Chapter 1783: Chapter 1783: A Secret

What happened with Wen Qiong is just the tip of the iceberg. These past two days he has cleaned up not only Lishui Village but also the county, and everything he’s seen and heard will keep him from ever living in peace for the rest of his life.

Wen Rong was right—he is guilty, he deserves to die!

"Sir, sir!" Company Commander Xiao Yue spurred his horse over, reined in when he got close, dismounted, cupped his hands to Qin San Lang as greeting, then rushed straight to Qiu Troop Commander, grabbed him and said, "Sir, didn’t we agree to wait until the people from Daokou Gully come before doing anything? How could you run here with your personal soldiers on your own? There’s still a lot waiting for you to go back and decide in Gaoshui County. With you gone, our ranks aren’t high enough, we can’t suppress those people at all."

Qiu Troop Commander was pulled up, but he shoved Xiao Yue aside with his body and knelt again, saying, "The villains from Lishui Village, Steward Liu, Squad Leader Wu, Housekeeper Bian, the Qian Family People, and the rest have all been arrested; the abandoned house where they were breeding poisonous insects has also been destroyed; Company Commander Tong has already taken troops to the Prefecture to seize the Bian Family head of the family. More than half of Gaoshui County’s business is already settled. You watch over what’s left for now; if there’s anything you can’t decide, go ask Company Commander Qin. There’s no longer any need for me to sit in town."

Company Commander Xiao Yue had come precisely to stop him from locking himself up, so how could he agree? He said, "Company Commander Qin may be a hero, but right now he’s the same rank as me, how can he command me? Sir, Company Commander Qin has helped you—are you really going to repay kindness with ingratitude and stick him with a bad reputation for putting on airs before he’s even been promoted?"

Company Commander Xiao Yue dragged Qiu Troop Commander up again: "So, sir, you’d better come back with this low-level general first. We’ll talk again once the lords from Daokou Gully arrive, how about that?"

Qiu Troop Commander: "Not how about. Xiao Yue, I know you mean well, but my crimes deserve ten thousand deaths—I must atone. You go back."

Company Commander Xiao Yue panicked: "Sir..."

Qin San Lang cut him off: "Qiu Troop Commander, there’s a prison in the county government. Why don’t you go back with Company Commander Xiao Yue first, stay in the county government prison—serve your time while you handle Gaoshui County’s affairs."

???

The suggestion itself was good, but why did it sound so strange?

Company Commander Xiao Yue looked at Qin San Lang: "This... doesn’t seem right?"

If he’s going to serve time, of course it’s better to do it in the Gu Family Village Punishment Room.

If he goes back to the county government prison, the county government is under their control right now—they’d definitely treat Lord Troop Commander with good food. Once the people from Daokou Gully arrive and ask how Qiu Troop Commander has been spending his days, and the answer is fine food every meal, wouldn’t that be adding crime on top of crime!

Qin San Lang: "Not satisfied? Then I have another way: Qiu Troop Commander is held in the Gu Family Village Punishment Room, and if Company Commander Xiao Yue needs to consult on anything, just send personal soldiers to ask. That way it’s good for everyone."

The last half of that sentence made Qiu Troop Commander and Company Commander Xiao Yue both realize they were putting Qin San Lang in a difficult spot—and Qin San Lang was angry.

"Company Commander Qin, my apologies, I did not think it through." Qiu Troop Commander was deeply ashamed, then turned to Company Commander Xiao Yue: "Xiao Yue, I know you don’t want me to suffer, but this suffering is what I deserve. Here’s what we’ll do: you return to the county and handle things. If you’re unsure about anything, send someone to ask me—I’ll make the decisions, until the lords from Daokou Gully arrive."

Seeing that Qiu Troop Commander’s mind was made up, Company Commander Xiao Yue could only nod and agree, and together with Qin San Lang they put Qiu Troop Commander into the worst of the mud huts.

Company Commander Xiao Yue felt the conditions were too poor and tried to persuade him, but was fiercely cursed by Qiu Troop Commander: "I’m a criminal, I’m here to serve time and atone, not to enjoy myself. Having a place to lie down is already good enough—you still want me living in a green-brick-tile house? Get lost!"

Being scolded, Company Commander Xiao Yue could only leave awkwardly.

Before leaving he apologized to Qin San Lang: "Company Commander Qin, sorry about just now."

Then he pleaded, "Please treat Qiu Troop Commander a bit better... He’s already suffering terribly inside, and he doesn’t have many good days left. If you can let him feel a bit easier for one more day, then one more day."

Qin San Lang: "I won’t treat Qiu Troop Commander badly."

Company Commander Xiao Yue, hearing that, thanked Qin San Lang again before finally leaving.

Niu Dabao watched, displeased, and spat toward the disappearing figure of Company Commander Xiao Yue on horseback: "He’s afraid we’ll treat Qiu Troop Commander badly? I’m the one annoyed that Qiu Troop Commander dragged himself to Gu Family Village to give us trouble. If Qiu Troop Commander dies here, whose fault is that? Won’t we have to bear responsibility?"

"Uncle Niu, I understand your worry. Just a few more days—give it a few more days and the people from Daokou Gully should arrive." Qin San Lang was also worried that Qiu Troop Commander might die in Gu Family Village, so he ordered You An and the others to keep constant watch on Qiu Troop Commander, not allowing any accident.

"That’s all we can do." Niu Dabao said, then went with Qin San Lang to find Xie Cheng and the others, and they laid out another round of arrangements to ensure that nothing would happen to Qiu Troop Commander while he was detained in Gu Family Village.

But none of them had expected that this Qiu Troop Commander could really make trouble.

He stopped eating, only drank water once a day to stave off hunger, and even had his own personal soldiers give him thirty lashes, and the soldiers actually carried it out.

When Qin San Lang heard about this, his face went dark. He went straight to Qiu Troop Commander and said, "If you want to stay in Gu Family Village, you must guarantee your own safety. As for punishment and atonement, that will wait until the lords from Daokou Gully arrive. If you dare to abuse yourself and drag us down again, don’t blame me for hauling you off to the county government!"

With that said, he had Zhang Zhong and Zhang Tu each bring troops into the hut, keeping their eyes locked on Qiu Troop Commander. Only then did Qiu Troop Commander’s self-destructive behavior stop.

Just after they dealt with Qiu Troop Commander’s self-abuse, Qian Qiwen and Sixth Aunt Qian went looking for death.

"Sir, the Qian Family aunt and nephew say they have a Gu Family secret to tell you—something to do with the purity of the Gu Family’s women. If you don’t go listen, and it gets exposed later, you will definitely be dragged down with it."

Old Bao was in charge of guarding Qian Qiwen and his aunt. Originally the aunt and nephew’s mouths were stuffed, but to keep them from starving to death, they were given boiled soybeans twice a day.

Just now, when he took the cloth balls out of their mouths to feed them, Qian Qiwen suddenly yelled out that line.

Old Bao was scared stiff. Fortunately that ruined hut held only the aunt and nephew, so no outsider had heard. He quickly stuffed both their mouths again, then rushed off to report to Qin San Lang.

Old Bao looked at Qin San Lang’s expression and asked, "Sir, are you going to take a look?"

Qin San Lang nodded and strode toward the hut where Qian Qiwen and his aunt were being held.

It was only the hour of You, so it was still bright outside, but inside the hut it was somewhat dim. Qian Qiwen and his aunt had been staring at the doorway; seeing Qin San Lang come in, they grew agitated and hummed through their gag.

"Remove his cloth ball." Qin San Lang pointed at Qian Qiwen and ordered, "Press a blade to his neck. If he dares shout or babble, kill him with a single stroke."

Qian Qiwen and Sixth Aunt Qian heard this, their eyes bulging wide as they stared at Qin San Lang in disbelief... They’d seen that Gu Jinli was hard to buy off, so they set their sights on Qin San Lang, planning to talk him around and have him release them. They hadn’t expected Qin San Lang to be even more ruthless than Gu Jinli!

"Yes, sir." Old Bao drew his knife, rested it against Qian Qiwen’s neck, then took the hemp ball out of his mouth and warned him, "You answer whatever the sir asks. If you dare spout nonsense, your head will roll."

After a few hard battles in the Northwest, Old Bao had become more decisive. Even if Qin San Lang ordered him to kill, he could do it at once. After all, Qian Qiwen and his aunt were no good people; they’d harmed plenty of others, and their deaths would not be regretted.

"Yes, yes, I—I won’t babble~" Old Bao’s warning was so terrifying that Qian Qiwen was trembling all over.

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