Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 347 Chance of Survival
People like Granny Jiang usually wander around the streets, doing shady things for wealthy people. They are well aware of the dangers involved, so they secretly collect secrets that they can use to save their lives in critical moments.

Besides, she brought many of those women with her, and she knew perfectly well where they ended up.

This is why officials look down on merchants. The people working for merchants are different from those working for officials. Merchants win their masters' favor through cleverness and quick wit, and are inevitably too cunning. With a little money and some trickery, they can easily find out information. On the other hand, officials care most about rules and regulations. It is not easy to find secrets in families with strict rules.

Granny Jiang had spent a lot of money on the steward of the He family, and now it was finally coming in handy.

Furthermore, Granny Jiang was very clever; she knew how to understand this young lady's thoughts. If the young lady came from an official family, then she was most afraid of being held accountable.

If the lady's status were even higher... she would be royalty. The fact that the He family sold people to barbarians should have caught her attention.
Granny Jiang wasn't just making wild guesses; based on what this woman had shown, she would believe that she was a member of the royal family.

"Keep your head down, don't let anyone see your face."

Mother Yu gave the order coldly, and Granny Jiang, who was standing next to her, lowered her head even further.

Even while walking with her head down, Granny Jiang could still see what the village looked like. Things were scattered everywhere, and there was even an embroidered shoe lying across the steps.

The women screamed in alarm. Several people were lying on the ground, it was unclear whether they had been knocked unconscious or killed.

Some people cried, and some begged for mercy.

"We were tricked into coming here."

"They said they only watch wrestling."

"It was Granny Jiang who delivered the invitation to me. Where is that old woman?"

Grandma Jiang hid behind Mama Yu, afraid that someone would recognize her.

Some people are pretending to be stupid.

"What's going on? Why won't they let us leave? We're just delivering food to the village."

"Look, those pastries are from my family's shop."

"There must be a mistake."

"Ouch, don't grab me."

Groups of two or three people were being driven into the courtyard.

Granny Jiang also saw the constables pass by them. Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her throat, but for some reason, the constables seemed not to see them at all and let them go.

After stepping out of the courtyard, Granny Jiang raised her head slightly and noticed that someone had been clearing the way for her; they were clearly people from the government office.

The back door was opened, and a carriage was parked there.

Granny Jiang followed the woman in front of her out of the manor gate and helped her into the carriage.

Once the stewardess bent down and entered the carriage, the carriage began to move forward.

Grandma Jiang felt like she was dreaming. She never imagined that she would actually get out and escape. Her nose tingled, and tears streamed down her face.

She saw with her own eyes that no other carriage left the village besides theirs.

The lady's identity is indeed extraordinary.

Unseen by Granny Jiang, a lifelike flower, a combination of dogwood and jade plum, hung on the carriage. It was through this flower that Wang Yan's men found Xie Yuyan's house and personally led them away from the estate.

Granny Jiang knew nothing of this, thanks to the extraordinary status of the woman before her.

What the He family couldn't do, this woman could do with ease. Granny Jiang thought she understood all this and relied on this woman wholeheartedly.

After the carriage had traveled some distance, Granny Jiang knelt before Xie Yuyan again: "Thank you, Madam."

Xie Yuyan waved his hand: "Do you know that you deserve half the credit for what happened today? If they are all sent to prison... if you want to get away with it, you need to have some merit to back you up."

Granny Jiang could imagine how much the merchants in Bianjing resented her. Even if she managed to escape this time, those people would probably still want to kill her.

That's why she should try to get close to this woman and find herself a stronger backer.

But the woman still didn't reveal her identity, clearly indicating that she didn't trust her enough.

Xie Yuyan looked at Granny Jiang: "You said they sold the women to the Northwest? Where exactly? To the Northwest border, or to the hands of the barbarians?"

Granny Jiang hurriedly said, "Yes... barbarians... many people were taken away and headed northwest through Daming Prefecture. Last winter, something happened in Daming Prefecture, and that road was cut off, so the He family ended up with a lot of women."

Xie Yuyan then asked, "Where did those women come from?"

"It was...it was bought." After saying this, Granny Jiang keenly sensed that the old woman in front of her was very dissatisfied.

“There are also those who are kidnapped,” Granny Jiang quickly added, “like… Feng Erniang who came on stage today, she was kidnapped by the He family.”

"Feng Erniang and her brother went to the capital to sue the He family. After the He family found out, they arrested the two of them. There were many such cases. Women like Feng Erniang, who were somewhat beautiful, would be temporarily kept. But men like her brother were different. I heard that they were imprisoned by the He family in another manor. Those who were taken to that manor never returned."

Xie Yuyan asked, "Do you know where that estate is?"

Granny Jiang shook her head: "I haven't been there, but I've heard rumors that there are two most likely estates, one outside the south city and the other outside the east city. The He family has many secrets hidden in these two estates."

After Granny Jiang finished speaking, the carriage stopped, and Xie Yuyan lifted the curtain. Soon, someone came forward.

Xie Yuyan asked Granny Jiang to repeat what she had just said, and the man immediately urged his horse to leave.

Granny Jiang stared blankly at Xie Yuyan, feeling even more bewildered. What on earth was this lady doing?
Xie Yuyan said, "You say you know many people's secrets? Tell me about them."

……

Inside Zhuangzi.

Feng Erniang was knocked to the ground. She tried to get up again, but when she opened her eyes, the world spun around her. She knew this time it might not be over; that woman, Nüzhan, would soon come and kill her.

But Nüzhan was late in arriving. Instead, she heard the sound of drums, and then her heart, which had gradually fallen into a state of death, slowly came back to life.

She slowly raised her head and stumbled to her feet again.

This should be her last chance.

She watched as the woman approached, but... the expected fight didn't happen. Suddenly, the surroundings fell into a deathly silence. When she looked around again, she found a group of people dressed in government uniforms.

What happened next felt like a dream.

Feng Erniang was helped down from the stage and taken into a room where someone fed her water and checked her injuries.

Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the door in front of her was kicked open, and someone approached her with a sharp weapon, but was subdued by the constables protecting her.

Feng Erniang finally realized the situation. She grabbed the constable beside her and cried out, "Injustice! I want to sue the He family! I was kidnapped by them! Please, Your Honor, save my brother! My brother is still in their hands, as are Brother Guo and Brother Guo the Second..."

After saying this, Feng Erniang excitedly tried to get up, but everything went black and she collapsed softly.