Transmigrated into the Scum Female Consort - Chapter 23

Ye Xuejin silently clenched her fingers, feeling very unsettled. She had never imagined that such a vicious group of people existed on the land of the Great Shao Kingdom, and she dared not think how many more innocent people had been harmed, or how many women were trapped in the mire.

What exactly were the local officials doing? How could they be so negligent and derelict in their duties?

Seeing her somber expression, Yun Chi sighed inwardly and squeezed her hand.

Ye Xuejin paused, then relaxed her fingers: “I am fine. Their names are very pleasing.”

Yun Chi nodded immediately: “I think so too. Shi Niang was thoughtful; their personalities truly match their respective names.”

Shi Mei (Ten Plums) is resilient, Shi Lan (Ten Orchids) is reserved, Shi Zhu (Ten Bamboos) is humble, Shi Ju (Ten Chrysanthemums) is steady, and Shi Song (Ten Pines) is the most courageous.

Ye Xuejin involuntarily glanced in the direction Shi Niang had left, deep in thought.

Shi Niang had left with Yu Lu because Magistrate Cai of Zhenshan County had extended a warm invitation, specifically requesting that Yu Lu bring a female representative to act as the women’s core liaison.

Upon hearing this request, Yu Lu inexplicably felt a sense of foreboding. Out of caution, he decided to bring Shi Niang along. Firstly, they needed to stay in this place for a night, and it was unwise to offend Magistrate Cai lest it cause more trouble. Secondly, Shi Niang came from a security escort agency (a biao ju), was well-traveled, and highly skilled in martial arts, allowing her to handle many unexpected situations.

In the back courtyard of the County Yamen.

Magistrate Cai toasted Yu Lu and the others, hinting suggestively: “Escorting exiled prisoners is arduous work, especially when going to the barren land of Nanjiang. It hasn’t happened for many years. Brother Yu looks like a man who can handle big things; why not lead your brothers to make a sudden fortune?”

Yu Lu, confused, asked, “What does Master Cai mean by that?”

Magistrate Cai clapped his hands, and the secretary opened a box next to him and placed it on the table.

Inside the square wooden box were four neat rows of gold ingots, appearing to be at least several hundred taels (a unit of weight).

Hundreds of taels of gold offered in one go—Yu Lu’s heart jumped twice. “What is your intention, Master Cai?”

Magistrate Cai smiled: “To be honest with you, Brother Yu, everything is good in our Zhenshan County, and most newborns here are male infants. As time goes by, many young men worry about not being able to find a wife.”

Having said this, he purposefully glanced at Shi Niang, his gaze carrying a hidden assessment.

Shi Niang felt uncomfortable under his stare, put down her chopsticks, and lowered her head, restraining herself.

Yu Lu noticed his gaze, and his sense of unease grew significantly. He also put down his chopsticks.

“Master Cai, please speak plainly.”

Magistrate Cai retracted his gaze: “It’s simple. As long as Brother Yu agrees to leave the female dependents in Zhenshan County, this gold is just an appetizer—there are main courses to come later.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Lu completely lost his appetite, and his expression turned cold: “Master Cai must be drunk. If this official were to handle the task in such a way, how could I account for it to my superiors?”

He did not want to cause trouble, but he would not shy away from it either.

Magistrate Cai continued to smile: “Don’t be so anxious, Brother Yu. As long as there’s no issue on your end, everything else can be managed. If you continue south, the forests are deep and old, and accidents happen often.”

The implication was that he could help cover up the deed, framing the women’s disappearance as an accident.

Yu Lu immediately stood up: “I will pretend I never heard a word of what Master Cai said. I take my leave.”

“Wait.” Magistrate Cai spoke to stop him, smiling warmly at Shi Niang: “Brother Yu is unaware of the hardships. Why should this young lady give up a life of wealth and comfort, and insist on going to that savage place in Nanjiang?”

The underlying meaning was, what if the women themselves were unwilling to continue suffering and wished to stay?

“Master Cai need not bother. If this official does not agree, no one is to be left behind.” Yu Lu finished speaking, gave Shi Niang a meaningful look, and turned to leave.

Magistrate Cai did not object this time, only dismissing the smile from his lips.

“My lord, the gang from the Mao Family Village missed their delivery date and haven’t sent word yet—perhaps something has happened,” the secretary said while pouring him wine, adding, “This subordinate secretly looked, and the female dependents in this group are all top-quality merchandise. Are we really letting them go just like that?”

Magistrate Cai slowly picked up his wine cup: “You don’t understand. We must let them go. The farther they go, the better.”

The secretary was surprised, as his master did not seem like a man who possessed a conscience.

A look of certainty flashed in Magistrate Cai’s eyes. Thinking of the Princess who was also among the exiled group, he happily hummed a tune.

On the road, Yu Lu said with a heavy heart: “Shi Niang, this is not a place to stay long.”

Shi Niang glanced at the sky: “You want to leave tonight?”

“It never hurts to be prepared for the unexpected,” Yu Lu turned. “You return to the yiguan (official inn) first. I will go to the Yamen to have the documents verified, and we will discuss this later tonight.”

The documents for escorting prisoners had to be checked upon entering and verified upon leaving a city for passage.

Meanwhile, Shi Niang hurried back to the yiguan. As soon as she entered the door, someone tugged at her sleeve.

“Shi Niang, I have something to tell you privately.”

“What is it?” Shi Niang retreated outside the door.

Shi Ju tightly held her sleeve: “Just now, some constables came to deliver wine, and I saw one of them who had been to the dungeon in the Mao Family Village.”

Her parents had died young, leaving only her and her younger brother, so she had taken charge of the household early on and had always been of a steady disposition. They had passed through Mao Family Village when she was accompanying her brother to take the imperial examination. Unexpectedly, she had lost her only relative ever since.

“You are certain you saw correctly?” Shi Niang was greatly alarmed.

Shi Ju affirmed resolutely: “I could never be mistaken.”

She would forever remember the faces of those men and the days of endless torment.

Shi Niang’s heart sank: “I understand. You did very well. Do not tell the others yet.”

She had also noticed when she entered the room that the other four girls likely did not know about this yet. Otherwise, they would not be as steady as Shi Ju and would surely have shown panic.

Shi Ju nodded. The sisters had just escaped from the tiger’s mouth and could not withstand another shock in such a short time.

“Go inside and wait. Don’t worry,” Shi Niang patted her shoulder and went directly to the yiguan‘s main gate. The moment Yu Lu returned, she told him about Shi Ju’s discovery.

“…Master Yu, your intuition was correct. We cannot stay here.”

Yu Lu had heard about the Mao Family Village incident on the night of their first encounter, which was why he had agreed to take the women with them. Now, learning that the Mao Family Village was colluding with the Zhenshan County Yamen, and recalling Magistrate Cai’s demeanor, he understood everything.

No wonder the people of Mao Family Village dared to commit such monstrous evil—it was not that the superiors were negligent, but that they were in cahoots with them.

Immediately, Yu Lu dared not hesitate any longer: “We must leave now.” They had to seize the opportunity while the city gates were not yet closed and before night had fallen.

He would rather take everyone to make do in the wilderness than risk this one night’s comfort.

“I will go call them,” Shi Niang thought, realizing she must find an opportunity to send a message back to the capital, urging the eldest Miss and the Master to quickly send people to overthrow this corrupt and filthy Zhenshan County Yamen.

Inside the room, Yun Chi was stunned upon hearing that they would not be spending the night in the city. She had just finished tidying up the floor pallet, and had barely lain down.

Seeing everyone looking bewildered, Shi Niang urged: “Hurry and pack! We must leave the yiguan within a quarter of an hour.”

Seeing that the decision was final, everyone quickly gathered their belongings.

Fortunately, their departure from the city was smooth. The group had not gone far when the city gate closed with a great boom behind them.

Ye Xuejin turned back in astonishment, pausing to look behind her.

Yun Chi asked in confusion, “What is the matter?”

Ye Xuejin slightly frowned: “The city gate closed too early.”

Yu Lu, who happened to overhear this, quickly asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Ye Xuejin calmly explained: “There is a clear regulation in this Dynasty: the time for closing city gates in autumn is Xū-zhèng (the middle of the Xū hour).”

(Xū-zhèng: Eight o’clock in the evening)

But it was only Yǒu-chū (the beginning of the Yǒu hour) now, which was still an hour and a half before Xū-zhèng.

Yu Lu’s expression instantly changed. His first reaction was that they had fallen into a trap.

Seeing his expression, Ye Xuejin silently squeezed Yun Chi’s hand, signaling her to ask Shi Niang what had happened. Judging by Yu Lu’s look, something they did not know about must have occurred that afternoon.