Chapter 429: Chapter 429: Eat Well Before Setting Out

Yin Le hastily wiped her tears with her sleeve. Once her vision cleared, she walked to the side of the bed, fumbled for a moment, and magically produced a key.

She approached the old wardrobe, unlocked the iron lock, and took out the red bellyband that had been buried at the bottom of the chest, too afraid to move it.

The red color had faded slightly, the bright red turning to rose, but the pair of dark green mandarin ducks embroidered on it were still very clear.

However, that wasn’t the point.

The key was the line of black ink written on the bellyband, in seal script, which read—

[The tilted red is drunk with thick dew, the graceful form holds the remnants of spring]

[Left by Zhao Ta]

Seeing Qin Yao staring at the small characters while reading them over and over, Yin Le curiously asked, “Benefactor, is this a poem?”

Qin Yao asked unexpectedly, “You can’t read?”

Yin Le nodded and added, “I didn’t expect the benefactor to be literate.” Her words were laced with envy.

Based on Yin Le’s description of her family situation, it could be inferred that her family was quite well-off, so Qin Yao didn’t expect that the Yin family’s parents hadn’t taught their daughter literacy.

Then again, she thought, even men who could read were rare in all of Kaiyang County, not to mention women who were sequestered in the backyards.

In this light, Ding Xiang was lucky to have received family education and possessed considerable knowledge, more fortunate than most young women.

Qin Yao explained to Yin Le, “This is a verse describing the peony. It means that the flower, covered in dewdrops, leans slightly as if it were drunk, leaving all its beautiful postures to the passing spring. It’s a personification, using flowers as a metaphor for people.”

“Someone who could leave such a verse must have greatly admired the beauty of the girl you mentioned.”

Yin Le furrowed her brows, seemingly remembering something, and suddenly wanted to throw the bellyband to the ground, cursing, “Despicable!”

Qin Yao, quick-eyed and swift-handed, snatched the red bellyband back and sternly pointed to the verse on it:

“This is important evidence. If you destroy it, tragedies like Shaoyao’s will keep happening endlessly!”

Only then did Yin Le remember to ask Qin Yao why she had come to Xinghua Village.

Qin Yao didn’t know who this Zhao Ta was, but she decided to confiscate the bellyband for the time being.

After folding the bellyband and placing it in her carry bag, only then did Qin Yao sit down to explain to Yin Le, “I came here to find Yue Niang.”

Yue Niang was Yin Le’s professional name in the brothel, a name she despised most. Every time someone called it, it reminded her of that dark period in her life.

However, afraid of forgetting the pain when the scars healed, and worried about revealing her true name, she had always used Yue Niang outside the brothel.

She had to remember that time, to repeatedly lash herself with it!

It was to both prevent herself from falling into the same abyss again and to ultimately reach a state of numbness and indifference through repeated stimulation.

She wouldn’t allow anyone to mention that name again without suffering the psychological torment from that infernal period.

So she nodded emphatically and said, “I am Yue Niang.”

Qin Yao raised her eyebrows quietly, thinking this girl is truly hard on herself.

However, judging by her reaction, she probably didn’t know what was happening in the city now.

Qin Yao informed Yin Le, “The brothel was raided by Lord County Magistrate, but someone tipped them off, and Beauty Pan escaped.”

“Now, the entire county’s officers are hunting her down. Her situation is quite dangerous. To save herself, she will likely seek help from her higher-ups, so wanting to catch her in one fell swoop and sentence her to death is not easy.”

After hearing Qin Yao’s words, Yin Le was stunned for a good four or five seconds, her eyelashes fluttered twice, and she looked up in disbelief to ask her, “Benefactor, you mean… Mrs. Pan, the villain, has finally been caught by the government?”

Qin Yao: “Caught, but not completely caught.”

Qin Yao brought up the red mandarin duck bellyband again, “Shaoyao gave this thing to you; do you know who wrote the poem for Shaoyao? What was their relationship?”

Yin Le was still processing the news of Beauty Pan’s capture, feeling both surprised and delighted. Faced with Qin Yao’s inquiry, she was visibly at a loss, her mind momentarily stalled, and she was unable to form a complete sentence after opening her mouth for a long time.

It was already late at night, and Qin Yao, seeing that she was not in a good state, didn’t rush her, choosing instead to change the topic.

“You look like you don’t have the energy to recall such little details now. Let’s talk about it tomorrow when daylight comes.”

Qin Yao jokingly asked, “Is your bed big enough?”

Yin Le’s tense expression relaxed a bit, and she hurriedly fetched an old thin quilt, apologetically saying:

“The conditions are simple and poor, sorry to inconvenience you, benefactor.”

“Stop calling me benefactor, just call me Qin Yao.”

Qin Yao cheerfully took off her shoes and coat, placed the knife at the foot of the bed, and lay on the outer half of the bed.

Yin Le called out with a smile, “Sister Qin.”

The girl’s voice was soft and tender, and calling her sister like that sweetened one’s heart.

Goosebumps instantly ran up Qin Yao’s spine, and she shivered with her arms folded, just about to correct her address when Yin Le spoke first.

“Sister, I’m going to sleep first. I’ll definitely recall what you want to know after I wake up in the morning.”

With that, she lay down on the inner side of the bed and began to gently snore, showing she was truly exhausted and couldn’t hold on any longer.

Qin Yao helplessly sighed, closed her eyes, and followed suit into slumber, clearing her mind of disturbances.

The secluded Xinghua Village was very quiet, surrounded by the sounds of insects and birds, allowing Qin Yao to sleep quite comfortably.

In the morning, a sliver of light seeped through the broken window frame, waking both women with yawns.

Seeing each other, they paused for a moment before the memories from before sleep came flooding back. Yin Le cheerfully opened with, “Sister Qin~”

Qin Yao, rubbing the goosebumps tingling on the back of her hand, lightly teased, “With that voice, you should become the queen of sweet songs.”

Yin Le didn’t hear her clearly and asked while getting dressed, “Sister Qin, what did you say?”

Qin Yao hurriedly shook her head and said it was nothing. She got out of bed, dressed, looked at her knife, picked it up, and placed it on her bag on the table, a decision forming in her heart.

“Yin Le, I’m taking you to see County Magistrate Song.” Qin Yao said as she took the remaining buns out.

The tone wasn’t one of discussion, but of notification.

Yin Le was momentarily confused, yet due to blind trust in her benefactor or another reason, she firmly nodded, “Okay, I’ll go with you. I want to bring Beauty Pan to justice!”

She had just recalled many things that should be very useful to her benefactor.

However, Yin Le clearly misunderstood. She thought that Qin Yao was now serving the government.

And she already knew her benefactor’s name.

After all, back when the bandits were wiped out, the warrior Qin Yao who claimed the bounty became quite famous in Kaiyang County.

Even if she hadn’t met the person, she knew the name.

The name Qin Yao was renowned in Kaiyang County.

So, such a warrior, even if a woman, would definitely be recruited by the government and serve the court to bring those damned villains to justice!

Qin Yao vaguely felt that the tough little sister in front of her had misunderstood something, but she had no interest in explaining.

She handed the buns over to her, “Quickly eat, and eat well so we can be on our way.”

Yin Le frowned slightly; for some reason, Sister Qin’s words sounded a bit off…

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