Chapter 41 Father and Son Perish

Qin Ruo remained silent. Bao Gen death, besides the two men who suddenly appeared that day, could be considered a true case of no witnesses.

She didn’t know how much those two men had seen, but since there had been no movement for days, she let the matter go.

Even if those two men of unknown identity came forward to accuse her, she had her own way of getting out of it, so she had no need to worry.

The man Qin Ruo had in mind was now sitting in the study of the Xie Mansion in Taihe County, staring at a hundred-year-old ginseng placed before him.

That day, when Steward Ren returned, he checked the items Qin Ruo had asked him to deliver to the old lady.

When he opened the inconspicuous cloth bag, his hands trembled.

Steward Ren had originally thought that the items Qin Ruo had asked him to deliver to the old lady were not anything valuable.

So, following the usual practice, he checked them first before presenting them to the old lady.

When he opened the cloth bag and saw the white and plump ginseng with complete whiskers, weighing three taels, his expression was beyond description.

Ginseng was still quite scarce in the Great Sheng Dynasty, and a hundred-year-old ginseng was even more elusive.

Not to mention the high officials and nobles in the capital, even in Taihe County, a ginseng that was even a few decades old could easily sell for 100 taels of silver.

This hundred-year-old ginseng, with such a perfect appearance, was even more elusive.

The Xie Mansion also had ginseng, but they were all of a younger age.

By this calculation, the ten taels of silver that Old Lady Xie had instructed him to put in the food box’s inner layer was simply no match for Qin Ruo’s gift.

Old Lady Xie was equally surprised when she received the ginseng.

The reason she had asked Steward Qin to secretly put the ten taels of silver in the food box was not out of a desire to reward Qin Ruo.

She simply felt a connection with Qin Ruo and felt pity for her situation.

Combining Qin Ruo’s thin and frail body and complexion, Old Lady Xie could easily guess that the young girl’s life was not very good.

Ten taels of silver was a small amount for the Xie Mansion.

Even a slightly decent piece of clothing would cost ten or eight taels.

She had only given a small token of kindness, but the other party had returned such a heavy gift, which surprised Old Lady Xie.

The girl’s actions seemed to be returning a favor.

That night, Old Lady Xie, for the first time since winter began, slept soundly.

When she woke up and Nanny Zhang helped her get up, she was still muttering that Qin Ruo’s little trick was really effective.

Cang Jiu, whom Si Heng had sent to inquire about the news, had not yet returned.  He didn’t know what to think about the ginseng Qin Ruo had sent.

The next day, he found an excuse to “borrow” the ginseng from Old Lady Xie.

At this time, Si Heng’s expression was unclear.  The old lady had injured her body in her younger years, leaving her with a lingering illness.

That day, he went to Humpback Mountain to find an important medicinal herb for the old lady.

Now, Qin Ruo had given him a thought that he himself found absurd.

Perhaps the girl had something he wanted.

However, Cang Jiu had not returned yet, and he was still waiting for the results of Cang Jiu’s investigation.

Si Heng sat there staring at the ginseng for several hours.

On the other side of Changhe Village, dusk had fallen.

Qin Zimu had already returned, his little face pale with fright.  Zhou Dazhu had returned with him.

Zhou Dazhu had specifically come to send Qin Zimu back.  After seeing Old Lady Qin and Qin Ruo, he briefly described the situation afterwards.

When Constable Yu Zhengyang arrived in Changhe Village with a dozen constables, it was already Shen time (3 pm to 5 pm).

After Constable Yu Zhengyang arrived, he led his men straight to the back mountain.

Most of the villagers followed and entered Humpback Mountain together.

He had thought that the constables would have to spend some effort to find the people, but Constable Yu’s group found the Wang family father and son as soon as they reached the location of the pond.

The Wang family father and son were lying on the small path by the pond.

They had become two corpses, mangled beyond recognition, devoured by wild wolves.

The surrounding area was covered in splotches of blood and messy animal footprints.

As Zhou Dazhu described the scene, Qin Zimu ran outside to vomit.

“Sister A Ruo, Constable Yu said that Laoer and Wang Fugui must have stumbled upon a wolf den and caught wolf cubs, and were chased by a pack of wolves and died there.”

“There were also a few dead wolf cubs at the scene…”

“Also, Bao Gen should have met with an accident.”

After talking with Qin Ruo, Old Lady Qin had concealed her emotions.

Now that Zhou Dazhu mentioned Bao Gen, Old Lady Qin’s heart was in her throat.

Old Lady Qin didn’t care about the life and death of the Wang family father and son, she was more worried about Bao Gen.

After catching his breath, Zhou Dazhu continued.

“Before Constable Yu led his men into the mountain, Zhu Shi cried to Constable Yu that her son was also lost in the mountain and asked Constable Yu to find him. Later, Constable Yu led his men up together. In the forest not far from the entrance of the mountain, they found a shoe with bloodstains and a few pieces of torn cloth.”

“Zhu Shi recognized that it was Bao Gen’s belongings. According to Constable Yu’s deduction, he said that Bao Gen must have encountered wolves in the mountain and was eaten by them…”

Zhou Dazhu also said that when Zhu Shi learned that Bao Gen was gone, she suddenly went crazy.

She accused Wang Lizheng’s family of a series of crimes to Constable Yu.

She seemed to vaguely mention the inside story of the Wu family’s death a few years ago.

Li Chuncao’s parents also went to the county government, saying they wanted to sue Zhu Shi and Wang Lizheng.

“Anyway, now Wang Lizheng and Zhu Shi have been taken away by Constable Yu…”

“By the way, Constable Yu asked me to tell you that you should not go up the mountain for the time being. When the county government decides on the encirclement and suppression plan and organizes manpower, they will notify you again.”

After Zhou Dazhu finished speaking, he left.

Before leaving, he repeatedly reminded Qin Ruo not to go up the mountain these days, and to be sure to close the doors and windows at night and not go out.

After Qin Zimu finished vomiting, his little face was still pale.

At this time, he was filled with regret. He shouldn’t have been curious and followed the people to the back mountain.

He shouldn’t have gone forward to look at the corpses of Wang Laoer and his father.

The scene of blood and flesh, brains and intestines scattered everywhere, made Qin Zimu vomit every time he thought about it.

Dinner was made by Old Lady Qin, two-corner water tofu sold at the village head.

Qin Zimu looked at the white tofu, put down his chopsticks, and ran out of the house to vomit again.

This brought a scolding from Old Lady Qin.

When Qin Zimu returned to the dinner table after vomiting, it was Old Lady Qin’s turn to run out.

Recalling the descriptions in Zhou Dazhu’s words and seeing Qin Zimu’s appearance, Old Lady Qin’s stomach churned.

There was a bowl of fragrant rice and a plate of smooth tofu in front of her.

Tonight, besides finishing the bowl of rice, she couldn’t even pick up her chopsticks for the tofu.

Of the whole table, only Qin Ruo ate as if nothing had happened, eating with gusto.