Chapter 12 The Ancient Scholar Used as Cannon Fodder (Part 12) "Chu Zai..."

"Chu Zaizai, where did my little sister go? I want to go find her and play." Lin You's voice quickly regained its usual energy.

"By the way, have you studied those four pictures enough? I'll get you a few more. Keep it up, I'm looking forward to your finished product."

Before Chu Nanfeng could answer, Lin You saw Chu Qing braiding rope in the yard. She grabbed a few pictures, threw them into Chu Nanfeng's arms, and then flew out the window.

Looking at the three pictures she handed him—a photo of a red maple forest, a photo of a mountain stream, and a painting of misty Jiangnan—Chu Nanfeng's eyes immediately lit up. He spread out paper, ground ink, and became engrossed in the painting.

Lin You sat at the stone table next to Chu Qing, watching her little fingers fly around, quickly weaving the rope into tiny dragonflies, butterflies, fish, and birds.

The eyes are adorned with black stone beads, the color scheme is elegant and unique, seemingly simple, yet very lifelike.

Even though Chu Qing was quick and efficient, it took her quite a while to gather half a basketful before she finally carried the basket out the door.

Because of Lin You's previous reminder, Chu Nanfeng didn't allow her to go too far to see her father alone, so Chu Qing just stood at the corner of the alley entrance.

She must have made an appointment with someone, because soon several girls of similar age gathered around and quickly divided the contents of the basket.

The little girl took five or six of them, and as she left, she asked Chu Qing with lingering interest when there would be new flower patterns.

The half-basket of rope braids sold for a total of fifteen coins. Lin You calculated that it was roughly three ropes for one coin.

She then followed Chu Qing to the tailor shop across the street, where she watched as Chu Qing skillfully spent five coins to buy a bunch of colorful ropes and a small bag of stone beads.

So, the labor fee for that half basket was only ten coins, which was barely enough to buy food for a family of three for a day.

Just then, a little girl of about seven or eight years old ran over and pulled her, "Ah Qing, a variety show troupe came to the east end of the bridge. Some of them balance bowls on their heads and they can also walk on stilts. It's so lively! Sister Yue and the others went to play. I heard they can also scatter silk flowers and ribbons. Let's go and see!"

Lin You was tempted to go, but Chu Qing shook her head. "Ah Xue, you go have fun. I still have work to finish."

The little girl named Xue glanced at the colorful rope in her hand, and walked away somewhat disappointed. They were all children from poor families, and no one would let playing interfere with their studies.

Lin You watched Chu Qing continue to sit in the yard weaving rope, then slipped into the house and told Chu Nanfeng about the acrobatics, urging him to take his little sister out to see it.

After greeting his mother in the inner room, Chu Nanfeng pulled Chu Qing, who was looking on with anticipation, out the door. Lin You sat on his shoulders, equally expectant.

In modern times, acrobatic performances are basically only seen on television.

The acrobatic troupe was performing on an open space at the bridgehead. When Lin You and his group arrived, a child who looked about five or six years old was wearing a colorful costume and performing on a wooden board with a roller underneath.

Her balance and flexibility are remarkable; she leaps and tumbles back and forth on the wooden plank, adorned with colorful ribbons, making her a truly spectacular sight.

After the children finished their performance, the troupe leader scattered colorful ribbons and silk flowers into the crowd as a way of thanking everyone for coming to support him. The ribbons and silk flowers were brightly colored and were quickly picked up by some little girls.

"Chu Nanfeng, isn't something wrong?!" Lin You felt that there was something strange about this acrobatic troupe.

This isn't modern times, with machine assembly lines where you can buy a bunch of fake flowers and ribbons for 9.9 yuan with free shipping on shopping platforms.

Even a simple bow here is hand-woven, and a silk flower should be worth at least a penny.

Shouldn't they be asking for tips after the performance ends? Why are they giving things to the audience?

Also, aren't there too many children watching the performance around here? She didn't encounter so many children when she went shopping with Chu Nanfeng yesterday.

Even though children in ancient times were raised freely and didn't need adults to accompany them when they went out to play, this acrobatic troupe has only been here for a short time, yet it has already attracted so many children to watch.

It was as if someone had specifically notified them.

At this moment, Chu Qing asked her familiar friends, "Xiao Xiao, Amu, how long have you been here?"

The little girl kept an eye on the troupe leader's movements and casually replied, "I came after lunch, but that person insisted that there were too few children and told us to go and call our friends. We've only just started now. If we wait any longer, my mother will call me back for dinner."

Amu was quick and grabbed a red ribbon. He was holding it in his hand and showing it off. "Ah Xue said you hadn't finished your work yet. We all thought you wouldn't be able to make it, but it turned out you arrived just in time."

Chu Nanfeng looked at the troupe leader, who was still trying to liven up the atmosphere, and at a certain spot that the troupe leader kept glancing at. Standing in that spot were several unfamiliar men.

The men's eyes weren't on the circus troupe; instead, they were observing the people around them. The closest man to them was only two meters away.

Chu Nanfeng reached out and patted Chu Qing's head, saying softly, "Didn't you just say you were hungry? The acrobatics performance won't start for a while, let's go buy some food first and then come back."

Chu Qing nodded immediately, "I want to eat sugar-coated sesame cakes, freshly baked ones."

“Okay, let’s go buy some sugar-coated sesame cakes. Ask Uncle Wu to give you an extra penny’s worth of sugar.” After saying that, Chu Nanfeng took Chu Qing’s hand and turned into the alley next to them without making a sound.

After turning a corner and making sure that no one outside could see them, Chu Nanfeng picked up his little sister and quickly walked forward.

He first went to a grain shop on the street, found the shopkeeper and told him what had happened. Xiao Xiao, who had just been talking to Chu Qing, was the shopkeeper's daughter.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's expression changed. He called out to the woman inside the house, and the couple, one carrying a washing mallet and the other a shovel, ran towards the bridge without even locking the door.

Chu Nanfeng took two steps forward and knocked on the door of another house, explaining once again that something was wrong with the acrobatic troupe.

The aunties and grandmas on the east side, the uncles and grandpas on the west side, the butchers, the tea shop owners, the woodcutters, and the water deliverymen—after hearing his guess, all gathered around the troupe.

Chu Nanfeng was a scholar who only came from one village in the surrounding area, and he was an exceptionally intelligent man. If he said that there was something wrong with the acrobatic troupe, then he was probably right.

After performing for most of the hour, the troupe leader, who was about to wrap up the show, suddenly realized that there were quite a few adults in the audience, and many of the children he had previously favored were being held by their families, with hardly any left alone.

He suddenly had a bad feeling, so he hurriedly stepped forward, said some polite words with a smile, and prepared to pack his things and leave.

Unexpectedly, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "There's something wrong with his ribbon! There's powder on it!"

Someone quickly chimed in, "It smells like a sedative. To drug a child like that, they must be human traffickers!"

Several burly men, acting on Chu Nanfeng's orders, surrounded the strangers in the crowd and shouted, "Everyone be careful! They have accomplices! Don't let them get away!"

The crowd immediately swarmed around them, shouting, "Quickly, grab them! Quickly, report to the authorities!"

The troupe leader, who was performing nearby, was startled by the shout. He turned his eyes and tried to sneak away behind the crowd.

Anyway, he carried all his money with him, and all he had were some broken pieces of wood and a few rough bowls. It was just a pity about those kids; they would take quite a bit of effort to train them.

Since everyone was prepared, they wouldn't let him escape. Immediately, people surrounded him and pinned the troupe leader to the ground, while his other accomplices were also subdued.

Wang, the fat and strong butcher, stepped forward, took the dirty hemp rope he usually used to tie up pigs, and quickly tied the man up tightly.

After everyone was caught, the tense crowd finally breathed a sigh of relief. Several families, however, anxiously called out their children's names. They had searched the neighborhood for a while but couldn't find their children.

After realizing that the circus troupe had ill intentions, families who couldn't find their children turned their attention to the large wooden box the troupe had brought.

The seven or eight old wooden crates were inconspicuous, piled in a corner against the wall, but weren't they a bit too big?

Soon, a bolder person stepped forward, opened the box, and immediately exclaimed in surprise:

"There's a child in this box. Isn't this Yue'er from Wang Qi's family?"

"There's one in this box too, it's Wu Er's son, Nan!"

"Quick! Bring the baby out! Dr. Chen, please come and take a look!"

There were no juggling props in the boxes; five of them contained unconscious children.

The purpose of the other empty boxes is quite obvious.

The five children, four girls and one boy, were all six or seven years old. They had delicate features, fair skin, and were beautiful, which showed that the kidnapper had deliberately chosen them.

Four of the children were identified as being from the county.

Butcher Wang glanced at the box and immediately his eyes widened in anger. He raised his leg and kicked the troupe leader who was closest to him hard.

One of the boxes contained his little niece!

The troupe leader was tied up so tightly, like a pig being tied up, that he couldn't struggle and rolled three times on the ground before finally rolling to Aunt Zhang's feet with a groan.

But then Aunt Zhang, who usually speaks softly, gritted her teeth and stretched out her long fingernails, scratching his face until it was covered in scratches.

The only boy in the box was her nephew from her maternal family. Her brother and sister-in-law were over fifty years old when they finally had this precious child. The couple were so scared that their legs went weak as they held the baby.

The old woman from the Wang family picked up a washing mallet and slammed it hard on the leg of one of her accomplices several times, while the old woman from the Sun family grabbed another accomplice by the hair and slapped him seventeen or eighteen times.

Every family has a relative with a child. People would gather around, one would punch them, another would kick them, and the kidnappers would scream in pain as they were beaten.

When the county magistrate arrived with his constables, the men were already bruised and swollen, their mouths crooked and their eyes slanted, making them unrecognizable.

After hearing the accounts of what had happened from various people, the magistrate glanced at the pitiful state of the kidnappers and then at the still indignant crowd. Without uttering a single reprimand, he waved his hand and ordered the constables to take the people back to the yamen for questioning.

Inside the box was a little girl who was unconscious and no one recognized her. When the group of children performing acrobatics were questioned, it turned out that most of them had also been trafficked, so they were all taken to the yamen.

Chu Nanfeng watched from afar as the matter was resolved before carrying his little sister home. Chu Qing felt her brother's arms tighten around her, and obediently nestled in his embrace without making a sound.

After arriving home, Chu Nanfeng sat holding his younger sister for a long while before finally putting the little girl down with lingering fear.

Chu Qing looked at him obediently and said, "Brother, don't worry, I will definitely be obedient from now on and won't go to join in the fun."

"Go see your mother, tell her not to worry." Chu Nanfeng gently patted his little sister's head and comforted her softly.

He waited until Chu Qing entered the house before asking Lin You, "Sister, did you say before that my little sister shouldn't go out alone? Is that because of this?"

"Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't, but with Han Qige as a variable, we can't let our guard down," Lin You reminded him.

The plot only states that Chu Xiaomei was kidnapped because of Chu Nanfeng's negligence and Han Qige's mischief, but the specific details are not explained.

Chu Nanfeng nodded. It seemed that the misfortunes his family had experienced were all related to Han Qige, who had been resurrected in another's body.

Han Qige, who was treated as a non-human, was at home listening to her father's ramblings:

"Haven't you always had a good relationship with Prime Minister Chu? Why haven't you gone to visit him? You should visit him more often. I found an antique inkstone the day before yesterday, which cost me ten taels of silver. Take it with you when you go to visit Prime Minister Chu."

Oh, and ask him again about those tax-exempt fields under his name. See if he can leave ten mu for our family. We'll give him a reward; he definitely won't lose out. If ten mu isn't possible, five mu will do.

"I was planning to visit Brother Chu tomorrow." Han Qige nodded obediently and asked curiously, "Father, didn't my scholar's degree exempt me from some land taxes? The amount I have to pay isn't much, so why ask Brother Chu for help?"

Looking at his son, who was clearly of marriageable age but still looked immature, Han's father shook his head and sighed:

“You’re at the age where you should be settling down and starting a family. When will you learn some social etiquette? This is a sign of a good relationship between our two families. Otherwise, no matter how close you seem to him, it’s just for show. It’s not just about taxes.”

Han Qige tugged at her father's sleeve and shook it, "Okay, Dad, I know. I'll ask Brother Chu tomorrow."

His coquettish manner made Han's father sigh again. His son was only two years younger than Chu Nanfeng, but his behavior was like that of two different generations.

A note from the author:

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