As An An was walking on Yancheng Street, she was looking around from time to time. It took her almost a day to walk from Fanjiatun to here. She was really tired. She wanted to find a place to sleep, but she didn't have enough copper coins to stay in an inn. She had to find a safe and windproof corner to sleep first. Tomorrow morning, she would get enough rest and then go to the yamen to try her luck. This place was not far from the capital, and maybe her father would have subordinates here.
When she was thinking about these things, she didn't notice the two wretched-looking men walking towards her. After they winked at each other, they deliberately bumped into An An.
"ah!"
An An was caught off guard. She raised her head and looked at them in horror. Seeing the fierce look on the two men's faces, she timidly bowed and apologized repeatedly.
“S-sorry!”
"Just say sorry? You stained my clothes, pay me!"
The man in the lead had a face full of flesh. He stared at An An with wide eyes, looking ferocious.
Lose money?
During this period, An An had been tossed around so hard that she had no strength left. She looked at the two tall men, bit her lip and whispered:
"I don't have any money on me, and besides, I didn't stain your clothes."
One of the men suddenly showed a fierce look on his face and tugged at his clothes and shouted loudly,
"Look at what this is. Your mouth just rubbed against the corner of my clothes. It's all dirty. Have you ever eaten steamed buns? I smell like steamed buns all over. Hurry up and compensate me for my clothes, otherwise..."
As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and pounced on An An with his fangs and claws bared. An An was so scared that she stepped back repeatedly, and when he wasn't paying attention, she turned around and ran away.
But before she could take two steps, she was stopped by another man.
"Little girl, you angered Master Zhang in Yancheng, and you still want to run away? Let me tell you, even if you grow wings, you can't escape. Hurry up and pay me one hundred taels of silver, otherwise, don't even think about leaving here."
One hundred taels?
An An looked at these men who looked ferocious and evil in horror, waving her hands timidly.
"I don't have any money. Are you trying to rob me in broad daylight?"
"What's wrong with robbing you?"
As he was speaking, a man came forward and prepared to search An An's pockets.
Sister Hong, who was standing aside and watching the excitement, saw that the time had come, twisted her body and came to the front of the crowd, shouting loudly:
"stop!"
At her shout, the man who was about to attack An An looked up at Sister Hong, rolled his eyes, and shouted angrily with his hands on his hips:
"Why? Do you recognize this little girl?"
Sister Hong raised the handkerchief in her hand and wiped the corner of her mouth, rolling her peach blossom eyes and raising her eyebrows in disdain.
"I guess I recognize you. Aren't you ashamed that a few grown men like you are bullying a little girl?"
"He soiled Mr. Zhang's clothes. What's wrong with asking her to pay for it? Or you can pay for her?"
Sister Hong looked at the corner of the man's clothes, which was almost stain-free, and then looked at An An, whose face was pale with fear. She took out a silver ingot from her bosom and held it in front of them.
"Ten taels of silver, take it and get out of here."
The man who called himself Uncle Zhang angrily took the silver from Sister Hong's hand and waved to the other men, who then walked away cursing.
Sister Hong came over to comfort An An,
"Don't be afraid, little sister. It's okay."
An An, who was trembling with fear just now, looked at her with gratitude when she got help from Sister Hong.
"Sister, thank you for saving me. An An will remember this favor."
"Your name is An An?"
An An nodded.
"Call me Sister Hong. I just warned you that in Yancheng, as a foreigner, it's dangerous to move around casually, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happening. Someone's falsely accused you of ten taels of silver. Ugh!"
"Sister, I will pay you back. When I find my parents, I will pay you back double."
Sister Hong's charming eyes kept turning around, she raised her hand and rubbed An An's hair, pretending to look at her with heartache,
"Are you looking for your father and mother? Where are they? Are they from Yancheng?"
An An pursed her lips and pondered for a while. She felt that she still couldn't reveal her true identity casually. What if she met her father's enemies, or her fifth uncle's people? She would be in even greater danger.
So, she shook her head, pursed her lips, and whispered aggrievedly:
"I don't know where they are, and I'm looking for them."
Hearing An An say this, Sister Hong's eyes rolled around, and she immediately felt relieved. She took An An's hand and said kindly:
"An An, you look hungry and tired. How about this, you come home with me first? I know a lot of people and can help you find out where your parents are. Otherwise, if you keep wandering around the streets and run into bad people, I, your sister, won't be able to help you anymore."
An An stood there, rubbing his hands together, looking at a loss.
She wasn't sure whether she should trust the seemingly kind woman in front of her. She was really scared and was afraid that she would fall into the tiger's mouth again.
Sister Hong was a little surprised that this little girl was so alert. She touched An An's shoulder and said, playing hard to get again:
"Okay! Since you have concerns, I'll leave. But I have to remind you, you have to be careful. Yancheng is even more dangerous at night. There are people who specialize in picking up corpses on the streets. Some homeless people have already been picked up and made into human meat buns, and there are also..."
"Wow……"
Speaking of human meat buns, An An thought about the two buns she had just eaten. She felt a little nauseous and immediately vomited. Sister Hong suppressed her laughter and stepped forward to comfort her:
"An An, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
An An shook her head vigorously. She looked up at Sister Hong, this kind and beautiful woman. Since she had just helped her, she felt much less wary of her.
It's already afternoon, and it will be dark in an hour. If she continues like this, she will really have to sleep on the streets. If it's really like what Sister Hong said, she will sleep on the streets for a night and become a human meat bun in the eyes of others tomorrow. How can she go to find her parents?
The more she thought about it, the more scared she felt, and her body trembled unconsciously.
Sister Hong probably saw through her thoughts. She cleared her throat, flicked her handkerchief, and said insincerely:
"I felt sorry for you and wanted to help you, but since you don't appreciate it, I have to leave. You're on your own!"
"elder sister……"
Seeing that Sister Hong was really about to leave, An An hurriedly called her and looked at her timidly.
"Sister Hong, can you take me back to the capital? If I get there, I'll be able to find my home, and my father will definitely reward you handsomely."
"Yes."
Sister Hong agreed to her request without hesitation. As long as she could get the girl back, she would no longer have the final say on what she wanted to do.
When An An saw that Sister Hong agreed to her, she showed her white teeth, walked forward, took Sister Hong's hand, and followed her forward.
…
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