With silver to grease the wheels, the old woman naturally told all she knew, and even what she didn’t know was pieced together with guesses to make a complete story.
Perhaps due to the difference between men and women, their perspectives varied greatly.
In this old woman’s eyes, Fourth Miss Dou was far too meek: “...With such a doting aunt and a supportive aunt-in-law, what is there to fear! If it were me, I’d have long gone to the Capital to drive that Wang Shi out, instead of waiting for her to put on airs and play the Madam there!” At this point, she couldn’t help but sigh deeply, her tone tinged with sympathy. “But then again, you can’t blame Fourth Miss Dou. They were raised reading the Admonitions for Women —proper and rule-abiding in all things, inevitably making them too soft in their ways. Now, take Fifteenth Madam Lang—I saw her a few times when she was still a young lady. A delicate beauty, she spoke as if afraid her voice might be too loud and walked as if fearing she might crush an ant. Yet in just over a decade, not only did she take charge of the Lang family’s household affairs, but she also began meddling in their business matters. She became a heroine tough enough to ride a horse on her shoulders, and what’s more, she developed a grudge against the Pang family. Several of Pang’s major deals that could’ve brought them back from the brink were ruined by Fifteenth Madam Lang.” As she spoke, a hint of schadenfreude flickered across her face.
The old woman, as sharp-tongued as her appearance suggested, never spoke ill of Fourth Miss Dou.
Tao Qizhong couldn’t help but take a deep breath and asked about Fifteenth Madam Lang: “...Who is she?”
The old woman chuckled, her smile brimming with excitement, and animatedly recounted the disputes between the Dou, Zhu, and Pang families with much gesturing and vivid detail. She concluded, “How could Fifteenth Madam Lang not hate the Pang family? If not for them, she’d have long been the Seventh Madam of the Dou family, a Presented Scholar’s wife!”
Tao Qizhong felt a headache coming on. Hearing the old woman’s baseless ramblings, he couldn’t help but retort, “Fifteenth Madam Lang is just a woman. With elders above and a husband below, even if she meddles in business matters, at most she’d glance over the account books. How could she possibly sabotage deals?”
Fearing she might lose the silver pieces if her answers displeased him, the old woman grew agitated and said, “You strike me as a scholar, sir, with no knowledge of business matters. Here in Zhen Ding Prefecture, apart from small shops like mine, most decent establishments belong to the Dou family. If the Lang family wants to snatch Pang’s business, and the Dou family stands by silently, who would dare wade into such troubled waters? Even if someone noticed, they wouldn’t dare speak up—cross the Dou family, and you might as well forget about living in Zhen Ding!”
He hadn’t expected the Dou family to wield such unchecked power in Zhen Ding.
Tao Qizhong frowned involuntarily.
Noticing this, the old woman grew displeased.
She had answered every question, revealing both what she should and shouldn’t. If he still wasn’t satisfied, was he looking for an excuse to take back the silver?
With this thought, she gritted her teeth, shot a meaningful glance at the boy selling pears on her doorstep, signaling him to watch the shop, and muttered to Tao Qizhong, “I need to use the privy,” before darting off to the backyard.Tao Qizhong found that the old woman's account differed greatly from his own speculations, and his interest waned. After forcing a dry laugh for a while and noticing that the old woman didn’t return to refill his tea, he tossed a few copper coins on the table and strolled out of the grocery shop with his attendant, settling down at an inn in Zhen Ding.
Over the next few days, he asked several more people, but the answers he received were all much the same.
He couldn’t help but look somewhat dazed.
His attendant also voiced his concern, “Sir, if what those people say is true, what should we do?”
This marriage had been brokered by none other than Tao Qizhong himself!
He still remembered clearly how he had persuaded the Duke of Yingguo back then.
How was he going to explain this to the Duke upon his return?
Tao Qizhong gave a bitter smile.
Someone knocked on the door.
The attendant went to open it.
It was a pear-selling boy.
Who had the mood for pears at a time like this!
Just as the attendant was about to shoo him away, Tao Qizhong’s sharp eyes recognized the boy who had been selling pears outside the old woman’s door a few days ago. A thought struck him, and he quickly stopped his attendant, asking the boy, “What do you want?”
The pear-selling boy grinned. “Granny Yu says if I deliver a message to you, I can get ten coins.”
Tao Qizhong nodded to his attendant, who handed ten coins to the boy. Only then did the boy laugh and say, “Granny Yu says you should hurry over to her place—she has something urgent to tell you!” With that, he dashed away.
The attendant looked at Tao Qizhong.
After a moment’s thought, Tao Qizhong said, “Let’s go and see what trick this old woman is up to!” She probably just wanted to squeeze some money out of him. As long as the information was useful, spending a bit of silver was no issue.
The attendant acknowledged and accompanied Tao Qizhong back to the old woman’s grocery shop.
As they passed through the long alley leading to the shop, someone suddenly called out “Mr. Tao” from behind them.
Tao Qizhong turned around, but before he could clearly see who it was, a sharp pain exploded at the back of his head. His vision darkened, and his body went limp as he collapsed.
In that split second before losing consciousness, his mind was crystal clear—he had been ambushed, fallen into someone’s trap.
This time, the odds were against him.
Never had he imagined he would capsize in such a shallow ditch, meeting his end here.
The Duke of Yingguo was far away in the Capital. By the time he realized Tao Qizhong was missing, Tao would likely have long turned to dust.
A deep sense of unwillingness surged in Tao Qizhong’s heart… before everything faded to black.
※※※※※
He had no idea how much time had passed when Tao Qizhong regained consciousness.
Everything before him was pitch black, his head buzzing with a throbbing pain.
He didn’t dare move, lying still for a long while until his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. He realized he seemed to be locked in a room, lying on what felt like a pile of straw that reeked of rot and mildew, making him nauseous.
The mere thought of it made him gag.
Then he noticed a dark, lumpy shape beside him—something, or someone, lying next to him.
A chill ran down his spine.
After observing silently for a while, the shadow slowly shifted, letting out a pained groan.
Suddenly, light footsteps approached from outside, accompanied by a man’s impatient muttering: “Why are we still keeping these two alive? Might as well finish them off with a blade—spares us the trouble of guarding them day and night! And constantly checking if they’ve woken up…”
“We have to wait for Mr. Chen to return,” another voice replied with a chuckle. “Otherwise, why go through all this trouble?”As they spoke, a loud clang echoed, and two tall, burly figures appeared in the doorway, silhouetted against the light.
Tao Qizhong quickly shut his eyes, held his breath, and lay still, feigning unconsciousness.
The two figures approached the writhing shadow on the ground. One of them kicked it lightly and said, "Old Lin, this guy's about to wake up. What should we do?"
"Give him another whack on the head," the other replied nonchalantly. "Mr. Chen will be back first thing tomorrow morning. After we interrogate him under torture, we'll bury him in the back garden to fertilize Fourth Miss Dou's flowers. As long as he's still breathing, it's fine."
The first man grunted in acknowledgment, turned to find a stick, and struck the shadow with it.
The shadow collapsed silently.
"You didn’t kill him, did you?" the other asked worriedly, then quickly reassured the assailant, "But it doesn’t matter much. He’s just a servant. As long as his master survives, it’s fine." Then he added, "Let’s go. This place hasn’t held anyone in a while. Fourth Miss Dou said that if a place where people died isn’t aired out regularly, miasma will build up over time. It’ll make people sick..."
With another clang, the door shut again, plunging the room into darkness. Tao Qizhong, terrified, abruptly sat up.
Dizzy and disoriented, phrases like "servant," "Mr. Chen," "Fourth Miss Dou," "hasn’t held anyone in a while," and "place where people died" flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern. He immediately realized his predicament.
An involuntary shiver ran down Tao Qizhong’s spine.
Fourth Miss Dou of the Dou family was no docile country girl—she was a ruthless murderess!
He had to escape before that Mr. Chen returned!
Otherwise, his life would be forfeit!
Ignoring the stars dancing in his vision, Tao Qizhong gently nudged his servant and whispered his name.
The shadow groaned, on the verge of waking, which sent a cold sweat down Tao Qizhong’s back. He hastily covered the servant’s mouth and whispered his name again by his ear.
The servant stirred groggily, letting out muffled whimpers.
"Don’t speak," Tao Qizhong urged. After a moment, he released his grip.
The servant was now fully awake.
He took a deep breath and muttered, "Where are we?"
"Probably in the Dou family’s basement," Tao Qizhong whispered, sharing his deduction. "We were asking about Fourth Miss Dou, and her people found out. They captured us and brought us here. Tomorrow morning, someone called ‘Mr. Chen’ will return to interrogate us under torture... We must find a way to escape... Try moving your limbs... They surely didn’t account for your skills... That’s our only hope..."
The servant silently flexed his arms and legs, found them unharmed, and stood up.
Tao Qizhong exhaled in relief.
This servant had been gifted to him by the Duke of Yingguo—the very reason he’d dared to travel to Zhen Ding with just this one attendant.
But he had gravely underestimated the Dou family’s influence in Zhen Ding.
Even if they managed to escape, evading the Dou family’s pursuit would be nearly impossible.
Their only recourse was to seek help from the nearest military garrison.
His hand instinctively went to his waist.
The small seal proving his connection to the Duke of Yingguo was still there.These people, relying on their numbers and being on their own turf, acted very roughly and didn’t even search his person.
This ignited boundless hope in Tao Qizhong.
The attendant, who had been feeling along the wall, let out a low exclamation: "Sir, this is a stone chamber. The door is here, but it’s made of iron..."
Recalling the light that had seeped in when the door was opened earlier, Tao Qizhong said, "Rest and recover from your injuries. In another three hours, it will be completely dark. Then I’ll lie on the ground and pretend to moan while you hide outside the door and find a way to take down that big man. Though it’s full of flaws, there’s no other way for us to escape sooner. We’ll have to risk everything!"
The attendant acknowledged his words. The two waited in the pitch-black for nearly three hours before Tao Qizhong began to moan loudly.
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