Chapter Nineteen: Heart of Compassion

  He let out a sigh of relief and smiled: "I also know it won't work."

  Dong Qing said with a strange tone: "Young Master doesn't know Miss Yan's likes and dislikes, how would he know it won't work out?"

  Lu Qiyan was stunned, and the reason for opposing the marriage to his first wife that he had told his mother, he couldn't say it to Dong Qing. He hesitated for a moment, then hastily made up an excuse: "I was engaged when I was young, but due to war, I lost contact with her family. Although we lost contact, we can't break off the engagement, so I can only ask for a secondary wife. Miss Yan's conditions are so good, of course she can't be my secondary wife."

  Dong Qing nodded slightly and believed it. Lu Qi felt ashamed for deceiving the little girl, and changed the subject: "Dong Qing, who's at home?"

  "My family has a grandfather, parents, an eight-year-old younger brother, and an older sister who is one year older than me. I am now a slave in the Wang's household. There is also an older brother who was 21 years old this year, he enlisted in the army five years ago and hasn't returned yet. People say that there is an 80% chance that he won't come back. My mother always secretly cries." The little girl finished speaking and her eyes turned red as tears fell down.

  Lu Qi's heart skipped a beat, five years ago when he joined the army, wasn't it the same as himself? The situation of Dong Qing's family was very similar to his own, thinking about the bloody battles for three or four years, the people who died around him batch after batch, how many could return to their hometown.

  "What's your brother's name?" Lu Qi asked heavily.

  "My brother's full name is Zhou Zhengren, and his nickname is Mao Er." Dong Qing said with a hint of expectation, but Lu Qi shook his head, unfamiliar with the name.

  "Dong Qing, how's your sister doing at Old Wang's place?" The same experience evoked a sympathetic response from Lu Qi, who asked out of habit.

  Dong Qing shook her head, looking disheartened and pained. "Sister is not doing well at Old Master Wang's house," she said. "I've heard that she's often scolded and beaten. Old Master Wang is extremely stingy and notorious in Wanguo Village for being a ruthless businessman. Originally, my sister was sold to the Zhao family, but later the Zhao family owed Old Master Wang money after suffering losses in their business, so they used my sister as collateral to pay off some of the debt. Our family knew that Old Master Wang is cruel and heartless, but we didn't have enough silver to redeem my sister from the Zhao family beforehand, so she ended up falling into his clutches."

  Lu Qi looked at Dong Qing and said in a gentle voice: "Since your sister is suffering in the Wang family, I will go to the Wang family tomorrow morning and buy her back."

  "Really? Young master, is what you're saying true?" Dong Qing stared at Lu Qi in shock, eagerly seeking confirmation.

  "Of course it's true, how much silver did the Wang family use to buy your sister?" Lu Qi said with a smile.

  "It's thirty taels, according to the rules, it can be redeemed for sixty taels." Dong Qing said with a hopeful yet cautious tone.

  "Oh, I can still afford it, I'll go tomorrow morning, don't worry." Lu Qi said with a gentle tone.

  Dong Qing's small face flushed with excitement, her hands and feet were at a loss, she knelt down again, Lu Qi stretched out his hand to grab her left arm, saying in a low voice: "Have you forgotten what I said?"

  Dong Qing's face suddenly changed to a look of horror, but she quickly whispered urgently: "I haven't forgotten, I was supposed to massage the young master's legs before squatting down."

  Lu Qi heard the laughter, released Dong Qing, this little girl was indeed clever. He pulled down his waist and looked towards the door. At this time, it was just after the first watch, if he had gone to sleep a bit earlier, Ning'er would not have been in his heart with some emptiness.

  "Holly, is it okay to go out for a walk at this time?" Lu Qi asked in a low voice.

  "Master, it's just past midnight and the curfew has been lifted. Outside is a night market, very lively." Dong Qing said softly.

  "Really? Then would you like to go out with me for a walk? I'd like to take a look at Wangjiang Pavilion." said Lu Qihe.

  Dong Qing hesitated after hearing this and said in a soft voice: "Young master, the madam and young lady are not at home, I don't dare to make decisions on my own."

  "Did I let you take charge? Let's go." Lu Qi said with a smile, getting up and walking out, Dong Qing was stunned and hurriedly followed him.

  In the seventh month of Jiangnan, it was just the hottest time. At night, it cooled down a bit. Lu Qi held a knife in his left hand, and Dong Qing walked beside him on his right side. The night market at the intersection of Wangjiang Pavilion's main street was open, but there were not many people on the street, far less than the crowded streets of the county town.

  Dong Qing rarely goes out, and with excitement on her small face, she looks around as if Lu Qi is a local taking her on a tour. Lu Qi is in a good mood, buying her some snacks along the way, as well as the embroidered shoes and rouge that Dong Qing had been eyeing, which he also bought for her. Dong Qing's eyes welled up with tears, but she held them back from spilling over.

  Lu Qi himself didn't idle away, in an antique shop he spent five cents on a purple bamboo flute, the purple bamboo flute was like jade throughout, with delicate and beautiful water patterns, it felt cool to hold in his hand, and he liked it so much that he casually tucked it into his waist.

  Unconsciously, Dong Qing stopped in front of a shop while strolling happily. It was a rice-selling and rice-buying shop. Two wind lanterns hung on the door of the shop, and four big characters "Wan Mao Wang Ji" were written on the signboard. Dong Qing looked into the shop with expectation.

  "Is your sister here?" Lu Qi asked in a low voice.

  Dong Qing nodded hastily and said in a low voice: "Yes, my sister is in the inner house at the back of the shop."

  Lu Qi nodded and walked towards the rice shop, with Dong Qing following behind him with a timid expression.

  As soon as he entered the rice shop, a thin man wearing a linen gown came up and politely asked, "Sir, are you buying or selling rice?"

  Lu Qi ignored him, turned his head to scan the rice shop, saw that the rice shop was about 30 square meters in size, with a back door opposite the front door. In the middle of the house, a long cabinet was placed vertically, and two oil lamps were placed on top of the cabinet, illuminating the rice shop. Behind the cabinet, two granaries were filled with half a ton of rice, but the amount of rice didn't seem to be much. Apart from the thin man, no one else was seen.

  "Are you Master Wang, the owner of the rice shop?" Lu Qi asked indifferently.

  The thin man was taken aback and hastily said: "It's not me, my master is in the rear house. Do you have business with my master?"

  "If there's anything, I'm a county yamen guard, and I have a case to ask Master Wang about. Take me to see Master Wang in the rear residence immediately." Lu Qi said coldly, his left thumb flicked, and with a "clang" sound, the long knife was drawn out of its scabbard by three inches, its chilling blade flashing ominously in the lamp light.

  The thin man was frightened, his dark face turned pale, and in this era, more than 90% of those who provoked the authorities ended up with broken families. Looking at Lu Qi's icy face and the cold light flashing on the knife, he nodded his head in terror, pointing to the inner courtyard and nodding again.

  "Lead the way." Lu Qi coldly shouted, and the thin man trembled again, hastily turning around to rush towards the back door. Lu Qi followed closely behind in large strides, while Dong Qing's small face was filled with surprise, fear, and hesitation, before she also quickly ran after them.

  Beyond the back door is a spacious hall, and behind the hall is a large courtyard of over 100 square meters. Inside the courtyard there is a row of ten main rooms, completely ordinary residential specifications. In the courtyard, there are two wind poles with two strings of lanterns hanging from them, illuminating the half-dark and half-bright courtyard.

  As Lu Qi entered the courtyard, he saw a cruel scene. Under a flagpole in the courtyard, there was a completely naked girl, about 14 or 15 years old, with yellowish skin and thin as a stick, covered with dozens of new and old blood wounds. Her left ankle was locked with an iron chain to the flagpole column. In front of her was placed a large wooden basin, filled with a lot of clothes, she was struggling to kneel down under the lamp to wash clothes.

  There was another hateful scene, about five or six meters away from the girl, a bamboo chair was placed, on which a 40-year-old middle-aged man was reclining lazily. The middle-aged man had a square face and looked like a decent person, but his eyes were fixed on the girl who was washing clothes, as if he was admiring an interesting toy.

  "Old master, an official has come looking for you!" The thin man rushed into the courtyard, shouting anxiously.

  The middle-aged man on the bamboo chair suddenly stood up, and the laundry girl also looked up with a dull and confused expression. Lu Qi didn't get angry at the scene in front of him, he had seen many unfair things in this world, and the weak were always living in such misery. He turned his head to look at Dong Qing, seeing her looking at the laundry girl with a sorrowful and indignant expression, that expression had already determined everything.

  Lu Qi turned his head and took a step forward, his voice cold and overbearing: "Are you Old Man Wang?"

  The middle-aged man stared at Lu Qi in shock, taken aback by his fierce aura, and nodded subconsciously: "I am Wang Renshou, who are you?"

  Lu Qi coldly said: "This official is the county's garrison, came to find you to buy her, hand over her sale contract." As he spoke, he pointed at the girl in the blue clothes.

  Wang Renshou was taken aback, but quickly regained his composure. He straightened his waist and looked at Lu Qi with a raised eyebrow, saying: "Where did you come from? How dare you impersonate an official and sneak into someone's home at night?"

  Lu Qi's face turned cold, and he said indifferently: "I'm here to buy a slave, are you selling?"

  "I won't sell, what makes you think I'd sell to you?" Wang Renshou stubbornly refused.