"Sir, sir, they are the ones who destroyed our business and injured our people. Look at my hand, it was that little bitch who hurt me. You should arrest her and sentence her to behead in public as a warning to others."

Deputy Ji Qian took his palm and looked at it: "It's really serious."

Elder Li endured the pain and said angrily: "Sir, they are so evil, you must not let them go."

"Don't worry, I will handle this matter impartially."

Deputy Ji Qian put down his hand and looked at Elder Wu. Seeing that he was not an ordinary warrior, he smiled and patted his shoulder: "Lord Wei and Lord Pang miss you very much. They also said that they would like to invite you to the Duwei Mansion for tea. If you are free today, why don't you come with us later?"

"Invite us to the Duwei Mansion for tea?" Elder Wu was surprised and confused.

Although they were in collusion with the Duwei Mansion, Lord Wei and his men had never invited them to the Duwei Mansion for tea, and they didn't even want others to know that they were so close.

Why are you inviting them to tea today?

Elder Li said happily, "I'll go find Lord Wei and the others after I find a doctor to bandage my hand."

"But they want to see you now."

Ji Qian's smiling face suddenly turned cold, and he ordered the Jinyiwei: "Come here, arrest them."

"yes."

Four centurions quickly stepped forward and held down Elder Wu and Elder Li.

The two elders were shocked.

Boss Jiang and the others were also stunned by this reversal.

Elder Li asked anxiously, "Sir, why are you arresting us?"

Deputy Ji Qian sneered: "Not only did you kidnap people and sell them everywhere, you also colluded with the government and bribed the officials appointed by the court. Now you know why we want to arrest you, right?"

Elder Wu frowned and said, "Didn't you know all this long ago? And you still accepted our money."

Elder Li said angrily, "You can't just take our money and kick us out."

"The ones who collected your money are Lord Wei and Lord Pang. They are already waiting for you in the prison."

The two elders finally understood what was going on. The two gentlemen who had collected the money from them had been discovered guilty by their superiors, and the Jinyiwei in front of them were here to arrest them.

Elder Wu and Elder Li looked at each other and then looked outside the door.

Elder Li knew that he wanted to escape, so he twisted his body to try to shake off the Jinyiwei behind him, but his body went limp and he knelt on the ground.

"You are despicable. You actually drugged me."

Elder Wu, who was trying to escape with him, also found himself suddenly weak all over, and all the internal energy in his body dissipated. He raised his head and glared at Ji Qianfu angrily: "It's you, you drugged us, right?"

Deputy Ji Qian took out a piece of silk and wiped his palms: "This is the only way to deal with people who are stronger than you. Take them back and lock them up with Lord Wei and the others to have a good chat."

"yes."

Four centurions each grabbed one of the arms of the two elders and dragged them out like dead pigs.

Deputy Ji Qian quickly came to Kan Chaoyan and said, "Sir, are you okay?"

Kan Chaoyan said with a smile: "You guys came at such a timely moment, what can I possibly need?"

"Are you a court official?" Old Fishhead looked at Kan Chaoyan in disbelief: "It's over, it's over."

"Great, we are saved." The captured girls happily held each other's hands.

Deputy Ji Qian looked at Mu Nanjin.

Mu Nanjin also looked at him, and then uttered two words: "Despicable..."

Ji Qianfu and Kan Chaoyan: "..."

[This is a great move. I will do the same thing next time when I can’t win.]

[But there is one problem that is difficult to deal with, that is, I can't smile as kindly as the other party to let down their guard. ]

[It seems that having a cold face and not letting people know what you are thinking is not necessarily a good thing. ]

Jinyiwei: "..."

Isn't it a bad idea to let others know all your thoughts? [Should I learn to smile more?]

Mu Nanjin tried to pull the corners of his mouth.

Kan Chaoyan patted her shoulder helplessly: "Don't laugh, it looks like you have a cramp."

Mu Nanjin: “…”

[Huh!?]

[Comrade Lao Kan could actually tell that I was smiling, so did I take the first step successfully? ]

Kan Chaoyan: “…”

Excuse me.

If I hadn't heard your inner voice, I wouldn't have been able to tell that you were smiling.

【But what the hell is it that he said it felt like a cramp? 】

Mu Nanjin touched the corner of his mouth.

Kan Chaoyan turned to Ji Qianhu and asked, "Where is Captain Liu? Why didn't he come with you?"

Deputy Ji Qian said: "The governor took him and other Jinyiwei to suppress the Haixing Gang."

When Boss Jiang heard that the Starfish Gang was wiped out, he knew that he was completely finished.

His legs went limp and he fell to the ground.

Kan Chaoyan asked again: "How many people did you bring here?"

Deputy Ji Qian: "One hundred people."

“So little?”

Deputy Ji Qian glanced at Mu Nanjin who was still concentrating on touching the corner of his mouth: "The governor said that there are people here, so there is no need to bring so many people here."

Kan Chaoyan frowned: "But I also want to catch all the human traffickers outside."

"We don't need to catch them. They will run away on their own after seeing the two people being dragged out."

Just as Deputy Ji Qian said, the originally bustling streets became deserted, with only people imprisoned in prison vans left on the streets.

The people who were rescued knelt down to thank them: "Thank you, sirs, thank you, sirs."

The girls who had been released earlier cried with red eyes and said, "Sir, we are not from Licheng. We hope you can send us back to our home."

Kan Chaoyan nodded and agreed: "We will send someone to take you back, but there is one thing we need to let you know in advance. You have been abducted for such a long time, and you will inevitably be subject to some gossip and criticism when you return. You must be prepared to endure these things."

The girls looked stunned.

Most of the girls looked frightened.

Family members who value reputation may immediately find someone to marry them off, which is still considered good.

Some people may be beaten to death.

Mu Nanjin looked at the desperate faces and suddenly felt that it was not easy for women in ancient times to live.

"If you have nowhere to go, you can come back to the capital with me. Or if you find that there is no place for you to stay after you return home, you can come to the capital to find me."

"Thank you, young lady." Everyone hurried to thank her.

Kan Chaoyan quickly whispered in her ear, "You're not letting them go to your brothel to make money for you, are you? Wouldn't that be like falling from one fire pit to another?"

Mu Nanjin glanced at him: "Am I such a person?"

Kan Chaoyan chuckled: "No. But you are too kind."

"I just give them a way to survive. They have to live the rest of their lives on their own."

Mu Nanjin was just helping them, but she would not support them for the rest of their lives like the Virgin Mary. Moreover, for the monks, saving their lives could also earn them merit, so in any case, she was the one who gained.

"Girl, I want to go back to the capital with you."

A woman in a light blue dress came out. She calmly bowed to Mu Nanjin and said, "Miss, I beg you to take me to the capital."

Mu Nanjin saw that she was well dressed and had a good temperament, so he asked, "What's your name?"

Mu Nanjin immediately understood her situation.

Si Yuhuan was originally the concubine daughter of the richest man in Yancheng. Because she was not valued by her family, she was given to the local prefect as a concubine. She was unwilling to let her fate be dominated by others, so she secretly escaped, but she met a human trafficker.

"Okay, you will come back to Beijing with us in a few days."

Then, eight girls came out one after another and asked to go back to Beijing with Mu Nanjin, and Mu Nanjin agreed one by one.

The rest of the people who wanted to go home to see their families would be arranged by Kan Chaoyan.

The governor and his men stayed in Licheng for seven days, mainly to hunt down members of the Starfish Gang and human traffickers. Only after these matters were dealt with did they escort Lord Wei and his men back to the capital.

The journey back took even longer than the journey there; it took them a full ten days to get back to the capital.

The girls who came back with them were all excited to see the prosperous capital city. Only Si Yuhuan sat quietly in her seat looking at the people and shops outside the window. It was not until they passed by the Imperial College and saw the young ladies coming home from school that her eyes lit up.

She quickly sat down by the window and looked at the young ladies with envy.

The girls around her said enviously: "The girls in the capital are so elegantly dressed."

"The place we just passed should be the Imperial Academy, a place that all students yearn for."

"I've heard that the emperor opened a girls' school and allowed women to take the imperial examinations, but I didn't expect it to be true."

"It would be great if I could serve as an official in the imperial court, then I wouldn't be looked down upon by the world anymore."

"Well, that's just thought. I can't read a single word, and I still have to rely on Miss Mu for help. It's good enough to have two meals a day."

Others thought so too.

Si Yuhuan stared out the window without saying a word. When she arrived at the Mu residence, she called out to Mu Nanjin, "Miss Mu."

Mu Nanjin turned around and looked at her: "What's the matter?"

Si Yuhuan looked embarrassed.

"You might as well just say it."

Si Yuhuan hesitated for a moment and said, "I want to borrow some money from you for my business."

The other girls looked at her in surprise.

"Miss Si wants to start her own business?"

“Isn’t it easy for a woman to do business?”

"Girls are easily looked down upon outside."

Si Yuhuan pinched her dress nervously, afraid that Mu Nanjin would dislike her like the other girls.

Mu Nanjin ignored what others said and asked, "You just came to Beijing and you're asking me to lend you money. Does that mean you already have an idea? Tell me what business you want to start?"

Seeing that she didn't object, Si Yuhuan quickly said, "Just now I passed by the Imperial College, and I saw a teahouse across the street for making friends through literature, but only men can enter, so I also want to open a teahouse, where men and women can come to drink tea and make friends. With my tea art and pastry making skills, I can definitely attract a lot of customers, especially female customers, and I will definitely attract a lot of young ladies from official families and wealthy families."

Not to mention Mu Nanjin, even the girls who came back with her thought that her idea was good.

A girl named Lin Zishu quickly said, "Miss Si, if you open a teahouse, can I come to your shop to help? I can recognize some words, so I should be able to help you."

The others hesitated and recommended themselves.

Si Yuhuan agreed to all of them and then looked at Mu Nanjin.

Mu Nanjin also thought what she said was feasible: "Count me in for the teahouse, and ask Uncle Xu for the money."

"Thank you, Miss Mu." Si Yuhuan didn't expect things to go so smoothly: "I'll go and inquire about the market tomorrow, and visit the bookstore to see if I can find some books to attract literary customers."

Lin Zishu smiled and said, "Miss Si is indeed the daughter of a wealthy businessman. She is gifted in business."

Si Yuhuan smiled slightly: "Miss Lin, you are too kind. I have only been influenced by it since I was a child, so I know a little bit without learning."

"Sister Si, what book are you looking for? I can read, I can help you find it."

The person who said this was the youngest girl in their group, named Xia Yan.

"The least read books or the fewest books that people have are the most attractive, but it's a pity that these books are hard to find."

Xia Yan asked: "Is the copy Sister Si is talking about a unique copy?"

"It would be great if there was a rare copy, but since it is a rare copy, it is impossible to find it because most of these rare copies are in the hands of scholars or officials. It is difficult for ordinary people to get it."

"A single copy?"

Mu Nanjin murmured the word.

She remembered that the old emperor loved collecting rare books.

But where is the unique copy kept? In the imperial study? Uh…

Go look for it at night.

After nightfall, a figure sneaked into the palace.

The other party was extremely fast and arrived at the imperial study in the blink of an eye.

She went straight to the books on the shelf.

[A solitary copy——]

The commander of the Royal Guards who was patrolling outside suddenly stopped.

He seemed to hear Mu Nanjin's voice?

But didn’t she go to Belvedere?

Coming back? The commander of the Royal Guards looked around.

The guard following behind him asked: "Commander Meng, did you find someone sneaking into the palace?"

Commander Meng shook his head: "It's okay."

If it really is Mu Nanjin, we can't catch him just by hearing the voice.

【Lone copy, where are you? 】

This time, Commander Meng finally heard it clearly. It was indeed Mu Nanjin's voice.

Why is she in the palace?

Looking for a rare copy?

【The only copy will be out soon. 】

In the imperial study, Mu Nanjin was looking for a book in the dark. As she searched, she discovered a serious problem.

[Damn it, I don’t even know which ones are unique, how can I find them? ]

【Should we move all the books away? 】

Mu Nanjin looked at the ten rows of books on the bookshelf and got a headache again.

【This is really a big project. 】

[There is no bag big enough to carry them. ]

[It would be great if the book club agreed. I could just ask and find out which one is the only copy.]

[What if I can’t find it? How about taking a few books home? ]

[Well, take a few first, then go to the old emperor's bedroom to have a look. Maybe the old emperor has placed a few rare copies on the bedside.]

Mu Nanjin casually stuffed a few books into his arms and then slipped out of the imperial study.

Commander Meng never heard her voice again and guessed that she must have gone to the emperor's bedroom.

Should he inform them? But the emperor and the others could hear her thoughts, so even if he didn't tell them, someone would be able to find her.

That’s what she said, but the emperor was almost scared to death by her.

The emperor had just closed his eyes and had not yet fallen asleep when he heard Mu Nanjin's voice.

【Old Emperor, here I come. 】

(End of this chapter)