Chapter 43
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During his time on the boat, Ling Rui couldn’t send a letter to Ah Wu, so Ah Wu was unaware of his situation.
Hearing his voice suddenly, Ah Wu immediately sensed something was wrong, “Who is trying to sell you? Who are you with now?”
“I’m alone.”
Ling Rui’s small hand was on the beggar as he explained, “There were bad people on the boat, so I jumped into the water and swam away alone.”
Ling Rui told Ah Wu everything about his situation.
After he finished, Ah Wu asked, “Do you know the name of the place you’re in now? If not, can you describe any features of the area?”
Ling Rui: “…”
Of course, Ling Rui didn’t know the place’s name.
He thought about the couple who had rescued him, his little mind working hard. Eventually, mimicking the woman’s accent, he repeated a phrase she had said in heavy dialect to Ah Wu: “She talks like this.”
Ah Wu memorized the dialect and then comforted him, “You’ve done very well. Next, you need to protect yourself and wait for me. Can you do that?”
“Okay.”
Ling Rui agreed, “I’ll wait for you, Ah Wu.”
After finishing talking with Ah Wu, Ling Rui’s expression on his small face visibly calmed down.
As he came to his senses and was about to retract his small hand, he heard the little beggar’s voice, “You’ve got the wrong person. If you want help, you can’t ask me.”
The little beggar was filthy, and his voice, which seemed to be going through puberty, had a raspy, unpleasant quality.
One squatted while the other half-lay there, their gazes meeting. The little beggar said flatly, “If I were you, I’d go to the buyer right now, act obediently, and find a good master.”
Ling Rui sniffled and said, “My family will come for me.”
The little beggar looked at his clean, pretty face, noting that it was unlike the children from their poor countryside.
“Where’s your home?”
“In the capital.”
At this, the little beggar gave him a strange look. “The capital is tens of thousands of miles away. Getting back there won’t be easy.”
Ling Rui fell silent.
He continued squatting in place, firmly believing his family would come to get him.
Meanwhile, the employer who had been talking with the woman walked over to the little one on the ground.
“Lift your head,” the employer said.
Instinctively, Ling Rui raised his little head and saw a middle-aged man dressed like a wealthy merchant, with a cloth tied around his head and a face full of stubble.
“He does look good.”
The man examined the child’s face and gave his approval. “One tael of silver, I’ll buy him.”
The woman, seeing that the man appeared wealthy, wanted to ask for more, but the fisherman pulled her back and said to the man, “Alright, one tael it is.”
The man threw a tael of silver over and then picked up the little one from the ground.
The child dangled in the air, his short legs kicking.
Frightened, he looked toward the little beggar, his tear-filled eyes full of fear as he gazed at the man who had picked him up.
The little beggar initially intended to ignore him.
But the child’s unwavering gaze and pitiful, red-eyed appearance reminded him of a kitten he once found but couldn’t keep alive.
His expression softened, and he slowly sat up.
After purchasing the child, the man turned and left.
The little beggar stared at the man’s back for a few seconds, then turned toward a small river. After washing himself clean, he also found a grass sign marking him for sale.
Meanwhile, the little one had been taken to a residence.
“Shali, look what I brought you.”
The man, eager to please, took the child to a small courtyard and presented him to a woman inside.
After calling several times, the child finally saw the woman named Shali.
Shali was very beautiful, with a delicate face, a high nose, and blue eyes.
She wore a beautiful dress unlike anything Ling Rui had ever seen.
“I saw this child for sale in an alley and thought you might like him, so I bought him for you,” the man said eagerly, flattering the beautiful woman named Shali.
After listening to the man for a while, Shali finally looked at the child.
Upon seeing his face, her expression seemed to freeze. She stood up and walked towards Ling Rui.
As she approached, Ling Rui’s small face tensed up.
Soon, she grabbed his face and examined him closely.
“What’s your name?” Shali asked in a clear, pleasant voice.
Looking into her blue eyes, Ling Rui instinctively chose not to reveal his real name.
He simply said, “My name is Little Seven.”
“Seven is an unlucky number in our tribe.”
Despite saying this, Shali didn’t seem inclined to change his name.
That day, the child was given slightly better clothes and became the youngest servant by Shali’s side.
The man who bought him gave him a quick training on how to serve Shali.
“Shali likes beautiful things and beautiful people, and you caught her eye.”
The man painted a promising picture for Ling Rui, “As long as you serve Shali well, you’ll get to eat good food and wear nice clothes.”
After finishing his speech, the man asked, “Do you know how to serve people?”
Ling Rui: “…”
He shook his head, then nodded.
The man frowned, puzzled. “What do you mean by shaking and nodding?”
Ling Rui explained honestly, “Many people serve me. I’ve never served anyone.”
The man was silent.
He had suspected the child wasn’t the fisherman’s, and now it seemed likely he was from a wealthy family and had been kidnapped.
“Now that you’re here, don’t think about the past,” the man warned. “Don’t try to run away or find your family. You’re my little servant, bought for one tael of silver. You must listen to me and follow my orders.”
“Otherwise, I could kill you, and no one would know.”
The man’s final words made Ling Rui shiver in fear.
“Alright, do your job well, and I won’t hurt you. I’ve never beaten a child as young as you.”
Ling Rui was indeed young and small.
The man had scolded servants in his household before, but he had never beaten a child as small as this one. He felt that with a little kick or two, he could easily kick the child to death.
If that happened, his money would go down the drain.
After enduring a round of threats, Ling Rui returned to Shali’s room. He served tea and water for Shali once, but she stopped him, saying, “Wait until you’re older to do such things.”
The little one, not yet as tall as her waist, trembled as he poured water from the teapot, displeasing her.
“Come here and put these clothes into the box.”
Shali casually assigned him some tasks around the house.
As he packed up boxes of belongings, Ling Rui sensed something was wrong. Gathering his courage, he looked up at Shali and asked, “Are… Are we going out?”
Shali responded with a simple “Mm.”
Ling Rui tightened his small fists and bravely continued, “Where are we going?”
To this question, Shali gave no answer.
She cast a cold glance at him and said, “Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t ask. Do I need to report my plans to you?”
Ling Rui bowed his head meekly under her stern gaze.
Once all the luggage was packed, Ling Rui boarded a carriage with Shali and they left the small town. He perked up his ears in the carriage, hoping someone would call his name before they departed.
But no one did, even as the carriage moved farther away.
Immediately after the carriage left, notices were posted. Due to the remote location, there weren’t many notices. The notice sought a missing child.
The child had disappeared after falling into the water, and now a reward of ten thousand silver coins was offered for finding this noble child.
While these notices were being posted, Noble Consort Yi and Emperor Ling had a dispute.
Emperor Ling believed they should spread the word far and wide to find Little Seven. Little Seven was the imperial heir, and if someone happened to fish him out of the water or spot him nearby, they would surely turn him over to the authorities.
Noble Consort Yi disagreed.
She insisted on concealing Little Seven’s identity, only stating he was a child from a noble family. If questioned further, she would say he was a child of the Murong family.
Being a child of the Murong family provided much safer status than being a prince.
After proposing this, Noble Consort Yi saw Emperor Ling’s expression change. His eyes darkened as he asked her, “Yi Er, are you implying that a child of the Murong family would be more beloved by the people than my child?”
Noble Consort Yi raised her gaze to meet his, showing no hint of retreat in her eyes. “Your Majesty, at this juncture, do you still concern yourself with this?”
“Can you guarantee that all the assassins who want to strike have been eliminated? If they haven’t been, and they hear of the Seventh Prince’s disappearance, what do you think they will do?”
Noble Consort Yi’s probing questions left Emperor Ling momentarily speechless.
After her interrogation, tears welled up in Noble Consort Yi’s eyes. “Your Majesty, Little Seven is still so young. Aren’t you worried about him at all?”
Seeing her tears and hearing her words, Emperor Ling’s heart ached.
He approached her, embracing her shoulders gently, and said softly, “Yi Er, how could I not worry about Little Seven? I shouldn’t have asked you like that just now.”
“Don’t cry. I will be with you to find Little Seven.”
They had disembarked the ship by now and were staying in the nearest city.
In the following days, many boatmen came to search the waters, but even with their experience, they couldn’t find the child. Eventually, an elderly boatman said, “This child of yours is probably not in these waters.”
“Search the nearby villages and towns, or even farther places. Spend some silver asking around, see if any fishermen have caught a child.”
The old boatman was experienced.
He had seen people with great luck survive falling into these waters, either being rescued or washing up on the shore, saved by sheer chance.
The hope of finding Little Seven alive increased with the realization he likely wasn’t in the water.
Noble Consort Yi’s spirits lifted slightly upon hearing this from the old boatman. Now, she focused all her efforts on finding the child, willing to try any method that might bring him back.
In the palace, the eldest and fourth princes had also received news of Little Seven’s disappearance.
Upon hearing the news, the two princes exchanged glances.
Elder Prince Ling Chen looked at his younger brother and said, “Little Hao, you’re a prince. At a critical moment, you should take on a big responsibility. Stay in the palace; I will go out to find Little Seven.”
Without hesitation, Ling Hao refused, “Big brother, you still need to handle state affairs. Let me take care of finding Little Seven.”
Neither of them wanted to stay in the palace. Late that night, both princes left letters indicating their departure, only to coincidentally meet each other at the palace gate.
For a moment, both were silent.
It wasn’t just the two princes in the palace who received the news; the Murong family and Murong Xue and Murong Xu on the border also learned of it.
Noble Consort Yi’s message back to them wasn’t to worry, but rather to explain Little Seven’s identity.
The Murong family commanded respect among the people.
Murong Dabo had fallen in battle, and Murong Xue had guarded the frontier for ten years without marriage or children, fending off external enemies. These were well-known facts among the common folk.
Presenting Little Seven as a child of the Murong family might lead people to treat him better out of respect for the Murong family.
However, Murong Xue was unmarried, and the third and fourth daughters of the Murong family had not yet married either. To assign an identity to Little Seven, they could only use Murong Xu.
At fifteen, Murong Xu was of marriageable age, though it was a bit early to speak of children.
Noble Consort Yi couldn’t afford to worry about this. She instructed those searching for Little Seven to spread the message that he belonged to Murong Xu.
Everyone was searching for the child.
Noble Consort Yi waited anxiously day and night until she finally got a lead. In a pawnshop, guards found the clothes of the young prince, along with his jade pendant.
After finding these items, Noble Consort Yi went to inspect them herself.
At the pawnshop, she discovered that her child’s socks and shoes had been pawned.
The guards followed the trail and found the boatman couple who had pawned the items. When the boatman couple saw the notice, they realized the child they had rescued was the little noble mentioned in it.
However, they kept their mouths tightly shut and didn’t say a word.
Even when they saw the people looking for the child right there on the street, and even when they saw Noble Consort Yi herself, anxiously searching the street for her child, they remained unmoved.
Not wanting to get into trouble, they packed up and planned to leave after seeing these people.
However, they didn’t get far before they were brought back.
Now, under the scrutiny of the nobles, the boatman couple began to tremble with fear and knelt down, kowtowing and admitting their mistake.
Noble Consort Yi wasn’t interested in punishing them at the moment; she just wanted to know one thing: “Where is my child?! Where is he now?”
The kneeling woman became even more terrified upon hearing the question.
At first, the couple tried to hide the truth, but the emperor’s attendants were not to be trifled with. Soon enough, the couple confessed everything.
Upon learning that her child had been sold three days ago, Noble Consort Yi was overwhelmed with anger and almost spat blood. With red eyes and a trembling voice, she questioned, “He begged you. He begged you to sell him to his mother. Why didn’t you do it?!”
The woman laid prostrate on the ground, unable to answer.
The guards rushed to the house where the child was sold, but by the time they got there, the family had already vanished.
The guards quickly tracked the departing family, who were already far away, sitting in a carriage and moving further away.
At dusk.
In a clearing in the forest, the child, dressed as a little servant, carefully climbed down from the carriage. He looked up and extended his small hand to help the woman down from the carriage.
Shali glanced at his chubby little hand.
She didn’t take his hand and got down from the carriage by herself.
The surrounding scenery became increasingly unfamiliar. The little servant boy diligently completed some chores and then ran to the back of the carriage.
At the back of the carriage was another servant, the little beggar he had encountered when he was sold.
When the little beggar saw him approaching, his expression showed reluctance, but he still picked him up, “Little fortune teller, are you going to read my fortune again?”
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