In less than half an hour, many people in the capital began to sense that something was wrong.
After all, such a huge commotion had been stirred up. Under the very nose of the emperor, on the very day the Zhenyuan General returned victorious, his precious daughter had gone missing—and might even have been abducted. This was no small matter.
When Jiang Shi’an and Prime Minister Fu learned about it, even the emperor was alarmed.
He immediately ordered Jiang Shi’an to return and handle his family matters first. At the same time, he dispatched a unit of the Imperial Guards to assist in the search. If necessary, the city gates could be sealed, and even if they had to dig three feet into the ground, the child must be found.
After all, Jiang Shi’an had worked tirelessly guarding the frontier. Now that he had just returned in triumph, his daughter had disappeared. The emperor naturally felt somewhat embarrassed.
There was no way this matter would be allowed to pass so easily.
Moreover, Fu Qingchen was the son of the prime minister. Now he had also gone missing. How could the emperor not be furious?
The capital had already descended into chaos.
But Jiang Yueli and Fu Qingchen had already been drugged unconscious and taken out of the city.
The kidnapper had been rather lucky. After knocking the two children unconscious, he immediately left the city without stopping, which allowed him to escape trouble.
One could say the children simply had bad luck.
That day, the man had originally come to the capital to deliver goods. After delivering them to a brothel, he happened to see Jiang Yueli standing on the stone pedestal while returning.
Such a beautiful little girl—if he raised her for a few years, she would surely fetch a high price. The boy beside her was also delicate and handsome.
After watching for a while and noticing that no one was with them, he directly approached, drugged both children, and took them away.
It was fortunate for him that the children had been distracted and that the drug was especially strong this time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have succeeded so easily.
The carriage rattled along as it headed toward a village.
Jiang Yueli was the first to wake up.
Having lived two lifetimes, this was the first time she had been knocked out by drugged powder. It seemed her vigilance had declined.
Someone had approached without her noticing.
She had simply been too excited when she saw Jiang Shi’an and had neglected her own safety.
Jiang Yueli poked the unlucky fellow beside her—Fu Qingchen.
He frowned slightly and slowly woke up after a while.
Their hands and feet were tied, and cloth had been stuffed into their mouths.
The moment Fu Qingchen woke up and saw the situation, he quickly understood what had happened.
Jiang Yueli hadn’t expected him to be so calm. She had to admit—his mentality was really good.
Fu Qingchen struggled a few times, but the ropes were tied tightly and wouldn’t budge.
However, for Jiang Yueli, this kind of thing was child’s play.
Various escape techniques from restraints were the most basic skills for an assassin.
She moved her mouth slightly and spat out the rag stuffed inside. Fu Qingchen hadn’t expected it to be possible to spit it out and stared in astonishment.
He pressed his tongue against the cloth and opened his mouth slightly wider. Sure enough, he easily pushed the rag out.
Then he saw the little girl opposite him twist her shoulders. After several cracking sounds, the hands that had originally been tied behind her back suddenly rotated in a strange motion and came around to the front.
Fu Qingchen’s mouth dropped open in shock.
Jiang Yueli quickly loosened the rope with her mouth. She was about to untie Fu Qingchen’s ropes when the carriage suddenly stopped.
She made a quiet gesture toward him.
Then she quickly picked up the rag he had spit out earlier and stuffed it back into his mouth.
Fu Qingchen watched as she stuffed the cloth into her own mouth again and bit down on it. Then she wrapped the rope loosely around her hands again and placed them behind her back.
When the carriage curtain was lifted, the two children were still lying inside, not even changing their positions.
The man nodded in satisfaction. It seemed the drug hadn’t worn off yet.
The carriage stopped at a rundown village.
The man called out toward the inside. Soon two men and a woman came out.
When they saw he had brought back two more children, the woman immediately complained.
“I say, Er Gou, didn’t we agree that Chunlan Courtyard wanted five? Why did you bring back two more?”
Her sharp voice sounded unpleasant.
The man called Er Gou rubbed his hands and laughed.
“Third Aunt, these weren’t returned. I picked them up on the way back. Top-quality goods! I’ve never seen two children this good-looking before. If we raise them together with the others for a few years, they’ll definitely sell for a good price.”
Only then did Third Aunt’s expression change.
She glanced at him before stepping forward to inspect the children.
“Oh my, this little girl really is pretty. Judging from her clothes, she doesn’t look like a child from an ordinary family. Er Gou, you didn’t steal her from some wealthy household, did you?”
She examined the children carefully.
Not only were their looks extraordinary, but their clothing was clearly valuable.
The capital was under the emperor’s authority. If they provoked someone they shouldn’t, how many heads would they have to pay with?
Although they were human traffickers, they didn’t dare touch just anyone.
The other two also stepped forward to examine them.
The rough-looking man with a scar on his face was also worried about offending someone powerful.
But children with such looks—especially the girl—could easily fetch dozens of taels of silver.
Now that such a fat piece of meat had already reached their mouths, there was no way they would spit it out.
“Since we’ve already caught them, don’t think too much about it,” the scarred man said. “At worst, we won’t sell them in the capital. Other towns are also asking for goods. We’ll just sell these two quickly.”
Their business was already dangerous.
Since the children had been taken, there was no reason to release them now.
After some discussion, the four of them decided to sell the children within the next two days to avoid complications.
Jiang Yueli and Fu Qingchen were carried into a courtyard.
Then they were locked inside a dimly lit room.
The moment the door closed, Jiang Yueli opened her eyes.
Her lively, cunning gaze flickered with light.
“Fu Qingchen? Are you alright?”
After spitting out the rag, she spoke in a low voice.
Fu Qingchen also spat out the cloth before replying.
“I’m fine.”
“Don’t be afraid. If my father finds out I’ve been captured, he’ll definitely come rescue us. Even if they can’t find us, I can still take you and escape.”
Her soft childish voice sounded especially clear in the quiet room.
Before Fu Qingchen could respond, a faint noise came from somewhere nearby.
It sounded like something had been bumped, making a dull thud.
Fu Qingchen looked toward the dark corner of the room with caution.
There was a cabinet and a pile of clutter there. Because the items were stacked so high, it was impossible to see that someone was hiding behind them.
But Jiang Yueli had already noticed that there were people in the room.
And more than one.
They were probably like them—children captured by the traffickers.
Perhaps after hearing the two of them talking about escaping, a weak voice suddenly spoke from the darkness, faint as a mosquito.
“Don’t waste your effort… You can’t escape. If they catch you trying, they’ll beat you.”
Jiang Yueli untied the rope around herself and walked over.
When she got closer, she saw that five or six girls were huddled in the corner by the wall.
The oldest looked only seven or eight years old. The youngest were about four or five—barely older than Jiang Yueli.
Yet all of them were covered in wounds.
It was obvious they were often beaten.
The one who had spoken was the oldest girl.
Her already tattered clothes could barely cover the injuries all over her body.