CHAPTER 222: CHAPTER 222 QI MANSION

If time is not enough, he can speak to Lord County Captain again; the punishment is not as important as finding the people.

"Good, good, good, with Brother Qin accompanying us, this old woman is at ease." Third Grandma felt much more settled hearing San Lang’s words.

Luo Wu hesitated, unsure whether to go?

He only had three days off. After three days, he would have to return to the government office for duty and could only come back once every half a month. He didn’t want to leave; he wanted to spend more time with Jinxiu and look at her a few more times.

Jinxiu was a young lady now and was wary of so many strange men coming to their house so she had been avoiding them, staying inside. But upon hearing that they had found her aunt, she couldn’t help but stand at the doorway, leaning half her body out, looking outside.

Luo Wu saw her at a glance and was overjoyed. Seizing the opportunity while everyone was busy, he boldly ran over to talk to her: "Sister Xiu, I have tried and will be a government official under Squad Leader Yang in the government office."

Jinxiu looked at him and smiled, "Congratulations, Brother Luo Wu."

After speaking, she again looked towards the courtyard, her face anxious.

Seeing this, Luo Wu asked, "Are you worried about your aunt?"

Jinxiu nodded: "Hmm, my cousin said that she was sold separately, and I don’t know if we can buy her back?"

Luo Wu, seeing her concern for Gu Daya’s family, clenched his teeth and said, "Don’t worry, I have three days off and will go with your dad to find people. I will definitely help you bring Aunt Daya back."

"Really?" Jinxiu was very happy, her eyes sparkled as she looked at Luo Wu.

Luo Wu felt a softness in his heart and quickly nodded: "Yes! I’m not lying to you; I will go find people."

He then instructed her, "In these few days while we are not at home, don’t go outside... The village isn’t safe. If anything happens, look for Elder Qin, understand?"

Jinxiu nodded: "Hmm, I know. Xiao Yu has already told me, don’t worry."

She knew she was a young lady now, with a good appearance, and couldn’t just go out often. Once targeted by someone, her whole life would be ruined. She wasn’t nervous about herself, but rather worried about creating trouble for her family.

She had no special skills, but she could stay honestly at home and be obedient.

Hearing her words, Luo Wu, still uneasy, instructed her a few more times before turning to Dashan, saying, "Uncle Dashan, I will go with you guys to find people."

Jinli gave him a glance and said nothing, just stating, "Okay, then there will be nine of us going."

It was her, San Lang, Dashan, Third Grandpa, Luo Wu, Li Anzi, plus Old Zhu and his son along with Wang Yongfu.

After speaking, she turned to Elder Qin, "Grandpa Qin, we entrust the household matters to you. Until we return, if new customers come to the workshop wanting to buy our tofu or spices, please turn them all away. If someone persistent comes, then close the workshop and send someone to seek help from the Jiang Family."

"In short, while we are away, the workshop should prioritize safety; better to not do business than to have trouble."

"Rest assured," Elder Qin said: "At night, I will take turns with Er Lang to keep watch; we won’t let the households have trouble."

Jinli was very reassured by Elder Qin, with him in charge at home, they could go find people worry-free.

Mrs. Cui made a big clay pot of Fried Five-Spice Tofu and ran to the workshop to bring back a bucket of soy milk. At the moment, she and Third Grandma were serving out the tofu and soy milk, calling out to Jinli and the others, "Eat something first, then hit the road after."

Jinli looked at the sky and said, "Mom, we won’t eat. Just pack it in a bag and bring it along."

Saying that, she ran back to the house with Mrs. Cui, leaving thirty taels of silver for the household, taking the rest of the silver and silver notes with her, and dividing the silver notes into three parts—to be carried separately by her, Dashan, and Third Grandpa.

Jiang Jiao had already made all the refugees not kept back get on the mule cart, leaving only the families of the Zhu Family and Wang Yongfu’s family. Once Jinli and the others brought out the money, everyone boarded the mule cart, driving the mule cart away from Da Feng Village.

The mule cart was very fast, and it reached Shang Family Village in half an hour. Gu Jinli and his companions went to Scholar Shang’s home and informed Gu Jin’an.

Gu Jin’an was thrilled to hear that they had found Aunt Daya and her family and wanted to join them in the search, but was stopped by Gu Jinli: "Big brother, our home is full of women; you should go back. Don’t worry, with so many of us here, plus Uncle Shang and Second Uncle Jiang, there won’t be any problems."

Hearing this, Gu Jin’an had no choice but to give up the idea of going along to search for the people.

The group rode the mule cart and two hours later, they finally arrived at the Jiang Family in the county town.

Jiang Jiao took them to meet County Captain Jiang.

After learning about the matter, County Captain Jiang immediately gave them some of his name cards and wrote them a letter.

With County Captain Jiang’s official name cards and personal letter, once they reached the Prefecture, they could use these items to enter the city, visit the Qi Family, and search for people at various brokers.

Jiang Jiao was very loyal; after returning home, he used all three of his family’s carriages and personally accompanied them to the Prefecture.

It was almost dark already, but they were in a rush to rescue people and did not stop to rest, planning to travel through the night.

"The carriage is faster than the mule cart. If we hurry, we can reach the Prefecture by tomorrow morning," said Jiang Jiao.

"Brother Jiang, thank you so much," Gu Dashan expressed his gratitude, and with a guilty look, glanced at Gu Jinli who was dozing off.

Originally, Xiao Yu should not have been involved in this matter, but he felt powerless and uneasy, without any ideas, for fear that once they reached the Prefecture, they would not be able to find the people, which is why he had brought Xiao Yu along.

If something happened, she had a quick mind and a daring spirit, capable of offering substantial help.

As for Gu Jinli, she did not mind undertaking this journey; she was just worried that rescuing Gu Daya’s family might bring trouble to her own family.

The group drove through the night, and by the time it was past mid-morning the next day, they had finally arrived at the Prefecture.

There were still disaster victims outside the Prefecture that had not been resettled, with a garrison army blocking the road. Jiang Jiao knew the Company Commander of the garrison, who let them into the city after speaking with him.

Once inside the city, they did not stop for a moment and hurried all the way to Linyang Street on the eastern side, arriving at Qi Mansion.

Bang bang bang!

Gu Dashan ran to knock on the door.

Gu Jinli hurriedly ran over to stop him: "Dad, you can’t appear too anxious. If people see you like this, they’ll take advantage of you."

Hearing this, Gu Dashan hastily withdrew his hand.

Creak~

The gate of Qi Mansion opened, revealing a servant dressed in a gray short robe looking at them resentfully and snapping, "What are you smashing? Do you know whose house this is? This is the main residence of Lord Qi from the Capital, the noble Qi Mansion of the Prefecture. By banging on the door like this, are you looking for death?"

Jiang Jiao, not wanting to argue with the servant, directly took out his father’s official seal and handed it to the servant: "We’ve come to visit Old Master Qi, please announce us."

Saying so, he took out a tael of silver and threw it to the servant.

The servant hurriedly caught the silver, took the seal, and upon seeing it was an official seal, immediately grinned and said, "Please wait a moment, sir, I will go and report your arrival."

Before the servant had even entered, a man’s drunken voice came from behind: "You~who are you? Why~why are you gathered at my doorstep?"