Chapter 11On the quiet night, even their hushed voices could be heard by those around them.Old Father Lian seemed less than agreeable with what the man had just said, and only replied, "My sentence will be over before long, and my daughter has already married into Huguang. I thank you brothers for avenging me, but I've long since lost any grand ambitions."Yingniang thought to herself that Old Father Lian was about to return to a normal life—why would he possibly turn to banditry? Becoming an outlaw would only mean waiting to be amnestied by the authorities in the future. But given his current relationship with Official Cheng, he might well advance further in the future, so there was no need for it.As she was thinking this, she saw two more men try to persuade Old Father Lian, but he remained unmoved, and gradually the crowd dispersed.Yingniang and Mrs. Jiang only emerged from the latrine after quite some time. Mrs. Jiang had lived a simple life since childhood and had never expected to encounter such a matter. The only consequence she could think of was that the Lian household was not very safe.But she was unwilling to tell her mother-in-law. Old Woman Feng was the type to make a fuss over nothing—if she found out, she would surely raise a ruckus, and something that had nothing to do with their family might end up being dragged onto their doorstep.Last time, when her in-laws had mentioned in front of outsiders that Feng Li had purchased fields, they immediately drew the envy of the villagers. If not for her husband resolving the matter, who knew how much trouble would have arisen.So Mrs. Jiang kept it silent in her heart, simply choosing not to visit the Lian household anymore.Even when Old Father Lian brought Official Cheng's son over to play, saying he wanted to take Yingniang out to watch the spring stage performance, Mrs. Jiang glanced at Yingniang, who shook her head like a rattle-drum: "Mother, I don't want to go out."Only then did Mrs. Jiang say, "We'll skip such festivities. Her father isn't home, and he's always told me not to take her out casually."Old Woman Feng, unaware of the situation and being one who loved a bit of excitement, couldn't help but say, "Why don't the two of us old folks go along too? We should at least let the child have some fun.""Grandmother, I don't want to go out. I want to sleep." Yingniang didn't know why she had been abducted, or whether it was connected to this so-called Old Father Lian, but she had to avoid potential risks first.Seeing her granddaughter looking listless and unwell, Old Woman Feng finally said, "In that case, I'll go tell Old Father Lian."Yingniang didn't go after all. Seeing how disappointed Young Master Cheng looked, Old Father Lian couldn't help but console him, "Your sister Feng isn't feeling well this time. How about you two play together next time?""Alright, Uncle Big Beard." The young master was already drawn to the stage the moment he saw it, having long since cast the little sister he'd been so eager to play with to the farthest corners of his mind.Old Father Lian had only one daughter, and she was already married. He had watched the young master grow from birth and doted on the child. Now that Official Cheng was busy with river conservancy work, he looked after the boy out of genuine care—not just for the child's sake, but for his own as well.As for returning to banditry, that was out of the question. Back then, he'd been wrongfully accused and had no choice but to take that path. Now that a good life lay right before him, how could he be so foolish?Just as he was thinking this, he spotted several of his former brothers from the outlaw days in the crowd. They all came over to apologize: "Since brother is unwilling to take up the outlaw life, we won't press you. We were too rash."Old Father Lian laughed and said, "What are you saying? You avenged me—I'm nothing but grateful to you.""In that case, why don't we go over there for a drink, as a farewell of sorts?"Old Father Lian glanced at Young Master Cheng and hesitated. The outlaws said, "We'll leave one brother behind to watch over him. Surely you can trust him."Hearing this, Old Father Lian agreed. The man left to look after the young master was extremely loyal and righteous.…The group of outlaws and Old Father Lian ate together by the roadside. After drinking a cup of wine, Old Father Lian grew uneasy about Young Master Cheng and made to take his leave: "Young Master Cheng is the son of my employer. Since I brought him out, I must return him safe and sound. I'm afraid I must take my leave."But when he turned to look back, the lively and adorable young master who had been there moments ago now lay fallen in a pool of blood.Old Father Lian's fierce eyes nearly split with rage. He glared at those outlaw brothers and couldn't help but roar, "Why would you do such a thing?""Brother Lian, without this, how could you possibly come up the mountain with us?"Old Father Lian was so furious he laughed instead: "What crime did an innocent child commit?" With that, he lunged at the man in a brawl.But after speaking, he calmed down. Young Master Cheng was dead—that meant his path of retreat was severed. No matter how good his relationship with Official Cheng was, there was no place for him here anymore.Among the outlaws, there were some observant ones. Seeing him slacken, they came straight up and said, "Brother Lian, we've already fetched your wife. When the time comes, we'll all go up the mountain together."At this point, Old Father Lian had no room left to retreat. Fearing they might seize his daughter as well, he had no choice but to go up the mountain with his wife.…Yingniang only heard about the matter at dinner. Official Cheng's son was dead, and the Lian couple had vanished without a trace. Official Cheng had even arrested Second Uncle Feng, who had vouched for the Lian family, and Yingniang's grandfather had also been taken in for questioning.Mrs. Jiang was still shaken: "Heavens—if Yingniang had gone that day, it would have been my Yingniang who met with disaster today. How could I have gone on living?"Old Woman Feng frowned. "What on earth is going on here? That in-law from the Lian family even asked me how I bought the house, and said that soon they'd be proper folks again, and whether we could buy a few mu of land—how dare they speak like that!"Only then did Mrs. Jiang relate what she had overheard last time. "It might well be those people who did it.""Why didn't you tell me about this sooner? If you'd mentioned it earlier, we could have made some preparations. And your Second Uncle—marrying such an in-law for the sake of cheap gain, and now he's landed himself in prison." Old Woman Feng clucked her tongue in dismay, then felt a wave of lingering fear.Yingniang, meanwhile, thought of that young Master Cheng—she hadn't slept well for three or four days. He was the most adorable little boy she'd ever met, and she never imagined he would lose his life at the hands of those bandits.Perhaps in her previous life, if she had gone along with them, she might have gotten lost there too, for all she knew.With Second Uncle Feng arrested, Old Man Feng's household had no able-bodied men to spare, so they had to send Hou Family's Second Son to Hanyang Prefecture to deliver word, asking their nephews Feng Cang and Feng Yu to come back and handle the matter.From Yunshui to Hanyang was not far—only half a day's journey. Mrs. Jian was feeding her daughter Meijun when she heard the news, and her hand trembled. From the next room came the sobbing of the newly wedded sister-in-law, Mrs. Lian.Before long, Feng Cang came in and said, "Brother Yu has already gone back. If we can ransom the man out, that would be best."Mrs. Jian could tell her husband had no intention of returning himself, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "I hope everything turns out peacefully. Father-in-law only acted as guarantor—it should be fine.""It's just a matter of money. I gave Brother Yu five taels of silver just now." Feng Cang sighed. "I truly never expected Old Father Lian to be like this—running off on his own is one thing, but killing that young Master Cheng as well. That was truly unforgivable."Meijun, who was eating, quietly asked, "And Sister Ying?"Feng Cang smiled. "They say Old Father Lian had planned to take Yingniang out to play too, but she happened to be sick that day. Fortunately, she didn't go. Brother Dalang only has this one daughter—if something had really happened to her, what would their family do?"It had nearly ruined the family, of course. Feng Meijun knew this all too well. In her previous life, when she first came to know this cousin of her father's generation, he had already abandoned scholarship for commerce, spending more than half of every year away on business—all in search of his daughter. He always said that as long as he hadn't found his daughter's body, she must still be alive.He even said he needed to earn more money, so that when his daughter came back, she could live a good life. He and his wife never had another child, and he passed away at fifty, his hair completely white when he died!

Yingniang