indeed a valid case, they asked where the perpetrator was.

The village chief could not interrupt at all and could only watch helplessly as Zhang Erzhu and Mother Zhang were exposed.

Seeing that the officials were all looking at him, the village chief’s lips moved. He could only slowly lead the way for them. However, just as he left the room, two guards threw down two people from above. “There’s no need to go. These two were trying to escape, so we brought them here for you.”

The leading officer’s forehead twitched. However, he knew that the other party was not an ordinary person, so he did not pursue the matter further. Instead, he lowered his head to look at the two people lying on the ground.

Mother Zhang and Zhang Erzhu trembled. Zhang Erzhu’s lips trembled as he said, “I-I’m innocent…”

Mother Zhang shouted neurotically, “She’s my granddaughter. Her life is mine. So what if I suffocate her to death? Many girls drown at birth. Why don’t I see you catching those people?”

The official’s expression turned cold as he shouted, “Do you think that drowning a girl is not a crime? If you’re convicted, you can also be sentenced to death. There’s not much to be said to such a cunning and lawless person. Guards, lock them up.”

The officials rushed forward to put shackles on the duo. The surrounding villagers were not as aggressive as yesterday, clearly terrified of the authorities.

Standing above, Little Treasure commented, “Although these officials are domineering in their actions, they’re still considered to be dutiful. They’ve asked all the questions that should be asked just now.”

Little Bear said nonchalantly, “If they’re not domineering, I’m afraid they won’t be able to suppress these villagers.”

Little Treasure sighed. “If only the officials were gentle and the people knew their manners.”

“Not only do the people have to eat their fill, wear warm clothes, and live in a tiled house, but they also have to know how to read and write.” Little Bear calculated the expenses in his heart and sighed. “Though our Great Qi is considered wealthy and safe now, who knows how many years it will take to reach this point.”

Little Treasure muttered, “It will come true one day…”

After the authorities took them away, they looked at the two of them and wondered if they should ask about their identities.

With a smile, Little Treasure went forward to bow. “I’m Qi Chen, a student from Jiangnan. This is my younger brother, Qi Jin. We were ordered by our parents to go out to study and unexpectedly encounter such a thing along the way. Do you intend to set off immediately?”

The official nodded. “Considering it’s a long journey, we’ll only reach the county at night even if we set off now.”

“Coincidentally, we’re leaving too. Why don’t we go together?” Little Treasure said with a smile, “That way, we can take care of each other.”

The officials’ eyes darted to the carriage parked in the courtyard and the 20 or so horses not far away. It would naturally be good if they could travel with them, since taking a carriage definitely beats walking.

The officials agreed happily.

The guards immediately went to the kitchen to bring out food to share, so that they could eat some food before setting off.

This morning’s meal was a little unpalatable. Reason being, the village chief was angry and refused to cook for them, so the guards could only do it themselves.

Qi Xiuyuan, Qi Haoran had even thought of letting a doctor accompany their sons, but it hadn’t occurred to them to send them a chef as well. Hence, the two of them ate breakfast made by the guards and decided that it was better to choose a guard who knew how to cook the next time they traveled.

After everyone had their fill, they immediately boarded the carriages.

Niuniu was carried out and placed in a carriage under the gaze of the entire village. Seeing this, Patriarch Zhang couldn’t hide anymore and ran out to stop her. “Madam Zhao, where are you taking Niuniu? She’s the bloodline of our Zhang family.”

Since Madam Zhao was about to leave, she couldn’t care less about offending him at this moment. She glared at him with hatred and said, “The village chief actually knows that Niuniu is of the Zhang family’s bloodline? Our Dazhu was so good to the clan when he was alive, helping all the widows in the clan whenever they encountered difficulties. Which one of you in this village hasn’t received help from him? In the end, you want to kill his daughter less than two years after he died. Aren’t you afraid of having nightmares at night?”

Patriarch Zhang’s expression was ugly. “What nonsense are you spouting? The ones who want to kill Niuniu are your mother-in-law and her second uncle!”

“But you’re covering for them, even though you saw that they wanted to kill Niuniu. How is that different from you killing her?” Madam Zhao shouted crazily, “Look up, look up. Dazhu is looking at you from above!”

The villagers felt a cold wind blow against their bodies.

Laughing, Madam Zhao said, “It’s fine if you haven’t received help from Dazhu. Dazhu will remember whoever repays kindness with ingratitude. No one can escape!”

Little Treasure gave the guards a look and got someone to bring her into the carriage. Then, he bowed to the villagers and said, “I know you blame me for helping Madam Zhao report the case, but this is a matter of life and death. I don’t think you have the right to make the decision for Madam Zhao. Besides.” Little Treasure looked at everyone steadily. “Besides, considering Zhang Erzhu and Mother Zhang dared to kill their loved ones just for some benefits, who knows if they won’t kill others for benefits in the future? Can you rest in peace with such a tumor in the village?”

The villagers’ expressions changed. The area around Zhang Erzhu’s family instantly cleared out, and no one dared to be near them.

Zhang Erzhu and his family’s faces were ashen as they glared at Little Treasure with hatred.

Little Treasure didn’t care at all. He didn’t believe that Zhang Erzhu’s family didn’t know about the duo’s intent to murder Niuniu. It was just that it wasn’t a good idea to get too many people involved, so he only sent the authorities after the main culprits. However, it didn’t mean that he would let them off.

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