Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 84 Acting vigorously and resolutely
On the day he returned to school, Chen Xuan got up early as usual and practiced the "Meditation Exercise" several times. When the sun rose, he stopped to have breakfast. While having breakfast, he asked Qingdou to help take care of the peach pits he had planted for a while. The other party readily agreed and asked, "Brother Xuan, you actually have such a refined interest. Could it be that you learned it from Mr. Yushan at the academy?"
It seems that Mr. Yushan's love for flowers has become well-known.

Then he packed his luggage and went to the accounting office to withdraw thirty taels of silver for Gao Jingming's school expenses. Chen Xuan was already familiar with the process.

Although the last money was not spent, it was Gao Jingming's monthly allowance. The unspent amount was kept as a small treasury and kept by Chen Xuan.

Alas, the money is in my hand, but it is not mine. This is really speechless.

When they set out, they were still accompanied by servants and guards. Xiao Cai and the others also went. It was not because they were worried about Chen Xuan, but because they had to stay in the small courtyard at the foot of Yushan Mountain and could not go to the school.

Mrs. Gao didn't send off that day because she really didn't have time. Early in the morning, people came one after another to congratulate her and give her gifts.

They gathered at the archway outside the county. Zhou Lin and Deng Lingfeng were still injured and always looked sad and sighed, while Tian Xueyu was listless and drowsy, with dark circles under her eyes almost like a panda's. She must have worked hard all night. The little guy is a very serious person.

After Tian Xueyu handed her finished homework to Zhou Lin and Deng Lingfeng, she boarded the carriage and went to sleep. She had no mood to listen to her friends' words of gratitude. She didn't get off the carriage during the rest stop at Baliji, and continued sleeping until she returned to Yushan Academy. She didn't know if she would be able to sleep at night...

After returning to school and settling down, Xiao Cai and the others left, and school life continued.

Originally, Gao Jingming wanted to play Cuju to vent his energy, but Zhou Lin and Deng Lingfeng were injured and couldn't exercise, Tian Xueyu was sleeping, and Luo Taiyun, a little fat man, was of no use at all, so he had to give up, which made him quite bored.

Three of the 'Five Tigers of Yang County' had become sick cats. When the members of the Second Class of Class D learned about it, some bored guys came to laugh at them. It was because they had lost last time and had to ask Gao Jingming and the others to show off. Now they had won a game. Kids are just so boring.

When there were no special arrangements or important matters, Chen Xuan seized the time to read and practice calligraphy to enrich himself, which made Gao Jingming feel depressed. There was no one to play with him, so he simply went for a walk by himself. After a walk, he was so bored that he simply picked up the book and started studying.

He glanced at Chen Xuan who was concentrating from time to time. He couldn't understand why Chen Xuan loved reading so much. He felt sleepy just looking at him. When he asked directly, the answer he got was that Chen Xuan said that studying made him happy.

What's so happy about this? There's no money to pick up in the book...

When he went to the cafeteria to get food in the afternoon, Chen Xuan saw Shu Yao busy running errands for others. It seemed that he never had a moment to rest. He was either busy or reading. There was always fatigue in his eyes, but it was well concealed by his cheerful personality.

On the way back, Shu Yao saw Chen Xuan and walked up to him. After greeting him, he said, "Brother Chen Xuan, last time I was on vacation, I went to Yangliu Ferry to take a boat home. I learned about the Yushui River from the old ferryman. He didn't know where it originated, but the river is quite long, hundreds of miles long. The water rises every rainy season, but it has only flooded the banks and the surrounding area once or twice in decades. He said it only dried up once in decades, and that was more than ten years ago. There was a drought that year, and he made a living on the water. He lost his income and almost starved to death. He survived by eating tree bark. Do you know what tree bark is? It's not the dry shell on the outside, but the moisture on the wood below the dry shell. You scrape it off with a knife and eat it. But not all trees are edible. Pine trees are the best. This is what the old boatman told me. Oh, yes, many people drown in the Yushui River every year. Some accidentally fall into the water, and some go to the river to bathe..."

Shu Yao is very talkative. He talks endlessly and very fast.

He actually remembered this matter and went to inquire about it. Although what he said were all irrelevant things, Chen Xuan still expressed his sincere gratitude after he finished speaking.

Shu Yaoze joked that there was no need to thank him, and that just giving him some work occasionally would be enough so that he could earn some hard-earned money.

As they were about to reach the dormitory, Shu Yao hurriedly said, "By the way, Brother Chen Xuan, speaking of this, I remembered that we might not be able to take the boat at Yangliu Ferry for a while. If we are in a hurry, we will have to take a long detour."

"Why?" Chen Xuan said in silence.

Shu Yao said mysteriously, "I was planning to take a boat to Yangliu Ferry and transfer to the academy today, and I wanted to find out about the Yushui River for you. But I didn't see the old boatman at the Jiming Town dock. I found out that he was arrested the morning after our holiday. Many people saw him. The charge was that he had kidnapped many children and women and secretly sold them over the years. You only know a person's face, but not his heart. Who would have thought that such an honest old man would do such a heartless thing? And he did this for more than just one or two days. He deceived everyone!"

"Is it true?" Chen Xuan pretended to be surprised, but he knew in his heart that it must be the result of Mr. Yushan's efforts.

Shu Yao nodded confidently and said, "It's true. He's so honest, so many people who know him naturally don't believe it. They went to the government office to complain, but he confessed everything himself. He explained everything clearly on the day he was arrested. I guess he couldn't withstand the interrogation with his body. The evidence is conclusive, how could it be false? Good man, it's really shocking. Over the past few decades, he has abducted hundreds of children and girls. He specifically targets outsiders, and comes several times a year. When I checked, there were so many, some of them he couldn't even remember. I heard that the most recent one seemed to be less than a month ago. It was a child from another place, and it seemed that he was a criminal. He sold him to the next buyer and no one knew where he went."

"Hiss, this person is so heartless?" Chen Xuan glared slightly. He was not pretending, but was really scared.

Even though he knew that the old boatman was not a good person, he was still shocked by his "record".

Shu Yao gritted his teeth and said, "Who says it's not? He looks honest, but he's actually a black heart. Many people are discussing it. No wonder he is a poor ferryman, but he has money to drink and half-close the door from time to time, and occasionally gamble. It seems that's how he made his money. Especially when the government went to his house to search, they actually found more than 500 taels of silver from the cesspool. He said he didn't dare to use it and kept it for his retirement. Tell me, if it wasn't for human trafficking, could he have saved so much money by rowing the boat? It doesn't make sense except for committing a crime." Chen Xuan shook his head and said, "I never thought there would be such a person who hid his evil deeds for decades. After all, the truth will come out. Well done to him. As the saying goes, the net of heaven is vast and nothing can escape it. It's not a pity for such a person to die, but it's a pity for those who were abducted by him. Their whereabouts are unknown and they don't even have the hope of returning home."

They stopped talking. Faced with such a thing, regardless of Chen Xuan's identity as the person involved, normal people would be united in hatred of the enemy.

Glancing around, Shu Yao continued, "If I hadn't wanted to help you find out about the situation on the Yushui River and asked him about it while I couldn't see him, I wouldn't have known he was such a person. Furthermore, I heard that it wasn't just the old boatman who looked good but not really his heart. The government acted decisively and, through him, they busted a black market den engaged in illegal trade. There was even a major incident in Lanfeng County a few days ago, with people being arrested everywhere. I don't know if it's related to this incident. I heard that there was almost a civil uprising, and even the county sent troops down to suppress it!"

Is it such a big deal? Chen Xuan almost glared, but he quickly realized that although the old boatman's crime was extremely serious, he himself was not a big deal. The main problem was the gang of human traffickers. They probably involved too many people, which caused quite a stir in Lanfeng County.

Fortunately, the rebellion was suppressed and quelled. Otherwise, if it had really turned into a civil uprising, countless officials at all levels would have suffered. This kind of thing was extremely sensitive and taboo in the ancient dynasty society.

The county even sent people down, but I don’t know what the scene was like. It’s a pity that I didn’t have the chance to see it with my own eyes.

"How did it become like this?" Chen Xuan asked curiously.

Shu Yao pondered, "How would I know? It seems that because the arrests involved some local gentry and wealthy families, and since it concerned them, they organized the people to resist, trying to evade legal sanctions in this way. Humph, if they dare to do so, they will definitely be punished more severely. If they dare to organize the people to resist the law today, will they dare to rebel tomorrow? It's only because our Yushan Academy is remote and far away from the town that the news didn't reach here. In fact, many places have already discussed it a lot, and I don't know how many people applauded it."

"Oh, then do you know how many people were arrested in total? What will be their fate?" Chen Xuan asked curiously.

After a moment's thought, Shu Yao pondered, "They must have arrested at least one or two hundred people. I don't know the exact number, but the government is treating this as a major case. People from the county have been sent down to oversee the case. They must resolve it quickly and give the people an explanation. Anyway, those guys who committed heinous crimes to the point of being unforgivable must be executed immediately. There's no need to wait until autumn!"

Regardless of the period, any major case handled by the government, involving human lives and having a huge impact, will be handled severely, quickly and strictly. There is a special set of procedures and it will not be dragged out like some civil cases.

I never thought that the results would come out so quickly. Mr. Yushan is really decisive and efficient. I don’t know how he did it.

As long as the results are confirmed, the knot in Chen Xuan's heart since he came to this world will be completely resolved.

In fact, Shu Yao only knew a general idea, which was hearsay. He didn't understand the details at all. It was just like gossip. He said so much but there was actually not much point at all.

"Shu Yao, what are you wasting time on over there? I need my food. I'm starving." When they said this, someone shouted and urged them not far away.

Shu Yao immediately turned around and responded, then said to Chen Xuan: "Let's not talk about it for now, I'm busy, I'm leaving now."

After saying that, he left quickly without giving Chen Xuan a chance to say anything else.

The old boatman has been arrested, and a black market den has been busted. Lanfeng County was arresting people everywhere a few days ago. This matter has caused quite a stir. Mr. Yushan should have taken advantage of the holidays to free up his time to carry out this task.

Pondering these things in his mind, Gao Jingming returned to the dormitory. He touched his belly with a somewhat resentful look and looked at Chen Xuan curiously and asked, "Xuan, who were you whispering with outside just now?"

"A man named Shu Yao, whom I know occasionally. We met before and talked about some interesting things about his return home. Master, you must be hungry. Come and eat." Chen Xuan made up an excuse considering that Mr. Yushan didn't want them to pay too much attention to this matter.

Gao Jingming didn't care at all. He took the plate and ate while saying, "You still know I'm hungry? Forget it, I won't starve to death anyway. As for him, I know him. I even asked him to run errands and do a lot of things. He's quite a hardworking person. Ah Xuan, you actually know him, and it seems that you get along well. That's good. You should make more friends."

"I delayed the young master's meal and made him hungry. It's my fault. I will pay more attention next time."

"It's no big deal, Xuan, if you keep doing this I'll be angry..."

(End of this chapter)