bookcurios Chapter 115 Are you a bandit's informant?
Chapter 115 Are you a bandit's informant?
"The master gave us cakes, but the child kept most of them and couldn't bear to eat them; the floral-patterned clothes and cotton shoes in the cave belonged to a girl..."
Yanqing looked at Song Genbao with pity.
“Song Genbao’s sister might be sick or injured and unable to move. So when he escaped, Song Genbao only had time to carry his sister away first. After confirming that she was safe, he came back to get these things.”
Yu Wanran nodded in satisfaction at Yan Qing's well-organized analysis.
Although Yanqing lacks social skills and is not as shrewd as Yanbai, he excels at observing details and reasoning, truly befitting a secret guard trained by the Duke's mansion.
Song Genbao listened to these words blankly, looking like a complete idiot.
He thought himself clever, but the other party had seen through everything. If these people hadn't genuinely meant no harm, would he and his sister have survived until now?
Thinking of Yan Qing's skills, and then looking at the shadows of weapons peeking out from under the robes of the others, he suddenly made up his mind. He dropped the odds and ends hanging all over his body, grabbed his food and water pouch, and knelt down with a thud.
"Kind-hearted sister! Gentlemen! I'm willing to take you to Linjia Village... but my sister is dying, could you please save her first?"
Although Yu Wanran gave him money, he was not strong enough to carry his sister to a populated area fifty miles away to find a doctor for help.
So, as if grasping at a straw, he immediately pinned his hopes on the few people in front of him.
"I know the locations of Linjia Village and Songjia Village..."
Du Hu thought to himself, "Why would I need you to take care of me?" He was displeased with this brat, who dared to use him as leverage. Besides, they had important responsibilities and couldn't waste their time on the other party.
Seeing Song Genbao's tearful appearance, Yu Wanran frowned.
Yanqing noticed the change in her master's expression: "Master, should I go and take a look?"
Yu Wanran thought of the basic medicines that the bodyguards always carried and the basic first aid knowledge they had learned, and nodded. She said to Song Genbao, "Where is your sister? Let this older brother check on her!"
Seeing a glimmer of hope, Song Genbao wiped away his tears of anxiety, immediately put down what he was holding, stood up and said, "I'll go and bring my sister right away! Please wait here for a moment."
Having said that, fearing that Yu Wanran and the others might change their minds if he hesitated even for a moment, he ran out as fast as he could.
Du Hu turned to Yu Wanran, somewhat anxiously: "Miss Yu, the matter at hand is of utmost importance! We've been lingering here..."
"Don't you think..."
Qiu Yan, who had remained silent throughout, finally spoke up: "This Song Genbao doesn't seem like an ordinary villager's child, does he?"
Yu Wanran nodded.
She had already noticed it.
Song Genbao is a bold yet meticulous boy. Even after such a drastic change in his family, he still speaks clearly and logically, showing he has his own ideas. Why would the brother and sister risk hiding in the mountains to survive rather than leave?
Without a second thought, Song Genbao, like a gust of wind, stumbled and carried his younger sister back.
Looking at the thin, small girl sleeping soundly on her brother's back, seemingly oblivious to everything, and so frail as Yu Xiaoxiang, Yu Wanran felt a slight pang in her heart.
No matter the era, life is always this difficult for ordinary people living at the bottom of society. Moreover, without the care of adults, the brother and sister are left to depend on each other for survival.
Song Genbao placed his younger sister on the quilt spread out on the ground and looked at Yanqing with hopeful eyes.
Yanqing squatted down, touched the little girl's forehead, opened her eyelids to take a look, and then roughly checked her appearance to see if there were any obvious injuries.
A moment later, he stood up and said to Yu Wanran, "Master, the child is not injured. However, he has a fever, most likely from catching a cold."
He took out a small packet of medicine powder from his luggage, asked Song Genbao to dilute it with water, and then fed it to his sister.
He then struggled to explain: "I don't have much medicine with me; it can only provide temporary relief, not a cure. This child's illness is too serious; we must see a doctor immediately."
Catching a cold is no small matter. Even adults can die if they don't receive timely medical treatment!
Seeing Yu Wanran's hesitant expression, Song Genbao grew anxious and knelt down again with a thud. He had already realized that among the group, Yu Wanran was the one who could make the decision, and he kept kowtowing to her.
"Sister, you're sent by the government, aren't you? Are you looking for bandits? I know! I know everything! If you're willing to save my sister, I'll take you to them!"
The conversation shocked Yu Wanran and the others. In a moment of panic, Du Hu grabbed Song Genbao.
"You little brat! How did you figure out we were government officials? Are you some kind of informant for the bandits?"
Yu Wanran saw that Song Genbao was being choked and struggling to breathe. She frowned and said, "Du Hu, let him go!"
Du Hu reluctantly threw the man to the ground.
Thinking to himself, this niece of Lord Xue is so kind-hearted. The bandits are vicious and cunning; Song Genbao must be feigning pitifulness to deceive them all.
Yu Wanran ignored Du Hu's dissatisfaction.
What Du Hu could think of, she could naturally think of as well. But Du Hu, without even using his brain, how could Song Genbao, if he were a bandit, have fallen to such a state?
The cave was clearly inhabited for a long time; the Song Genbao siblings, one emaciated and the other seriously ill, could not have been formed in a short period of time.
What bandit gang would send two half-dead children as spies to entangle with government officials?
What piqued her interest was what Song Genbao said.
"You know where the bandits are? How do you know?"
Song Genbao understood their suspicions. He touched his burning throat, caught his breath, and said, "Why? Of course, it's because my sister and I risked our lives for more than half a year, hiding in the mountains, specifically to spy on their whereabouts!"
Before Yu Wanran and the others could ask any questions, his face showed an expression of extreme grief and indignation.
“My family, all the uncles and aunts in the village, were slaughtered by bandits! The government troops are useless and can't wipe them out, so I came to help. Once we find the bandits' lair, can't we take them all down?”
Yu Wanran and the others exchanged glances and agreed that the child's words made sense.
Du Hu's anger subsided slightly, but he still questioned with suspicion, "Then how do you know we are government officials?"
They dressed as villagers, even smearing their faces, hands, and exposed skin dark with grime, looking every bit like old farmers. How exactly did Song Genbao discover them?
Song Genbao gave him a cold glance and pointed at his lower body.
“You! Your tattered outer clothes can’t hide the blue underpants you’re wearing underneath. That style and color is the uniform that yamen runners usually wear.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Wanran and the others looked at Du Hu. Sure enough, under the patched clothes on the young man's outer garment, his blue underpants were faintly visible.
Immediately, everyone glared at the short, chubby boy.
Fortunately, Song Genbao noticed. If they had encountered bandits, they probably would have faced more than just being robbed!
Du Hu was extremely embarrassed and quickly covered the hole in his clothes with his hands.
He thought the tattered clothes he found were dirty, so he preferred to wear his own clothes underneath for comfort. Little did he know that the tattered clothes would reveal his underwear when he moved around.
Qiu Yan continued to ask Song Genbao curiously, "How do you, a country boy, know so much about the clothes of the yamen runners?"