ebookland Chapter 179 Wang Kesheng
Chapter 179 Wang Kesheng
Li Zhen and the others looked in the direction Lin Ziping had left, their eyes filled with disappointment.
"Brother Zhen, shall we go in again?" the child behind Li Zhen asked timidly.
Li Zhen lowered his eyes and remained silent.
“Ah Zhen…”
"Little Zhen..."
Seeing that Li Zhen did not speak, the dozen or so people behind him asked with concern.
After a while, Li Zhen stood up and looked at the gate of the county government office.
Although there was light in the sky, it was still gray and gloomy. The county government office was hidden in the darkness, like a man-eating monster.
“Let’s go!” Li Zhen turned around resolutely.
The people behind him exchanged glances, but still followed Li Zhen firmly.
The direction they left led directly to Fuchunlou.
Lin Ziping knew nothing about the situation of Li Zhen and the others after they left. At this moment, he happened to be walking to the city gate.
The city gate, which had been tightly closed before their departure, was now wide open, and the people left behind by the county government to guard the gate had vanished without a trace.
The wind and snow stopped at some point, leaving only a vast expanse of white.
Lin Ziping dared not advance rashly, and began searching with the city gate as the center and a radius of ten meters.
The work that Magistrate Wei personally arranged during the day has only been a few hours, so these people probably won't abandon their posts.
Geese leave their traces as they fly by; it's impossible for several living people to simply disappear without a trace. In this situation, we can only hope for a miracle.
Fortunately, perseverance pays off. Just when Lin Ziping was about to give up, he found someone at the corner of an alley.
Several people collapsed to the ground, covered in snow, their bodies frozen stiff. If Lin Ziping hadn't found them, they probably would have died here.
"Is anyone home? Open the door!" Lin Ziping found a house nearby and pounded on the door.
No one answered the door.
"The county government is handling a case, open the door immediately!" Lin Ziping continued to shout without giving up.
Finally, the tightly closed door opened a crack.
Lin Ziping pushed open the door and entered; inside was an elderly couple.
"Sir, I...we..." the male homeowner stammered.
Lin Ziping said, "Could you please boil some hot water? Is that room empty?"
The male homeowner pointed in a direction.
Lin Ziping took out the silver from his pocket and placed it in his hand: "Thank you."
"Old woman, hurry up and boil some water," the man said to the woman beside him.
Lin Ziping ignored them and went out to drag the frozen people into the house the male homeowner pointed to.
This is a woodshed, with firewood stacked neatly and kept very clean.
The male homeowner thoughtfully laid out two old quilts and lit a fire.
The hostess quickly brought over the hot water.
Lin Ziping said, "Thank you!"
I tested the water temperature and then poured it down the throats of several people.
The temperature inside the woodshed gradually rose. Lin Ziping checked on the people and found no obvious external injuries. He didn't know what had caused them to fall into a coma.
"Sir, there's nothing much to offer you, but please have some hot water." The host brought over a bowl of water.
After running around all night, Lin Ziping pursed his lips, feeling his mouth was indeed dry.
"Thank you, sir. May I ask your surname?" Lin Ziping asked, taking the bowl from the man of the house and setting it aside.
“My surname is Wang, Wang Kesheng,” the host replied.
"Uncle Wang," Lin Ziping readily agreed, "Where are the rest of your family?"
Wang Kesheng sighed: "The eldest brother went to serve in the military and we haven't heard from him for several years. The second brother also went to the prefectural city to dig waterways a couple of days ago. The third brother was making a fuss about going to find his eldest brother and ran off with him too."
Lin Ziping sighed upon hearing this: "Why are you digging waterways in this cold weather?"
“There’s no other way. My wife needs to take medicine, and I’m not feeling well either. Where would we get the money to pay taxes? Luckily, we can offset taxes with work done in the county town. I heard… cough cough…” Wang Kesheng looked at Lin Ziping, coughed twice, and stopped talking.
Lin Ziping didn't pay any attention and continued to ask, "Uncle Wang, did you hear anything tonight?"
Wang Kesheng hurriedly waved his hand: "No, no, we were sleeping soundly and didn't hear anything. I'll go to the kitchen to see if my wife needs any help."
Before Lin Ziping could answer, Wang Kesheng went into the kitchen next door.
Lin Ziping watched Wang Kesheng's retreating figure, his heart filled with suspicion.
The place where the county officials and others were found was right at the foot of Wang Kesheng's house wall. There should have been some noise there, so how come they didn't hear anything?
At that moment, a weak cough came from inside the room.
Lin Ziping rushed into the room and saw one of the people struggling to get up.
"Fourth brother," Lin Ziping said.
This man was burly and looked fierce. His surname was Hu, and he was the fourth child in his family. His older brothers were all pig butchers. His father went to great lengths to get him into the county government.
The pork supplied to the county government office was all from his family.
Lin Ziping didn't know his name, so he called him Hu Laosi, just like Lao Huang did.
"Old Hu, what happened tonight? Why were the city gates opened?" Lin Ziping asked hastily before he could speak.
"Cough cough—" Old Hu said hoarsely, clutching his neck, "Water..."
Lin Ziping picked up the water that Wang Kesheng had just handed him and gave it to Hu Laosi to drink.
"Gurgle—gurgle—"
Hu Laosi swallowed it in one gulp.
He drank all the water in the bowl in one gulp.
Old Hu leaned against the woodpile: "I don't know either. We were guarding the city gate when we saw a figure darting through the alley next door, so we gave chase, but who knew..."
Lin Ziping frowned: "Did all of you catch up with us?"
Hu Laosi thought for a moment and said, "The rest of us have caught up with them."
"Isn't anyone guarding the city gate?" Lin Ziping pressed.
Old Hu frowned and remained silent.
Lin Ziping didn't disturb them; it was obvious they had fallen for a diversionary tactic.
"You rest well. There's no one in the county office. I'll go to Fuchun Tower to check on the situation with the Sixth Prince." It was already dawn outside, and Lin Ziping threw a piece of firewood into the brazier.
Hu Laosi nodded, glanced at Lin Ziping, and looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
"I'll go to the pharmacy and find a doctor for you," Lin Ziping said, pretending not to see his conflicted expression. "Keep an eye on them."
After saying that, he got up and walked outside.
"Old Huang, Old Huang said he's handing over the shift to us, he's guarding that spot." Old Hu's voice came from behind.
Lin Ziping paused, then closed the door without saying a word.
Stepping out of the woodshed, Wang Kesheng rubbed his hands together and waited in the courtyard.
"Sir, is the person inside awake?" Wang Kesheng asked as Lin Ziping came out to greet him.
Lin Ziping nodded, then took out a piece of silver, about an ounce, and stuffed it into Wang Kesheng's hand: "Send some food in later."
"Sir, this is too much. I... I've already accepted your money." Wang Kesheng waved his hands repeatedly, trying to refuse.
"Take it." Lin Ziping stuffed the silver back into his hand: "I'll need to trouble you to find a doctor."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Lin Ziping otherwise, Wang Kesheng put away the silver and nodded, saying, "I'll go right away. My wife made some pancakes; would you like one to tide you over, sir?"
Lin Ziping rubbed his stomach. He hadn't eaten all night, and his stomach was burning. He was so hungry that his stomach felt like it was sticking to his back.
Seeing this, Lin Ziping didn't stand on ceremony, nodded, and followed Wang Kesheng into the kitchen.