T/N Sorry for being AWL for a month!!! April was hectic with son’s exam, my passport renewal, for which I had to go to my hometown to get original document and work. So, back again and to say sorry enjoy a bumper update for locked chapters.

Seeing Xun Zhou, who was already thinking about breakfast before even starting work, the servant fell silent. After a while, he finally said, “Let’s get to work first!”

This gentleman, who had previously insisted on coming to see his sister Ming Tang, only mentioned casually that he was here for breakfast; after finishing this meal, it seemed that his sister Ming Tang had become an afterthought.

…

…

Of course, no matter what, after eating a bowl of porridge, it was time to get to work!

After the Double Ninth Festival, the weather became colder.

The East Market was still bustling with pedestrians and vendors coming and going in an endless stream, and the sound of hawking was incessant.

An officer in a cloth robe, who was in the crowd, quickly grabbed a man who was passing by. Before the man opened his mouth to shout, he skillfully reached into his sleeve pocket and took out four or five purses of different materials and colors.

Seeing the man’s sudden change of expression, the officer didn’t waste any words. He picked out his own one, grinned at him, and said, “Why? Are you making money so early in the morning to prepare for the New Year?”

The man who was caught red-handed looked embarrassed, but he did not forget to beg for mercy: “Next time…never again!”

Of course, the officers would not believe such words: this thief was so skilled, it would be strange if he was not a habitual thief!

The incognito messenger on the other side touched his nose and said, “He’s not the only one. Many people sneak into the crowd and steal money bags. Look for him again!”

The voices of the few people were not loud, and they were not noticeable in the noisy crowd. But if someone had been paying attention to them since they entered the East Market, they would have heard every word they said.

A vendor who was selling porcelain bowls on a street corner not far away lowered his voice to his partner who was collecting money, “Those guys are here to catch thieves; don’t take them too seriously!”

The companion beside him nodded and turned his gaze to a row of people setting up stalls at the street corner not far away. These small stalls, each of which was square in size, were not only small but also somewhat shabby.

From afar, the banners hung on the stalls were either of various fortune-telling “experts” or poor scholars who were selling a few shabby calligraphies and paintings.

The vendors did not look at the fortune-telling Taoist priests but instead focused their attention on the scholars selling calligraphy and paintings. Although they were wearing patched robes, they stood out among the Taoist priests who looked like frauds.

The handsome scholar in the corner was even more eye-catching.

“That guy is good-looking!” The partner saw the scholar at a glance and nodded. However, even though he nodded, there was a look of scrutiny in his eyes as he looked at the scholar. “He looks like a stranger. Is he new here?”

A vendor selling porcelain bowls at a nearby stall nodded, warily watching the people around him, and whispered, “He’s new here! I just asked around, and I heard that something happened at home, so he came to the capital to seek refuge with his relatives. You know, how many relatives in this world are willing to be good people? Naturally, they ignored him and drove him out! He had no choice, so he took the little money he had left and set up a stall here to sell calligraphy and paintings!”

The vendor heard this and nodded, “Not bad! Let’s take a look!”

Although he didn’t say what he was looking at, the vendor selling porcelain bowls obviously understood what he meant and immediately said, “Don’t worry, I won’t bother!”

The companion hummed, and his eyes moved away from the scholar and fell on the police officer who was mingling in the crowd to catch thieves. After watching for a while, he suddenly laughed: “I heard that the government is still looking for the villain who caught the young lady these days!”

“Isn’t it?” The vendor selling porcelain bowls nearby answered with a hint of sarcasm and disdain in his tone, “I heard that the families of those young ladies have gone to the government to make trouble several times!”

“What a bunch of idiots!” The merchant sneered, his eyes fixed on the scholar not far away, as if he was looking at a fat sheep. “Just take advantage of the government’s attention to find some more bait!”

Perhaps noticing the gaze, the scholar was startled and instinctively looked over here. He glanced here blankly, then lowered his head again and continued painting.

The two vendors turned their eyes elsewhere.

The more bait, the better!

On the three-story teahouse not far away, Lin Fei, who was looking over here with his clairvoyance, said, “The two vendors selling porcelain bowls on the corner also saw our bait.”

Wei Fu, who was sitting at the desk behind him with a pen in hand, immediately wrote it down on paper.

Xun Zhou, who was drawing with a pen in his hand, sneezed and rubbed his nose: I feel flattered to be remembered by so many people!

…

…

The bell of Si time rang, and breakfast time was over.

After handing over the chores of cleaning the table to the servant, Wen Mingtang and the others walked to the corridor in the courtyard and sat down to rest.

“I wonder how long it will take for Master Xun to help us catch those criminals this time!” As soon as he sat down, Tangyuan couldn’t help but sigh, “Now I have to follow my father every morning when I go out and every night when I come back. My father even said that he would not let me go out even if I went to the Dali Temple during the day!”

This was the case for every family with a young lady in the city. Yesterday was the Double Ninth Festival, which should have been a good day for the whole family to go out and have fun, but because of this matter, many young ladies were kept at home by their families. Even if they were allowed to go out, they were closely watched by the people around them. The feeling of being in shackles was extremely uncomfortable.

The prosperous capital under the Emperor’s feet shouldn’t be like this.

Wen Mingtang stared, sighed, and said, “We should catch those criminals sooner!”

The young ladies who were not caught were so frightened and worried; how terrified would the young ladies who were caught be?

…

…

In the dark room.

Several young ladies, whose hands and feet were tied up, huddled together in panic.

One of the pair was actually sisters, and they clung to each other tightly, as if leaning on each other and feeling the warmth coming from each other could dispel the panic in their hearts.

“Ah…Ah-sister,” the young lady in a pink skirt and a bun, who was only a young girl, was captured. She leaned against her elder sister, who was two years older than her and had reached the age of marriage and was considered an adult in her heart, and asked, “What on earth are they going to do by abducting us?”

Before being caught, the most frightening thing a girl in her teen years would encounter was sneaking out to play and being discovered and scolded by her parents. When had she ever encountered such a thing?

She didn’t know why she was brought here in a daze after happily coming out with her family to watch the lanterns.

The elder sister, who had just come of age and was wearing a green skirt, was only two years older than her younger sister. Although she claimed to be an adult, she was only fifteen years old and was still half-grown and ignorant. In response to her younger sister’s question, she only shook her head in panic and looked at the young ladies who were also abducted around her with the weak light of a candlestick on the wall, muttering:”I…… I don’t know either!”

(End of this chapter)

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