Before Nan Fengyi had fully woken up, he could already hear many children crying and being beaten.
I opened my eyes and turned my head to see the children next to me, most of them around four or five years old, and some even younger...
His gaze fell on the baby being held in someone's arms not far away.
Nan Fengyi's eyes narrowed slightly. There were such young children here. It seemed that there really was a conspiracy behind these people.
There are more than a dozen children being held here; those under the age of three have all been taken away.
Nan Fengyi got up and squatted in the somewhat dark corner, listening to the children's cries while also observing the others.
On the other side, a girl sat quietly in the corner, neither crying nor making a fuss.
Are you new here too?
Nan Fengyi looked over and saw a boy staring at him with wide eyes. Then the boy sat down next to him. "Crying is useless. You might as well try to please them and get some food. Otherwise, you'll go hungry for two days. If you get too sick, they'll throw you away."
"You're so beautiful, how did you end up being sold?"
Nan Fengyi stared at him. The boy was thin and pale, but his eyes were bright. He looked to be no more than five years old.
"You're the quietest one here."
"I heard I'm going to be taken to a wealthy family's house. I wonder what I'll be doing there."
"Whether one is to be a son or a beast depends on fate."
Nan Fengyi listened to his words with curiosity.
Despite being so young, he spoke so much, and I just listened in silence, my eyes glazed over.
Seeing his expression, the boy didn't say anything more. This younger brother seemed to have some mental issues.
In the middle of the night, a child cried loudly and was beaten. Then Nan Fengyi heard another man's voice, "Don't beat him to death, or he'll get sick, and we'll need to spend money on treatment. There are already so few children here; if one dies or gets sick, we'll have to find another one..."
If they don't obey, they won't get any food. For the sake of food, children nowadays naturally obey.
Nan Fengyi was holding a steamed bun in his hand. Among the remaining children, he looked the youngest.
"Little brother, eat."
Nan Fengyi looked at the person who had been talking to himself in front of him last night, staring at the steamed bun in his hand. He didn't move for a long time before the bun was stuffed into his hand.
"I'm not a bad person."
"And besides, can't you speak properly?"
Nan Fengyi didn't speak. The boy suddenly realized, then felt sorry for her. "I'll protect you from now on. As long as nothing happens to us, if I have food to eat, you'll have food to eat too."
The carriage was full of children. He was the newest one, so he could tell from the way the well-behaved children were and the timid ones that their personalities had all been broken by being intimidated, beaten, and starved, and now they had all become well-behaved and stopped crying...
He hadn't expected that the people he overheard last time would be heading to the capital this time.
He had never been to the capital, but his grandfather had told him that it was a very prosperous city, the capital of Da Cheng, and a symbol of Da Cheng.
………
As soon as Murong Jin returned, she saw her daughter grinning at her, clearly having done something Murong Jin didn't know about.
"Tell me, where is my brother?"
Nan Muyu didn't speak, trying to change the subject, "Mommy, you're back, can I go out to play...?"
Where is my brother?
Looking at her mother's serious expression, Nan Muyu said, "Okay, brother said he's going to pull off a big heist, and he's probably been kidnapped now."
Murong Jin frowned. After asking around, she learned that the two children knew some things about this small town, and that they wanted to help her with her business...
South wind, south moon...
If you make them listen to two little kids and treat them like masters, they'll really listen to anything you say...
"Mommy, are you angry?"
"What if my brother gets into danger?"
Upon hearing this, Nan Muyu retorted, "Then he doesn't deserve to be my brother. I don't need a good-for-nothing as my brother..."
Murong Jin: "..."
No, who taught you that?!
Nan Muyu said in a childish voice, "But, brother will be fine, and if brother is useless, then I will go and save him."
Murong Jin picked him up and said, "Yi Liu, go investigate."
"yes."
Jinjiu looked at the mother and daughter and said, "Miss, this is what I've found out over the past two days."
Murong Jin opened it and took a look; the location was the capital city.
"Yiyi, you stay here and report to the prefect about the unauthorized sale of salt. As for the rest of you, come with me to find the young master."
"yes!"
...
Copycat.
This is at the top of the mountain, quite high up.
Nan Fengyi followed the children along the road. There were guards and bandits from the mountain all around. There were very few people watching them, probably because they were all young children and would obey if they were frightened a little.
Moreover, most of them are children from ordinary families, so they don't cause any trouble for the children and therefore act with impunity.
When his hand was taken, Nan Fengyi looked over and saw the boy who had been clinging to him for the past two days. "Let's go."
Looking at the small, thin hand in his hand, Nan Fengyi didn't struggle and just let him lead her forward.
In one of the rooms, after someone brought food over, Nan Fengyi, who was squatting in the corner, didn't try to grab the food; instead, he listened to the sounds outside.
"We're only bringing a dozen or so this time. After we get to the capital, should we try to recruit other children along the way?"
"I heard that things are very serious in the capital, unlike here, where you can just give a perfunctory answer and the officials in the capital will believe you."
"It depends on how the local officials handle it. Some people, just because the emperor is far away, naturally think they are the boss."
Nan Fengyi sat leaning against the wall. After smelling the faint aroma, he opened his eyes and saw the boy holding the steamed bun. "Here you go."
Nan Fengyi: "..."
"If you keep doing this, you'll starve to death."
Nan Fengyi didn't speak, nor did he intend to take it; it was suddenly shoved into his mouth.
"Little brother, listen to me. It's good enough to have something to eat. The purpose of life is just to have something to eat."
Nan Fengyi took a bite and listened to the people next to him talking.
Sometimes he felt that this boy was not like a child, but rather like an adult.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm telling the truth." The boy looked towards the door, his voice lowering considerably.
"Once we reach the capital, we might be saved."
Nan Fengyi blinked, and the boy, seeing that he had taken it to heart, said, "I'm serious."
"Once my master arrives, we'll wipe them all out!"
Nan Fengyi squeezed the steamed bun, then hummed in agreement.
The boy who heard the voice was surprised. "Huh?"
"You can talk? I thought you were mute..." Before she could finish speaking, she started apologizing, "I'm sorry, I can't say that. My master said that we must respect all life."
Nan Fengyi munched on his steamed bun and fell silent again, but the people around him, knowing he could talk, started chattering away.
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