Mistakenly recognized as a cousin, thousands of pampered

"I fled here six months ago. The weather was very cold, and I had no choice but to take my child with me. I heard that Mr. Li, a kind man in the city, was giving out porridge, so I took my dog ​​there. Mr. Li's porridge stall was open for three days, and we ate there for three days. At that time, there were many people like me, with children and no home. The magistrate of Sucheng didn't chase us away."

The woman spoke slowly, her eyes revealing memories of those difficult days, and her voice gradually choked.

"It was winter, and there was nothing we could do about it. We heard that Mr. Li had opened an orphanage where we could send our children. Many of us adults, with 20 or 30 children, first visited the Cixin Hall. It was so much better than our previous home. So we decided to send our children there. At first, we could still see them, but then the guards at the gate stopped letting us in."

"We contacted Mr. Li, a kind man, and he said the children were sent to be raised in wealthy families and are now well-fed. But he wouldn't tell us where they were. We just wanted to take a look and know the children were okay."

The woman's tears welled up again and she wiped them away with trembling hands.

"Then why don't you report it to the police?" Tao Jiuxi asked.

"We were forced into a corner and eventually went to the authorities to report the case. The official said that Mr. Li was a good man because he gave out free porridge and donated money and grain every year. If we sued him, we would first be beaten with a stick. Of the more than 30 families among us, only four or five were unwilling to file a complaint; the rest were beaten with a stick. Mr. Li showed up in court, and the officials followed his instructions to investigate. They came back and said that the children were all well-off and raised well by wealthy families, but they didn't want to be disturbed. In the end, they said we were making a false accusation and were beaten again. One of the elderly people was beaten and couldn't be saved."

The woman's voice was filled with grief, anger and helplessness, and her eyes revealed deep despair.

Tao Jiuxi felt her head buzzing. She looked up at Shen Zhiyi and asked, "What can they do if they capture the child?"

She felt that in this era, these children would be sold as laborers, maids in wealthy families, or cruelly sold into brothels.

Shen Zhiyi frowned slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "It's still unclear what their purpose is. I will send someone to investigate and rescue the remaining children. We won't send Fuya away."

Shen Zhiyi asked the woman in front of him, "Stay with my wife for the next few days. I will investigate your affairs."

After returning to the inn and coaxing Fu Ya to sleep, there was a knock on the door.

"Hurry up and open the door. Don't wake Fuya up." Tao Jiuxi urged Shen Zhiyi. She lowered her voice, afraid to wake up Fuya who had finally fallen asleep.

Shen Zhiyi quickly stood up and opened the door. His movements were very quick. Now Tao Jiuxi was getting more and more comfortable with ordering him around, and he himself was enjoying it.

Tao Jiuxi heard the sound of the door opening, but nothing else happened, and a sense of doubt arose in his heart.

"Who is it? Why don't you come in?" Tao Jiuxi asked.

Only then did Shen Zhiyi say, "Miss Xue, please come in."

When Tao Jiuxi heard that it was a girl, he immediately thought of Shen Zhiyi's "old friend".

She quickly got up from the bed and immediately saw a woman who looked a few years older than her. She was wearing a dark-colored dress and had her hair simply tied up. She looked very neat.

After Xue Yunmeng entered the room, she saw Tao Jiuxi and also looked at her.

Their eyes met, and a subtle tension filled the air.

Seeing that the two were silent, Shen Zhiyi immediately walked over to Tao Jiuxi and took the initiative to introduce, "Jiuxi, this is Miss Xue. Two years ago, when I was in Yandang Mountain, I was poisoned by a snake and was saved by Miss Xue."

When Tao Jiuxi heard that the woman in front of her had saved Shen Zhiyi before, she bowed dignifiedly and said, "Miss Xue, how are you?"

"Miss Xue, this is my wife-to-be, Tao Jiuxi."

Upon hearing this, both of them looked at Shen Zhiyi in surprise.

A complex emotion flashed in Xue Yunmeng's eyes, as if he was a little surprised and a little emotional.

Tao Jiuxi originally had a little uneasiness and doubt in his heart, but because of Shen Zhiyi's words, he instantly felt safe.

Even the way she looked at Xue Yunmeng became much gentler.

Xue Yunmeng looked at Tao Jiuxi deeply again before speaking to Shen Zhiyi, "I came here today to tell you something."

Tao Jiuxi immediately adjusted his attitude. Neither Bai Yueguang nor Xiao Tongmei, Tao Jiuxi was naturally very polite to Shen Zhiyi's savior. He immediately said, "Miss Xue, please take a seat. We can talk in this room or you two can go out and talk."

"No need, let's talk about it here." Shen Zhiyi refused directly. He didn't want to be held accountable later.

Xue dreamed of Shen Zhiyi like this, so he sat down without any hesitation.

This time she discovered the secret of the Sucheng Nursery and was preparing to go to the capital to find Shen Zhiyi. She went up the waterway and happened to see Jiang Shun, who was beside Shen Zhiyi, coming out for supplies upstream.

I wanted to go directly to Shen Zhiyi, but I found that there was always a woman by Shen Zhiyi's side, and he took good care of the woman.

Xue Yunmeng recalled that he had just rescued Shen Zhiyi who was seriously injured and poisoned by a snake. At that time, he always looked cold and indifferent.

She had joked with him, asking him to give her body in return, but he had responded harshly, saying she was not reserved and that he had no interest in love. He was also very disgusted with her entanglement, and Xue Yunmeng even thought he was a homosexual.

But looking at Shen Zhiyi now, Xue Yunmeng now wishes that Shen Zhiyi is a homosexual.

When Shen Zhiyi first came into the city, she deliberately let Shen Zhiyi see her on the street, thinking that Shen Zhiyi would send someone to look for her, but Shen Zhiyi did not take any action.

Xue Yunmeng's heart was filled with loss. She didn't understand why Shen Zhiyi, who had been so indifferent to her, was now so gentle and considerate to another woman.

However, after seeing Tao Jiuxi's beautiful appearance up close today, she felt that she did not completely understand.

The woman in front of him was indeed a little prettier than himself.

Although he had many dissatisfactions in his heart, Xue Yunmeng was not the kind of person who only cared about love. The most important thing at the moment was to resolve the matter of Cixintang.

"You went to the Cixin Hall today, and you should have noticed something unusual. There is something wrong with the Cixin Hall."

"Miss Xue, please speak frankly."

Shen Zhiyi replied that since they had already written to him and asked him to investigate the matter, he should just tell them directly.

Xue Yunmeng sighed and said, "Ci Xin Tang has taken in more than two hundred children in the past few years. Li Guiren uses them to curry favor with officials and make friends with the powerful. The county magistrate likes children, both boys and girls... According to the nanny who looks after them, Li Guiren has already sent more than ten children there, and there are still..."

Xue Yunmeng was about to continue speaking when Shen Zhiyi interrupted her: "I'll go out and talk with you."

Shen Zhiyi saw Tao Jiuxi's face turn pale when she heard this, and was worried that it would scare her.

"No need, let's talk about it here." Tao Jiuxi's face was as gloomy as water.

"And the girl who is being arranged for ghost marriage today was chosen personally by the Zhao manager and his wife. The girl was eight years old and was poisoned to death yesterday. Moreover, if any old lady has poor eyesight, arm pain, or leg pain, she will betroth a child to Li Guiren." Xue Yunmeng's voice trembled slightly, and her fists were clenched tightly.

"What are you coming for?"

Tao Jiuxi almost made the sound through gritted teeth. Her heart was filled with anger and fear, and she couldn't imagine what happened to those children.

"They believe that what you eat replenishes what you have, and that like replenishes like." Xue Yunmeng's face was full of resentment when he said this.

Upon hearing this, Tao Jiuxi ran straight to the basin and began to retch. She felt a terrible stomachache. Her heart ached as well. Shen Zhiyi hurried behind her to help her breathe. After a long pause, Tao Jiuxi's face was completely drained of color.

Shen Zhiyi patted Tao Jiuxi's back gently: "Don't be afraid."

Seeing Tao Jiuxi's condition, Xue Yunmeng has been waiting patiently. She also took a long time to calm down when she learned about this.

She understood Tao Jiuxi's reaction. After all, such a thing was too cruel and shocking.

"Miss Xue, do you have a list of Li Rengui's contacts?"

Xue Yunmeng is a martial arts expert and is good at using poison. She must have some evidence this time.

"We only have the roster from a year ago, and this year's roster is still in Li Rengui's hands. Many officials in Suzhou are involved or have benefited from this. So I can't solve it on my own."

She knew the seriousness of the problem, but she alone could not fight against the entire corrupt system.

"I only brought thirty people on this trip. Sucheng is a larger city nearby, and I don't know whether the neighboring cities are involved. If I go somewhere else to look for people, it will take two days to go back and forth." Shen Zhiyi frowned, thinking about how to deal with it.

"Maybe we don't have so much time. An official came yesterday and ordered two more people to be delivered tomorrow." Xue Yunmeng's face was also very solemn. Time was pressing and they had to take action as soon as possible.

"Miss Xue, you are very good at martial arts. Please take my badge and help me deliver a letter to the ship." Shen Zhiyi said solemnly.

The two discussed again, but Xue Yunmeng did not stay. After Shen Zhiyi finished writing the letter, he left quickly.

Tao Jiuxi didn't understand these affairs in the officialdom and the underworld, and just listened quietly on the side.

After Xue Yunmeng left, Tao Jiuxi asked, "What should we do now? Will Miss Xue be in danger?"

"Don't worry, just take care of yourself and Fuya. I will take care of these things."

Tao Jiuxi knew that he was not agile and would be scared and unable to cope with the bloody scenes. It would be best not to cause trouble at this time.