Chapter 16: The Constables Have Arrived

"Look at her, she’s panicking, isn't she? She’s gone quiet. Take her to the magistrate’s office!" A-Kuan’s intelligence suddenly kicked in; sensing Hong Xiaoduo’s expression, he raised his voice.

If Hong Xiaoduo were to say she wasn't panicking right now, it would be a lie.

What would she say at the magistrate’s office? Could she explain it clearly? The children were still young, after all; there was no guarantee that once they were inside the office and frightened, they wouldn't spill the truth.

Was it certain that she had injured or killed that villain? The magistrate would send someone to investigate, and it would be clear soon enough. They rode fast horses, and the distance wasn't that far. If she had only injured him, the worst-case scenario was paying for his medical expenses, but would the children be taken back by that villain because of it?

If they found out the man was dead, then she really wouldn't have to worry about anything—Hong Xiaoduo would either be locked up or waiting for execution after the autumn assizes, right?

It seemed to be late autumn now. Did she have to wait until next year for the execution? She really had no idea!

She liked reading ancient-setting novels, but while the plots were moving and exciting, the appeal lay in the twists and turns of the story. She hadn't paid attention to any common knowledge about ancient times.

She couldn't be blamed for that, could she? Who goes to a restaurant to order a dish and insists on knowing how many steps it takes to prepare, when it appeared in history, or what category it belongs to? It’s delicious, you like eating it—isn't that enough?

When the seven children heard they were going to the magistrate’s office, they all panicked. Tianxuan secretly tugged at Hong Xiaoduo’s sleeve: "Mother, why don't you run away first? Don't worry about us. Once things settle down, we'll come out and find you."

"Oh, so now you're not afraid that I'll run away and never come back?" Hong Xiaoduo felt a warmth in her heart and leaned down to whisper to him.

It wasn't that she was carefree; even in this situation, she still had the heart to joke and tease the children. It was just that she had no choice—she had already seen several bailiffs walking over. Her luck was just that rotten.

Hong Xiaoduo looked at the children and thought to herself, it seems the fate between us has reached its end. Heaven wants us to part ways!

"What are you all gathered here for? Trying to cause trouble?" A bailiff scanned the crowd and barked fiercely.

"Officer, you’ve come just in time! Arrest her! She’s trafficking little beggars!" The onlookers, seeing the bailiffs, had gone quiet. A-Kuan, as if he had met a savior, excitedly pointed at Hong Xiaoduo and the others to lodge his complaint.

Tianshu and the others pressed tightly against Hong Xiaoduo’s back, while Kaiyang and Yaoguang held onto her arms, one on each side.

The bailiff who had spoken seemed to be the leader. Hearing this, he looked at Hong Xiaoduo and the others, then glared at A-Kuan: "Get lost. Don't try to get chummy with me. 'Big brother'? Who’s your big brother?"

"This one deserves to die, this one misspoke. It’s 'Officer', sir," A-Kuan hurriedly apologized with a fawning smile.

The onlookers looked at his sycophantic behavior with utter contempt.

The head bailiff ignored A-Kuan and walked over to stand beside Hong Xiaoduo: "You heard what he said? What do you have to say for yourself? And these few, what’s going on with them?" He pointed at the children as he asked.

The bailiff looked quite fierce, but when he pointed at Tianshu and the others, he didn't use the word "beggar," which made Hong Xiaoduo relax slightly.

"I found them on the road. Seeing that they were young and had nowhere to go, I took them in. The weather is getting colder by the day, so I bought them each a set of clothes to keep warm.

He is a new clerk at that clothing store. When we went to the shop, he tried to chase us away, and then the shopkeeper scolded him.

Later, after we left the shop and wanted to find a place that would let us in to eat, he chased after us, hurling all sorts of insults and threats. He kept saying he was fired by the shopkeeper because of us, and blah, blah, blah.

He’s even framing me for trafficking them. I—I’m the one who’s aggrieved here.

Officer, since you are from the magistrate’s office, why don't you take these seven children back with you? It would be best if you could settle them; that would be much better than being with me." Hong Xiaoduo acted timidly, sounding more aggrieved the more she spoke.

By the end, the children beside her couldn't help but look up at her secretly. Was this still the mother they knew? How did she suddenly become so weak and pathetic?

"That’s easy to say. You did a good deed by picking them up, so naturally, you should see it through to the end. What do you think the magistrate’s office is? It’s not a shelter for you to dump your messes. We’re busy enough catching bandits and maintaining order all day long," the bailiff immediately refused righteously. Not only did he refuse, but he also lectured Hong Xiaoduo.

"The officer is absolutely right. I also want to keep them with me until I find a suitable place for them. But, sigh, I am a woman, and I am so young; it’s too hard to do anything out here.

Even wanting to stay at an inn with them is impossible because we don't have travel permits. Sigh, I guess I’ll have to let them sleep on the streets tonight." Seeing that the bailiff was buying her act, Hong Xiaoduo struck while the iron was hot.

She deliberately risked saying they had no travel permits, rather than just saying the children didn't have them.

She could see that the bailiff was afraid of being stuck with them and having the seven children dumped on him to take back to the office.

On this point, Hong Xiaoduo had bet correctly.

The head bailiff was indeed worried about being stuck with them. The current Emperor, in order to boast of his benevolent governance, took great care of the homeless and beggars, and there were relief policies in place.

Usually, this mainly involved giving out food and clothing, but that treated the symptoms, not the root cause. Later, officials submitted proposals, and now, besides distributing goods, they had established shelters in certain places for the elderly and the homeless.

They also encouraged wealthy merchants, temples, and Taoist monasteries to crowdfund shelters for those who couldn't support themselves, with local offices providing firewood in addition to grain.

It sounded simple from above, but it was difficult for local offices to implement. Cooking meals every day, providing two meals a day, and finding utensils, firewood, and vegetables—the officials found it a huge headache.

In recent years, with natural disasters, man-made calamities, and constant warfare, the people were struggling to survive, and naturally, the number of beggars and refugees had increased.

The higher-ups ordered that they not be driven away, but the local offices didn't have the capacity to house and manage them all. Therefore, they turned a blind eye to them wandering around and let them be.

As long as they didn't cause trouble or stir up any incidents while begging on the streets, basically no one would step in to manage them.

If he really brought seven beggar children back to the office, the magistrate would be furious, and his position as a bailiff would likely be lost.

The head bailiff, eager to get away, was feeling troubled. Just then, he saw someone beckoning to him from outside the crowd, so he walked over.

"Brother Jinhu, what’s up? What happened?" The man who called him was middle-aged.

Jinhu sighed and briefly explained what had happened: "Hey, Wanquan, aren't you running an inn? Why don't you let them stay at your place for the night? It’s not for free; the young lady has silver. Didn't you see she bought new clothes for those kids?

Business isn't good right now anyway, and your guest rooms are empty. Let them stay for a night; a shared room is fine. At worst, it’s just a bit of a hassle to clean up tomorrow."

"Huh? Wanquan frowned slightly: "Is that so? My business isn't good, but it’s peaceful while empty. If I let them stay, I’m afraid of inviting trouble."

"Get out of here. That excuse might work on others, but do you think I’ll believe it? I won't say anything else, but at your inn, who would dare look for trouble? Alright, stop acting like you're losing out when you're actually getting a deal. If you really don't agree, I’ll take them to stay at Old Yang’s place," Jinhu glared.

"Alright, alright, alright. For others, it wouldn't work, but since Brother Jinhu asked, let them come with me," Wanquan hurriedly agreed with a smile.

With that settled, the bailiff Jinhu beckoned to Hong Xiaoduo. She felt it wasn't a bad thing, so she walked over, followed by a string of beggar children.

Once they were close, the bailiff Jinhu pointed at Wanquan and said, "This is the owner of the inn. For my sake, he’ll let you stay for the night. Go quickly. Tell them not to make a ruckus, okay? There are other guests at the inn."

Huh? They could stay at an inn? That was great.

"Many thanks, Officer. Quick, children." After thanking him, Hong Xiaoduo signaled for Tianshu and the others to thank him as well.

The seven children said in unison: "Many thanks, Officer. May the Officer be kind and live a long life, make a fortune, and have many children."

Hong Xiaoduo heard this and thought, that’s not right, it’s gone off-track, and hurriedly told them to stop.

Then, she happily followed Wanquan away, not worried at all that A-Kuan would continue to cause trouble.

Since the bailiff had started helping her solve her accommodation problem, if A-Kuan still couldn't read the room and kept pestering the bailiff, he would just be asking for his own misery...

(End of chapter)