Exile? A mad, wicked woman empties the national treasury to escape famine.

Ji Yunshu remained silent, but inwardly she couldn't help but grumble.

She didn't know what exactly she was going to do before, but now she does.

Connecting the words of these people with those from the house earlier, she had only one thought in her mind: these people were trying to recruit them; the men were hard to say, but the women were probably going to work in the sex trade.

These people are incredibly audacious, living far from the emperor's reach, openly running illegal shops and kidnapping people to do these kinds of shady things.

Are all the officials in the Northwest just sitting around doing nothing?

Or are these people really that clever, specifically targeting out-of-towners like them?

After about an incense stick's time, the procession gradually slowed down, and the innkeeper's voice could be heard from the front of the procession:

"Alright, stop for now. Bring all the boats over and throw everyone off the carts onto the boats one by one! Send two more people to inform the front that we've returned with a large cargo!"

After the innkeeper finished speaking, a waiter walked excitedly to the front:

"I...I...Second Brother, I'll go tell Eldest Brother!"

This is a lucrative job! He's hauled such a huge load this time, he'll make a lot of money. Maybe the boss will reward him with some cash if he's in a good mood!

This kind of exposure is a golden opportunity for anyone to take!

The innkeeper glanced at him and waved his hand happily:

"Alright, alright, you go ahead, but hurry up and get them to vacate the space!"

The waiter nodded, and without wasting any more time, he pulled over a small boat from the side, jumped onto it with a thud, picked up a bamboo pole, and propelled the boat away into the distance.

The others stayed where they were, moving the people from the carts one by one onto the large boat.

The large ships are not large; each ship can only accommodate a dozen or so people.

The total number of people here filled four or five boats.

Ji Yunshu and Xie Moyao were lucky; they were still thrown onto the same boat. Looking at the actions of everyone around them, the two began to mutter to themselves:

"Mo Yao, it seems we guessed right. The people in these inns are the same group as those in that house before."

Upon hearing this, Xie Moyao, who was lying next to Ji Yunshu, nodded, his expression solemn:

"Yes, I could tell from their words and actions that quite a few people on the ship that rescued my second sister-in-law were taken to other places."

Now we've been dragged onto the ship too. From what they've said, they're going to send us out as well. If nothing unexpected happens, they're going to take us to join the others from before.

Ji Yunshu nodded, recalling the Chen family member who had been sent into the space.

She leaned close to Xie Moyao and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Well, now that we've confirmed they're in cahoots, we need to figure out exactly what they're up to."

"Anyway, we're on the boat now and won't be reaching the shore anytime soon. Keep an eye on things for me while I go into my spatial dimension to ask my second sister-in-law if she's heard anything."

"Okay, go ahead."

Xie Moyao shared the same idea.

Ji Yunshu glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to her, then with a thought, she flashed into the space.

At that time, Chen was already resting in the space.

She was exhausted from the night's ordeal, so she washed up early and found a room to rest. Ji Yunshu used her mind to enter the space and searched several rooms before finally finding Chen's figure.

Seeing that she was beginning to show signs of waking up, Ji Yunshu withdrew her thoughts.

Once she was sure no one was paying attention to her, she turned and went into the space.

In the pitch-black night.

Apart from the occasional torches held by a few people illuminating the surroundings, no one else could see Ji Yunshu, who had vanished without a trace.

Inside the space, Ji Yunshu went straight to Chen's bedside. Chen had just woken up and, seeing Ji Yunshu enter, quickly sat up and asked about the situation outside:

"How are things? Are Mother and Sister-in-law alright outside? Why did you come in at a time like this? Shouldn't they be sleeping?"

When Ji Yunshu parted ways with her, he said he was going out to rest. Although she couldn't see for many hours, judging from the sky outside and the time he disappeared, it should be midnight both inside and outside the space.

What is Ji Yunshu doing coming in at this time?

Ji Yunshu didn't waste any words and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Chen Shi:

"Second sister-in-law, Mother and eldest sister-in-law are alright, but not long after we returned to the inn, we discovered that they had been drugged. Apart from Mo Yao and me, everyone else is now unconscious."

Mo Yao and I deduced that the people who drugged us were probably the same group that kidnapped you. Right now, everyone has been dragged onto several boats, and judging from the looks of it, they're probably planning to take us somewhere.

When I rescued you before, I think I brought you back from the ship, Second Sister-in-law. You had a lot of contact with them, so could you tell what these people were trying to do?

Upon hearing this, Madam Chen frowned, carefully recalling what had happened after she was kidnapped by Da Hu and Er Hu.

After a moment, she shook her head: "I've already told you what I know. I know they kidnapped us and want to take us to a place. If I'm not mistaken, it should be a brothel. As for the men, they didn't say for sure, but I heard they're going to send the men to work, like digging something somewhere."

They were being very cryptic, and I couldn't understand what they were digging for, but the only thing I was sure of was that what they were digging for was probably quite valuable.

Ji Yunshu nodded; he had also noticed what Chen had mentioned.

After confirming that there was no further news from the Chen family, he left the space. Outside the space, several small boats were still drifting on the river.

Not long after, Ji Yunshu and Xie Moyao could vaguely see some lights on the riverbank across the river.

It's the middle of the night, so even a small light is quite noticeable.

Ji Yunshu quickly said to Xie Moyao beside her, "It seems we're almost there. Do you recognize this place?"

After traveling such a long waterway, where did these people take them?

Xie Moyao subtly glanced around, then shook his head after a moment:

"No, when I came to the Northwest, I never traveled by water."

Hearing this, Ji Yunshu didn't say anything more. The map Xie Moyao gave him indeed didn't have any waterways.

As the two were talking, the boat had already docked.

The innkeeper stood there, his large belly protruding, grinning from ear to ear:

"Guards! Guards! Quickly, carry everyone down! Throw the men into the dungeon, and tie up all the women!"

Just then, a tall man with a long beard, a scar running across half his face, and a muscular physique walked towards them.

"Second brother, you're finally back! As soon as I heard the news, I cleaned up the village immediately!"

I heard you guys got a lot of stock this time. With the New Year approaching, that's wonderful! After we close this big deal, I'll definitely treat you all to a good meal!

"Okay, okay, thank you, big brother, thank you, big brother!"

"Thank you, brother! Thank you, brother!"

With the scarred man's words, everyone else became incredibly excited and worked even harder. One of them reached out a hand, grabbed the man's foot on the cart, lifted him up, and threw him off.