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墨書 Inktalez
"Those two people are missing? The timing of their disappearance seems too coincidental, doesn't it? Brother Chang, are you sure they are missing and not just fleeing after hearing the news?" Xing Ruyi lightly rubbed her forehead and smiled helplessly.
"They are indeed missing, and it's not just them," Chang Tai's expression remained unchanged, even more serious than when he first arrived. "I checked the county records, and actually, a year and a half ago, a victim reported to the County Office that his brother had mysteriously disappeared from that inn. But inns like that usually have many long-distance travelers coming and going, with only a few locals staying for special reasons. It's difficult to investigate since people come and go freely.
The County Office did send a Yard Officer over, but they didn't find any useful clues, and the case has been gathering dust at the County Office ever since. Over the past year and a half, there have been several reports of missing persons, most of whom are related to this inn."
"Since it's all related to this inn, why hasn't the County Magistrate investigated it thoroughly? Why wait until the Young Master of the Su Family goes missing before taking it seriously?"
"It's not that they haven't investigated; it's just that their inquiries have yielded no results," Chang Tai's expression relaxed slightly.
"Could it be that this inn has some mysterious backing?"
"Not necessarily! This inn has been operating for several years now. According to locals, it was initially run by a man and a woman. The man's name is Su Guangcai, a local from Paper Town, and the woman's name is Lingxiang, who is quite beautiful and has typical southern features. When they opened this inn, Su Guangcai introduced Lingxiang as his wife, whom he met while traveling for business."
"So it's a husband-and-wife operation!"
"Yes! It started out that way." Chang Tai tapped his chin thoughtfully. "About three years ago, people in Town noticed that the male owner, Su Guangcai, hadn't shown his face in quite some time. The Paper Shop sells Oiled Paper Umbrellas, and many families have members who travel for business. It's common for someone to be away for a year or more, so initially, no one thought much of Su Guangcai's absence. Only occasionally would guests ask about him when staying or dining at the inn.
Lingxiang has an excellent temperament; whenever someone inquired, she would smile and say that Su Guangcai was out buying goods and hadn't returned yet. No matter how many times guests asked her, she patiently answered each time until eventually, they felt embarrassed to ask again."
"So was Su Guangcai really out buying goods or has he truly disappeared?"
"He should be missing!" Chang Tai said as he pulled something from his sleeve. "Half a year ago, Lingxiang suddenly went to the Yamen suspecting that her husband had been harmed by someone—specifically a widow named Liu who lives in the same town."
"Why does this bring up a widow?"
"Fox Demon, don't rush. These seemingly unrelated events seem to be connected by an invisible thread; just let me finish explaining and you'll understand." Chang Tai handed the item to Xing Ruyi; it unfolded into a densely written piece of paper. Xing Ruyi wasn't sure if this should be called a legal document but glanced over its contents.
According to Lingxiang, she was originally from Suzhou but was sold to a brothel after her family fell on hard times. Her first client was Su Guangcai. He sympathized with her plight and claimed to have fallen in love with her at first sight; he not only redeemed her but also brought her back to the Paper Shop as his wife.
"Oh, there was also proof of Su Guangcai redeeming her among the items Lingxiang submitted to the County Office, so what’s written here should be true. However, I didn't bring that item when I left; I thought it wouldn't be very useful."
Chang Tai was explaining on the side, and Xing Ruyi lightly hummed in response, continuing to examine the details.
After returning to the paper town, Su Guangcai planned to open an Inn because he had gotten married and wanted to provide Lingxiang with a stable home. Since Su Guangcai had spent a large amount of double silver coins to redeem Lingxiang, his savings were limited. Therefore, they initially operated only a noodle stall, also selling some pastries on the side.
At that time, it was Lingxiang who made the pastries and rolled the noodles, while Su Guangcai took care of the fire, served meals, collected bowls, and washed dishes. Although their life was somewhat impoverished, the two relied on each other and were quite happy.
Due to Lingxiang's excellent skills, her delicate appearance, and sweet smile, along with her talents in singing and playing instruments during breaks for customers, their business thrived. In less than six months, they saved enough money to open an Inn.
Once the Inn was established and customers started coming in, their lives became prosperous. However, with a home and money, Su Guangcai changed. He often made excuses to go out for business meetings and would be gone for half a day. It was later discovered that he had become involved with a widow named Liu from Town.
Lingxiang cried and caused a scene over this situation; she even pleaded with him. Yet Su Guangcai's attitude grew increasingly impatient, even resorting to physical violence against Lingxiang. In an attempt to keep Su Guangcai, Lingxiang suggested that he take Liu Widow as a concubine, expressing her willingness to share him.
Seeing Lingxiang being so understanding made Su Guangcai very happy. He eagerly went to discuss this with Liu Widow but returned disappointed. It turned out that long before Su Guangcai met Lingxiang, he and Liu Widow had been involved. According to Liu Widow, even if two women shared one husband, she should be the wife while Lingxiang would be the concubine. Although she was a widow, she came from a respectable family; Lingxiang, on the other hand, came from a place of ill repute and it seemed inappropriate for her to be the primary wife.
Although Lingxiang had a good temper, it did not mean she lacked resolve. She refused to yield to Liu Widow and Su Guangcai's demands, especially since Liu Widow wanted to take over the Inn that Lingxiang had worked hard to establish with Su Guangcai.
Lingxiang clearly remembered that it was raining heavily outside when Su Guangcai, incited by Liu Widow, forced her to agree; if she refused, he would make her sign divorce papers immediately. Lingxiang steadfastly refused and was beaten by both Su Guangcai and Liu Widow. If not for the guests arriving that night, she feared she might have been killed by them.
As guests arrived, Su Guangcai half-pushed and half-kicked Lingxiang out of the door to attend to them. That night’s guest was none other than Su Family's Eldest Young Master, Su Jingbo. Because she was injured at the time and did not want the guests to notice, she deliberately changed into dark clothing and let her hair down to cover her wounded face.
At that moment, Su Jingbo expressed concern for her well-being. She brushed it off by saying she had caught a cold and felt unwell. Out of sympathy for her situation, Young Master Su did not order noodles but asked her to arrange a room for him instead; he ate his own provisions before going to sleep. All of this could be confirmed by Su Family's Eldest Young Master.
"According to Lingxiang's account, not only did Su Guangcai cheat during marriage by bringing his mistress home openly, but he also colluded with this mistress to beat up his original wife—he is truly the worst kind of man!" Xing Ruyi said angrily. Although Chang Tai did not fully understand some of her words, he could clearly hear the anger in her tone.
"Has the County Office sent someone to inquire with Su Jingbo?"
"They have asked him. Su Jingbo admitted that this indeed happened and remembers it quite clearly because it coincided with the day he first met Madam. Not only did Su Jingbo confirm all of Lingxiang's claims as true, but he also told the County Office officials that while he was outside, he heard Lingxiang's painful cries. He even considered finding another Inn for accommodation but due to heavy rain at that time and his companions having already checked other Inns without success, he reluctantly knocked on their door."
In addition to this, although Lingxiang kept her head lowered and tried hard to hide her injuries at that moment, he still noticed the wounds on her face and hands. Especially on her hand where he merely glanced but could tell that injury had been inflicted by someone's foot.
When he helped her open the door to the guest room, he also heard Su Guangcai talking with another woman upstairs. Since it was none of his business, he didn't ask any further.
According to the latter part of what Lingxiang wrote, when she had arranged Su Jingbo's accommodation and returned to her room with Su Guangcai, Su Guangcai and Widow Liu were already gone. Besides the absence of people, there was a box left behind in the room. That box was the first gift Su Guangcai gave her after redeeming her, originally meant to hold Lingxiang's personal clothing and items. Later, when she opened the inn and had her own home, she found better places to store her clothes and belongings, but she never discarded that box. Instead, she used it to hold silver coins and banknotes. Thus, that box represented all of Lingxiang's memories and all her savings since opening the inn.
In this way, Su Guangcai was not only a scoundrel who bullied his original wife but also stole almost all the money that was earned by her! This Su Guangcai was even worse than scum; he was truly the worst of the worst!
"What does 'the worst of the worst' mean?" Chang Tai finally couldn't help but ask.
"It means this person is utterly despicable and has no morals!"
"I can understand 'utterly despicable,' meaning Su Guangcai is very bad, worse than those highway robbers, but what does 'has no morals' mean?"
"It means he lacks character; his integrity is nonexistent!" The fox, who had been silent until now, spoke up, still wearing that faintly discernible smile.
Although it was just a simple explanation, it made Chang Tai realize once again that the fox was truly the man suited to stand beside Xing Ruyi. Because those bizarre words that came out of Xing Ruyi's mouth seemed to be understood only by the fox! No! Not just the fox; it seemed everyone in Rouge could understand her, while he felt as if he were from a different world.
Thinking of this, Chang Tai couldn't help but chuckle at himself. Indeed, he was not on the same level as Xing Ruyi, Chang Tai, Yin Yuan, Li Mao, or Deer Lady. They were people from Ruyi Rouge and family of the Fox Demon; he was from the Government Office and was Brother Chang of the Fox Demon.
Brother Chang? That's fine; that's enough!
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