W Chapter 44

Chapter 44: The Net Closes

After interrogating Zhao Baocai, the yamen produced a more accurate portrait, which was posted in various villages and towns throughout Yunshui County.

Now Zhao Wuxiang was known to everyone in Yunshui County. Fang Xiuxia could see Zhao Wuxiang’s portrait as soon as she went out, and many people were discussing him.

She felt panicked in her heart, and she was absent-minded while working.

Zhao Old Madam took a bite of the half-cooked coarse rice and slammed her chopsticks on the spot in anger, cursing.

“You spendthrift woman, what’s been going on with your cooking these past two days? How can anyone eat this? No wonder the second son wants to find another mistress outside. Tell me, what can you do! You can’t even cook a decent meal!”

Fang Xiuxia was hiding something, afraid that Zhao Wuxiang would be caught and then expose her.

Then the Zhao family would know that she had someone abduct and sell Baogen.

If the Zhao family really found out, how could she continue to stay in the Zhao family?

That ungrateful Zhao Fan would definitely divorce her on this ground.

If she left, Erbao and Sancai would be in the Zhao family, no match for that woman outside.

In the future, what would she and her two sons have to do with the Zhao family’s money?

The more Fang Xiuxia thought, the more panicked she became.

Zhao Old Madam was ignored, and directly slapped the absent-minded Fang Xiuxia in the face.

Her muddy eyes revealed disgust and loathing.

“Are you listening to me? Go and redo it! Otherwise, I’ll tell the second son to divorce you!”

Fang Xiuxia, who wanted to get angry after being slapped, lost all her arrogance when she heard the last sentence.

She endured her irritability and anger and went to steam the rice again as Zhao Old Madam said.

She was planning in her mind what to do.

The yamen was arresting people, it wasn’t up to her. It was only a matter of time before the Zhao family found out about this.

Fang Xiuxia absentmindedly stoked the fire, a sharp sword hanging over her head, feeling apprehensive and at a loss.

With the county yamen temporarily suppressing the news, Ling Yue was not immediately taken to the county yamen. The Zhao family would come to collect him.

Afraid that Ling Yue would worry if he knew that people from the yamen had come, which would not be conducive to his recovery, Ling Xing didn’t tell him for the time being.

Lin Qingyu had someone give Ling Xing a clear answer: before Zhao Wuxiang was caught, the Zhao family would not be notified.

The premise was that they could not hide Ling Yue, and he could only be kept in the gambling den, not allowed to leave half a step.

Otherwise, the county yamen would immediately take him away.

Ling Xing didn’t dare to take risks with Ling Yue, and took care of Ling Yue day and night, focusing on treating Ling Yue’s body. For five days in a row, he never left the courtyard of the gambling den.

The steamed bun stall business was also temporarily put on hold.

After seven days of recuperation, Ling Yue finally regained some energy.

Ling Xing had lost a circle of weight.

He was already thin, and suddenly he returned to the way he looked when he first married into the Shen family.

Shen Hui saw it, but couldn’t help but take a trip to the mountains.

After staying in the mountains for five days, he came down the mountain carrying a deer, holding four fat rabbits and two pheasants in his hands.

His face was covered in blood, and his clothes were tattered beyond recognition.

He had countless large and small scars on his body, but he seemed to not feel any pain. He didn’t even have time to clean himself up and went down the mountain overnight to sell the prey in the county town.

His appearance was truly terrifying, and the dried blood on his face added to his ferocity.

Passersby on the road avoided him one after another when they saw him. After he walked away, they whispered to each other.

Shen Hui didn’t care about other people’s opinions and evaluations, he just wanted to sell the prey quickly, exchange it for some silver, and nourish Ling Xing’s body.

Shen Hui kept one pheasant and one rabbit each for himself, and sold the rest.

He sold the deer’s skin and horns separately, so that he could sell them for more.

All the prey sold this time totaled twenty-eight taels of silver.

If the fur was tanned, it could be sold for more than ten taels more.

But Shen Hui was in urgent need of silver, and his tanning skills were not very good. If he ruined it, the price would be lowered, so he simply sold it directly.

After selling the prey, Shen Hui immediately rushed to Yunxia Town.

When Ling Xing came out after feeding Ling Yue medicine, he happened to see a person standing at the door, looking like he had just come out of a pool of blood.

“Second Brother, what’s wrong!”

Upon closer inspection, it was Shen Hui. Ling Xing’s heart skipped a beat at this bloodstained appearance.

He hurriedly stepped forward, and to confirm, directly reached out and touched Shen Hui’s face.

He only breathed a sigh of relief when he found that the bloodstains were not due to injuries.

Shen Hui was holding pheasants and rabbits, allowing Ling Xing’s hand to move on his face. He was stiffened in place and dared not move.

…

Using the small kitchen in the yard, Shen Hui stewed chicken soup.

He also gave Ling Xing the twenty-eight taels of silver he had earned from selling the prey.

“Ge’er, keep it.”

The heavy money bag was stuffed into his hand, Ling Xing looked down at it, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings.

This silver was all earned by Shen Hui with his life.

There were no injuries on his face, but Ling Xing still saw that Shen Hui had many injuries on his body.

When hunters go into the mountains to hunt, the more money the prey sells for, the more dangerous it is.

Shen Hui lowered his head, his eyes fixed on Ling Xing.

He seemed to have lost some weight again during these days he was away.

“Don’t make yourself so tired anymore, I’m here.”

Ling Xing couldn’t help but clench the money bag when he heard the words ringing in his ears.

He remembered that he had asked Shen Hui before why he was so good to him.

The other party said it was because of his elder brother’s entrustment.

Ling Xing suddenly raised his head and met Shen Hui’s gaze, which he had not had time to withdraw.

He felt a little strange in his heart, but he had no intention to think too much about it.

“Second Brother, don’t risk your life for my sake in the future. Your own safety is the most important thing.”

Shen Hui listened, quietly looking at Ling Xing for a while before opening his mouth to reply.

“I promised Ge’er that I would come back safely. So Ge’er doesn’t have to worry.”

How could he not worry.

There were many wild beasts in the mountains, so dangerous.

Ling Xing couldn’t help but worry just thinking about it.

But he also knew that Shen Hui had always made a living by hunting, and the family relied on these silver coins to maintain their livelihood.

He could only sigh softly, “I’ll boil water for you to take a bath.”

Shen Hui stared at Ling Xing’s departing back, then frowned and raised his hand to look at the wound on his arm.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have rushed back, he would have cleaned up first before rushing over.

They ate chicken soup for dinner. Ling Xing had bought some seasonings before, added them to the soup, and simmered it slowly over low heat until it was flavorful.

The golden chicken soup was incredibly fragrant, and the chicken was firm and smooth. It was the most delicious food they had eaten in these days.

Shen Hui gave the chicken leg in his bowl to Ling Xing, “Hunting is to let Ge’er eat more meat. Haven’t you noticed that you’ve lost a lot of weight again?”

Ling Xing hadn’t really noticed.

He touched his face, and it seemed that he had lost some weight.

While he was in a daze, Shen Hui had already stood up and ate with his bowl, to prevent Ling Xing from giving the chicken leg back to him.

Ling Xing knew that Shen Hui would not eat this chicken leg, so he had to lower his head and eat it himself.

This was still the first chicken leg he had eaten since he crossed over.

Ling Yue’s body must be much better than it was at the beginning after these days of recuperation.

Doctor Li said that he could start treating his legs.

The sooner he treated it, the more thorough he could heal.

Ling Yue only thought about going through the pain of breaking his bones again, and his little face turned pale.

But in order to be able to walk properly in the future, he could only grit his teeth and endure it.

On the day of treating his legs, Doctor Li called Shen Hui in.

Ling Yue was tied to a wide bench, so that he could not move and affect the treatment.

Letting Shen Hui in was because he was strong and could break Ling Yue’s leg bones faster, and also let the child suffer less.

“Ah!!!!!”

The hoarse screams pierced through the house and reached Ling Xing’s ears.

Tu Hai was fanning himself with a folding fan and accompanying him on the side. In the second half, even he couldn’t bear to listen anymore.

Ling Xing listened to Ling Yue’s cries of pain, losing his mind.

Calling “Brother” over and over again, shouting “It hurts so much, let me die” again and again.

He was already in tears, praying that it could end soon, and that Ling Yue could get better.

Time passed very slowly, like years.

Not long after the knocking sound in the room stopped, Ling Yue’s cries of pain also weakened.

Doctor Li tied up Ling Yue’s legs and wiped the sweat with a wet handkerchief.

He said to Shen Hui, “Put him on the bed.”

Ling Yue fainted from the pain, and he looked like he had been fished out of the water.

Shen Hui gently placed him on the bed, and Doctor Li didn’t care about resting, and took Ling Yue’s pulse to see his current condition.

After a while, his tense body relaxed a lot.

“It’s done, he’s fine.”

Doctor Li finally smiled.

Fortunately, after experiencing this heartbreaking pain, as long as this child recuperated well in the future, his legs would be able to recover.

Two days later, in the evening, several figures walked quickly through the alleys of Sesame Oil Street.

According to the news from Tu Hai’s men, Zhao Ping and Zhu Qiuyue had come to Yunxia Town.

Shen Hui acted quickly and nimbly climbed over the fence.

Three other strong men also followed closely behind in the same neat manner.

Tian Zhou gently pushed the door bolt open with a dagger.

After the three strong men went in, they took out the prepared sleeping pills, poured them on a handkerchief, and knocked everyone in the house unconscious. Then they dragged everyone to the ground in the main room.

“Shen Er, what do we do next?” Tian Zhou asked.

Shen Hui folded his arms around his chest and leaned against the door, not going in.

He had previously asked in detail how Ling Yue’s injuries came about. At this time, he repeated them word by word.

The three strong men followed Shen Hui’s instructions and moved quickly.

Zhao Ping was directly awakened by the pain.

But before he could react, the prepared strong man had already grabbed him from behind, and pressed the handkerchief stained with sleeping pills tightly over his mouth and nose.

Zhu Qiuyue was not given a fatal blow. She liked to hang people, standing neither up nor down. So the injuries on her did not wake her up.

After dawn, screams came from the Zhao family.

Zhao Ping felt like he was going to die, his whole body was in excruciating pain.

There were countless bruises on his body, as well as wounds cut on his skin with a knife. The blood on those wounds had dried, but it didn’t affect the throbbing pain.

And his right leg was even more painful, he couldn’t bear to move it even slightly.

His leg seemed to be broken.

At this time, his mouth was stuffed with something, so he could not cry out in pain.

The corners of his mouth were also torn, and his chin had no feeling.

Zhu Qiuyue’s arms were dislocated, and her calves were swollen from being beaten with thin sticks. She listened to Zhao Ping’s cries of pain, and didn’t move.

She had woken up long ago.

Her mouth was not stuffed with anything, and her legs could run.

But she didn’t want to call for help.

She just wanted Zhao Ping to hurt for a while longer.

The injuries on her and Zhao Ping, Baogen had suffered before.

She could probably guess that the person who did it was related to Baogen.

Zhu Qiuyue didn’t blame anyone for coming to take revenge, she only blamed those people for being so useless, and not killing Zhao Ping?

“Cough cough cough…”

Fang Xiuxia, who was still in a coma, coughed because her throat was sore and itchy. In the end, she coughed more and more severely, and she woke up, sat up abruptly, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

She panicked and muttered to herself, “What’s going on?”

The rough voice entered her ears, and Fang Xiuxia was stunned for a moment.

The pain in her throat was like a knife, and it also made her head blank.

Her throat!

What exactly is going on!

Zhu Qiuyue turned her head suspiciously and stared at Fang Xiuxia.

The injuries on them were all based on the injuries that Baogen had suffered.

What was going on with her second sister-in-law’s throat?

Zhao Old Madam finally woke up. After crying and shouting for a while, she thought of reporting to the authorities and asking for a doctor.

Tu Hai’s men were completely familiar with doing these things, and it was difficult to find out who they were. In addition, they were not fatal injuries, and no one was killed. The yamen could only register them and then try to strengthen security management at night.

As for catching the murderer, that was impossible.

However, the Zhao family was not stolen from or robbed, and no one was killed.

Although there were broken legs and damaged throats, they could be cured.

So even if the person was caught, they would only have to pay for medicine and sit in jail for a few months.

Tu Hai had made complete preparations when he took on this job.

If the yamen really came, there were many gamblers who wanted to avoid debts and replace them.

The Zhao family was in a mess again because of this incident.

Zhao Old Madam told Zhao Erbao and Zhao Sancai to find Zhao Fan and ask him to find a way to find the person who did it and stand up for Zhao Ping.

But Zhao Fan refused.

This was the first time he had refused Zhao Old Madam’s words.

Listening to Zhao Erbao and Zhao Sancai’s description, they said that their father was holding his newborn son and liked him very much, and completely ignored them.

Zhao Old Madam was so angry that she cursed him as an unfilial son.

Fang Xiuxia’s throat was damaged, but she was not dumb.

It was just that her voice was very unpleasant.

She could probably guess who did it, it must be related to the person who bought Baogen, but she couldn’t say anything.

As long as she said it, what she did would not be hidden.

Now that she heard that the woman outside had given birth to a son, she was in a panic again.

Why was this old dead woman still caring about filial piety at this time? Hurry up and get that little bastard to the eldest brother’s house!

Fortunately, except for Fang Xiuxia who was anxious, Zhao Ping was also anxious.

Originally, he was angry when he heard that his second brother didn’t come back and didn’t find a way to avenge him.

But when he heard that the one Zhao Fan was keeping outside had given birth to a son, Zhao Ping’s heart and eyes were full of his son.

“Mother! Son! The second brother has given birth to another son!”

Zhao Ping lay on the bed, leaning his upper body out, and grabbed Zhao Old Madam’s hand tightly, his tone eager, “Mother, according to what we said before, let the second brother adopt this son to me!”

This time they came from Yue Wan Town for the sake of the Ge’er outside who was about to give birth.

Thinking that no matter whether it was a boy or a girl or a Ge’er, they would take him back to raise.

Zhao Ping had no hope of finding the abducted child, and also learned that even if he found it, he would still have to give a sum of money to buy it back.

He was not happy to do so.

And that little bastard was still remembering his former home in his heart, how could he be as close as one who was just born and taken back to raise.

Now that he heard that it was a son, Zhao Ping was going crazy with joy.

Zhao Erbao and Zhao Sancai stood behind Fang Xiuxia, watching their uncle desperately beg their grandma to take away the little bastard who was competing with them for the family property.

The two brothers smiled at each other.

That was great.

If he was taken away, no one would compete with them for their father and family property.

Zhu Qiuyue stood in the dark, touching her belly, watching Zhao Ping frantically begging Zhao Old Madam to take the child.

These two cheap mother and son, they had hidden it from her so painfully.

For so many years, she had always thought that she could not give birth, that she was sorry to the Zhao family, that the Zhao family did not dislike her.

Unexpectedly, it was Zhao Ping who could not give birth, not her.

All the scolding and disapproval she had suffered over the years, the spines that had been poked, were all for Zhao Ping.

But this animal still had the face to beat her for this? Pointing at her nose and scolding her for not being able to give birth?

Zhu Qiuyue gritted her teeth in hatred when she thought of the contempt she had suffered over the years.

She took a deep breath and adjusted her emotions.

She really should thank them for not caring about her life or death, for letting her lie on the ground outside that evening.

Otherwise, she would probably never have been able to know the truth in this life.

Zhu Qiuyue looked at Zhao Ping coldly.

You still want a son? Keep dreaming!

Yunshui County was calm for another five days. A team of officials appeared at the city gate, with men wearing shackles on their hands and feet in the team.

The trafficker Zhao Wuxiang was caught.

The news soon spread in Yunshui County, and Wang Tuan also appeared in the gambling den’s small courtyard with people.