Chapter 226: Deqing County

Chapter 226: Deqing County

Upon receiving the complaint papers, Song Tingzhou immediately summoned the three families who had filed reports to the yamen to identify the bodies.

The three deceased whose families had reported them missing were all from Deqing County. Apart from the family that had just reported the case earlier today, the other two families had been staying in inns in the prefecture seat since filing their reports.

When the bailiff summoned them to the courtroom, they recognized at a glance that the lifeless bodies lying on the ground were their own loved ones they had lived with every day. For a moment, sorrowful cries and wails filled the yamen court, casting a gloom over the otherwise sunny day.

As the weather gradually warmed and the climate became particularly damp, keeping the bodies in the yamen would likely cause them to decompose quickly.

Since the cause of death was already clear, Song Tingzhou had them tell in detail the circumstances of their loved ones' disappearances and whether they had recently had any conflicts with others. He then allowed them to take the bodies home for burial.

After finishing his duties at the yamen, he brought the records of the testimonies taken by the clerks home for careful review, barely touching his dinner.

Meng Wan grabbed a small basket of the meat pies Chang Jinhua had pan-fried and brought them to the study. Each meat pie was about the size of a palm, filled with green onions and fresh meat, with a crispy golden crust. Each bite released savory meat juices, exceptionally savory and tender.

"How can you work on an empty stomach? Let me wrap one in a napkin so you can eat while you read." Meng Wan took a clean plain handkerchief, wrapped a meat pie in it, and handed it to Song Tingzhou.

Both he and Song Tingzhou came from ordinary folk and weren't overly particular about such things. Whether eating in the bedroom or the study, as long as they weren't hungry, it was fine.

When Song Tingzhou took the meat pie, his fingers brushed against Meng Wan's warm fingertips, and it warmed his heart.

Meng Wan pulled up a stool and sat beside Song Tingzhou, resting his chin in his hand as he watched him eat. This made the tense expression on Song Tingzhou's face relax. Song Tingzhou smiled slightly. "What is it?"

Meng Wan shook his head. "Nothing. Just eat. Do you want some water? I'll pour you some."

Without waiting for Song Tingzhou's reply, he poured a cup of water himself and moved to feed it to Song Tingzhou. The past few days, when Meng Wan was busy, Song Tingzhou had taken care of him like this. Now it was his turn to look after Song Tingzhou.

"Wan'er, no need." Song Tingzhou finished the meat pie in a few bites and drank a sip of warm water from Meng Wan's hand.

"If you're thirsty, just drink on your own. I won't feed you—I don't want to accidentally spill water all over your desk." Meng Wan set the teacup down and pointed at the papers on Song Tingzhou's desk.

Song Tingzhou handed a piece of paper to Meng Wan with his right hand while nibbling another meat pie with his left. "We found five bodies in total on Baoxiu Mountain today. Three of them had families come to the yamen to claim them, and all were from Deqing County."

Meng Wan looked at the testimonies in his hand and speculated, "Then the other two might also be from Deqing County. But how did people from Deqing County end up dead on a mountain outside Xiwu Prefecture?"

Song Tingzhou said thoughtfully, "It could be long-distance dumping of the bodies. But if a venomous snake bit them to death—biting five people to death—who then buried the bodies?"

"Maybe the snake was raised by the person who dumped the bodies. Even if it wasn't, the deaths of these men must be related to that person!" Meng Wan reasoned. Otherwise, why would someone, with nothing else to do, see dead bodies and not report them but secretly bury them instead?

They discussed a few more points, but with so few clues at present, speculation alone got them nowhere. Song Tingzhou finished all the meat pies, then brushed his teeth and washed up.

During the day, they had kissed pretty passionately, and when they lay down in bed that night, they ended up tangled together again.

Through the gaps in the bed curtains, you could see Song Tingzhou's bare chest, his solid arms braced on either side of Meng Wan, every muscle rising and falling naturally with his movements.

His firm, close-grained skin had a healthy sheen, and when relaxed, it formed graceful lines, holding strength ready to explode. A layer of glistening sweat covered it, and every movement seemed to fuse power with aesthetics.

Meng Wan tilted his neck back, barely able to endure Song Tingzhou's wild and urgent kisses. His neck was covered in dense, unmistakable marks left by the other. At this moment, Song Tingzhou was no longer the mature and composed Lord Song from the daytime; he was like a starving wolf, wilder than the snow wolf and impossible to tame—clearly he'd been starving the past few days.

The large bed custom-made when they moved was sturdy, but certain telltale sounds were still audible from the outer room. The commotion lasted late into the night before Song Tingzhou finally put on his underclothes and went to the kitchen to fetch two buckets of warm water.

Meng Wan let himself be cleaned up in a daze, and when he was half-asleep, he thought he heard a few words.

"Tomorrow I might have to go to Deqing County myself."

When he woke up the next day, Song Tingzhou was already gone from the bedside.

"Huang Ye!" he called out in a hoarse voice.

"Yes!" Huang Ye hurried in. "What is it, Fulang?" He'd been airing the bedding outside. Now that spring had warmed up, it rained non-stop, making sunny days rare. Finally, on a fine day, the family's quilts, mats, and cushions all had to be aired out, because a clear sky could cloud over any second.

Meng Wan first downed a cup of tea left by the bed to soothe his throat, then asked, "Has the master gone to the yamen or left on a trip?"

Huang Ye didn't understand why he asked. "The master went to the yamen after breakfast! He didn't say anything about going on a trip."

Meng Wan understood: he hadn't left yet.

"You can go. I'll sleep a little longer. If the master comes back to pack, make sure to call me."

"Understood, Fulang." Huang Ye opened the windows a crack to let in the breeze, then softly closed the door and left.

Meng Wan lay in bed with his eyes closed for a while, when suddenly he heard Huang Ye outside complaining in a low, annoyed voice. "Really, why is it cloudy again! I just brought all the bedding out..."

His voice trailed off, barely audible, probably busy with work.

Meng Wan didn't open his eyes. After a while, the sound of rain pattering on the eaves soon followed, making it impossible to sleep any longer. He got up and washed up, then began packing Song Tingzhou's luggage.

Deqing County was neither far nor near from the prefecture seat—it would take at least ten days round trip. The only blessing was that they weren't going during the scorching summer heat.

Although there was a lot of rain at this time, it wasn't yet uncomfortably hot. Last year, the whole family had almost died traveling in such conditions.

Song Tingzhou settled things in the yamen and lightly reprimanded Vice Prefect Du. The Du family should have known very well the reason for his rapid promotion.

First, Lingnan was remote, and few were willing to transfer here. Second, having worked with him for a year, Song Tingzhou didn't want to change subordinates and start over, so he intended to promote him to work alongside him.

Otherwise, without Song Tingzhou's recommendation, how could Vice Prefect Du, having served as Vice-Prefect for only a year, be promoted to the fifth rank along with Song Tingzhou? It was all because of Song Tingzhou's influence.

Song Tingzhou was not a procrastinator. After finishing his business at the yamen, he immediately returned home to prepare his luggage. He leaned his oilpaper umbrella against the wall outside the corridor and looked up to see that Meng Wan had already packed two large bundles of clothes and a box of miscellaneous items for him.

Meng Wan turned to look at him. "I don't know how many days you'll be gone, so it's better to bring more clothes. The weather is so damp lately—washed clothes might not even dry."

"Fulang is right." Song Tingzhou came over to help him pack.

Meng Wan handed him the bundle. "Since you're going there to deal with venomous creatures, you should take Xiao Ci along too. He might be able to help."

"Then have Xue Sheng go call Xiao Ci." Song Tingzhou carried both bundles on his back and picked up a bamboo-woven box, letting Meng Wan hold the umbrella for him.

Meng Wan followed him along the corridor. "I already had Huang Ye call Xiao Ci. He should be waiting in the gatehouse central hall by now. Later, have Xue Sheng bring two boxes of jars of preserved fruit from the storeroom to the carriage, and also take a few packs of lotus root starch. These things won't spoil easily on the road."

Song Tingzhou listened to his instructions, occasionally responding in agreement. When they reached the central hall, Chu Ci was indeed already waiting there. At Meng Wan's request, he had also brought the snow wolf along.

Xue Sheng loaded the jars and other items onto the carriage. Outside the Song family's main gate, the Tao brothers and a dozen other bailiffs stood, all wearing straw rain capes and leading horses. Tao Eleven jumped onto the Song family's carriage without being told, taking the whip from Brother Xuesheng's hand. "Meng Fulang, Brother Xuesheng, we're off now!"

Meng Wan watched them from the gate. "Go on. The road is slippery in the rain. Take care every step of the way."

"Yes, Fulang, rest assured!" The sound of Tao Eleven's light whip crack gradually faded into the distance.

Parting was always heavy, especially in an era without even a telephone. Fortunately, Meng Wan had set up the trading post. Hardly had Song Tingzhou arrived in Deqing County when Meng Wan's letter was delivered into his hands.

Tao Eleven marveled. "Meng Fulang must have written this letter the moment you left, Master?"

Song Tingzhou gently stroked the letter paper. "No, it was written two days ago."

Tao Eleven was stunned. "It arrived in two days? Faster than the postal relay?"

Meng Wan's trading post primarily focused on transporting goods and didn't conflict with the official postal system. But naturally, the Master's letters could be sent whenever he wished.

If one day the trading post really expanded all the way to Shengjing, the kind of incident where someone had intercepted letters before would never happen again.

Song Tingzhou carefully put away the letter and then began to instruct his subordinates, "Don't go to the county office and alert the local magistrate yet. Find an inn to stay in first, and we'll discuss the rest later."

"Yes, Your Honor."

They rested at the inn for the night. The next day, they first visited the family whose arm had been bitten by the Snow Wolf.

That household was surnamed Yang. The deceased was called Yang Tai. Yang Tai had no living parents, and his husband had died early. He only had a son, and they depended on each other.

"My father had a very good temper and rarely made enemies. After my other dad died, he never remarried and devoted himself to raising me. When he was young, because of me, he couldn't go out to work like other men, so our family lived in poverty. Finally, I got married and was about to repay his kindness... but suddenly he..." Yang Tai's son had deep feelings for his father and choked up as he spoke.

Song Tingzhou looked around the Yang family's courtyard. It was a courtyard house with a single entrance, not large, but located in a good area of Deqing County. It faced the main street, making it convenient to buy things. The neighbors were harmonious, and it was not a noisy market area.

The Yang family had just held a funeral. Normally, Yang Tai had very few relatives, there should have been few mourners. But there were several sets of tables and chairs still set up in the courtyard, indicating that at least thirty or forty guests had been received in the past few days.

"Your family seems quite well-off now. What business do you do?" Song Tingzhou suddenly asked.

Yang Tai's son, a tear still on his lashes, was startled by the question. "Two years ago, a sugar mill was built in Heshan County. My father took me to the mill to buy bulk goods, and then we went around the countryside selling sugar."

Song Tingzhou's sharp features softened a little. It turned out the Yangs were small vendors spurred by the sugar mill, which explained things.

Both father and son were hardworking and able to endure hardship. After bringing back cane sugar from Heshan, they each carried their loads to sell sugar in the countryside. In winter, Yang Tai also bought two sacks of grain and learned from an old woman in the village who knew how to make puffed rice candy. The next year, they saved enough money to rent a shop in the county town, and the father and son started selling puffed rice candy.

The sugar at Heshan Sugar Mill was cheap, but it was far from Deqing County. Even after they had the puffed rice candy shop, Yang Tai still went to the mill every year to bring back a batch of sugar. His son sold puffed rice candy in the shop, and in his spare time, Yang Tai still went to the countryside carrying a load to sell sugar.

Through hard work, Yang Tai bought a house in the county town and arranged a marriage for his son. He had disappeared a few days earlier when he went out carrying sugar and didn't return for several days. Yang Tai's son sensed something wrong. After the family became wealthy, they also made a few friends in the county. Everyone searched all the villages Yang Tai frequently visited, but couldn't find him.

"Now that life at home is better, I long ago advised my father not to go to the countryside carrying a load anymore. But he insisted. He said he had traveled these mountain roads for most of his life and could do it with his eyes closed. It's my fault. If I had been more forceful and smashed his carrying pole, he wouldn't have died." Yang Tai's son's eyes reddened again. A man doesn't cry easily, and he wasn't one to weep, but his father who had been his only support was gone just like that. This would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Song Tingzhou waited until he had cried enough and his emotions had calmed down before continuing to ask, "You said earlier that you searched the villages where Yang Tai often sold sugar. Did you find out anything?"

Yang Tai's son's swollen eyes stung from tears. He blew his nose and said in a muffled voice, "My father and I were originally from Mapo Village, and my father often went there to sell sugar. But I asked the villagers, and they said my father did go there that morning, but stayed less than half an hour and left. After that, a few people from neighboring Gaoshan Village said they saw him selling sugar in Gaoshan Village that afternoon, but he didn't stay long and left. No one saw him again after that."

After leaving the Yang family, Song Tingzhou immediately took his men to Mapo Village and Gaoshan Village. The people in Mapo Village said almost the same as Yang Tai's son: Yang Tai did go to Mapo Village that morning, chatted with some familiar villagers, then left smoothly and headed to Gaoshan Village.

Gaoshan Village lived up to its name: its mountain was much higher than those of other surrounding villages, and the forest was deep. Song Tingzhou stood at the foot of the high mountain, looking at the dense tangle of branches in the deep forest. "Are there poisonous snakes and wild beasts in this forest?"

Chu Ci frowned slightly, gazed for a while, and gestured to Song Tingzhou, "Hard to say, but probably yes."