Chapter 217: The People Who Kidnapped the Children Are Villagers

Old Woman Li cursed and swore a lot in the direction of the east room, saying that she wouldn't let Li Shoude go to the prefecture with Yun Ying to make a living by selling art.

"Shoude, you are going to the prefecture to take the imperial examination, how can you bring a woman with you?" Old Man Li said earnestly, "I think let Yun Ying stay at home. It's not easy for our family to earn money, and you can save a lot of money if you go to the prefecture alone..."

"Father, I said, I'll solve the money problem, I won't trouble the family." Li Shoude repeated again.

Yun Ying wasn't someone like Sun Shi; would she agree to stay in the Li family alone?

"How will you solve the money problem?" Old Woman Li asked the key question.

"Shoude, it's not that I'm talking about you, but the expenses for studying in the prefecture are not small. You might be gone for three years this time. The tuition fee for one month is two taels of silver, which adds up to at least seventy taels of silver. Where will you get so much money?"

Old Woman Li was always unreliable in doing things, but she was clear-headed about money.

In this day and age, once a child passes the scholar exam, they can obtain the qualification to study in the official school of the prefecture. After three years of study, they can participate in the provincial exam.

Those who pass the provincial exam become Recommended Men.

Only by becoming a Recommended Man can one have the qualification to be an official.

But for a scholar from a poor family, how easy is it to become a Recommended Man?

Not to mention the travel expenses and food and lodging in the prefecture, even the tuition fees for these three years, the Li family couldn't afford...

"Shoude, listen to Father, don't be in a hurry to leave. I'll think of a way, go to Shuangzhai Village to find your second uncle and the others, we should be able to borrow money..."

Listening to the persuasion of the two old ones, Li Shoude's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

He knew his parents were worried about his future and couldn't bear to see him suffer alone, but he couldn't tell them the truth that he had money, so he could only silently suppress his urgent desire to leave.

He couldn't leave too abruptly, nor could he appear too urgent, otherwise the two old ones would definitely notice something wrong, and combined with the "rumors" that had been making a big fuss in the village recently, the things he and Yun Ying had done would be exposed.

Finally, Li Shoude didn't say anything more and returned to the east room without a sound.

As soon as he arrived in the east room, Yun Ying asked eagerly: "Did you say it? Did they agree?"

She had been eavesdropping on the movement outside in the room, but besides hearing the old woman scolding her, she couldn't hear other words clearly. She didn't know how Li Shoude had spoken to the two old ones?

Li Shoude shook his head silently.

"Still don't agree!?" Yun Ying exploded immediately, "What exactly do they want! I don't need the family to spend a single cent for me to go to the prefecture, what reason do they have to stop you? Why don't they allow you to go?!"

Li Shoude looked at Yun Ying, who was roaring hysterically at him, and for the first time, a trace of disgust and impatience flashed in his heart.

Yun Ying's state of mind at this moment was very broken. She had helped the Huang family do so many wicked things at the risk of danger and the condemnation of her conscience, yet she still couldn't escape this suffocating home. She was in no mood to pretend to be the gentle and sensible little woman she was before.

How could Li Shoude not know what Yun Ying was thinking? He said calmly: "They want you to stay at home and let me go to the prefecture alone."

Yun Ying's roaring voice stopped abruptly.

"Why! That's the money I earned! Why let me stay at home!!"

Yun Ying's anger rose, but the next second, she seemed to realize something and immediately closed her mouth tightly.

"Shoude, you won't really leave me at home alone, will you?" Yun Ying quickly softened her tone, holding Li Shoude's arm and saying coquettishly: "You said it yourself, I am your only confidante, how can you leave me at home alone?"

She didn't want to stay in this wolf's den of a home and fall into the same state as Sun Shi.

"How could I?" Li Shoude patted Yun Ying's hand comfortingly and said warmly: "How could I leave you at home alone? Don't worry, I'll pester Father and Mother for a few more days, they will eventually agree to let you go to the prefecture with me."

How could he dare to leave Yun Ying at home alone?

If Yun Ying were to spill all the things they had done, let alone what kind of anger he would face from the villagers, even his career would be ruined...

Although Li Shoude and Yun Ying tried their best to remain calm, the matter of children going missing in the village became bigger and bigger.

Those families who had lost children cried and howled day and night, and finally, it reached the Lizheng.

Not long after, the sound of gongs and drums rang out in the village.

"Everyone gather at the ancestral hall in the village."

Everyone knew this was for the matter of children going missing in the village, so they didn't dare to delay and rushed over one after another.

The Lizheng stood in front of the ancestral hall and said loudly: "I suppose everyone knows that four children have gone missing in the village recently, and they are all seven or eight-year-old little girls. Don't believe the nonsense about wild monsters in the mountains grabbing children. Keep a close eye on your own children, and when there's nothing to do, don't let your children go out, try to stay at home as much as possible..."

"I think, it's not wild monsters in the mountains grabbing children, it's that kidnappers have come to our village..."

"I don't think it looks like kidnappers. The ones who went missing are all half-grown girls. If kidnappers were to grab, they would grab boys. What use are seven or eight-year-old girls..."

"But I haven't seen any strangers come to our village recently..."

Listening to the villagers' discussion, Jiang Xiaoxiao, who was standing beside Jiang Wei, couldn't help but frown tightly.

Her gaze swept over the faces of the villagers around her, every one of them a face she was familiar with.

Just as that villager said, no strangers had entered the village recently.

That meant that the ones who kidnapped the children could only be people from the village.

"... In short, everyone must be careful recently. If you see strangers entering the village, you must report it in time, don't be careless!"

Just as the Lizheng finished his instructions, Auntie Guihua asked tearfully: "Uncle Lizheng, our Er Niu has been missing for so many days, why don't you go help us report to the officials?"

Just as she finished speaking, she was pulled fiercely by her own man: "You talk too much! Our village only lost a few little girls, is it worth troubling the officials?"

"Wang Laifu, do you have a heart?" This time Auntie Guihua didn't leave any face for her man in front of everyone and retorted immediately, "Our Er Niu is missing, why don't you feel any heartache at all? She is your own daughter!"

"You, you..." Wang Laifu knew there were so many pairs of eyes watching him, so he didn't dare to say much, and turned his head, looking impatient: "I can't reason with a woman like you who makes unreasonable trouble!"

"I went to the county yamen..." The Lizheng sighed, "But our Yong'an County Yamen had an incident not long ago, and now there's no way to handle the matter of children going missing..."

Actually, Wang Laifu was right. In this day and age, unless it involves human life, the county yamen generally won't accept small matters like children going missing.

Unless one encounters an official who loves the people like his own children or is in urgent need of political achievements. ===== CHAPTER 218 =====