Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 392 Escape
Early in the morning, Xu Huaiyi led a group of constables out of the city and headed west.

Today he received a secret letter stating that a group of kidnappers were hiding in a manor in the west of the city, and that the kidnappers might leave Bianjing soon. He was asked to take men to investigate.

The note also emphasized that he should bring more men.

Ever since the Guo brothers submitted their lawsuits to Xu Huaiyi and were able to seek justice, Xu Huaiyi's reputation spread throughout the neighborhood. Every day, people would block the gate of the yamen to cry out for justice. At Xu Huaiyi's instruction, the yamen runners at the gate would not only refrain from intimidating or driving them away, but would also collect all the lawsuits from the aggrieved parties and deliver them to Xu Huaiyi's desk.

Before officially starting his day at the yamen, Xu Huaiyi went to the yamen to handle the documents, briefly understand the case details, and then hand them over to their respective departments. He would also inquire about the follow-up situation, which was a way of taking responsibility for these aggrieved parties.

When he saw the letter exposing the whereabouts of the kidnappers, he was truly shocked.

Most of the women found in Hejiazhuang were kidnapped and sold into slavery. When Xu Huaiyi wanted to continue investigating, he ran out of clues and didn't know how those women got to Bianjing or who transported them.

The trafficking network cannot be eradicated completely; they have only rescued a few women. Those who engage in trafficking can simply move to another place and find another merchant to continue their business.

Xu Huaiyi also knew that it would be difficult for them to completely stop these things on their own, but by investigating more cases and deterring those people, fewer women would be harmed.

Thinking of this, Xu Huaiyi immediately made a decision to lead his men to that manor. Even if the letter writer was lying, he would only be wasting his time. What if the letter was true and he didn't take it seriously? Wouldn't he miss the clues?

Xu Huaiyi took all the men he could mobilize and quietly approached the manor. Once outside the manor, he did not go directly to the door, but instead ordered his subordinates to gather information.

The head constable following Xu Huaiyi whispered, "The farmers around here say that the owner of this estate is surnamed Li, and one of his female relatives is a Shuren (a title bestowed by the imperial court)."

Lady Li was granted the title of Shuren.

Xu Huaiyi immediately thought of the wife of the Minister of Justice.

The He family was able to act so arrogantly in Bianjing because of the Xia family's influence. However, Xia Mengxian was a third-rank official in the imperial court. Without solid evidence, the case could not be brought against the Xia family. Now that the Li family's estate has appeared, it seems to confirm that the letter was not unfounded.

Xu Huaiyi looked at the constable: "If you find anything suspicious, go to the county government immediately for help and ask them to send men over."

Just as the constable was about to respond, a commotion erupted from the village.

Xu Huaiyi frowned, and just then the constable who had gone out to investigate returned and said, "A fight has broken out on the estate."

“There are at least several dozen people on the estate. I’m afraid it will be difficult for us to take them all down.”

Those people fled in a desperate attempt to escape, and it's inevitable that some will slip through the net.

Xu Huaiyi immediately ordered someone to inform the yamen (government office) and have the yamen runners keep a close eye on the manor. They also secretly surrounded the manor.

If things proceeded as Xu Huaiyi had planned, everyone on the estate would surely have been brought to justice, but things can change in an instant.

When the constables inquired about the situation again, they discovered that many women were being held captive on the estate.

Xu Huaiyi had to change his mind and order his men to rescue the women first.

Once they break into the manor, the people inside will surely use these women's lives as leverage. Xu Huaiyi absolutely cannot allow anything to happen to those women.

The constables told Xu Huaiyi about the women's tragic situation.

"It looks like it's been locked up for a long time."

"Many people were lying on the ground, their fate unknown."

Not only that, the women were also barely clothed, and some were huddled in a corner trembling with fear.

“It’s difficult to rescue everyone without alerting the people at the manor,” the constable said. “Why don’t we wait for the officials to arrive before we act together?” Xu Huaiyi looked at the constable: “Are you afraid of failing to rescue anyone and being held accountable?”

The constable hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. They shouldn't have bypassed the county government to handle this matter; doing it well might not bring merit, but doing it poorly would certainly be a mistake.

Xu Huaiyi said, "The women inside are in danger of losing their lives at any moment. It's a matter of life and death, how can we be so quick to shirk responsibility? Just do it, and I'll take responsibility for any mistakes."

The constable was filled with shame and dared not say anything more. He hurriedly led his men into the manor and headed towards the cellar.

The guards outside the cellar were not there, and the constable broke the lock on the dungeon. He bent down and went inside, getting a clearer view of what was inside.

A stench hit my face.

The head constable instinctively covered his mouth and nose. The smell in the cellar was not only unpleasant, but also made it impossible to open his eyes.

When the women saw someone enter, some of them immediately shrank into a corner.

Some people remained where they were; some were dizzy and stared blankly at the crowd, while others were too weak to move at all.

There were several people on the ground, covered only by pieces of cloth, their bodies exposed underneath.

The head constable was horrified by what he saw. These women were clearly not being taken care of properly. Perhaps it was because the government had increased manpower and checkpoints both inside and outside Bianjing, making it difficult to transport the women out. Those who were watching over them simply ignored them, because they were determined to get rid of them eventually.

The head constable was certain that there was at least one corpse in the cellar; the stench of a dead body couldn't lie.

"Don't be afraid," the constable reassured the woman. "We are from the government office. We're here to get you out of here. Don't make any noise so as not to alert the people on the estate."

After the head constable finished speaking, he looked at the women in the corner. Those women still had the strength to walk, so he decided to send them out first.

The head constable reached out his hand to the woman: "Don't be afraid, we'll come over and help you now."

Even though the head constable spoke very softly, the women still hid behind him.

"Look at what we're wearing, isn't that the official uniform of the imperial court?" the head constable said, pulling out his waist token. "These are waist tokens issued by the imperial court; they won't lie."

This persuasion finally had an effect, and the women stared blankly at the head constable and the yamen runners.

Just then, shouts came from outside, and everyone looked out.

The constable guarding the door came in and reported, "The estate is on fire."

When the fire breaks out, the village will surely descend into chaos, providing the perfect opportunity to escape. The head constable instructed the constables, "There's no time to lose; quickly take the people out."

The head constable and the yamen runner each grabbed a woman, and the group walked out of the cellar. Just then, the yamen runner at the door noticed Steward Li hurrying towards them.

"Who..." Manager Li made a sound first, and then saw the situation in the cellar.

Upon seeing the constables, Manager Li's heart sank. Sure enough, the officials from the yamen had come. Cold sweat immediately streamed down Manager Li's forehead.

If he didn't come up with a plan, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to escape. In this critical moment, Manager Li looked at the women around the constables and shouted, "They're not constables, they're kidnappers in disguise! Run!"

Manager Li had already persuaded several women to join the Holy Church. The women naturally believed him without a doubt and immediately shook off the head constable and the yamen runners, trying to escape.

Some people, upon hearing the words "traffickers," simply rammed into the head constable.

The head constable and the yamen runners had not expected such a turn of events, and they immediately became flustered. Taking advantage of the situation, Steward Li escaped and ran out of the backyard.