Chapter 243: Extreme Ups and Downs, Great Sorrow and Joy

Daughters in peasant families were considered inferior to sons from birth. Before marriage, they did household chores and took care of younger siblings; after marriage, they served their husbands and in-laws, handling both farm work and household tasks without fail, often too exhausted to stand straight all day. Thus, even the prettiest girl, if married to a farmer, would end up no different from an ordinary farmwife within two or three years. Most women accepted this fate resignedly, but there were those who refused to give up—Xi Er was one of them.

She always thought of herself as smart and determined. So when she finally received the crucial news, she immediately set off with the few copper coins she had saved, traveling for three hours before arriving in Qingzhou. When she met the man who eagerly showed her the way, she thought she had encountered a kind person and drank the tea he offered without suspicion. When she finally regained consciousness, she found herself trapped in a dark room, her hands and feet tightly bound, unable to even shout.

Even when her attempt to poison someone was exposed before, she had not felt such fear and despair. She finally understood why her grandfather, who often warned her about people’s wickedness, was not nagging; she understood why her sister-in-law, who advised her to be content, was not worthless; she realized that not everything she wanted could be obtained… She even wondered why she was unwilling to marry that honest man and why she had so many complicated thoughts.

So when the tightly closed door was kicked open, she merely narrowed her eyes in stupor.

Hu Qi rushed in in a flash. Seeing a figure curled up in a corner, he immediately signaled the two strong women behind him. After they untied the ropes and brought out the pale-faced girl, he recognized at once that she was the one he was looking for. Seeing her gaze at him blankly, he said firmly, “Miss Xi Er, don’t worry—everything is fine now.”

Faced with these people who seemed to have descended from heaven, Xi Er was utterly confused, but after shock came overwhelming joy. She opened her mouth to explain why she had come all this way, but no matter how hard she tried, not a word came out. She tried again and again, until hope turned to despair.

Could it be that heaven wanted to punish her for her greed by making her mute for life?

Although Hu Qi didn’t like this self-centered girl, he truly hadn’t expected the person he managed to rescue to be unable to speak. He was instantly filled with shock and anger. He ordered two strong women to carry her onto the cart and instructed the other servants to thoroughly search the house. Then he personally escorted the cart back to the government office. Upon arrival, he ordered that Xi Er on the cart be taken to Judge Zhang’s office. He strode straight to the prison cell, grabbed that miserly wretch, and shouted fiercely, “You dog! What kind of paralyzing drug did you give that girl? Who can cure it?”

If there were an antidote for regret, that miser would have eaten a thousand or ten thousand doses. It was originally just a minor offense—at most attempted abduction, punishable by a few lashes. He should never have tried to evade punishment by inventing nonsense about a White Lotus Sect hideout, nor should he have claimed to have reversed the effect of the drug earlier. At that moment, he gulped hard before stammering, “N-no… it’s not a paralyzing drug. I just… temporarily prevented her from speaking. In… in a couple of days, she’ll be fine! It’s a secret formula—no doctor can cure it.”

A couple of days! By then, even the daylilies would have wilted. The ten-day deadline was now reduced to just three days!

At this moment, Hu Qi wished he could tear that despicable wretch apart piece by piece. If not for him abducting that naive girl, she would have already explained everything clearly at the government office, eliminating all this trouble. Glaring at the miser through gritted teeth, Hu Qi suddenly smiled darkly.

“Bring someone to tie this guy up and deliver him to Judge Zhao. He’s been so busy these days that his legs are broken and his throat is hoarse. Tell him that despite his efforts to find clues, someone has come forward, only for this guy to drug her and silence her! If Judge Zhao gets angry, let him torture her however he wants!”

Only then did the miser truly lose it: “Sir, please spare my life! I’ll never dare do this again! Please spare me…”

Hu Qi spat contemptuously on the ground. “Spare your life? If I were the lord, I’d kill you right here!”

Meanwhile, in Judge Zhang’s office, Ling Xi comforted Xi Er, who was unable to speak due to the drug. It was only through her constant reassurances that Xi Er, filled with fear and despair, gradually calmed down. When Hu Qi sent a message, Ling Xi breathed a sigh of relief. She prepared a bowl of fragrant tea and placed two plates of preserved fruits on the desk.

“Don’t worry, sister. That dog has already been taken care of. He’ll surely avenge you. We’ve already questioned him—he said the drug only works for two or three days. In a few days, you’ll be able to speak again; you won’t stay silent forever.”

With this assurance, Xi Er, who had previously looked utterly despairing, finally felt a glimmer of hope. Seeing Ling Xi dressed in a lotus-pink gauze top and a pomegranate-red embroidered skirt, with her hair tied up in a bun and silver jade earrings on her ears, looking neat and graceful, she couldn’t help but stare. Just then, she suddenly heard noise outside. Looking up, she saw someone pulling back the curtain to enter the room. At the front was Zhang Yue, and behind him was a girl even more charming and delicate than the one in front of her.

“If I had known that guy was such a heartless beast, I would have beaten him senseless today!” Xiao Wu followed Zhang Yue into the room, still cursing, “He deceived others and tried to deceive me too. Luckily I brought Hu Qi Ge to teach him a lesson; otherwise, that guy would have gotten away! Such a despicable wretch should be beaten to death!”

“Xiao Wu, shut up!”

Seeing Xi Er sitting on the kang with a dazed expression, Zhang Yue quickly stopped Xiao Wu. After pondering for a moment, he asked, “The emergence of such a thief in Qingzhou Prefecture is also my negligence. Fortunately, Miss Xi Er was blessed today. It is said that you brought news about the rebels. Since you can’t speak for now, is there any other way you can tell me?”

If there were other ways, Zhang Yue wouldn’t have rushed to ask Xi Er, who had just gone through great hardships. But he really had no other options. The military office had managed to uncover shortages of weapons in several garrisons, but the prefectural office had made no progress at all. Now that the drought had eased slightly, farmers in various counties were waiting to harvest wheat, and those who caused trouble in Le’an seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

Xi Er moved her legs and knelt up, bowing to Zhang Yue on the kang. Then she made several gestures but couldn’t express herself, her face turning red instantly. Seeing this, Ling Xi hurried inside to get paper and pen. But Xi Er didn’t know how to write or draw, so she could only fret. At that moment, Xiao Wu had an idea. He stepped forward and sat close to her, picking up the pen and starting to write and draw on the paper as an example.

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t write. I didn’t know either at first. Drawing is very simple. Let me tell you—drawing a circle represents a stone, a square shape represents a house, and a circle with four dots represents a person. Don’t worry, take your time. As you draw, I’ll guess. If you think it’s right, nod; if not, shake your head.”

Hearing this, Xi Er gradually calmed down, picked up a pen, and began to draw on a blank piece of paper. Xiao Wu watched from the side, commenting in a condescending tone, “These are mountains. Are you saying they’re hiding in the mountains? Well, there are quite a few mountains in this area of the mountain range… Do these wavy lines represent water? Is the mountain next to the water? What do all these stones mean? Could it be a quarry? No… Could it be houses built with stones? Also not… Then… Is it a mountain fortress made of stones?”
Zhang Yue, who was standing nearby, saw Xi Er nodding and shaking her head alternately. Suddenly, he had an idea: “But isn’t there a character for ‘stone’ in the name of that fortress?”
Xi Er’s eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded. She then drew several more people, with hundreds of dots and lines in total. Only when she ran out of space did she put down the pen and make another gesture. At that moment, Zhang Yue immediately understood that there were many people in that fortress. He vaguely recalled the famous White Lotus Rebellion from history but couldn’t remember the location. He turned his attention back to the drawing. Soon, Xi Er drew another person on another piece of paper. Other features were unclear, but his full beard was visible.
“Is it that Brother Yue whom I told you about last time?”
Seeing that Zhang Yue had recognized him, Xi Er was overjoyed. She wanted to draw more but didn’t know how to start, so she simply pointed at him and then at the people in the mountain fortress.
“Were those people in the mountain fortress led there by Brother Yue?” Zhang Yue now had some clues and waved his hand to signal that Xi Er didn’t need to draw anymore. He asked, “Do you mean that those who caused trouble in Le’an County are hiding in some fortress on a mountain now, and they’re guided or instructed by Brother Yue? Then let me ask you—do you know who else is hiding there? Is that famous Buddha Mother there, or perhaps the leader of the White Lotus Sect?”
Xi Er shook her head in confusion, then waved her hand and pointed at her ears. At that point, Zhang Yue realized she hadn’t heard any of this and felt somewhat disappointed. Thinking of the paralyzing drug used by that damned human trafficker, he grew even angrier. Then he remembered that there was a highly skilled doctor named Feng Yuanming in the Meng family, so he ordered Xiao Wu and Ling Xi to take Xi Er there first.

After they left, he carefully examined those pictures again, staring intently at the one with the bearded face for a long time before crumpling it up. He went to a study nearby, fetched a copper basin, and burned it, before finally leaving the office. He was about to go see Magistrate Ling Hua to discuss the matter in detail when he almost collided with someone rushing over in a hurry.
“Sir, we have news! Old Brother Peng has news!”
Hearing this name he hadn’t heard in months, Zhang Yue was momentarily stunned, then his eyes lit up. Hu Qi didn’t dare keep him in suspense and quickly explained, “Didn’t Old Brother Peng take away quite a few people he borrowed from Commander Liu before leaving? The one who came to report this is one of them. According to him, the group that caused chaos in Le’an County is in a stronghold on a mountain not far from Qingzhou!”