good season

When Aunt Ji arrived, after hearing that Xiuxiu had been kidnapped, she pieced together all the stories she had heard about kidnapping and recounted them in a rapid-fire manner. Everyone listened with trepidation and inquired about how much they could be sold for.

"Xiuxiu and Lingbo, you two are not ugly, and you are both educated. You can sell for at least ten taels."

"Wang Xing, your face is quite fair; you could sell it for five taels of silver if you sent it to a male prostitute's brothel."

"Loach, tsk tsk, with your small body, you're probably not easy to sell. Only the kind of black kiln that the old man mentioned can take you, one hundred coins, no more."

“Oh dear, little Ye, you’re a bit too old. If you were only three or four years old, you would sell for much more than them. You’d be a great grandson to them. But you’re nine now and can remember things. You can’t be a grandson anymore. You can only be sold to a wealthy family as a servant. That’ll only be worth five taels of silver.”

In the end, loach is the cheapest and least valuable.

The loach was depressed.

Zhao Shiqing found it amusing, and suddenly remembered the story of the Broken Stone Brothers selling themselves. That's right, Zhao Tingluo lost a younger brother, and the Broken Stone Brothers were inspired by this to sell themselves to bury their brother.

“Aunt Ji, I have a friend who is a member of the imperial family. His younger brother has also gone missing. Surely a kidnapper wouldn’t dare to go to the Prince’s mansion to abduct a child, right?”

Aunt Ji snorted: "The bigger the mansion, the more filthy things happen. If a child goes missing in a big mansion, nine times out of ten, no, ten times out of ten, it's the work of their own family members."

Zhao Shiqing fell silent. She thought of Princess Aying, who was sent to kidnappers by her own aunt.

But then Mudskipper said, "When I found my brother, the aunties in the yard all said that my brother was the kind of child that only a rich family could raise. Could he have been abandoned by his own family? My brother is so pitiful."

Zhao Shiqing was taken aback. She recalled the scene when she first met Mudfish's younger brother, Xiaobao, in that old and cramped house. The child was exquisitely beautiful and adorable. Especially when he nestled next to the dark and thin Mudfish, the contrast was striking. One looked like he had been carefully sculpted, while the other looked like a speck of mud that the goddess Nuwa had casually tossed out.

Zhao Shiqing silently apologized to Mudfish. She really didn't mean to belittle her friend; it was just that the two brothers were too different.

She asked the loach, "I only know that you were picked up from a muddy pond, but where did you find your brother?"

The loach was a little embarrassed: "That day I didn't make a single sale all day, and I was starving by the end of the day, so I wandered around the streets hoping to find a bargain."

Zhao Shiqing knew that the "business" that Niqiu mentioned meant business without capital. At that time, Niqiu was only twelve years old. His grandfather, who raised him, had died, and he could only make a living by his "skills".

Mudfish continued, "I went to Rouge Lane in the south of the city. As you know, that place also has customers at night, and those customers are all wealthy."

The children all shook their heads: "We don't know, we're all good kids."

Mudskipper, well, compared to him, they really are all good kids, at least he's never been a thief.

“It was very late at the time. I saw an old woman carrying a big bundle, this big.” Mudfish gestured with his hands to show the size, and continued, “I saw her sneaking into Beijia Street. You know Beijia Street, right? It’s the street where you go north from the first intersection after entering Rouge Alley, where there are several brothels.”

The group shook their heads again: "We don't know, we've never been there."

Mudfish suffered another heart attack. He clearly heard them talking excitedly about their experiences on Rouge Street, but now it seemed that none of them had ever been there.

He had no choice but to continue: "I noticed that the old woman's bundle seemed quite heavy, so I quietly followed her. It was already dark, and the red lanterns were casting shadows. The old woman was looking around, but I was hidden in the shadows, so she didn't see me. She first went to Yue Ren Ge, only glancing at the entrance before going around to the back alley of Yue Ren Ge. I guessed that she was going to Yue Ren Ge, but just then someone came out, so the old woman lowered her head and continued walking forward."

In front of Yue Ren Ge was Fu Rong Jin. At that time, a male prostitute from Fu Rong Jin jumped into the river and died. Fu Rong Jin was sued and did not open for business for two days. Other shops even had lanterns hanging at their back doors, but Fu Rong Jin's back door was dark and deserted.

The old woman went into the darkness, and when she came out, her hands were empty. I saw that she had left, so I went over to take a look, and the bundle was placed outside the back door of Furongjin.

At the time, the back door of Furongjin was closed, and there was no one else around, so I picked up the bundle.

At first I was very happy, but the further I walked, the more I felt something was wrong. If there was money inside, who would put it outside the hibiscus brocade?

Just then, the bundle suddenly moved, and then the sound of a child crying came out.

I found a spot behind the outer wall of a courtyard, opened the bundle, and saw Xiao Bao. He was so small then, probably just woken up, and was crying his heart out.

At that time, I couldn't even support myself, let alone another one, so I left him by the roadside and turned away.

But after walking a few steps, I heard him crying so pitifully. This is Rouge Street. If he is picked up by someone, he will just have to live here anyway. It would be better to take him away from here. Maybe a kind person will take him in.

Strangely enough, as soon as I picked him up, he stopped crying and looked at me curiously with his big eyes.

I was too soft-hearted to leave him by the roadside after leaving Rouge Lane, so I carried him all the way to where I lived. There were two families in the courtyard who had babies who were breastfeeding, so I took my baby over and asked them to help me breastfeed.

When the two women saw Xiaobao, they praised him for being well-raised, saying he was clearly not from a poor family.

After a few more days, I couldn't bear to part with him anymore. Some people suggested I sell Xiaobao, but I refused. I took him to a charity, where I happened to see the manager beating a child with a stick. I took Xiaobao back. After that incident, I decided to raise Xiaobao myself. As long as I had food, I wouldn't let him go hungry.

As the loach finished speaking, he noticed that his friends were all staring at him with wide eyes.

"Loach, you're so tall!"

"Loach, you have a halo above your head!"

"Loach, next time we eat chicken, I'll give you the chicken leg."

Aunt Ji wiped away her tears: "Mudfish, what kind of wife do you want to marry? Auntie will arrange it for you."

Mudfish then remembered something else: "Oh right, when I found Xiaobao, he was wearing cloth, not silk. Later, I went to Wu with the Second Miss and learned that there was a kind of cloth that was more expensive than silk. Now that I think about it, Xiaobao's clothes seem to be that kind of cloth."

Thinking about Xiao Bao's age, Zhao Shiqing wondered how old Zhao Tingluo's younger brother was. She would definitely remember to ask Zhao Tingluo next time she saw him.

On this day, Mudskipper received unprecedented treatment. The big chicken leg was his, the pork belly with skin was his, and even Zhen Wuduo gave him a big red envelope.

The next day, Xiuxiu made some pastries by hand and went to the Ministry of Revenue with Aunt Ji by her side.

Xiuxiu once traveled thousands of miles alone with her cat; she is a very brave and courageous girl.

But after what happened last time, Zhen Wuduo ordered that no one in the family, whether a girl or a boy, was allowed to go out alone. Even Zhang Ye was escorted to and from school by Lao Fan.

Therefore, although the Ministry of Revenue was a government office, Zhen Wuduo still had Aunt Ji accompany her.

Aunt Ji was a native of the capital. People from the capital are naturally good at dealing with government offices. She said a few words to the guard at the gate, and the guard shouted into the gate. A moment later, someone came out. Xiuxiu recognized him as one of the people who had delivered the kidnapper to the government office that day.

The man recognized Xiuxiu and said with a smile, "Little girl, you've come to inquire about those kidnappers, haven't you? Don't worry, the authorities will definitely punish them." After Xiuxiu was rescued that day, she kowtowed to these yamen runners to express her gratitude. Therefore, she came today to bring some snacks to express her thanks.

She thanked them again, saying, "I made this myself. I'm just sharing it with my benefactors. It's not worth much; it's just a token of my appreciation."

The man laughed and said, "You're too kind, young lady. We were just following orders from our superiors. It was nothing. I'll accept the snacks on behalf of my brothers. We're in for a treat."

After watching the man carry the food box inside, Xiuxiu and Aunt Ji turned and left.

On the same street where the Ministry of Revenue was located, there were two other government offices: the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. The Ministry of Revenue was the busiest, working almost from the beginning to the end of the year. Officials of the Ministry of Revenue only had to go to the office; they never left, because they were still busy when it was time to leave.

In contrast to the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices were only busy during festivals, such as when people from all over the country came to present New Year's gifts in the twelfth lunar month, which was the busiest time for these two government offices.

Although Xiuxiu had lived in the capital for over a year, this was her first time here. Even Aunt Ji, a native of the city, hadn't been here many times. After all, ordinary people don't usually come all the way here.

The two kept their eyes straight ahead, not daring to look around, and walked quickly forward.

Once they reached the street corner and got into their own mule cart, the two finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Aunt Ji laughed and said, "No wonder it's a government office; even the air you breathe on the street smells like officialdom."

Xiuxiu also said, "We've sent our tokens of our appreciation, and we won't be coming again."

Aunt Ji: "That's true. We can't come to this place often; we ordinary folks can't stand it."

The two chatted and laughed. Xiuxiu remembered the disguise materials she had bought last time. It was a waste of money. Apart from the ones that were spilled in the collision, the rest were thrown away somewhere after she was drugged and stuffed into the mule cart.

"Aunt Ji, please wait for me a moment, I need to go to Wenmiao Street to buy something."

Aunt Ji knew which shop Xiuxiu was going to; it was the first one at the entrance of Wenmiao Street, which she could see from the mule cart.

The mule cart stopped, and Xiuxiu got off and walked towards the shop. This shop was more complete than the one she usually went to, but it was a little far from her home, so she didn't come here often.

Just as she was about to enter, a voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Miss, please wait!"

Xiuxiu paused for a moment before realizing that someone was calling her. She stopped and turned around, only to see a familiar face.

She had just seen him; he was the yamen runner from the Ministry of Revenue.

"Oh, sir?"

The man smiled and said, "Miss, I've finally caught up with you. You don't know, when I took the pastries inside, I ran into my master. He said the people from the capital are looking for you."

Xiuxiu frowned slightly. Although she was not afraid to report to the authorities, this was, after all, a kidnapping case, and she was an unmarried young woman. Instinctively, she did not want to go to the yamen.

Seeing her troubled expression, the man pointed to the side and said, "My master understands your predicament, young lady. He said he just has two doubts that he wants to confirm with you. You don't need to go to the capital government office; you can just talk to him about it."

Xiuxiu looked in the direction he pointed, and sure enough, there was a sedan chair parked there.

That's an official sedan chair!

Xiuxiu hurriedly asked, "Is this the official who ordered the officers to stop the kidnapper?"

The man said, "Yes, that's the gentleman. He hasn't been at the Ministry of Revenue for long. None of the other officials were willing to go out of the city to do business during the first month of the lunar year. It's all thanks to Lord Yang who volunteered that he didn't get to meet the young lady."

Xiuxiu felt grateful. What a good official! This is what a good official should be like.

"Your surname is Yang?"

"Yes, our Lord Yang was the top scholar in the imperial examination last year."

Xiuxiu's heart skipped a beat. The top scholar! She remembered that the top scholar and the second young lady had known each other since childhood. The time when the second young lady and her friends went to Tong'an, the top scholar had even come by. She had told the second young lady about it later. She wondered if the second young lady had ever contacted the top scholar.

With that thought in mind, Xiuxiu walked up to the official sedan chair.

The sedan curtain was slowly lifted, revealing a fair and handsome face.

Although he was wearing an official robe, Xiuxiu recognized him at a glance; he was the young master she had met before.

Even though he was wearing a brightly colored official robe, the feeling she got from the top scholar was still the same as when she first met him—simple and understated, as if he had stepped out of a traditional Chinese ink painting.

Xiuxiu's face involuntarily turned red.

She remembered that she had only thanked the yamen runners that day, but the top scholar was the one she should thank the most. After all, if it weren't for his order, the yamen runners wouldn't have acted on their own and stopped the kidnapper's mule cart.

Xiuxiu's mind was filled with random thoughts when she heard Yang Shengqiu's gentle and pleasant voice: "Miss, due to the needs of the investigation by the capital authorities, I have two questions to confirm with you. I wonder if it would be convenient for you to ask?"

Xiuxiu quickly replied, "Yes, please ask, sir."

Yang Shengqiu asked, "Before this incident, did the young lady realize she was being followed?"

Xiuxiu shook her head: "No."

Yang Shengqiu then asked, "Have you seen the two female thieves who appeared on the way that day before?"

Xiuxiu shook her head again: "No."

Yang Shengqiu smiled and said, "That's no problem then. Thank you for your cooperation, young lady."

Xiuxiu curtsied and said, "This humble woman should thank you for saving me that day. I have no way to repay your kindness. I only wish you good health and good fortune."

Yang Shengqiu hurriedly said, "It's my duty, young lady. There's no need for such formality. By the way, you look somewhat familiar, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."

Just as Xiuxiu was about to speak, Aunt Ji's voice came from behind her: "What's wrong?" (End of this chapter)