Chapter 833: Chapter 833: The Road to Escape
Xiao Lian Hua ignored Xiao Cui and the others, stopped and looked at the fork in the road, feeling increasingly uneasy as her heart thumped wildly.
She always felt like she hadn’t truly escaped, that it went too smoothly, and she constantly felt like there were eyes glaring at her from behind, making her hair stand on end.
That’s why she was so anxious, she had to run, hoping to shake off that bad feeling. Fortunately, Xiao Hua Mei seemed to be in much better spirits, which made her want to run faster, the farther the better.
She feared Xiao Hua Mei couldn’t hold on, and along the way, she would often ask if she was alright. Xiao Hua Mei always responded positively, saying she wanted to see her parents soon, so the girls ran all the way here.
Speaking of which, before dawn today, Xiao Lian Hua and the others followed Second Master Liu and Cui Sanniang’s carriage, reaching Dangtu Town in the morning. Later, the carriage zigzagged through the streets to a small house, which turned out to be a hideout for Cui Sanniang’s group.
Every time they kidnapped girls to the south, they would either travel by boat from Dangtu Town to Yangzhou or go from Xuanzhou’s Guxi River Town to Yangzhou. After reaching a hideout near the dock, they would park the carriage, and then Cui Sanniang would guard the abducted girls while Second Master Liu searched for a boat.
Once a boat was found, Second Master Liu would return and together with Cui Sanniang, they would knock out the abducted person and take them aboard.
Today, as usual, Second Master Liu went to find a boat while Cui Sanniang stayed to guard them.
At lunch, Cui Sanniang, as usual, drugged the food. She allowed Xiao Lian Hua and the others to remain awake on the road because she was confident nothing would happen with her and Second Master Liu watching.
But this time, she wouldn’t tolerate any mistakes when boarding, so as a precaution, she decided to knock them out. By the time they awoke, they would already be on the boat, and by then, it would be too late to cause trouble, so they would obediently go with her to Yangzhou, where someone would naturally meet them upon landing.
This was Cui Sanniang’s plan.
In conversing with Second Master Liu, or more accurately, with Second Master Liu talking and Xiao Lian Hua occasionally echoing him, she managed to keep him talking to himself. From this talk, Xiao Lian Hua understood their plans and also learned a lot about Dangtu Town.
Moreover, Xiao Lian Hua had been secretly planning for a long time, barely sleeping the latter half of the night. She carefully recalled what Second Master Liu said, pondering over her escape plan with her young mind, preparing meticulously.
Second Master Liu going out to find a boat was when security was weakest, which Xiao Lian Hua realized. Knowing what had happened when they were drugged, she understood that if they were drugged again, no amount of planning would help, so she had been discreetly preparing along the way.
Last night, while Cui Sanniang was sound asleep, she secretly swapped the powder in Cui Sanniang’s medicine pouch. Then she carefully wrapped the pouch as it was and put it back, already knowing where she kept it, having seen her take it out once before.
Cui Sanniang and Second Master Liu usually had better meals than them, and they drank wine with every meal. Xiao Lian Hua had figured out these habits thoroughly.
Sure enough, at noon, Cui Sanniang drugged their food, but it was the swapped drug that Xiao Lian Hua had prepared on the road. Perhaps out of happiness, Cui Sanniang gave them a good meal, the same as theirs.
The drug powder Xiao Lian Hua swapped wasn’t discarded. While helping Cui Sanniang, she used her sweaty hands to secretly grab some of the powder hidden in her bosom. In case the drug wasn’t potent enough, she even washed her hands in the bowl Cui Sanniang poured wine into, washing all the powder stuck to her hands into it.
As expected, Cui Sanniang drank the wine and soon passed out. Xiao Cui and several others were shocked, especially the two girls next to Xiao Cui, who were panic-stricken, standing foolishly in place.
Xiao Lian Hua didn’t pay attention to them. She quickly hung the Jade Pendant she had hidden around her neck to prevent losing it, then packed up the clothes she brought from home, which included unfinished dried meat and that silver ingot. Finally, she took Xiao Hua Mei and ran.
It seemed Xiao Cui and the others slowly came to their senses and followed after them.
After leaving that house, seeing they were still following, Xiao Lian Hua suggested they split up to increase their chances of escaping.
But for some reason, Xiao Cui was unwilling, insisting on following her, saying she had always lived in the village and had never traveled far, feeling uneasy and scared. She claimed Xiao Lian Hua had many ideas and seemed worldly, making it safer to escape with her.
The other two, already lost and usually listening to Xiao Cui, demanded to follow after hearing her say so.
Xiao Lian Hua thought it was very strange at the time. She was only ten years old, and she was taking care of the weak and sickly Xiao Hua Mei. Both were very young, making it difficult to escape. Yet, Xiao Cui was already a big girl at fifteen, and the other two were thirteen or fourteen, but they insisted on following her like tag-alongs. It was too odd.
But the situation was urgent, and there was no time to delve into it, let alone escape. Furthermore, these living people insisted on following her, so Xiao Lian Hua had no choice but to let them tag along.
At that moment, Xiao Lian Hua noticed that Xiao Hua Mei seemed much better, even appearing with a rosy complexion.
Things went unexpectedly smoothly, but Xiao Lian Hua felt a heavy heart, constantly uneasy.
Along their escape route, they saw an endless stream of carriages and porters, with ships on the river appearing and disappearing, small boats and big ships passing endlessly. They saw many ships along the way, just as Second Master Liu said, with Dangtu Town being very prosperous with commercial freight shipping, plenty of inner lakes and rivers, and especially the largest dock and port on the north side of the east bank of the Yangtze River near Yangzhou.
Following Xiao Lian Hua’s information extracted from Second Master Liu’s words, they fled in the opposite direction of the small ferry dock mentioned by Second Master Liu where he planned for them to take a boat.
According to Xiao Lian Hua’s thoughts, they had to leave Dangtu Town. However, Xiao Hua Mei had been unwell earlier, although she seemed much better now. Still, Xiao Lian Hua thought it sensible to find a doctor for reassurance, so she planned to find a place to hide in Dangtu Town, waiting until it was safe to leave. The most urgent thing was to find a doctor for Xiao Hua Mei.
At this moment, looking at the fork in the road, Xiao Lian Hua instinctively knew where the two roads led. The road north at this fork led to the largest dock and ferry in Dangtu Town, while the road south led elsewhere.
She didn’t know why she knew, perhaps from seeing many porters taking goods that way and noticing more large ships departing on the river.
But after seeing this fork, her unease reached its peak, always feeling that choosing the wrong road would lead to utter disaster.
Xiao Lian Hua, holding Xiao Hua Mei’s hand, took a turn south, as the northern road felt very dangerous.
"Hey, don’t go that way!"
Behind her came Xiao Cui’s voice of opposition.
Xiao Lian Hua stopped and turned to look at her without speaking, her expression clearly waiting for an explanation.