Wen Hui raised an eyebrow, "Little brother, lying is not a good habit."
The child insisted, "I'm not lying. Those people are really not good people, and women are often taken away from our town. Once taken, they never return."
Ji Zizhao immediately seized on the key point, "What do you mean by 'never return'?"
"It means they disappear forever. I've never seen any of the women who were taken by those people again."
Ji Zizhao's heart tightened.
Originally, she had thought those people were merely trying to tease Xue Yinuo and the others because they were women. But now, Ji Zizhao realized she had been wrong from the start.
Those people weren't teasing at all; they were abducting!
Fourth sister...
Wen Hui looked at the child and asked, "If what you're saying is true, are the people in this town all dead? They just let those people take other women away in broad daylight?"
The child's eyes flickered. After a long pause, he said, "In the past, some people did try to stop them, but they were either beaten to death on the spot or crippled. My mother once tried to save a sister, and in the end, those people poked out her eyes with bamboo sticks."
"If what you say is true, then how dare you stand here now?"
"I need to get money to pay for my mother's medicine."
"Lies upon lies, utterly incorrigible!" Wen Hui looked at the child with disgust, refusing to believe anything he said. With the emperor's supreme power, how could anyone commit such heinous acts?
The child trembled all over from Wen Hui's reprimand, clearly frightened. But after struggling for a while, he looked at Ji Zizhao and asked, "If I tell you everything I know, can you give me some more money?"
Wen Hui let out a cold laugh, "You're just a liar, plain and simple!"
The child ignored Wen Hui's words and stared fixedly at Ji Zizhao.
Ji Zizhao suddenly smiled. She took out a silver pouch from her embrace, took the child's hand, and placed the pouch in his palm. "There are thirty taels left in here. Take it all."
The child was so surprised that Ji Zizhao would give him all the silver that he froze in place.
Wen Hui looked at Ji Zizhao in disbelief, "Is the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family truly aiding and abetting evil?"
Ji Zizhao turned to Wen Hui, "Since you entered, Princess Wen Hui, you have been arrogant at every turn. Has Princess Wen Hui ever considered why that is?"
"Why else would it be? I am a princess of the royal family, and I should naturally have a royal bearing."
"Precisely. That's why Princess Wen Hui doesn't understand the hardships of ordinary people, yet you are so eager to dismiss others. Princess Wen Hui can be ignorant of human suffering, but there's no reason to be condescending and look down on everyone."
"You..."
Ji Zizhao unceremoniously asked her to leave, "If Princess Wen Hui doesn't wish to listen, you can go sit outside."
Wen Hui truly didn't expect Ji Zizhao to treat her this way. She glanced at the silent boy again, then stood up and walked towards the door. After all, she didn't want to stay here any longer.
Ji Zizhao then asked the child to wait. She went downstairs to borrow paper and a brush from the waiter. When she returned to the private room, she handed him a medicinal prescription. "Damage to the eyes and nerves. I'm afraid your mother must be suffering from daily headaches. Ordinary painkillers probably won't help. Follow the prescription I've written here to get the medicine, then grind it into powder and mix it with wine. Apply it to your mother's eyes every night before sleep to relieve the pain."
The child's eyes widened, "Sister, how did you know my mother's condition?"
Ji Zizhao smiled and stroked his head, "Because I'm a doctor."
Looking at the smile in Ji Zizhao's eyes, the child's eyes gradually turned red. It had been a long time since anyone had smiled at him like this. The people in town always called him a wild child, a little beggar.
As if gathering all his courage, the child suddenly looked at Ji Zizhao and said, "Sister, when I heard those people today taking away the courageous sister, one of them said, 'Good thing you didn't touch people you shouldn't have touched.'"
With that, the child ran out of the private room without looking back.
Ji Zizhao watched the child's retreating back and pondered his words.
Xue Yinuo and the others were safe, especially Zhong Xinyi, who was completely unharmed. Yet those people had directly taken away the fourth sister when they saw her... Su Dan novel network.
So, some of those people knew Xue Yinuo's identity!
"I saw that child run off in a hurry. Did he realize he couldn't trick you anymore, so he ran away?" Wen Hui returned and stood at the doorway, still with that arrogant expression.
Ji Zizhao remained silent, still lost in thought.
Seeing that Ji Zizhao didn't speak, Wen Hui assumed her guess was correct. She curled her lips smugly and walked up to Ji Zizhao, looking down at her. "Since you were deceived, there's no use getting angry sitting here. But don't worry, I've already sent someone to report it to the authorities. I believe..."
Ji Zizhao suddenly clutched her wrist, "What did you just say?"
Wen Hui was a little displeased that Ji Zizhao addressed her so directly. "I said I reported it to the authorities. The officials will probably soon..."
Without waiting for Wen Hui to finish, Ji Zizhao dragged her outside, "Let's go!"
As they left the private room, Ji Zizhao's heart pounded wildly.
Once they were in the carriage, Ji Zizhao even instructed the eunuch driving it, "Return to the temporary palace immediately!"
The town's residents all knew this was near the temporary palace. However, the officials accompanying the imperial procession rarely visited this town privately. The Empress and the imperial concubines were even less likely to do so, as royal rules were strict and strictly forbade private excursions.
But when the Emperor came to the temporary palace for a hunt, the accompanying officials would notify the town's authorities in advance. If they knew someone familiar, it wouldn't be unusual for them to inquire about the list of accompanying personnel.
The more Ji Zizhao thought about it, the heavier her heart became. If things were as she suspected, the only way to rescue fourth sister might be to involve the Emperor.
Wen Hui was unaware of Ji Zizhao's thoughts. Seeing that Ji Zizhao was still gripping her wrist, she struggled and said, "What does the Eldest Daughter of the Ji family mean by this? Knowing that I reported it to the authorities, yet acting like this..."
"This is bad!" the voice of the palace attendant driving the carriage suddenly cried out in alarm. "Reporting to Princess Wen Hui and Eldest Daughter Ji, someone is chasing our carriage from behind!"
Wen Hui reached out and lifted the carriage curtain, only to see two carriages speeding behind theirs. Through the fluttering curtains, the glint of cold steel could be vaguely seen.
This time, even Wen Hui's expression changed.
"Who dares to be so bold!"
Ji Zizhao smiled coldly, "Other than the officials, who else could it be?"
The current pursuit and blockade completely confirmed her earlier guess.
The attackers of Xue Yinuo and the others knew their identities, so there must have been someone from the official ranks involved.
Therefore...
Now the officials were here to silence them!