Chapter 143: Theft Case
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
When the three children learned that they suddenly had an older brother, they were extremely surprised.
And they couldn’t help but feel happy.
After all, with an elder brother, they would have someone to protect them.
“Big brother.”
“Big brother.”
“Big brother.”
Han Chi’s face was a little red from being called that way. He replied, “Hey.”
The three sisters even specially prepared a gift for Han Chi.
Grandfather and Grandmother, as maternal grandparents, also gave a greeting gift-
Han Chi felt a little dizzy.
But he also knew that calling them familiar terms, like mother and calling them sister, meant that he had a family and responsibilities.
‘I can’t be a brat anymore.’
When Butler Feng arrived, Han Qiao was still settling the bill with the clothing store.
Twenty-five children, two sets of clothes for each child, as well as a few sets of shoes, socks, undergarments, and pants.
Butler Hu and Hu Jiancheng were calculating silently.
Butler Hu didn’t have much money on hand, and Han Qiao wouldn’t hand over the money to Butler Hu. She paid the silver note personally and asked Hu Jiancheng to bring someone along to bring the change back.
She met Butler Feng in the hall.
They were both butlers. With Butler Feng’s bearing, people would believe that he was the Master.
“Lady Heng, this is something Lord Heng asked me to give you.”
A brocade box was locked.
Butler Feng handed over the keys.
Han Qiao was surprised.
After taking it, she hesitated whether to open it or not.
“Also, 1 heard from a servant that Master Heng had hunted three badgers. The manor is quite busy at the end of the year, so this lowly one had the time to come over.”
From Butler Feng’s tone and attitude, Han Qiao understood that the Heng Clan Leader had re-entered the official career, and her position was not low.
“It’s fine. The three badgers are still being raised. They don’t eat or drink now. They hibernate every day.”
Han Qiao paused for a moment, “I’m curious about these three badgers. How does Master Feng plan to collect them?”
“Does Madam have any good ideas?”
“This badger meat isn’t just edible. 1 think its fur would make a pretty coat.
Their fur could also be used to make brushes. I heard that after refining them, it is especially effective for burns.”
Butler Feng was pleasantly surprised.
“When this lowly one returns, I will report this to the Old Master and try making some according to Madam’s instructions. If the results are satisfying, this humble servant will gift some to Madam.”
“Alright.”
The Feng family gave a hundred taels for each of the three badgers, which was a total of three hundred taels of silver.
Han Qiao didn’t know the price of badgers in the market, but she felt that it was too much.
Just like the deer and tiger from last time.
One had to know that based on the current market price and per capita income.
One hundred taels were equivalent to four years of salary for a constable.
Of course, they would have other sources of income, but the difference was still quite big.
Han Qiao sent Butler Feng off politely.
He took the three hundred taels of silver and returned to the main courtyard.
Recently, she had spent almost a hundred taels on buying things and people, including today.
She still had 900 taels of silver left from the 1,000 taels that Heng Yi brought back last time. She didn’t plan to touch the 300 taels of silver.
Han Qiao opened the brocade box that Heng Cong Mountain had asked for.
There were five notes worth 1,000 taels, a piece of jade of good quality, and a small bag of golden melon seeds.
These things were worth a lot of money.
It seemed that things were going much smoother than she had imagined.
Hu Jiancheng and Dong Lai came back with the silver pieces. Han Qiao gave them a hundred silver notes and asked them to exchange them.
“Exchange for more copper coins, one hundred coins each.”
“Yes.”
The two of them immediately went out to handle some matters.
At the government office, they received the news that a family’s money had been stolen.
Heng Yi was sent on to investigate.
When they arrived at the house, Heng Yi stood at the door. He had no experience in this kind of thing, so he didn’t say anything. He looked at Wen Yu and Gu Jiu who were doing the interrogation.
This family reported to the officials that they had lost three taels of silver. The man in charge looked like he was in his thirties or forties, and his eyes were red. His wife’s eyes were swollen from crying.
A beautiful girl stood beside her and comforted her.
Wen Yu and Gu Jiu’s eyes lit up when they saw this little girl.
He looked at Xiang Yu, who was standing at the side, and his face was cold as if he didn’t see the girl.
Instead, he was observing the house.
“There are footprints on the wall,” Heng Yi said.
Wen Yu and Gu Jiu immediately went forward to take a look. There were indeed footprints on the wall.
It meant that the person had climbed over the wall and left, so he left some footprints there.
“Let’s go next door and take a look,” Wen Yu said.
He led Heng Yi to knock on the door next door.
The woman who opened the door panicked when she saw the officials, “Please, please…”
“The officers are here to do business. Where’s the head of the family?” Wen Yu said.
“O-out,” The woman was very nervous and stuttered when she spoke.
Wen Yu went into the house and looked around. There were no footprints on the wall.
Heng Yi also went up and found that the moss on the wall had been rubbed off.
He pointed it to Wen Yu.
“…” Wen Yu instantly understood.
Soon, he found a ladder. There was moss on the ladder.
“How do you explain this?” Wen Yu questioned the woman.
The woman shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t know, I don’t know.”
A child ran out of the house, his forehead wrapped in gauze.
“Mother.”
“Son.”
The mother and son hugged each other. The woman was trembling, and the child’s eyes were filled with fear.
Heng Yi and Wen Yu both understood that the man who stole the money must be from this family. As for why he stole the money… One look at the injured child told them the whole story.
Both of them sympathize with their circumstances, but the law could not tolerate their actions.
Therefore, they waited for the man named Da Qiang to return. They immediately arrested him and brought him to the government office.
Interrogating them was not their business.
Very soon, the man called Da Qiang confessed the truth.
His family was poor, and the child fell and hurt his head. After asking the doctor to see him, he needed money to get the medicine. He borrowed money from his relatives and friends, but no one was willing to lend it to him. He could only take the unconventional path and steal from his neighbor next door.
Fortunately, he was lucky and managed to steal the silver within fifteen minutes of entering their house.
This could be considered as conclusive evidence, and he could not deny it.
Now, there was only one path in front of him. Pay up, give him a beating, and let him go.
When Heng Yi heard this, he was packing up and was about to go home.
He remained silent for a moment.
Wen Yu wanted to walk with him for a while. On the way, Wen Yu said, “It’s really hard to live these days.”
“It’s even harder to live without money.”
“…” Heng Yi looked at Wen Yu.
“You don’t understand how difficult it is for us commoners.” Wen Yu patted Heng Yi’s shoulder.
Heng Yi didn’t understand.
He had never lived a normal life before he and Han Qiao shared their life together.
He hadn’t experienced any of that when he was young, but now that he had grown up, he was completely confused. Every day, he would go hunting in the morning. He would either buy steamed buns or eat whatever the Heng family cooked. However, most of the time, he was still able to buy buns.
He didn’t even think about eating a bowl of noodles, eating wontons, or going to the pub to stir-fry side dishes in the morning.
Meeting He Hong was an accident, and helping him was also an accident. He did not listen to He Hong’s words.
Until he met Han Qiao.
That day in the carriage, she smiled at him.
Only then did he have the thought. He wanted to be with her and let her live a good life together.
His change started from Han Qiao’s smile…