The door opened, but the woman couldn't bring herself to utter a curse. She immediately saw the guard captain with an unusually long face and was slightly startled. She then waved her handkerchief and greeted him warmly, "Oh, what brings you here in broad daylight? Our Lian'er has been waiting for you for so long!"
"Nonsense!" The captain shoved the woman aside, his face stern, and sneered, "As the captain of the town's guard, I strongly suspect you of human trafficking. Last night, someone reported you for arresting innocent civilians in the street, trying to impersonate the girls in your building..."
"Oh dear, I'm innocent!" Before he could finish speaking, the woman clutched her handkerchief and cried out her innocence. She then tried to flirt with the captain, but naturally, she returned empty-handed.
The captain couldn't tolerate anyone behaving so frivolously in front of his little sister, especially a woman who was past her prime. Wasn't this deliberately corrupting his little sister?
Already seething with anger, the captain shoved the madam aside, waved his hand, and shouted, "Go in and investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Take away everyone who isn't registered or who has violated regulations!"
His subordinates, ever so considerate, approached him and said with a grin, "Captain, are we taking you to your residence? Hehe, would that young lady be willing?"
"Pah!" The captain immediately glanced back guiltily, feigning fierceness as he cursed, "So lax! So lax! Don't they even know where they're sending the person? What are they sending them to my house for? Do you expect me to support them? I've never even raised my own sister! Why should I support an outsider!"
This angry shout not only snapped his men out of their daze, causing them to glance back furtively, but even the madam couldn't help but look back as well.
Upon closer inspection, she finally noticed something amiss. There was a tiny figure hiding behind several soldiers, whom she had overlooked due to her height. Looking more closely, she exclaimed, "Good heavens! Isn't that 'Little Peach Blossom' from last night?!"
Based on her years of experience navigating the treacherous world, the madam immediately realized that the captain had come to avenge the young girl.
The madam immediately put on a bitter face, sidled up to the captain, and said pitifully, "Oh dear, captain, it's like the flood washed away the Dragon King's temple! We're all family now, and we don't even recognize each other! If I had known the people behind you were from your household, I wouldn't have dared to touch them!"
Lying to the unreasonable captain of the guard is useless; he has real weapons, and he can make a fake one out of a lie, let alone the fact that she actually did such a despicable thing.
The madam prayed that the captain of the guard was just doing it for appearances and wasn't as close to the young man's family as they were. This was the easiest thing to do; she could just bribe him to make up for his lack of face and let it go.
She pulled out a wad of cash from her pocket and secretly slipped it into the captain's hand. "I don't have anything good to offer as an apology, so please be lenient, Captain. Several of the girls in the brothel are acquaintances of yours. If you like, you can come whenever you want, and they can come to keep you and your brothers company!"
"Who says we're on the same side? Don't try that on us!" The captain smirked maliciously, stuffing the money into his pocket. He raised another hand and continued to give orders, "Go in and search! Search however you want! Trying to target my little sister? You're asking for it!"
The madam was shocked. Forgetting about the money she had lost, she grabbed the captain's sleeve and pleaded, "Captain, oh dear, my captain, you must be mistaken! I asked her yesterday, and her surname is Long! You haven't been fooled, have you? How could the captain's daughter be impersonated by just anyone!"
"Her surname is Long, what does that have to do with you! I said she's my younger sister, so she's my younger sister. You know my dad's a womanizer, so who do you think you are!"
When it comes to being unreasonable, the madam has to admit defeat, mainly because she doesn't dare to really confront them and can only try her best to say nice things.
The captain's men were used to this kind of rough work of searching and had developed their own routines. They would take the valuables that were easy to grab and smash the inconvenient ones. As for those thugs who usually acted arrogantly in front of weak women, they all shrank back.
Nonsense, who can fight against someone with a gun?
The saying "evil people will be punished by other evil people" is exactly like this!
The madam clutched her chest in distress, watching several newly bought girls, who hadn't even had sexual relations yet, being dragged out. She was sweating profusely with anxiety.
Finally realizing that pleading was futile, he turned to Cheng Shuang and tried to take her hand, attempting to achieve his goal indirectly.
In her haste, she forgot Cheng Shuang's glorious achievements from the previous night. As a result, the little girl smiled and raised her foot at her, instantly bringing her back to her senses. She took three steps back in a flash, her face not only covered in sweat but also deathly pale, terrified.
Facing the captain is a financial loss, but facing this kid is a matter of life and death!
The madam quickly discerned the priorities, turned around and continued down the route to win over the captain, about to speak, but then shut her mouth.
Which route should we take? There's nowhere left to go!
"My little brothel! You bandits and robbers! It's all gone, all gone! My hard-earned fortune!" Seeing her secret stash of money handed to the captain by his men, the madam completely lost control, sitting on the ground wailing and cursing, "My little brothel! You've smashed it all up! Why is my life so miserable! You looted and ransacked it so thoroughly, you might as well have burned it all down..."
Before he could finish speaking, the thug, who still had some conscience, covered his mouth and dragged him to a secluded spot.
"Are you crazy? If you say burn it..." The thug made a fire-starting gesture, thinking that the guard captain was afraid to burn it or something, and directly put the words into the man's mouth.
"What's burning?" The captain raised his head, snorted coldly, and picked at his ear. "My hearing isn't good. I just heard someone cursing at me. Where did the fire start? Do they think we didn't put it out? Cursing at me? I think this fire isn't burning bright enough!"
"No, no, you misheard, you misheard!" The thug hurriedly spoke up for the madam, smiling obsequiously at the captain, "We were just about to send these girls to the guard unit. They got lost, and we rescued them!"
The captain, feeling he had avenged Cheng Shuang and didn't want to be too harsh on Xi Mei, and having already gained quite a bit of benefit, was already planning to back down. Seeing the thugs wisely offering a way out, he immediately strode over to Cheng Shuang's side with his potbelly sticking out. As soon as he spoke, he greeted her with a smile, "Xi Mei, all of this is for your dowry. Sigh, to compensate you for that gemstone!"
As she spoke, she stuffed the madam's secret stash into Cheng Shuang's arms.
The madam was so heartbroken that her vision blurred and she fainted.
Cheng Shuang didn't stand on ceremony. She looked around at the girls who were crying in the courtyard. Some of them were probably under ten years old. They were all dressed in thin clothes and huddled together, shivering.
She couldn't save or help the women who were already registered in this line of work, but she had to help these young girls who hadn't yet set foot in the dark.
The young girl deliberately raised her voice slightly and said to the team leader, "Big brother, let's divide it up!" She smiled slightly, "We also have to thank your subordinates for their hard work. I'll treat everyone to tea. You've all been busy all morning, sweating so much. It's not easy for you!"
The captain initially wanted to say no, but this was clearly a good opportunity for Xi Mei to learn how to win people over, so he naturally nodded in agreement. Glancing at his subordinates who were listening intently, he said even louder, "Xi Mei, you've really thought this through! Come on, come on, if you want to treat them to tea, your big brother won't stop you! Hahaha!"
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