Chapter 89: The Blackwater Village Incident

When they entered the rouge shop, Gou Ye looked around carefully, worried they might run into someone who shouldn’t see them there. As always, Gou Ye had no idea how to choose, and Yun Niang didn’t know what suited her either. She simply thought the one she’d used before had worked well, so she bought another box just like it.

They spent the entire afternoon shopping, and by the time they finally dragged themselves, exhausted, back to the carriage, Yun Niang looked at the pile of things behind them and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Heavens, Brother Gou Ye, we actually bought so much! How did I not notice at all? Just think how much silver we must have spent! Do you think we should return some of it?”

Gou Ye laughed and patted Yun Niang on the head. “Silly girl, once something’s bought, there’s no reason to return it. We’ll use it all eventually, anyway.”

“But you don’t have a livelihood right now. Isn’t it too extravagant for me to buy so much?” Yun Niang pouted, looking every bit like a child who’d done something wrong.

“Haha, Yun Niang, it’s one thing for others to worry about me, but now even you’re starting to fret? When we get home, I’ll show you exactly how much we have left. Don’t worry, when I said we’d have to go back to square one before, I was just teasing. What we have left is enough to last us a year at least.”

Yun Niang could only agree, though she still felt a little guilty. She’d really tried to control herself, but somehow they’d still ended up with all these things—and she hadn’t even noticed! She couldn’t help but feel curious about it.

By the time the two of them returned to the village, evening had already fallen. As the sky grew darker, Gou Ye began to feel inexplicably uneasy; his childhood fear of the dark hadn’t changed, even in this era. At last they reached their door, hopped off the carriage, and let out a long sigh of relief. For Yun Niang, this was the happiest day she’d had in a long time.

She seemed tireless, calling out for Xiao Die at the top of her voice to come help carry things, and telling Gou Ye she couldn’t wait to get home and try everything out. Gou Ye scratched his head, thinking girls really are the same in every era.

Soon Xiao Die came running out, and Yun Niang happily pulled out a small box to hand to her. “Xiao Die, we brought something back for you this time—take it, and see if it suits you when you go inside.”

Xiao Die wanted to refuse, but couldn’t withstand Yun Niang’s insistence and accepted it with a delighted smile. Looking at Gou Ye, she asked, “Young master, didn’t Brother Da Li come back with you?”

By tomorrow, Da Li and the Guo brothers would have been gone for four days; it seemed they should be back soon. Gou Ye replied, “Da Li should be back in a couple of days. What, it’s only been a few days and you already miss him?” he teased. Xiao Die flushed, hugged the box, and hurried back indoors.

Just as Gou Ye expected, the men he’d sent out returned the next day. To his surprise, it was the Guo brothers who arrived first.

As soon as he entered the house, Guo Bingjin headed straight for the dining hall and gulped down a pot of tea, while Guo Bingyin rummaged about like a hungry wolf, finally finding some steamed buns, which he stuffed into his mouth without caring whether he choked. Watching the pair, Gou Ye and Yun Niang didn’t know whether to laugh or scold.

After swallowing the last bite, Guo Bingyin spoke up, “Damn it, we nearly starved! Young master, you wouldn’t believe how poor Heishui Village is—we’ve been living on thin gruel for days, and even ran out of dry rations.”

“You two didn’t just come back because you were hungry, did you?” Gou Ye asked.

Guo Bingjin shook his head quickly. “No way, we’d never do that. We were hungry, yes, but we finished the job. Let me tell you—”

Before he could finish, Gou Ye stopped him with a glance at the window. “Let’s talk in my room.”

The four of them entered Gou Ye’s room. Guo Bingjin, always impatient, barely waited until the door was closed before blurting out, “Young master, you wouldn’t believe what we found out this time. That Magistrate Qin is truly heartless!”

Gou Ye wasn’t in any rush. He pulled over a chair and gestured for Guo Bingjin to continue.

“So, when we got to Heishui Village, we followed your instructions and started asking about what Magistrate Qin had done when he first arrived. You wouldn’t believe it—at the mention of his name, everyone acted as if we’d mentioned a plague god. They turned away without a word. And it wasn’t just one person; it was as if the whole village had agreed in advance. We knew something was up.”

Guo Bingyin cut in, “We spent an entire day asking questions and got nowhere. In the end, we offered some silver and stayed overnight at a villager’s house. That night, there was a strong wind and the roof had a hole. We helped fix it, and the next day we helped carry water and chop wood. Gradually, the villager began to trust us, and by evening he finally told us what happened.”

Pushing Guo Bingyin aside, Guo Bingjin hurried to explain, “Let me tell it. About five years ago, there was a plague in Heishui Village, right when Magistrate Qin had just taken office. A calamity like that right after he started—he was scared, immediately sealed off the village, and sent many doctors to help. But the plague was fierce; many of the doctors caught it too. For some reason, Magistrate Qin never reported it to the higher authorities—maybe he was afraid it would ruin his record so early in his post. Instead, he secretly sent people to round up everyone who was sick or might be sick. Heishui Village isn’t big, but he quarantined thirty households—men, women, old, young, and even the doctors.”

Gou Ye and Yun Niang frowned as they listened. Guo Bingjin swallowed and went on, “Thirty households—nearly a hundred people. That night, Magistrate Qin ordered the constables to kill every last one—men, women, children, old folks, and doctors too. The villagers who weren’t affected were terrified, but anyone who tried to run suffered the same fate, falling under the constables’ blades.”

“Afterward, he had the bodies taken away. They say he dug a huge pit somewhere, burned and buried them all.”

Yun Niang couldn’t help but ask, “How could something so big be kept secret? Didn’t anyone from Heishui Village try to report it?”

Guo Bingyin gave a cold laugh. “Report it? Of course they tried. But how could Magistrate Qin let them succeed? Anyone who tried to go to the authorities was assassinated. After five or six people died like that, no one dared mention it again. Later, Magistrate Qin gave the remaining villagers some money to resettle and threatened them—if word got out, not a single one of them would live. After that, no one dared speak of it. This time, we only learned the truth because we met someone with a backbone. Otherwise, no matter how long we stayed, we’d never have uncovered this earth-shattering secret.”