As for the Lin family, Zhao Ruoxia has been kneeling in Mrs. Lin's room and crying since she was brought back by Mrs. Lin.
"Mom, Erlong was my parents' darling. They are all gone now. If I, the elder sister, don't help my younger brother, then am I still a human being?"
"Erlong was temporarily obsessed and was deceived by that group of people. For the sake of me giving birth to two sons for the Lin family, please help him!"
Mrs. Lin was furious: "What he did was punished by God. He was not beaten to death because of the mercy of the villagers. When someone comes from the Yamen, it will be his fate whether Zhao Erlong will be exiled or sent to prison. We My family will not wade through this muddy water. If you dare to go to see him again behind my back, I will let my second son break your legs."
Erlong is at most an errand boy, not even an accomplice, so why should he be punished?
Zhao Ruoxia collapsed on the ground, feeling desolate in her heart. She was worried about her younger brother, but also felt that the Lin family was unkind and unwilling to help.
Given the relationship between the Lin family and the Cao family, as long as Mrs. Lin lowered her face and begged for mercy, the Cao family might spare her brother because of their past treatment and help.
As for the other two families, they should pay more and give some things as gifts. The other party is not a fool. They took the money and food and made the big thing into a small matter. It is not impossible to make the trivial matter into a small matter.
But not only did Mrs. Lin not help, she also looked like she wanted to clean her house, as if Erlong was a malignant sore or mud, and even a touch of it would stain the lintel of the Lin family.
The resentment in Zhao Ruoxia's heart towards the Lin family reached its peak at this moment. The injustices she suffered in the past and the scoldings she received reappeared before her eyes. She gritted her teeth and did not curse loudly.
She tightened her chest tightly, and there was a packet of medicinal powder hidden there. Zhao Erlong had stuffed it into her during the day, asking her to find an opportunity to pour it into the Lin family's food.
She was still a little hesitant at first, but now her eyes were gloomy.
In the kitchen, Mrs. Zheng was preparing dinner for her family. She was thinking about her husband who was traveling far away. She didn't even notice that the pancakes in the pot were burnt.
It was only after Zhang called her that she came back to her senses.
"Don't worry, brothers and sisters. Dalang sent someone back to deliver a message, saying that the people in the Yamen already knew about the missing child in the village. He sent people and fast horses to drive to Pingling Town overnight."
When Mrs. Zheng heard that there were people from the yamen, she felt relieved a little, and then thought of Zhao Erlong who was imprisoned in the ruined temple.
"The second sister-in-law's brother, will he be taken away by the Yamen soon? What is the crime of abducting a child? Will someone die?"
Mrs. Zhang didn't like Mrs. Zhao, and naturally she didn't like her brother, but after all, it was a human life, so her tone couldn't be relaxed.
"I don't know the specifics. When I was young, there was also a flower girl in our village who was arrested. I heard that he was later sentenced to three thousand miles of exile. As a result, within half a month of leaving, the official responsible for escorting him came back. It’s said that people died on the way.”
Mrs. Zheng couldn't stop sighing, her hatred for Zhao Erlong still prevailed in her heart. She also had a child. If one day her Xiangyun was abducted by a kidnapper, she would stab him in the heart with her own hands.
"That's what he deserves. He is the son of father and mother. He is not afraid of going to hell for doing such an immoral thing..."
Just in the middle of speaking, Zheng's back suddenly straightened when she saw Zhao Ruoxia standing at the door of the kitchen, and she reflexively entered a defensive state.
According to Zhao's temperament, after hearing what she just said, if he didn't come up and pull her hair and start a fight, he would have to put his hands on his hips and curse her twice.
But today, Zhao Ruoxia seemed to have changed her temper. She had a smile on her face, as if she didn't hear the conversation between the two. She rolled up her sleeves and asked, "Is there anything I can do?"
Mrs. Zheng and Mrs. Zhang exchanged glances, and they both saw shock in each other's eyes.
No matter what, it's always bad to talk about people behind their backs, Zheng grudgingly curled her lips.
"The meal is almost ready. Second sister-in-law just brings the food to the table."
Zhao Ruoxia looked at the two dishes next to the chopping board, a bowl of cabbage and tofu soup, and a plate of stir-fried wild vegetables with mountain mushrooms. She took the soup away without even thinking, and then never entered the kitchen again.
At the dinner table, Mrs. Lin held Xiangyun in her arms and fed her milk without moving her chopsticks.
Zhao Ruoxia took a rare initiative and served her a bowl of tofu soup. Her eyes fell on Xiangyun and she smiled.
"A'bao is not young anymore. Why does he drink milk all the time? Come on, second aunt will give you a spoonful of tofu soup to try."
As he spoke, he picked up the spoon in the bowl, sucked it in his mouth, took a mouthful and stuffed it into Xiangyun's mouth.
Xiangyun frowned, glanced at his face in disgust, and refused to open his mouth to say anything.
It's so dirty, she doesn't want to eat other people's saliva.
Old Mrs. Lin brushed Zhao away and didn't buy into her attentiveness, thinking that she was trying to plead with her brother by asking for favors from her granddaughter.
Others at the dinner table apparently thought so too.
Zhao Ruoxia secretly scolded Mrs. Lin in her heart, and also scolded Xiangyun, but she still pretended to be obedient.
There was a flash of fierceness in his eyes, which was not noticed by the Lin family who were immersed in drinking soup, but accidentally bumped into Xiangyun's eyes.
Why does she feel that this second aunt is a little weird today.
The questions in my mind were quickly answered.
Because Lin Laosan was not here, Mrs. Zheng put her daughter on the big bed to rest. As soon as she put Xiangyun down, she suddenly felt dizzy. Before she could react, she had fallen straight on the bed.
Xiangyun turned to look at the unconscious A Niang. He suddenly felt bad and started crying at the top of his lungs, trying to attract Mrs. Zhang in the opposite room.
As a result, after a while, there was no one around, and the entire Lin family fell into an eerie silence.
Xiangyun closed his throat, his back felt cold, and he didn't dare to speak anymore.
Soon, the door of the room was opened, and Zhao Ruoxia walked in quietly. After confirming that Zheng was unconscious, she picked up the pillow and greeted her twice.
"Bitch! If your whole family goes to hell, our Zhao family will all live well!"
Xiangyun closed her eyes tightly and pretended to be asleep. Fortunately, Mrs. Zhao did not wonder why a child less than five months old was crying one second and fell asleep the next.
Mrs. Zhao took Xiangyun out of the house while cursing "little bastard", and quickly disappeared into the night with hurried steps.
Lin Laosan, Cao Tongguang and others, with the blessing of fast horses, arrived at Pingling Town in the afternoon.
Kepingling Town covers an area of hundreds of kilometers and has the largest population among the surrounding towns. Finding someone in a short period of time is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Moreover, the name "Uncle Fatty" sounds like a nickname. He doesn't even have a name, which makes it even more difficult to find him.
Fortunately, Song Yin knew the head catcher of the local county government, and took advantage of his position to check the town's permanent population information. After some screening, he finally identified a few famous people in the town.
If Ren Yazi wants to do business, he must deal with the government on weekdays. For changes in household registration and status of people, he has to rely on the government office.
And they are the fastest in collecting gossip in the town and have the most extensive connections.
There is no private information about whether a new slave or a slave girl is coming to the house, whether they are from a legitimate background or not, and what price they will be sold for.
So when Song Yin asked about the name "Uncle Fatty", someone quickly gave an accurate response.
Lin Laosan and others immediately set off to target the north of the city.
