Ming Yi quickly recognized that the child was a girl. Although she was reluctant to get involved, she hesitated for a moment before bending down to pick her up and turning into a nearby alley.
“I can’t guarantee my safety, so I may not be able to help you much,” she said as she set the child down, tearing a strip from her robe to tie up the girl’s hair in a boyish style. She then smeared some mud from the ground on the child’s face. “You’ll have to fend for yourself.”
After taking a few steps outside, Ming Yi paused again.
She was acutely aware that there were far too many suffering women in the Qingyun Realm, and she couldn’t save them all, especially not in Cangxue City. However, taking a deep breath, she asked, “What can you do?”
The little girl, holding back tears, replied, “I can do needlework, weave cloth, and I can be obedient…”
Ming Yi nodded, tucking the girl under her arm and sprinting back to the small courtyard.
As she ran, she mentally prepared herself for how to explain this to Ji Bozai and the others. After all, they were also on the run, and it wouldn’t be right to indulge her whims. If anything went wrong because of this child, she would feel guilty toward them.
However, when she pushed open the door to the courtyard, she was greeted by the sight of four or five dirty little girls sitting within Ji Bozai and the others’ protective barrier, curiously reaching out to touch the flowing Yuan Power.
Seeing her return, Ji Bozai hesitated for a moment before standing up to explain, “I was planning to gather some meat and vegetables with my master, but we came across these girls on the way… My master said they reminded him of you, so I brought them back.”
He continued, “They’re all quite young and don’t eat much. At most, they’ll cost us a thousand coins a day, which should be manageable.”
Ming Yi looked up at him in shock. “You want to save them? But how can you possibly do that?”
“Saving people is just about finding peace of mind,” Ji Bozai shrugged. “It’s hard to save everyone, but by bringing these few back under my nose, I can at least feel justified.”
Fearing she might disagree, he pointed to the side room. “I don’t know how it happened, but as soon as I brought them back, Chu He went to tidy up the room without saying a word. The bedding is already laid out, so you…”
Ming Yi waved her hand, gazing deeply at him, wanting to smile but feeling touched instead.
She pulled the little girl hiding by the door out.
Just as dirty and dressed in oversized boy’s clothes, Ji Bozai relaxed his tense shoulders after glancing at her and chuckled, “Does this count as us being in sync?”
“Sure does,” she nodded vigorously, placing the child in the courtyard.
There was only one empty room left in the courtyard. Luo Jiaoyang and Fan Yao had gone to fetch some wood and used their Yuan Power to hammer together three bunk beds that could be slept on from either side, fitting perfectly in the empty room. Qin Shangwu also prepared pillows and clothes for the girls and had Chu He chop firewood to roast sweet potatoes for the children.
What had once been a somewhat empty courtyard was suddenly bustling with the warmth of a home.
Ming Yi stood in a daze, watching the fire pit filled with the aroma of sweet potatoes, and couldn’t help but ask Luo Jiaoyang, “Don’t you think this might cause some trouble? If the people from Chaoyang City catch up to us, we’ll have to run again, and with so many children…”
“It is a bit troublesome,” Luo Jiaoyang nodded, but he smiled. “But I think you want to save them. If you want to, then we will save them. Didn’t you say that the team must be united to win the competition better?”
Ming Yi’s fingers twitched.
She had never experienced anything like this before. In the past, whenever she wanted to do something, she would ensure that she paid the price first, making sure everyone around her was satisfied before proceeding. Yet now, these people were willing to indulge her without asking for anything in return, simply because she wanted to help.
Why were they doing this for someone they weren’t even related to?
In a daze, she was handed a sweet potato, and as she ate it, she continued to distribute tasks to the other children.
Later that evening, one of the children brought her a package of beef jerky.
Ming Yi opened it to find it coated in chili powder, and it smelled delicious.
“It’s from the big brother,” the child pointed toward Ji Bozai’s room. “He said you would like this.”
Ming Yi snapped back to reality, feeling both amused and exasperated.
This man had gone from giving her gold to giving her food, truly thinking she could be bought so easily.
She put the jerky away and patted the child’s head. “You must be Fu Ling, right? From now on, you and Bai Ying will follow me. You’re not allowed to help the big brother; you must help me instead, understand?”
Fu Ling nodded, somewhat confused, and wrinkled her nose. “But the big brother is so handsome, and he gave me this. Doesn’t sister like it?”
It wasn’t that she didn’t like it; she just didn’t want to fall for his tricks.
Ming Yi shook her head. “Little girl, don’t judge a man by his looks; it’s easy to be deceived.”
“Oh,” Fu Ling nodded seriously.
However, the next day, she brought a beautifully crafted golden hairpin to Ming Yi, looking up at her with wide eyes. “I don’t want to listen to the big brother, but he said I was sensible.”
Ming Yi was speechless.
“Return the hairpin to him,” she said, slightly annoyed. “Don’t let him deceive the children!”
Ji Bozai leaned against the window, laughing. “If you don’t accept it, I’ll just keep deceiving you tomorrow.”
He was being quite shameless.
Ming Yi rolled her eyes, tossed the hairpin into a box, and ignored it.
The day of capture lasted several days. With the little girls hidden in their courtyard, it didn’t take long for the neighbors to report them. The officials came knocking again, and Qin Shangwu had no choice but to present the messenger’s order from Muxing City, claiming that these children were brought from there.
Cangxue’s inner court quickly received the news and soon encountered the messenger from Chaoyang City.
“If you see those people from Chaoyang City, please be sure to inform us,” the messenger said arrogantly. “If you harbor them, the offerings from Cangxue City next year will surely increase.”
The Grand Minister of Cangxue smiled and nodded but replied, “I’ve never seen them. The Cangxue dock has been blocked by heavy snow recently, and no one from the outer city has come through.”
The messenger from Chaoyang City left, somewhat skeptical. Once they were out of Cangxue’s territory, the Grand Minister of Cangxue left the inner court.
He ordered people to guard the courtyard where the Muxing people were staying and personally went to check it out.
“Cangxue and Muxing rarely interact, but there’s no enmity between us. I won’t hand you over to the people from Chaoyang City, so please rest assured,” the Grand Minister of Cangxue said, sizing up Ji Bozai. “I just want to make a friend.”
Ji Bozai nodded at him. “It’s not easy to be a friend of the Grand Minister. What are your conditions?”
“Lord Ji speaks frankly; I won’t beat around the bush,” the Grand Minister of Cangxue said coldly. “My city is rich in resources, but every year, a large portion is divided among the top three cities. The offerings I receive from here are always more than from the other cities due to the surplus of goods. If Muxing City can open a trade port with Cangxue, not only will I protect you, but I can also provide you access to Cangxue’s training grounds.”
The pursuers from Chaoyang City had already gone to Muxing City, and they wouldn’t be able to return anytime soon. However, with the end of the year approaching, if they neglected their training, the outcome of the Six Cities Tournament would be uncertain.
Ji Bozai smiled. “That’s not something I can decide.”
“You can,” the Grand Minister of Cangxue said, looking deeply at him. “The trade port I mentioned doesn’t have to be established now; it can also be after you take the throne.”