Chapter 133: Autumn

Deputy Song let out a hiss, “It’s indeed very suspicious.”

Xie Yu said, “I’ve already sent someone to the Household Department to fetch the household registration records. If they had moved away legally, their registration must have been updated.”

If the records had not been changed, then the disappearance of the Xu family would be worth serious scrutiny.

Before long, someone from the Household Department indeed delivered the household registration documents for Xiaohe Village.

Everyone took a copy and began to search through them diligently.

Before marriage, women’s names were not recorded in the household documents. Xu Guizhi, a living, breathing person, was merely listed as the second daughter in the entry: “Xu Dan Niu, male… has three daughters and two sons.”

If not for Zhao Di’s foresight in asking around at Xu Guizhi’s neighbor’s house for her father’s name, confirming her identity alone would have taken much more effort.

“They didn’t move away!” Yuanpei pointed at a line.

Everyone took turns looking at it.

If a family wanted to relocate, they had to first obtain a certificate from the local street chief, village head, or town mayor, certifying their residence and that they had no criminal record, explaining the reason for relocation.

With this certificate, they could then report to the local government to obtain a travel permit for moving elsewhere.

The Xu family’s household registration was still in place, proving they had not relocated elsewhere.

So could it be possible they had another residence elsewhere?

Xie Yu said to Yuanpei, “After dinner, you all go check out Xu Dan Niu’s house and ask the neighbors and the village head of Xiaohe Village.”

If they had another residence elsewhere, the long-time neighbors would surely have heard something.

There was also a girl named Zhang Sannü, who was the same case.

Although they hadn’t checked yet, no one held much hope.

Xie Yu glanced at Ma Bing, “That girl is clever and brave. It might be good to have her stay and work here at the office.”

Earlier, he had overheard Zhao Di pleading with Ma Bing to let her buy herself free.

Ma Bing’s eyes lit up, “Is that possible? Would it be too much trouble?”

Originally, she had thought the girl was so young that she might help her retrieve her contract and send her back home, but upon hearing the name “Zhaodi,” she quickly abandoned that idea.

Zhaodi herself didn’t want to go back.

“Sister, please have mercy. My father already said that if I don’t work hard, he’ll marry me off to Old Chen the Butcher at the village entrance as his second wife. He’s over fifty!”

Her younger sister Laodi secretly told her that Old Chen had promised her father a pig…

A vibrant young girl, worth no more than a pig.

Seeing her worried expression, Xie Yu felt pleased, “No, it won’t be a problem.”

The Prince of Su was currently in enough trouble himself and certainly wouldn’t be concerned about a small girl with a scar on her face. Getting her out wouldn’t be difficult.

He even added, “You can ask her if she wants to change her name.”

Few people now knew her as Zhaodi, and her name wasn’t recorded in the household register. She could easily become an entirely new person.

Ma Bing was delighted.

“Great! I’ll ask her once she wakes up!”

To hell with “Zhaodi”!

Xiaohe Village and Baisa Village were both quite remote. Despite Yuanpei and others setting out immediately after lunch, they didn’t return until the morning of the third day.

“The front door of Xu Dan Niu’s house was locked, so we climbed over the wall to look inside. As Zhaodi said, the large furniture was still there, and there were no valuable items…”

They also opened the chests and cabinets to check carefully. Most were empty, but in a corner of the kitchen, there was still a half barrel of moldy old flour.

There was also a small bag of rice, and a piece of meat hanging from the ceiling beams, which had long since spoiled.

“Something happened.”

Xie Yu concluded definitively.

For common people, food and meat were vital. Whether moving house or fleeing a disaster, even if they couldn’t take furniture, they would never leave behind their food supplies.

Yuanpei nodded, “We asked the neighbors and the village head. None of them had heard the Xu family mention moving, nor had they gone to the village head to request a certificate.”

He picked up a bowl and drank some water before continuing, “However, because Xu Guizhi worked at the Prince’s mansion, earning nearly an ounce of silver monthly, which Xu Dan Niu mostly took, the couple and their sons lived comfortably. Some neighbors even said that after saving for so many years, they might have bought a house elsewhere.”

Xu Dan Niu had two sons; the eldest was ten years old, and the younger was five at the time of their disappearance.

After a pause, Yuanpei added, “But I think that’s unlikely.”

Even if Xu Guizhi had “made it,” how many years had passed?

It was said that Xu Dan Niu had been extravagant, drinking and feasting over the past few years, so there probably wasn’t much money left. And if they hadn’t moved from their old house, where could they afford a bigger one?

Ma Bing asked, “Then, before the Xu family disappeared, did anyone notice anything unusual or hear any commotion?”

“There actually was something,” Yuanpei slapped his palm. “A neighbor said that before the Xu family disappeared, Xu Dan Niu went to town as usual to collect his daughter’s monthly pay, left excitedly, but returned in a rage, shouting something at home that no one could hear clearly. A few days later, Xu Dan Niu went to town again, this time very happily, shouting about getting rich… and then the Xu house was empty.”

Because of this incident, neighbors speculated that perhaps Xu Guizhi had been noticed by a noble in the city, bringing the Xu family wealth, causing them to look down on Baisa Village and move away in the night to enjoy their new life.

Deputy Song stroked his chin, “Xu Dan Niu’s first trip to town made him angry, probably because he either didn’t see Xu Guizhi or didn’t get the monthly pay…”

But then why did he become happy later?

Had someone promised him something?

As for the situation with Zhang Sannü’s family, it was relatively more complicated.

Zhang Sannü’s mother had always been in poor health, her father was a drunkard, and he kept a widow as a mistress. His first two daughters were married off early, and the bride prices were all used by Zhang to buy alcohol.

But Zhang Sannü was different from her two older sisters. She had been pretty since childhood, seemingly too refined to come from such a small village.

Thus, there had long been rumors in Baisa Village that Zhang Sannü was not actually Zhang’s biological daughter.

Because of these rumors, Zhang had often beaten his wife and daughter. He was reluctant to marry her off early, clearly waiting for a good offer.

Later, when the steward of the Prince of Su’s mansion went around buying pretty girls, Zhang saw an opportunity to make money and immediately sold Zhang Sannü for five taels of silver.

Zhang’s thinking was similar to Xu Dan Niu’s. Regardless of the money, working in the Prince’s mansion was a great honor, like the family’s ancestral grave smoking with good fortune!

My daughter is so beautiful, perhaps she’ll catch the eye of one of the masters. If she bears a child in the future, wouldn’t the whole family rise to prominence?

Zhang Sannü had been in the Prince’s mansion for less than two years when her mother died of illness. Since then, Zhang had successively “disposed of” his remaining daughters, becoming even more of a scoundrel. The villagers no longer wanted anything to do with him.

When Zhang disappeared, the villagers didn’t even notice.

Until the Kaifeng Prefecture came to investigate, some villagers were even surprised, saying, “He’s not here? It’s been quiet lately. Maybe he died drunk somewhere?”

“Better off dead. He was always drunk and causing trouble, scaring the women and children in the village from going out.”

The constables also climbed over walls and broke locks to enter his house. It was even dirtier than a garbage dump, with several nests of rats, and the furniture was chewed up.

Other than that, they found nothing.

In the evening, Zhao Di secretly asked Ma Bing, “Sister Ma, do you think we can find Guizhi?”

To be honest, Ma Bing felt it was a bit uncertain.

Even if they found her, she might be better off dead.

Looking at Zhao Di’s bright eyes, Ma Bing couldn’t bear to say it and quickly changed the subject, “About the name we talked about the other day, have you decided what you’d like to be called?”

Zhao Di seemed to read something from her expression; her eyes dimmed for a moment, but then she forced a smile, a bit ingratiating and humble, and asked tentatively, “Can I… be called Qiutian?”

A twelve-year-old girl already knew how to hide her sadness with a fake smile, which made Ma Bing feel sad.

“Of course you can, but why would you want to be called Qiutian?”

Qiutian looked a little embarrassed.

She squinted, looking at the clear blue sky above, and said, “I just feel… autumn is really warm.”

On an autumn afternoon, the sunlight was bright and warm, making her feel toasty.

The past few days had been the lightest and happiest days of her life.

The dry and warm bedding, the regular meals, no one to beat or scold her, no one to mock her, she could even carefully sunbathe in the courtyard.

Everything was so wonderful, so perfect, that Qiutian was afraid to go to sleep.

She was afraid she would wake up and be told it was all a dream.

Ma Bing ruffled her hair, “Okay, from now on you’ll be called Qiutian.”

In the following days, Qiutian, with her new name, seemed to truly be reborn.

She started learning how to smile—not the kind of flattering or vulgar grin, but a genuine smile like that of a twelve-year-old girl.

She immediately went to the big kitchen to find work, working hard every day. After finishing her tasks, she would rush to help Ma Bing wash clothes. When there were no clothes left, she would take apart the quilt covers, afraid of having any free time.

Ma Bing couldn’t stop her. After two days of this, when there was nothing left to wash, Qiutian became awkward and hesitant again.

With no choice, Ma Bing handed her a copy of the “Three Character Classic” and told her to start learning to read and write.

Qiutian was a bit confused.

Women couldn’t take the imperial exams, so what was the point of learning to read and write?

But since it was what Sister Ma had asked, she agreed to learn.

Qiutian didn’t seem to have much talent for studying; she couldn’t remember a single character even after several days.

But the little girl wasn’t discouraged. If she couldn’t remember, she just kept trying harder…

In this way, she finally had no time left to wash Ma Bing’s clothes.

At this time, Deputy Song made a breakthrough.

Finally, a minor steward confessed, saying that it was indeed he who had gone to the villages to buy the girls.

But as to what they were used for, he didn’t know.

“Every so often, some of the purchased girls would disappear. Did you know about that?” Deputy Song pressed.

The steward hesitated for a long time but finally nodded.

Mainly because the prison was no place for a human being. After half a month, he had even developed lice!

“Where did those girls go?” Deputy Song asked again.

The steward shook his head, “That, I really don’t know. There are nearly twenty stewards in the Prince’s mansion, each responsible for one thing. I was only in charge of purchasing the girls. As for how the purchased girls were assigned and trained in the mansion, that was beyond my authority to inquire.”

So Deputy Song had him identify the steward responsible for training the girls, and that steward provided a very important new clue.

“I was only in charge of training. From time to time, someone from above would come to inspect. If they thought certain girls were ready, they would set a date and take them away.”

“Someone from above?” Deputy Song frowned. “Do you mean the Prince of Su?”

The steward was originally vague, seemingly afraid of retaliation from the Prince’s mansion, speaking half-truths and hiding the rest.

But Deputy Song didn’t indulge him. After a round of corporal punishment, the steward spilled everything like a dam bursting open.

“In the earlier years, the Prince occasionally did take a few girls into his service, but later his tastes changed—he preferred handsome young boys…”

Deputy Song and the others: “…”

God damn it, he doesn’t even discriminate between men and women!

“These girls seemed to have a significant purpose. The Prince valued them highly, asking about them frequently, so we dared not be negligent. But if any of the other young masters in the mansion wanted to touch them, that was not allowed,” the steward continued.

“Not even the Crown Prince?”

“No.”

This was very problematic.

“You just said that from time to time someone would come and take the girls away. Where were they taken? And for what purpose?”

The steward hesitated, “I was only responsible for teaching the girls. As to where they were sent and what they were used for, I truly don’t know.”

Every time the required girls and dates were set, he would give advance instructions to the nannies responsible for their training.

On the appointed day, the nannies would give the target girls sedatives during dinner. At night, a large gray-covered horse carriage would come to pick them up.

The coachmen wore dark clothes and black cloth masks, never spoke, and only checked the girls’ identities against a register before leaving immediately without delay.

“No exceptions?” Deputy Song wasn’t satisfied.

The steward nodded, “None.”

Deputy Song clicked his tongue.

Damn, how cautious.

However, it wasn’t entirely without solutions.

He called for his subordinates, “Go tell the Young Marquis: there’s a mole among the city guards!”

After nightfall, the city gates were closed. According to regulations, no one was allowed to enter or leave without special reasons.

He certainly didn’t think those masked men would obediently wait in the city overnight.