Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The viewers hoped that Jiang Pengji would save the innocent girls, so they showed their support in the comments and offered generous rewards. Jiang Pengji felt as complex as her audience did.
How paradoxical they were––they watched others’ misery with joy, yet showed genuine sympathy afterwards!
She did not reply, but instead looked at Wei Yuan, who was probably overthinking her learning the whole story.
Although she really did, she did not act like it.
As she took a step forward, she kicked the “dumpling” aside with her wooden sandal, causing him to turn around.
Then she asked mildly, “Master, how should we deal with this man?”
By that time, Wei Yuan was on the brink of losing his self-control.
“Beat him to feed to the dogs!” he said, before realizing that he had spoken too brutally.
He would not report it to the officers, for that would spread the scandal across the town; he could not bear the humiliation.
The “servant” was tied up and his mouth was blocked, but he heard their conversation and made noises to beg for mercy as he struggled on the floor.
“That’s a nice solution, Master.” Jiang Pengji smiled, drawing the attention of Feng Jin and Qiguan Rang.
Feng Jin quickly accepted her decision as he knew how relentless she could be, but Qiguan Rang was shocked and then intrigued. Did langjuns not always pretend to be generous and kind? The youngster, on the contrary, did not bother to hide his coldness, indifference, and bloodthirstiness.
“Still, Master, I must beg your pardon. I come for a word with this person. Please allow me to ask him some questions before he dies.” Jiang Pengji bent next to Wei Yuan and explained to the confused teacher, “My father and I visited Yingchun Mansion tonight, and I witnessed servants taking money from the girls staying with me. I didn’t think much about it at first until I found something strange about the old female servant who led the others...”
“...” Wait a moment. What did Liu Xi just say?
He said he went to brothels... with his father Liu She? Both Wei Yuan and Qiguan Rang could not believe their ears.
Who on earth would ever go to brothels with their parent? They did not understand.
Jiang Pengji did not care about the image of Liu She. She continued, “I was curious and followed her, and watched her change into a man at about thirty. He spotted me so I was forced to catch him, and learned some appalling news after some inquiry. That’s why I rushed to Master’s home before it was too late.”
She made things short and skipped the bloody parts by calling forced interrogation “some inquiry.” Then, she handed Wei Yuan a thin roll of bamboo slips, which were obtained from the man in Langlang Alley.
“As far as I know, there are more than two people who snuck into others’ backyards by the same method to avoid arrest. These rascals are all from Meng County in Cang Prefecture and have arrived in Hejian recently.”
Jiang Pengji spoke in a manner assuring Wei Yuan that she knew nothing about his scandal. Everyone knew she was pretending, but that was better than tearing away all the veils.
A quick scan through the roll brought silence to Wei Yuan. His anger was burning even more fiercely.
“These dregs!” When he could refrain himself no longer, he hurled the roll with all his strength. Jiang Pengji stood like an obedient student, with no intention of picking it up.
On the slips were records about the man’s “brilliant achievements”: how he selected his prey, how he disguised himself as a female to enter the households of his targets, and how he patiently waited for the right time to take action. He also described the women’s appearance, age, shape, and the smoothness of their skin, then concluded with his proud thoughts and his reflection on the pros and cons of the methods he used each time.
In addition, he depicted how he threatened the victims to keep silent and forced them to satisfy his desire multiple times. Sometimes, he also sneered at how incapable their husbands were in comparison to himself.
More shocking was the background of his prey. A third of them were single commoners or young widows from ordinary families, while the remaining were all concubines or unmarried daughters of local gentry or bureaucrats. Some were even from important houses in Meng.
Wei Yuan even saw the names of his acquaintances. The ridiculous deeds in their backyards incensed Wei Yuan, while they also roused his sympathy. Fortunately, what happened at his home was not written down, or else he could never face his student without shame in the future.
“These men came from Meng, and are obviously experienced in committing such crimes.” That could be inferred from their concise style of description and commentary.
Qiguan Rang picked up the roll and read through it. Ensuring that Wei Yuan had calmed down, he pointed out, “Master, it would be shocking if what’s written on it is true.”
Jiang Pengji snorted. “Not only shocking... What can you see from the quality of these sophisticated bamboo slips? The handwriting, too, is the result of years of practice. Besides, these famous families in Meng are heavily guarded. How could the men circumvent the guards to approach the protected ladies?”
Wei Yuan spoke not a word while Qiguan Rang sat up straight, moving his feather fan as his dark eyes glittered.
They all realized the substantial background of these people who designed to enter others’ backyards for prey.
Or, at least, their mastermind was someone from an eminent house.