534 Something Happened
The daytime was long and the weather was not too hot, so after hurriedly traveling, Ping An and his party arrived at Sun Mansion in Yong'an City at dusk four days later.
There was no need to take the luggage down and they could just leave it in the car as they did not plan to stay in the city.
As for Chen Sheng's matter, Ping'an asked Erqiang to go to the provincial school to look for him immediately after he planned to settle down in his master's villa. He knew his father's mentality very well. On the one hand, he was grateful for the six years of father-son relationship, and on the other hand, he still missed his daughter who died young. After all, Chen Sheng was their biological brother from the same mother, so any help he could provide would be helpful.
"Master Ping'an, the doorman said that Master Chen came to say hello two days ago. He is in the inn next door. He said that in case he didn't see us, please ask someone to call him." Da Zhuang came over at a trot.
Ping An smiled and said, "I see. I guess he should be here soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Feng came over and said, "Master, there are two people outside looking for Master Chang. They are Master Chen Sheng and his grandfather."
"Got it, Lin Feng, go tell Master Chang."
Since it is your father’s business, let him do it himself.
Before Ping'an entered the room, his father hurried out of the room.
"Ping An, Chen Sheng should have gone with us, can you go down with dad to take a look?"
Ping An shook his head: "I'm going to wash up. If he follows me, he should come to the Sun Mansion at dawn tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll go take a look."
When Chang Chunfeng arrived at the main hall in the front yard, County Magistrate Chen immediately stood up with Chen Sheng.
"Master Chang."
"Uncle."
"Have you decided?"
County Magistrate Chen was embarrassed: "Sheng'er has always wanted to study at the Imperial College. You said you could take him with you. We are willing to do so, but we are sorry to trouble you."
Chang Chunfeng smiled lightly: "It's not a problem. Sheng'er and I are destined to be together, so I will help him a little if I can. But whether he can study well depends mainly on himself.
I wonder if you guys are going home to prepare? I can only wait for you for one day at most. It's already the 23rd. We must arrive in the capital in a month. We can't delay any longer."
County Magistrate Chen hurriedly said, "Master Chang, I estimate that you will arrive in the next few days. Sheng'er has already made preparations and dare not delay your trip. He can go with you at any time. In the next few years, Sheng'er will trouble you."
He bowed and saluted.
Chang Chunfeng helped him up and said, "Master Chen, there is no need to do this. Ping An is washing up, so it is inconvenient to call him. When it is your day off, Sheng Er can ask Ping An if he has any questions. His knowledge far exceeds that of my father."
"Uncle, Sheng'er knows."
"Master Chang, this is the best. Not only are both father and son successful candidates in the imperial examination, but Master Ping An also got the top six places. Everyone calls him the real literary star of the Great Zhou.
Master Chang has been exhausted from the long journey, so I will not disturb you to rest. I will bring Sheng'er here at dawn tomorrow. He will bring two servants with him, and he will also bring a carriage."
…
Ten days later.
The weather is getting hot.
There are only ten days left before they can get home. Ping'an is worried about Awu but doesn't show it on his face. Wan Changsheng has been eager to go home for a long time but doesn't want to show it in front of Chang Chunfeng, so he is tormented inside.
Sanqiang was also suffering. He and his wife had been married for only seven days, and they were in love with each other, but they had to separate for his studies.
What his parents said was true. They were newlyweds and being together would inevitably affect their studies. The next major exam was only two and a half years away, and he couldn't wait for three years.
Besides, living in Ping'an's house requires support from my uncle and his family. It would be inappropriate to bring my wife with me.
He has followed his uncle and his family to the provincial capital since he was a child. He has no idea how much they have contributed over the years, both openly and secretly. His family has offered money several times, but his uncle and aunt have refused it every time. He doesn't know if he can repay this kindness in this lifetime.
The key is not him, but that Ping An is too outstanding. He is good at studying and making money. I can't even compare to half of him.
It was late noon that day.
Xiao Wu took the lead and parked the carriage in a small woods not far from the side of the road. They had rested here for a short time when they came. It was shaded and there was a water source nearby. In more than an hour, they would be able to enter Jinzhou City without having to wait until dark.
Jinzhou City is not very big, but it is well connected and very prosperous. It is among the top ten of the thirty-two prefectures in the world.
The brocade here is very famous, second only to Suzhou Prefecture and Yuhang Prefecture in Jiangnan.
Chang Chunfeng, Chen Sheng and Sanqiang got out of the car and ran towards the small forest. Wan Changsheng also chased after them with a smile.
Ping An was also in a hurry to release the water, and disappeared after a few steps on the snow.
After releasing the water and just fastening his belt, he was startled. In the grass, a pair of eyes looked at him in horror. They were a pair of children's eyes.
He couldn't help but think of the first time he met Xiao Ming at the foot of Shuangfeng Mountain seven years ago. The situation was almost the same, except that one was at noon and the other was at night.
"Little brother, why are you hiding here?"
The boy's eyes opened wider, but he still said nothing.
"Little brother, we are just passing by and will leave soon. Are you alone? Why are you hiding here? Are you a runaway slave?"
Ping An frowned.
This dynasty still had death contracts, and the pawnbroker business was prevalent throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty. Rich people could buy slaves as they pleased, unlike some dynasties that restricted the buying and selling of people.
Tears welled up in the boy's eyes: "Please, sir, save me."
"Come out, what's the matter?"
"Sir, I don't dare to come out. If they find out I'm not in the car, they might come looking for me. I overheard that they are planning to smuggle us out to foreign tribes in batches."
"Wait, what did you say? Foreigners? No matter which foreign tribe we go to, it's very far away. Why are they so unwilling to gain anything? If foreigners want people, they should buy people from the border town to smuggle them in."
"I'm not sure either. There are a lot of people in the village, almost all of them are about my age. We send out a carload of people every two weeks, with seven or eight people in each carload. Sometimes, we send a lot of people away in a month. And there are indeed foreigners, but they speak the Great Zhou language very well. If I hadn't pretended to be unconscious, I wouldn't have known about this."
"Are you pretending to be faint?"
"Everyone who was sent away was given medicine. I vomited most of the medicine into my sleeve. I felt a little dazed, but I didn't faint. Everyone in the car fainted. There were eight children in our car. There were two people driving the car in front. I quietly climbed down from the car and hid when they were not paying attention. I have been hiding for half an hour."
Ping An already felt that the matter was serious. The child would not lie, but who would sell the children to a foreign country? Aren't they afraid of being discovered by transporting the children so frequently?
Although the Great Zhou Dynasty had free population trading, it was limited to the country itself, and it was impossible to sell its own people to foreign races.
"Come with me to the car, I will protect you."
The boy crawled out of the bushes. He was a child of about twelve or thirteen years old, tall and thin, with a whip mark on his forehead. It seemed that he had suffered a lot, and his little face was yellow and there was not much flesh visible.
"Master, we can't stay here for long. If those two people come back to the village, there will be many thugs there."
"Don't be afraid. I told you I would protect you. Do you know where Zhuangzi is? How far is it from here? What is Zhuangzi called?"
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