Chapter 188: Settlement

Kou Wan gripped Lin Hao's hand, her face full of gratitude: "Sister Lin, you don't need to say anything more, I understand everything!"

Lin Hao:?

What did Second Miss Kou understand? And also, why did "Second Miss Lin" suddenly become "Sister Lin"?

Kou Wan dismissed her doubts, worrying instead about the girls who had suffered the same fate as her: "Sister Lin, there are three other little girls locked up with me!"

"My family will look after them for the time being. Once the human traffickers are sent to the authorities, they will help them return home."

Thinking of those three traffickers made Kou Wan grit her teeth in hatred: "That old woman wasn't a good person either; she was watching us very closely..."

For some reason, a flash of fear crossed the young girl's eyes.

Lin Hao gently patted her hand: "Don't worry, not a single one of them will escape."

"That's good then." Kou Wan's expression relaxed significantly.

"Does Second Miss Kou know where those three girls came from? They must have been abducted for some time, right?"

"Sister Lin can just call me Wan'er." Kou Wan shook her head. "As soon as I woke up, I found my mouth was gagged, and it was the same for the three of them; we couldn't communicate at all. But looking at them, it seems they've been held for a while."

Recalling the conditions in that dark, cramped room made Kou Wan feel nauseous. She thought to herself that she would never forget that musty smell for the rest of her life.

Seeing that Kou Wan was too distressed to say more, Lin Hao said softly, "I'll have someone escort you back, so your family doesn't worry."

Kou Wan thanked her once more and returned to the Marquis of Wu's Manor in an unmarked carriage.

Upon seeing Kou Wan, the gatekeepers hurriedly said, "Second Miss, you're finally back! The Madam has sent many people to look for you."

Kou Wan nodded and went straight to her mother's courtyard.

"Second Miss is back!" the maid standing at the door called out.

Kou Wan walked in and saw a cold, grim face. She pursed her lips and called out, "Mother."

"So you do know how to come back!" Seeing her daughter's nonchalant attitude, Madam Kou felt a surge of anger. "Do you know how many people went looking for you? You run out whenever you feel like it; do you have any semblance of a lady of a great household left...?"

Kou Wan listened silently to her mother's endless scolding, but the heart that Lin Hao had warmed was growing colder and colder.

An outsider, someone with whom she had no relation and whom she had even treated unkindly, had done her utmost to save her, yet her own mother offered nothing but criticism.

Madam Kou scolded her for a full fifteen minutes. Seeing that her daughter did not talk back, she was finally satisfied: "Go back to your room. Next time your sister returns, you are not allowed to throw another tantrum."

"I understand." Kou Wan turned around expressionlessly. As she walked out of the main courtyard, her eyes were met by the brilliant, sweeping colors of the sunset, and tears fell uncontrollably.

Thinking of Lin Hao's words, she felt only irony.

Sister Lin was still worried that she would be discovered by her family if she changed her clothes, but she was overthinking it.

To the Marquis of Wu's Manor, Kou Wan had merely been willful and run out for half a day; it was a matter that passed without even causing a ripple. However, Lin Hao had encountered a small problem.

The traffickers would be treated to prison meals once sent to the authorities, but only one of the three little girls had been sent away. Of the remaining two, one had been targeted by traffickers while trying to sell herself to fund her father's funeral—she had no family left. The other had also lost her parents and had accidentally overheard her elder brother and sister-in-law discussing selling her to a brothel, leading her to run away and fall into the hands of the traffickers.

The two little girls gazed at Lin Hao with pleading eyes. They didn't dare to cry or beg, but their eyes said everything.

They wanted to stay. They wanted to live.

Lin Hao instructed her little maid to take them to wash up and eat while she pondered how to settle them.

"Miss, do you intend to keep them?" Baozhu couldn't help but ask.

Leaning against the daybed, Lin Hao raised her eyes slightly: "What does Baozhu think?"

Baozhu did not hide her sympathy for the two girls: "This servant feels that although Miss does not lack maids, our General's Manor is so large that it wouldn't be difficult to arrange for two more."

Lin Hao nodded: "Yes, it wouldn't be difficult."

Baozhu tilted her head, somewhat puzzled.

If Miss thought so too, then what was there to hesitate about?

"Come, let's go to my eldest sister's place."

Lin Chan was still "recuperating" and had not left the doors of Jiaoyue Residence for a long time; the flowers and trees in the courtyard were already lush and green.

"Second Sister is here." Seeing Lin Hao, Lin Chan was not surprised.

Fearing she would be bored during her confinement, Lin Hao visited her frequently.

"There is something I want to ask Sister to help me decide on."

Lin Chan took a soft pillow and motioned for her sister to sit against it: "What is it?"

Lin Hao recounted the incident of accidentally saving the girls from the traffickers, omitting any mention of Kou Wan: "Now there are two little girls with nowhere to go. One is twelve, the other is fourteen. I am having a headache over how to arrange things for them."

"They are young; they could be useful after learning under a manager for a year or two." Lin Chan's first thought was the same as Baozhu's, but then she realized, "Second Sister, you aren't planning to keep them as maids?"

Lin Hao nodded: "I know it isn't hard for our family to raise two more maids, but what if we encounter girls like this again in the future?"

In the past, she wouldn't have thought this much, but a moment of compassion had led to the Lin residence taking in beggars, making her gradually realize that it was impossible to support so many people through her own strength alone. If she wanted her kindness to be sustainable, there had to be a more proper arrangement.

Lin Chan was somewhat surprised by Lin Hao's way of thinking: "Does Second Sister mean there might be more girls like this in the future?"

"If we encounter them, I cannot bear to stand by and watch," Lin Hao said softly.

Because there were too many girls like that; she had once been one of them.

On her path of escaping a "man-eating" household, she had also received help from others, which allowed her to endure until she met her teacher. When she saw girls falling into hardship, she couldn't help but think that perhaps with her small effort, these girls could have a different kind of life.

Lin Chan smiled and stroked Lin Hao's hair: "Second Sister's consideration is correct. If you want to help more people in difficulty, simply taking them in is not the solution; it is better to teach them how to fish."

A smile appeared in Lin Hao's eyes: "That is what I was thinking as well. I just don't know what the best arrangement would be, so I wanted to discuss it with Sister."

"If they have embroidery skills, they could open a shop selling embroidered goods. Not long ago, I heard the manager say that our family's shop on Wanqing Street is not performing well and they intend to do something else; the storefront is already there," Lin Chan suggested.

"Those two girls come from impoverished backgrounds; they likely haven't learned delicate work like embroidery. If they start learning now, it will take two or three years before they can even embroider a handkerchief..." As Lin Hao spoke, a thought struck her.

Embroidery was a skill that couldn't be learned in a short time, but some things could, such as making incense.

Women in the capital loved floral waters very much, and there were many various shops on the streets. Whether they were noble ladies or girls from modest families, they could all find a floral water that suited them. While watching her teacher make medicine, she had once heard him mention in passing that if one used his method of purifying medicinal juices to purify floral waters, they would be far superior to the ones seen on the market.

Opening a floral water shop where every step—from picking flowers to selling—required manpower could settle many people.

The two sisters discussed this for a long time. When Lin Hao left, she had an extra small box in her hand filled with banknotes. In Lin Chan's words, since the pocket money was just sitting there anyway, it might as well be treated as investment capital.

(End of Chapter)