Chapter 107: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 107: Joining Forces (Part 2)
Xiao Ruiyuan kept his head down, concealing the curve of his lips from Yan Junyu. Since this guy volunteered to help, he wouldn't hold back.
"This time, consider it a favor owed to you by Xiao Ruiyuan. However, without the decree of the emperor, the Military Headquarters cannot act recklessly. We still need Huaixi to go to the palace and seek the emperor's decree."
Yan Junyu rolled his eyes, knowing that this dead block of ice wouldn't come to him for no reason. It turned out he was waiting here for this. What a great deal for him.
"Hmph, you better remember this. I will make you pay."
...
Mo Yan had no idea how much chaos had been caused outside in the search for her.
At this moment, she was gnawing on stale steamed buns and drinking thin gruel, trying to figure out a way to escape with the other seventeen abducted women!
Seeing those seventeen girls either crying in fear or sitting in despair, Mo Yan sighed.
"You all should come and eat. We need to eat before we can figure out how to escape."
At her words, the crying stopped for a moment before resuming. One of the girls, perhaps influenced by Mo Yan's calm demeanor, reached out and timidly took a steamed bun, nibbling on it.
Mo Yan unexpectedly glanced at her. She noticed that the girl was well-dressed and pretty, indicating she came from a comfortable family. Unlike the others who were either crying or in shock, she seemed more composed. This prompted Mo Yan to engage in conversation.
"Miss, my surname is Mo, and I'm fourteen years old. What's your surname? How old are you?"
The girl glanced at her and whispered, "My surname is Liu, and I'm fifteen years old."
Then, looking at the iron door on the platform, the girl asked quietly, "Were you also captured at the Lantern Festival last night?"
Mo Yan swallowed the last bit of gruel before wiping her mouth and replied, "Yes, just like you. I woke up here too."
The girl, Liu, quietly ate her steamed bun, but tears soon started falling into her gruel. "Sister Mo, I miss my parents so much. I'm their only child. If they find out I'm missing, they'll be heartbroken. Wuu..."
Mo Yan's heart ached seeing her cry. She also thought of her relatives from her past life. Having died in an explosion without a complete body, she didn't know if her grandparents, who were so old, could bear it.
"Sister Liu, don't cry. With so many of us, we'll find a way to escape."
Liu wiped her tears and, with a hint of determination on her delicate face, said, "Yes, even if I miss my parents, I have to find a way to escape. Sister Mo, we must escape."
Mo Yan held her hand firmly and said, "Yes, we will definitely escape."
After talking for a while longer, Mo Yan learned that Liu's full name was Liu Tinglan. Her father was a scholar who taught at a private school, and her mother was also educated. Last night, she was with her parents at the Lantern Festival when they got separated in the crowd. Then, she was drugged by the kidnappers and woke up in this place called "Heaven's End, Earth's End".
Liu Tinglan appeared fragile but optimistic. After chatting with Mo Yan, the last trace of sorrow disappeared from her face. Perhaps influenced by their positive attitude, the other dozen or so girls also joined in, sharing their own situations.
Mo Yan noticed that most of the abducted girls were between twelve and sixteen years old, all of them quite attractive and from well-off families, pampered since childhood with good looks and upbringing.
With this understanding, coupled with the conversation overheard from the kidnappers last night, Mo Yan had a vague idea. The kidnappers probably didn't intend to use them as maidservants for wealthy families, but rather to sell them to brothels and other similar establishments. The situation was dire, and she needed to find a way to escape as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the Military Headquarters and the yamen were actively searching for the "assassins", promising a reward of one thousand taels of silver to anyone who provided information about suspicious individuals that led to a successful capture.
One thousand taels was not a small sum and could sustain an ordinary family in the capital for several decades. Many people were mobilized to inquire about suspicious circumstances, hoping to earn the reward.
As the main force in apprehending the assassins, Xiao Ruiyuan personally led the operation with Yan Junyu's beloved pet Xiao Hua—a sensitive adult snow wolf—to verify the information provided by the people...
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