Chapter 470, Manpower
After breakfast, Xiao Yeyang said to Daohua, "Get ready. I'll take you to meet up with Miss Dong and the others, and then you can go back to Ningmen Mansion together."
Daohua nodded. Today was November 27th, and she had to go back before her grandmother's birthday on the 29th. "Oh, by the way, someone helped me with that before, and I want to see him before I leave."
Xiao Yeyang agreed without hesitation: "Is it a villager? What's his name? I'll send someone to call him over."
Daohua: "His name is Yongwang."
Xiao Yeyang called Defu and asked him to call people.
After a while, Defu came back and said that he didn't find anyone in the village.
Daohua frowned, "That's impossible. He entered the stone tomb with me earlier. Could it be that he hasn't come out yet?"
Hearing this, Xiao Yeyang spoke up: "If he was in the stone tomb yesterday, he would probably be detained." Everyone in the stone tomb, whether they were the Eighth Prince's men or the villagers who were captured to smelt iron and cast weapons, were locked up.
At this time, An Yi came over. Seeing that he seemed to have something to say to Xiao Yeyang, Daohua stood up and said, "You guys go about your business. I'll go over and take a look. Just send someone to lead the way for me."
Xiao Yeyang was a little worried: "How about you wait for me for a while, and I'll go with you?"
Daohua waved her hand: "No, I just want to meet someone. Now that this place is under your control, it's very safe. There's nothing to worry about."
Xiao Yeyang was silent for a moment, then said to Defu, "You and Daohua go together." Then he looked at Daohua and said, "Be careful, don't be reckless and hurt the wound on your hand."
Daohua nodded and said, "I understand." Then she walked out.
Defu hurried to catch up.
On the way, seeing Defu leading her towards the village center, Daohua couldn't help but ask, "You guys just locked people up in the village?"
Defu laughed and said, "There are special cells behind the ancestral hall in this village, and those people are imprisoned in the cells."
Daohua nodded. "Although the villagers in the Stone Tomb participated in the iron smelting and weapon forging, most of them were forced to do so. Now that you've locked them up, what are you planning to do?"
Defu: "The master didn't say anything. I guess everything here has to wait for the emperor's reply."
Daohua thought about it and didn't ask any more questions.
Soon, the two arrived at the village ancestral hall.
The entire ancestral hall was under strict guard by Xiao Yeyang's men. Each guard was wearing a sword and looked awe-inspiring.
Daohua followed Defu to the back of the ancestral hall.
Defu: "Girl, the cell is a mess. Wait here and I'll call the person out for you."
Daohua nodded, but after Defu went in, she heard the noise in the cell, so she stood at the door curiously, stretching her neck to look inside.
The layout of the cell is very simple, with a passage in the middle and cells on the left and right. Xiao Yeyang's men detained the killers and villagers separately, with the killers on the left and the villagers on the right.
Looking at the crowd of people in the cell, she realized how many people she had knocked unconscious in the stone tomb yesterday. She felt relieved but also scared.
Fortunately, she injected enough drugs, and the drugs were strong enough. If the killers had not been knocked unconscious, who knows what would have happened to her and the villagers.
Daohua didn't look at it for long, and after knowing the situation in the cell, she retreated.
Although Daohua just stood at the door of the cell and looked around, some people in the cell noticed her, including the one-eyed man and the bald man.
When the one-eyed man saw Defu not paying much attention to the guards when he entered and exited the cell, he knew that this man's status and position must be quite high. Then he saw him coming in person to lead Yongwang out, and he immediately started to think.
The girl was able to escape before and was not found by them. I am afraid it is related to Yongwang.
Thinking of his one-year-old son, the one-eyed man's eyes were filled with reluctance. When Yongwang passed by his cell, he rushed over, stretched out his hand from the barrier, pulled Yongwang over, and whispered:
"Yongwang, considering that I have been kind to you and the villagers over the years, please tell that girl that if she is willing to save me and the bald guy, our lives will belong to her."
He had inquired about the Yan family's situation. They came from a poor family with weak foundations and had only risen in recent years. Such a family was not yet strong enough to accumulate their own power. They were definitely useful to the Yan family.
Yongwang glanced at the one-eyed man and the bald man, and under Defu's half-smile, he neither nodded nor spoke, but lowered his head and walked out quickly.
"Girl, I brought the person out for you!"
Defu brought Yongwang to Daohua.
Daohua glanced at Yongwang, then smiled and said to Defu, "Thank you for your hard work."
Defu immediately laughed and said, "Miss, what are you talking about? It's my honor to be able to help you. Just tell me first, I'll go around. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll be right there."
Daohua nodded, and waited until Defu walked away to talk to the guards before looking at Yongwang: "Are you okay?"
Yongwang shook his head.
Daohua took out a pill: "This is your antidote."
Yongwang glanced at Daohua and took the antidote.
Daohua continued, "Is there anything you need my help with? You've helped me before, and as long as I can do it, I'll do my best to satisfy you, just as a way of repaying your favor."
Yongwang pursed his lips and was silent for a while before he murmured, "Can I follow you?" His voice was a little small and lacked confidence.
Daohua didn't hear clearly: "What did you say?"
Yongwang mustered up his courage and looked up at Daohua: "Girl, I want to follow you. I can do anything and endure any hardship. Please accept me."
If Master Cao hadn't reminded him, he wouldn't have dared to make such a request.
Daohua was a little surprised. She thought this man would beg her to help him leave, but she didn't expect him to want to follow her. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Don't you want to go home?"
Yongwang smiled bitterly and said, "My father and brother both died of exhaustion in the arsenal, and now I am the only one left in my family." Seeing Daohua lowered her eyes and remained silent, he thought for a while and then said.
"I've been educated, I know how to read and do arithmetic. Over the years in Sishan Village, thanks to Bald Brother, I've been helping Master Cao look after the account books, and I've never made a mistake."
Daohua raised an eyebrow: "Really?" After a pause, she said, "Let me ask you a question, why did you help me before?"
Yongwang: "You are very similar to my benefactor. When I was eleven years old, I was kidnapped by human traffickers and taken to Zhongzhou. It was a young man who saved me and others and gave us money to go home."
If it weren't for this, he wouldn't risk his life to help her.
Rice flowers were stunned.
What a coincidence?
She's the one who won't say it, right?
Daohua looked at Yongwang carefully, and hmm, she really had no impression of it.
Yongwang looked at Daohua with anxiety, very worried that she would not agree. In fact, he had seen the little prince in the stone tomb last night, and he had confirmed that this was his benefactor.
Now that he has nothing to worry about, it would be the greatest blessing for him to be able to stay with his benefactor.
Daohua was silent for a while: "You can follow me, but..."
Yongwang was delighted at first, but when he heard the word "but", he felt nervous: "But what?"
Daohua: "I can't make the decision on this matter. I have to ask the people who are in charge of you. If they think you are okay and can let you go, you can come to the Yan Mansion in Ningmen Mansion to find me."
Yongwang felt relieved and grinned, "Okay."
Daohua: "Okay, you went to the stone tomb with me yesterday. I have already told others about this. You don't need to go back to the cell, just go back to the village."
After saying that, he was ready to turn around and leave.
"girl!"
Daohua turned around and saw Yongwang seemed to be hesitant to speak, so she asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"
Yongwang hesitated for a moment, then spoke: "Master Cao asked me to bring him a message. Would you like to listen?"
Daohua raised an eyebrow: "He asked you to give me a message? What message?"
Yongwang quickly said, "He said that as long as you are willing to save him and the bald brothers, their lives will be yours."
Daohua sneered: "What do I want their lives for?"
Yongwang moved his lips, struggled for a moment, and said, "Miss, I know I'm a bit too much, but I still want to say a few words for Master Cao and Bald Brother."
Seeing that Daohua remained silent, he continued.
"Didn't Master Cao and Bald Brother follow Old Fan and the others from the beginning?"
"Mr. Cao used to be a sailor. Later, he got into an argument with someone while delivering goods and lost one eye. He couldn't find a job to make a living, so he turned to Mr. Fan."
"As for the bald brothers, they are all from the same village as me. A few years ago, there was a severe drought in the north, and our families really had nothing to eat, so we started working with Master Cao."
"Master Cao is quite a man of honor. Old Fan and his men don't take the lives of the villagers seriously at all. If he hadn't been secretly looking after them over the years, more people would have died."
Seeing that Daohua still didn't respond, Yongwang didn't know what to say for a moment.
At this time, Xiao Yeyang came over.
Seeing Daohua standing with a young man, Xiao Yeyang walked over quickly, looked at Yongwang, and then looked at Daohua: "Is this the person you want to see?"
Rice Flower nodded.
Xiao Yeyang: "Are you done?"
Daohua nodded again.
Xiao Yeyang took up Daohua and said, "Let's go now."
Looking at the two people walking away hand in hand, Yongwang didn't dare to say anything more and could only watch them leave silently.
After leaving the ancestral hall, Xiao Yeyang saw Daohua frowning in deep thought, and immediately asked with a smile, "What are you thinking about?"
Daohua thought for a moment and looked at Xiao Yeyang: "Those people who kidnapped me sent someone to tell me that if I saved them, their lives would be mine. Tell me, do I look like a good person? They kidnapped me and asked me to save them. How dare you!"
Looking at Daohua's sparkling eyes, Xiao Yeyang said with a smile: "Why, you want them?"
Daohua tilted her head: "I want to, and I don't want to. I am indeed short of manpower, but can I subdue those people of the one-eyed man?" After saying that, she looked at Xiao Yeyang for confirmation.
Xiao Yeyang knew that this guy had something in mind, and said with a smile: "What can't be subdued? With my backing, they wouldn't dare to have any other thoughts."
Daohua curled her lips and said dissatisfiedly, "Then I definitely want to conquer my people through my own charm. How can I rely on you?"
"What's your charm?" Xiao Yeyang leaned sideways to look at Daohua. Seeing her, dressed as a villager, staring at him with puffed cheeks, looking so cute, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Excuse me, Miss Yan, what is your charm? How come I don't know it?"
Daohua was angry: "Xiao Yeyang, are you itching for trouble? Do you want me to loosen it for you?" As she said that, she raised her uninjured left hand, clenched her fist and shook it in front of him.
Xiao Yeyang grabbed Daohua's hand with amusement, held it, and led her forward: "I'll investigate those people you mentioned first. If there's no major involvement, you can decide whether to stay or not."
Daohua nodded and said nothing more.
(End of this chapter)
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