Chapter 339: Chapter 175 Midnight Conspiracy
Mrs. Gao sought out Gu Chengyu to express her concerns, and then she went to the village chiefâs house, asking his wife to light the bed-stove.
To get someone to work, benefits are inevitable. Gu Chengyu had long given the village chief a tael of Silver, asking his wife to look after things in the west wing and fulfill any possible requests, coming to him if they couldnât be met.
Before sleeping, the village chief went to the east wing, noticing his daughter-in-law wasnât there, and quickly warned Gouwa not to cause any trouble, as these people are not to be trifled with.
Understanding oneâs son best, the village chief knew Gouwaâs nature well. If he didnât restrain himself, heâd eventually be ruined by his lust.
Gouwa hurriedly accepted the warning, insisting he didnât have such courage. Though the village chief was still worried, he believed Gouwa certainly lacked the guts, considering their opponents outnumbered them, so he returned to his own room.
In ordinary times, the east wing would be resting, but tonight the oil lamp was still lit.
The village chiefâs daughter-in-law lay on Gouwaâs body, undressing him. Gou Dan hesitated but then pushed her away.
Seeing such a beautiful girl, his heart too was afire. But upon touching his wifeâs rough skin on the bed, and glancing at her black and yellow big face, he lost all interest.
His wife immediately shouted, "Whatâs this? Youâve got your eye on the new girl? I knew it, you lustful fool! In the village, you like to mess with unsavory things. Now youâve seen a flower bud-like girl, and your eyes wonât turn, is that it?"
Mrs. Tian didnât cry or howl, but her voice was extraordinarily loud.
Her Gouwa previously worked as a laborer in town, but returned without money. When his father asked, it turned out he spent it all at the townâs brothel.
His father beat him, forbidding him from going out to work this year. However, he started consorting with widows in the village, liked peeking at women bathing, and would tease them when he met them on the road, causing young women and wives to flee upon seeing him.
Their village, though only a few households, had a widow whose husband fell ill and died. The widow was young, had some beauty, and the village men often loitered by her house.
The widow wasnât anything good either; with no in-laws to oversee, she started getting involved with village men, Gouwa being one of them, caught only after secretly following her.
Recently, he had been quiet for a while, but today, with three delicate and beautiful girls visiting, Gouwaâs mind surely started stirring again.
Gouwa quickly sat up, covering Mrs. Tianâs mouth, "What are you doing? Arenât you afraid people might hear? What nonsense are you speaking?"
Mrs. Tian struggled a bit with her mouth covered. Once free, she kept talking, only her voice was much quieter.
"You better not target them; they look like girls from wealthy families, with guards and all. Did you see those on the carriage, even carrying swords? Even if you donât think for me, think for our child!"
Mrs. Tian feared Gouwa might act foolishly, as the saying goes, lust is like a knife. The man of the house may be flawed, but heâs still her man!
"What am I supposed to think? Letâs sleep! Tomorrow we need to wake up early to pick up the child from your motherâs place!"
Gouwa then extinguished the lamp and lay down, Mrs. Tian had to follow suit, losing her prior interest.
It was already late at night, Gu Chengyu and others had gone to sleep. Ming Mo was to keep watch in the first half of the night, and Gu Chengyu in the second half.
The east wingâs Gouwa lay in bed, tossing and turning, and Mrs. Tianâs soft voice suddenly arose in the room, startling Gouwa.
"Are you flipping pancakes? Will you sleep or not?"
Gouwa feared his wife would continue clinging to that topic. Despite feeling as if his heart was being scratched, he couldnât do anything but watch and fantasize in his mind.
He quickly changed the subject, "Do you think their two carriages are full of valuables? Whatâs inside?"
Mrs. Tian couldnât sleep for this reason. When this was mentioned, she got excited.
"Do you even need to ask? Of course, itâs all valuables! I heard from Father-in-law that theyâre from the Capital, preparing to go home and surely bringing some valuable Capital things. There must be a lot of good stuff inside."
Mrs. Tian loves money, often squeezing copper coins from daily expenses at home; her mother-in-law is known for being shrewd in the village!
"Right, maybe theyâre merchants. But why bring women on such trips? Could they be eloping?"
The more Gouwa thought, the more reasonable it seemed. Who takes women on trade trips? Maybe theyâve abducted a wealthy familyâs girl!
Hmm! Looks like theyâre just whores! His mind began stirring again; these people surely canât see the light of day; otherwise, why not take a ship?
"Thatâs possible too! Otherwise, why are there women among the men? The girl wears a hat, but her figure isnât tall, and her hair is styled like a young girlâs. Heard from Mother-in-law, sheâs really young!"
The village chiefâs wife, tending to the west wing, surely saw Yao Mengxian and others. Inside the house, itâs impossible to keep wearing veils.
"Dear, look, theyâre sure to sleep tonight. Should we go check? So many treasures in the carriage; if we take a couple, weâd never worry about food and clothes again."
Mrs. Tian was inevitably tempted; she was truly frightened of poverty, always hungry and cold. In town, seeing people adorned with gold, she was envious.
Gouwa was also moved; he didnât think of valuable items, he just wanted to see if there was a chance...
However, he worried if discovered, theyâd be reported to the government?
"If they check their things first thing in the morning and find something missing, wonât there be trouble?"
"Youâre really dumb. Would we admit to stealing? Our village has hundreds of people; just say someone else took it, and theyâd have to accept their rotten luck. We hide the goods well; they wouldnât find them."
Mrs. Tian rolled her eyes, not planning to hide the goods at home. The large expanse of land behind the house, grass, fish pondsâthey could hide it anywhere!
One obsessed with money, the other led by lust. Despite harboring their own thoughts, their aims were united.
After some discussion, they opened the window, looking out into the courtyard, intending to seize the opportunity.
Gu Chengyu didnât mention the watch duty to the village chiefâs family; otherwise, theyâd overthink and believe they werenât trusted, risking offending people.
But if someone truly dared to risk it, it couldnât be blamed on them.
Mrs. Tian and Gouwa glanced at the sky; truly, heaven was aiding them.
Tonight, the moon was large, spilling bright moonlight into the courtyard. Familiar with the courtyard environment, they should be able to reach the carriage with its light.
The carriages were already unloaded; the horses also needed rest at night. Theyâve been tied up in the shed behind the house, so approaching the carriages wouldnât disturb the animals.
They surveyed the courtyard; it wasnât yet deep into the night. They would wait until everyone was sound asleep before making their move.
After midnight, Gu Chengyu got up to switch with Ming Mo. As he reached the courtyard, Ming Mo suddenly appeared from nowhere. They exchanged no words; everyone in the courtyard was sleeping, and it was best not to disturb their rest.