Chapter 422 - Effective Prodding
Chapter 422 Effective Prodding
Although Hongyu and Moqin still had doubts, when they saw Qingge helping herself to food and drink in a carefree way, they decided to suppress their anxiety for the time being.
After all, they could not find any other way out at the moment, so rather springing into action, they would listen to Qingge and make the necessary preparation for now.
When Lin Mengya finished eating and drinking, she poured herself a cup of tea, sat down at a chair and put her legs up as she fixed her gaze on the door, half smiling.
At least she did not need to watch her image while in Huichun House, although back in the Prince Yu’s Mansion, she usually did whatever she liked.
Not long after they were done with their meals, there were noises coming from outside the room indicating that something was going on.
Lin Mengya did not response, looking as if she did not sense any movement, but she sighed softly.
“Alas, do you think the boss will agree to Lord Zhu Yan’s request?”
Hongyu and Moqin had been waiting for a while for her to give her instructions on their next steps.
Given the circumstances, the two ladies naturally complemented Lin Mengya and as they tried to follow the clues.
“From my point of view, those girls are considered high-quality goods from Lieyun. Each of them was worth a great deal of money. She may have offended Lord Zhu Yan, but I doubt if the boss would get angry with her.”
Hongyu purposely commented in a tone of regret. While the three ladies appeared to be having an idle chit chat, they had quietly set him up.
If he failed to have the girl punished, he would feel his ego bruised. Unfortunately, Zhu Yan also did not have the authority to punish her.
‘Crash’ went empty meal packages from outside the door. They seemed to be have been toppled over by someone who kicked on them.
Thereafter, Zhu Yan’s sulky face appeared before the three ladies at the door of the room.
“Hey, it’s Lord Zhu Yan. Please forgive us for not knowing that you were outside the room.”
Lin Mengya tried to look afraid, but was actually laughing within her heart.
Judging from the look on Zhu Yan’s face, he had likely been rebuked by the boss.
While he looked dejected, he might well have started hating Xiu. Good, it looked like everything was going as she had wanted it to be.
“Follow me, the three of you. I will teach that bitch a lesson today.”
Zhu Yan had become furious, but his eyes were teary as if he just cried.
However, there was a look of resentment in Zhu Yan’s eyes at this moment that sent chills up Lin Mengya’s spine.
It was apparent that this lad was petty and intolerant. Of course the three girls had played a part in adding the fuel to the flame, they could tell that Zhu Yan would grow up to be a disaster!
“We are only lowly courtesans. We don’t dare to go against the boss’ commands.”
Moqin responded as if she had been put in a tight spot, but Zhu Yan glared at them and said softly, “If you don’t come with me, I will vent my anger by taking your lives!”
Upon hearing his words, the three girls stopped trying to run away and trailed behind Zhu Yan as he proceeded to the first floor.
In fact, they had guessed correctly. The room where the abducted girls were kept locked up was right behind the second floor.
They did not see the back door leading to the backyard simply because there were men guarding it and that they had to make a few turns before they arrived there.
They were supposed imprisoned there, but actually, they were simply put into the room and not permitted to leave.
Lin Mengya was puzzled as to why the boss had not quickly traded off these young girls after abducting them.
Why would the boss keep them in the backyard? Unless she did not mean to sell them after abducting them.
“She is kept in the room right at the middle. You three will wait here while I send the other people away.”
On the way here, the guards had refrained from questioning them once they saw that Zhu Yan was with them.
Those men had let them proceed all the way here.
It seemed that Zhu Yan held a considerable high position within Huichun House.
The strange thing was that he was only a child.
Lin Mengya stood there with Hongyu and Moqin as she quietly sized up the surrounding situation.
Before them was a small courtyard like the quadrangle dwellings. There were two rooms on each direction to the north, south, east and west. There did not seem to be an exit from this courtyard other than that on the second floor ahead of them.
Those guards would not enter this courtyard but merely patrol outside.
Lin Mengya made a mental assessment and realized that there was less than ten percent likelihood that she would succeed in helping Xiu and Hongyu’s sister escape with her.
She was to blame for not making sufficient preparation. She did not even have any external help at this moment.
At first, she thought she could escape, bringing Xiu with her, once Long Tianyu came around from being so drunk.
Never did she expect that she would be locked up in this place.
“Bitch! Let’s see how long more you can keep up with your sharp tongue!”
When Lin Mengya was still in deep thoughts, Zhu Yan’s voice of scolding echoed through the air.
Thereafter, a furious looking Zhu Yan exited from the room, bringing with him a girl.
The girl had both her hands bound by a linen rope and was shaking like a leaf as she gazed at Zhu Yan. Lin Mengya immediately recognized the pitiful-looking girl as the little lass lying in the same coffin as Xiu.
“That’s… Sumei!”
Hongyu got all emotional and agitated, but Moqin and Lin Mengya held on tightly to her one on each side.
Fortunately, Zhu Yan’s attention was not on them, otherwise, he would have sensed something.
“Now is not the right time!”
Lin Mengya whispered comforting words to Hongyu. Hongyu could only nod her head as she understood that she had to suppress her emotions for now.
Soon, the girl named Sumei was locked up in the next by Zhu Yan.
Zhu Yan indicated to Lin Mengya and the two other girls with his eyes as well as lips, meaning that they should spring into action now.
“Alright, will you wait here for a while please?”
Lin Mengya remained cool as she tried to persuade Zhu Yan to wait for the three of them outside.
Zhu Yan waved his hand impatiently and reluctantly as he watched the three girls enter the room.
The room was not very spacious and it was simply decorated, but there was a pretty young girl who was tied to the bedpost. When she heard the sound of the opening, she too stirred.
“You wretched kid, looking neither male nor female! Let me tell you, when I regain my freedom, I will come after you first! You’re not even fit to provoke us, girls from Lieyun!”
Seeing the girl’s vigor, Lin Mengya felt like laughing.
She rushed over the girl and as she tried to untie the rope around Xiu, Lin Mengya whispered something into her ear.
“Continue your scolding, I’m here to rescue you.”
Xiu cast a doubtful look on her, but as she tried hard to recall, she finally realized that Lin Mengya’s features overlapped with that big brother she once met.
Xiu was a witty young girl who quickly understood Lin Mengya’s intention. While looking pleasantly surprised, she continued to scold from her mouth.
“Are you still so sharp-tongued, little sister? Huichun House is not a place where you can do whatever you like.”
As Moqin and Xiu continued singing the same tune, Moqin gestured at Xiu and she quickly picked up the message.
A quick-witted Xiu nodded and began lashing out in pain from just being sharp-tongued a moment ago.
“She is making a scene now. Won’t you stuff something into her mouth to shut her up?”
Zhu Yan, who was standing outside the room, sounded rather satisfied with the outcome.
It was as if he was elated to see his enemy being punished.
Things had turned out exactly as Lin Mengya had hoped. Hongyu remained standing at the door to mislead Zhu Yan while Lin Mengya and Moqin continued exchanging information with Xiu.
“Big Brother… oops no, Big Sister, how did you get here?”
Pleasantly surprised, Xiu threw herself into Lin Mengya’s arms. She had been so scared of what happened these few days.
She was pleasantly surprised now that someone had come to her rescue.
“It’s a long story. Didn’t your Uncle say that he will come to rescue you? Why did you still end up here in that case?”
Lin Mengya was full of questions. The best time for her uncle to take action had to be when Xiu was still in hands of White Dragon and Black Tiger.
At the mention of her uncle, an expression of guilt quickly appeared on Xiu’s face.
“My uncle indeed managed to find me the other day, but I wanted him to rescue that blind old lady’s son. Who knew because of that, we were found out. I didn’t know what happened after that, but I ended up here.”
They nodded at her explanation, but now was not time to chat. Lin Mengya gave Xiu some instructions and began to discuss with Moqin a way to escape from this place.
“If you, together with Hongyu, want to get the girls out of here, Xiu and Hongyu’s little Sister could pretend to be obedient. That would increase the chance of escape if they could remain kept here. The boss usually doesn’t stay here for long. Once he leaves, I will have a chance to release you.”
In reality, Moqin did not have any other better idea than to suggest these conditions.
However, Lin Mengya did not think this was a good idea. On one hand, no one knew when the boss would leave. Even if Xiu and Hongyu’s little sister pretended to be submissive, they had to bear in mind what kind of place this was. They might be sold like goods anytime.
Furthermore, what was crucial was that she could not afford any more delays.
“What do you suggest we do? I have no other ideas. Oh yes, Xiu, is there someone called Little Five among you? She was around fifteen years old and she has a mole at the corner of her right eye.”
Xiu shook her head in response to Moqin’s urgent questioning after thinking hard.
“Apart from Sumei and I, there’re a few other girls here, but none of them are as how you described.”
Moqin went into a daze for a while and finally smiled a sad smile and nodded.
Lin Mengya suddenly remembered that Moqin was actually also looking for her family members, which was why she had resorted to this.
However, since Moqin had failed to find who she was looking for, Lin Mengya would not let her be involved. At least, Lin Mengya wanted to keep her status in Huichun House so Moqin could continue searching for the person she was looking for.
“Alright, get out there quickly. Just teach her a lesson but don’t blow this up, lest I can’t help you when the boss reproaches you later on.”
Zhu Yan’s anger was abated and he had calmed down by now perhaps because he had taken his revenge and that he was starting to feel guilty about it. He was now hurrying Lin Mengya and the girls in fear that the boss might find out about this.