A Maid's Survival Story in a Noble Family Mansion? Rich Landlords Are More Appealing.

She paused, looking at the young man's suddenly tense face, and slowly said, "You two are siblings. If she looks like you, she must be quite pretty. That means she might have been sold to brothels."

"No, impossible!" The young man's face turned deathly pale, as if he had been stabbed by this conjecture. He shook his head violently, his voice trembling. "My sister wouldn't do that! She..."

Seeing his intense reaction, Chen Wanxing swallowed back the sentence, "It's also possible that he didn't survive in a wealthy family or was sold off," and couldn't bear to say it again.

The young man stood frozen for a moment, his chest heaving violently. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, a flame rekindled in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth and said:

"If that's the case, then she must be suffering, and maybe she's hoping we'll come to rescue her every day. We need to find her as soon as possible so she can suffer a day less."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wanxing's heart stirred slightly. In this world where human life is as worthless as grass, a little girl has been away from home for twelve years, yet her family still remains so devoted and steadfast. They don't even feel ashamed and want to avoid her; instead, they want to save her. This sentiment is truly rare.

She comforted the young man for a few words and asked him about their plans for the future. The young man said that if they couldn't find anything in Kaifeng, they might have to try their luck in the surrounding towns.

Chen Wanxing knew that this was a needle in a haystack and the hope was slim. Besides, the person might not even be in Kaifeng anymore.

But perhaps touched by their concern for their family, she felt a pang of compassion, and before taking her leave, Chen Wanxing couldn't resist asking, "If your sister were still alive, how old would she be this year?"

The young man immediately replied, "She's four years younger than me. If she were still alive, she would be twenty. She was just eight when I sold her."

At twenty years old, having sold herself at eight, Chen Wanxing's foot, which was about to be lifted, suddenly stopped.

At this age...

Her heart skipped a beat, and an extremely strange feeling quietly spread through her.

She forced herself to suppress her question, then asked again, seemingly unintentionally, her voice tinged with a tension she herself didn't realize: "Where are you originally from?"

The young man, unsuspecting, honestly replied, "We are from Ruyang County, Runing Prefecture."

Runing Prefecture, Ruyang County!

Twenty years old!

She sold herself at the age of eight!

In Kaifeng!

These pieces of information struck her like thunderbolts, exploding one after another in her mind, instantly connecting into a clear clue that she could not ignore.

She froze on the spot, her blood seemingly freezing for a moment, and even a brief ringing in her ears. She stared incredulously at the young man's simple yet sorrowful face.

What a coincidence!

No, this is no longer a coincidence.

The time, place, age, and even place of origin all match perfectly.

Could it be that the person they are looking for is actually herself?

A tremendous surge of shock, bewilderment, absurdity, and a hint of indescribable panic instantly gripped her.

"Master?" The young man called out to Chen Wanxing when he saw that she was staring blankly at him and hadn't moved for a while.

This sound abruptly pulled Chen Wanxing back to reality from the enormous shock.

She abruptly averted her gaze, almost instinctively lowering her eyelashes to conceal the turbulent emotions churning within her eyes, forcefully suppressing her wildly beating heart. She couldn't panic, she absolutely couldn't panic!

"It's nothing." She heard her voice sound a little unsteady, and Chen Wanxing tried her best to maintain her composure, even managing to force out an extremely subtle, almost stiff smile.

"I just suddenly remembered something else."

In a flash, she forcibly suppressed the intense shock, replacing it with an almost instinctive calmness and caution.

She quickly adjusted her facial expression; that momentary stiffness seemed like an illusion. She raised her eyes, her gaze returning to its previous calm, even carrying just the right amount of sympathy and concern.

Chen Wanxing sighed softly, her tone conveying understanding and a hint of goodwill in her willingness to help.

"Hearing you say that, it's indeed difficult to find your relatives. We live in Kaifeng, so we're better informed than you are. How about this, we'll also keep an eye out for girls who fit your sister's situation."

She paused, and as if to be on the safe side, she naturally followed up with a question:

"We don't know your exact address in Ruyang County. If there is any news, we can ask someone to point it out to you."

Her question was perfectly reasonable, and she seemed like a well-meaning person who wanted to help to the end.

The young man was filled with immense gratitude upon seeing that this kind-hearted girl had offered to help, and he quickly replied:

"Thank you so much, sir. Thank you so much, young lady. You have such a kind heart. Our family lives in Xiahe Village, near Ping'an Town in Ruyang County. There is a big locust tree at the east end of the village, and our house is the closest one to it."

"I've memorized the big locust tree at the east end of Xiahe Village, Ping'an Town."

Chen Wanxing nodded slightly, firmly engraving the name in her heart.

Her expression remained calm, even showing a gentle smile. "It was nothing, don't worry about it. We'll take our leave now, and you should settle in as soon as possible."

Having said that, she didn't linger any longer. She gestured to Amber, then turned and calmly walked towards the carriage, her steps steady and showing no sign of anything amiss.

Only when the carriage curtain was lowered, blocking out the outside view, did Chen Wanxing's straight back relax almost imperceptibly for a moment, as if she had lost all strength and leaned against the carriage wall.

But she quickly regained her composure and did not allow herself to show too much emotional fluctuation.

She simply leaned against the car wall, closed her eyes, and only her slightly trembling eyelashes betrayed the turmoil in her heart.

"Sister Wanxing, you..." Amber held her slightly cold hand with concern.

She looked at Chen Wanxing and felt that something was off. The way Wanxing looked at her when she asked for the address earlier seemed a little too focused, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Chen Wanxing suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze filled with a confusion and an almost sharp clarity that Amber had never seen before.

She gripped Amber's hand tightly, her nails digging almost into her flesh, and said in a low voice, "Amber, don't ask anything now, we'll talk about it when we get back."

The carriage slowly started moving and drove away from the alley entrance. Outside the carriage, the young man still stood in the same spot, watching the departing carriage, his brows slightly furrowed. He felt that the kind girl's final reaction was somewhat strange.

But he quickly attributed this to the unpredictable nature of the nobleman's actions, and continued to worry about the uncertain path of finding his relatives.

Inside the car, Chen Wanxing leaned against the swaying carriage, gazing at the street scenes rushing past the window, feeling a moment of confusion.

Throughout the journey, Chen Wanxing remained silent. Amber was filled with doubt, but seeing Chen Wanxing's obvious reluctance to speak, and even a hint of unapproachable aloofness, she wanted to speak several times, but ultimately remained silent.

After getting off the car, Chen Wanxing simply told the welcoming nanny Li and Yunzhu, "I'm a little tired and want to be alone," and then went straight to her main room.

She left those words behind, gently closed the door, shutting out all the concern and doubts.

Amber stood in the courtyard, looking at the tightly closed door, her brows furrowed slightly.

She had never seen Wanxing like this before, but after recalling what the young man had said, she still couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Amber clenched the brocade box in her sleeve, but didn't disturb her. She simply turned around and went to her room to continue her unfinished embroidery.

If Sister Wanxing wanted to tell her, she would. Since she doesn't want her to know now, she won't ask.