Thirteenth Master and Li Fang have returned. When they saw Fourth Master return, they both came out. They also knew that Madam Geng and her servants had not yet returned.
"Master, where did Sister Geng go? Why did she leave without saying goodbye?" Madam Nian, supporting Cui Ling, came out of her room, her face full of worry. Although her words were out of concern for Madam Geng, upon closer listening, it seemed she was implying that it was extremely impolite for a princess of the Fourth Prince to leave without saying a word.
Just then, the two guards who had gone out with Madam Geng suddenly returned. As soon as they went up the stairs, Su Peisheng scolded them, "How have you been protecting Princess Geng? Why are you only coming back now?"
The two men had no time to say anything to Su Peisheng. Both of them had long faces and immediately knelt down in front of the Fourth Master: "Reporting to Your Majesty, we followed Princess Geng to watch a performance under a bridge. However, in less than half a quarter of an hour, Princess Geng and her maid disappeared without a trace. We searched every place in that area but could not find any trace of Princess Geng. We have only just returned to report this now."
The Fourth Master looked at the two people who had actually lost Geng Shi, and a fire suddenly welled up in his heart. He wished he could kick the two people in front of him over.
"How could two living people just disappear right before your eyes?" Fourth Master shouted with a stern face. Madam Nian was standing behind him, her jade hand resting on Fourth Master's neck.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I suddenly saw a lot of beggars, and then in the blink of an eye, Princess Geng and Lulan disappeared." Beads of sweat dripped from the guard's face onto the ground. They had lost their master, and now even if the Fourth Prince killed them, it wouldn't be too much of a loss.
"Beggars? A group of beggars surrounded them?" Fourth Master asked in confusion.
"Yes, suddenly a group of beggars chased away all the street performers. Princess Geng and Lülan were standing there watching, and they were separated from the onlookers by the beggars. When we went to look for them, they were gone." The guard still couldn't quite explain how Princess Geng had disappeared.
Upon hearing these words, Thirteen suddenly had a bold idea in his mind. He couldn't help but glance at Fourth Master, who happened to be glancing back at him as well. The two exchanged a look.
"I understand, let's go. We shouldn't delay, or something might happen if we go too late." Fourth Master pointed to Thirteen, Cui Da and Cui Er, and the remaining guards. The rest of them were to wait at the inn and were not allowed to go out even a step.
Fourth Master led the group on horseback towards the Jinan Prefecture government office. They originally did not want to alarm the government officials, but now that Madam Geng had disappeared, they had to use their power to find her as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, at that moment, Geng was going through the most difficult time of her life.
"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!" Geng stared in terror at a man with disheveled hair and tattered clothes haphazardly draped over his body. When she woke up, she found herself kidnapped and brought here. The house seemed to be in the middle of nowhere; she had tried to shout from the window, but there was no one outside.
“Little beauty, don’t worry, ah, don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. Please put down the hairpin in your hand, okay?” the man said to Geng Shi with a grin. It turned out that, in order to protect herself, Geng Shi had already pulled a gold hairpin from her hair and threatened the man with the sharp end pointing at her neck, warning him not to come any closer, or she would kill herself with the hairpin. Only then did she manage to keep the man at least three feet away from her.
"Don't move, don't move. I won't come closer, I won't come closer. I'm telling you, little beauty, just give in to me. Don't look down on my clothes, I'm one of the eight elders of the Beggars' Sect. As long as you follow me, I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury. Why do you have to do this?" The man had tattered pockets all over his body, probably eight pockets in total.
"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! Let me go! Otherwise, if my man finds me, he'll wipe out your entire Beggars' Sect. I advise you to let me go, or you'll definitely regret it." Geng felt nauseous; she could smell the stench emanating from the man's mouth.
Upon hearing Geng's harsh words, the man chuckled and said, "Haha, little beauty, you dare to scare me, Chen Laosan? I'm not easily frightened. You're not going to give in to me now, are you? Fine, I'll lock you up here, without food or water. Let's see how many days you can hold out. Hehe. Then, I'll enjoy you slowly."
After saying that, Chen Laosan really didn't approach Geng Shi anymore. He just turned around and went out, locking the door behind him.
When Geng saw that he had really left, she gasped for breath and put down the hairpin that was hanging around her neck. She knew that what that person had said was right. If she wasn't given food and water for a long time, she didn't know how long she could hold on, and she was afraid that her innocence would be ruined here.
Geng Shi gradually walked to the foot of a wall and slid down it. She didn't know if she should continue in her current state. Even if she returned to Fourth Master's side, would he despise her for having lost her virginity, after all, she had been kidnapped here for two hours.
Geng Shi truly regretted listening to Lü Lan's words and coming out. Otherwise, she would still be safely in the inn. Although the Fourth Master was indifferent to her, it was still better than falling into the hands of such a group of people.
Outside, Chen Laosan returned to another dilapidated house, where several beggars dressed similarly to him were squatting on the ground. In the middle of the fire, chickens were roasting on both sides, sizzling and oozing oil, smelling delicious.
“Elder Chen, if we kidnap a woman like this, the law enforcement elders will probably go and tell the Grand Elder,” a younger beggar said to Chen Laosan.
“What are you afraid of? You saw it yourself. The jewelry we stripped off her has already been exchanged for this much silver. I’ve seen you’ve been starving for days. Look at these rich people dressed in gold and silver. They’ve got enough to keep us entertained for a while,” said Chen Laosan.
“Yes, I think these two women are the mistress’s concubines. Elder Chen, what should we do with the maid-like one?” the other young man said.
“Sell it. I’ll take it anyway. It’ll be good for me to be a beggar woman,” said Chen Laosan.
Several beggars laughed in a jeering manner.
“But the Grand Elder forbids us from doing such things as selling our virtue into prostitution,” said a little beggar.
"How do you know she's a decent woman? I think she's a bunch of wicked people who exploit the poor. That young woman is quite the feisty one," said Chen Laosan.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
