"What is Jia Ren's purpose in sending you here? It couldn't just be to poison our horses, could it?"
Hearing this question, Ba Liang looked dejected. "I saw it when I was captured. Your horses weren't dead."
Ba Liang hadn't expected those thugs to be so unreliable. Not only did they fail to steal all their luggage, but they also failed to handle something as simple as dealing with their horses.
Shi Tou was furious when he saw that the man's answer didn't get to the point: "Madam is asking you what Jia Ren's purpose was in sending you here, and you're just talking about horses!"
Ba Liang acted as if he hadn't heard anything, keeping his mouth shut and not saying a word.
Min Yueqing narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "You think we can't do anything to you if you don't talk? Have you forgotten what happened to the person who was sent back?"
Unexpectedly, Ba Liang was not deterred by this threat. He said dejectedly, "It's no use. If this matter is not handled well, even if you let me go, Eunuch Jia will not forgive me."
Min Yueqing was speechless. "Didn't you ever think about running away? You've already come to Tongcheng. Even if Jia Ren wanted to deal with you, it would take him quite a while to get here from the capital. Why don't you just run away? The world is so big. If you're determined to hide, where will Jia Ren find you?"
Ba Liang looked at Min Yueqing with a surprised look, thinking that it was easy to say but impossible to do. "I am alone, with no money and nowhere to go. How can I escape from Eunuch Jia's grasp? If I am caught, the consequences will only be worse."
Min Yueqing pondered for a moment and said, "What if I let you come with us? To the southwest? Jia Ren wouldn't chase you all the way to the mountains of the southwest just for a little eunuch like you, would he?"
Why are you helping me?
Min Yueqing thought to herself, "Perhaps your eyes are still pure enough. A person who is used to doing evil and aiding and abetting the wicked would not have such eyes."
"Just tell me whether you're willing or not."
A glimmer of hope ignited in Ba Liang's heart. In the past few days, not only had Min Yueqing sent people to follow him, but he had also been secretly observing Min Yueqing. He knew that Min Yueqing was a very kind person, otherwise she would not have helped an old man she had never met, nor would she have fought for justice for those poor women.
Ba Liang immediately replied, "Yes, I'm willing to go with you. I'll answer any questions you ask."
He had been sold into the palace by human traffickers, and now that he had the chance to leave that cannibalistic place, he was naturally overjoyed.
To show his loyalty, Ba Liang stopped pretending to be stupid this time and answered Min Yueqing's previous questions seriously.
“Eunuch Jia didn’t want you to get to the Southwest smoothly, so he gave me that packet of poison. He originally wanted me to find a way to put it in your food, but I didn’t dare to kill anyone and didn’t want to kill so many people. So I had those thugs poison your horses and steal your luggage, so you wouldn’t be able to go to the Southwest.”
Pei Ji and Shi Tou both gasped. This eunuch Jia was truly vicious; he actually wanted to kill so many of them.
Although Min Yueqing herself was not afraid of such underhanded tricks as poisoning, Lai Fu and the others did not have her special abilities. In that sense, they should thank this little eunuch.
Min Yueqing pondered for a moment, then asked, "Did he only send you?"
"Well, recently, for some reason, a few eunuchs have caught the Emperor's eye. They accompany the Emperor to ride horses and play football every day and are very popular with him. Eunuch Jia has been busy fighting with them lately and has no time to deal with outside affairs. If it weren't for the fact that he sent someone to keep an eye on your residence to deliver a message, Eunuch Jia wouldn't have noticed your trip."
At this point, Ba Liang felt a mix of emotions, unsure whether to feel ashamed or fortunate. "When Eunuch Jia received the message, I happened to be wiping the table next to him, so Eunuch Jia just pointed me out."
Seeing Ba Liang's evasive eyes and embarrassed expression, Min Yueqing felt both amused and exasperated. Now that she understood the whole story and knew that Jia Ren was currently overwhelmed, Min Yueqing handed Ba Liang over to Lai Fu for safekeeping.
When San Cai and his men first captured the young eunuch, they all regarded him as Jia Ren's lackey. They felt that it was because of people like them that their son-in-law had been demoted, and now their mistress had to travel over mountains and rivers to that remote and impoverished place. Therefore, they disliked him very much and did not give him a good look. Some of them even couldn't help but punch and kick him.
Now that Min Yueqing had gotten the truth, everyone realized that although the little eunuch was indeed related to Jia Ren, he had indirectly saved their lives, and their hostility towards him lessened considerably.
The group had been delayed in Tongcheng for several days. After returning to her room, Min Yueqing instructed Amei, "You can start packing your luggage now. If nothing unexpected happens, we will set off first thing tomorrow morning."
Ah Mei immediately agreed and went with Ah Zhu to inform the others.
Min Yueqing sat on the couch, reviewing the day's cases. Whether it was the纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy families) wantonly bullying other ordinary people, or Old Lin's years of having nowhere to turn for help, the root cause lay with Magistrate Sun, an inactive and self-serving local official.
She only stayed here for a few days by chance, yet she encountered so many innocent victims. There must be many more she didn't see.
If she hadn't encountered it, it wouldn't have mattered, but she had seen it with her own eyes, and even almost experienced it herself. Min Yueqing couldn't turn a blind eye. After thinking about it, she decided to write a letter to her father.
The Ministry of Personnel was in charge of all matters concerning the appointment, evaluation, promotion, and demotion of civil officials. Min's father certainly couldn't manage the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel himself, but he had many students and a relatively wide network of connections, so he could still offer a small reminder regarding the evaluation of seventh-rank officials.
As long as the Ministry of Personnel takes it seriously, the Performance Evaluation Office will send someone to check on the situation when they are evaluating the officials' performance, and Magistrate Sun's true colors will be exposed.
As soon as the letter was written, Min Yueqing asked Shi Tou to call A Mo over.
"Find a reliable person to deliver this letter to the Min residence and give it to my father." Min Yueqing sealed the letter and handed it to Amo.
Having followed Pei Han on his travels for so long, Amo had figured out some feasible methods for handling such trivial matters as delivering letters, so he immediately took the letter and went to deliver it.
Pei Ji then peeked out from behind the curtain and asked, "Mother, did you write a letter to my maternal grandfather? I haven't seen him in a long time, and neither have my two uncles."
Pei Ji used to be able to visit his maternal grandparents' home two or three times a year, usually during the Chinese New Year or other holidays.
In fact, Pei Han was very considerate to his wife and didn't mind at all that she went back to visit when she missed home. However, the original owner of this body always adhered to etiquette and was unwilling to be too unconventional in this regard.
The current dynasty imposes many restrictions on married women. Some women may not be able to return home even once in ten years after marriage. Therefore, the original owner would only go back with her family when Pei Han had time to accompany her.
Pei Ji was very fond of his maternal grandparents and two uncles. His maternal grandparents were completely different from his elusive grandfather, and they doted on their little grandson, Pei Ji.
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