Gu Qingshan nodded, glanced at the deep mountains, and thinking about Qin Sanniang's skills, he stopped hesitating, pulled Luo Huan onto the horse, and galloped away!
He Yingyuan also mounted his horse, and with a shout of "Giddy up!", he followed them towards Jiangzhou City!
Actually, he knew before that Anlefang in Jiangzhou City was a place for human trafficking. However, it was ten years later than now. The new prefect of Jiangzhou, in order to curry favor with the new emperor, went to great lengths to round up all the people in Anlefang and then wrote about it in his memorial to the emperor as his political achievement.
When He Yingyuan, then Minister of Personnel, learned of this matter, he felt that the prefect had done something worthwhile! So he spoke a few good words for him to the new emperor, and the prefect was promoted from a fourth-rank official to a full fourth-rank official, and was very grateful to him. However, after He Yingyuan was convicted, most people would kick him when he was down, and He Yingyuan had long forgotten about this man!
But at the time, in order to show off his achievements, the man described the whole story and the details of Anlefang in great detail. He claimed that the owner behind Anlefang was the King of Qi of Jingzhou!
Besides being a hub for human trafficking, it also served as a liaison point for the Prince of Qi to gather information about Jiangnan. Therefore, while the prefect ostensibly rectified the human trafficking problem in Jiangzhou, he was actually eliminating the remnants of the Prince of Qi's power. How could this not win the Emperor's favor? That uncle was the new emperor's biggest threat, the kind he desperately wanted to eradicate completely.
The people who run Anlefang are local ruffians and hooligans from all over Jiangzhou. They are like wolves and tigers, and the women and children they collect by various means are sold off like goods waiting to be sold at a suitable time and place.
Young and beautiful women or girls might be sold to wealthy families as concubines or directly to brothels. But do you think that's the end of it? Their purpose is not just that. Before that, they must undergo training to help them complete the task of collecting and transmitting information.
Those boys with exceptional physiques and suitability for martial arts training were trained to become assassins or bodyguards, while those with average aptitude were sold to suitable families to serve as servants, still fulfilling their missions!
These poor children could have lived a peaceful life, but after entering Anlefang, they may spend their entire lives completing tasks until their death.
He Yingyuan was furious. The thought that his own child might be sold to such a place made him want to kill!
He knew the King of Qi's weaknesses and the crises the new emperor would face as he rose through the ranks. He had originally intended to lie low for life, but now he suddenly realized that the sense of security that power brought him was also very important. Only with the power of life and death could he protect his wife and children and ensure everything went smoothly for him!
Qin San Niang followed Xiao Bai at a brisk pace. Although she was riding a horse, Xiao Bai, being a wolfhound, was quite fast, even keeping up with the horse. Along the way, it would patrol suspicious locations several times, presumably having found traces of Xiao Er and the others!
Suddenly, they came to a stop and started circling around, barking at Qin San Niang.
When Qin San Niang dismounted, she saw that it was A Zhi's bow. Gu Qingshan had specially made it for her because the child was too weak to draw an adult's bow.
A glimmer of hope rose in Qin Sanniang's heart; at least she knew she hadn't gone the wrong way! Following this path would surely lead her to the children!
He casually tossed a large piece of meat to Little White, and stuffed a piece of chocolate into his own for energy. The man, the dog, and the horse ate haphazardly as they continued their arduous journey. The horse, having drunk the spatial water, was full of strength and could even leap through the forest.
After crossing the mountain, Chen Guang'an and Qiu Laoda were sitting in front of a donkey cart traveling along the mountain path.
The two men somehow found a donkey cart, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to carry so many children. Even so, the donkey cart was somewhat overburdened.
"Boss Qiu, aren't we taking a bit too much of a risk? Didn't we say we'd only kidnap two girls?" Chen Guang'an said tremblingly, the four children behind him already drugged and incapacitated!
Old Qiu snorted coldly, clutching his arm where A-Zhi had shot him, and said viciously, "What are you afraid of? If we let them go, wouldn't we be courting death? Giving them leverage! Those two girls have already seen what we look like!"
I don't care, I have no children. What about you? Don't you have a precious son? Do you want that woman to kidnap and sell him?
Hearing this, Chen Guang'an fell silent. Although his wife was tough and thick-skinned, Shuanzi was indeed his only son. Although he was not as important as his own life, the thought of his son being kidnapped was unacceptable!
He hardened his heart and said, "Fine, what can they do? They were so ungrateful and insisted on being kidnapped! It's their fate! They can't blame us!"
"Hey, that's right! See? Once we get over this mountain, we'll be in the city!"
When it gets dark, someone will come to pick us up. At that time, these little brats will be sent to different places, and no matter how capable their parents are, they will never be able to find them!
"What can they do to us if we have no evidence?! Besides, we'll go make big money after dawn!" Boss Qiu said confidently.
They had already crossed two mountains, and he didn't believe that Qin San Niang had such great ability to track them down! This road was a mountain road leading to Jiangzhou, and most people didn't know about it, let alone newcomers who had just settled here.
Chen Guang'an composed himself, glanced at the sky, and saw that the sun was already setting. He couldn't wait for nightfall to pass on these hot potatoes and put their minds at ease.
For some reason, he felt uneasy, afraid that something might happen. But what's done is done; there's no turning back. He could only grit his teeth and move forward.
On a cart covered with a tattered mat, several children huddled together, drowsy and exhausted. It was clear that the dosage of medicine had been too high. If Qin San Niang saw this, she would surely be heartbroken.
As night fell, Chen Guang'an and his companion finally crossed the mountain and arrived at their agreed-upon location.
"Guang'an, drive the donkey cart behind that rock. Someone will come to pick us up soon. The boss's surname is Zheng, and he's known as Zheng the Pockmarked. Just call him Boss Zheng!"
The kids behind us, even if they were found on the street, they're so pitiful, homeless. We want to find them a good place to go! Understand?
This deal was his pledge of allegiance, and also a way to annoy Qin San Niang and the others, so he wasn't planning on making any money! Once he joined Boss Zheng's gang, he wouldn't have to worry about not making money! Right now, showing loyalty was the most important thing.
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