Old Mrs. Shen looked at him as if he were a savior. She immediately shook off the guard's hand and turned to Magistrate Qin with hopeful and anxious eyes, saying, "Magistrate Qin, please, you must save my Lili!"
Magistrate Qin looked solemn, showing no surprise whatsoever. Beside him, his advisor Huang held a secret letter, which followed closely behind.
"I am already aware of this. Please follow me into the residence."
Old Mrs. Shen and her companions looked at each other and entered the county magistrate's office.
………..
The next morning, before the sun had fully risen, two somewhat dilapidated carriages were already swaying and wobbling onto the road.
The carriage in front was driven by Gao Zhuang and another man, while the carriage behind was driven by Ai Shou and another man.
Behind the carriage, two oxcarts followed at a distance. Unlike Gao Zhuang and his men's ordinary clothes, the people driving the oxcarts were dressed in tattered clothes.
The second carriage was crammed with more than a dozen children, so crowded that they could hardly breathe.
Lili was lucky; she was the last one to be pushed up, right in front of the carriage curtain, where she could quietly lift the curtain to catch her breath.
Today, upon entering the prefectural city, although they were not drugged, their ankles and wrists were bound with rough hemp ropes.
Before setting off this morning, Gao Zhuang casually grabbed a child to make an example of, scaring the other children so much that they didn't dare say a word.
Therefore, the carriage was eerily quiet except for the sound of breathing.
Just as Lili was peeking out through a crack in the curtain with her nose again, Xia Ning nervously leaned closer: "Lili, aren't we supposed to run away?"
It was already dawn, and they were almost at the prefectural city, so why hadn't they made any moves yet?
After thinking it through yesterday, Xia Ning made up her mind that she must give it her all and fight for it today.
She was, after all, the daughter of a high-ranking official. If she were to become a maid or be sold into a brothel, living such a wretched life would be worse than death.
But Lili vowed yesterday that she would lead them to escape, so why hasn't she made a move yet?
A faint light shone through the carriage curtain, making Lili's bright eyes shine exceptionally.
Lili silently counted the number of people in the carriage and the oxcart combined; there were nine.
In addition, there were quite a few people secretly watching her without her noticing.
It wouldn't be a problem for Lili to escape on her own, but with so many children involved, it would be almost impossible.
"Sister Xia Ning, do you remember what I told you yesterday?"
Xia Ning nodded: "Yes! I remember."
Last night, after analyzing the information Xia Ning had shared, Li Li also briefly confessed some things to Xia Ning.
Lili said that behind this group of human traffickers, there might be a close relationship between officials and criminals, orchestrated by the prefect of Nanlin County, with the eldest prince tacitly approving it behind the scenes.
Heaven knows how surprised Xia Ning would be to hear such serious things from Lili, a three-year-old child.
However, this also proves that Xia Ning's intuition was correct.
Her inexplicable sense of trust wasn't wrong either.
Although she didn't know if what Lili said was true or not, it at least proved that Lili wasn't joking about running away.
"So, we not only have to escape, but we also have to..."
The clever Xia Ning thought about it for a moment and immediately understood what Li Li meant.
Xia Ning trembled slightly in fear; she had no idea there was this part!
"Lili, isn't this too dangerous?" Xia Ning said. "We're just kids after all. We're lucky if we can escape!"
She dared to believe that Lili had a way to get her away, but she didn't have the guts to believe anything else.
Compared to Xia Ning's fear, Li Li remained calm: "Relax."
Xia Ning's restless mood was calmed, and then Li Li asked her to extend her hand to her.
Xia Ning handed over her hands, which were bound by rope. Li Li then used two fingers to tug at the tight knot a few times without any method or finesse, and the rope that was binding Xia Ning so badly loosened.
It's loose!
Xia Ning didn't dare to be surprised, afraid that the people outside would notice something was wrong. Fortunately, the two of them were by the carriage curtain, with their backs to the other children, so they weren't discovered by them.
Lili was overjoyed; she hadn't expected that her casual attempt would actually work.
Lili did the same thing again, loosening the ropes on Xia Ning's feet and her own. Xia Ning then struggled to loosen the ropes on Lili's wrists, and the two of them finally felt relieved.
The rope chafed their skin painfully, and both girls' skin turned red.
"Alright, now let's just wait and see."
The city gates of the prefecture were right in front of her, but Lili remained calm and showed no sign of panic. Instead, she seemed to have a strong sense of confidence.
"ah?"
The carriage slowly came to a stop, and the soldiers at the city gate stopped them.
"Halt! Who's in the carriage?"
Lili heard Gao Zhuang say with a smile, "Sir, they're all our own children."
Then, the voice paused for a moment. The soldier seemed to have received some kind of hint during that brief lull, and his previously very serious voice became relaxed as he said, "Oh, I see. Go in, go in."
Lili pondered to herself that Gao Zhuang had probably shown something to the soldier.
Alright, the case is solved. It seems that Zhou Wukui is indeed behind this group.
The carriage curtain was suddenly lifted, and the bright light made Lili squint involuntarily.
The carriage was eerily silent; the children all lowered their heads, not daring to look at him.
Fortunately, the two of them only loosened the rope, instead of completely untying it, otherwise it would have been quite troublesome if they had seen it.
When Lili saw Gao Zhuang coldly scrutinizing Xia Ning beside her, Xia Ning's body, which had finally relaxed, tensed up again instantly.
Then, Ai Shou came over, and Gao Zhuang said, "This, we'll send it directly to the master later."
Ai Shou glanced at Xia Ning and grinned lewdly: "This is always the taste of an adult."
Gao Zhuang didn't say anything more. Xia Ning was so frightened by the fact that her fate was being so casually held in someone's hands that she almost cried.
The idea of escaping was completely forgotten.
She was about to carry it to someone else, but...!
She's so young!
As a young lady from a prominent family, Xia Ning naturally understood these things better than ordinary girls. The meaning behind what these two were saying was clearly...
Xia Ning felt all the blood rushing to her head, and she couldn't care less about the pears or apples anymore.
She was about to die, and she heard with her own ears that she was being casually sent around, or even sent away... In such a desperate situation, how could she possibly trust a child who was even younger than her!
Lili was also caught off guard.
What is that?
A gift for the master... or for Zhou Wukui?
What does Zhou Wukui want with the little girl?
Could it be what she's thinking?
Lili turned her head and found that Xia Ning was completely disoriented, terrified, and trembling uncontrollably.
Pear was instantly horrified.
This Zhou Wukui is absolutely insane! He's acting like a local tyrant in this place far from the capital, isn't he?
Gao Zhuang made a move to lower the carriage curtain, but Li Li exclaimed, "I want to go too!"
Xia Ning: "?"
Gao Zhuang and Ai Shou: "?"
Lili's eyes were innocent, even with a hint of eager smile, as if they had just talked about something wonderful.
Gao Zhuang stared at it intently for a long time, but couldn't figure out anything else.
Remembering what Liu Dashi said when he brought the person over yesterday, Gao Zhuang was confused.
No, could this child really be traumatized?
Even if the children don't understand what they are saying, they are still bad people who kidnapped and beat them. How could they possibly do anything good for them?
Why are they all scrambling to take it?
But Lili, as if afraid the two would disagree, eagerly said, "I want to go too!"
Gao Zhuang and Ai Shou exchanged a glance. Xia Ning was on the verge of tears, shaking her head and sobbing as she reached for her hand: "No, no, Lili, this..."
Xia Ning couldn't find the words to explain to Lili.
Lili's eyes were completely clear. Gao Zhuang chuckled and said, "Tsk, she's pretty, but it's a pity she's scared out of her wits."
Ai Shou said, "Brother, how about...?"
Gao Zhuang could tell from Ai Shou's lewd smile that Ai Shou intended to send the even younger child to Prefect Zhou as well.
Tsk, anyway, it was this idiot who wanted to go.
"Sure." Gao Zhuang wiped his mouth. "I doubt even adults have ever played with something this small before, right? Heh, you might get played to death."
"If someone dies, they die. The other one was going to die anyway."
The curtain was drawn, the carriage resumed its journey, and the voices of Gao Zhuang and Ai Shou grew increasingly distant.
Xia Ning didn't understand. Wasn't this child quite smart?
What's going on?!
"Lili, do you know, do you know...!"
Xia Ning felt extremely distressed whenever she thought of that scene.
The other children were also shocked.
If they stay put, they might be sold into slavery, at least they'll have a way to survive.
What those two were saying sounded like some kind of wolf's den or a ravine. Why would anyone want to jump into it?
Xia Ning felt even more guilty for dragging this unfortunate child into this mess: "I don't want to go to that adult's place, I'd rather die!"
As Xia Ning was about to lift the carriage curtain and jump out, Li Li quickly grabbed her hand: "Sister Xia Ning!"
Xia Ning's eyes were brimming with tears, and Lili said helplessly, "Didn't I tell you to trust Lili?"
Xia Ning was puzzled, but her tears stopped.
Lili seems to have a kind of magic that can easily sway her emotions.
Inside the city, in a secluded spot, a man dressed in black, holding a long sword, stared intently at the two dilapidated carriages entering from the city gate.
Zhui Feng's eyes followed the carriage's movement. A guard quickly stepped forward: "Boss, our men just saw it and confirmed that Miss Shen is in the second carriage. Also, those two oxcarts twenty paces away from these two carriages are their sentries. Should we...?"
The guard made a throat-slitting gesture and asked.
"Let's hold back for now. Have we found out who these people are?" Zhui Feng shook his head and asked.
The guard quickly handed over a scroll: "It's all in here."
Zhui Feng took it, and the more he looked at it, the more his brows furrowed.
These people were all orphans, homeless, and there are very few records of them.
Where is His Highness?
Chasing the wind is a bit of a hassle.
There were only a few of them, and he could have easily taken them all down by himself and rescued Miss Lili.
He rushed to that town last night; what could have been a simple matter of wiping them out would have been resolved.
Why did His Highness suddenly send a message by carrier pigeon, telling him not to take action first?
They even said to just keep an eye on things and take action only if things go wrong.
Give Miss Lili room to express herself?
That's really strange. Miss Lili has been kidnapped, so what can she possibly do?
Even if Zhui Feng couldn't understand it, he had no choice but to obey His Highness's orders.
Zhui Feng sighed, "Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"His Highness the Crown Prince arrived from Yuncheng by fast horse last night. A quarter of an hour ago, a scout reported that His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived in Liucheng without stopping and is expected to arrive in an hour."
Zhui Feng nodded, indicating that he understood: "Send someone to follow her. Make sure to ascertain the young lady's whereabouts and safety. If anything seems amiss, kill her without mercy."
"yes!"
The guards obeyed and went downstairs. Zhui Feng lightly touched the ground with his toes and flew onto the roof.
What is it about this little baby that makes him so charming?
His Highness has repeatedly asked for permission to condescend, and now, upon hearing of the incident, he has rushed over from the border at breakneck speed, changing horses three times in quick succession.
Understanding His Highness's heart is like finding a needle in a haystack.
The back gate of a large mansion.
"Alright, carry them down."
The carriage curtain was roughly lifted, and then Lili and Xia Ning were ruthlessly dragged off the carriage without any gentleness, as if they were being pulled not as children, but as a bag of flour.
Lili silently rubbed her elbow, which she had accidentally bumped, and pouted.
Xia Ning was in excruciating pain, but she didn't dare utter a sound.
Fear was one aspect, but on the other hand, Lili said to pretend to comply.
A middle-aged man with a sallow complexion, sunken and lifeless eyes, but a cunning look, squinted at the two people Gao Zhuang was carrying down. When he saw three-year-old Lili, a playful smile appeared on his face.
"So small?"
Butler Wang's voice was like coarse sand. Beneath his flat nose, his thin lips were tightly pursed, but now they were slightly raised due to a playful mood, revealing a chilling smile.
Ai Shou smirked: "How is it, Butler Wang? Pretty, isn't she?"
Seeing that they weren't joking, Butler Wang didn't say anything.
"You too can't bring yourselves to this place."
While saying this, Steward Wang showed no mercy, ordering the servant to take the person to the backyard: "Why haven't you taken him to the master yet?"
Upon receiving the order, the servant swiftly picked up the two little girls and carried them through the hidden back door.
Gao Zhuang and Ai Shou smiled obsequiously at Butler Wang, but Butler Wang didn't even glance at them again. He went inside, and the back door was slammed shut as if the place had never been opened.
Gao Zhuang and Ai Shou scoffed and drove off in their carriage.
The observer in the shadows was already experiencing a storm of emotions.
This residence is clearly the prefectural government office!
The servant carried Lili and Xia Ning to a courtyard, placed them in the main house, closed the door, and left.
Lili noticed that there were a total of eighteen turns. Coupled with the desolate scene and not very luxurious decorations in the courtyard, this courtyard was probably the most remote place.
Xia Ning breathed a brief sigh of relief after the servant left.
Xia Ning immediately hugged Lili: "Lili, what should we do!"
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