A Jiu was startled.
So someone had indeed died in Heba Village yesterday, and it was done by refugees.
A Jiu waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, no, it wasn't them. It was that couple arrested on the official road a hundred li outside Nanming City a few days ago."
Fortunately, A Jiu quickly regained her senses and spoke calmly.
"So it was that couple who robbed and killed," the two officers said with a smile. "I'll take you to see your parents."
Their smiles made A Jiu feel uneasy.
Did her mother know how to bribe officials with their savings to curry favor?
If her mother understood worldly affairs, she wouldn't have always been so straightforward in her speech.
"Thank you, sirs," A Jiu said, holding her skirt high to avoid tripping on the steps.
Upon entering the compound, A Jiu followed a side path, passing through rockeries and streams, to the back where a sign read 'Dungeon'.
A Jiu finally couldn't help but quicken her pace.
They were clearly being held captive. A Jiu had no time to inquire about other matters.
With a clang, the heavy iron gate was opened, and a damp, moldy smell wafted towards them.
The dungeon was dark, lit by torches, clearly showing that day and night were indistinguishable here.
Both sides were filled with all sorts of prisoners, some obviously having been subjected to torture.
Others reached out for food, and A Jiu was almost grabbed by her sleeve.
The officer used the butt of his saber to strike the cell doors a few times: "Behave yourselves."
Finally, it became a little quieter.
"Meng Shaode, your daughter is here to see you."
The two officers stopped outside a cell.
A Jiu immediately saw her father, wearing shackles and handcuffs, who was...
Huh?
Why did her father look so relaxed, sitting on a haystack and picking his toes?
"Don't take too long, half an incense stick's time," the two officers said and left.
"Ah?" Meng Shaode was stunned. He pulled his messy hair away from his nose and peered at A Jiu:
"Ah... daughter, why are you here?"
"Father, I was worried about you, so I came to see you," A Jiu took out the two remaining pomegranates from her basket and handed them to him:
"Father, how are you? These are the pomegranates I grew."
Unfortunately, her grandmother had eaten the rest.
"Oh, pomegranates! Daughter, this is good stuff."
His face, dirty as it was, showed a smile, the scar on his face stretching. He broke open a pomegranate, gave half to A Jiu, and a few mischievous, bright red seeds fell to the ground.
"Oh dear, they fell... we can't waste these."
Saying that, Meng Shaode quickly bent down to pick them up, blew off the dust, and put them in his mouth.
A Jiu's heart ached. Was her father pretending to be carefree because he didn't want her to worry?
A Jiu looked around: "Where's Mother?"
"Your mother? She's enjoying herself," Meng Shaode said, picking some pomegranate seeds into his palm, shaking them, and throwing them into his mouth.
"Father, don't lie to me. You must be suffering here. Where is Mother?"
The more her father acted this way, the more A Jiu felt he was hiding something to prevent her from worrying.
"No, do you remember that piece of cured meat we had left?"
Seeing that his daughter was serious, Meng Shaode stopped joking.
"Ah, I remember."
"Your mother kept it on her person, fearing that there would be no food one day and that you would become thin from hunger. When she tasted it for the jailers, they were so delighted they didn't know who their own parents were."
A Jiu was stunned, but seeing the triumphant look on her father's face, it seemed like being in prison was quite enjoyable.
But A Jiu found the logic of this rather strange.
"An... and then?"
"Then, your mother showed off her cooking skills. Besides coming back to see your father at night, she cooks for the big officials in the yamen during the day."
"..." A Jiu was so shocked that the pomegranate in her hand fell, scattering like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers.
"Oh dear, daughter, don't waste them," Meng Shaode quickly crouched down and reached through the bars to pick up the seeds, blowing on them.
"Father has a secret to tell you."