Chapter 67

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Song Miao

Song Miao's heart skipped a beat, and she looked at the oil lamp she was holding up, forcefully suppressing the urge to blow it out immediately.

By this time, two soldiers had already come out of the miscellaneous room, standing by the door, very vigilant, making a "hush" gesture toward Song Miao.

Even if they didn't remind her, Song Miao wouldn't answer anyway.

The person outside knocked on the door again; although they got no response, they weren't discouraged at all and started knocking again.

This time, the person outside didn't call "Miss Song Xiaoniangzi," but called out: "Miss, I'm not a bad person, I'm from the Liao family at Mie Street ahead, my surname is Deng, I've come to find Lady Zhu Shi—call her over, she knows me!"

Urging again: "Her young uncle had an accident with my husband, call her out!"

The voice was very urgent, indeed sounding like a woman; she urged while knocking on the door without stopping, and called out again: "Something big has happened, hurry, we can't delay!!"

Sun Lizheng's younger brother Sun Er was addicted to gambling; he had previously had dealings with Song Dalang, and even Song Miao knew this person.

Hearing that he had been in trouble, although she didn't know if it was true, she dared not delay in the slightest and hurried back to call Lady Zhu Shi.

Lady Zhu Shi had already heard the commotion and went outside; from afar she called out: "Lady Deng, what happened to Old Sun's second brother!"

Through the door, Lady Deng cursed: "Two rotten ghosts, they went to a dark workshop in a tile house at the Sang family's place in Chengdong to gamble, lost big and couldn't pay; now people have come to collect the debt, they went to my house and took two fingers, saying if they can't come up with the money by tomorrow morning, they'll chop off both their arms to make up for it—right now they're on their way to your uncle's house!"

She cursed while cursing, and then burst into tears.

Lady Zhu Shi was startled and hurried to open the door; indeed, Lady Deng was standing outside, holding a lantern in her hand, with no one else beside her.

Lady Deng kept wiping her tears with her hand and said: "I really have no other choice; I originally wanted to find you and discuss it with your Old Sun, but I heard Old Sun had been sent out on official business, and I also heard you've come to the Song Family Eatery; I couldn't find your Old Sun, so I had to come find you!"

Lady Zhu Shi hurriedly asked how much money was owed and how many people had come.

"My Old Liao owes over eight hundred strings; as for your Sun Er, I don't quite remember, only that it's more, not less; seven or eight ruffians and rascals came, carrying clubs and sticks..."

Upon hearing this, not to mention Lady Zhu Shi could no longer restrain herself, even Sun Lizheng in the miscellaneous room could no longer sit still; if not for someone beside him holding him back, he would have rushed out by now.

"Miss Song Xiaoniangzi." Lady Zhu Shi turned and hurriedly looked at Song Miao: "Something has happened at my home; I'm afraid I can't keep you company tonight!"

Song Miao naturally knew this matter was urgent and immediately replied: "It's fine here, Auntie, hurry home; if there's anywhere you need help, just call me, and I'll definitely come."

Saying this, she also lit a lantern for Lady Zhu Shi to take.

Lady Zhu Shi and Lady Deng left in a great hurry.

After the two left, Sun Lizheng immediately came out, pacing anxiously in the room, cursing: "This good-for-nothing, why didn't he just die at the gambling table!"

He added: "My uncle and aunt can't take this; if those rascals bring fingers and show up at the door..."

All the soldiers in the room could hear his anxiety and wanted to follow him to see, but none dared to speak.

Because Sun Lizheng knew the most people here; if he left, others might not recognize all the comings and goings, but if they didn't let him go, such a big trouble had happened at home—who could stop him?

Song Miao saw the situation from the side, thought for a moment, and said: "It's so late at night; Uncle Sun going alone won't actually help much. Why not see if we can discuss it with the officials and ask a few duty patrol soldiers to come guard the door? I reckon seeing patrol soldiers outside would make those rascals think twice."

Sun Lizheng was also anxious about the matter, his mind a mush; hearing this, he immediately agreed: "Exactly! Exactly!"

But he agreed for a long time without actually coming up with anything.

Song Miao then helped by saying: "Censor Xin isn't here right now; I don't know which official can help make a decision?"

"I'll send someone over!"

The acting head soldier didn't dare let Sun Lizheng go, but arranging a few patrol soldiers to go was no trouble at all; he immediately called someone over, explained the instructions clearly in front of everyone, and finally said: "Hurry up!"

The man took off running.

After the person left, the head soldier said to Sun Lizheng: "Old Sun, don't be anxious; Xiao Wang runs fast and knows the patrol soldiers well; having them watch is more useful than you going yourself, and it won't delay things."

Sun Lizheng hurriedly thanked him and didn't mention it further, but remained absent-minded.

Because of this incident, everyone in the room felt uneasy.

After returning to her room, Song Miao simply lay down fully clothed, unable to sleep soundly, merely resting with her eyes closed.

While everyone here was anxious, Master Liao, after returning from Wu Yuanwai's residence, was equally restless.

He tossed and turned on the bed; after finally falling asleep, his wife pushed him awake.

"A messenger has come from Cheng Nan, urgently looking for you!"

Master Liao suddenly sat up, feeling a pain in his waist; after a moment he felt better, casually threw on some clothes, and hurried out.

Seeing him come out, the messenger immediately said: "Master, the gambling house at Nanxun Gate seems a bit off; the lookout saw several unfamiliar faces outside this afternoon, they disappeared in a blink, and appeared again at night, just loitering around nearby."

"No one reported it?"

"No; I went to check specially, and they said they hadn't heard anything; the people in the gambling house were afraid something would happen and didn't dare make a decision, so they came to ask you what to do."

"First, tell everyone to disperse." Master Liao said without hesitation; "Clean up the gambling house; don't let anyone see anything wrong."

"What about the cut for these past few days?"

"The gambling house will cover it itself."

To Master Liao, "cover it itself" was just a sentence, but to the people below, it meant many days of work for nothing.

The messenger hesitated for a while and didn't dare oppose; he finally agreed and hurried out the door.

But before Master Liao could lie back down, another servant came in to report; it turned out that another workshop in Chengdong had a problem.

"Diao Zi brought several strangers saying they wanted to come gamble; the guard at the door saw them and thought one looked familiar, like a constable from the yamen—the last time he was in jail, he happened to have met him..."

If when the first person came to report, Master Liao could still consider it a coincidence, now it was the second person; he had already become alert.

While telling this person to hurry back and disperse the people, he also urgently summoned his subordinates, ordering people to go to the various workshops in the city to notify them to stop the gambling houses first, to lay low for these two days and not open.

Seeing everyone had been sent out, he called two trusted aides; to the first one he said: "You go to Nanxun Gate; tell them not to think I don't know what they're doing, messing around in that house; if they don't cause a scene, I can still protect them a bit, but if it blows up, I can't protect them!"

The man hurriedly left.

He then said to the other: "Tell Diao Zi not to act first, so as not to be watched."

This confidant received the order and also hurriedly left.

Having sent away all these people, Liao the Master still did not feel at ease in the slightest.

Today he had originally arranged for Diao Zi, bringing men to go seize that Song Family daughter from Sanzao County Alley.

Five or six strong men, there was no reason they could not capture one young woman.

When the time came, as long as they sent her to the Wu Family, the matters afterward would no longer need him to handle.

He found those Taixue students troublesome and unwilling to provoke, but to Wu Yuanwai, they did not amount to anything at all.

When the time came, the victim would be gone, and this house's affairs — would they not be whatever he wanted to say they were?

If it truly came to questioning the Song Family daughter, Wu Yuanwai would also help cover for her, and would not let her say anything unfavorable.

But who could have expected such an accident tonight.

Hoping it was just overthinking; even if something truly happened, it would only be a gambling house having issues, not someone targeting him.

After delaying outside for half a day, when Liao the Master returned to his room, he saw his wife had not slept, but was sitting by the table, looking worried and grim.

Upon seeing her husband enter, Liao Qi said: "Master, in my view, why don't we just hand over those gambling houses and stop meddling……"

"What are you nagging about again? You don't know outside matters, don't interrupt recklessly!"

"It's not nagging; this isn't a good person's business either. Perfectly fine, why provoke someone into doing evil?"

"Our own Tingjiao Hang runs perfectly well; relying on just this, we can live comfortably. Why worry day after day, every few days going through this again? You're not young anymore; where can you endure such tossing about? Your waist is bad, your shoulder also injured; ever since spring began……"

Liao Qi still wanted to continue counting, but Liao the Master was already very impatient. He sneered: "Why do you eat salty radish and worry blandly? What do you mean provoke someone into doing evil? Degenerate gamblers want to gamble themselves; even if I don't open this house, they'll just find other places to gamble. Rather than benefiting others, better that I earn this money."

"Moreover, you think if there were no these gambling houses, I could have gotten this Tingjiao Hang to run?"

"You now wear gold and silver, eat and drink the best; our son has even hired a tutor, our daughter is still young — if she wants new clothes, she wears new clothes. This kind of life, you think it was picked up for free?"

Liao the Master said a few sentences, and couldn't be bothered to waste words with his wife. He said: "You've become even more nagging recently. Next month is Qingming Festival Festival; I can't spare the time here. You take Eldest Brother and Second Sister back to the hometown to sweep the tombs, repair the house, and return to the Capital after May passes."

Liao Qi truly unwilling, but she was originally used to being docile. At this moment, pressed down by her husband's great hat of filial piety, she fundamentally had no way to resist. Wanting to discuss a few more sentences, Liao the Master didn't pay attention at all. Hearing until annoyed, he climbed up and went to the inner room to sleep.

Left alone, Liao Qi silently shed tears. Afraid that if she didn't return to the hometown, she and her husband would grow apart in heart; afraid that if she did return, her husband here outside would flirt and attract many troubles.

If she could still choose, she truly felt that even ten-odd years ago when they first entered the Capital was better than now.

Back then she was big with belly and still had to go starch-wash clothes; her husband ran a fever and still had to carry night-soil poles. The couple split one cash coin into two halves to spend, rented a broken room, cold in winter, hot in summer, daily seeing spiders and mosquitoes.

But at least it was steady.

At the end of Sanzao County Alley, Diao Zi led five or six brothers lurking at the doorway.

"Really wait until the fifth watch?" Someone yawned, tears blurring his eyes. "Brother Diao, there's no one here, opposite is also our gambling house. Not to mention five or six people now, even just one or two, catching a young lady is as simple as catching a chicken in a cage. Why must we dry-wait here?"

"Exactly!" Early on, a brother who couldn't stand the sleepiness chimed in. "Diao Zi, you follow the Master, light and easy. We have to do hard labor every day. Tomorrow still have to work, the day after it's my turn to watch the house. Finish early, still can go back early to sleep!"

Deep in the night, who likes being suddenly called out to work?

Who doesn't want to sleep?

Five or six brothers, every single one full of complaints.

Diao Zi could barely hold out, but still said: "Watch a bit more……"

"Watch what? That proper wife already left, right? Inside the room is just that young lady alone. What more to watch?"

"How about I stand guard here? If there's movement outside, I'll give a signal?"

The brothers below twisted into one rope, urged and urged again, pressing Diao Zi until he had no choice but to say: "Wait one more teacup's time. If that proper wife doesn't return, we move immediately. No waiting for fifth watch."

Sure enough, after waiting a while, inside Sanzao County Alley it was pitch black; not even a dog bark or cat meow could be heard.

This time, without others urging, Diao Zi said: "Go — the one with the lock pick moves first."

Immediately someone stepped forward, inserted an iron sheet into the door crack and twisted it back and forth. After a while, he said quietly: "Inside, besides the door bolt, there's also a lock hung. To properly open it, at least an hour is needed."

"Then what to do, force it open?"

"No good. If forced open, afraid it'll make noise, and this door will also be ruined."

"Isn't there a window next to it? See if that window can be opened."

The one holding the iron sheet and lock pick immediately turned to the window side.

This time it went much smoother. He inserted the iron sheet in, and it slid smoothly all the way to the bottom.

"There's a way!"

He called out softly.

So everyone crowded over.

The window wasn't large, but not small either; squeezing in one person was more than enough.

Sure enough, not long after, unknown what method he used, that window was gently removed.

This person didn't dare hold a lamp, only felt in the dark and poked his head in, looked left and right, and said in a low voice: "Hey, no one here. It's a place for storing miscellaneous items!"

"Then everyone enter from here."

Diao Zi gave the order.

So the one who pried the window immediately crawled in.

After entering, this person made a "pu" light sound, then muffled a grunt.

"You all be careful, don't fall!"

Diao Zi was second in line. While warning, he also followed crawling through the window.

Just crawled in half his body, one hand was placed on his shoulder and hand, very carefully receiving him.

"No need to support, I stand steady. You go support the rear brothers!" Diao Zi wanted to brush away the other's hand.

But that person's hand strength was great, heavily resting on his shoulder and arm, simply impossible to break free.

Inside the room was even darker than outside. Though not to the extent of not seeing five fingers, it truly could only see moving black shadows to guess heads.

Diao Zi frowned, about to scold, but saw the next person just crawl in half body, similarly received by a pair of hands.

Just now only two people had entered: one was himself, one was the window-prier behind him……

Where did this pair of hands come from?

Diao Zi was so frightened his spine went cold, his groin following with a chill, and he could barely keep from crying out.