They had spent the entire day making inquiries, asking everyone they could, but as soon as the words “imperial mausoleum” were mentioned, it stirred up people’s rebellious hearts. Not a single person was willing to give them a straight answer to their questions. Qin Yining felt that even if they stayed overnight in the county town and tried the same approach tomorrow, they wouldn’t be able to find out anything.

Compared to learning nothing at all and wasting another day, this beggar who made him feel something was amiss had become more important. Some people said he was a murderer and criminal—she would not concern herself with such claims. She had never met him before, and she only saw the humiliation he was currently suffering. Since she couldn’t bear to watch it, she simply decided to save him.

If she later discovered he truly was a person who committed all kinds of evil, it wouldn’t be too late to punish him severely then.

With this thought, Qin Yining gestured to Jingzhe and the others.

Jingzhe immediately understood and told Dahan and Xiaoman: “First help this young brother onto the cart.” Then he went with Xiaoxue to protect Qin Yining and Ji Yun as they retreated.

The villagers and the elder present all stared in disbelief at this turn of events.

“What do you think you’re doing! Are you actually planning to take this person away with you!”

Xiaoman and Dahan paid no attention to their shouting and helped the beggar onto the cart, then drove off.

However, the common people who had gathered around united to block the road.

The crowd pointed at Qin Yining’s group and cursed with righteous indignation:

“What do you think you are! How dare you meddle in our county’s affairs!”

“To think we took pity on you and allowed you to trade here, yet you repay kindness with enmity!”

…

Qin Yining realized that these common people all held some ignorant thoughts. It seemed that having been under their clan’s protection for a long time, they regarded family rules and what they considered proper standards as more important than imperial law.

When dealing with people who weren’t exactly evil, just mediocre, Qin Yining knew that neither being too harsh nor too lenient would be appropriate. One careless move could easily cause these people to surge forward en masse.

Qin Yining immediately called out: “Jingzhe!”

Jingzhe immediately understood and turned to kick a tree by the roadside that was as thick as a bowl. The trunk made a “crack” sound, and the crown slowly toppled over.

“Ah! Get out of the way quickly, the tree is falling!”

“This person must be some kind of monster—how can he break a tree with one kick!”

…

The men who had originally been about to charge forward were all stunned by this sudden display. What kind of leg strength was this!

The common people who were closer, fearing they would be crushed, scattered in all directions.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Qin Yining and Ji Yun boarded the carriage, while Jingzhe and the others each drove their carts, rushing straight through the crowd.

Although the horses Pang Xiao had prepared for pulling carts weren’t eye-catching famous breeds, each one was well-trained. When their four hooves worked hard, ordinary horses couldn’t keep up, let alone people.

These horses pulled their carts charging through recklessly. The common people didn’t dare to obstruct them and could only scatter in panic like rats, cursing as they dodged.

“These are just bandits, exactly like that bastard surnamed Pang!”

“Right, they’re all unreasonable. Beat these merchants to death!”

The elder was so angry he beat his chest and stomped his feet, shouting loudly: “Quick, quick, chase them! Don’t let them escape!”

Nearby strong men immediately went to find horses.

At this moment, Qin Yining’s carriage had traveled some distance, and she could hear the crowd’s clamoring clearly.

When they mentioned Pang Xiao, it wasn’t with the tone of respecting a hero, but as if he were an enemy!

In the capital, Qin Yining had grown accustomed to Pang Xiao being praised, worshipped, and admired. Now, suddenly encountering people in a county town who had a poor impression of Pang Xiao—and considering that the conscripted workers from this county had been delayed—Qin Yining could conclude that someone must have done something behind the scenes to give Pang Xiao such a demonic impression.

Unfortunately, these people’s ordinary horses were no match. By the time their horses reached the city gate, Qin Yining’s three carts had already galloped far out of the city gate.

Sitting in the carriage, Qin Yining gripped the window frame tightly. The window gauze and door curtains were all lifted by the carriage’s rapid speed. Both she and Ji Yun barely managed to steady themselves to avoid hitting their heads.

The other two carriages followed closely behind. The beggar was now hugging a bamboo stick, half-lying on the goods, his usable left hand struggling to grip the cart’s edge, terrified of being thrown out and half-killed from the fall.

Qin Yining shouted instructions to those behind: “Don’t stop! The people here are united with fierce customs. If we stop carelessly, we might encounter them catching up. If we’re surrounded by a sea of people, our chances of victory would be small. Take advantage of now to increase our distance so they can’t catch up—that’s safety.”

Jingzhe shouted back: “Yes!” Then he turned to inform the other three.

Everyone followed Qin Yining’s commands completely, trusting her greatly. Naturally, whatever she said went. The three carts galloped wildly, and the pursuing horses were left far behind. By the time the Danfu County people had the idea to chase, Qin Yining’s group had already disappeared from the road.

“That merchant woman doesn’t look like anything good at first glance. She must be just like Prince Zhongshun—they don’t care about the people’s lives or deaths. One is a treacherous minister, the other a treacherous merchant.”

“We shouldn’t have let them into the city in the first place!”

…

The crowd dispersed, cursing and complaining.

Meanwhile, Qin Yining’s side still didn’t dare to relax carelessly and continued urging the group forward.

They had left the city at dusk, and by the time Qin Yining’s group confirmed their safety and stopped the carriages by the roadside, it was already nighttime.

Qin Yining said helplessly: “We’ll camp here for the night.”

“Yes.”

Jingzhe and the others got off the carts and busied themselves with nimble hands and feet.

The beggar clumsily got down from the cart, hugging a bamboo stick and crouching in the corner behind the carriage. His pair of eyes appeared particularly bright in the darkness, staring at Qin Yining without blinking.

Only then did Qin Yining remember that she had forgotten to put on her veil when getting off the cart earlier. However, with so many people around and the beggar being a pitifully weak person, she wasn’t afraid of anything.

Soon, a campfire was lit in front of them.

Several people sat around the fire, threading the dry rations they had brought onto tree branches and roasting them over the fire.

Qin Yining then said: “Since we’ve all come out today, there’s no need to think too much. Let that young brother come eat together. I imagine he’s hungrier than we are.”

“Yes.” Ji Yun then got up and went to the back of the carriage to call for him.

Since Ji Yun had been the one to give this person flatbread and silver in the city, she was confident that seeking him out wouldn’t cause him fear.

When that person saw Ji Yun gesturing for him to come over, he didn’t refuse as expected, but stood up, leaning on his bamboo stick and limping over. As he walked, his broken arm swayed back and forth.

Qin Yining found him quite pitiful and handed the tree branch in her hand to Jingzhe, having him pass it to the beggar.

The beggar took the flatbread, not caring about the heat, and wolfed it down. He wasn’t like ordinary beggars who would plead or express gratitude. This person seemed like a wild man who had come out of the mountains, completely ignorant of such courtesies. He just gnawed on the bread while staring at Qin Yining across from him.

Qin Yining said helplessly: “Can you hear me speaking?”

He showed no reaction and continued eating his bread.

It seemed that what those people said about him being deaf and mute wasn’t false.

She then took a tree branch and wrote characters on the ground, wanting to see if this person could read.

But when that person looked at the characters on the ground as she intended, he bit his bread and slowly shook his head, then lowered his head like a child who had made some mistake.

Unable to hear, unable to speak, and illiterate—the only communication methods left to them were hand gestures and eye contact.

Therefore, communication was extremely difficult from then on.

Qin Yining had originally felt there was something suspicious about this person’s alleged murder and wanted to ask for some clues, but now she could only give up. Instead, she told Jingzhe: “We brought medicine, right? There are also some ready-made clothes and shoes and socks in the cart. Regardless of what material they are, find him a suitable set to wear. Later, you should take him to wash up and see what other injuries he has on his body, and apply some simple medicine.”

“Yes.” Jingzhe looked at the beggar and asked: “How does Madam plan to settle him?”

Qin Yining lowered her eyes and thought, then said: “It’s inconvenient for me to take him along. Tomorrow morning, let’s first see where Zhixi and their group have traveled. Then I’ll take people to meet up with Zhixi. You arrange for someone to escort this young brother to Huichuan County to find Hall Master Liao and have him send this young brother to my nearest estate to recover. Once he’s healed, he can stay and farm. At least he won’t end up as a beggar and will have food to eat.”

Hearing this, Jingzhe sighed: “Madam is a kindhearted person. If only everyone in the world who falls into trouble could meet someone as goodhearted as Madam.”

Qin Yining smiled bitterly and shook her head. She knew Jingzhe was thinking of their childhood.

For the Silver Mask secret agents to have such great abilities, they must have undergone cruel training from childhood. These people had definitely been cultivated from a young age and experienced considerable inhuman abuse. If there had been other options, who would be willing to suffer such torment? It was just like when she was forced to hide in the mountains—not because she liked mountain life, but because she had no other choice.

Qin Yining gestured to the beggar: “Later, let them clean your wounds and apply medicine. I’ll have them send you to my estate. Once you’re there, first recover your health. Someone will arrange work for you, and you won’t go hungry anymore.”

Qin Yining spoke this passage very slowly because she was afraid the person wouldn’t understand, and she accompanied her words with hand gestures.

She had thought this would be another failed communication, but unexpectedly, the person actually nodded obediently.

Qin Yining was somewhat surprised, then laughed. She had underestimated people—as long as he could understand her gestures, it was good. In the future, he might be able to communicate with others at the estate in the same way.

Qin Yining and Ji Yun went into their tent to rest.

Xiaoxue and the others surrounded the campfire, guarding Qin Yining’s tent without daring to slack off in the slightest.

Jingzhe personally took the beggar to bathe and apply medicine, and found him a set of fine cotton cloth in deep blue—a short tunic, shoes, and socks to change into.

When they returned, Xiaoxue and the others were all somewhat surprised looking at the person.

He had bathed, and his medium-length graying hair hung disheveled, still dripping with water. The dirty beard on his face had been shaved off, revealing a gaunt yet somewhat refined face.