Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Over the past two days, everyone in the Main Branch had developed an unspoken understanding.
The moment they saw Jin Bao like this, they all gathered around her.
Nanny Chen, meanwhile, slowly drifted to the outer edge. She looked idle and unconcerned, but in truth, her ears were open to every direction and her eyes were watching everything.
“Little Sister, did you see something again?”
Xiao Jingmo crouched down, his voice gentle.
He had been standing not far from the wheelchair just now and had clearly heard what Jin Bao said. Was he going to die?
When Jin Bao saw that it was her second brother, she burst into tears with a loud wail.
The scene just now had been far too bloody.
Jin Bao had not been afraid at first. In her previous life, she saw scenes far bloodier than this every single day and would not even blink.
But now it was different. The bad people were hurting the family she cared about. She was scared.
“Little Sister, don’t be afraid. Second Brother is here. No one can bully you.”
Xiao Jingmo held Jin Bao in his arms and gently stroked her back, not letting go until the little one had caught her breath.
With the whole family looking at her, Jin Bao grew a little embarrassed instead and reached out for Pei Wanqing to hold her.
Wrapped in her mother’s arms, Jin Bao felt completely safe. She told them what she had seen.
“Squinty Eyes stole silver, hurt Second Brother. Bad people chopped off Second Brother’s arm. Second Brother bled so much. Second Brother died. They whipped Jin Bao and Mother. It hurt…”
The more Pei Wanqing listened, the more her heart ached. Such a young child had seen such a bloody scene, no wonder she had been frightened to tears.
“Baby, don’t be scared. Mother won’t let anyone hurt you.”
From Jin Bao’s fragmented words, Xiao Jingmo pieced together the full sequence of events.
The others understood as well.
“Mo’er, it seems they failed yesterday, so now they want to frame you again and then throw dirt on our whole family. Do you have a way to deal with it?”
Old Madam Xiao looked at Xiao Jingmo with worry written all over her face.
Xiao Jingmo did not answer right away. Instead, his gaze drifted toward the forest.
Xiao Jingxing said, “Grandmother, since we already know they’re going to frame us, we just need to avoid it. If we don’t let them get close, can they hide something on him from thin air?”
Xiao Jinghao added, “Exactly. When the time comes, I’ll keep a close eye on all three of them and won’t give them any chance.”
“No. We have to let them succeed. Not only that, we have to make a scene of it and let them search banknotes off me. What we did last night was discreet, but Zhu Laosan still grew suspicious this morning.”
“It’s true that he whipped the three brothers, Ye Xiaotu and the others, but he didn’t fall out with Zou Yong. That means he still doesn’t fully suspect Zou Yong. All we’ve done is plant a seed of doubt in Zhu Laosan’s heart. We have to make that seed take root, sprout, and grow into a flourishing tree. When the time comes, the moment their interests clash, they’ll turn on each other.”
“What we need to do is keep deepening that suspicion and push their conflict to grow worse.”
Judging from the roasted chicken incident last night, Xiao Jingmo was certain that Zhu Laosan and Zou Yong were not on the same side. The people behind them did not serve the same master.
When Xiao Jingmo finished, the Xiao Family’s eyes lit up. This move was brilliant.
Three feet of ice did not form in a single day. If they wanted those people to turn on one another without shedding blood themselves, it truly would not be accomplished with just one or two incidents.
“Then what do we do?”
Xiao Jinghao was already itching to try, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
“We don’t need to do anything. Someone will naturally hand us the fuse. We only need to turn their own scheme against them and watch how things unfold. Only by doing nothing will we avoid making mistakes and keep ourselves clean. After all, hunters often appear in the form of prey.”
Xiao Jingmo stood tall and straight. A gust of forest wind swept past, lifting his ink-black hair. Even dressed in prisoner’s clothes, it could not hide the brilliance about him.
Xiao Che unconsciously smiled with relief. His second son had returned.
“Eldest Brother, I’ll have to trouble you to guard Father, Mother, and Grandmother. I’ll take Jin Bao and Third Brother into the woods to help search for Second Aunt. Only Jin Bao has seen Second Aunt, so we’ll be more efficient.”
“Eldest Brother, remember one thing. No matter what happens, do not go near the bailiffs. Stay away from their luggage.”
As Xiao Jingmo spoke, he gave Xiao Jingxing a meaningful look.
Xiao Jingxing immediately nodded.
Xiao Jingmo picked up Jin Bao, with Xiao Jinghao following behind him, and the three of them headed into the forest.
Not long after entering the woods, Xiao Jingmo followed the sound and found Zhu Laosan.
“Officer, my younger sister can provide a clue. She saw my Second Aunt just now. We’ve come to lead the way for you. If we find Second Aunt sooner, we won’t delay the journey.”
Zhu Laosan nodded in approval. Along the way, he had seen Madam Chen make things difficult for the people of the Main Branch. He had not expected them not only to bear no grudge, but to take the initiative to help. As expected of descendants of a military family; their breadth of mind and bearing were beyond ordinary people.
“To find Madam Chen as quickly as possible, I’ll remove your ankle shackles first. It’ll be easier to move through the woods that way.”
“Then many thanks for your consideration, officer.”
Without the shackles weighing them down, Xiao Jingmo and Xiao Jinghao moved much more lightly.
Jin Bao had an excellent memory and pointed toward the place where she had encountered Madam Chen earlier.
The group searched all the way along, and soon a faint cry for help drifted over.
The voice came and went, too indistinct to make out clearly, but they were certain someone was there.
“It sounds like my Second Aunt.”
After listening carefully, Xiao Jingmo looked to Zhu Laosan.
Zhu Laosan immediately headed toward the source of the sound.
Fifteen minutes later, Madam Chen was hauled out of a pit. Her right ankle was sprained, and there were wounds of various sizes all over her body.
The trap looked abandoned, with a thick layer of fallen leaves at the bottom. The reason Madam Chen had been injured was because she had been wearing leg irons.
Xiao Jingmo shot Xiao Jinghao a look.
Xiao Jinghao stepped forward reluctantly to support Madam Chen.
Xiao Jinghao did not understand why his second brother had brought their little sister to look for her. This Second Aunt was so rotten she practically gave off fumes. They should have just left her here. Now he even had to help her out. Just thinking about it made him feel stifled.
But since his second brother was doing this, he must have his reasons. Xiao Jinghao only needed to watch and learn. He could not ruin his second brother’s plan.
When the group returned to camp, they happened to run into Zou Yong coming back from another direction.
Madam Chen inevitably took another beating.
“You’re back, officers? This woman ran around and delayed everyone’s journey. She ought to be beaten to death.”
Yousha Ke narrowed his small eyes and charged over. He seemed to be making a noisy fuss, but in truth, he had been searching for an opportunity all along.
Suddenly, his foot staggered, and his whole body toppled straight toward Xiao Jingmo.
Panic appeared on Xiao Jingmo’s face, but a mocking curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Because Jin Bao had warned him, Xiao Jingmo only felt someone pat him on the chest.
In the past, he would only have been disgusted. Now he finally understood just how fast Yousha Ke’s hands were.
In the blink of an eye, the man had already stuffed the silver notes into his chest pocket. It was truly impossible to guard against.
A master thief of the jianghu really did have a few tricks up his sleeve.
“Oh dear, I’m truly sorry. I tripped over my own feet.”
Yousha Ke put on an apologetic smile. After Zhu Laosan coldly scolded him, he slunk away resentfully.
“Everyone’s here. We set out now. There are still fifty li to the next relay station. If we don’t make it there, we’ll have to sleep out in the wilderness tonight. Anyone who dares drag us down will answer to my whip.”
As Zhu Laosan spoke, the whip in his hand cracked sharply through the air.
Everyone in the Xiao Family groaned in misery.
Some of the children could no longer endure it and did not want to take another step.
At home, they had always been pampered like treasures. Now that disaster had suddenly struck, the first to suffer were these children.
“Officer, I want to report something. We have a thief among us.”
Ye Xiaotu was covered in whip wounds, yet he did not care in the slightest. These injuries were like dragonflies skimming water to him, not worth mentioning at all.
Zhu Laosan swept a cold gaze over Ye Xiaotu. “Don’t you dare stir up trouble.”
“Officer, I’m telling the truth. At noon, Xiao Jingmo used the excuse of delivering roasted chicken to get close to you people on purpose.
Everyone here knows that no one in their family sent them travel money. So where did they get silver to buy food from the officers? It must have been stolen.”
Ye Xiaotu pointed at Xiao Che’s family, a ruthless smile rising at the corner of his mouth.
Zhu Laosan had not intended to pay Ye Xiaotu any attention, but then Li Si shouted from the other side, “Brother San, the silver notes for our ration money are gone.”
Zhu Laosan had stored the travel funds issued from the government treasury in separate places. The ration money was specifically for purchasing food along the way for the prisoners and the escort officers.
After layer upon layer of exploitation by court officials, the silver issued into his hands had already been pitifully little. If they wanted to escort the prisoners to the Northern Frontier, they had no choice but to squeeze money from the prisoners. This was common practice among all escort officers.
Now that the ration money was missing, it was no small matter. It concerned everyone’s food for the entire journey.
On the surface, Li Si was Zhu Laosan’s partner, but in truth, Li Si was Zhu Laosan’s younger cousin. When Zhu Laosan was not around, the silver was entrusted to Li Si.
If Li Si said the silver was gone, then it was truly gone.
Zhu Laosan’s sharp eyes moved back and forth between Ye Xiaotu and Xiao Jingmo. No one knew what he was thinking, but his expression was dark and grim.