Chapter 24: A Blow

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To Mopán Town, the capital city was a place far, far away. For Master Dong, who had served in the government office here for three years, those working in the office could only guess roughly which noble family in the capital he came from, but no one knew why he had come to this remote little town to serve as a magistrate’s assistant.

The county magistrate’s lips were sealed as if locked with several brass locks—no internal information could be gleaned.

From the magistrate’s cautious attitude toward Master Dong, everyone understood one thing: since even the magistrate tread carefully around him, it was best for others to be cautious and not provoke him.

Fortunately, apart from having a somewhat bad temper, this Master Dong from the capital kept to himself, and as long as no one provoked him, peace was maintained.

Only in the past few days, with a friend arriving from the capital, Master Dong’s mood improved noticeably. When coming in and out of the office, he would smile at everyone and even generously gave silver coins to invite them to a tavern for drinks after work.

However, Master Dong’s friend was also young, seeming even more handsome and refined—more fitting the role of a magistrate’s assistant than Dong himself.

Now, this friend was so familiar with that young lady—were they acquaintances?

Mopán Town was not devoid of pretty young ladies, but Master Dong had not paid any special attention to them.

“Enough gossiping, get to work,” Captain Jin said softly as he watched the group walk away.

Before long, unaware that she had become acquainted with Master Dong’s friend, Hong Xiaoduo followed them into a small teahouse.

Master Dong seemed to be a regular here; as soon as he arrived, the shopkeeper greeted him warmly and carefully instructed the waiter to seat the seven children together at one table.

Hong Xiaoduo noticed that upon entering, Tian Shu had quietly spoken to the younger siblings, and all seven nodded earnestly.

When the waiter placed fruits and snacks on the table before them, the children’s eyes widened with excitement.

“Tell them to eat freely, don’t be shy,” Master Dong said softly to Hong Xiaoduo, noticing the seven little bald heads sitting upright and still.

Hong Xiaoduo smiled, turned to the children, and said, “If you want to eat anything on the table, just help yourselves. It’s alright.”

Hearing this, Xiaokaiyang and Yaoguang looked at Tian Shu first; seeing him nod, they reached out for the nearest butterfly pastry and took small bites.

The other children followed suit, but Tian Shu did not take any food; instead, he poured himself a cup of tea and sat upright, attentively watching the storyteller.

Seeing the children so well-behaved and cautious, Hong Xiaoduo felt a pang of sorrow. They had never tasted such fruits and snacks before; their eyes sparkled the instant they saw them.

Even if they had scrambled for the food, she wouldn’t have scolded them or felt embarrassed or ashamed.

“How is it? If you don’t like it, I can have them bring another pot,” Dong Yuefan asked after noticing Hong Xiaoduo sip the tea once and then set the cup down.

Hong Xiaoduo laughed, “I’m no expert in tea; as long as it’s not bitter and quenches thirst, it’s enough. So even if you serve me the finest tea, it’d be like giving pearls to swine.”

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

The teahouse had few patrons. The storyteller was an elderly man with gray hair and beard, narrating with great feeling, but Hong Xiaoduo was preoccupied and paid no attention.

Similarly, Dong Yuefan had no interest in the story; sitting beside this young lady, he was too curious, with many questions he wanted to ask but feared offending her and losing this rare interesting acquaintance.

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Seeing him hesitate to speak several times and then lift his tea cup again, Hong Xiaoduo felt like laughing.

“They are little beggars I picked up on the road. Their hair was infested with lice, so...,” she thought for a moment and told him the curious answer he had asked at the bun stall.

“Ah? So that’s how it is. Such a chivalrous heart from the young lady, I admire that,” Dong Yuefan was surprised to hear the truth.

This was something even his good brother Mu Zitao could not have guessed!

“Chivalrous heart?” Hong Xiaoduo smiled wryly.

Seeing her reaction, Dong Yuefan sensed there was a story behind it and grew even more curious. “What’s the matter, Miss Hong? If it’s a financial issue, I have silver. Money can solve many problems.”

Hong Xiaoduo shook her head. “It’s not about money. If there’s not enough silver, I can find a way to earn it. But I overlooked one thing: as long as they’re still beggars, they don’t need travel permits. Now, they do.”

At this, she glanced at the children, who were close enough to overhear even if she lowered her voice. So she refrained from continuing here.

Her biggest reason for agreeing to listen to the story and drink tea with him was that he introduced himself as a magistrate’s assistant working in the government office.

If so, perhaps she could inquire about the possibility of placing these children somewhere, and the issue of travel permits.

Though Master Dong seemed somewhat unreliable in his ways, he was not a bad person.

Hence, she straightforwardly revealed the children’s identities and her difficulties, hoping to hear some useful advice from someone working in the office.

“That is indeed a problem. You can take them to small places, but if you go to larger cities or prefectures, it won’t work. Unless you avoid going toward the capital,” Dong Yuefan said seriously.

Avoiding the capital made sense; it was the most important place with the emperor residing there, and governance was strictest the closer one got.

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

Where is home? If I told you I only know I come from another time and place, but I currently have amnesia about where home is, would you believe me?

“Oh, if it’s inconvenient to say, Miss Hong, you don’t have to. I didn’t mean to be intrusive,” Dong Yuefan quickly apologized when she hesitated.

Hong Xiaoduo thought for a moment, then gathered her words. “I don’t want to lie to Brother Dong, so...”

Hearing this, Dong Yuefan immediately nodded. “I understand, I’ll pretend I never asked.”

“Brother Dong, actually, I want to ask if the government office has any way to place children in their situation?” Hong Xiaoduo asked, catching a glimpse of Tian Shu and the others stiffen.

The children were indeed listening intently to her conversation with the magistrate’s assistant, not the story.

Though knowing they might feel uneasy overhearing, they had never truly felt at ease. They were always cautious, afraid of displeasing her, afraid she would abandon them.

Yet she herself was powerless, uncertain of her future, unsure when she might disappear or leave.

Now, letting them hear the truth might be cruel, but she had to steel herself—to not allow their hopes to grow higher when she might not be able to fulfill them.

Upon hearing her question, Dong Yuefan put down his tea cup and glanced at the seven children, shaking his head. “Miss Hong, you may not know, but the imperial court has indeed decreed the establishment of shelters and relief halls in localities for people like them.

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However, in reality, the implementation is far from smooth.

I’m not afraid to speak frankly with you: such shelters are usually run by government offices with the help of local philanthropists.

But the imperial court does not actually allocate relief funds.

In large cities, there are wealthy merchants donating charity and kind-hearted people contributing efforts, so they can barely manage.

But in small places like Mopán Town, which is poor to begin with, even the officials’ salaries barely cover their own living expenses. The magistrates have no extra income, so it’s no surprise that even if shelters exist, the conditions would be dire.

Otherwise, why do localities tolerate beggars and vagrants as long as they cause no trouble?

Moreover, even in those larger shelters, they merely provide a place to stay and enough food to survive; they don’t support them indefinitely. Benevolent managers might arrange work for them.

But if you encounter unscrupulous ones, they pick the physically able, claiming to send them to wealthy households to work, but in reality, they sell them as servants.

Those who are good-looking are less fortunate—they might be sold to pleasure houses to entertain clients.

The boys might even be sold into the palace, castrated to become eunuch attendants.

As for adoptions by good families, don’t even think about it—it’s extremely rare and unpredictable. If they could bear children, those with means would take concubines instead.”

Dong Yuefan’s words struck Hong Xiaoduo like a hammer beating her into an ice cellar.

The more she listened, the more hopeless it felt. Hopeless was bad enough, but even worse was the terrifying thought of those seven children being sold into such places by unscrupulous people.

She knew Dong Yuefan was not exaggerating; she had been too naive, thinking the problem was simpler than it really was.

Turning to look at the children, she saw their little faces tensed, and Yu Heng already had tears on her cheeks.

Seeing her pale and distressed expression, Dong Yuefan didn’t know what to say to comfort her. “Miss Hong, don’t be upset or troubled. How about this: I’ll handle their travel permits.”

Ah? By heaven, Hong Xiaoduo never expected he would risk helping her with travel permits. After all, that’s illegal and if discovered, it could implicate him.

They were barely acquaintances who happened to get along, not at a level where he could help her with something so risky!

“Don’t worry, this little matter, I can manage,” he said, seeing her stunned, wide-eyed expression—so adorably dazed.

He almost wanted to pinch her cheek, but restrained himself and sipped his tea instead.

Hong Xiaoduo blinked and hesitated before summoning her courage: “That’s really wonderful, but, Brother Dong, what if I told you I don’t have travel permits either...”