After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 52 Losing Money

Bai Wanqing smiled and said, "No, I'm not going. I just want to ask so that I can avoid these shady establishments as a young lady."

The auntie selling steamed buns felt a pang of pity looking at the pretty girl in front of her. It would be such a waste if such a good girl had accidentally ended up in a shady shop.

The woman selling steamed buns leaned close to Bai Wanqing's ear and whispered a long string of names: "Xiangyun Inn at the east end of the street, Xiangmen Inn at the north end, and Chunlai Inn and Biyun Inn next door."

Bai Wanqing's pupils widened slightly. Good heavens, how could there be so many shady shops in Huiyang County!

Bai Wanqing silently counted to more than a dozen before the aunt selling steamed buns slowly stopped.

She looked at Bai Wanqing with great pride. Bai Wanqing smiled and thanked her aunt. Her aunt waved her hand with a smile, "You are the smartest girl I have ever met. I don't want you to be fooled!"

Bai Wanqing, who was leaving the steamed bun stall, did not expect that there were so many hacker stacks. If she were to check them one by one, it would probably take some effort.

I wonder how things are going with Young Master Du and Lin Yunche.

As soon as Du Huan entered the city, he headed straight for the Du family's shop, a rouge shop. The Du family's business was mostly in Huaizhou, and although they had some in Huizhou, it wasn't much. So this rouge shop had a small storefront and was located in a rather remote area.

"Shopkeeper, where is the shopkeeper?" Du Huan shouted as soon as he entered the door. The two women who were looking at rouge in the rouge shop were frightened by him. They immediately put down the rouge and ran out screaming.

The owner of the rouge shop, thinking someone had come to ruin his business, immediately ran out and pointed at Du Huan, saying, "Young master, may I ask which shop you belong to?"

Du Huan took out the wooden plaque of the Du family. This was the wooden plaque that the Du family had given to caravans when they traveled all over the country. The shopkeeper recognized it and immediately greeted him with a smile when he saw that he was one of their own.

"May I ask which steward you are?" The shopkeeper ordered a waiter to pour tea for Du Huan, who immediately waved his hand, "I am Du Huan, the eldest son of the Du family!"

"I've come to you this time because I need your help. It's a matter of life and death, so I won't stand on ceremony!"

Du Huan then recounted the story of Miss Bai, and the shopkeeper frowned and asked, "Did you see what the human trafficker looked like?"

Du Huan shook his head. "No, when we found out, Miss Bai had already been kidnapped. When we asked the person who contacted the seller, he said he only received the money but didn't see the person!"

“That’s troublesome! Without seeing the people, we don’t know which group they are! There are several groups like this in Huiyang County that traffic girls. If we go and ask them one by one, I’m afraid no one will admit it,” the shopkeeper said truthfully.

Du Huan stood up anxiously, "Then I'll go look for them one by one, I'll find them eventually!"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "No! If word gets out, they'll immediately move the people. If they leave this county and send them to Huizhou, it will be even harder to find them again."

Du Huan's eyes reddened, and he clenched his fists.

"Why don't we investigate secretly?" The shopkeeper called out all the shop assistants. "Go and secretly inquire in different places to see which groups of people have entered the city today! Report back immediately if you have any news."

Du Huan's heart finally calmed down a bit. He thanked the shopkeeper and then went to the street to inquire.

They ran into Bai Wanqing, who was coming this way.

"Miss Bai, how is it? Did you get any answers?" Du Huan asked anxiously.

Bai Wanqing shared the information she had gathered with Du Huan, and the two immediately agreed to wait for news from the rouge shop owner while simultaneously eliminating these shady shops.

While Bai Wanqing and her group were still actively searching, Furong's situation was dire.

After Li San finished eating and drinking, he went back to check if the two girls were behaving themselves. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Bao Yue helping Fu Rong untie the ropes binding her.

"You brat, how did you untie the ropes!" Li San kicked Bao Yue away, and then found a silver comb next to her.

Baoyue managed to cut the hemp rope binding her body with great difficulty using the silver comb on Furong's body.

"Oh, I didn't expect you to have such valuable things on you?" Li San walked towards Bao Yue with a wicked grin.

Baoyue's eyes were filled with terror, and she kept shrinking into the corner of the wall.

Seeing that the man was about to touch Baoyue, Furong shouted, "You bad man, don't hurt Baoyue!"

"If Father and Big Sister find out, they will definitely not forgive you." Furong shouted, her face flushed, tears welling up in her eyes, but she forced them back. She couldn't be afraid.

Li San glanced at Furong and sensed that something was off.

"How old are you?" Li San asked Furong.

Furong raised her small face and glared fiercely at Li San. "Furong, Furong is sixteen years old this year. She's a grown woman now, and you can't afford to mess with her!" She spoke childish words with a fierce expression, which made Li San feel terrible.

"You...you're actually an idiot?" Li San was somewhat annoyed. The young master had praised this woman to the skies, and from a distance, she did indeed look like a pure and lovely girl. How could she be an idiot!
Furong shook her head, "Furong isn't stupid! Big sister said Furong isn't stupid!"

Li San slapped his forehead and stomped his feet, exclaiming, "It's over! It's over! I bought a worthless item!"

"How could this fool be worth the price of a courtesan?"

Enraged, Li San kicked Furong with all his might, sending her sprawling to the ground with a muffled groan.

"Miss!" Baoyue ran over crying and picked up Furong. Furong forced a smile. "Don't cry, Baoyue. Don't be afraid, Furong will protect you."

Li San recalled the silver comb from earlier, and then heard Bao Yue call the little maid "Miss," saying, "Since you made me pay money, let's see if you have anything valuable left!"

As Li San spoke, he was about to search Furong's body, but Baoyue clung to Furong tightly and refused to let go. "Please, please, don't touch my young lady. I'll give you everything, I'll give you all my valuables."

As she spoke, Baoyue took out more than ten taels of loose silver from her body and removed the jewelry from her and Furong's bodies.

Li San held the item in his hand and smiled with satisfaction. "That's right. As long as you listen to me, you won't suffer any losses when we get there."

Li San left satisfied. Bao Yue turned around to check on Fu Rong's condition. Blood was seeping from the corner of Fu Rong's mouth, her face was extremely pale, her eyes were tightly closed, and her eyelashes were trembling slightly. Her condition was extremely poor.

"Miss, Miss, don't scare me!" Baoyue called out to Furong repeatedly as she supported her, but Furong just pursed her lips and never opened her eyes again.

Baoyue frantically pounded on the door, shouting, "Help! Help! Someone help me!"

The sudden shout made Li San tense up, and even the innkeeper was startled. He had just received news that someone was looking for someone in their vicinity, and if they were discovered, they would be in deep trouble.

"Li San! Do you even want to stay in this business anymore?!" The shopkeeper rushed out and yelled at Li San.

Li San jumped in surprise, "Shopkeeper, don't be angry, I'll go take a look right away!"

"Wait!" the innkeeper called out to Li San. "Someone has already come looking for you. You can't stay here tonight. Leave immediately."

Li San nodded reluctantly, ran to the room in the backyard, pushed open the door, and accidentally pushed Bao Yue to the ground.

"You brat, what did I just say? Are you trying to kill yourself by yelling like this?!" Li San kicked hard this time, landing one kick after another on Bao Yue's stomach.

Baoyue winced in pain and said haltingly, "Save my young lady! She's dying!"

Hearing this, Li San stopped what he was doing, looked at Furong lying to the side with a pale face, and spat, "What bad luck! Not only is she an idiot, but she's also sickly! This time we've really hit the jackpot."

Li San tied Bao Yue up again, then carried Fu Rong out. No sooner had he left than Du Huan and Bai Wanqing arrived at the inn.

Bai Wanqing didn't know kung fu. Du Huan had sneaked into those places all by himself. Du Huan jumped over the wall and went in, while Bai Wanqing waited in a corner outside the wall. Fortunately, it was already getting dark, so she wasn't too conspicuous standing there.

A moment later, Du Huan leaped out of the wall carrying someone. Bai Wanqing recognized her, "It's Baoyue!"

Bao Yue was so excited when she saw the eldest young lady that she couldn't even speak properly. "Eldest young lady, please save the second young lady!"

The commotion on this side of the wall eventually caught the attention of the innkeeper, who immediately dispatched many of his staff to chase after them.

"Young Master Du, let's go first!" Bai Wanqing and Du Huan led Baoyue and ran towards the main street.

The people chasing behind them were two people carrying an injured Baoyue. They weren't walking fast, and in no time the three of them were caught up and cornered in the narrow alley.

The innkeeper, his face grim, paid no attention to the young couple. "How dare you! Don't you know whose turf you're on? You dare to rescue just anyone?"

Bai Wanqing sneered and said to the shopkeeper, "That's a joke. When did people who secretly traffic people dare to be so arrogant!"

Upon seeing Bai Wanqing, the shopkeeper's eyes suddenly lit up. Without bothering with any more pleasantries, he waved his hand and ordered, "Arrest them all, and don't let a single one escape."

At the shopkeeper's command, more than ten waiters rushed towards the two. Bai Wanqing pulled Baoyue back, while Du Huan fought against the other side alone, but it was clear that Du Huan was no match for them.

However, the sounds of fierce fighting eventually attracted a group of people, who were the shop assistants sent out by the Du family.

Seeing their boss being beaten, the men rushed to help, making the situation even more chaotic.

Bai Wanqing pulled Baoyue to a corner and hid her behind a haystack, while she grabbed a stick and rushed toward the innkeeper!
(End of this chapter)