Chapter 626 A Clumsy Deception

Since everyone wanted to discuss serious matters, Gu Shuyan, being a woman, naturally wouldn't stay. So she greeted Yun Yichen and then took her leave.

"Wuyin, find an excuse to go out of the city later and see if you can find Zhong Lin. Yufei, come with me to wander around and check on the situation of the disaster victims here."

Gu Shuyan gave the instructions as soon as she returned to her residence.

Although Yun Yichen had briefly explained the situation in the city to her before, Gu Shuyan still wanted to see it for herself.

After a quick breakfast, Wuyin slipped out of the city, while Gu Shuyan and Yufei went to the area where the disaster victims were.

Since only the city defenses and government offices have been completed so far, the disaster victims are still living in temporary tents.

Looking at the group of people lying on the ground in a tent, Gu Shuyan couldn't help but frown slightly.

It's still September, so even lying on a mat doesn't feel cold. But if it gets colder and colder in the dead of winter, wouldn't lying on the ground freeze to death?

"Is this all the supplies the imperial court has allocated?" Gu Shuyan asked.

Yu Fei was naturally unaware of the matter either. Upon hearing Gu Shuyan's question, she immediately replied, "This servant will go and inquire about it in a moment."

"It would be best to ask again whether more supplies will be sent, especially warm items such as bedding and clothing."

Gu Shuyan remembered that her older brother had mentioned before she came that this year's cotton harvest was not very good, and she hoped that it would not have too much of an impact.

The master and servant continued walking forward when a group of people suddenly caught Gu Shuyan's attention.

It was a group of young women, and judging from their dejected and downcast appearance, they must have been forced into it.

Gu Shuyan couldn't help but lead Yu Fei over. She saw that although these women were dressed simply, and their clothes were even quite dirty, their appearances were still quite fair.

Some of them were in their twenties, while others were only teenagers. Although they were not tied up with ropes, they were being watched by the old women around them.

Gu Shuyan looked towards the front of the crowd, where a woman in her forties or fifties was leading the way. The woman was incessantly scolding a woman beside her, telling her to hurry up.

Upon seeing this, Gu Shuyan couldn't help but ask loudly, "Where is this aunt taking them?"

Gu Shuyan's voice suddenly rang out, standing out particularly in the quiet atmosphere.

The old woman at the front paused upon hearing this and turned around to look.

"Where did this brat come from, daring to meddle in our lady's affairs?"

As she spoke, the old woman winked at another old woman, who then led her people forward. Only then did the old woman herself walk towards Gu Shuyan and Yu Fei.

As she approached the two men, the old woman was initially stunned by their good looks, but she quickly put on a fierce expression.

"Why haven't I seen you before? Where are you from?"

The old woman was clearly unaware of yesterday's events. After all, the soldiers' encampment was far from where the disaster victims were temporarily residing, so news from there rarely reached this area.

"Auntie, don't worry about where we're from, just tell us where they're going!"

Gu Shuyan blinked her big eyes and looked in the direction the group had left. Her innocent and curious expression was clearly telling the old woman, "Hurry up and lie to me, I'm a very easy person to fool."

Sure enough, seeing Gu Shuyan's appearance successfully put the old woman at ease. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, and finally she revealed what she thought was a kind smile.

"Our mistress asked them to help with some small matters. Would you two young ladies like to come along and take a look?"

The old woman had a smile on her face, the very demeanor of a human trafficker.

Seeing this, Yufei quickly tugged at Gu Shuyan's sleeve and shook her head at her.

"Does this young lady think I'm a bad person? You're mistaken. I'm the steward of the prefect's household. How could I possibly lie to you two young girls? To put it bluntly, if this were the old Suzhou City, you two wouldn't even be qualified to speak to me."

The old woman saw Yufei's expression and, before Yufei could say anything, she rolled her eyes and arrogantly raised her head.

In Suzhou, the highest-ranking official is the prefect. To be able to serve as a steward under the prefect is something to be proud of.

Gu Shuyan narrowed her eyes when she heard the old woman mention the prefect's family. If it really was the He family taking these young women away, she couldn't afford to miss this opportunity.

"Is my aunt really the steward of the prefect's family?"

Gu Shuyan remained harmless, but the steward whom the grandfather had called over felt something was off.

Her husband was only in his fifties, not much older than her, yet this little girl called him "Grandpa," which meant she was already of the grandmother generation.

Quickly clearing her mind of the jumbled thoughts, the old woman grinned at Gu Shuyan and said, "Would your aunt lie to you? If you don't believe me, come with me and see for yourself."

Yufei was utterly ashamed of the old woman's clumsy trickery. "You still don't believe me? I'll go with you and see for myself. Even if I find out I've been fooled, what can I do?"

However, Yufei naturally couldn't say what was on her mind, because she knew that her young mistress had her own reasons for acting this way.

Looking at Gu Shuyan, she saw Gu Shuyan pulling her aside and asking for her opinion: "Yufei, why don't we go and see? If she's lying to us, we can come back on our own."

"Don't worry, young lady, I assure you I'm not lying to you."

Seeing this, the old woman quickly made a guarantee. In her opinion, Gu Shuyan was easy to fool, but it seemed that the decision still had to be made by this somewhat wary girl.

Seeing this, Yu Fei glanced at Gu Shuyan, who was staring at her expectantly, and pretended to ponder for a moment, "You have to promise me you'll only take a look and then come back!"

"I promise," Gu Shuyan quickly agreed with a smile.

Seeing that the two agreed to come with her, the old woman couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.

The lady only asked me to find some women to take back, but if I presented these two young and beautiful women to her, she would surely be pleased. And if the lady was pleased, wouldn't I be sure to receive a reward?

"Then the two young ladies, come with your aunt!" the old woman said happily to the two women, mistress and servant.

Just as the three of them were about to leave, a charming female voice came from behind them.

"Oh dear, is the Prefect's wife about to do something so heinous again?"

The voice belonged to a woman around thirty years old. She had a seductive figure, and her alluring walk was so captivating that even Gu Shuyan couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.

"You vixen, what nonsense are you spouting again? Get out of here!"

The old woman's face darkened the moment she saw the woman; it was clear she disliked this alluring woman intensely.