Tang Qiqi went straight to the county government office. The guards at the gate didn't dare to delay for a moment and immediately sent someone to announce her arrival, inviting her inside first.

The county magistrate was already worried when he heard that Tang Qiqi had arrived. His head was spinning. The group of rescued children had already given him a lot of trouble. What was this young lady up to now?

Even if he was unwilling, he dared not neglect Tang Qiqi. Although General Liu was far away from the emperor, there were no secrets that remained hidden forever, and he dared not gamble.

Furthermore, the dog that Tang Qiqi rode and its accomplices were elusive and difficult to spot. Those human traffickers were subdued thanks to them, and the county magistrate had no intention of going against Tang Qiqi.

Tang Qiqi was invited in, and the county magistrate said politely, "It is an honor to have Miss Qiqi here. I have been busy with official duties lately and have not been able to visit Madam Xu. I wonder how she is doing?"

Tang Qiqi replied politely, "Thank you for your concern, sir. My mother is much better now. Sir, you seem to have something on your mind. You've successfully captured Song Chunhua, which is a great achievement. You should be happy!"

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The county magistrate said with a bitter face, "Miss Qiqi, you don't know this, but thanks to you, I did manage to catch Song Chunhua. However, the higher-ups said that she is a serious criminal and must be sent to Lanling for trial as a warning to others."

Tang Qiqi said politely, "This is great news! You'll meet many high-ranking officials when you get to Lanling. You've solved such a big case, you might get promoted!"

The magistrate said, "That's true, but the journey from here to Lanling is long. Song Chunhua has been able to act so arrogantly for so many years, she must have a lot of connections. I'm worried that she might run into trouble on the way!"

Tang Qiqi hadn't thought of this. Now that she mentioned it, it's highly likely that Song Chunhua was indeed kidnapped.

This Song Chunhua is utterly wicked. If she escapes, countless people will suffer. Moreover, she is vengeful and will surely seek revenge against my family if she manages to escape. Therefore, we must find a way to safely send her to Lanling. With the evidence of her crimes, Song Chunhua will surely be brought to justice.

She asked, "Sir, could we ask Lanling to come and fetch the person? That way, if anything goes wrong, it won't be your problem!"

Seeing that Tang Qiqi was unusually calm and adorable today, the county magistrate was no longer worried. He smiled wryly and said, "Miss Qiqi is still a child after all. We servants can only follow orders from our superiors. How can we ask the higher-ups to come and take people away? Besides, the political situation in Lanling is currently turbulent, so they are even less likely to send anyone to pick up prisoners!"

Tang Qiqi didn't really understand the ways of officialdom, so she asked doubtfully, "Since the situation in Lanling is tense, will anyone care if this prisoner is sent there?"

The magistrate said, "That's alright. I've inquired about it. Although Lanling is currently in some chaos, it's because the imperial court is deliberately stirring things up. But the Lord of Lanling is brave and resourceful. Under his rule, there hasn't been any major unrest. The Lord of Lanling loves his people like his own children. If I send the prisoners to him, he definitely won't stand idly by. The only problem is how to send them."

Tang Qiqi pondered for a moment and said, "I have an idea, but I don't know if I should say it!"

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The county magistrate didn't believe this young girl could have any good ideas, but he still politely said, "Miss Qi, please speak freely!"

Tang Qiqi whispered in his ear for a long time, and the county magistrate listened with a smile and said, "That's a really good idea. Miss Qiqi is indeed clever and quick-witted. You've solved a big problem for me!"

Tang Qiqi smiled brightly: "Don't mention it, it's good that I can help the magistrate!"

The magistrate was in a great mood and asked Tang Qiqi, "Miss Qiqi, you never come here unless you have something to ask. What brings you here today? You haven't come here specifically to give me a brilliant plan, have you?"

Tang Qiqi laughed: "I didn't expect adults to be so humorous. I came today to ask about the situation of the rescued children!"

Upon hearing this, the county magistrate frowned again. He complained, “Miss Qiqi, those children are also a troublesome matter. Many of them are from other places, and many of them were sold by their families. So, apart from a few who have already been sent home, the rest are either too young to remember where their homes are, or they don’t want to go back and be sold again. They won’t tell us where their homes are, so there’s no way to settle them.”

"Even so, you can't send them all to wealthy families as maids. What's the difference between that and human trafficking!" Tang Qiqi was a little annoyed.

The county magistrate was somewhat reluctant. He said helplessly, "I know this is not appropriate, but I really have no other choice. These girls have nowhere to live, so I cleared out the armory for them to sleep on the floor. The daily food expenses are quite high."

Besides, our yamen is full of men, and it's really inconvenient for these young girls to live there. I can't just abandon them and send them to work as maids in wealthy households. Although it's hard work, it's still better than being sold to a brothel by Song Chunhua!"

The county magistrate mustered his courage to say these words, thinking that Tang Qiqi would definitely throw a tantrum again, but he really had no choice. If these children were not settled, the county government would be emptied out by them.

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There were also a few girls who were already over ten years old. I don't know how Song Chunhua taught them, but they were always flirting with his young yamen runner. If something happened, a good thing would turn into a bad thing.

This time, Tang Qiqi surprisingly did not ship the goods. The county magistrate was telling the truth; it was indeed inappropriate to leave them at the county office.

But what should she do? She tilted her head and thought and thought.

She herself was an unwanted child, raised in a heartless orphanage, and she knew the hardships involved.

Thinking of the orphanage, she had a bold idea: since Xu Lanzhi was determined to listen to the Bodhisattva, why not start an orphanage?

The money Song Chunhua received was all ill-gotten gains; using it to run an orphanage would be a good deed.

But this money certainly won't last long, and her family will definitely have to pay for it. She has to go back and ask Xu Lanzhi for her opinion.

Tang Qiqi said to the county magistrate, "Sir, some of these children are only four or five years old. No one would want them as maids. I know you've had a hard time these past few days. But please bear with it for a few more days, for the sake of me helping you find this big fish, Song Chunhua. Don't send the children away yet. I'll go back and discuss it with my mother to see if there's a better way to settle these children. You don't know, my mother has been thinking about them. As soon as she woke up, she sent me here to ask!"

The county magistrate was troubled by this matter. He had no choice but to send these girls to wealthy families. As soon as the idea was mentioned, the people outside began to say that he was even more ruthless than human traffickers for selling these children. If this got back to the higher-ups, it would have a great impact on his career.

Now that Tang Ji himself wanted to take on this mess, the magistrate was naturally more than happy to oblige. So the magistrate readily agreed: "Since Miss Qi Qi has spoken, what can I say? To be honest, I don't want to send them to wealthy families as maids either. If you have a better way, that would be a blessing for these poor children!"

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Tang Qiqi didn't expose the county magistrate. After the matter was settled, she took her leave and went home to discuss the welfare home with her family.

Tang Qiqi told the children the truth: most of them had been sold by their families, and they were likely to be sold again if they went back, so they were unwilling to go back.

As for the younger ones, they couldn't remember most of what happened at home, so sending them home was impossible, and the county magistrate couldn't do anything about it.

Xu Lanzhi reiterated that she couldn't abandon these children.

Tang Qiqi preemptively asked, "So, how does Mother plan to discipline us?"

Xu Lanzhi was stunned. What to do about it? This was a problem. After a while, she said, "I'll pay for their food and drink!"

Tang Qiqi pressed on, asking, "How long does Mother plan to take care of them? Besides food and drink, there's also housing, clothes, and so on. Dozens of children—it's no small matter."

Zhao Di and Yin Di exchanged a glance and also felt that this method would not work.

Yindi said, "Qiqi is right. For now, we can pay for their food, clothing, and shelter, but what about the future? Can we keep doing this forever? When will it end?"

Xu Lanzhi said unhappily, "So you mean you're just going to abandon them? But if you don't abandon them, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep peacefully in the future. If you won't take care of them, I will!"

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In her excitement, Xu Lanzhi aggravated her wound, and the pain made her face turn pale.

The Tang family's daughters were terrified and quickly tried to soften their tone. Tang Qiqi said, "Mother, we're not abandoning them. We're just wondering what problems we'll encounter if we take over these girls and how to solve them."