Chapter 24: Blow

Chapter 24: Blow

To Mopan Town, the capital was a place very, very far away. For this Counselor Dong, who had been working at the yamen for three years, the officials there could only guess which powerful family's son he might be, but they had no idea why he would come to such a remote, small place to serve as a counselor.

The County Magistrate's mouth was as if it had been locked with several copper locks; he was incredibly tight-lipped, and not a single shred of inside information could be gleaned from him.

From the Magistrate's attitude toward Counselor Dong, everyone understood one thing: if even the Magistrate was someone who carefully watched his expressions, everyone else should just be careful not to provoke him.

Fortunately, aside from having a rather difficult temperament, as long as people didn't provoke Counselor Dong, everyone lived in peace.

It was only in the last few days, however, that a good friend from the capital had arrived. Counselor Dong's mood had become exceptionally good. When entering or leaving the yamen and seeing the staff, he not only smiled at everyone but also, quite rarely, gave out silver to invite them to the tavern for drinks when they were off duty in the evening.

However, Counselor Dong's friend was also a young man, appearing even more handsome than the counselor himself, with a refined, scholarly air that made him look more like a counselor than Dong did.

Now, was he also quite well-acquainted with that young lady?

There were beautiful young ladies in Mopan Town, but when this gentleman encountered them, he never seemed to spare them a second glance.

"Stop gossiping and get back to work," Captain Jin said in a low voice, watching the departing figures.

Before long, Hong Xiaoduo—completely unaware that she had become an acquaintance of Counselor Dong—followed them to a small teahouse.

Counselor Dong seemed to be a regular here. As soon as they arrived at the entrance, the proprietor greeted them familiarly and carefully instructed a waiter to arrange a table for the seven children to sit together.

Hong Xiaoduo noticed that just as they entered the teahouse, Tianshu had whispered something to his younger siblings, and all seven children had nodded earnestly.

When the waiter placed fruit and pastries on the tea table in front of them, the seven children's eyes widened significantly.

"Tell them to eat as they please and not to be so restrained," Counselor Dong said, leaning slightly toward Hong Xiaoduo as he saw the seven little bald heads sitting primly and motionless.

Hong Xiaoduo smiled and turned to the children. "Eat whatever you want on the table, it's alright."

Hearing her say this, little Kaiyang and Yaoguang first looked toward Tianshu. Seeing him nod as well, they finally reached out their small hands, took the butterfly pastries closest to them, and began to eat in small bites.

The other children followed suit, but only Tianshu did not take any food. Instead, he poured himself a cup of tea and continued to sit upright, looking toward the storyteller in front.

Seeing the children being so well-behaved, sensible, and cautious, Hong Xiaoduo felt a pang of heartache. They had clearly wanted those fruits and pastries the moment they saw them, their eyes sparkling with desire.

In truth, even if they had grabbed the food without manners, she wouldn't have scolded them, nor would she have felt it was a loss of face or felt embarrassed.

"How is it? If you don't like it, shall I have them bring a different pot?" Dong Yuefan asked, seeing Hong Xiaoduo take a small sip of tea before setting the cup back down.

Hong Xiaoduo smiled. "I am not skilled at tasting tea; as long as it isn't bitter and can quench my thirst, it is fine. So, Brother Dong, even if you gave me the finest tea, it would be like a cow chewing on a peony—a complete waste of something precious."

Her words made Dong Yuefan chuckle, and his impression of her grew even better.

There weren't many customers in the teahouse. The storyteller was an elderly man with grey hair and a beard, telling his tale with great passion, but Hong Xiaoduo had things on her mind and couldn't listen at all.

Similarly, Dong Yuefan had no heart for the story. He was far too curious about the young lady sitting beside him; there were too many things he wanted to ask.

Yet, he feared that asking the wrong thing might offend her and cause her to ignore him. He had finally encountered someone so interesting.

Seeing him hesitate several times and then pick up his teacup again, Hong Xiaoduo also felt like laughing.

"I picked them up on the road. Little beggars. They had small insects in their hair, so..." After a moment's thought, she gave him the answer to the question he had been curious about at the bun stall.

"Ah? So that's how it is. You have a chivalrous heart, young lady. I admire you," Dong Yuefan said, quite surprised by the truth.

Even his good friend Mu Zitao wouldn't have guessed this!

"A chivalrous heart?" Hong Xiaoduo gave a bitter smile.

Seeing her reaction, Dong Yuefan sensed there was a story behind it, which made him even more curious. "What is it? Does Miss Hong have some difficulty? If it is a matter of silver, I have plenty." Anything that could be solved with money was no matter.

Hong Xiaoduo shook her head. "It's not a matter of silver. If there isn't enough money, I can find ways to earn it. But I overlooked one problem: if they are still beggars, they don't need travel permits to go anywhere. But in this situation, they cannot."

As she spoke, Hong Xiaoduo glanced at the children's position. Realizing that even if she lowered her voice, they would still hear her, she knew certain things could not be said here.

The main reason she had agreed to come here for tea and stories was that when he introduced himself, he said he was a counselor at the yamen.

If that were the case, could she perhaps learn about the possibility of settling these children? And the issue of the travel permits.

Although this Counselor Dong seemed somewhat unreliable in his conduct, he was indeed not a bad person.

Therefore, she had directly revealed the children's identity and her predicament, hoping to hear some useful advice from someone who worked in the yamen.

"That is indeed a problem. It might be fine to take them to small places, but it won't work if you truly go to large cities or prefectures. Unless... you don't head toward the capital." Dong Yuefan's expression turned serious upon hearing this.

Not heading toward the capital—that made sense. The capital was the most important place; the Emperor was there, and the closer one got, the stricter the management became.

"Where is your home, Miss Hong? Your family must be well-off. Are you planning to take them home with you?" Dong Yuefan asked again.

*Where is my home? If I told you that I only know I come from another time and space, but my home is currently lost to amnesia, would you believe me?*

"Oh, if it is inconvenient to say, you don't have to. I was being intrusive," Dong Yuefan apologized immediately upon seeing her hesitation.

Hong Xiaoduo thought for a moment and organized her words. "I don't want to lie to you, Brother Dong, so..."

Upon hearing this, Dong Yuefan nodded immediately. "I understand, I understand. Let's just pretend I never asked."

"Brother Dong, actually, I wanted to ask you... for children in their situation, does the government have any provisions for settling them?" Hong Xiaoduo asked the question anyway. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the small frames of Tianshu and the others stiffen.

The children were indeed paying attention to her conversation with the counselor; they weren't listening to the story at all.

Although she knew that letting them hear this would make them uneasy, the truth was, they had never truly been at peace. They were always so careful in everything they did with her, simply because they were afraid of displeasing her and being abandoned.

But she herself was caught in a situation beyond her control. She didn't even know when she might disappear or leave this place.

To let them hear this now was somewhat cruel, but she had to steel her heart. She couldn't allow their expectations to grow higher when she knew they could follow her indefinitely, yet she could not guarantee she could do so.

Hearing her question, Dong Yuefan set down his teacup and glanced at the seven children, shaking his head. "Miss Hong, you may not know, but although the Imperial Court aims to establish relief halls in local areas for people like them..."

"In practice, however, implementation is not so smooth."

"I won't lie to you. Those relief departments are usually matters handled by the local yamen in cooperation with local philanthropists."

"But the Imperial Court does not actually allocate relief funds."

"In large places, it's fine; merchants provide charitable funds and philanthropists contribute effort, so they can barely maintain them."

"In a small place like Mopan Town, which is not wealthy to begin with, the salaries of the yamen officials are barely enough to support their own households. Even the officials have no extra income to skim; let alone having such relief institutions, even if they did exist, one can only imagine what the situation would be."

"Otherwise, why do you think that in various places, as long as beggars and refugees don't cause trouble, they aren't expelled?"

"Furthermore, even in those relief centers in large places, they are merely places to find food and shelter; people won't support them for free forever. Kind managers will arrange for them to find work."

"Those with crooked hearts will pick those whose bodies are not disabled, claiming they are sending them to work for wealthy families, but in reality, they are selling them as servants."

"Those who are good-looking have even worse luck; they will be sold into brothels to work as entertainers."

"As for boys, they might even be sold into the palace to be castrated and become eunuchs."

"As for being adopted by good families, don't even think about it; that is something one can only hope for by pure chance. If a family truly cannot bear children but has some means, they will simply take a concubine."

Dong Yuefan's words were like a hammer, striking Hong Xiaoduo one after another into an ice cellar.

The more she listened, the more hopeless it felt. Hopelessness was one thing, but it was also terrifying. She could not imagine the scene if these seven children were sold to such places by unscrupulous people.

She knew that what Dong Yuefan said was not alarmist; rather, she was too naive and had thought the problem was too simple.

Turning her head toward the children, she saw their small faces tense, and tears were already hanging on Yuheng's face.

Seeing her pale and distressed expression, Dong Yuefan was momentarily at a loss for how to comfort her. "Miss Hong, do not be so distressed. How about this: I will handle the issue of their travel permits."

*Huh?* Heaven and Earth as my witness, Hong Xiaoduo truly had no intention of hoping he would provide permits for them. After all, that would be against the rules; if discovered, it could implicate him.

No matter how well they got along, they were merely acquaintances; they hadn't reached the point where he would undertake such a risky task for her!

"Don't worry, a small matter like this is something I can manage." Seeing her staring at him blankly with an expression that was both dazed and adorable, he couldn't help but want to pinch her cheeks. But that would be inappropriate, so he restrained himself and took a sip of tea.

Hong Xiaoduo blinked her large eyes, hesitated, and then gathered her courage. "That would be wonderful, but... but, Brother Dong, what if I said that I don't have a travel permit either..."

(End of Chapter)