Miao Chu

Chapter 195: Collision with Evil
The driver quickly pulled on the reins, and the mule obeyed, slowing down and obediently climbing the slope. But after a while, it became restless again, constantly shifting to the left. The driver pulled on the reins and shouted, urging it to move to the right.

The mule took a few steps to the right, but before it had gone far, it turned to the left again.

Having traveled back and forth daily, Song Miao was already very familiar with the conditions along the way. She knew that she had arrived at a temporary road that had only been opened up for more than half a month. To the right of the slope was ordinary wasteland, and to the left, about seventy or eighty steps away, was a newly dug riverbed, which was more than two zhang deep.

She had already been somewhat alert and hadn't closed the carriage door, so upon seeing this, she immediately called for a stop.

The driver responded and pulled the reins, pulling hard several times to stop the mule, even though it was uphill. Not only that, the usually docile mule was now making hissing noises from its nose and pawing at the ground repeatedly.

Seeing the animals' reaction, Song Miao was startled. After only a moment's hesitation, she called everyone off the cart and ordered them to stop the mule carts behind them.

Several drivers gathered around and, upon inquiring about the situation, they all said that everything had been fine until they turned this bend, at which point the mule started to struggle. It wasn't that it was disobedient, just a bit stubborn.

After thinking for a moment, Song Miao asked the kitchen staff, "It's not far, how about we walk?"

Normally, if a mule has a minor abnormality, most people wouldn't pay much attention to it.

However, having just experienced the incident with croton, everyone in the kitchen was very wary. When they heard Song Miao say this, not only did no one utter a single complaint, but they all chimed in to agree.

The man said, "It's still dark, and the downhill slope is steep. Mules don't have good eyesight, so it would be bad if they slipped and fell."

The man said, "Wife, it's only about two miles left. Let's walk back to the kitchen!"

Another person said, "The car ride made me a little sleepy, so I'll walk around a bit to wake myself up!"

Seeing this, the other drivers naturally agreed, with the leader saying, "We can handle it, but the young lady is right, it's better to be careful."

The group didn't get on the cart; instead, they drove the mules up the slope, while the others followed at a distance.

The uphill was fine, but when they started going downhill, the mules became increasingly agitated halfway down. Suddenly, for some unknown reason, one of the mules started making "ha-ha" sounds, as if a firecracker had been set off behind its tail, and charged straight down the steep slope to the left.

This mule was just the beginning; once it started, the rest of the mules followed suit, each pulling the carriages behind them and galloping downhill.

Although the rickshaw pullers were on guard, they were still startled. They tried to pull with all their might, but were dragged forward. One of them was pulled down.

The man cried out "Ah!" and, disregarding everything else, hurriedly let go, letting the mule pull him away wildly.

It was only just getting light when the kitchen staff walked around in twos and threes. Although they couldn't see clearly what was happening below, they could hear something was wrong. They saw the mule cart rushing recklessly towards the river, the front and rear doors slamming open with a "bang" as the mule lurched around. Somehow, the wheels hit something in the way, and with a "thud," the mule and the cart fell to the ground.

Everyone was startled and hurriedly gathered around. Halfway there, they saw people on the ground and helped them up. There were also people familiar with the cart drivers who rushed to help restrain the other mules.

Song Miao hurriedly stepped forward and, after confirming that the car in front was empty and that two drivers had minor scrapes and one had twisted his ankle but were otherwise unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Knowing that she couldn't linger here, she left only three experienced men to help her clean up, while another person went to report to the supervisor on duty on the river that day. She then arranged for the rest of the people to go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast according to last night's plan.

Watching the crowd leave with their torches, knowing that their numbers were considerable and no one would dare to provoke them, and that there were patrols not far ahead, Song Miao finally felt a little relieved. She turned back to get her lantern and used it to light her way.

She was in a hurry earlier and, although she felt something was wrong, she didn't look closely. This time, she carefully examined the smell and, sure enough, as she walked, she smelled a faint stench. At first, it wasn't strong, but when she got to the place where the mule had gone mad and was frightened, the smell became quite pungent, and further on, it became even stronger.

The stench was like urine, but it was much stronger than the urine of ordinary cats, dogs, horses, mules, or other animals or livestock. It was as if a piece of meat was repeatedly urinated on and covered with an airtight container to ferment. When you remembered it one day and opened the container, the stench rushed out from the cramped container, making your eyes and nose feel uncomfortable.

Song Miao has very sensitive senses, and smells are especially unpleasant for her.

She walked forward and quickly circled the area with the fishy smell by her nose.

The place was very close to the river. Before long, the messenger arrived with the person on duty for the day, an official from the Huazhou government and a student from the Water Conservancy Bureau.

Song Miao recounted the events in detail.

Several drivers had already given the wounds some basic treatment and were now standing aside as witnesses.

The duty officer and the student from the Water Conservancy Bureau were both annoyed and anxious. They retraced the route and checked the mules and carriages again. Sure enough, they found nothing wrong with the rest, but they could smell a fishy odor.

This delay was short, as another convoy arrived later.

This time, the convoy consisted of horse-drawn carriages, carrying materials for building river embankments.

Song Miao hurriedly sent someone to stop them, explained the situation, and asked to borrow a horse and a coachman from the other party.

Sure enough, this time, as soon as the driver led the horse down the slope, the horse seemed to be stimulated and kept dodging to the left like the mule before. When he was forced to move forward, it took off running and charged forward with all its might when they reached the place with the strong smell of fish and stench, and they couldn't be stopped.

This time, everyone knew it was no accident, and no one dared to harbor any illusions.

The person on duty quickly sent someone to report to his superiors, and the dogs carried by the two patrolmen were also brought over.

The patrol dogs were of no use; instead, the convoy transporting supplies got stuck on the downhill road. The people at the back didn't know what had happened, so they sent someone up to the front to ask questions. One of them was from the mountains and had been a hunter for over ten years.

As the man approached, his expression turned grim, and he blurted out, "Why does this place smell like worm urine!"
There are no mountains or forests here, just a village in front and the city behind. For decades, there has never been any news of a tiger attacking the area.

Moreover, according to the hunter, the urine of the tigers here smells terrifyingly strong. Not to mention ordinary horses and mules, even wolves passing by would turn and run away if they smelled it. Unless the tigers could do this a dozen or twenty times a day, it would be difficult to produce such an effect.

Song Miao had already suspected that it was most likely a man-made disaster, and now it was almost certain that it was. Seeing the wide-open carriage door and the spot where the crazed mule had stopped, she realized that if she took another five or six steps forward, she would have lost her footing and fallen into the river.

Falling from such a height would result in serious injury, even if one survives.

Even if she didn't fall into the river, Song Miao went forward to take a look and found that there were many stones on the road that hadn't been there before.

These stones, about the size of two fists, were scattered along the roadside. Since it was downhill and the carriage was going so fast, if the wheels were accidentally tripped by a stone, the people inside would most likely fall out when the carriage opened.

Although the incident didn't ultimately happen, Song Miao's heart still tightened at the thought of the possible scenarios.

She had other matters to attend to in the kitchen, so she couldn't linger there. After explaining everything she knew, she hurriedly took her leave with her men.

Throughout the journey, everyone who followed them wore an unpleasant expression.

Everyone has eyes and ears; they saw and heard what just happened, and there are also some results from the investigation. Who wouldn't be scared?
Song Miao walked at the front, feeling more anger than fear.

Even without evidence, only a fool wouldn't know who's behind it all and why.

One act of poisoning, two acts of harming others—each time you're bullied, and each time it's a deadly tactic. If you let it go unchecked, what will happen next? Who can guarantee they'll escape unscathed every time?
She pondered for a long time, and seeing that the kitchen was just ahead, she stopped and called to the three people behind her, saying, "I really didn't expect this to happen. It has frightened everyone. When we get back, I will apologize to everyone and explain the situation."

He added, "I'm just afraid they might be too embarrassed to say it directly. You can also help ask around. If anyone feels that the job isn't suitable, they can ask for leave to go home and rest for a few days, or they can resign if they want."

One of the three hurriedly said, "Madam, you're overthinking it! It's a rare opportunity to get such a good job. Everyone's counting on working on this project for a long time, so who would want to quit?"

The other man said, "Why should you apologize, my lady? It was the wicked who did the bad thing; what does it have to do with us!"

Someone else said, "Qian Dachong is too hateful! He's a tiger himself, yet he still uses tiger urine to harm people! He's done so many heinous things, what can't he get punished by heaven! There are so many officials above, can't any of them control him?!"

"His men are no good either, especially one of his constables, surnamed Ding, who bullies people everywhere. As long as a case is brought to him and he's willing to pay money, the unreasonable can become reasonable, and the guilty can become innocent! It's just a pity for the victims!"

As everyone was talking, Song Miao heard the word "case" and suddenly had an idea. She said, "I want to inquire about something. If it's convenient for you, could you help me ask around? Does anyone know of any cases in the past year or two that have been judged by the prefectural government, preferably wrongful convictions, miscarriages of justice, or cases where people were wrongly arrested or imprisoned?"

The three of them agreed in unison, and one after another, they immediately counted out seven or eight.

When they returned to the kitchen and finished preparing breakfast, Song Miao explained what had happened. Everyone was already indignant about the croton oil incident last time, and this time they were even more agitated. Not only did no one want to quit, but some even wanted to retaliate.

Someone shouted, "That Qian the Tiger is shameless! When I get back, I'm thinking of taking a basket to the neighborhood to collect rotten vegetable leaves and smashing them on his door!"

"It's a pity his gatekeeper is on guard day and night, so it's impossible to smash anything—why doesn't God strike him dead with lightning!"

While everyone was talking, one person, Aunt Xia, secretly tugged at Song Miao's sleeve and went into a side room to ask, "Young Miss Song, I heard them say you want to ask about the injustices of the past two years?"

Song Miao nodded and said, "Yes, that's true. Have you heard about it, Auntie?"

"Speaking of wrongful convictions, I have an old sister whose family has been cursed for the past two years. They've been having a run of bad luck, and now they've been involved in a case. They're on the verge of losing their family."

"Her boss used to be a porter. Because he was hardworking, considerate of his employers, and quick-witted, a cloth merchant took a liking to him and hired him to help manage the shop."

"She has twin sons, the daughter is half an hour older than the son. She is beautiful and has a straightforward temper. Because her family name is Yang, we call her Yang Yuanniang."

“This Yuan Niang often went to the cloth shop to deliver meals. There was a young master in that shop, and a manager named Wei and his only son, Wei Jie, worked there together. The three of them were about the same age.”

"Yuan Niang delivered meals for half a year, and both young men confessed their feelings to her. However, the young master was already engaged, so she had to take him back as a concubine. The steward's son, on the other hand, had discussed it with his family and was determined to marry her properly. Naturally, he was chosen in the end."

"It just so happens that the father-in-law had worked in the cloth shop for half his life and saved up some money. He borrowed and scraped together money from others, and finally opened a small cloth shop for Yuan Niang and her husband—right on Sanrong Street."

“This shop has been open for three or four years. Because Yuan Niang has given birth to a son and a daughter, and her daughter is just three months old, her mother-in-law is often ill, her father-in-law is still the manager of the shop in front, and her husband often goes out to buy goods. She has to look after the shop and take care of the child. She is too busy, so she often asks her younger brother to come and help.”

"As for her younger brother, we call him Yang Erlang, although he is not yet twenty, he is really not upright. He goes out drinking and having fun all the time, and spends any money he gets recklessly."

"On that very day, I heard that he had been drinking heavily with someone and went to a brothel to find his lover. For some reason, his lover already had customers. He refused and made a scene at the door. Finally, he forced his way in and saw that his brother-in-law and his lover were sleeping naked in each other's arms on the bed."

"He was already drunk, and he made a scene on the spot, cursing his brother-in-law for being heartless, saying that his sister was at home raising children while her husband was out having affairs and drinking. The fight escalated, and the two of them ended up fighting. In the end, his brother-in-law couldn't beat him, and he ran away without even having time to pick up all his clothes. Yang Erlang also went back to his sister and brother-in-law's shop."

"But somehow, the next morning, Yuan Niang and her mother-in-law went to open the stall. When they went in, they saw Wei Jie covered in blood, lying on the ground with more than a dozen stab wounds to his chest. Yang Erlang was holding a bloodstained weapon, his face and body were also covered in blood, and he was sitting on the ground next to them, asleep against the leg of a chair."

"Before the village head could report it, the yamen runners and patrolmen came to the door, took Yang Erlang to prison, and within a few days he was convicted of intentional homicide. They said that a conflict had occurred during the day, so he must have harbored hatred and had a weapon in his hand. The weapon matched the wounds perfectly, and there were only the two of them in the house."

"Yang Erlang was very dissatisfied. He said that he did not kill anyone. The day before yesterday, there was another person at the table who was the young master of the cloth shop. He said he wanted to reconcile the two. But for some reason, when he woke up, the young master was gone, and the room was in that state."

(End of this chapter)