He had still been thinking that if he killed the person and denied it, the other party wouldn't be able to find evidence, and he would be released soon. He hadn't expected a slip-up here. If he had known, he wouldn't have personally brought people to Huzhou. Selling them for a lower price to that group would have been easier than venturing out alone, but it was too late to say anything now.
The official insisted, believing him to be a human trafficker. Reluctantly, he confessed to what he had done, though he was clever enough to only admit to this one crime and implicating the local county magistrate. After all, they were all in the same boat, officials protecting each other, and perhaps this could offer him a way out.
Initially, Wu Caiwei thought the magistrate would investigate the matter thoroughly and she would be able to return in July. To her surprise, the case dragged on and on. When she inquired in person, she was given perfunctory replies, realizing something had changed.
She bribed an yamen runner with a large sum of money and learned that Liu Dacai had already returned home, though the yamen runner couldn't explain the specific reason.
Wu Caiwei felt an indescribable emotion. She had thought that by reporting him to the yamen, she could expose the truth about the mountain god and at least prevent similar incidents in the future. She hadn't expected him to get off so easily.
Although she didn't know exactly what had happened, Wu Caiwei still tried her best to find Ao Qiyue along the brothel street. However, after searching everywhere, no one had seen her.
She had to broaden her search and inquire at the matchmaker's places. To her surprise, no one had seen her, nor had they heard of her, which puzzled her greatly.
Wu Caiwei had no choice but to return to the county town and rest for a night in the courtyard she had rented. The next night, she quietly slipped back into the village, just as she had done last time. After so many days, she wondered how Liu's father and mother were doing.
Pressing her ear against the wall of the room where Liu's father and mother slept, she immediately heard familiar voices.
"Last time I sneaked back into the woods, and found nothing. Do you think our daughter is still alive?" Despite the slim hope, Liu's mother still held onto a glimmer of wishful thinking. The thought of her biological daughter, who was no longer by her side, was like a knife twisting in her heart.
"She's become a bride for the mountain god. If we don't hand her over, our Liu family will be in trouble. She's gone to enjoy a good life, so don't overthink it. If the mountain god finds out, he'll be unhappy." Liu's father thought she was being sentimental, unable to grasp the situation. Every night she would nag and fret; she was just a girl, after all. As long as their precious son was safe, that was all that mattered.
"You say this troublesome girl, Liu Yue, a girl being out there, won't do anything shameful and tarnish our Liu family's reputation? If I had known, we should have taken the silver back then and left her in a mountain hollow to be devoured by wild beasts. It would have saved us so much trouble." Liu's mother grew more and more indignant and hateful the more she thought about it.
"What's the use of saying all this now? That troublesome girl is living it up somewhere, leaving us here to mourn. Fortunately, she's not accepted by the villagers and doesn't dare to come back. Otherwise, just as you say, the loss would outweigh any gain. Don't mention her again. If her parents come looking for us, we'll push our Liu family's daughter forward. If they don't come, then so be it." For many years, Liu's father had been willing to put on a show of treating Liu Yue as his own daughter primarily out of fear that if her biological parents ever showed up, they would retaliate if they knew he had mistreated her. Another reason was his desire to obtain a substantial amount of money from her to improve their lives.
When the mountain god had chosen the Liu family, and his mother had said they should push Yue out, he had hesitated for a moment. But after a brief thought, he had a solution: if her parents ever came looking for them, his niece could impersonate her. After all, the only ones who knew Yue wasn't their own daughter were her parents and the couple. Wouldn't it be easy to fool them?
This was thanks to the fact that the couple had indeed given birth to a child around Yue's age. However, that child had been sickly from birth. It was as if heaven had eyes; the day after the child died, they had brought Yue home from outside. The villagers all assumed Yue was their biological daughter.
With each eavesdropping session, Wu Caiwei's affection for the couple diminished. From their conversation, it was clear that the original owner wasn't abandoned by her biological parents. At the very least, they had given the couple a considerable sum of silver to raise the original owner.
Judging from the superficial effort the couple had made over the years, the original owner's biological parents must have been people of considerable status. Otherwise, given the Liu family's disposition, they wouldn't have kept the original owner for so long. Even if the couple agreed, the elders of the Liu family would not have allowed it.
Recalling the life in the Liu family back then, Wu Caiwei realized how different it was from her memory. The original owner felt the elders were extremely biased. Whenever the Liu family had something, they would make Liu's father and mother fork over money. At such times, Liu's father and mother would intentionally or unintentionally mention the family's poverty and the elders' favoritism to the original owner, always making him, the youngest son, rush to the forefront.
And the original owner, in defense of his parents, would give the Liu elders a cold shoulder whenever he saw them, causing the Liu elders to show aversion in their eyes whenever they saw him.
Now it seemed that the couple's intentions were truly sinister. The Liu elders made them pay because they knew they had the money and couldn't resist. Instead, they made the original owner, who was already unwelcome in the Liu family, take the lead, so that when the Liu elders wanted to sacrifice him, the couple wouldn't put up much of a fight.
It was a pity that the original owner had lived in a mire and, even on his deathbed, was still preoccupied with the Liu family. Now it seemed it was truly not worth it.
Wu Caiwei leaned against the wall, contemplating until midnight. From the two eavesdropping sessions, it seemed that Liu's father and mother likely didn't know where the original owner's biological parents were, or who they were. Otherwise, they would have gone to them long ago to demand benefits.
Despite her profound disappointment, she still decided to rescue Qiyue. After all, Qiyue was innocent. Moreover, she wanted to strike back at the village chief's family and ensure that girls in the village would no longer suffer hardship.
As the moon hung overhead, she skillfully made her way to the village chief's house. Perhaps it was the previous incident that had made Liu Dacai vigilant. As soon as Wu Caiwei entered his room, she was attacked.
If she had been an ordinary person, she might have been injured by his blow. However, Wu Caiwei, having practiced martial arts, quickly subdued him. Looking at the gleaming knife, she raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn't expected him to go to such lengths this time, buying a knife to deal with her. Unfortunately for him, he had miscalculated again.
"Mercy, good sir! I've heard my father mention you. Isn't it money you want? I'll give it all to you." Liu Dacai, seeing that he was no match for her, quickly admitted defeat and began to beg for mercy.