How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and Qingru still hadn't seen Xin Wuhui. When she asked Sister-in-law Niu, she was always told that he was busy making money and didn't have time to come back. Later, when she asked more often, even Niu Da stopped coming back. Xiao Erlang followed Qingru around every day, sometimes even sleeping in her room. All these unusual behaviors made Qingru uneasy.

"Little Erlang, your father hasn't been back for more than half a month, isn't your stepmother worried?" Qingru couldn't help but ask when Little Erlang snuggled into her room again.

Xiao Erlang lowered his head, pursed his lips and remained silent, his toes treading on the ground, rubbing back and forth.

Qingru had no choice; if the child didn't want to talk, she wouldn't ask.

Winter has arrived, and Qingru is wearing an old coat that Sister Niu brought over, patched upon patched, but thankfully it's warm.

At this moment, Niu Da, whom we haven't seen for a long time, was comfortably lying on Niu Da's wife's kang (heated brick bed), drinking a little wine and popping peanuts into his mouth.

Seeing his arrogant attitude of expecting to be waited on, Sister-in-law Niu was furious. She slammed the bowl on the table and said sternly, "You were just pretending not to be home, but you've really disappeared without a trace. Your wife and children are nothing but trash in your eyes. You just abandon them like that?"

Niu Da was too lazy to argue. He went over and put his arm around Niu Da's wife, his hands becoming unruly. "Don't you know what I look like? If you're going to pretend, then pretend properly. Come on, let me kiss you. I've missed you so much."

Sister-in-law Niu was still arguing, pushing him away, "Are you trying to kill me? What are you making a scene for? Explain yourself, where have you been staying all this time?"

Ignoring her resistance, Niu Da forcibly pressed his wife onto the kang (a heated brick bed), completely ignoring her words, "Li Niang, I missed you, I missed you so much..."

Sister-in-law Niu resisted, saying, "Get out of the way, they'll hear us."

In the end, she still couldn't resist. As she endured it, Sister-in-law Niu thought about how she was seduced by Niu Da in the first place. How did she end up falling for him...?

Unlike the main house, which was warm and cozy, Qingru's room had no kang (heated brick bed), only a wooden frame bed, and it was chilly. Xiao Erlang, unable to bear it any longer, moved his own brazier over to light a charcoal fire for her.

Qingru couldn't bear it, so she moved his bed in as well, preparing for the two of them to spend the winter together.

Qingru lay in bed lost in thought, while Xiao Erlang was making pancakes on the bed. After a long while, Xiao Erlang finally asked, "Sister Qingru, are you asleep?"

"No, what's wrong?"

Xiao Erlang was silent for a while, then said, "Are you worried about that older brother?"

"Yeah, I haven't been back for so long. I wonder what happened. I'm going out to check it out."

Xiao Erlang turned around, but unfortunately it was too dark in the room and he couldn't see Qingru's face clearly.

Is your leg better?

Qingru moved around a bit, and the pain lessened considerably. Thank goodness it was winter; if it were summer, her leg might have become inflamed.

"It's almost healed. Look at my arm, it's all better now. I just can't do heavy work for the time being, but I can move around freely."

"What about your legs? Can you run now?"

Qingru chuckled, "You haven't even left yet, and you're already trying to run away?"

The young man asked anxiously, "I just want to know if you can walk ten miles?"

Qingru asked, somewhat puzzled, "Little Erlang, why do you always try to make me run away?"

The young man seemed a bit angry. "You don't listen to me. You never answer me directly. Why are you so bad?"

Qingru stood up and looked at Xiao Erlang. This was too strange. "But I'm completely confused by what you're saying. What exactly are you trying to do?"

With a sob in his voice, Xiao Erlang said, "I want you to run away with me. I don't want them to sell you."

Qingru stared in disbelief, her voice trembling slightly. "What...what did you say?"

Xiao Erlang suppressed his sobs, his heart aching, "I...I don't want them to sell you. They...are...human traffickers. My mother...my sister...were all...sold by them."

He spoke haltingly, but Qingru heard him clearly. She heard each word, but didn't quite understand them when put together.

"Little Erlang, what are you saying? Is it because your stepmother treats you badly that you're saying this?"

"No," Xiao Erlang sobbed, "that brother has already been sold, that's why he won't come back. My stepmother was lying to you."

Qingru couldn't believe it. "This...how could this be? They, they are all such kind and honest people..."

Remembering Niu Da's simplicity, Niu Da's wife's fiery enthusiasm, and how caring and considerate they were towards her, the sudden accusation that they were human traffickers... Qingru felt as if her world had collapsed. If such kindness was all an act, then...

Qingru couldn't help but tremble with fear, her voice shaking without her realizing it, "You're lying to me, aren't you? Little Erlang, you're just frightened by your stepmother, aren't you?"

Before even hearing a reply, Qingru already knew that what Xiao Erlang said was probably true.

Xiao Erlang continued, "What I said is true. My father has come back many times already. Sometimes he doesn't even leave the house. The clothes you're wearing belong to my eldest sister. Look, these are not clothes my stepmother would wear."

Qingru tugged at her clothes and finally understood why Sister-in-law Niu, despite her petite stature, could produce clothes that were larger than her own. At the time, she had laughed it off, saying that she had deliberately made them larger when she was young, but they hadn't grown since, so she had just made do with them. Now she had an explanation.

Xiao Erlang held Qingru's hand. Although he couldn't see her expression, he knew she was thinking. So he said, "If you don't believe me, you can go and eavesdrop under the window of my father's house. He's inside."

Touching Xiao Erlang's warm head, her heart, which had been shattered, began to calm down. She hugged Xiao Erlang tightly, thinking that this child had experienced the loss of his mother and sister by his own father at such a young age, and that he probably lived in constant fear. She felt a pang of heartache.

"No need, I believe you, Little Erlang, you've really suffered."

Xiao Erlang's eyes welled up with tears again. In Qingru's warm embrace, he felt as if he had returned to the arms of his mother and sister.

He was only four years old when his mother and sister were sold, and he had no idea what was happening. If it weren't for a quarrel between Niu Da and his wife, he would still be in the dark and would have made a scene.

Niu Da and his companion grabbed him and beat him severely, rendering him unable to resist. The little boy was left on the ground with a bruised and swollen face. For the first time, Niu Da showed his vicious side to Xiao Erlang, threatening him fiercely, "If you don't obey, I'll sell you too, so you'll never see each other again."

Xiao Erlang was terrified and developed a high fever that wouldn't break that night. If Niu Da hadn't been his only son, he might not have really abandoned him. Fortunately, the father-son bond they had for the past few years wasn't all an act, and seeing that his life was in danger, he ultimately saved him.

After Xiao Erlang recovered, Niu Da gave him an ox and sent him out to herd cattle every day. Gradually, he stopped avoiding dealing with the merchants. Xiao Erlang was willing but powerless. Although he was indignant, he couldn't even protect himself, let alone help others.

Niu Da and his wife didn't really care about him. Every day they would cook his meals and leave them in the kitchen for him to eat by himself.

Sometimes he wouldn't get any food, either because it had gone bad, or because it had been infested with insects or dust. Sometimes it was because Sister-in-law Niu couldn't stand him and did it on purpose, and sometimes it was just a coincidence.

At first, even when he was starving, Xiao Erlang would force himself to eat spoiled food, but the consequence was a stomachache, diarrhea, and vomiting. From then on, he either wouldn't eat at all or would throw it away. At this point, Sister-in-law Niu would have a legitimate reason to complain to Brother Niu, "Look at this precious child, he just won't eat his food, and he even throws it away and won't let the dog eat it." Whenever this happened, Brother Niu would scold him, but fearing he would hurt him, it all turned into cursing, and the words were extremely harsh. Sister-in-law Niu didn't care; she had plenty of ways to torment him, sometimes even beating and scolding him in front of Brother Niu, who didn't care.

Sister-in-law Niu hid behind Niu Da, grinning sinisterly, and instigated Niu Da to beat and scold her, leaving Xiao Erlang helpless.

He had no choice but to develop his own skill in "hiding from people." Whether sneaking into the kitchen for a meal or being chased and beaten by Niu Da and his companion, he would disappear in a flash.

After Qingru waited for Xiao Erlang to calm down, she thought about how to escape.

"Young Master, when we first met, where's the pearl earring I gave you?"

The young man sheepishly pulled it out of his pocket, "Here, I've kept it in my pocket all this time. I didn't sell it."

Patting Xiao Erlang's head, Qingru comforted him, "This was given to me by a friend. You can keep it. It's a pity. I was too embarrassed to eat and stay at your house for free before, so I gave the rest to your stepmother."

When Xiao Erlang realized he couldn't return the earring, he carefully put it back in his pocket, where a crooked inner pocket was sewn on, containing all his possessions.

"Little Erlang, do you know where Xin Wu Hui, the older brother who was with me, was sold to?"

Xiao Erlang shook his head, then, thinking that Qingru couldn't see, said, "I don't know. My second brother and sister-in-law are too scary. I don't dare to come out when they're here."

Qingru frowned as she thought about the two people. "Are you talking about the two people who came to your house a month ago? The woman was petite, but I didn't see the man. I only remember his rough voice."

Xiao Erlang told her, "That's right, I've seen my dad sometimes trick people into coming back and selling them to these two. My dad said they're ruthless; if they encounter someone who doesn't obey, they'll just beat them to death. It's called... it's called killing a chicken and then a monkey."

"They're making an example of someone to intimidate others; they're establishing their authority." Qingru was shocked, but forced herself to calm down.

After weighing the options, something suddenly occurred to him. "Oh, right, I want to tell you about someone, and you must remember him."

Seeing Qingru's serious attitude, Xiao Erlang also became nervous and hummed in agreement.

"Sifang City, my legs aren't good, and you're small. It's freezing cold, and I don't know how far we can run. But you're clever, and you have an ox. If you ride the ox, you'll be much faster than me. If only one of us can escape, I hope it's you. Go west to Sifang City and find a man named Guo Zixing. Commander Guo, the Commander's Mansion—everyone knows that name. Tell him everything about this place. Take this half of the earring and say it's a token from me. This is what Guo Zixing gave me; he'll recognize it."

Xiao Erlang listened blankly, not knowing if he remembered anything. He only heard "the commander's mansion" and became anxious. "Aren't we going to run together? I don't want to go looking for any commander. I want us to run together. Sister Qingru, I consider you my own sister."

"No," Qingru reassured him, "We're going to get out together. I mean, in case, in case only one of us can get out, the one who runs the fastest will have to go first, right? You can only come back to save me if you get out."

Xiao Erlang was somewhat unwilling. He had been powerless to help his mother and sister in the past, but now that he had met Qingru, he was unwilling to stand idly by any longer.

Qingru gently stroked his back, softly comforting him again and again. Once he calmed down, Qingru repeated these words to him, "...Remember, Guo Zixing is a very capable person, he will definitely be able to save us, and Xin Wuhui, we must save him too, and your mother and your sister, we must save them all, right?"

A glimmer of hope suddenly ignited in Xiao Erlang's heart, "Really? Can they still save my mother and my sister?"

"Of course, as long as they are alive, we will definitely be able to save them. Believe me, there is a police station in the city. They are all good people and will definitely bring the criminals to justice. They will be rescued in due time."

No one had ever taught him how to call the police, but now that Qingru had pointed him in the right direction, it was as if a ray of light had suddenly appeared in the chaos. Xiao Erlang said happily, "Sister Qingru, I believe you. You are as beautiful as my sister."

Qingru smiled and tucked Xiao Erlang into the blanket. "Go to sleep. You'll have the energy to escape when you're asleep."

"Hmm," with a direction in his heart, Xiao Erlang suddenly felt incredibly at ease and energetic, and slowly fell asleep to Qingru's humming.

At the main house, Niu and his companion had just finished and were lying on the side, panting heavily.

Once Sister-in-law Niu recovered, she lost interest in asking Niu Da who he had been spending time with these days and instead thought about her own family matters.

"Hey, have you found a buyer for this thing in the yard yet? It's almost ready."

Niu Da, who was drowsy, barely opened his eyes after hearing this and said, "It was all arranged long ago. It's going to be sold to Shanghai. Qinhuai Tower and Xianyao Palace, ha, both of them are vying for it."

"So popular?" Sister-in-law Niu asked, somewhat puzzled. "What did you mean?"

"What else can I say? Just bragging!" Niu Da said smugly. "We're lucky. These two are having a competition, and both of their top courtesans are injured and have lost their titles. There aren't any new faces to fill the gaps, so they have to find new customers."

Sister-in-law Niu became interested, "Hey, tell me about the injury, how exactly it happened?"

Niu Da said excitedly, "That's for sure..." But when he met Niu Da's wife's ill-intentioned gaze, Niu Da abruptly changed the subject, "What's there to say? It's just a competition of our old professions. Oh, I'm tired, I need to sleep. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

When Sister-in-law Niu heard him say he wanted to sleep with anyone, she pinched him hard in anger, saying, "You damned ox, you want to sleep after you've finished working, you're so useless."

She glanced at Qingru again, rolled her eyes dramatically, and said, "Pah! Just wait till I get my hands on you and sell you for a good price so I can have a happy New Year, hahaha..."