Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

When Ji Nuan and Song Jinbai returned to the inn, County Magistrate Zhang had indeed discovered that the Chief Clerk had some dirty tricks. The Chief Clerk was Wang Kui's son-in-law, and he and Wang Kui were jointly running Yichunyuan, and they were also involved in the child trafficking business.

"Who would have thought that the chief clerk, who looked so weak, would do things worse than an animal." A villager said indignantly at the tea stall.

"The two children who went missing from our village might have been abducted by them," another villager said sadly. "Their parents are going crazy looking for them, crying all day long. It's such a sin!"

"Yes, several of the girls in Yichunyuan were abducted!" Someone else added, "Didn't you see how miserable those girls were crying when the county magistrate was trying the case? They have no future. It's really pitiful."

"Who said it wasn't true? This is not something a human being can do!" A villager's voice was full of condemnation of the evil deeds of the chief clerk and Wang Kui.

Ji Nuan, Song Jinbai, and the others sat around the table drinking tea, listening to the chatter of the people at the tea stall. They had all gone to watch the county magistrate's case that morning, and now they were gathered in twos and threes, discussing the details of the case and their feelings.

Ji Shan had also gone to watch the trial that morning. He angrily asked Song Jinbai, "Will they be beheaded? These people are truly guilty of heinous crimes and deserve the most severe punishment!"

Song Jinbai put down his teacup and said, "There's a murder case inside, and the main culprit will be beheaded."

Ji Chuan also sighed, "It's unbelievable that such a terrible thing happened in the small town of Taoli. These people are so unscrupulous that they are willing to harm innocent lives for the sake of profit!"

Song Jinbai nodded and added, "Greedy people, as long as the benefits are great enough, will dare to do things that ordinary people dare not do. For the sake of money and benefits, they have lost the bottom line of humanity."

Ji Nuan asked, "When can the torture be carried out?"

Song Jinbai explained: "This is a major case. It needs to be transferred to the Qingzhou government office for retrial before a conviction and sentencing can be determined. It may take a while."

"Then we won't be able to wait to see him beheaded." Ji He said regretfully, feeling a little disappointed that he couldn't see the criminal being punished with his own eyes.

He turned to Ji Nuan and asked, "Little sister, we've found the herbs. When are we going back?"

Ji Nuan thought for a moment and said, "Let's leave early tomorrow morning. Let's arrange things in Shuangxi County and then go home directly. I miss my parents so much."

Ji He: "I'm a little homesick too. Let's go back to the inn for dinner."

~~~~~

Three days later, the six people rode back to Shuangxi Town and stopped in front of Hongfu Inn.

They were dusty and their faces looked tired.

"Oh, it's Mr. Song, you're back!" The shopkeeper recognized Song Jinbai at a glance and greeted him warmly. He already knew the relationship between Song Jinbai and Cui Jingrang, so he was particularly polite to him.

"Mr. Song, have you had lunch? Do you want me to prepare it?" the shopkeeper asked with concern.

Song Jinbai smiled and nodded in response, "Please, boss, go and prepare it. We haven't had lunch yet, and everyone is hungry."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately turned around to arrange the meal.

At this time, Qu Xiangqing brought Xi Que and her brother downstairs. She had just learned the news that Ji Nuan had returned, and her face was filled with a happy smile.

"Miss, you are finally back." Qu Xiangqing walked quickly to Ji Nuan and said happily, and then gestured for Xi Que to come forward and greet her, "Xi Que, this is Miss."

Xi Que immediately knelt before Ji Nuan and said respectfully, "Your servant Xi Que greets the young lady."

Ji Nuan was startled by this sudden move. She quickly stepped forward and helped Xi Que up. "Get up, get up quickly!"

"Miss, Xi Que was my former maid. The Cao family sold their servants because they had no money. I asked the shopkeeper to buy Xi Que back for me. I hope you won't blame me." Qu Xiangqing explained. She looked at Ji Nuan nervously, afraid that she would be angry for acting on her own.

Without waiting for Ji Nuan to speak, Xi Que knelt on the ground again with a thud, her voice trembling: "Please don't blame Xiang Qing, my lady. From now on, I will serve you well together with Xiang Qing."

Ji Nuan sighed helplessly, pulled the person up again, and said gently: "Don't kneel down, it makes me look like that cruel and evil master. Now that you are here, work hard for me with Xiang Qing."

"Yes, Miss." Magpie saluted with a happy face.

Qu Xiangqing also breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Ji Nuan with gratitude.

She explained what she had done in the past few days, "Miss, the two houses, seven farms, and twenty-two shops of the Cao family have all been taken back. I only kept a few available people in charge. I bought a few people from the pawnshop for the remaining staff. If you are free, I will notify them to come and see you and make arrangements."

Ji Nuan looked at Qu Xiangqing with some surprise. She didn't expect that at such a young age, she could think so comprehensively and arrange everything in an orderly manner, saving Ji Nuan a lot of trouble.

She praised sincerely, "Well done, you're very thoughtful. Let them come to see me later, and I'll see how to arrange it."

"Yes, Xiangqing will go and inform them now." Qu Xiangqing responded, turned around and left to inform the new buyer.

Ji Nuan waved her hand and asked Yuange to come forward, "Yuange, let me see how your body is recovering."

When Yuange heard Ji Nuan calling him, he ran over and obediently stretched out his hand for Ji Nuan to feel his pulse. He raised his head, blinked his big eyes and said, "Miss, Yuange feels that he is better now."

Ji Nuan coaxed the child, "Really? Yuange, be good. I'll check to see if you're really healed." She gently pressed Yuange's pulse. After a while, she smiled and nodded, "Well, you're recovering well. It seems you've been taking your medicine obediently these days."

Yuange smiled sweetly, "Well, my sister said that only if I take the medicine well can I get better quickly."

The shopkeeper brought the dishes to the table one after another.

Ji Nuan looked at the table full of delicious food, then turned to ask Yuange, "Yuange, do you want to eat with us?"

Yuange responded obediently: "Yuange had lunch with my sister at noon. Miss, please eat quickly. Yuange is going back to the room to play." After he said that, he turned around and ran upstairs.

There were other strangers staying in the inn, and Ji Nuan was a little worried about Yuan Ge staying alone in the room. So, she said to Xi Que, "He's still young, Xi Que, you go up with him."

"Yes, Miss." Xi Que responded and followed Yuan Ge upstairs.