A Deep Trap

The lights were still on at the Liu residence late at night.

The innkeeper of Yunlai Inn was led in through a side door. He kept his head down the whole way, not daring to look around. When he reached the entrance of the side hall, his legs went weak. Only after someone inside told him to come in did he step in, holding onto the threshold, and kneel down with a thud.

"Reporting to Third Master, something has happened... a minor matter."

There was a person sitting in the hall.

The man was neither fat nor overweight. He wore a clean, grayish-blue long robe, his hair was neatly combed, and he was slowly wiping a teacup in his hand.

"explain."

Master Liu did not look up.

The innkeeper swallowed hard. "That crazy woman from Guhuai Village was brought into the city by a gray-clad stranger and is staying at my inn, in the east wing of the back courtyard."

The hand wiping the cup paused for a moment.

The shopkeeper quickly added, "I dare not delay, for I fear it will be like last year, where someone led me away to escape."

He didn't say one more thing: Zhou Laizi is your man, and the woman was bought from your Liu family...

Master Liu raised his head, a few fine lines appearing at the corners of his eyes: "How many people in the inn saw this?"

"There were quite a few people drinking in the lobby at the time."

"That's no small matter."

After pondering for a moment, Master Liu asked again, "What's that person's background?"

"I've never seen him before. He doesn't seem to be from this county, nor does he seem to be a wanderer. He's very taciturn; he only said a few words when I checked into the inn."

"Did you bring a knife?"

"I didn't see it."

"Where's the sword?"

"I didn't see it either."

The shopkeeper knelt on the ground, answering cautiously, afraid that a single wrong move would displease the person seated above.

Master Liu ran his fingers along the rim of the teacup, stroking it gently.

He didn't care about Zhou Laizi's death. That kind of person, once he's gone, he's gone. There are plenty of people like Zhou Laizi in the twenty-six villages of the Liu family. One less or one more doesn't matter.

He didn't care about a woman who had been sold.

The money has been received and the contract has been signed. Zhou Laizi couldn't keep an eye on it; it's his own incompetence.

But if someone sees this, it won't work.

If all twenty-six villages knew that the women bought could be taken to the city by outsiders, could stay in inns, and could not return to their villages, then the things that the Liu family had suppressed over the years would come to light.

The marriage contract can be disregarded, the county government seal can be disregarded, and the rules set by the Liu family can also be disregarded.

Once someone has this idea, things will become difficult to handle.

Master Liu pushed the teacup aside, deciding to kill a chicken to appease the monkey.

"Call someone."

Manager Xu responded and turned to leave.

Before long, a few more people entered the side hall.

One of them was the head of the guards at the Liu residence, surnamed Feng. He had a scar on his face, arms as thick as rafters, and walked with a swagger.

The other was the accountant, carrying a stack of account books, with gray hair and light steps.

There was also the steward of the manor, surnamed Xu, who looked like a rat and was the most cunning among them.

The shopkeeper recounted the story again, and Chief Feng's eyebrows immediately shot up:

"Third Master, is there even a need to think about it? I'll take twenty men to the inn, chop that man in gray up, drag the woman back, and shut up anyone who sees this."

The accountant nodded in agreement: "Yes, Third Master, we can't delay. If we wait until dawn, the news will spread."

Steward Xu hesitated and said, "But so many people in the county saw it. The inn isn't some desolate wilderness. If we really have to make a move in the city, it might be difficult to cover it up."

Chief Feng sneered, "What are you trying to hide? In this Changluo County, who dares to speak up for an outsider?"

Master Liu did not immediately express his opinion. He listened to his subordinates' discussion, picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of cold tea. The tea was already cold, but he still took a sip.

Chief Feng looked at him and said, "Third Master, I'll go right now."

Master Liu put down his cup: "Do you know who that person is?"

Chief Feng was taken aback.

"A stranger."

"Are outsiders necessarily easy to kill? You chopped off the hand of the last guy who tried to run away with a woman; everyone knows what happened to him. So why does he still dare to come? What do you think?"

"this..."

Chief Feng opened his mouth, but couldn't answer.

Master Liu then asked, "How dare a man bring someone out of Guhuai Village and stay at an inn in Changluo County? Doesn't he know who's behind Zhou Laizi? Doesn't he know whose land Guhuai Village is?"

Chief Feng frowned: "Perhaps he really doesn't know."

"That's stupid." Master Liu placed his hand on the table and tapped it lightly. "Anyone who dares to come knocking on our door like this is either a madman or a master."

He looked up at Chief Feng.

"A madman is easy to deal with, but a master cannot be rushed."

Chief Feng's expression wasn't good, but he still cupped his hands and said, "Third Master is right to teach me a lesson."

Master Liu stopped scolding him and turned to look at Steward Xu.

"Go to the county government office."

Steward Xu understood immediately: "To find the county magistrate?"

"Um."

Master Liu said slowly, "On the surface, this matter has nothing to do with the Liu family. The Zhou family's wife ran away, and an outsider killed her husband and took her away. It is only right and proper for the county government to arrest him. If the man in gray does not comply, he will be confirmed as having committed adultery with another man's wife and murdered her. Chen Ayue will be sent back to the Zhou family's old case. After the case is closed, she will be sent back to Guhuai Village so that all the people know about it and it will serve as a warning to others."

Manager Xu asked, "What if he doesn't give in?"

Master Liu smiled and said, "That's killing officials and defying the law."

Chief Feng's eyes lit up.

Master Liu said, "When that time comes, if the Liu family takes action again, it will not be a private fight, but an act of eliminating evil for the county. The people of the twenty-six villages will see it clearly. The rules are not only for the Liu family to abide by, but also for the county government."

"I understand," Steward Xu nodded.

Master Liu then looked at the shopkeeper.

"Go back."

"Yes, yes."

"Don't disturb him, don't say anything. If anyone in the inn asks, just say that the wine jar in the kitchen broke and you went out to buy some wine."

The shopkeeper kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "I understand, I understand."

"And one more thing," Master Liu's voice softened. "That woman is not allowed to leave the inn before dawn."

The shopkeeper's face trembled slightly: "What... what if that man in gray insists on leaving?"

Third Master Liu looked at him.

"I will try my best to delay, I will definitely delay." The shopkeeper immediately changed his tune.

"Not as much as possible."

"I understand."

The shopkeeper gritted his teeth, while Third Master Liu waved his hand.

When the shopkeeper left, his legs were still weak. As he stepped out of the side hall, the night wind blew and he realized that his back was completely soaked. He didn't dare to stop and left the Liu residence in the same way he had come.

After the shopkeeper left, Master Liu instructed the accountant: "Find out that woman's contract from back then."

The accountant asked, "Three years ago?"

"Yes, the batch transferred from Jiangping Prefecture."

The accountant thought for a moment and said, "In the 'B' cabinet, Zhou Laizi's document should still be there, along with the county government's approval document and the Liu family's guarantee, all of which are also being held."

"Bring it here."

The accountant withdrew with the account books in his arms.

Master Liu then said to Steward Xu, "Summon all the leaders from the twenty-six villages in the city that you can. They don't all need to come. Just come to the Liu residence and wait."

Steward Xu paused, "Third Master, is it really necessary to make such a big fuss?"

"Even a lion uses its full strength to pounce on a rabbit. If the county government can suppress this matter, then we can pretend they never came. If the county government can't suppress it, then this matter can no longer be treated as a minor case."

"Yes," Steward Xu replied, bowing.

One by one, the people in the side hall left, their footsteps fading into the distance, until only Master Liu remained.

The wick popped, and he reached for the old teacup, rubbing the chipped edge with his thumb. This teacup had been left to him by his father.

Before his death, my father said that the Liu family was able to stand firm in Changluo County not because of knives or money, but because they made people know when the Liu family's knives would fall.

Falling too early can lead to trouble later.

When it gets too late, people forget to be afraid.

It must be accurate.

Moreover, the kind of thing that needs to be done from time to time is to make an example of someone, since humans are very forgetful animals.

Master Liu put the teacup back on the table, got up and walked towards the ancestral hall in the backyard.

The ancestral hall of the Liu family residence was quieter than the front hall. There were two ever-burning lamps at the entrance, their flames small but never extinguished.

The door was pushed open, and the wooden hinges clicked softly.

The ancestral hall houses the ancestral tablets of the Liu family. The top one is so old that the characters are illegible, while the lower ones are newer with shiny paint. Several old plaques hang on the wall.

In times of chaos, grain is gathered.

Protect the village and its people.

Kill the bandits and secure the territory.

Master Liu stood under the plaque and looked at it for a long time.

He knew that these words might not all be fake.

The Liu family ancestors may have truly saved people, protected the village, and even killed bandits.

In times of chaos, someone always has to step forward and take up the knife.

The person who initially took the knife may have done so to protect others, but after holding the knife for a long time, they became reluctant to let go.

He knew that once the village was in his hands, protecting the village had long since turned into cannibalism, but he still felt that this place could not do without the Liu family. The people were afraid of chaos, the county government was afraid of trouble, the bandits were afraid of knives, the merchants were afraid of blocked roads, and the villagers were afraid of having no one to lead them.

Everyone is afraid, and fear necessitates rules.

The Liu family's rules may not be aesthetically pleasing, but they ensure that Changluo County remains peaceful, that the twenty-six villages deliver their grain on time, that mountain bandits dare not descend from the mountains, and that the county government's accounts remain stable every year.

As for how many people are killed by the rules, that's another matter.

Third Master Liu lit an incense stick in front of the memorial tablet.

The cigarette smoke rose straight up.

He placed the incense sticks in the burner, took a step back, straightened his sleeves, and bowed three times to the memorial tablet.

"My children and grandchildren are incompetent; tonight I'll have to resort to violence again."

No one answered in the ancestral hall; only the eternal lamp flickered gently.

Master Liu straightened up and turned to look at the door.

Outside the door, the accountant hurried back, holding several yellowed sheets of paper in his hands: "Third Master, we've found it."

Master Liu walked out of the ancestral hall.

The accountant handed over the paper.

The top one is Chen Ayue's marriage contract. The paper is yellowed and there are traces of insect damage on the edges, but the words are still clear.

Chen Ayue, due to the plague that struck her home, ended up in Beiyang Prefecture. With the testimony of a guarantor, she agreed to marry Zhou, a woman from Guhuai Village in Changluo County.

The words "willing to marry" were written neatly, and below them was the county government's approval document, with the official seal still red.

Below that is the Liu family's guarantee, stamped with the Liu family's private seal.

People also arrived from the county government office. It was Huang, the county magistrate's advisor. He was dressed in a hurry, and his boots were still covered in mud. After entering, he first bowed to Master Liu.

"Third Master, the magistrate already knows."

Master Liu invited him to sit down.

Master Huang did not sit down, but merely bowed and echoed:

"The Zhou family woman eloped, and a stranger killed her husband and took her away. The county government is arresting the murderer. A notice will be posted first. If the man bows his head, he is the criminal; if he makes a move, he is a traitor. I will handle this matter perfectly."

"The county magistrate has worked hard for Changluo County over the years, and the Liu family remembers it all. As for the autumn harvest, the twenty-six villages will not make things difficult for the county magistrate."