The Wife of a Loyal Servant - Chapter 16

Since Jin Qiaorong’s sixteenth birthday was on the eighth day of this month, Cheng Shaoan begged Ling Yu to let him rest for a day. Ling Yu knew exactly what he was thinking; he wanted to go to the county town to buy her a birthday gift.

She readily agreed. Business had been slow these past few days, and Cheng Shaoan had worked hard for months. He really deserved a good rest.

Although the Jin family had settled in Chengjia Village, they weren’t native to the area. Furthermore, since arriving, the mother and daughter had kept a low profile, rarely interacting with the villagers except for Ling Yu’s family.

However, the village was small, and they were outsiders. Jin Qiaorong was also very beautiful, easily outshining all the other young women and wives in the village, attracting the attention of many young men.

Therefore, many families in the village were keeping an eye on them, especially after learning that Jin Qiaorong was still unmarried; matchmakers had been constantly coming to propose marriage.

A daughter is sought after by many, and since Madam Sun only had one daughter, she naturally cared deeply about her marriage. In fact, according to her own wishes, Cheng Shaoan was the most suitable son-in-law.

Firstly, the two families were related, so they knew each other well, and Madam Wang was gentle and wouldn’t pressure her daughter-in-law. Secondly, Cheng Shaoan was quite ambitious; his busy schedule over the past few months showed he wasn’t the idle, dependent son others claimed.

Most importantly, if the two families became related by marriage, her daughter would marry nearby, giving her someone to rely on in the future.

Unfortunately, Jin Qiaorong had always been very opinionated. No matter how much she spoke well of Cheng Shaoan, openly or subtly, she never gave a definite answer, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Madam Sun could easily see through her intentions. Not giving a direct answer meant dissatisfaction, but not outright refusal; she was simply waiting for a better match to appear.

Especially after the village head’s daughter, who had married into the county town, returned home in great splendor, Jin Qiaorong had grown even more silent, barely responding to Cheng Shaoan despite his deliberate attempts to win her favor.

Madam Sun saw this and grew anxious. She tried persuading her several times, but Jin Qiaorong always brushed her off with a few perfunctory words. If Madam Sun said more, she would take her hand and promise, “Mother, I’ll make sure you live a good life in the future. No more coarse meals, no more living under someone else’s roof and bowing to others.”

Madam Sun didn’t understand why she thought this way, but seeing her determined expression, she knew persuasion was useless and could only sigh inwardly.

She only hoped she wouldn’t end up on the same path as that person. Otherwise, how could she ever face her?!

When the news came that Cheng Shaotang had been seized and thrown into prison, Ling Yu was embroidering a little bellyband for her son. At the words, the color drained from her face in an instant. Madam Wang even fainted on the spot, frightening Xiao Shitou, who had been leaning against her, into loud, wailing sobs.

Ling Yu couldn’t spare a moment to soothe her son. Together with Dagen, who had come to deliver the news, she helped support Madam Wang into the house. They pressed her philtrum and rubbed safflower oil, and only with great effort did Madam Wang finally come around. Ling Yu let out a breath of relief, offered a few hurried words of comfort, then rushed out to the yard to pick up her son—only to find the little one sniffling in the arms of the pretty widow, Xiao Xingping, who was gently soothing him.

“I just happened to be passing by and heard the child crying, so I came in to take a look. Sorry, I’ll leave now,” Xiao Xingping said awkwardly, her hand paused on Xiao Shitou’s back when she saw Ling Yu come out.

“Thank you, Sister-in-law Zhu. Please keep an eye on him a bit longer—I really can’t get away right now.” It was the first time Ling Yu had ever seen such tenderness on her charming face, and she was rather surprised, but she didn’t have time to think about it.

Xiao Xingping looked taken aback but only nodded. “If you don’t mind, I don’t mind either.”

Ling Yu managed a strained smile before hurrying back inside to comfort Madam Wang, who was wiping her tears.

“Mother, don’t worry yet. We should find out what’s going on first—maybe it’s all just a misunderstanding!”

“Shaotang has always followed the rules. How could he possibly have gotten into such trouble? What kind of place is the government prison? Once someone goes in, even if they don’t die, they’ll be stripped of a layer of skin! If anything happens to him, what am I supposed to do?!” The more Madam Wang spoke, the more distraught she became, her tears pattering straight down.

“Do you know why Brother Shaotang was taken away?” Ling Yu soothed her for a while, and only after seeing her tears slowly stop did she turn to ask Cheng Dagen.

“I’m not really sure. I only saw from far away that Brother Shaotang and a group of people were being escorted into the yamen by soldiers. Those folks looked like people from their escort agency.” Cheng Dagen truly knew nothing more.

“People from the escort agency? Could something have happened there?” Ling Yu was startled.

This never happened in her last life! What in the world is going on now?

“I suppose so. Auntie, take good care of yourself. Shaotang is a good man with heaven’s protection; he’ll be fine. Sister-in-law, I still have things to deal with at home, so I’ll head back. If you need anything, just have Shaoan call for me,” Cheng Dagen said, unable to stay any longer.

Ling Yu thanked him and watched him leave.

“Of all times, where has Shaoan run off to now!” Madam Wang cried anxiously. With her eldest in trouble, she felt as though her whole world had collapsed, and her younger son’s absence only made her panic even more.

Ling Yu was frightened too, but she forced herself to stay calm. She clasped Madam Wang’s hand tightly and said with firm conviction, “Mother, don’t worry. You know Brother Shaotang has always followed the rules and never done anything unlawful. He’ll come out safe and sound.”

Madam Wang felt a bit steadier at Ling Yu’s unwavering tone, but a moment later her eyes filled again. “In times like these, even good people aren’t guaranteed safety. I’m just afraid of those heartless ones who’d frame an innocent man.”

“That’s alright. The yamen has always been a place where having reason isn’t enough if you don’t have money. Our family earned a bit these past few months—use it to smooth things over. I’m sure Brother Shaotang will be back soon,” Ling Yu said after thinking it over.

“Good, good. I still have more than ten taels here; take them too,” Madam Wang said, hurriedly digging out the silver she’d saved over several years.

Since money was exactly what they needed, Ling Yu didn’t refuse. She took the tightly wrapped bundle of loose silver and said quietly, “Then I’ll head to the county to ask around.”

“Go quickly and come back quickly!” Madam Wang urged.

Ling Yu hurried back into the house, grabbed the several dozen taels she had saved, and, not daring to delay, rushed toward the county. As she stepped into the courtyard, she saw Xiao Xingping holding Xiao Shitou. She stopped, pinched her son’s tear-streaked little face, but didn’t pick him up. She only whispered, “I’ll have to trouble you again, sister-in-law.”

“Enough of that—go take care of what you need to do,” Xiao Xingping said, after soothing Xiao Shitou a few more times.

Ling Yu thanked her once more, steeled her heart, and ignored her son’s tearful pleas to be held. She turned and strode out.

She had been a widow in her previous life, and in this life she’d half-prepared herself, consciously or not, to walk the same road again. But that didn’t mean she could stand by and watch her husband die.

Besides, her husband had never once set foot in a government jail in her past life. Heaven only knew what had gone wrong in this one to make him taste prison food!

Her luck wasn’t the worst; she happened to run into Grumpy Old Lu driving his ox cart toward the county. He had probably heard about Cheng Shaotang’s arrest and, knowing she was frantic, urged the ox along as fast as it could go, delivering her straight to the yamen gates.

Meanwhile, Cheng Shaotang had been locked up in the yamen prison. What struck him as strange was that the officers hadn’t put him together with the others from the escort agency. A suspicion flickered in his mind—but he didn’t dare confirm it.

About half an hour later, a jailer brought him out for interrogation.

He had thought he would be taken to the main court, but unexpectedly, he was led instead to a makeshift torture chamber within the prison. The leader, a man in black, said nothing when he arrived and struck him hard with a whip.

With a sharp crack, he groaned, feeling a burst of searing pain from the lash.

“Where’s the box? Speak!” After whipping him three times in succession, the man finally spoke.

Cheng Shaotang’s vision was blurred by the sweat dripping down his forehead. He instinctively asked, “What box?”

The man swung the whip backhanded—another sharp crack. The force brushed his face, and instantly he tasted blood.

“Still pretending? Keep it up! I’ll ask you again—where is the box Ren Zhong gave you?!” the man asked coldly.

“That box? I—I don’t know. When I saw it, the inside had already turned into stone.” Cheng Shaotang finally understood where this disaster had come from, but at this point, all he could do was cling to his claim of ignorance.

Chief Escort He had died because of this very item that day. If he admitted the box was with him now, he would likely meet the same fate. It was better to insist he knew nothing; perhaps that would leave him a sliver of hope.

The man let out a cold laugh and lashed him several more times, splitting his skin and nearly knocking him unconscious.

Even so, he held fast to his claim of ignorance.

“Throw him back. Don’t let him die. Bring the next one!”

After a long while, the man tossed the whip aside, sat down in the Taishi chair, took the handkerchief the jailer offered to wipe his hands, sipped a few mouthfuls of tea, and gave the order.

“Yes, my lord!”

Cheng Shaotang was dragged back to the jail and thrown inside.

He groaned, gritting his teeth as he endured the piercing pain.

Bring another one… So the man still wasn’t sure the item was in his hands…

***

In front of the yamen, Ling Yu flattered the yamen runner, calling him “Big Brother,” praising him generously, and thanking him on behalf of the townsfolk for his great contributions to the county’s safety. As his stern expression gradually softened, she seized the moment and slipped a small ingot of silver into his hand.

The runner, sharp as ever, pretended nothing had happened and tucked the silver into his sleeve.

Ling Yu took the chance to ask about the escorts who had been arrested earlier that day.

“You mean them? To tell you the truth, I don’t really know what happened. Orders came from above—we had to do it whether we liked it or not. I only vaguely heard they stole something valuable from their client while they were supposed to be guarding it.”