Almost the entire village had gathered at the Old Wen family’s house, discussing what to do.
‘Waaah… My Mei! My Mei! Fang Huiniang, it’s all your fault! All your fault!’ Luo Shi cried as she shoved Mrs. Fang.
They had searched for half the day, yet there wasn’t even a trace of her daughter.
Whether gathering firewood or cutting pigweed, no matter how far they had gone, they should have returned by now! And so many people had been shouting on the mountain, yet there wasn’t a single response.
Only now did Luo Shi realize that something terrible had happened.
Mrs. Fang’s face was deathly pale, and her eyes were already red from crying.
Wen Lao’er stood in front of her, preventing Luo Shi from going berserk.
Wen Lao San and Lin Shi were also crying anxiously.
The villagers shook their heads and sighed.
‘Such good girls. How could they just disappear?’
‘Oh my, why is it so lively here?’ At that moment, a cheerful voice rang out.
Everyone looked up and saw Wen Ye strolling in leisurely.
Wen Lan followed timidly behind her, carrying a basket on her back.
‘Lan’er! Ye’er!’ The third branch was overjoyed.
Lin Shi rushed forward and grabbed Wen Ye’s hand tightly, tears turning into smiles.
‘You’re back! Waaaah—’
‘Big Sister, Second Sister… We thought you’d gone missing.’ Wen Chuizi also rushed over.
Wen Lao San cried tears of joy and patted Wen Lan’s shoulder.
Wen Ye finally struggled free from Lin Shi’s embrace.
‘What are you talking about? Second Aunt told us to go up the mountain and dig wild vegetables. After we finished digging, we found a cool spot and took a nap.’
As she spoke, Wen Ye even stretched lazily.
Mrs. Fang stared at Wen Ye in disbelief, her eyes red.
‘Where’s Yue’er? Where’s my daughter?!’
Luo Shi also rushed forward.
‘And Mei! She went up the mountain with you!’
‘Oh, them!’ Wen Ye blinked innocently. ‘Later, two men carried them away. What were those two big brothers called again? Something like Qian San or Qian Si.’
Hearing this, the minds of the second branch couple and Old Madam Wen exploded with a loud buzz.
‘So it really happened…’ Mrs. Fang collapsed to the ground. Her worst fears had come true.
‘Daughter-in-law, what’s going on? They…’ Old Madam Wen swallowed the words that had nearly slipped out.
The two traffickers were supposed to be waiting at the village entrance. Why had they gone up the mountain to take people?
And even if they had, they should have taken Wen Ye and her sister! Why had they taken Mei and Yue’er instead?
‘What did you say? My daughter was carried away? By two men?’ Luo Shi’s eyes widened, and she nearly fainted.
Her daughter had been carried off by men. Then what about her innocence…?
‘Oh? Eldest Aunt, didn’t you know? Why are you so surprised?’ Wen Ye asked with an innocent expression.
Luo Shi became furious.
‘What do you mean, what do I know? You little wretch! You said you saw Mei and the others being taken away. Why didn’t you stop them? Why didn’t you come back and tell us?’
‘Why would I stop them? Wasn’t this exactly what you all wanted—to sell them?’ Wen Ye said, her round eyes wide.
‘We were eating lunch on the mountain. After Liyue and the others finished eating the chive pancakes, they fainted. Then the traffickers arrived.
‘The traffickers said that Second Uncle and Second Aunt had sent for them and wanted to sell the family’s two daughters. They’d already taken the money.
‘At that moment, I thought, “Ah, no wonder they fainted after eating. So Second Aunt put something in the pancakes to make selling them easier.” Of course I wanted to help you all out! So I happily let the traffickers carry them away.
‘They even said they were going to sell them to a high-class brothel for a very good price.’
‘Needless to say, you’re selling people again to raise tuition money for my two cousins. How wonderful! This time you’ve finally come to your senses and are selling your own daughters.’
As she spoke, Wen Ye looked genuinely happy for them and even patted Luo Shi on the shoulder.
‘Second Aunt is so good to Eldest Aunt. Not only did she solve Eldest Cousin’s tuition problem, but she also found such a wonderful “husband’s family” for Eldest Cousin Sister in the brothel. In the future, she’ll eat and drink well and even sleep very comfortably.’
The moment these words fell, it was as though thunder had struck.
The entire courtyard was stunned into silence.
The villagers all gaped.
The daughters of the first and second branches were being sent to a brothel?
Heavens!
Since they were all fellow villagers… should they… support Wen Mei and Wen Liyue’s future business?
‘You shameless bitch! You actually dared to sell my daughter! I’ll kill you!’ Luo Shi’s eyes were already bloodshot as she clawed at Mrs. Fang’s face.
‘Ahhh!’ Several bloody scratches instantly appeared on Mrs. Fang’s face.
She cried out in pain.
‘Have I gone crazy? Why would I sell my own daughter? The ones I wanted to sell were—’
She suddenly realized what she had said and immediately shut her mouth.
But the people of the third branch and the villagers weren’t fools. And with her previous offenses, everyone stared at her and gasped.
‘So, Second Aunt, the people you intended to sell were my elder sister and me, right?’ Wen Ye’s lips curled into a cold, mocking smile.
‘I knew it. Second Aunt personally made lunch. She prepared chive pancakes for my sister and me, and pickled vegetable pancakes for Wen Liyue and the others.
‘If Wen Liyue hadn’t insisted on swapping food with us, the ones who fainted would’ve been my sister and me. The ones sold to traffickers would’ve been us!’
‘And I was wondering why Grandma suddenly agreed to divide the family and even give us one mu of land. So it was all to deceive us!’
Lin Shi and Wen Lao San also felt as if their minds had exploded.
They looked at Old Madam Wen in complete disbelief.
Especially Wen Lao San, who looked as though he might collapse at any moment.
Yesterday, he had still wanted to believe the second branch’s talk of misunderstandings and hoped the family could remain harmonious.
But now it felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, chilling him to the bone.
He was utterly disappointed.
His heart had gone cold.
With tears in his voice, Wen Lao San said,
‘Mother, Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law… why would you do this to us?’
Trembling, Lin Shi pulled Wen Ye and Wen Lan into her arms, too frightened to even speak.
So close.
Just a little more, and her two daughters would have been sold into a brothel.
‘Too cruel! Selling your nieces, and to a brothel this time!’ the villagers said disdainfully as they stared at the second branch.
‘Pah! How can there be such a vicious aunt in this world?’
The villagers’ accusations came one after another, practically breaking the backs of Old Madam Wen and the second branch with shame.
‘I didn’t! I didn’t sell anyone!’ Mrs. Fang hurriedly denied it.
‘It was her! Wen Ye! Yes, it must have been her! She knocked Liyue and the others unconscious and sold them to the traffickers! That’s right! That’s exactly what happened!’
As she spoke, her tone suddenly changed. She immediately tried to shift the blame and pointed at Wen Ye, screaming hysterically.
‘Wen Ye, you’re so vicious at such a young age! You trafficked people! Tell me where Liyue is right now! Otherwise, I’ll report you to the authorities! I’ll accuse you of selling your own cousin! You’ll spend the rest of your life in prison!’
Wen Ye laughed coldly.
‘Oh? Your skill at throwing blame onto others is truly remarkable. Go ahead! Report me! I’d be delighted.
‘I heard the county magistrate of Sheng’an County is an upright official. Things aren’t decided just because you say so.
‘When the time comes, the authorities can investigate the pharmacy in town and see whether you bought sleeping drugs. They can also question the broker house and find out whether you hired those men, whether you took the money, and whether you signed the contract to sell people.
‘You won’t be able to deny any of it.’
Hearing this, Mrs. Fang’s eyes widened in terror, and the hand pointing at Wen Ye trembled uncontrollably.
She had only been trying to scare Wen Ye, taking advantage of her being an ignorant country girl who supposedly knew nothing about the law.
Who would have thought that this damned girl actually understood how reporting to the authorities worked?