Chapter 61: Small River Village (Part 15)

Chapter 61: Small River Village (Part 15)

Xu Zeping had thought that Lin Tianshi and the others would return within three days at most. He did not expect it to take a full seven days. It was not until the dusk of the seventh day that the eight men from Small River Village, who had gone to deliver the kidnapper, returned.

This kidnapping incident involved a wide range of people, not just in Heluo County but also across the three counties of Yongan Prefecture. Even the prefectural government could not escape involvement...

The Prefect of Yongan Prefecture was enraged. After the old woman revealed some of the people behind her, he ordered her immediate execution!

All the thugs involved in the kidnapping at the brothel where the old woman worked were executed, and the women forced into prostitution were sent to nunneries... As for the kidnapped virtuous women, those who wished to return home were sent back, while those who did not were also sent to nunneries.

According to the Prefect's decision, Chen Dayong should have been executed as well.

However, after the pleas of the people from Small River Village, the Prefect reconsidered and decided that Chen Dayong’s death sentence could be spared, but he would still face severe punishment. In the end, the constables gave him thirty strokes with a bamboo rod... Additionally, the rewards for the eight men from Small River Village were halved. Originally, each person was to receive 50 taels of silver, but now each would only receive 25 taels!

For the villagers of Small River Village, this reward was still a windfall. The reduction did not matter much since 25 taels of silver was enough to sustain them for two years.

The Prefect's leniency towards Chen Dayong was partly due to Xu Songlin's influence.

Xu Zeping was far less adept at calculations than his elder brother. If Xu Zeli were here, he would have kept the kidnapper in Small River Village and informed their eldest uncle first... Such an opportunity to earn merit would have been seized by someone more experienced like Xu Zeping.

Without saying anything else, Xu Songlin could have claimed a third of the credit. With such merit, he could have secured the position of Prefect of Yongan Prefecture after three years of maneuvering.

Now, all the credit went to Prefect Qian of Yongan Prefecture.

Of course, Prefect Qian was unaware of these details. To him, Xu Songlin's tacit approval of reporting the crime meant he wanted to give the credit to him. Prefect Qian happily accepted it and held Xu Tongpan in high regard, planning to promote him once he himself was promoted.

Facing Prefect Qian's praise for his nephew's cleverness, Xu Songlin was furious but could only smile and accept it, knowing that Pingping was indeed just a four-year-old child who had already done well.

Sighing silently, he blamed himself for not having the right opportunity.

As for Magistrate Hong, Xu Songlin's eyes turned cold; perhaps they would become colleagues soon.

After all, Deputy Magistrate Shang was reaching retirement age and would step down this year.

Of course, the Xu family owed him a favor, which they had now repaid.

Lin Tianshi slurped half a bowl of noodles and, sitting in the courtyard, looked at the many pairs of eyes watching him. Wiping his mouth, he said, "Go about your business. Why are you all staring at me? Do I have flowers on my face?"

Lin Tianshi's authority in the family was unquestionable. When he spoke, everyone except the little ones went back to their tasks.

Seeing his eldest grandson staring at him, Lin Tianshi glared, "Qingyun, didn't you eat enough? Do you want more?"

Lin Qingyun pitifully replied, "Today, I was learning characters with Pingping. I made a few mistakes and was punished by Father not to eat. Grandfather, I'm hungry!"

Looking at his eldest grandson's pitiful expression and his young nephew's steady demeanor, Lin Tianshi nodded, "Yes, your father is right. You should learn more characters from Pingping and become smarter."

Xu Zerou couldn't bear hunger. She remembered the peach blossom cakes her mother had steamed a few days ago and had saved a few pieces. Greeting her grandfather, she whispered something in Lin Qingyun's ear.

Lin Qingyun's eyes lit up, and he eagerly followed Xu Zerou, thinking how kind Xiao Rou was!

The sound of footsteps faded away, leaving only Cheng Ge Er and Xu Zeping with Lin Tianshi.

Lin Tianshi took out a jade pendant from his chest and handed it to Xu Zeping, "Pingping, your eldest uncle asked me to convey his greetings to you."

Xu Zeping respectfully took the jade pendant from Lin Tianshi. Before he could examine it, it split into two. He looked at Lin Tianshi, "Grandfather?"

"This is a pair of Cloud-Treading Qilin pendants. One is the Qilin pendant for you, and the other is the Lin pendant for Xiao Rou."

The jade pendant was worth at least twenty taels, making it feel heavy in Xu Zeping's hands. "Thank you, Grandfather."

Lin Tianshi laughed heartily, "Thank your eldest uncle. This is all his intention."

Thinking of something, Lin Tianshi whispered to Xu Zeping, "If you really want to thank someone, thank your grandfather for bringing back the Prefect's reward."

Xu Zeping's eyes widened, "Grandfather?"

"Each person received 25 taels of silver as a reward from the Prefect for catching the kidnapper. When you go back, take it with you. This is what Pingping earned through his own efforts."

"No, this reward is for Grandfather, not for Pingping!"

Lin Tianshi, looking stern despite his thin frame, said, "Pingping, do you look down on your grandfather?"

"No, no." Faced with his elder's kindness, Xu Zeping had no words to refute and could only say, "No."

"Alright, it's settled then."

Lin Tianshi did not give Xu Zeping a chance to argue further and finished the remaining noodles with a slurp.

Cheng Ge Er stood close to Xu Zeping, seeing that he had not yet asked about his family, grew anxious and nudged his waist.

Feeling the nudge, Xu Zeping instinctively turned his head.

Meeting Cheng Ge Er's pleading gaze, he suddenly remembered his promise.

"Grandfather, did the Prefect find any information about Cheng Ge Er's family?"

Lin Tianshi had indeed inquired about Cheng Ge Er's background... Unfortunately, the old woman knew nothing about him. Before her execution, she only revealed two things: the secret signals used in the kidnapping trade at the brothel in Yongan Prefecture and the northern flower boat transactions.

Northern flower boat transactions were irregular in time and location, making them difficult to trace.

Lin Tianshi asked Xu Songlin to investigate the records of northern flower boat transactions in Yongan Prefecture over the past twenty years. Including the old woman, there were only three recorded incidents.

Indeed, there was no discernible pattern.

And Cheng Ge Er happened to come from one of those northern flower boats.

Xu Zeping looked at Lin Tianshi, "Grandfather, the only thing we can confirm is that Cheng Ge Er came from the north?"

Lin Tianshi nodded helplessly. "Yes, if we want to uncover Cheng Ge Er's true identity, there are only two ways. First, we can capture the flower boat involved in the transaction and interrogate them to find out where Cheng Ge Er was abducted, then search the surrounding areas from that location. The second method is to see if Cheng Ge Er has any token on him. We can use that token to gather information."