Retribution! Wang Yongan remembered the courtroom where, after realizing he had betrayed him, Gao Jin said nothing. He only used his lips in the end to tell him about retribution.
Could this be retribution?
Wang Yongan’s mind was in turmoil. Although as the Saint says, a noble son does not speak of chaos or spirits. As a scholar and a man of integrity, how could he possibly curse others?
Yet the scene before him forced one to wonder.
While he was wrestling with his thoughts, the sound of the courtyard gate being burst open interrupted him, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps rushing toward the main house.
The door was flung open, and Lady Qian, with red eyes, burst in. She wasn’t crying, but her look at Wang Yongan was filled with hatred and disbelief for the first time!
Shopkeeper Qian and Mother Qian also followed inside, both with grim expressions.
Wang Yongan’s heart sank. "What’s wrong? Have you not found Jinchai?"
Lady Qian, trembling, pointed at Wang Yongan. "You... how cruel-hearted you are—"
Wang Yongan was stunned. "What do you mean? Out of the blue, you come running back just to accuse me, what is this about?"
"What is this about? Wang Yongan! Do you even have a conscience? Is your heart made of stone? Are you still human? Jinchai is your daughter, your own flesh and blood! How could you bear it?"
Lady Qian burst into tears.
She had gone out with her parents early that morning to look for the traffickers.
Finally, they found one. The trafficker had already prepared for the journey and was about to leave.
Jinchai was dressed in cotton clothes, her hair slickly tied into a bun. Despite her tender age, she looked prematurely aged and bitter, walking timidly at the back of the crowd.
Upon seeing her, Lady Qian’s tears could not be held back. "Jinchai—" she cried out as she rushed forward.
She was stopped midway by several burly men.
The traffickers, well-versed in such situations, had seen much more than a frail woman crying and throwing herself forward; they had even faced strong men coming to snatch people with knives.
The burly men displayed an impressive professional ethic, firmly preventing Lady Qian and her parents from getting close to Jinchai.
When Jinchai heard Lady Qian’s voice, she looked up, her eyes lighting up. She screamed at the top of her voice, "Mother, save me—save me—"
Lady Qian’s heart shattered. "Please, let go of my daughter—"
The burly men scoffed coldly. They were professional traffickers, not professional philanthropists. If they let someone go just because they were begged today, what would they do if another came crying tomorrow? Let them go as well?
Would they all go drink the northwest wind? They were fed up with these clueless people. Wasn’t every official servant someone who had once enjoyed wealth and nobility? Where were your tears when you relished that life?
So, they indifferently said, "Want to redeem someone? Go find our Eldest Brother!"
The trafficker, seeing business come to him, smiled broadly. Trafficking was all about buying and selling people, after all.
As long as he could sell and make money, that was what mattered.
Therefore, his manner was extremely friendly. "My dear sister, which one do you wish to redeem?" He hadn’t expected to close a deal before even leaving Qi City—things were looking good.
The trafficker was already thinking about whether to give them a discount later.
Lady Qian was crying so much she couldn’t speak; she just pointed at Jinchai silently.
It was Shopkeeper Qian who stepped forward with a forced smile. "We wish to redeem our granddaughter and take her back home, please do us this favor!"
The trafficker nodded. "Alright, alright. Which one is your granddaughter?"
He also heard that among the official servants being auctioned off this time, many were concubines once kept by the former County Magistrate, each one beautiful as a flower. Although they weren’t as valuable as maidens of marriageable age, if sold to other regions to become someone’s concubine, they’d still fetch a considerable price.
"It’s that one, the very last one, the petite and skinny one—" Shopkeeper Qian hurriedly nodded and bowed as he pointed.
The trafficker glanced over and saw a small maid at the very end of the line, not yet of age, petite and skinny but pretty. He didn’t look any further and assessed briefly, "Alright, thirty taels of silver then."
"What?" Shopkeeper Qian exclaimed in shock.
Thirty taels! In today’s world, buying a small maid like that would at most cost five or six taels of silver, even if one were splurging.
Asking thirty taels right off the bat, wasn’t this extortion?
"What? Too expensive?" The trafficker rolled his eyes, ready to make a scene.
"No... it’s not that... It’s just, we don’t have that much money, and nowadays, buying a maid their age, it’s only five or six taels of silver. Thirty taels is just... too expensive!" Shopkeeper Qian felt completely dumbfounded.
"You know what they are? They’re official servants. What does that mean? I’ll tell you, regular maids naturally aren’t worth much, but ones labeled official are a whole different story in terms of value! Don’t give me that nonsense. So, are you buying or not? If not, don’t waste my time!" He said, turning to leave.
Shopkeeper Qian hesitated and looked to Lady Qian. Biting her teeth, she rushed forward: "I’ll buy! I’ll buy this girl!"
The trafficker liked such straightforward customers. He signaled his confidant with his eyes, and soon his man brought in a contract.
"Name—" The trafficker picked up the pen, ready to fill in the name. Once he collected the silver and registered with the Government Office, it would all be settled.
"Wang Jinchai—" Lady Qian hurriedly said.
The trafficker’s pen paused, and his brow furrowed: "What’s her name?"
"How old is she this year?"
The trafficker spat in disgust. He had thought today’s opening of business was a good omen, but it turned out to be bad luck!
Immediately, he tossed the pen aside, and also folded the contract in his hand: "Not for sale! This official servant is not for sale!"
"Why?" The Qian family of three was stunned, and Wang Jinchai, who had been calm, thinking she was going to be redeemed, also froze upon hearing the trafficker’s words.
"Why? It’s been specifically instructed that this official servant, Wang Jinchai, is not to be redeemed by her parents or relatives! What a waste of my breath, pah—" The trafficker’s demeanor suddenly turned sour.
Jinchai became desperate: "Save me, Mother—save me—"
"What’s going on? Why can’t my daughter be redeemed?" Lady Qian was panicked.
It was Shopkeeper Qian who, after some thought, pulled the trafficker aside and slipped a piece of Silver Pieces into his hand. After a while, the trafficker stood up, gesturing for others to leave, while Shopkeeper Qian still stood dumbfounded in the corner.
No matter how much Jinchai cried and shouted, unwilling and struggling, it was useless. She was forcefully dragged onto the carriage, and soon, the carriage began to move away with a clatter.
Lady Qian chased after the carriage for a few steps, then collapsed to the ground, only able to watch as it went farther and farther away, Jinchai’s cries becoming fainter, until she could hear them no more.
Mother Qian was worried about Lady Qian and also about Shopkeeper Qian. What had stricken them that they could not move?
She first helped Lady Qian up and dragged her in front of Shopkeeper Qian: "Husband, what’s gotten into you?"
Shopkeeper Qian’s eyes were red with tears as he looked at Lady Qian, unable to suppress his grief: "My daughter, your father has wronged you! I’ve caused you harm!"