Chapter Fifty-two: Sheltering the Source of Calamity

  Everyone in the Qin government is in a state of panic and fear for their lives.

  Don't mention the lower-ranking people, even those aunties who used to be fearless and lawless have become much more honest. Everyone knows that the old master and mistress have been in a bad mood lately, so naturally, they know that something has happened in the mansion that cannot be spread outside. Although everyone's curiosity is heavy, no one dares to discuss it privately.

  This time is different from the past, although in the past, the government also strictly forbade people from discussing their masters' affairs, but it was never as severe as now. If someone was found out, they would just be scolded a few times and that's all. But now, the old lady has issued an order, if anyone fabricates rumors or frames others, once discovered, they will be beaten to death, with no leniency shown.

  Now the people are most likely to observe and listen, even the aunties who usually stir up trouble have become honest, let alone them? So they all just perk up their ears to listen, but no one dares to speak.

  Since learning about Qin Dai's misfortune, Fang Shi's heart has not been at peace. She always felt that this matter was not simple, and it was just a coincidence to go burn incense and encounter trouble. There were many wealthy families besides the Qin family who went to that temple to burn incense, so why did the bandits only kidnap San Niang? Daughters are generally not as valuable as sons, if they really wanted to kidnap someone, wouldn't Zi Cheng and Zi Xin be more valuable?

  She didn't say these words to her son and daughter-in-law, but silently calculated them. Considering the reputation of the Qin family, the three masters of the Qin family unanimously decided not to report to the officials, but instead prepared 10,000 taels of silver and waited for the bandits to come to their door.

  Although Fang was meditating in the Buddhist hall, his heart couldn't calm down, and he always felt that something big was going to happen at the Qin's house.

  "Go and call Feng Ge over, I have something to say to her." The voice was a bit hoarse, as if from anxiousness.

  Wan's mother is an old person around Fang Shi, how can she not see her restless appearance, although she can't guess why she let herself call Qin Fengge, but it should be related to her.

  "I'm going now." Madam Wan turned around to leave but was called back by Mrs. Fang.

  "Don't be angry with Zhang."

  Wan's mother nodded, turned around and left the Buddhist hall, taking a lantern to Qin Fengge's residence by herself. Before long, Wan's mother returned to Old Lady's courtyard with Qin Fengge and her personal maid Yinxiao.

  Qin Fengge entered the Buddhist hall and saw Fang Shi sitting on a chair, looking somewhat absent-minded. There was a cup of chrysanthemum tea on the small table beside her. Qin Fengge hurried over and asked: "Mother, what's wrong?"

  Mr. Fang wanted to ask her about Qin Dai's heart, but his mind was extremely confused, and for a moment he didn't know where to start asking, so he said: "Did you come alone?"

  "No." Qin Fengge adjusted the hairpin on her head and sat down in another chair, saying: "I brought silver ginkgo! This girl has a good eye for things, she's talking to Mother Wan in the outer room!"

  "I'm asking you." Fang's eyes snapped to her daughter's wrist, "Does Sanpao have anything to do with this?" She was afraid that the incident was designed by her own daughter, and she didn't even notice that her grip had tightened.

  Qin Fengge's wrist was pinched by the jade Buddha beads in Fang's hand, and she pulled back her wrist, saying: "I knew this matter couldn't be hidden from you, so I didn't plan to hide it. Even if you don't let me come over today, I will find a chance to tell you."

  Miss Fang saw her beckoning and was so angry that her face turned pale, but she didn't know what to say. How could she be so bold and presumptuous? Had she always been like this in private?

  "Mother, don't be anxious, I'm doing all this for the sake of your precious grandson." Qin Feng's expression was full of smugness.

  "Do you know how big a trouble this is? If your elder brother reports to the authorities, what will happen to you?" Fang Shi, although old, was not muddled and naturally knew the severity of the situation.

  "My elder brother? If he hadn't blocked the way, these three girls would have married into our family long ago. How could there be all this trouble later?" Qin Fengge saw Fang Shi was furious and comforted her: "You still don't understand Jiner? Once he makes up his mind, ten oxen can't pull him back. If it weren't for him, how would I have let Su Yilan's daughter marry into our family as a concubine? Taking her in as a concubine is already giving her face."

  "Nonsense, no matter what, our family's daughter is not worthy of being a concubine to the Gong Sun family." Fang Shi also disliked Qin Dai's heart very much. She was born with a bad temper and was born by Su Shi, so she naturally couldn't get her own love. However, no matter what, all the sisters in the mansion were born with good looks, and marrying into an official household as a wife would be a great help to the Qin family in the future.

  Qin Fengge heard her mother say this, and immediately said: "Mother, I don't like to hear you say this. Why do you treasure the children born out of wedlock? Didn't we already give that fourth girl to the Jia family as a concubine? How come you look down on our own Gong Sun family?"

  "You..." Fang was taken aback by her words and for a moment didn't know how to respond.

  "The Jia family is powerful, and marrying into their household would indeed bring benefits to the Qin family. However, that requires someone with a clear mind. With San Niang's temperament, even if you married her off as the official wife, wouldn't she still be someone without a sense of direction? Perhaps in the future, we'd still have to rely on her natal family to bail her out." Her eyes were filled with disdain, and she didn't look like an elder at all.

  Mr. Fang knew that her words made some sense, so he didn't dwell on this topic anymore and asked: "What's the matter after all? What do you plan to do? Tell me one by one."

  It turned out that Qin Fengge couldn't bear her son's repeated pleas, and decided to bring Qindai Xin back as a concubine. However, Qin Congwen strongly disagreed, refusing to marry his daughter off to Gongsun Jin. So, during their stay at Xiaofront Village, the mother-son duo plotted against Qindai Xin, trying to ruin her reputation. Even after they had succeeded in sullying her name, Qin Congwen still refused to agree. When things went awry and their plan ultimately failed, Gongsun Jin wouldn't give up. He kept pestering Qin Fengge, asking her to come up with a solution. After thinking for several days, she realized that even if the mother agreed, the elder brother would never consent. To fulfill her son's wish, the best approach was still to attack the woman's reputation.

  The mother and son discussed for several days, deciding to return to Taizhou to live for a while. They planned to wait for an opportunity to ruin her reputation again. However, after waiting for many days, they still couldn't find a chance to do so. Gong Sunjin was someone who couldn't stay put, seeing that the timing wasn't right, he gathered a group of people to go out and have fun every day. His subordinate, Tong Si, was originally a complex character from the lowest rungs of society, and in just a few days, he came up with an idea to kidnap someone.

  Tong Si went up the mountain to inform the bandits, saying that he had a personal enemy and wanted them to help intimidate him. After the matter was settled, not only would the ransom for the hostages belong to them, but he would also pay an additional 10,000 taels as their labor fee.

  However, after going up the mountain, he unexpectedly met an acquaintance named Liu, whom Tong Si had previously met through someone else's introduction. The two of them met and Tong Si learned that this group of bandits had a different set of rules than others. They only robbed the wealth of corrupt officials and never bothered ordinary people or honest businessmen.

  Tong Si changed his words and said that Qin Dai Xin was the concubine of a certain Wei, a corrupt official who loved money and women, and bullied poor people. He also took bribes and often kidnapped daughters from poor families to ruin them. A friend's sister had been looked down upon by this Wei and had lost her chastity, then jumped into a well and died. This friend wanted revenge for his sister and sold his ancestral property to find someone to help him teach this "Wei" a lesson.

  The bandits were happy to hear about this good opportunity, which did not violate their rules of only robbing corrupt officials. They agreed to Tong Si's request and promised that as long as they could capture Wei's concubine, everything else would be taken care of by Tong Si's friend, including the ransom, which would all go to the bandits.

  Tong Si returned and reported that the matter had been settled, and the mother and son duo returned to Qin's residence for a short stay. However, they soon learned from Fang Shi that Qin Dai Xin was going to Pu Fa Temple to burn incense, and Qin Feng Ge thought this was a good opportunity, so he sent someone to send another message to the mountain, which led to the current situation.

  "Aren't you afraid of lifting a rock only to drop it on your own foot? One misstep leads to another, and are those bandits so easy to use? What if they kill someone, or your brother reports to the authorities, won't you be bringing fire upon yourself?" Madame Fang was baffled - how could her usually astute daughter become so muddled? She was a person who never suffered losses, so why would she settle for that paltry sum of 10,000 taels?

  "Mother, I'm not that foolish. I've had people investigate these bandits thoroughly, there aren't many of them, only a dozen or so, and they don't usually do anything evil or kill people. And I'm not afraid of Big Brother reporting to the authorities." By this point, Qin Fengge's expression was quite self-satisfied. Everything was under her control.

  The clever Fang was also confused by his daughter and asked: "Why?"

  "I think Big Brother will not report to the authorities in order to protect the reputation of the Qin family, he won't report, but I want to." Qin Fengge leaned into Mrs. Fang's ear and whispered.

  P.S: Dear friends, Happy New Year! Like and collect it up~~~