nycdaug Chapter 169 Honey Trap
Chapter 169 Honey Trap
As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent. The prefect of Nanning Prefecture was usually rarely seen, and most cases were handled by his clerks.
It is said that the King of Hell is easy to deal with but his underlings are hard to deal with. If the people below are determined to obstruct you, those who want to seek justice will find themselves with nowhere to turn.
“Young master, you’ve asked so many questions and found out everything you need to know. This girl has been kneeling here for almost half an hour. You should buy her soon so that this poor girl can have her funeral arrangements taken care of as soon as possible.”
The old woman started talking again, her words filled with complaints about Song Jiaojiao, as if she was determined to hold her responsible for the day.
Song Jiaojiao thought to herself, "It's not like I made her kneel down, so how can you blame me?"
"This young lady seems to have had a hard life. She has been taking care of her sick father alone for two years, yet she still has such good health and vitality. Even her fingers are clean and without a single wrinkle. I wonder how she takes care of herself."
As soon as Song Jiaojiao said this, the onlookers' attention immediately turned to the woman's hands.
"Yes, this woman's hands don't look like they're used for working at all."
"Exactly, look at my hands. I only do laundry and cooking at home, I don't do farm work, but they are not as clean and smooth as hers."
A young woman raised her hand and compared it to the woman's hand, making the difference immediately clear.
Standing behind the crowd, Xu Sen quickly said loudly, "This person can't be a swindler, can he? He doesn't look like a worker at all. I've heard that some people specialize in this kind of thing. It's nothing more than the same old trick of selling themselves to bury their fathers. They specifically target rich young men, luring them to remote places and then robbing them of all their money."
Xu Sen left after saying those words.
"No way, this kind of thing can happen in broad daylight."
"Not necessarily. A vicious person will do anything for money."
"Now that you mention it, this woman does seem plausible, especially since she keeps pestering this young master."
……
The atmosphere shifted after Song Jiaojiao asked that question, and the woman on the ground saw that the winds were no longer blowing in her favor.
She burst into tears, "Young master, if you don't want to help me, you don't have to insult me like this. I'm already struggling to survive, and you're slandering me like this, aren't you trying to force me to my death!"
The woman who had been kneeling on the ground slumped down and lay on the corpse beside her, shouting loudly.
"Father, take me with you. Don't leave me alone. What's the point of my life if I'm insulted and wronged like this?"
Seeing the woman crying so heartbrokenly, the crowd's opinion shifted again.
"It doesn't look like a scam. Maybe they used some kind of folk remedy. Girls this age are naturally at an age where they care about their appearance."
"Yes, now that you mention it, it's possible."
Song Jiaojiao really didn't want to get entangled with him anymore.
“In that case, I won’t buy from you. Here are five taels of silver. Take them and buy a simple coffin to bury your father first. The dead should be respected, and the coffin won’t last more than a few days in this weather.”
The old woman looked at the loose silver in Song Jiaojiao's hand. This little bit of silver wasn't even enough to bribe the soldiers at the city gate; it was just enough to send a beggar away.
The woman, seeing the small amount of money Song Jiaojiao had taken out, angrily squeezed her hand harder, completely forgetting that she was still on her dead father's body.
The corpse suddenly sprang up with a loud thud.
"Ah, it's come back to life!!!"
The timid woman screamed.
The onlookers quickly moved away from the dangerous place.
The woman and the man exchanged a glance, realizing they had been exposed and could not continue, and fled in the chaos.
Song Jiaojiao was left alone on the spot, still holding five taels of silver in her hand.
who am I? where am I?
Song Jiaojiao was filled with questions. Was the corpse fake?
It's fine if it's fake, but at least be a little more professional!
To reveal one's true colors like that is incredibly unprofessional.
Seeing that Song Jiaojiao was still standing there, Xu Sen quickly went over to her.
"Young master, let's go back first," Xu Sen said respectfully.
After the two left, no one noticed the bloodstains on the mat.
"Madam, I just managed to prick that old man when no one was looking,"
Xu Sen, who had walked halfway, whispered instructions.
"Oh, it's you! I was wondering why you couldn't lie down anymore when you were almost there!"
Upon hearing Xu Sen's words, Song Jiaojiao suddenly realized what was going on.
"Hehe, my master said that most of the people who sell themselves to bury their fathers are scammers. Most people are afraid of corpses and wouldn't actually put a fake corpse there. As long as you wake up the corpse, the scam will be exposed. I tried it as my master said, and I didn't expect it to actually work."
Xu Sen scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.
"Yes, you did a great job. It seems you made the right choice to go to the escort agency in the first place."
"I just followed the young master around. If it weren't for the young master, I wouldn't know any of this."
Speaking of Wang Hefan, Song Jiaojiao thought that it had been almost a year since she had seen him.
"I wonder where Herfan is now. It's been almost a year since I last saw him."
Wang Hefan, whom Song Jiaojiao was constantly talking about, is currently in the General's Mansion in the capital.
Looking at his father, Wang Chi, who had come back from the dead, he was completely stunned for a moment.
……
"Don't worry, young master. The people in the escort agency are very familiar with the Great Jin Kingdom. Your young master will be fine."
Song Jiaojiao knew, of course, that Wang Hefan's safety was guaranteed. Most of the people in the escort agency were retired military personnel, people who had truly stained their hands with blood.
The two quickly returned to the inn, and Song Jiaojiao asked Xu Sen to order food and have the waiter bring it to the courtyard.
Shang Xiaoxiao paced anxiously at the door. It had been so long, why hadn't Madam returned yet?
Upon seeing Song Jiaojiao, he hurried forward.
"Madam, you're back."
"Hmm, where's Mu Xue?"
"Miss is inside, with Xu An," Shang Xiaoxiao said.
"Okay, I'll go check on Mu Xue first."
Song Jiaojiao didn't have time to deal with Shang Xiaoxiao's matter for the time being, for fear that Mu Xue would be frightened by it.
Upon entering the courtyard, Mu Xue and Xu An were feeding the fish in the pavilion when they heard footsteps. Looking up, they saw Song Jiaojiao had returned and threw all the fish food into the pond.
He ran towards Song Jiaojiao, "Mother, are you alright?"
He hugged Song Jiaojiao's leg and looked up as he spoke.
"It's alright, was Mu Xue frightened?"
Song Jiaojiao patted Mu Xue's head and led her to sit down in the pavilion.
"I'm fine, I'm just worried about Mother. Mother, how is that sister?"
The truth about this matter has not yet been told to Mu Xue, and Mu Xue still thinks that the woman is really pitiful.
Song Jiaojiao didn't withhold the truth from Mu Xue just because she was still a child under nine years old. Now that they were out and about, they would encounter similar situations again in the future, so she still needed to explain how to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
"Mu Xue, that woman is a fraud. Even her deceased father is fake. He was hired to act out the story just to swindle money."
"Huh!?? It's fake!!!" Mu Xue's eyes widened in disbelief.
Song Jiaojiao nodded and continued, "Yes, Muxue, it's good to have compassion, but not everything you see is true. Those two are repeat offenders; they're just trying to gain everyone's sympathy. Also, not all excitement is worth watching. Look, we almost couldn't get out today."