Chapter 467
The woman surrounded by stall owners was indeed furious, wishing she could skin Zhan Feiyu alive. If this escalated to the authorities, it wouldn't just be about compensation; it would mean imprisonment.
"I'll pay, I'll pay, alright?" the woman gritted out. No matter how wronged she felt, she had to part with her money. Not only had she earned nothing, but she also had to pay out of her own pocket!
Seeing that the woman indeed had money in her purse, not only the stall owners but also the other passersby believed Zhan Feiyu's words. No wonder the woman had a harsh face; she truly was a wicked person, stealing money from her relatives' home.
In contrast, the fair-skinned Zhan Feiyu appeared much more likable. Although the young girl was a bit spoiled, she was at least honest and wouldn't steal money.
After a lengthy negotiation, she ended up paying over ten taels of silver. The woman gnashed her teeth in hatred, pinching her husband's arm, "Husband, hurry and pick up Erniu, let's go home!"
The man also wore a dark, sullen expression. He had spent his life training hawks, only to be pecked by one today!
Seeing the fierce-looking man, Zhan Feiyu, with her sharp eyes, spotted the patrolling constables not far away and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Constable brothers, there are child snatchers here!"
"Child snatchers!"
Several passersby instinctively tightened their grip on the children beside them. Parents hated child snatchers the most.
The stall owners, who were packing up their goods, were taken aback. They looked up at the woman and the man with displeased expressions. "You two?"
The woman hadn't expected Zhan Feiyu to shout again. Suppressing the anger in her eyes, she slapped her thigh and scolded Zhan Feiyu irritably, "Are you afraid your father will beat you when you get home, so you're spouting nonsense again!"
"Hmph, what's the use of scolding her now? You should give her a good beating. Otherwise, next time you deliberately overturn so many stalls, I'll see if you have to sell your fields and houses to compensate people!" The man roared angrily at the woman, then rushed towards Zhan Feiyu in exasperation, scolding, "You wretched girl, you've been spoiled by your mother!"
As his words fell, the man's rough hand lunged towards Zhan Feiyu's face, his eyes filled with malicious ferocity.
With the force of this blow, let alone a young girl like Zhan Feiyu, even an adult would likely be knocked to the ground. Once dazed, they could be carried away without anyone suspecting a thing.
The four patrolling constables arrived promptly. The leading constable, Constable Miao, shouted at the man who was about to strike, "Stop! What are you doing?"
He Nuan, standing in the crowd, glanced at Zhan Feiyu, who had signaled her, and halted her advance. However, she positioned herself behind Zhan Feiyu, making it seem to outsiders that He Nuan was just another onlooker.
"Officer, it's just our child being unruly. She overturned several stalls and paid over ten taels of silver. Her father is teaching her a lesson," the woman preempted, her heart aching at the thought of the money she had lost. "We'll take Erniu home now."
The scholar who hadn't left shook his head and chimed in, "Jade uncarved cannot become an article. This young girl speaks nonsense and acts recklessly; she indeed needs to learn some discipline!"
Which child goes out on the street and overturns so many stalls, causing over ten taels of silver in damages? The surrounding passersby also chimed in, their gazes of blame falling on Zhan Feiyu. They felt fortunate that this wasn't their own unruly child, otherwise, a slap would be considered light. Over ten taels of silver—a man would have to save for a year without eating or drinking.
Hearing this, Constable Miao nodded in agreement. His own unruly son was spoiled by his mother and wife. At eight years old, he refused to study and would throw a tantrum on the ground whenever his father tried to discipline him.
What's more, before Constable Miao could even raise his stick, his own mother would cry and threaten to smash her head against a wall. Not studying properly wasted several taels of silver on ink and paper each year.
"Young lady, you are too..." Constable Miao paused, startled. The young girl's eyes were clear and bright, and her appearance was very well-behaved. How could she be like his son, who looked like he deserved a beating?
"They are not my parents, they are child snatchers!" Zhan Feiyu extended her hand to Constable Miao. Her fair palm clearly showed she was pampered.
Ordinary village children, let alone those seven or eight years old, even five or six-year-olds, would help their families feed chickens and ducks or gather firewood. If they had strict elders, they would even have to wash clothes and cook. Their hands, if not rough, would certainly have calluses on their palms.
"You?" Constable Miao was taken aback. Upon realizing what she meant, he grabbed the arm of the man beside him and said sternly, "Seize this woman, they are child snatchers!"
The remaining three constables reacted quickly and swiftly apprehended the woman as well.
Could these really be child snatchers? Seeing the constables move to arrest them, the onlookers who had gathered around were stunned into silence.
Although Zhan Feiyu's delicate appearance didn't suggest she was a village girl, the woman had previously said that her family provided her with good food and drink, which is why she was raised so delicately, like a young lady from the city.
The captured woman and man exchanged glances. They were furious, their gazes towards Zhan Feiyu even more venomous than poisoned darts. Not only had they lost over ten taels of silver, but they had also attracted the constables. If this wretched girl fell into their hands, they would sell her to a brothel!
A quarter of an hour later, at the county yamen.
"My lord, that's what happened. Your subordinate has already sent Wu Hai to find the young girl with the bamboo dragonfly," Constable Miao quickly recounted the events.
County Lieutenant Cheng listened, then squinted at the doorway and said in a tone that betrayed no emotion, "You believe a little girl's words so readily?"
"Replying to my lord, the young girl's fingertips have calluses..." Constable Miao dared to be sure that the couple were child snatchers only after seeing Zhan Feiyu extend her palm.
Constable Miao explained, "No matter how much village families dote on their children, they wouldn't let a young girl learn to read. My Da Bao is a failure, but I saw the young master before; his fingertips had already developed calluses from holding a brush."
The young master Constable Miao mentioned was the county magistrate Zhu's youngest son. Although only nine years old, the young master had started his studies at four and had been studying for five years. It was precisely because of his diligent studies that his fingertips had a thin layer of calluses.
Constable Miao had previously used this as an example to discipline his own unruly child. Although Da Bao started studying late, he began at the private school at six and had been studying for two and a half years. Apart from being hit on the hand by the tutor, his palms were as tender as steamed buns.
"Studied?" County Lieutenant Cheng's brow furrowed sharply. He sat up straight.
Unless it was a scholarly family or an official household, who would be willing to spend money to have a young girl tutored? Developing calluses on one's fingertips meant holding a brush daily.
After a moment of contemplation, County Lieutenant Cheng said with an unreadable expression, "In that case, go and clarify the matter, then send people to verify. Lock those two child snatchers in the prison, and I will report to Magistrate Zhu tomorrow."
Looking at Zhan Feiyu's travel permit and then at her neatly written official script name, Constable Miao knew without needing to verify that Zhan Feiyu could not possibly have come from the countryside. Even if village girls knew a few characters, such handwriting could not be achieved without years of practice.
After smoothly leaving the yamen, Zhan Feiyu looked at He Nuan, who was waiting outside the gate. "If it were an ordinary child today, they would likely have been abducted."
"That scholar earlier seemed a bit off," He Nuan said. Although she hadn't stepped forward to intervene at the time, she had been standing behind Zhan Feiyu and had keenly noticed something amiss with the scholar in the blue robe.
Her footsteps paused, and Zhan Feiyu recalled, "I didn't even pay attention until you mentioned it. He spoke several times, making everyone believe I was a naughty child who would climb the roof if not beaten for three days."
Ordinary passersby would just watch the commotion or chime in a few words. However, that scholar, appearing to be in his thirties and dressed as a man of letters, although fond of using obscure phrases, spoke in "zhi hu zhe ye" from the start. The common folk trusted scholars the most. Those seemingly casual remarks not only solidified Zhan Feiyu's reputation as a troublemaker but also made the man's action of hitting her seem reasonable.
When He Sheng arrived from Changxing Inn, Zhan Feiyu was already happily eating, completely unaware of He Sheng's arrival.
"Ran into child snatchers?" After confirming Zhan Feiyu was unharmed, He Sheng asked. How blind would one have to be to target the young lady? Not to mention her age, but her attire alone made it clear that these child snatchers were risking their lives for money.
"That's because they targeted the young lady. If it were another child, they would have already been taken away," He Nuan explained the situation in detail.
Although the two child snatchers were audacious, they had done this many times before. Without waiting for cries for help, they would knock the person unconscious with a single blow and then carry them away. Even if passersby were suspicious, they wouldn't bother to question further.
Moreover, there was an accomplice posing as a scholar who, with a few words, convinced the common folk that it was just parents taking their disobedient child out on the street.