Chapter 23: Do Not Despise the Young

The teahouse suddenly erupted in clamor, with everyone voicing their own opinions and theories. Chen Ping, having heard the riddle, pondered why the village would become deserted whenever the woman left.

A scholar sitting closest to the storyteller was the first to pose a question: "Was the woman a murderess?"

The storyteller hid his mouth behind his unfurled folding fan. "Yes, and no."

"Was it because of an epidemic?"

"No."

"Is the village deserted because of the woman?"

As soon as this question was asked, the surrounding crowd chuckled; the riddle itself had already stated as much. The man realized he had asked a foolish question and hurriedly ducked back into the crowd. Although the question was redundant, the storyteller still provided an answer: "Yes."

"Did anyone in the village know this woman?"

"Yes."

"Was she an outsider?"

"Yes, and no."

"Another ambiguous answer..." He Qingxuan felt as though he were on the verge of grasping the answer, yet he couldn't quite pinpoint what was missing.

Someone called out loudly, "Did the woman bring bandits upon the village?"

"No."

This "no" completely derailed He Qingxuan's line of thought. Chen Ping listened to these questions and, summarizing them, found them rather strange. The woman knew the villagers, yet was not entirely an outsider. Could it be assumed that she had once been an outsider but later became part of the village?

To confirm his hypothesis, Chen Ping first verified this with the storyteller. With the storyteller's affirmation, Chen Ping knew his reasoning was sound. He continued, "Was the relationship between the woman and the villagers poor?"

"Yes and no."

At this point, Ye Chongwen jumped up and shouted, "I know! Is the woman a demon?" For someone obsessed with storybooks, this was the best answer he could imagine.

"No."

As soon as the storyteller finished speaking, the entire teahouse burst into laughter. Ye Chongwen turned beet red and scratched his head in embarrassment. "I thought it was some sort of supernatural tale; I guess not."

A few middle-aged men sitting nearby could no longer hold back their disdain. One of them pounded the table and shouted, "Where did these kids come from? Causing a ruckus here with nonsense—get out, get out!"

The shout drew everyone's gaze, and others chimed in with agreement. Seeing this, Ye Chongwen and He Qingxuan retreated a few steps into the corner.

Chen Ping frowned. Unafraid, he walked up to the middle-aged man's table and asked, "Sir, although we are young, we paid for our tea just like everyone else. Why shouldn't we be here if you are?"

Many in the teahouse nodded in agreement, but the middle-aged man remained boorish. "You're here to listen to the fun, so stop asking silly questions. Kids shouldn't interfere with our puzzle-solving."

"So, you are certain we cannot solve this riddle?" Chen Ping stared at him and asked.

"What a joke. With so many people here unable to guess it, how could a little brat like you know?" The man looked at him with contempt.

"What if I do guess it?"

"If you guess it, I’ll add another string of cash as a reward."

Chen Ping shook his head. "I don't want your money. If I guess it, you must apologize to us."

The middle-aged man and his companions exchanged glances. They were now in a difficult position; with everyone in the teahouse watching, they could not let themselves be intimidated by a child. "Fine, I accept. But what if you don't guess it?"

Ye Chongwen and He Qingxuan, being young, were trembling at the confrontation and stepped forward to pull Chen Ping away, wanting to leave. But Chen Ping looked at them calmly and whispered, "Trust me. I want to try."

Ignited by some unknown conviction, they calmed down and stood firmly by Chen Ping's side.

Chen Ping held their hands and said to the man, "If I fail, the three of us will bow to apologize for disturbing everyone’s enjoyment, and we will leave the teahouse immediately."

"Fine. Then state the answer and let the storyteller judge." The middle-aged man slumped back into his chair, a look of anticipation for a good show flickering in his eyes.

Chen Ping ignored him and asked the storyteller on stage, "Sir, may I ask you a few more questions?"

The storyteller folded his fan, placed it on the table, and sat upright with a smile. "Of course. Go ahead, young man, but I can only answer with 'yes' or 'no'."

"Naturally. I wish to ask: the reason for the deserted village—did all the villagers die?" Chen Ping asked.

"No."

He immediately followed up, "Was the woman unwilling to live there?"

"Yes."

At this, Chen Ping felt he had grasped the answer. In truth, he had a rough idea before asking these two questions, and now he was nearly certain. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to stand up to the middle-aged man so directly; he would have simply taken his friends and left.

Since Chen Ping’s two questions had hit the mark, the storyteller became even more curious about his answer. Seeing him lost in thought, the storyteller urged him, "Why have you stopped asking?"

"I have the answer. Do I need to come up on stage to tell you in private?"

"Oh? We can make an exception today. You may speak it out directly, young man."

With the storyteller's permission, Chen Ping revealed his conclusion.

"The riddle states that once the woman leaves the village, it becomes deserted. From the answers to our previous questions, we can deduce that the woman was an outsider who held a grudge against the village, yet she was forced to live there with a husband. There is only one possibility: she did not want to be there at all and was forced to come for some reason.

"The reason the village became deserted when she left is most likely that when she went out, she told someone something that exposed a secret or a crime, causing the villagers to flee in fear of the authorities.

"So, I boldly guess that she was kidnapped and sold into the village as a wife. There may have been many others there who suffered the same fate. When she finally escaped and reported it to the officials, the villagers were afraid of being arrested, so they all scattered, leaving the village empty.

"Sir, am I correct?"

As Chen Ping finished, everyone in the teahouse turned to look at the storyteller. Ye Chongwen and He Qingxuan held their breath, staring intently ahead.

A look of delight gradually spread across the storyteller's face. He then called out to the shopkeeper in the back, "Well done, lad! Today's prize is yours."

The teahouse erupted in cheers.

"He guessed it?"

"Good! Good! Good!"

"That kid is truly impressive; he actually solved the riddle."

Ye Chongwen jumped up in excitement, pointing at Chen Ping, unable to find words. He Qingxuan looked at him, gasping for air, his eyes brimming with tears.

The middle-aged man who had scolded them looked on in disbelief, staring blankly at Chen Ping.

The storyteller reminded him, "A man should keep his word. It is time to apologize to these three young men."

The crowd, enjoying the spectacle, began to goad the man. Only then did the middle-aged man come to his senses. Under the gaze of everyone, he stood up, walked over, and said, "Three young gentlemen, please forgive my earlier offense."

"We accept your apology, sir. But we hope you will not bully the young in the future."

The crowd burst into laughter at this, and the three boys exchanged glances and smiled happily.

The teahouse keeper brought out a string of cash tied with a red rope and placed it in Chen Ping’s hands; it felt heavy and substantial.

The enthusiasm of the crowd in the teahouse threatened to overwhelm Chen Ping. Finally spotting a gap in the crowd, he hurried out of the teahouse. Ye Chongwen and He Qingxuan tried to follow, but they couldn't squeeze through the crowd for a long time.

Just as Chen Ping reached the entrance of the teahouse, a familiar face blocked his path.