EES - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Deep in the darkness underground, only the sound of breath carefully suppressed into shallow, rapid gasps remained to prove she was alive.

The little girl, barely past ten, pressed her back against the rough stone wall. She accidentally brushed against her scraped elbow and leg from the fall, drawing a soft hiss of pain, tears hovering in her eyes.

Fortunately, the pain was bearable for Erya, who had learned woodworking since childhood and was often nicked by knives or splinters. She pushed herself up using the wall, staring blankly upward at the mechanical hidden door that had already sealed shut.

"Grandfather..."

Erya didn't understand why her uncle and aunt, who were usually kind-faced and gentle, had suddenly transformed after Grandfather's death into something so terrifying. When they spoke of her or looked at her, it was as if she were merely an object. She only knew one thing: she absolutely could not let her uncle catch her.

Even at her young age, the girl already knew what being "sold" meant. When she was smaller, she had a playmate, an older neighbor girl, whose parents had sold her away. After that, the neighbor girl never appeared again.

Later, one night, Erya dreamed of that sister sitting by a well in white robes, smiling and beckoning her over. But when she approached, the sister leaned back and fell into the well. Cold well water splashed high, spraying onto Erya's face.

Without a word, Erya lowered her head and stumbled deeper into the tunnel. She dragged every scattered item piled in the passage to block the hidden door beneath it. Listening to the relentless stomping and chopping sounds echoing from above, she quietly crouched down, hugging her knees.

Meanwhile, once the imperial edict was issued from Qiong'an, it took over two days of flight to reach Linfang, a hundred miles or so away. Upon receiving the edict delivered by carrier pigeon, the Shadow Guard tasked with escorting Yang Sheng immediately handed it over to him.

"His Majesty's urgent rescript?" At that moment, Yang Sheng had just returned home and seen his mother. She had pulled his hand with a mix of relief and excitement, chattering about arrangements to host the private school tutor for dinner and inform other relatives in the clan. She was surprised to see the 'escort guard' in his vision approaching with an imperial edict.

"Yes." The Shadow Guard, disguised as a guard, nodded. "It is an urgent rescript sent by the palace carrier pigeon two days ago. It must concern a matter of great urgency. Please make the decision, Minister Yang. We will follow your arrangements."

Yang Sheng unfolded the edict to read it.

Yang's mother was a peasant woman; the highest-ranking official she had ever seen was a county constable. She had never witnessed such a scene. Watching those tall, imposing guards deliver the emperor's decree and address her son repeatedly as "Minister Yang," she instinctively lowered her voice. "Then, Sheng'er, carry out His Majesty's task well. Mother will go check the stove..."

"Mother, do you know of a carpenter named Sun Zheng in Xiaoliu Village?" Yang Sheng called out to his mother before she could leave, having quickly finished reading the edict.

"Xiaoliu Village..." Yang's mother thought for a moment, then realized. "Sheng'er, you mean Carpenter Sun, right? He's quite famous in our Linfang. That set of tables and chairs in our house was made by him!"

"Do you know where Carpenter Sun lives?" Yang Sheng asked. Seeing his mother's expression, he knew she did. After a brief pause, he said, "Then I'll trouble you to show us the way in a moment... I'll also have to ask each of you to spare one person to go to the county office and request that the yamen dispatch a few constables to Xiaoliu Village."

The latter part was directed at the Shadow Guards.

With the arrangements made, everyone present sprang into action.

Only after swiftly organizing matters did Yang Sheng have a moment to carefully ponder the contents of the edict.

The edict stated that a carpenter named Sun Zheng in Xiaoliu Village, Linfang County, had passed away, leaving behind a granddaughter. Relatives of the Sun family coveted the carpenter's estate and, seeing the orphan girl helpless and alone, sold her to a prominent household in Linfang to be wed in a ghost marriage.

Apart from instructing him on this matter, the emperor had also granted him permission to stay in Linfang for a few extra days to handle the case according to legal principles, and to uncover how many such clandestine dealings the local brokerage houses were involved in, as well as identify all the individuals implicated behind the scenes.

The first half of the edict laid out the matter formally, but the second half suddenly shifted tone, saying: "But Yang Sheng, you must still act within your capacity. Your safety comes first. If your investigation reveals the implications are too vast for you to handle, do not force a confrontation or rush in recklessly. Take the rescued orphan back to Qiong'an first. We will send others later to investigate and confiscate the household. In short, We place great hopes in you, so under no circumstances let anything happen to you." And so on.

...No wonder the guards didn't read it aloud upon receipt, but handed it directly for him to read himself.

Before entering court as an official, Yang Sheng had never imagined that the first imperial edict he received would be written in such a style, openly stating words like "We care more about your safety, dear minister." He couldn't help but develop a strange perception of imperial rescripts.

Did all emperors write edicts this sappy?

Still, how did the one in Qiong'an know about something happening in a small village in Linfang, a hundred miles or so away? It was as if he had witnessed it firsthand.

By the time the edict was issued, he shouldn't have reached Linfang yet. Naturally, it couldn't be a report compiled by the guards escorting him after their own investigations. Was there a specialized agency on the local level for probing such matters? But if so, why would the one in Qiong'an issue a special edict ordering him to handle it?

Seeing his mother watching him with slight worry, Yang Sheng temporarily shelved his thoughts and put away the edict.

The edict had been dispatched from Qiong'an three days ago by now. Regardless of whether the girl had been caught or not, he should act as soon as possible. Yang Sheng ordered one of the Shadow Guards to go to the county and inquire about any household where a son had recently died and the steward's surname was Cai, to confirm if the girl had been taken. On his end, he wasted no time and set out directly as the evening deepened.

Far away in the capital, An Lin watched this unfold through the minimap and nodded in satisfaction.

She now knew that Butler Cai's master also bore the surname Cai, making them the wealthiest household in Linfang. During these three days, since the girl jumped through the hidden door into the tunnel, Butler Cai had returned to the Cai residence to report to his master, Master Cai. Master Cai had dispatched numerous retainers to capture the girl together. However, the hidden door was made of some unknown material; five or six thick layers lay flush against the ground, offering no leverage to pry it up, nor could it be split open. Butler Cai ordered the retainers to demolish the girl's house and lever up the floorboards, which finally allowed them to pry open the hidden door early this morning.

Fortunately, the tunnel featured winding paths and a complex structure, including a small side chamber. The chamber also had its own hidden door. Erya had entered this side chamber on the second day and survived until the third day relying on the stored grain and water inside.

Yet underground, there was not only a lack of light but temperatures significantly lower than on the surface. Watching the little girl curled up against the wall in the side chamber, An Lin's mind drifted to news reports she had seen before her transmigration.

It seemed that no matter how eras progressed, there were always people clinging to feudal superstitions, living in the shadows. Whether it was trafficking or ghost marriages, they had never vanished from society. Moreover, the more backward and remote the area, the more prevalent such cases became.

It was simply that none of it had fallen upon those people themselves.

Frowning, An Lin considered how to solve this problem at its root from a monarch's perspective, in an ancient era where the trade in human beings was still partially legal.

First, she needed to abolish the laws legitimizing human trafficking as soon as possible and initiate comprehensive legal revisions. The laws of Xuan had numerous loopholes and would inevitably require new codification sooner or later. However, certain reforms had to wait until economic development reached a point where citizens could survive without selling their children.

Another was the principle of equal guilt for buyer and seller.

This required central control over localities to reach a certain level. Current county yamens lacked this capability entirely; some were even overshadowed by local gentry and wealthy elites. How could they enforce arrests according to the law? The court's grip in places like Yunzhou Prefecture was practically nonexistent.

Alas, the burden was heavy and the path long.

An Lin sighed. She would deal with the peril of national ruin within five years and the treasury crisis first, then tackle these issues one by one. There was simply too much to do.

Just as An Lin was lost in thought, she saw that Yang Sheng, whom she had placed such high hopes on, had arrived at Xiaoliu Village.

Over the past few days, both those aware and unaware of the truth in Xiaoliu Village had reduced their outings. Erya's uncle had originally known to secretly bring Butler Cai to take Erya away at night, unseen by the villagers. But after Erya hid in the underground chamber, and Master Cai rushed to arrange the ghost marriage and burial for his son, dispatching many retainers to hunt her down, the nature of the matter had shifted.

Butler Cai had gone door-to-door to bribe and placate the village head and other residents. The villagers either dared not speak out or felt it unnecessary to offend Master Cai over a helpless little girl. All maintained silence, keeping their children confined indoors and forbidding them from playing outside.

Upon arrival, Yang Sheng saw several ox carts parked outside Xiaoliu Village, with a man dressed as a retainer dozing beside one.

"Take that retainer along. Go to Carpenter Sun's house," Yang Sheng instructed. He then turned to the constables dispatched by the yamen. "Where does the Xiaoliu Village head live?"

"Follow this road to the end, and you'll reach the village head's house," replied a constable who had previously handled business in Xiaoliu Village.

"Please bring the village head to Carpenter Sun's house as well."

Seeing the ox carts parked so brazenly at the village entrance, Yang Sheng had already guessed the village head's complicity or inaction. After giving his orders, he immediately led his party toward Carpenter Sun's house.

Butler Cai, who had been waiting anxiously outside what remained of Carpenter Sun's house, little more than its foundation, felt a vague sense of unease as he saw a large group approaching from a distance. After carefully recognizing them, he forced a smile and stepped forward. "How did several honorable officers come to this village at such an hour? My master had been mentioning for days that he wished to host the county magistrate and gentlemen for wine. Look at me, I forgot to send word to my subordinates!"

He directed these words at the men dressed in yamen officer uniforms.

"The county magistrate is hardly acquainted with your Master Cai," the constables replied coolly. They turned directly to Yang Sheng. "Top Scholar, shall we arrest him and take him back for interrogation?"

Only then did Butler Cai notice Yang Sheng, clad in a long gown, standing beside the constables. Upon clearly seeing Yang Sheng's face, his eyes widened in sudden surprise, and he instinctively pointed. "You... you're that..."

"Where are the others?" Yang Sheng frowned, cutting off Butler Cai. "And Carpenter Sun's granddaughter? Where are they?"

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