Ye Yunniang took a closer look—how could it not look familiar?
It was the tiger-head shoes she had personally made for Jiang Tingjun.
On the left shoe, one of the tiger’s eyes had been stitched with the wrong thread, leaving one eye black and the other slightly reddish.
Ye Yunniang glanced around but saw no sign of Taohong, nor any familiar maids or matrons from Fanghua Courtyard.
Her heart sank. Something was wrong.
As the figure moved farther away, Ye Yunniang didn’t hesitate to follow.
She trailed behind the woman, leaving the riverside and the crowd behind, entering a narrow alley.
As Ye Yunniang approached, a cloud of powder was flung into her face.
She tried to hold her breath, but it was too late—she inhaled the powder and collapsed.
Before losing consciousness, she heard a man and woman speaking.
"You’re too careless. You didn’t even notice you were being followed."
"She’s a good catch. I was in a hurry."
"What do we do with her? Kill her?"
"Kill her? With skin like hers, she’ll fetch at least ten taels of silver."
"Fine."
Ye Yunniang felt herself being hoisted onto someone’s shoulder before everything went black.
When she woke, she found herself in a locked room, doors and windows sealed.
Her hands and feet weren’t bound. She tried the door—it wouldn’t budge. The windows were just as immovable.
Her eyes fell on a wooden rod lying on the floor.
"Save your strength," came a weak voice, startling her.
Turning, she saw a girl of about thirteen or fourteen slumped against the wall. Around her, several children lay haphazardly on the ground—among them, Jiang Tingjun, the very child Ye Yunniang had been searching for.
She rushed forward and gathered Jiang Tingjun into her arms.
"Young master, wake up..."
"They’ve been drugged. They won’t wake up. I’m Wen Nuan. What’s your name?" the girl introduced herself.
"My surname is Ye," Ye Yunniang replied curtly.
Given the circumstances, Wen Nuan’s calmness made Ye Yunniang suspicious—was she working with the traffickers?
Her doubt must have shown.
"I’m not one of them," Wen Nuan said, a flicker of hatred in her eyes. "My stepmother sold me."
At the mention of a stepmother, Ye Yunniang thought of her own past. If not for Cai Damei’s support, she might have suffered the same fate.
"I was sold by my stepmother. What about you?" Wen Nuan asked.
"Knocked out and taken," Ye Yunniang answered vaguely, holding Jiang Tingjun tighter, silently willing the Jiang family to realize the child was missing and come searching.
Wen Nuan noticed her evasion but didn’t press further.
"Do you have any food?" Her stomach growled loudly—she’d been starved for a day before being sold, and now two more days had passed without food.
She was ravenous.
Ye Yunniang pulled out two pieces of rice candy from her sleeve and handed one to Wen Nuan.
She ate the other herself, her own hunger gnawing at her.
Wen Nuan devoured hers in three bites, licking her fingers afterward. She then moved to check on the unconscious children, tucking straw beneath them to cushion them from the cold floor.
Watching her, Ye Yunniang did the same.
By the time they finished, the meager sustenance from the candy was long gone.
"Got any more food?" Wen Nuan clutched her growling stomach.
"None," Ye Yunniang admitted—she’d only brought the two pieces.
Wen Nuan slumped back against the wall, conserving her energy.
Ye Yunniang sat as well, pressing her forehead against Jiang Tingjun’s from time to time to check his temperature.
Then, the locked door creaked open, and a basket was tossed inside.
The basket fell to the ground with a bounce, and the steamed buns inside tumbled out, rolling to the feet of the two women.
The dark, yellowish cornbread looked utterly unappetizing. Wen Nuan picked it up, wiped it clean, and took a big bite. Then she forcefully patted her throat to swallow it. She had never tasted such awful cornbread in her life. But no matter how bad it was, she had to eat it—she didn’t want to starve to death.
She still had to go home and take revenge.
Wen Nuan grabbed another piece and shoved it into Ye Yunniang’s hand.
"Eat. Who knows when we’ll get our next meal?"
Ye Yunniang took the rock-hard cornbread and nibbled a tiny bite. Having been cared for by Cai Damei since childhood, she had endured verbal abuse from her stepmother, but she had never eaten anything so rough on the throat. She chewed slowly, forcing it down bit by bit.
Since she had eaten quite a bit in the morning, she wasn’t too hungry now. After a few bites, she tucked the rest into her robe.
Jiang Tingjun woke up at this moment. His eyes fluttered open, and upon seeing familiar faces, he didn’t cry or fuss.
"Milk," he said, enunciating each word with deliberate slowness.
Ye Yunniang glanced at Wen Nuan, then turned to face the wall to nurse Jiang Tingjun.
He was truly hungry, gulping down the milk so eagerly that some dribbled down the corner of his mouth. Ye Yunniang wiped it away with a handkerchief.
Once he finished, Jiang Tingjun wriggled out of Ye Yunniang’s arms and curiously eyed the unconscious children lying in the room. He reached out and patted one little face.
"Play."
The child, still unconscious, didn’t respond.
Jiang Tingjun raised his hand to hit again, but Ye Yunniang quickly pulled him into her arms.
"Be good. No hitting," she said sternly.
Jiang Tingjun burst into loud wails.
Ye Yunniang hushed him softly, coaxing him to stop crying.
Whether it was the drugs wearing off or Jiang Tingjun’s cries that roused them, the other children on the floor soon began stirring.
"I want Mama!"
"Mama… Mama…"
"Gege—"
"Grandpa… Grandpa…"
The cacophony of cries pierced Ye Yunniang’s ears, making her head throb.
There was one small silver lining—Jiang Tingjun had stopped crying. Instead, he stared wide-eyed at the sobbing older children.
Then, clear as a bell, he declared, "Ugly."
And burst into giggles.
Beside him, Wen Nuan also started laughing. "Hahahaha… Madam Ye… your kid is hilarious, absolutely hilarious… Hahaha… I can’t… my stomach hurts from laughing."
Between the laughter and the crying, Ye Yunniang didn’t know what expression to wear.
BANG! The door was kicked open.
"Shut up! No more crying!" A scruffy, middle-aged man strode in, his menacing glare sweeping over the wailing children.
His monstrous expression only made them cry harder—though a few, too terrified, stifled their sobs.
The noise grated on the man’s nerves. Without hesitation, he lifted his foot to kick the little girl nearest to him.
A three-year-old child wouldn’t survive such a blow. Ye Yunniang shot up to intervene—
But Wen Nuan was faster. She threw herself forward, shielding the child and taking the kick instead.
"Ah!"
Wen Nuan clutched her arm, crying out in pain.
"Now that’s more like it," the man said, grinning at the sound of her agony.
He raised his foot again—
"Wang Dachu, have you lost your mind? If you damage the goods, they won’t sell for a good price!" A young woman’s voice rang out from the doorway, stopping him.
"Killing one or two won’t make a difference," Wang Dachu scoffed. To him, human lives were as worthless as stray cats and dogs.
"Big Sister has given the order—we need a hundred of these goods. Right now, we’ve only got thirty. If you beat two to death, we won’t meet the quota. When Big Sister holds you accountable, that’s on you." Hu Sanniang rolled her eyes.
"Hu Sanniang, stop using Big Sister to threaten me. I don’t give a damn about that," Wang Dachui shot back.
"Fine, if you’re not scared, go ahead and keep hitting them." Hu Sanniang crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, watching Wang Dachui’s display of brutality.
Remembering Big Sister’s methods, Wang Dachui gave Wen Nuan another kick—though not as hard as the last two.
"Consider yourself lucky," he spat before storming off.
Hu Sanniang followed, locking the door behind her.
