Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside

Qin Er Lang's gaze was deep and cold, his face indifferent as he wiped the blood off his long blade with Yang Laoer's clothes: "I've extracted what I needed to ask, this man is useless alive, why not kill him? As for an explanation..."

He looked towards Qin San Lang, saying, "Such a trivial matter, you can concoct any reason to help me cover this up, why should I be timid. Besides, you're well aware that Yang Laoer's gang intended not only to abduct Gu Yumei, but also Gu Jinli's sisters. Aren't you very concerned about that fish? Knowing she was almost taken, wouldn't you want to kill Yang Er and remove the threat once and for all?"

Qin San Lang's expression turned grim. Without engaging in Qin Er Lang's talk, he merely stepped forward, fixating his gaze for a while on the wound on Yang Laoer's neck, untied him from the trunk, then with a kick, sent Yang Laoer's corpse tumbling to the ground with a thud.

The weeds on the ground were crushed flat, and the fresh blood from Yang Laoer's neck kept flowing, quickly staining the grassy ground red.

Upon seeing this, Qin Er Lang laughed, sheathed his sword, and sat down to wait for Luo Wu and the others.

Qin San Lang lit a fire with some half-dried grass to create smoke signals informing Luo Wu and the others.

While tracking Yang Laoer, they used some charcoal ash they carried with them to leave marks for Luo Wu and the rest. Following the trail wasn't too far, and seeing the puffs of smoke, they quickly found their way over.

"Is this a fugitive who was running away? How did he die?" Luo Wu examined Yang Laoer's corpse, frowning tightly.

The other Government Officials also commented, "This man was a major offender; capturing him alive would have been more useful than dead. Now that he's dead, we can't interrogate him."

Qin San Lang said, "We've already interrogated him; he confessed everything he knew. He tried to flee while we brothers were off guard, and was taken down by a single blow from my second brother."

Upon hearing this, the other Government Officials scrutinized the binding marks on Yang Laoer's body, the wounds he sustained, and the fatal cut on his neck, which was clearly inflicted in combat when he was struck directly in the front.

"So it is," the Government Officials believed Qin San Lang's words.

Qin San Lang also relayed the information he had inquired about to them, and then the group carried Yang Laoer's corpse back to the county.

By the time they reached the county, it was already daybreak, and County Magistrate Xu, anxious to identify the villain who was behind the kidnapping, met with them in person.

However, shocked to learn of Yang Laoer's death, he exclaimed, "Dead? How did he die?!"

How could he find the mastermind behind the kidnapping if he was dead?

County Magistrate Xu was extremely distressed. The Zou family's house fire was already causing him enough headaches, and County Captain Jiang had also mentioned that the deaths of Zou Yuzhen and Fan Dabiao were suspicious. Fearing the censure of Junior Minister Ming should he come to find the Zou family not adequately supervised, he hoped to settle the case as quickly as possible.

But what he feared the most happened: the deaths of Zou Yuzhen and Fan Dabiao indeed involved a third party. Now that this third party had finally emerged, the lead was abruptly severed.

"Rest assured, my lord, San Lang has already found out the place where Yang Laoda's gang was in contact with the villain," Luo Wu recounted in detail to County Magistrate Xu the information inquired by Qin San Lang. "That person promised Yang Laoda's gang five hundred taels of silver, saying that as long as they captured the girls from our families, he would give them the remaining two hundred taels. The pickup location for the money is a cloth shop called Sanshui Kangtai on Fujin Street in Luchang County."

County Magistrate Xu was overjoyed upon hearing this, but before he could savor the moment, Qin San Lang said, "My lord, it is possible the villain is not at Sanshui Kangtai Cloth Shop."

"What? Not there!" County Magistrate Xu's face turned green as he said discontentedly, "Wasn't this location extracted by you? And now you say he isn't there?"

Qin San Lang replied, "The villain reached out to Yang Laoda and his gang to kidnap on his behalf in order not to implicate himself. So why would he make the pickup location at Fujin Street in Luchang County, and mention the shop's name so explicitly? If Yang Laoda and his gang were to fail, wouldn't he be caught too? He isn't that foolish. I suspect, my lord, that he certainly won't be at Fujin Street in Luchang County."

County Magistrate Xu almost slammed the table in anger, urgently saying, "What should we do now? Junior Minister Ming will arrive in a few days. If the Zou family's case remains unresolved, I will face serious consequences!"

Qin San Lang thought for a moment, then said, "Your Honor could inquire of Zou Jiang, who has been with the Zou family for many years and must know who all the servants are."

He also said, "Examine all household registries previously handled by County Magistrate Zou. If that evil man has escaped from the Zou family and can open a shop in Luchang County, he must possess at least two sets of free citizen household registries. Just locate the registries processed by County Magistrate Zou, and from these, we can find where the man is hiding."

Why two sets, because the man daringly left behind an address in Luchang County proves that he has abandoned that place. And if he dares to abandon it, it certainly means he has other registries at his disposal.

County Magistrate Xu frowned, "Investigate household registries? What do you mean by that?"

Qin San Lang explained, "On the road fleeing from famine, I heard some refugees say that they used to be slaves, but before fleeing, they secretly bought new household registries from the local County Magistrate. In times of crisis, they could thus abandon their master's house without becoming refugees or runaway slaves."

County Magistrate Xu turned pale with fury and hastily interrupted Qin San Lang, "I am aware of what you've said; I'll instruct the clerks to check all household registries personally managed by County Magistrate Zou."

County Magistrate Xu felt a burning shame on his face, especially since what Qin San Lang mentioned was not something new, it was common practice throughout Great Chu, and considering County Magistrate Zou's character, he would surely be capable of doing it.

After downing a cup of strong tea to clear his mind, County Magistrate Xu immediately sent County Captain Jiang to find Zou Jiang and ask about the Zou family servants.

He himself went with three stewards and clerks to check the household registries managed by County Magistrate Zou.

The arrest in Luchang County was not delayed and was entrusted to Squad Leader Yang. Luo Wu and his government officials hadn't closed their eyes for two days, and if they had to rush to Luchang County, they would probably collapse on the road from exhaustion.

Squad Leader Yang, carrying a handwritten letter from County Magistrate Xu, led a group of government officials straight to Luchang County. Just as Qin San Lang predicted, "Sanshui Kangtai Cloth Shop on Fujin Street had only one shopkeeper and five assistants; the master of the house was not there."

After inquiring, they learned that the owner's surname was Kang, from Central State, usually residing in his Central State home and only coming over once or twice a year to check the accounts.

However, the Cloth Shop Manager did mention, "Some time ago, the owner sent a message saying that if someone named Yang came asking for silver, no questions should be asked, and just hand over two hundred taels of silver."

This confirmed that the cloth shop owner was the mastermind who had paid Yang Laoda and his men to kidnap people. Aside from this, the manager knew nothing else.

Squad Leader Yang swore in frustration. With no choice, he could only escort the six men from the cloth shop back to Tianfu County, but a clerk and four government officials from Luchang County followed them.

Upon learning that Squad Leader Yang and his men hadn't caught anyone, County Magistrate Xu cursed County Magistrate Zou violently, but there was good news from both Steward Tian and County Captain Jiang.

Zou Jiang, an old servant of many years in the Zou household, did not disappoint. Although County Magistrate Zou had always been wary of him, he guessed that the Zou family member who fled was Zou Hai, finding thirty-four household registries that County Magistrate Zou had personally managed over the years.

Yet County Magistrate Xu was still troubled, "Thirty-four household registries mean thirty-four places to search, how are we to proceed? It's akin to finding a needle in a haystack."

Zou Jiang, however, smiled and said, "Your Honor, rest assured. Just bring out Steward Shao, Clerk Li, Secretary Chi, and the others for interrogation, and we'll surely find out which registry belongs to Zou Hai."

Although these registries were personally managed by County Magistrate Zou, he wouldn't have filed them himself. It must have been done through his confidants, and Clerks Li and Chi, responsible for the household registries, were precisely County Magistrate Zou's most trusted aides.