Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

After Uncle Li left, Tao'er decided not to stay there any longer.

She had to take her two children back to Xinghua Village in Taoyuan County, which was the original owner's hometown.

I don't know what awaits me when I get back there.

She didn't know much about the original owner's family situation.

The original owner's parents only entered her dreams in the last two days.

No matter what, she has to go; it will be a relatively safe place.

She didn't want to live a life of hiding.

Tao'er made a decision and went to the landlord to cancel the lease, canceling the leases for both courtyards.

After packing her things, the next day she rented a long-distance carriage, choosing a relatively good and sturdy one.

It's over a thousand kilometers from here to Taoyuan County; it would take two months to travel that way.

The car rental cost ten taels, and the coachman's wages were agreed to be three taels of silver.

Tao'er secretly told the coachman to give him five taels of silver and to tell him not to rush when driving and to choose a good route.

The driver, naturally delighted to receive an extra two taels of silver, agreed.

They did their best along the way, and Tao'er and the others did not suffer any hardship.

Those two taels of silver were well worth it.

"Young lady, we've reached Wangou Town. Would you like to rest and feed the horses?"

The coachman, Old Zhang, spoke from outside the curtain, his voice hoarse from the dust of his journey.

Tao'er agreed, looked down at the two children, and gently pinched Ayan and Huanhuan's cheeks: "Ayan, Huanhuan, wake up, we're in town. I'll buy you candied hawthorns later."

Ayan and Huanhuan opened their eyes groggily, and their eyes lit up as soon as they heard the words "candied hawthorn," and they immediately sat up straight.

The carriage slowly drove into the town entrance. Shops lined both sides of the bluestone road, selling steamed buns and cakes, blacksmiths and pedicurists, and selling cloth and rouge, with shouts rising and falling.

Tao'er asked Old Zhang to park the car in front of a noodle shop, thinking she would eat something hot to fill her stomach first, and then feed the horse some hay to continue her journey.

She got off the car first, then turned around and carried Huanhuan down. Ayan didn't want to be carried, so he slid down the car shaft by himself, staggering a bit when he landed, but he had a smile on his face.

"Boss, four bowls of plain noodles, with meat, and an extra poached egg for each person."

Tao'er found a spot by the street and sat down, placing the two children beside her.

The noodles were served steaming hot, and Huanhuan ate them with her mouth full of oil. Ayan also ate heartily, not forgetting to give Huanhuan the fried egg from his bowl.

Huanhuan grinned, revealing two missing front teeth, and said in a childish voice, "Brother Yan, I don't want one, I have one..."

"Ayan, you eat it yourself. Huanhuan can't eat that much at once."

Tao'er felt a warm glow in her heart and said with a smile.

Only then did Ayan take the fried egg that Huanhuan had given him and eat it.

After finishing her noodles, Tao'er put down her chopsticks and the money.

"Uncle Zhang, have you eaten?"

"Now that we've eaten, let's continue our journey."

Tao'er looked at Old Zhang.

Old Zhang nodded. "Young lady, I'm full. We can continue our journey now."

Tao'er got up, preparing to leave with the children.

Suddenly, a commotion came from the other end of the street.

Let me go!

Let me go!

I said I would only sell myself as a slave, not as a concubine or a maid!

You bunch of thugs and hooligans!

The woman's voice was urgent and angry, with a sob in it, like a small animal driven to the brink of despair, its throat hoarse from screaming.

Then came a flurry of footsteps and men’s laughter, mixed with the sounds of flesh being roughly torn.

Tao looked up and gazed at the other end of the street.

A large crowd had gathered under the old locust tree at the entrance of town. In the crowd, a young woman dressed in coarse linen clothes was being pulled by four or five burly men who looked like servants.

The woman was tall and thin, with black cloth strips wrapped around her arms and a white silk flower in her hair, clearly indicating that she had recently lost a family member.

She struggled desperately, her face full of anger, her eyes bloodshot, and her eyelids swollen.

At this moment, a young man with a lewd look walked over and slapped the woman across the face amidst the chaos.

"You shameless woman, you don't know what's good for you!"

I'm doing you a disservice by making you my concubine.

Don't refuse a polite toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!

"Pah, you filthy scoundrel!"

"I don't care!"

The woman spat and cursed.

"Someone's been assaulted! Someone's been assaulted!" someone whispered.

Shh! Keep your voice down!

That's the eldest son of the Zhao family, we can't afford to offend him!

Tao'er squinted at the man standing to the side, fanning himself with a folding fan; the man seemed to float on air.

The man was about twenty years old, wearing a long brocade robe embroidered with large peony flowers.

She wore several jade pendants and sachets around her waist, exuding wealth and nobility, yet she had a rather bland face.

He has triangular eyes, a hooked nose, and lips as thin as blades; his smile only makes people feel cold.

He glanced at the struggling woman as if she were a desirable piece of merchandise, his eyes filled with a greedy determination to possess her.

"It's your good fortune that I've taken a liking to you."

What an ungrateful wretch!

Young Master Zhao snapped his folding fan shut, strolled over leisurely, and used the fan to lift the woman's chin.

"Your father is dead, what can an orphan like you do?"

Selling oneself into slavery?

"Hmph, come to my manor as a concubine, you'll eat and drink the finest food, isn't that better than you showing your face in public outside?"

"Pah!" The woman spat in his face.

Young Master Zhao's expression changed drastically; his smile froze on his face, then turned ashen.

He wiped the spittle off his face with his sleeve, his voice squeezed out through clenched teeth: "You're asking for it!"

Men, drag her back!

"I'm going to take care of this tonight!"

Four or five servants responded in unison, rushing forward and grabbing at the woman's arms and hair.

Tao'er thought to herself that this woman was probably going to suffer a loss; no matter what she did, she couldn't possibly fight off several grown men!

More and more people gathered to watch, but no one stepped forward.

Some people turned their faces away, not daring to look; some sighed softly; and some quickly walked away with their children, afraid of getting into trouble.

A few others, eager for a good show, craned their necks and watched with great interest, holding sunflower seeds in their hands.

"This is so unfair!"

Ayan clenched his little fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Two flames danced in his bright eyes.

Huanhuan's little face turned bright red with anger, her cheeks puffed out, making her look just like a little pufferfish.

The little girl clutched Tao'er's sleeve, tugged at it hard, and pointed to the other end of the street, "Sister Tao'er, that sister is so pitiful..."

Save... her

The two of them turned to look at Tao'er, their four eyes sparkling with anticipation.