Just wait, this family will find a chance to clean up their mess eventually. The most important thing right now is to find Haitang.
Back in the courtyard, Cuixi came to greet her. Seeing that Haitang was not behind her, she shut her mouth and silently served hot tea.
Song Tangxue secretly thought that, considering the list of human traffickers who were on good terms with the Song family and the list of human traffickers in the capital, only two days had passed, and she should still be able to find Haitang's whereabouts.
Early the next morning, Song Tangxue went to meet up with Uncle Kui. Uncle Kui had been traveling around the capital for a long time and was a businessman himself, so he was very familiar with all sorts of people.
In the morning market, slave traders brought in slaves, who were all tied together with a long hemp rope and pulled along by the slave traders.
They are brought out for people to choose from. If a buyer is satisfied, they exchange money for a contract of servitude.
Those who bought people included not only stewards from various prefectures, but also some elderly men.
He leered at those young girls, their waists slender and delicate, and no matter what they did, they couldn't escape his lecherous gaze.
Seeing an old man who needed help to walk touching a young girl's waist, Song Tangxue couldn't help but feel disgusted.
Then he thought about what would happen if Haitang were treated like this, and his mind was in turmoil.
Haitang was a maid from a wealthy family, with excellent temperament and appearance, and there was a high probability that she would eventually become a concubine.
As time passed, Song Tangxue's heart gradually sank.
Uncle Kui had met Haitang before; she was a loyal maid: "Yesterday I asked a few of my friends, and they said none of them had ever seen Haitang."
Song Tangxue was in a state of turmoil. She couldn't feel at ease until she could find Haitang.
The market was bustling with people, but there was no clue about Haitang. Uncle Kui took her to ask several brokers.
By noon, the market was almost over, but there was still no sign of Haitang. Song Tangxue's heart was filled with doubts.
If Haitang really fell into the hands of human traffickers, those people should remember her; they shouldn't be so clueless when questioned.
“Miss, take my advice. Instead of wasting time here, you should go back to the Song residence to look for clues.” Uncle Kui advised. He had seen many power struggles in the mansion. Some of them used dirty methods. On the surface, they would say they had been sold off, but in private, they would have already killed them quietly.
To their masters, these servants were simply objects, things that could be bought and sold at will.
Uncle Kui dared not say this to Song Tangxue. She believed that her young lady was so smart that she would definitely understand his unspoken words: "The Song family is not an impenetrable fortress. As long as the young lady uses some methods, it will not be difficult to obtain information."
After returning to the manor, Song Tangxue gathered everyone in the courtyard, especially the maids. They ate and slept with Haitang every day, so they must know something about Haitang's whereabouts.
The servants gathered in the courtyard, and they were also uneasy about what had happened to Haitang.
"These coins are a reward from Miss." Cui Xi took out a plate of loose silver and distributed them to calm them down. Song Tangxue sat silently at the stone table.
Even after receiving their reward money, the servants dared not misbehave.
"Has any of you seen Haitang before?" Song Tangxue lifted her eyelids and slowly scanned the crowd. Haitang was now a taboo in the Song family, and none of the servants dared to mention it.
Who knows if I'll be the next Begonia?
"Your indentures are all in my hands. Now that you're back, as long as you don't make any mistakes, no one can do anything to you." Song Tangxue had long ago foreseen that the lives and fortunes of those she served should be in her own hands.
The servants looked at each other, and several maids pressed their lips together, looking somewhat timid.
"On the contrary, if anyone knows the truth but fails to report it, this contract of servitude in my hand will be your death warrant!"
A timid maidservant's eyes were already brimming with tears, threatening to fall, as she nervously rummaged through the silver coins in her hand. Song Tangxue recognized her; she was from the room next to Haitang's.
"Alright, everyone, you can all leave now. If you have any clues, come find me. There will be a generous reward!" Song Tangxue waved her hand, signaling everyone to leave.
Some servants weighed the heavy silver coins in their hands, feeling somewhat regretful that they didn't know Haitang's whereabouts.
Before long, Song Tangxue, who had returned to her room to wait for the rabbit to come to her, saw Cuixi leading a maid in. The maid was the same one who had been timid earlier.
He knelt down as soon as he entered the house, constantly wiping away tears.
Cui Xi closed the door, and for a moment only the girl's sobs and cries could be heard in the room: "Haitang... Sister Haitang was carried out of the courtyard!"
Song Tangxue's hand suddenly stopped moving, her heart felt like it was being squeezed in someone's hand, and she couldn't breathe.
Many households that took concubines, especially those of dishonorable status such as maids or women from brothels, would simply have them wrapped in a quilt and carried into the room in the middle of the night, and that would be the end of it.
Song Tangxue clenched her teeth, tasting a faint hint of blood.
His hands gripped the corner of the table so tightly they turned white: "You saw it with your own eyes?"
Clinging to her last shred of hope, Song Tangxue stared at the maid, hoping to hear a negative word from her.
The maidservant, tears streaming down her face, nodded: "That day I was on my way to find Sister Haitang when I unexpectedly saw the guards from Madam Song's courtyard carrying her out. Sister Haitang was struggling, but those guards were tall and strong, and she was even slapped twice..."
Haitang had always treated her subordinates well, which was why this maid was willing to risk her life to tell Song Tangxue.
“I saw it, but I dared not move or make a sound. I covered my mouth and hid in the corner of the wall. I followed to the back door and took a look from afar.”
"After receiving the money, Madam Song put Sister Haitang into a carriage, and the carriage drove away..."
"Do you know where you went?" Song Tangxue asked anxiously, her eyes filled with urgency. She had to go and bring Haitang back right now!
That was someone who stayed by her side, risking his life for her.
Thinking of the suffering that Haitang was enduring in places she couldn't see, Song Tangxue felt dizzy and recalled the days in her previous life when she and her servant depended on each other for survival in the cold palace.
In the howling cold wind, it was the crabapple tree that embraced her, providing her with the only warmth.
"I don't know," the maid said, shaking her head with tears in her eyes and a look of regret on her face.
Song Tangxue didn't make things difficult for the maid, gave her a reward, and let her leave. Cui Xi felt a pang of sympathy; if she hadn't been given a position by the Empress, she would probably have ended up like Haitang.
"Miss……"
The one who was most upset was Song Tangxue. She shook her head, her mind in turmoil. She wrote a letter to Uncle Kui, asking him to find Haitang's whereabouts.
Mother Song is simply outrageous! She gave away Haitang directly without even letting it go through a human broker! It was ruined.
Judging from Song's mother's appearance, she must have paid a high price, and she must have some unspeakable reasons for doing things so secretly.
I don't want others to see it.
As night fell, Song Tangxue lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep no matter what she did. With Haitang's whereabouts unknown, she simply sat up.
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