Chapter 187 Escorting Back

Chapter 187: Escorted Back

Heshan County 54

——Deqing County, Xiwu Prefecture.

"Brother Chong, there's still no word from San Jing and the others. Could something have happened?" The dark-skinned man jumped down from the carriage, casually tying the horse's reins to a tree by the tea shed.

Chen Chong crouched nearby, his fierce demeanor and scarred face making the couple running the tea shed too afraid to breathe loudly. They silently added tea and water, preparing simple meals as instructed.

"As long as Hu Ti is around, what could happen to them?" Chen Chong replied impatiently to Brother Hei's words. As a convicted exile banished to Lingnan, his tone toward Hu Ti held little reverence.

Brother Hei felt the same. He signaled the remaining brothers to take turns resting while the others kept watch over their six carriages. "That lecher Hu Ti just had to demand a girl at the last minute. He'll die in a woman's arms sooner or later."

Chen Chong stood up and walked into the tea shed, raising his arm to take a sip of tea. His movements were smooth and fluid, and despite his rough appearance, there was an air of refined elegance about him, like a noble son. He laughed bitterly, "In this kind of rundown place, a county magistrate like him wouldn't even be worthy of polishing my shoes back when my old man was rising. And now I've fallen to associating with such people."

A trace of melancholy crossed Brother Hei's face. "I wonder when this life of ours will ever end."

Chen Chong tilted his head back and drained the teacup, a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes. "Keeping company with these people, we'll end up like my father sooner or later."

Brother Hei vaguely understood his thoughts but had his own concerns and remained silent for a long while.

"Brother Hei, one of the ones you brought is causing trouble, crying and carrying on about dying." A man guarding the carriages called out to Brother Hei.

Brother Hei was already annoyed and muttered a few curses as he walked to the last carriage. "What's all the noise! If you don't behave now, you'll have a rough time when we get to Jiangmen Prefecture."

That only made the crying inside the carriage louder. "Let me go home! I don't want to go to Jiangmen Prefecture! If you dare kidnap me, my dad and brother will kill you!"

Brother Hei scratched his head irritably. Honestly, he almost regretted taking this young gentleman. He was way too noisy. From Heshan County all the way to Deqing County, the others had long since resigned themselves, but the one in this carriage just wouldn't settle down.

He yanked the curtain open. "If you keep that up, I'll sell you right here and now, believe it or not!"

Inside the carriage sat four young gentlemen and three young women. Huang Ye was huddled together with two other young gentlemen, while a young gentleman with slightly swollen cheeks was shouting at the top of his lungs. He had clearly been slapped before, but he still wouldn't give in—truly one of a kind.

Brother Hei wasn't in the habit of hitting young gentlemen. After some threats and intimidation that went in one ear and out the other, he gave up in frustration and went to eat with Brother Chong.

Seeing Brother Hei walk away, Huang Ye tugged at the crying young gentleman and whispered, "Tang Ge'er, stop crying. Your voice is already hoarse. They won't let us go."

Tang Ge'er was tall and stockier than the other young gentlemen, but his features were still rather delicate—otherwise, he wouldn't have been kidnapped. His voice hoarse, he said, "What do you know! Do you think I don't know they won't let us go? I'm making a fuss to make them miserable, so they'll sell me off here. This is closer to home, and my dad and brother will definitely come looking for me. If I really go with them to Jiangmen Prefecture, I'll never get back."

Huang Ye hadn't quite followed his logic, but he felt there was some truth to it—and yet something felt off.

"Don't be naive. These people have plenty of ways to deal with you. They're just in a hurry to get moving and haven't had time to bother with you." He Niang, sitting alone in the corner, suddenly spoke up.

Tang Ge'er didn't care. "But I can't just wait around to be sold, can I? I just got engaged. His sister is a female worker in the sugar workshop in our county. I haven't even gotten married yet, and these bastards are selling me. Waaah..." He began crying again, seemingly with an endless supply of tears.

Huang Ye's heart clenched at the mention of the sugar workshop. His eyes reddened. He hadn't even had a chance to repay the kindness of Lord Meng and Lord Song. His young master was only two years old, and his mother was about to finish her labor service. Life was just getting better... why did he have to be so unlucky?

Emotions are the most contagious intangible force. A smile can light up an entire space, while a single sob can shroud everyone around in gloom.

As the two of them cried, the others couldn't help but wipe away their tears.

He Niang watched them numbly. This was what she had once experienced. She too had hoped someone would descend from the heavens to rescue her from disaster... but unfortunately, it was too late.

Chen Chong and Brother Hei and their men didn't rest long at the tea shed. They took turns eating a hot meal, refilled their water skins, and let the horses rest. All together, it took less than half an hour.

Their convoy set off again. In just three more days, they would be out of Xiwu Prefecture's jurisdiction. But they had only gone a short distance from the tea shed when a group of riders caught up from behind.

"Stop the carriages ahead! Who are you, and what are you doing?"

Brother Hei was at the rear of the convoy. He cursed under his breath and dismounted, confronting the newcomers rudely. "And who are you? What right do you have to stop us?"

The other side had only a dozen men, while they had a good thirty strong men. Who's afraid of whom, anyway?

The newcomer didn't even dismount. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, carefully compared it with Brother Hei, and then said to his companions behind him, "Tao Ba, go back and report to the lord. We've found the suspects, southeast of the tea shed."

"I'll go right away." Tao Ba turned his horse and galloped off.

Only then did Brother Hei realize something was wrong. "Are you from the yamen?"

He quickly shouted to the convoy, "Go! Scatter! The yamen is here!"

But it was too late. Song Tingzhou and his men were already nearby conducting searches, and upon receiving the news, they quickly surrounded the human trafficking convoy.

Inside the carriages, the kidnapped young women and gentlemen had no idea what was happening, but Huang Ye already heard a familiar voice.

"Ye Ge'er? Which carriage are you in?"

Huang Ye lifted the curtain from the window, his eyes brimming with tears. "Brother Xuesheng! I'm here!"

Xue Sheng rode over when he heard his voice. "Are you alright? Did these people mistreat you?"

Huang Ye nodded vigorously, tears streaming down his face. "I'm fine, Brother Xuesheng. Ever since I was captured, we've been on the road the whole time. I haven't suffered any physical harm. Are Lord Meng and the elder lady well? What about the young master?"

Seeing him like this, Xue Sheng's heart ached, but he wasn't good at comforting people. He handed him a clean water skin and took out a piece of horse-hoof cake wrapped in oil paper from his pocket. "Everyone at home is fine. Lord Meng and the elder lady have been thinking of you. Sit tight—we're going back to Heshan County."

"Good!" Huang Ye was overjoyed, his tearful eyes shining with hope.

"Ye Ge'er, is that your brother? Are we saved?" The others in the carriage had overheard their conversation, and after Xue Sheng left, they asked him eagerly.

Huang Ye wiped his tears, unwrapped the oil paper, and shared the horse-hoof cake with everyone. "He's my brother. I'm a servant at Lord Song's house. The man in blue up ahead is our lord. We're really saved!"

Tang Ge'er pressed his face to the window and looked out. "It's Lord Song! Our Heshan County's Lord Song! He really came to save us! Waaah... Lord Song is more reliable than my dad, mom, or brother... Waaah." He wept tears of joy.

From her seat, He Niang could also see the figures ahead. Her heart was uneasy, and she didn't seem particularly happy.

Meanwhile, Chen Chong, who had been holding them captive, still tried to make a last-ditch effort. Looking at Song Tingzhou, who was dressed in plain clothes on horseback, he said, "May I ask which lord of Xiwu Prefecture I am addressing?"

After more than ten days of arduous travel, Song Tingzhou hadn't had a good night's sleep. He had no interest in small talk and said flatly, "You'll know who I am in a few days. Inspector Huang, bind them all tightly and take them back to the yamen."

"Yes, my lord!" Inspector Huang and the runners quickly tied up the exiles. Strangely, they didn't resist, leaving Ge Quan, who had been following them all the way, with nothing to do.

Ge Quan rode alongside Song Tingzhou. "That leader, Chen Chong, has some martial arts skills. He should be a second-rate master, better than Xue Sheng. I thought he would have put up a fight."

Song Tingzhou seemed to have expected it. "Him not acting rashly shows he's shrewd, not reckless." It also indicated that the people involved were not ordinary, giving Chen Chong the same confidence as Hu Ti.

At the beginning of November, two days after they entered Heshan County, the official road gradually changed from packed earth to smooth concrete, shortening the remaining two-day journey to a day and a half.

Chen Chong, Brother Hei, and their ilk were all locked up in prison. The young women and gentlemen they had trafficked varied—some had been prostitutes for years, while others, like Huang Ye and Tang Ge'er, had just been tricked.

Children like Tang Ge'er, who were loved by their families, were immediately taken home by their parents. But there weren't many such families. More often, the parents had taken the money from Brother Hei and sold their children. Now that the children had been rescued, the parents, afraid of being punished by the county magistrate for their illegal sale, simply refused to acknowledge them.

Brother Hei and his men didn't kidnap small children—they targeted youths of fifteen or sixteen. These young people knew all too well what their families were like. They were painfully aware that they had been abandoned by their own families.

Out of guilt and other unknown reasons, they had no one to claim them.

"Your parents committed an illegal transaction. Your household registrations are still with your families. If you're unwilling and want to go home, I can have someone send you back." Meng Wan had originally come to pick up just Huang Ye, but he ended up bringing back a large group—at least thirty or so people.

After he spoke, there was some stirring in the crowd, but it quickly died down.

After coming back, home didn't feel like home anymore.

"Fulang, can I work as a servant for the Song family like Ye Geer?" a girl who had shared the carriage with Huang Ye said timidly.

As soon as she spoke, others chimed in agreement. They were at an awkward age—unable to go home, unlikely to marry well, and struggling just to have food and a place to stay. In their confusion, they couldn't help but envy Huang Ye.

Meng Wan rubbed his forehead. "You don't yet know what it really means to be a servant… Alright, let me think. For now, you can stay at my house and at the Miao family's place next door. I'll arrange a place for you later."

He had to calm them down first, then slowly think things through. After all, having people at hand made things easier. If necessary, he could set up two more workshops.

Meng Wan thought about it: the sugar workshop was off the table. He had only played a leading role and didn't want to compete with the local people for market share. That would make him no different from the landlords. After all, he was the husband of the county magistrate; he still had that level of awareness.

The best approach would be something like the sugar workshop—earning money while also helping the people.

"Ye Geer, you just got back. Take a rest. There's not much work around the house anyway." Chang Jinhua's voice came from the courtyard.

Meng Wan composed himself and walked back to the rear courtyard through the arched gate. He saw Huang Ye busying himself with this and that, while Chang Jinhua tried to persuade him, "After all these days of hardship, aren't you tired? Go to your room, either sleep or eat something."

Meng Wan said with a smile, "What's this? Seeing so many people around, feeling a bit threatened now that there are more people?"

Huang Ye blushed. "Fulang, I'm not…"

Meng Wan put an arm around his shoulders and guided him toward the side room. "Of course I know you're not. Didn't the old lady say there's no urgent work? Whether you do it today or tomorrow, it's the same. Rest well for two days first, so you'll have energy to play with A Yan later."

Huang Ye was in a daze between exhaustion and excitement—his body tired, but his mind restless. He hadn't expected to actually be rescued. He still felt like he was dreaming in the carriage, needing to prove this was real to feel at ease.

This was an abnormal mental state. A few days of rest at home would help him return to calm.

Chang Jinhua looked through the window and saw Huang Ye sleeping uneasily inside. "This child has suffered. Those human traffickers should rot. When Da Lang was little, there were also traffickers in Sanquan Village. They almost took a child until the villagers saw them."

Meng Wan loved hearing her talk about the old days. "What happened afterward?"

Chang Jinhua moved away from the side room and said, "They caught them and beat them to death. Our village didn't have a good official like Da Lang. In my decades in the village, I never even saw what a county magistrate looked like. If someone was kidnapped or died, nobody cared."

Meng Wan scooped up A Yan, who had been playing with the snow wolf, and held the child in one arm while hugging the wolf's head with the other. He said solemnly to the wolf, "Little wolf, from now on, A Yan depends on you for protection. You must watch him well, understand?"

The wolf's head was squished out of shape under his arm as it let out a small howl.

A Yan mimicked him with a clumsy howl.

Song Tingzhou, coming back from the main office, saw this scene. After washing his hands and changing clothes, he picked up his son and scolded, "A Yan is a human, not a beast. How can you imitate beast calls?"

Even at such a young age, A Yan was already good at twisting logic. "A Yan didn't howl~ It was wolf-wolf calling."

He frowned and swatted A Yan's bottom a few times. The child began to sob, sneaking glances at Chang Jinhua and Meng Wan while crying.

Chang Jinhua's face showed obvious heartache; she opened her mouth as if to say something. Meng Wan suddenly grabbed her arm. "Mother, I'm thinking of trying a new recipe. Ye Geer is asleep—could you help me in the kitchen?"

"Huh? What recipe? Can't it wait? A Yan is still crying! Oh dear, Da Lang, go easy on him…"