“I don’t have time to waste with you,” Hong Xiujie said. Seeing that Luo Juaner still refused to speak and exchanging a glance with the frowning Zhuyu, she raised her hand to brush away the woman’s palm. “Since you’re unwilling to help me, I’ll find them myself. Let go.”
The woman did not release her hand.
Instead, she gripped Hong Xiujie’s wrist even tighter.
“You—”
Luo Juaner cried without making a sound. If not for the tears carving two tracks through the dirt on her face, no one would have noticed she was crying.
Hong Xiujie met her desperate, pleading gaze.
The second half of the sentence stuck in her throat… and suddenly, she could not curse her out.
“Take A Hui back to your home,” Luo Juaner said. Though she was stating her condition, there was no threat in her tone—like a mother beast trying to shield her young with her remaining warmth. “Swear on your mother. Promise me, and I’ll take you to them right away.”
Hong Xiujie caught the glimmer of hope in her eyes.
She knew nothing about the situation in Yumu County.
A Hui was just a little girl of seven or eight. With so many already starved to death, how could she possibly still be alive? A heavy, sour ache welled up in Hong Xiujie’s nose, and someone nudged her elbow—a subtle reminder.
“I swear on my mother. When I get back…” Hong Xiujie clenched her fingers and said in a muffled voice, “I’ll bring A Hui home.”
It was not a particularly strong promise.
Yet it ignited the withered lamp like a flame, effortlessly.
“Come with me.” Luo Juaner stared at her for a moment, wiped her face haphazardly, and turned toward the filthy, cluttered thatched shed.
…
The low thatched shed was crammed with people.
The stench of sweat and pus, mingled with muffled wails of agony.
Several dying injured lay huddled on straw mats. Their whip wounds had festered almost to rot under the blazing sun, ignored by all, with only flies buzzing around the sores.
Seeing Hong Xiujie staring at them in a daze, Luo Juaner leaned in and whispered, “Don’t worry, your father hasn’t been badly hurt. He’s just suffered a bit.”
“Why?” Hong Xiujie frowned.
Luo Juaner did not answer right away. She led the two of them around to the back of the shed before explaining, “Your father and I were assigned to the same overseer. You know him too—Huang Er from the village entrance.”
“These people’s wounds were all beaten into them by the team leaders. But Huang Er’s from the same village as us. He never really hits us…” As she spoke, she kept walking. “Look, your father and Brother Fu are right up ahead.”
Recalling her mother’s gaze before she left, Hong Xiujie quickened her pace and strode toward the direction Luo Juaner indicated.
The hot wind carried a nauseating stench into her lungs.
In the darkness untouched by sunlight, she saw two huddled figures.
Sun Shi lay broken in the corner like a withered stalk of rice. His thin shirt was unrecognizable in color, hanging in tatters over his bony shoulders. His face was smeared black with dirt and sweat, cheekbones protruding sharply while his eye sockets sank deep.
His lips were cracked like swollen bean skins.
He hung his head, lips moving silently.
“Dad…” Hong Xiujie’s throat tightened, her voice catching in her breath.
His murky pupils contracted sharply. Sun Shi seemed to sense something and lifted his head—his eyes widened the instant he recognized her. He stared blankly, fingers digging into the hard rock wall, as if confirming whether this was a dream or reality.
Sun Yongfu lay beside him.
Emaciated beyond recognition, like a corncob stripped of its kernels.
Noticing his father seemed to be looking at something, he turned his vacant gaze and immediately lit up like a child. “Dad, little sister! It’s little sister!”
“Xiujie, why are you…” The fool’s cry snapped Sun Shi back to his senses. His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn’t spoken in ages, but the shock and urgency in his tone were clear: “Hurry and leave! This isn’t a place for you!”
“Dad.” Hong Xiujie choked back a sob, her fingertips trembling as she reached for Sun Shi’s right hand.
Fingers that had once been whole.
Now, his index finger was just a deformed stump.
“Where’s your mother?” Sun Shi pulled away from his daughter’s touch, trying to hide the wound, but the ragged sleeve fabric… could not cover the mangled flesh. “How could she let you come here? No! Go now.”
Hong Xiujie glanced at Sun Yongfu beside him. He pursed his lips, his voice like a muffled, broken drum: “Little sister, this place isn’t fun…”
Every extra moment they wasted meant more danger for them.
Zhuyu untied her bundle and tossed a servant girl’s clothes next to Hong Xiujie. Though she said nothing, Hong Xiujie’s gaze immediately sharpened with resolve. “Dad, I have a way to get you out. Put on these two sets of clothes first.”
“You…” Sun Shi said in disbelief. “And who is she? The Stone Quarry is crawling with guards. How do you plan to get us out?”
“Dad! I don’t have time to explain right now.” Hong Xiujie shoved the clothes into his hands, grabbed the other set, and swiftly dressed Sun Yongfu, her movements as quick as plucking feathers from a dead bird.
It had not been that long since they’d last seen each other.
Yet her daughter seemed completely transformed.
Calmed by Hong Xiujie’s steady gaze, Sun Shi stopped questioning and followed her lead. He awkwardly pulled on the clothes, managing to dress in a few clumsy tries.
“Dad, can you two walk normally?” Hong Xiujie helped them up and asked.
Sun Shi nodded. “Yes.”
Hong Xiujie nodded in return, pulling veils from her sleeve. “Put these on and don’t talk to anyone. Follow the direction I point.”
“Xiujie, you’re not the same as before,” Luo Juaner observed, unable to hold back her sigh.
In her heart, she reaffirmed her choice.
Entrusting A Hui to her—she would surely raise her well.
“Juaner-jie, Huang Er and the others will be back soon. I…” Hong Xiujie knew how important Luo Hui was to her and no longer hid her worry, seeking her help instead. “I need to buy time. We can’t be discovered right away.”
Luo Juaner waved it off. “Don’t worry. Huang Er isn’t that kind of person.”
Though doubts lingered, there was no better option at the moment. Hong Xiujie nodded and turned to Zhuyu. “Huang Er’s a friend we’ve known since childhood. He won’t betray us. Let’s go quickly.”
The first to notice their disappearance would be Huang Er.
By the rules—
She should silence him.
A faint, almost imperceptible glint flashed in her eyes.
Zhuyu nodded, ultimately choosing to trust their judgment.
“Juaner-jie,” Hong Xiujie said as they parted, clenching her fingers. She could not hold back: “Hold on. Someone will come to save you soon.”
Luo Juaner did not take her words seriously and forced a smile. “Okay, I’ll hold on.”
Seeing the doubt she did not voice,
Hong Xiujie said no more, for she could not be certain herself.
She just felt in her heart that the person who seemed like an immortal… surely would not abandon the people here.
…
“Dad, do you see that carriage?” Hong Xiujie stopped dozens of steps from the carriage and pointed. “Take Brother over there. Don’t worry—the driver is with us.”
Not to mention such a fine carriage.
He had never even ridden the most ordinary sedan in his life.
“If we keep delaying,” seeing his hesitation, Hong Xiujie glanced at the patrolling soldiers and lowered her voice, “not only you and Brother, but my life will be at risk too.”
She pressed on his shoulder and asked gravely, “Dad, do you really want to get our whole family killed?”
The weight of his family’s lives was too much.
It overrode his fear, forcing him to step forward.
Sun Shi supported his son, struggling to stay calm as they shakily approached the shaded carriage. “Be good, Afu. Little sister’s come to take us home.”
The light pink dresses served as two talismans.
The soldiers overlooked them entirely, as if even glancing up would be presumptuous.
Sang Yue, sitting on the carriage shaft, had noticed their approach early. She impassively lifted the curtain, letting the two climb inside. “Don’t speak once you’re in. Make no noise. Find a seat yourselves.”
“Tha—” The second syllable died in Sun Shi’s throat under her warning gaze.
Sun Shi dared not make another sound.
He led Sun Yongfu quietly into the carriage.
After about the time it took to burn half a stick of incense,
The soldiers rotated shifts, replaced by a new batch.
Sang Yue leaned over, lifted the curtain, grabbed the bundle by the carriage door, and jumped down, heading toward Zhuyu and Hong Xiujie.
–
Yan Yiqing had someone bring a chair to a breezy spot.
She sat with a casual posture, like a local tyrant.
“Sir Yan, are these people sufficient?” Luo Xiutong held the freshly written roster and smiled obsequiously at Yan Yiqing, his cheeks quivering with fat. “They’re not badly injured and work efficiently. The Disaster Relief Envoy will surely be pleased.”
A dark glint flashed in her glossy peach-blossom eyes. Yan Yiqing took the list, glanced at it carelessly, and said, “Get more details on these people—how many in their families, their ancestral homes…”
Truly, officials knew nothing of the people’s suffering.
One sentence from her, and he would have to expend endless effort.
“Yes, Sir Yan is truly wise as expected.” Luo Xiutong bowed, his mouth grinning so wide it nearly cramped, while inwardly cursing Yan Yiqing to pieces.
Her slender fingers, callused faintly, tapped her knee lightly. Yan Yiqing lowered her lashes slightly: It had been so long—had they not found them yet?
For some reason,
These past few days, her heart had felt uneasy.
“We are Sir Yan’s maidservants, here on the lady’s orders.” Through her veil, Hong Xiujie calmly told the blocking soldier.
The soldier glanced toward the distant figures.
He frowned slightly and silently withdrew his weapon.
“Let’s go.” Hong Xiujie said.
Zhuyu followed silently behind her. The two approached Yan Yiqing—and thus reached the highest point of the entire Stone Quarry. From this vantage, she could take in every sight within.
And it was at that moment.
Zhuyu finally understood why the Heir Apparent had decided to do this.
As her gaze swept over, Yan Yiqing spotted their arrival. Her fine brows relaxed, and she beckoned. “Come here. Help this official loosen up my muscles.”
Both nodded and walked slowly behind her to stand.
Hong Xiujie stepped forward with keen awareness.
But Zhuyu forcibly took the spot.
“Mm!” Yan Yiqing’s shoulder flinched in pain.
Peacock…
Hmph, she’d loosen her own muscles.
“Alright, alright, this official feels much better now.” Yan Maomao dodged Zhuyu’s merciless iron grip and quietly shot her a look, her gaze falling on the nearby Luo Xiutong.
They had agreed beforehand.
Once the people were rescued, they would rendezvous with her.
“Magistrate Luo.”
At Yan Yiqing’s voice, Luo Xiutong startled like a bird from a bowstring and came huffing over. “What are your orders, Sir Yan?”
“I think those people from earlier are fine. We’ll take them.” Yan Yiqing glanced at him impassively, stood, and said coldly, “It’s getting late. Tomorrow, send the stone and laborers to Yumu County without any slacking.”
Hearing she was leaving, Luo Xiutong sighed in relief. “You’ve worked hard, Sir Yan.”
She spared him no further glance.
Yan Yiqing flicked her sleeve and rose gracefully, walking out with poise.
The summer wind through the pass rushed toward her, lifting the crimson official robes and the gossamer-thin veil.
Huang Er, standing among the crowd,
Caught sight by chance of a familiar face.
How was Hong Xiujie here? Shouldn’t she be in Yumu County now? If he wasn’t mistaken.
Then she—
Must have come to rescue someone.
But the Stone Quarry’s rules.
Laborers who entered could not leave alive.
