After the guards left, Pinming came down with her parents shortly afterward.
The two elderly people, whose eyes and noses were red, were about to kneel down when they saw Fang Qing, but Fang Qing quickly helped them up.
"Please don't be too polite to the young man."
“This is what the girl deserves. If it weren’t for you, our poor daughter wouldn’t know if she would still be able to reunite with us.”
As she spoke, her mother burst into tears again.
The man named Pinming is surnamed Chen, and his family is from the Jiangnan region.
Pinming has three older brothers. She is the youngest daughter in the family. Back then, her family went north to the capital because Pinming's eldest brother settled in the capital, and her second and third brothers also came to the capital to take the imperial examinations.
When she suddenly disappeared, her family was thrown into chaos. Her brother and sister-in-law blamed themselves for not taking good care of her, and her elderly parents lived with guilt.
Over the years, they have never stopped searching for Pinming's whereabouts. A few days ago, someone came and said that Pinming had been found, and they couldn't believe it for a moment.
Seeing their daughter suffering now makes them even more heartbroken.
"It was just a small favor, but the matter of Liu Family Village hasn't been resolved yet, and I'm afraid we'll need your daughter's cooperation with the government."
Madam Chen hesitated before looking at Pinming.
Now that she's reunited with her daughter, she's eager to take Pinming home right away.
“Mother, there are many girls in the village who are suffering just like me. Those days are really too hard. I don’t want to see them suffer like I did.”
Chen's parents knew she was a kind-hearted person, so they agreed to her actions.
“Alright, then your mother and father will stay here with you. Your second and third brothers are both officials in the court now. They had important matters to attend to when we came and couldn’t leave temporarily. They should come with your eldest brother and the others tomorrow or the day after.”
"Don't worry, Ming'er, your brother will stand up for you. Those who bullied you before will never get away with it!"
Fang Qing had another meal with them, and the next day she met Pinming's three older brothers.
The four siblings looked very alike, all possessing the charm of women from Jiangnan. When they met, they were once again moved to tears.
It's clear that the three older brothers dote on their younger sister, especially the second brother from the Chen family. He came carrying a knife and, after hearing about the grievances Pinming had suffered over the years, threatened to go and kill the group of people from Liu Family Village. However, he was stopped by the eldest and third brothers from the Chen family.
They expressed their gratitude to Fang Qing.
"You saved my sister Chen Da, so you are my family's benefactor. If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, just come to Chen Ji in the capital and I will be happy to serve you."
"Putting everything else aside, from now on, Miss Fang, you'll be like my own sister. If anyone dares to bully you, I'll fight them to the death!"
"I came here in a hurry and didn't have a chance to properly thank Miss Fang. I will definitely prepare a generous gift and visit her to express my gratitude when I return to the capital."
Fang Qing felt embarrassed by the sincerity with which the three grown men spoke to her.
After another round of polite exchanges, the three brothers went to the yamen (government office).
Fang Qing was also busy with the seed matter. When she returned in the evening, Pinming told her that there had been no progress, but today her second brother led people to Liujiazhai, captured the village chief and tortured him, finally getting him to confess about the human traffickers who provided them with manpower.
"Miss Fang, guess who it is?"
Who is it?
Someone with the audacity to do something like this must be no ordinary person.
"It's the magistrate of Yan County. Those human traffickers are all his men. These people kidnap girls, and then the county government issues a document. So even if someone comes to investigate, it's impossible to find out about the population problem. No wonder so many girls in the village haven't been found."
Fang Qing was so angry that her chest ached.
For a local official to do such a thing that harms the people is simply worse than an animal!
"I heard that when the magistrate of Yan County was arrested, he cried and shouted that he was a member of the Qin family. He was illiterate, and the reason he was able to hold onto his position as magistrate was because he paid tribute to the Qin family every year, and the amount was the same every year."
He raised one hand while sipping tea.
Five hundred taels?!
"gold!"
Fang Qing felt a little short of breath.
Now her business is much bigger, but she still can't earn this much in a year.
Fang Qing looked somewhat dazed.
What's this?
Anger welled up in my chest, but at the same time, I felt powerless.
It is unknown how long this situation in Yan County has lasted.
A rotten apple begins with a small wormhole.
To save the apple, the only way is to remove the wormhole and the worm that caused it.
Back in her room, Fang Qing wrote a letter to Zhao Shi'an about the matter.
Zhao Shi'an received the letter the following evening.
He has just returned from the Eastern Palace.
I will go to see the Crown Prince today.
The Crown Prince didn't ask about his schemes against the Third Prince and the Emperor a couple of days ago. He just looked at him with cold eyes and told him not to do it again.
This kind of scheming and intrigue was something Zhao Shi'an was very good at.
He didn't consider the Crown Prince's feelings at all before implementing the plan. After all, it was something that would benefit the Crown Prince, so why would the Crown Prince refuse?
But when he returned and saw Fang Qing's letter, he couldn't help but reflect on his actions from the bottom of his heart.
There were indeed other ways to scheme against the Third Prince.
But he chose the most extreme option, while also slowly plotting to kill the emperor.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
A good official who works for the people?
In his past life, he wasn't like that at all; on the contrary, he was a notorious villain who eventually dragged everyone down with him.
Now, his determination to become an official is not for the sake of the people; he simply wants to give himself a more respectable status and provide Fang Qing with a better life.
Whether in his previous life or now, he seems to have never changed his belief in saving all living beings.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
