With silver to grease the wheels, the old woman knew exactly what to say. For things she didn’t know, she filled in the gaps with educated guesses to paint a complete picture.
Perhaps due to the differences between men and women, their focus varied.
In the old woman’s eyes, the Fourth Miss of the Dou family was too weak. “…With such a loving aunt and a supportive uncle’s wife backing her, what is there to fear? If it were me, I’d have gone to the capital long ago to squeeze out that Wang woman. I’d make Wang serve Lady Cui morning and night, serving tea and water. How could Wang still put on airs as a madam in the capital?” At this point, she couldn’t help but sigh, her tone revealing a hint of sympathy. “But one can’t blame the Fourth Miss Dou.
She was raised on ‘The Admonitions for Women’ from a young age, always adhering to propriety in her dealings with others. Her actions are inevitably too gentle. Now, the Fifteenth Madam Lang, I saw her a few times when she was still a young lady. She was a delicate beauty whose voice was so soft she feared it might cause leaves to fall, and who walked so lightly she worried about stepping on ants.
But in just over a decade, not only has she taken charge of the Lang household affairs, she’s even started meddling in family matters. She’s become a veritable heroine capable of riding a horse on her shoulders. Moreover, she’s developed a grudge against the Pang family. Several of the Pang family’s potentially life-saving business deals were all sabotaged by the Fifteenth Madam Lang.” As she spoke, her expression revealed a hint of schadenfreude.
The old woman’s words were as sharp as her appearance, yet she never spoke ill of the Fourth Miss Dou.
Dou Qizhong took a deep breath and asked about the Fifteenth Madam Lang, “…Who is she?”
The old woman chuckled, her smile showing excitement. She vividly recounted the entanglement between the Dou family and the various other families, including the Pang family, from years ago. Finally, she added, “How could the Fifteenth Madam Lang not hate the Pang family? If it weren’t for them, she would have been the Seventh Madam of the Dou family long ago, a scholar-official wife in a phoenix crown and embroidered dress!”
Tao Qizhong listened with a headache, seeing how the old woman was making wild assumptions. He couldn’t help but say, “The Fifteenth Madam Lang is just a woman. With a father-in-law above and a husband below, even if she could meddle in family affairs, at most she’d only be looking over account books. How could she possibly have the power to ruin business deals?”
Fearing she might have answered incorrectly and lost the silver pieces, the old woman became anxious upon hearing this. She said, “I can tell you’re a scholar, unfamiliar with the ways of business. In our Zhending Prefecture, apart from small general stores like mine, most of the more established shops are Dou family businesses. If the Lang family wants to snatch the Pang family’s business, who would dare to muddy these waters while the Dou family stands by silently? Let alone help the Pang family stand up to them! Even if someone noticed, they wouldn’t dare say a word—offend the Dou family, and how would you continue living in Zhending?”
Tao Qizhong frowned, not expecting the Dou family to be so domineering in Zhending.
The old woman, observing this, felt quite displeased.
“I’ve answered everything you’ve asked, told you what I should and shouldn’t have. Are you still not satisfied? Are you planning to use this as an excuse to take back the silver?” she thought.
With this in mind, she gritted her teeth and signaled to a young man selling pears from a basket in front of her shop. She instructed him to watch the store, then quickly excused herself to Tao Qizhong, saying she needed to use the outhouse, and darted to the backyard.
Seeing that the old woman’s account differed greatly from his assumptions, Tao Qizhong lost interest. After sitting idly for a while without the old woman returning to refill the tea, he simply left a few copper coins and strolled out of the general store with his attendant, settling into an inn in Zhending.
Over the next few days, he inquired about the situation from several other people, all providing similar answers.
He couldn’t help but feel dazed.
His attendant worriedly asked, “Sir, if what these people say is true, what should we do?”
After all, it was Tao Qizhong who had acted as a matchmaker for this marriage, building the bridge between the families.
He still remembered clearly how he had persuaded Duke Ying at the time.
How would he explain this to the Duke upon his return?
Tao Qizhong smiled bitterly.
Someone knocked on the door.
The attendant went to open it.
It was a young pear seller.
Who would be in the mood for pears at a time like this?
The attendant was about to send him away when Tao Qizhong, with his sharp eyes, recognized the youth as the one who had been selling pears in front of the old woman’s shop a few days ago. His interest piqued, he quickly stopped his attendant and asked the youth, “What brings you here?”
The pear-selling youth grinned and said, “Old Lady Yu said to deliver a message to you. She said I could get ten wen for it.”
Tao Qizhong nodded to his attendant, who then handed ten wen to the young pear seller. The youth then said with a smile, “Old Lady Yu says you should hurry to her place. She has something urgent to tell you!” With that, he ran off.
The attendant looked at Tao Qizhong.
After a moment’s thought, Tao Qizhong said, “Let’s go see what this old woman is up to.” Even if she just wanted to earn a bit more money from him, as long as her information was useful, it would be worth spending some silver.
The attendant acknowledged and accompanied Tao Qizhong toward the old woman’s general store.
As they were passing through the long alley between the inn and the store, suddenly someone called out “Mr. Tao” from behind them.
Tao Qizhong turned around, but before he could see who it was, he felt a sudden, intense pain at the back of his head. His vision went black, and he collapsed, his body losing all strength.
In that split second before losing consciousness, he realized with crystal clarity that he had been struck with a blackjack, falling victim to someone’s trap.
This time, it seemed the odds were against him surviving.
He never imagined he would meet his end here, in such an unexpected way.
Duke Ying was far away in the capital. By the time they realized he was missing, he would likely be nothing but a pile of bones.
Tao Qizhong felt a deep sense of regret as he lost consciousness.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when he finally came to.
Everything was pitch black, and his head was buzzing with a throbbing pain.
He dared not move, lying still for a while until his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. He realized he seemed to be locked in a windowless dark room, with what felt like straw spread beneath him, emitting a nauseating smell of decay.
The thought made him feel like retching.
Then he noticed a protruding dark shape nearby as if something—or someone—was lying beside him.
A chill ran down his spine.
After observing for a while, the dark shape slowly moved, emitting a painful groan.
Suddenly, light footsteps could be heard from outside, accompanied by a man’s impatient mutter: “Why are we keeping these two alive? I say we should just finish them off with a knife. It would save us from having to guard this place day and night, constantly checking if they’ve woken up…”
“We have to wait for Mr. Chen to return,” someone replied with a laugh. “Otherwise, why go through all this trouble?”
As they spoke, there was a loud clang as the door was pushed open. Two tall, burly figures appeared in the doorway, silhouetted against the light.
Tao Qizhong quickly closed his eyes, held his breath, and remained motionless, pretending to be unconscious.
The two figures walked up to the moving shadow. One of them kicked it and said, “Old Lin, this guy is about to wake up. What should we do?”
“Give him another knock on the head,” the other person said nonchalantly. “Mr. Chen will be back early tomorrow morning. After the interrogation, they’ll be buried in the back garden as fertilizer for the Fourth Miss’s flowers. For now, as long as he’s still breathing, it’s fine.”
The first person responded with an “Oh,” then turned to find a stick and struck the shadow.
The shadow fell silent and still once more.
“You didn’t kill him, did you?” the other person asked worriedly, then reassured the one who had struck, “Well, it doesn’t matter much. He’s just an attendant. As long as his master doesn’t die, it’s fine.” Then he said to his companion, “Let’s go. This place hasn’t held prisoners for a while. The Fourth Miss once said that places where people have died, if not ventilated for a long time, will develop miasma. People who breathe it in will get sick…”
With another clang, the door was closed again, and the room fell back into darkness. Tao Qizhong, however, was so frightened that he sat up abruptly.
In his dizziness, words like “attendant,” “Mr. Chen,” “Fourth Miss,” “haven’t held prisoners for a while,” and “places where people have died” flashed through his mind like a lantern show. He immediately realized the gravity of his situation.
Tao Qizhong couldn’t help but shudder.
The Fourth Miss of the Dou family wasn’t a gentle country girl, but a cold-blooded female demon!
He had to escape before this Mr. Chen returned!
If he didn’t escape, his life would surely be forfeit!
Ignoring the stars dancing before his eyes, Tao Qizhong gently shook his attendant, softly calling his name.
The shadow groaned, about to wake up, which startled Tao Qizhong. He quickly covered the attendant’s mouth and whispered his name in his ear.
The attendant groggily came to, making muffled sounds.
Tao Qizhong hurriedly said, “Keep it down!” After a moment, he removed his hand from the attendant’s mouth.
The attendant was now fully awake.
He took a deep breath and murmured, “Where are we?”
“Probably in the Dou family’s basement,” Tao Qizhong said in a low voice, sharing his assessment with the attendant. “We were inquiring about the Fourth Miss Dou, and her people found out. They’ve captured us and brought us here. They’re waiting for someone called ‘Mr. Chen is to return early tomorrow morning for interrogation… We need to find a way to escape… Try to see if you can move… They probably didn’t expect your martial skills to be so advanced… This is our only hope now…”
The attendant silently tested his limbs, finding no major issues, and stood up.
Tao Qizhong let out a long sigh of relief.
This attendant was a gift from Duke Ying, which was why he had dared to come to Zhending with only this one companion.
But he had still underestimated the Dou family’s influence in Zhending.
Even if they managed to escape by some stroke of luck, it would be difficult to evade the Dou family’s pursuit, wouldn’t it?
The only option was to seek help from the nearest military garrison.
He instinctively felt for his waist.
The small seal that could prove his relationship with Duke Ying was still there.
These people, relying on their numbers and being on their turf, had acted carelessly and hadn’t even searched him.
This realization ignited a spark of 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 on this side, but it’s made of iron…”
Remembering the light that had streamed in when the door opened earlier, Tao Qizhong said, “Rest and gather your strength for now. In at most three hours, it will be completely dark outside. Then, I’ll lie on the ground and groan loudly. You hide behind the door and try to take down the first big guy who comes in. Although this plan is full of holes, it’s our only chance to escape quickly. We have no choice but to risk it!”
The attendant acknowledged, and the two waited in the darkness for nearly three hours before Tao Qizhong began to groan loudly.