The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

After this feint attack failed, the armies on both sides returned to their previous state, one attacking occasionally and the other defending all the time.

Pei Yanxu sent secret guards to keep an eye on the Cen, Liu and Qin families.

Within two days, the secret guards had obtained solid evidence that the Liu and Qin families were colluding with the enemy.

"You are so brave..." Pei Yanxu slammed the table and cursed.

Xia Mianwan didn't expect that the Qin family's affairs were involved. Mrs. Qin looked very simple, and County Magistrate Qin had always had a good reputation in Luyang County.

"What does my husband plan to do?" Xia Mianwan asked.

"Lord Jiang plans to withhold the lives of their clansmen and ask them to deliver the letter again to confuse the enemy. Otherwise, they may not be able to afford the long-term confrontation." Pei Yanxu said.

"After the test that day, I'm afraid we have alerted the enemy." Xia Mianwan said.

Pei Yanxu nodded: "Compared to these, I want the Cen family to pay back the debt. There is no time to settle accounts with the Cen family during the war. If someone brings up the red book and iron certificate at that time, this matter will be dragged out for a long time."

Xia Mianwan thought for a moment and said, "Does my husband want me to blackmail him?"

Pei Yanxu nodded: "It's all thanks to Madam. I know Qinghe has inherited Madam's true teachings and is an expert at settling accounts. The Cen family is a piece of fat meat. Even if we demolish it completely, the soldiers in the barracks can have a taste of the meat."

"If I let you come forward, you have to tell me what your bottom line is?" Xia Mianwan asked with a raised eyebrow. He discovered that Pei Yanxu was getting more and more comfortable using her.

Pei Yanxu smiled, hugged Xia Mianwan and said flatteringly: "I only want money, not their lives. Before the government settles the accounts, they are still useful. Besides... the Cen family has been operating in Xiyang for so long, and the external war has not ended. I don't want to have another dispute."

Xia Mianwan instantly understood Pei Yanxu's idea. It was just a pig, but he had to kill it in several batches.

Xia Mianwan didn't refuse but agreed, and there was no conversation that night.

Before dawn, Pei Yanxu walked in the morning dew to Qingtian County. The overall operation of Qingtian County, a pilot county, was quite good. He wanted to bring people to explore other potentials of Qingtian County.

Xia Mianwan called Qian Da and ordered, "Qian Da, take people to find out the Cen family's assets, both the obvious and hidden ones. I need an answer within seven days. Report to me every day and tell Qing He what you have found out."

After Qian Da received the order, several names popped into his mind. After deciding on the candidates, Qian Da set off with these secret guards.

The situation in Tongyu Pass has been stable these days, and Xia Mianwan, Suying and Ruzhu have started to work on opening a grocery store. The decoration of the store is relatively simple. Xia Mianwan dismantled the eight shops on East Street and connected them into one large shop.

Because Xia Mian renovated the shop late, he employed a lot of workers. Recently, more people came to the city to consume, and the business was revitalized.

The seven days passed quickly, Qinghe had already calculated the bill. She reported a number to Xia Mianwan, which surprised Xia Mianwan.

"Two hundred thousand taels of silver?" Xia Mianwan widened his eyes.

Qing He nodded and said, "Two hundred thousand taels of silver should be a number that is just enough to severely damage the Cen family without putting them to death." In other words, the Cen family can and is willing to take out the two hundred thousand taels of silver.

"The Cen family has really been plundering the people's blood and sweat over the years!" Xia Mianwan sighed. The people of Xiyang are so poor, but it does not prevent the Cen family from being so wealthy.

Qing He continued, "Madam, when Qian Da was investigating, he also found out one more thing. Cen Erlang was not only involved in robbing women, but he must have killed several people."

"Tell me in detail." Xia Mianwan looked solemn.

Qing He said, "Qian Da said that Cen Erlang was sick in that aspect. When he was on guard, he found that Cen Erlang... Cen Erlang liked to torture and kill animals. There was a Chow Chow in Cen Erlang's yard. It was still alive and kicking a few days ago. That day, Qian Da saw the Chow Chow go from barking wildly to dying. Everyone in Cen Erlang's yard was used to it, and the Chow Chow was buried under the plum tree in the yard. Cen Erlang was covered in blood while digging a hole and laughing wildly. At that time, the little maids in the yard all hid far away, and those who came forward were all the old people in their Cen family."

Qing He got goose bumps all over her body when she said this. Xia Mianwan hesitated for a moment and asked, "Only cats and dogs?"

Qing He was stunned by Xia Mianwan's words, "Madam, what you mean is..."

Xia Mianwan sighed, looking serious: "Hurry up and call Qian Da back. I have something to ask him."

"Yes." Qing He quickly left to find Qian Da.

As soon as Qing He left the yard, she ran into Qian Da, who had a sullen face. "Qian Da, the Madam is calling you to answer."

Qian Da nodded, as he also had something to say to Xia Mianwan.

"Madam, I have something to report about Cen Erlang." Qian bowed.

Xia Mianwan waved and asked Qian Da to sit down. "No hurry, take your time to talk. But did Cen Erlang torture and kill women?"

Qian Da looked at Xia Mianwan in astonishment, "Indeed, Madam already knows?"

Xia Mianwan said: "It's just a guess, tell me in detail."

Qian Dadao: "I followed Cen Erlang these days and found that Cen Erlang became very cruel at night, torturing cats and dogs. He enjoyed the screams of cats and dogs when he was torturing them, and he enjoyed the feeling of blood splattering all over his face. I saw those little maids avoiding him with horror on their faces, but those old men with years of experience were numb and handled the case skillfully. I thought it was a bit strange, so I checked the cases of robbing women he was involved in back then. There were only a few cases, but except for the girl in the case handled by Lord Liu before, the rest of the people moved away with their families. It was also a coincidence. I heard that... the Cen family often bought some little maids back, but after a while, these little maids either made mistakes and ran away, or were released and returned to their hometowns. My intuition told me that something was wrong. I caught a little maid in Cen Erlang's yard and brought her back. She voluntarily sold herself to the Cen family in order to bury her grandfather. She said... Young Master Cen wanted to eat people..."

Xia Mianwan widened her eyes. She thought that Cen Erlang would torture and kill people, but he actually ate people?

Ruzhu was so shocked that she covered her mouth and got goose bumps all over her body.

"Eat...eat people?" Ruzhu couldn't believe it. Cen Erlang actually had such a perverted hobby. He tortured animals, tortured people, and even ate people. What kind of perversion was this...

"Madam, the little maid is in the outer courtyard. Do you want me to bring her in for interrogation?" Qian Da asked.

Xia Mianwan thought for a moment and asked, "Will it alert the enemy if you bring her here?"

Qian Da shook his head and said, "Don't worry, Madam. There will be one less maid in Cen Erlang's yard every few days. I guess the Cen family has gotten used to it."

Xia Mianwan was so tired that she felt nauseous. She said, "Then call that girl over and I'll ask her."

Qian Da took the order and went out.

Ruzhu was obviously also frightened, her little face was pale.