bestfiction Chapter 62 Mu Qing is missing
Chapter 62 Mu Qing is missing
"Candied hawthorn, selling candied hawthorn, sweet and sour candied hawthorn."
"Wontons, wontons, big and fragrant wontons!"
"Steamed buns, meat buns, freshly baked meat buns."
The vendors' shouts filled the air, creating a lively scene rarely seen elsewhere.
Mu Xue looked around, carrying a lot of food in her hands. If Wang Hefan hadn't been watching her closely, she probably would have disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Seeing that there were plenty of snacks on the street, Song Jiaojiao didn't take everyone to a restaurant. Instead, they ate snacks on the street. The lively scene was just as bustling as the snack streets of later generations. Meanwhile, Mu Xue dragged Wang Hefan to see acrobatic performances.
Mu Qing was more interested in the handkerchiefs and hair ornaments on the stall. At noon, a lively drumbeat sounded, and a dragon and lion dance team was seen coming from afar, accompanied by a large group of people. When Mu Xue saw the dragon and lion dance, she ran even faster, and Wang Hefan and Meng An almost couldn't catch up.
Song Jiaojiao didn't like joining in the fun, so she stood aside in a less crowded place and watched. In ancient times, there were no other forms of entertainment, and festivals like this, which were celebrated nationwide, would attract a large number of people every year.
Suddenly, Song Jiaojiao noticed that Mu Qing, who was looking at the jewelry, was gone, and Bai Shuqin was also nowhere to be seen. Song Jiaojiao's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly asked the vendor if he had seen anyone. The vendor waved his hand repeatedly and said he hadn't noticed.
Not daring to delay, Song Jiaojiao found Xu Da and they split up to search for the person. While passing through an alley, they saw a purse lying on the ground. It was embroidered by Bai Shuqin for Mu Qing. Song Jiaojiao picked up the purse and went deeper into the alley.
Just then, she saw a half-closed courtyard, and heard noises coming from inside. As Song Jiaojiao approached, she heard a sound that seemed familiar.
"Keep a close eye on these two. They look like they're worth a lot of money, so don't mess them up," a gruff male voice said, followed by a smug female voice replying.
"Hey, I know. These people are probably still targeting the youngest children in their families. They probably didn't expect us to arrest women too."
"Alright, just keep an eye on the people. While the dragon and lion dances are attracting attention, I'll go check if anyone is alone."
After saying that, as footsteps approached, Song Jiaojiao quickly entered her spatial dimension and only came out when the man was far away and out of sight.
The two people inside the house were not sure if they were Mu Qingbai or Shuqin. Song Jiaojiao then realized that this was the alley where she had bought people. Thinking that she didn't know how many people the other party had, and that it was lively outside, she figured they wouldn't move to another place, so she headed towards Fengtang.
Arriving at the entrance of Fengtang Courtyard, Song Jiaojiao anxiously pounded on the door.
A moment later, a sound came from inside: "Who is it? Who is it? Stop knocking."
An impatient voice came from outside the door. When she opened the door, she saw Song Jiaojiao standing there, looking very anxious.
"Oh my, it's Madam Song! What brings you here today?" Granny Xu immediately put on a happy expression when she saw Song Jiaojiao.
"Granny Xu, I've come today to ask for your help with something," Song Jiaojiao said, stuffing ten taels of silver into Granny Xu's hand.
“My daughter was abducted by human traffickers to that courtyard over there. I don’t have many people with me today, and I don’t know how many people are inside. I hope you can lend me some manpower so I can go and rescue her.”
Song Jiaojiao spoke these words quickly and urgently, as if afraid that if she hesitated even a moment longer, the place would be deserted.
As Granny Xu put away Song Jiaojiao's money, she said, "What kind of relationship do we have? You wait here, I'll go and call someone for you right away."
After saying that, she went inside and called out seven or eight burly men. Song Jiaojiao led them to the courtyard outside, and seeing that the door was closed, she kicked it open.
The woman inside was startled by the noise and realized she had been discovered. She hurried towards the back door, but it was too late; Song Jiaojiao and her men stopped her.
Seeing that she couldn't escape, Song Jiaojiao started looking for the girl they had captured. She finally found her in the woodshed. All three of them were tied up and seemed to be out of their minds. Only Bai Shuqin was awake, but she was still dazed, probably because she had been woken up by the commotion earlier.
Song Jiaojiao quickly loosened her rope and then asked her to loosen the rope of the other girl and wake her up.
"Mu Qing, Mu Qing, wake up!" Song Jiaojiao patted Mu Qing's face and called out anxiously.
Awakened, Mu Qing asked groggily, "Mother, where are we?"
She only remembered that she had just bought jewelry with Bai Shuqin, and then her memory disappeared after walking a short distance. Her head was still dizzy.
“You’ve been kidnapped. Get up, let’s get out of here first,” Song Jiaojiao explained.
Upon seeing the woman outside, he exclaimed in surprise, "It's you!"
The person in front of me was the slave trader that Song Jiaojiao had sent to take Mu Xue and Mu Qing away. No wonder her voice sounded so familiar.
The woman saw Song Jiaojiao and her eyes were full of doubt. Although the person in front of her looked somewhat familiar, she didn't have any recollection of her.
Indeed, Song Jiaojiao has undergone a complete transformation in both her clothing and demeanor. Even Mu Qing and Mu Xue have changed quite a bit, completely unrecognizable from their former selves.
Song Jiaojiao didn't say anything more and led the woman and Mu Qing back to Fengtang. When Granny Xu saw Song Jiaojiao return, she hurried over.
"Has the person been found?"
"We found them. There's another victim, as well as the human trafficker. We'll have to trouble Granny Xu to take them to the town mayor."
Song Jiaojiao spoke up and put another 30 taels into Granny Xu's hand.
"Thank you for your help today. Take this and treat your brothers to drinks. My daughter was a little frightened, so I won't bother her any longer."
"Of course, of course, then I won't keep you any longer. Don't worry, I'll take care of the rest." Granny Xu said solemnly, but she was secretly delighted. She hadn't expected Song Jiaojiao, who was usually stingy when buying servants, to be so generous this time. She got 40 taels for free, which was almost half a year's income for her.
Song Jiaojiao nodded and led Mu Qingbai and Shuqin to meet up with Wang Hefan and the others. When they passed by that courtyard, they didn't see the man; he probably sensed something was wrong and ran away.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Mu Qing return. After such a big incident, no one was in the mood for sightseeing. Song Jiaojiao was worried that something might be wrong with Mu Qing and the others, so she took them to Huichuntang to see a doctor. The doctor said it wasn't a big problem; they had just inhaled some sleeping pills and would be fine after some rest. Song Jiaojiao was afraid that they had been frightened, so she also prescribed some calming medicine.
After getting their medicine, everyone went straight home. Even Mu Xue huddled in a corner without saying a word, her eyes red.
Song Jiaojiao didn't say anything when she saw this. She was quite tired from the day. Everyone was silent on the way back. It wasn't until they got home that Song Jiaojiao spoke.
"Alright, you've all had a long day. Go and rest. Xu Fang, brew this medicine and take it to Mu Qingbai and Shuqin later."
"Mu Xue, come here." Song Jiaojiao dismissed everyone and said to Mu Xue.
Feeling dejected, Mu Xue walked up to Song Jiaojiao with her head down and said softly, "Mother."