Rongyao sat in the chair that Daoxiang and the others had prepared for her, shifting uneasily in her seat. Then, as if she had thought of something, she straightened her back and answered with solemn seriousness, “Father used to observe the people’s lives only within the inner city, so most of what he heard was about ordinary household matters. But things are different here.”
As she spoke, Rongyao pointed to a woman carrying a child. “Look at that woman. She says she came to the capital from Nanjiang to visit relatives. She looks exhausted, and judging by her appearance, she really has traveled a long way. Though she’s wearing plain cloth clothes, they have no patches, and the child seems to have been very well cared for. This shows that Nanjiang has enjoyed favorable weather these past two years, and the people there are living reasonably comfortable lives.”
General Guo’s eyes widened as he stared blankly at the little princess before him. She spoke with such clarity and logic, yet she was only five or six years old.
The previous day, the Emperor had ordered him to escort the six-year-old princess out of the palace and ensure her safety.
At the time, he had thought the Emperor was simply too indulgent toward Princess Fuxi, pampering her to the point of making her utterly spoiled.
He had assumed Princess Fuxi would be arrogant and unreasonable, and that once she left the palace, she would only care about having fun and make them run themselves ragged all day.
But since leaving the palace, Princess Fuxi had merely sat quietly at Bai Xiang Tower for a while. Even when she was displeased with them, she had never blamed or made things difficult for them. Afterward, the princess had gone to the city gate and climbed onto the city wall.
She had remained there, quietly watching the people coming and going through the gate.
She did not find it boring, nor did she seem to find it tiring.
If he had been asked to stay in one place like that simply to watch passersby, he doubted he could have endured even a quarter of an hour.
Yet this little princess was only six years old. Despite her tiny stature, she could seriously observe every commoner who passed through the city gate.
She could even tell, from their clothing and appearance, whether the people from each region were living well and whether their harvests had been good.
At that moment, he felt that Princess Fuxi truly deserved to be the Eldest Princess of Great Zhou. No wonder the Emperor had allowed her to leave the palace.
The princess had not come out to play. She was sincerely helping the Emperor shoulder his burdens and observe the people’s lives!
Princess Fuxi’s intelligence was simply beyond the understanding of rough men like them.
He decided that, from then on, no matter what the princess said, he would carry out her orders without question.
He absolutely could not interfere with the important task of helping the princess investigate the people’s conditions!
Rongyao continued to study each person who arrived at the city gate.
She had yet to find the Marquis of Zhenxi when a commotion broke out at the gate.
Three burly men appeared, each with two young girls tied up behind him.
The man leading them smiled ingratiatingly as he presented their travel permits to the guards at the gate.
The guards were just about to let them pass when one of the bound girls suddenly fell to her knees and begged them to uphold justice, crying that she had been abducted.
Before the guards could say anything, the tall leader snapped, “Nonsense! I bought all of them with my own money! Their families were poor, so their parents took my money and sold them to me! I’m a legitimate businessman! There are licensed agencies in the capital for this sort of trade!”
The raggedly dressed girl cried, “That’s not true! My parents would never sell me! You’re the ones who kidnapped us!”
“Sir, please help me! My family was doing well enough, and my father is a scholar. They would never sell me! Please, sir, help me!”
The guard frowned and was about to speak when the trafficker revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth and slipped a money pouch into his hand.
“Sir, you know how troublesome this business can be. These girls are young and unwilling to leave home, so whenever they see someone, they claim they’ve been abducted.”
Rongyao rose with a frown.
General Guo and the others immediately straightened.
“Your Highness, shall we apprehend them?”
Rongyao nodded and hurried down from the city wall. General Guo and the others followed close behind.
They had barely reached the bottom of the wall when a handsome young man strode toward the city gate and confronted the traffickers.
“You claim these girls were sold to you. Where are the contracts of sale?”
The trafficker frowned. “What business is it of yours? Go on, get lost!”
A young servant standing beside the man lifted his chin and declared, “How dare you! My master is the newly appointed palace graduate! How dare you show such disrespect to the third-ranked palace graduate!”
The trafficker’s eyes widened at once, and he hurriedly took several steps back.
The guard who was still holding the money pouch immediately threw it to the ground and bowed to the third-ranked palace graduate.
Rongyao stared at the young man, her eyes shining with delight.
Fan Xiuwen! He was the third-ranked palace graduate, Fan Xiuwen!
The third-ranked palace graduate, Fan Xiuwen, swept a sharp gaze over the traffickers and said coldly, “Bring me their contracts of sale. I will examine them.”
Reluctantly, the trafficker pulled out several sheets of paper.
There were six in total.
Fan Xiuwen examined them one by one.
His gaze landed on one of the contracts. He pulled it out and held it up.
“Whose contract is this? Who is Li Xiaochun?”
The girl who had begged for help immediately raised her head and cried out urgently, “My lord! It’s mine! I’m Li Xiaochun!”
Fan Xiuwen tossed the contract to the ground and glared at the trafficker. “How dare you! This document bears neither an official seal nor a seal across the binding. The person who supposedly signed the contract is the girl herself, while the intermediary is someone from your own agency. You actually dare to claim this is a contract of sale?”
The traffickers all turned deathly pale. Their leader stammered, “This girl has neither father nor mother. She’s all alone…”
“Utter nonsense!” Fan Xiuwen shouted angrily. “Just now, you claimed that her parents had sold her. Now you say she has no parents. Do you truly take us all for deaf fools?”
The trafficker hurriedly said, “We did indeed find this girl abandoned. Please forgive us, my lord. We’ll release her at once! We’ll let her go and send her home!”
With that, the traffickers quickly untied Li Xiaochun.
She immediately bowed her head and struck it against the ground before Fan Xiuwen. “Thank you, benefactor! Thank you for saving my life!”
After releasing her, the traffickers prepared to slip into the city. But Fan Xiuwen stepped in front of them.
“You abducted an innocent girl and now you think you can simply walk away?”
The traffickers grew furious. “Even if you are the third-ranked palace graduate, you have no right to interfere with our business! We’ve already released her!”
Fan Xiuwen replied, “You forcibly abducted innocent girls and attempted to sell them into slavery. That is a violation of Great Zhou’s laws and cannot be forgiven. Who knows how many other crimes you have committed in the past? Come with me to the authorities at once!”
The traffickers’ faces filled with anger. Relying on their numbers, they tried to charge past him.
Taking advantage of the moment, Fan Xiuwen tore up the contracts belonging to the other girls, then drew a dagger from his robes and cut through the ropes around the waists of the remaining five girls.
Compared with the girls, the three traffickers seemed far more frightened of being taken to the authorities.
They forgot all about their “merchandise” behind them and fled faster than anyone else.
Rongyao said to General Guo, “Send them to the authorities.”
General Guo immediately ordered two of the imperial guards to pursue the three fleeing traffickers.
Beside the city gate, the rescued girls fell to their knees one after another and thanked Fan Xiuwen.
Fan Xiuwen asked each of them where they lived and whether they wished to return home.
Li Xiaochun was the first to answer. “My lord, I want to go home. I’ve been gone for so long that my parents must be frantic with worry. But my home is in Lingzhou, a thousand li away. I’m only a young woman, and I have no idea how I’m supposed to make such a long journey back.”
Fan Xiuwen said, “As it happens, I’m on my way to take up an appointment in Xinghua County, Lingzhou. You may travel there with me.”
Li Xiaochun’s face flushed with excitement. She repeatedly kowtowed to Fan Xiuwen. “Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!”
Fan Xiuwen then questioned the other five girls.
The youngest were only eight or nine, while the oldest were no more than sixteen or seventeen. They were all at a loss, shrinking back timidly.
One of the older girls kowtowed to Fan Xiuwen. “My lord, please take us in. We have nowhere else to go.”
Fan Xiuwen looked troubled. “I’m leaving the capital today, so it wouldn’t be convenient to take so many of you with me.”
At his words, despair settled over the faces of all five girls.
“Leave them to me.”
