After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Seeing her pitiful state was truly heartbreaking and brought tears to the eyes of anyone who heard about it.

Everyone kept urging them to go back to the village and find a solution, saying that the child might still be there.

Mr. and Mrs. Ruan wanted to deny it, but they knew that the two of them couldn't possibly cause trouble in Xiaogang Village. Rather, the women they knew wouldn't lie to them, so they could only slink back home.

They searched their own village again, but the result was the same: nothing was found.

At this point, the couple had a vague suspicion.

"Honey, do you think that brat Haizhu might have secretly run off with a nobleman?" Mother Ruan asked, her face pale.

This was the outcome she least wanted to accept, as it meant she would lose everything and gain nothing.

Mr. Ruan's face was also ashen, and he sat silently in the courtyard, lost in thought.

Seeing his reaction, Ruan's mother couldn't hold back her tears and burst into sobs.

Her daughter's dowry, her money, just like that, gone!

The convoy continued onward, aiming to enter the pastoral area before nightfall.

No matter how ambitious Ruan Haizhu was, she was still just a young girl. Once she left Qiongzi, all that was left in her heart was fear. Even though she had walked all day and could no longer walk, she dared not stop to rest, for fear that if she rested, she would be left behind by the caravan and left to face the vast grassland alone.

That would be tantamount to suicide.

Seeing the convoy stop, Ruan Haizhu couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She staggered towards the convoy, looked hesitantly at the bodyguards, and mustered her courage to speak, "Could I ask you for some food?"

She didn't think much when she left home. After walking all day, she had run out of food and was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty.

The bodyguard couldn't understand what she was saying, so he explained the situation to Su Tai.

Su Tai asked Yu Mei and a young woman who knew Ruan Haizhu to go and negotiate with her.

The two approached Ruan Haizhu.

Ruan Haizhu didn't know Yu Mei, but she knew Ruan Fang. She immediately grabbed Ruan Fang's hand and kept saying, "Sister Fang, I'm out of food and water. Could you please ask the benefactor to give me some food and water?"

Ruan Fang glanced at Yu Mei, whose expression was indifferent, and hurriedly scolded, "Why are you running around like this? Is this a place for a little girl like you? What if something happens?"

Ruan Haizhu pouted stubbornly, "I just don't want to stay in the village and be married off by my parents so easily. I want to leave; this is my only chance."

"What a load of bull!" Ruan Fang poked Ruan Haizhu's head hard, scolding her angrily, "Everyone is forced to sell themselves because they can't survive. You have parents and brothers, why don't you just live a peaceful life? Why do you have to make such a fuss! Selling yourself is like being someone's slave, what good can that be? Hurry up, go back tomorrow!"

Ruan Haizhu shook her head frantically, "I don't want to! I don't want to go back! My parents will break my legs if I go back, and I've been walking for a whole day. I don't even know the way back. Sister Fang, please beg this benefactor for me, please let him take me in, okay?"

Ruan Fang's face changed drastically, and she hurriedly backed away, "Don't hurt me! I'm just a servant, let alone plead for you, I can't even protect myself."

She sold herself into servitude along with her eight-year-old daughter, and even for her daughter's sake, she couldn't care less about Ruan Haizhu.

Ruan Haizhu burst into tears, "You don't care about me at all, what am I supposed to do?"

"Who told you to be so willful! You made this mess, so you have to clean it up yourself. We really can't handle this anymore!" Ruan Fang was both scared and angry. She secretly glanced at Yu Mei, who had no expression on her face, and asked anxiously, "Sister Yu Mei, what should we do about her situation?"

Ruan Haizhu followed Ruan Fang's gaze to Yu Mei, who was dressed appropriately, her eyes filled with envy.

Yu Mei didn't miss the naked greed and desire in her eyes, and turned and left without a word.

"What does she mean?" Ruan Haizhu asked anxiously.

Ruan Fang shook her head, her face pale, and dared not pay any more attention to Ruan Haizhu. She jogged to catch up with Yu Mei. Yu Mei came into the carriage and angrily reported to Su Tai, "Madam, that Ruan Haizhu is a nuisance. We can't keep her here. But she has already come here with us. If we rush back and something happens, it could cost a life. If we take her with us, we're afraid she'll entangle us."

She never imagined that a little girl could be so bold.

Madam Xu was furious. "Go back and talk to those people carefully. If they are like that Ruan Haizhu, we will not let them off easily."

Yu Mei nodded repeatedly.

Su Tai chuckled calmly, "It's alright, just ignore her."

"But she has no money, no food or drink, and she looks like she's trying to cling to us." That's what bothers Yu Mei.

Su Tai summoned the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) and gave him a few instructions.

The head镖师 immediately followed Yu Mei to see Ruan Haizhu.

The镖头 (bodyguard) would say a sentence, and Ruan Haizhu would translate it.

“This is the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) of the caravan. My wife is the employer and paid them to protect you. You are seeking the protection of the镖局 (escort agency), which has nothing to do with us. If you have any questions, talk to the head镖师 yourself.”

Yu Mei's words plunged Ruan Haizhu's heart into despair. She wanted to ask Ruan Fang to plead for her, but Ruan Fang had disappeared.

Facing the tall, imposing, and stern-faced head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), she dared not be presumptuous at all, and asked in a trembling voice, "I...I want to go to Langya Kingdom with you. I have no food or drink."

The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) frowned and complained unhappily, "Why are you asking us if we haven't brought you anything? I'm in business, I need money!"

Yu Mei translated his words.

Ruan Haizhu was so frightened that she cried.

The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) got even angrier and yelled a couple of times.

Ruan Haizhu immediately stopped crying.

Yu Mei said, "The head镖师 means that you can follow them. If you don't have money, you have to work for them. When you get to Langya Kingdom, you have to work at the镖局 (escort agency) until you pay off all the money you owe before you can leave."

Ruan Haizhu opened her mouth, not very willing, but when she met the head镖师's face, she didn't dare to say anything and could only agree with tears in her eyes.

And so, Ruan Haizhu caught up with the convoy, but it had nothing to do with Su Tai.

Ruan Fang had been secretly keeping an eye on Ruan Haizhu's situation.

Seeing her being led away by the convoy, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, followed by curiosity.

When the caravan arrived at Bingyuan Town, they happened to catch up with Ke Dasong's family and many herdsmen setting off for Langya Kingdom to trade.

It's perfect that we can go together.

When Ke Dasong learned that Su Tai had bought more than thirty servants, he laughed heartily.

Ruan Fang and the others had never seen so many cattle and sheep before, and they were all stunned.

Not to mention Ruan Haizhu, in her eyes these were all valuable things. Looking at the houses and streets of Bingyuan Town, she became more and more convinced that leaving Qiongzi was the right thing to do. A beautiful person like her should not be trapped in a poor and backward seaside fishing village for the rest of her life.

Su Nizi brought her whole family over to talk to Su Tai, and also brought goat milk, cow milk and other food to the convoy.

When her gaze swept over Ruan Haizhu, Su Nizi glanced at her a few more times, unable to suppress her frown. (End of Chapter)