Chapter 132: Recruiting Children

“Hey, Sis, there’s another pretty one in the room next door, but she’s a bit older,” Skinny Sister suggested.

Sister Fat immediately rejected the idea. Six years old was too old—she was already aware of things, and the buyer wanted someone younger, someone who wouldn’t remember much and would be easier to raise.

Sister Fat was a cunning person. She didn’t want to give up this lucrative deal. To be honest, after so many years of kidnapping children, this was the first time she had seen a child as adorable as Ah Bao.

“Tsk tsk, if only you were a boy, you could fetch a really high price!”

Suddenly, she had an idea. “Heh heh, little girl, are you full yet?” she asked.

Ah Bao shook her head.

Sister Fat smiled slyly, like a wolf. “Well then, what else would you like to eat?”

“Meat…,” Ah Bao replied.

Sister Fat clapped her hands. “That’s easy! How about this: I’ll give you a big chicken leg, and after you’ve had your fill, Granny will take you out to play, okay?”

Hearing there was a big chicken leg, Ah Bao got excited and nodded quickly. “Okay, okay, okay…”

This made Sister Fat extremely happy. She endured the pain in her heart as she handed Ah Bao two large chicken legs.

The children locked in the room watched this unfold: “…”

What?

They were all kidnapped, so why did Ah Bao get to eat chicken legs while they had to watch?

“Sis, what are you up to? You’re not planning to sell this little girl to that rich family, are you? Didn’t you say they wanted a boy?” Skinny Sister felt something was off.

Sister Fat kept her eyes fixed on Ah Bao, who was happily munching away. “You’re such a fool. This child is so good-looking—we can dress her up as a boy!”

“Dress her up? No matter how you dress her, she’s still a girl. As soon as they check, they’ll find out.”

“Sigh, you don’t get it, do you? We’ll change her into boy’s clothes, and take down those little pigtails. After she’s dressed up, we’ll get the money from the rich family before they check. By the time they realize, we’ll be long gone.”

“Besides, that family definitely won’t make a fuss. Buying a child isn’t something they want people to know—they’ll just keep quiet about it.”

“They’ll probably just keep the girl and raise her anyway. It’ll be like getting an extra kid, no harm done,” Sister Fat reasoned.

Ah Bao finished eating the chicken leg.

Sister Fat and Skinny Sister both stared in amazement.

“My goodness, this little one can really eat.”

Sister Fat, who was always full of ideas, quickly dressed Ah Bao up. The little girl was soon transformed into a little boy.

“Tsk, that family is really lucky to get such a good-looking child. Look at those big eyes—if only she were a boy, she’d be even more amazing,” Sister Fat couldn’t help but praise as she handed Ah Bao a sugar-filled cookie. “Sweetie, eat this, and after you do, you’ll be going home.”

Ah Bao looked at the unusually sweet cookie and took a bite.

“This treat isn’t bad, really sweet,” she thought to herself.

Skinny Sister sighed quietly beside her.

As soon as Ah Bao finished the cookie, she “fainted.”

The two women placed her in a bamboo basket, covered it with some vegetable leaves, and carried it to a large, luxurious mansion.

Taking advantage of the quiet noon, they snuck in through the back door.

Ah Bao peeked through the gaps in the basket at the outside world.

“This place… looks familiar.”

“Wait a minute, isn’t this… the Great Uncle’s mansion?”

At that very moment, inside the main hall of the mansion, the Great Uncle suddenly shivered.

“Master, you’re wearing a bear-fur robe, how can you still be shivering?” Concubine Xin asked with a look of sorrow, her eyes swollen from days of crying.

The Great Uncle had been keeping her company every day.

Perhaps because Concubine Xin had been in a bad mood these past two months, anything that displeased her would make her angry, like the Great Uncle shivering just now.

The Great Uncle felt wronged. He had no idea what had happened—just for a split second, he felt like someone was watching him.

“Sweetheart, the matter I discussed with you last month will be settled today. After today, you’ll surely feel better. As for Huan’er, we won’t care about him anymore—he always upsets you, and it breaks my heart to see you in pain,” the Great Uncle said, trying to comfort Concubine Xin.

Concubine Xin sighed again, and the Great Uncle felt his heart ache even more. “Sweetheart, why are you sighing again?”

“Today, we’re adopting a child. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the other estate, and I won’t show my face for a few years. Everything is arranged perfectly, but why do I still feel so uneasy?”

The idea of adopting a child was something the Great Uncle had brought up last month.

The reason was that Zhao Huan, his son, had nearly driven him to his grave.

The Great Uncle’s mansion had only one heir, Zhao Huan, and over the years, he had raised and spoiled him as his successor. But at the critical moment, Zhao Huan decided to quit. The simplest issue of continuing the family line was cut off by Zhao Huan.

The Great Uncle was furious, but anger alone wouldn’t solve the problem.

Concubine Xin was so distressed over this that she had almost developed a heart condition, always gloomy and sad, which made the Great Uncle feel miserable as well.

But after all, Zhao Huan was still his own flesh and blood—could he really abandon him?

After discussing it, the couple decided to adopt another child.

They had heard that in the marketplace, there was a saying about adopting or attracting children. Given his age—over sixty—having children was a difficult matter for him.

“My dear, don’t be upset. Didn’t the Taoist Master Wuyun personally calculate for us? He said that as long as we adopt a child, within two years, we’ll be able to have a baby boy of our own.”

Concubine Xin was doubtful, “Do you think this Taoist Master Wuyun is reliable? If we had known, you should’ve sought out Taoist Master Baiyun instead.”

“Ah, Taoist Master Baiyun comes and goes like the wind; not just anyone can meet him. We settled for the next best thing. After all, Taoist Master Wuyun is Baiyun’s junior disciple, so he can’t be that far off.”

The Great Uncle continued, “At this time, the person should already be delivered. I’ll go take a look.”

Concubine Xin was also curious about their soon-to-be new son, “I’ll go too.”

In the backyard, two old women placed a bamboo basket down, allowing the servant to take a quick look at the little person inside.

This servant was new, and the Great Uncle had deliberately hired two mute, illiterate servants to ensure secrecy. He had never seen Ah Bao before. He only caught a quick glimpse earlier, noticing just a little boy sleeping in the basket.

When the Great Uncle and Concubine Xin quietly stepped into the backyard, the two old women were happily preparing to collect their money.

“Ah, the esteemed master is here. This is the child you wanted. Take a look,” said the plump woman. They had to let the master see the child before they could get paid.

“Open it,” the Great Uncle commanded.

These two were introduced to the Great Uncle by Taoist Master Wuyun. Although the Great Uncle spoiled his concubine, he was ruthless in his dealings. He thought that after the transaction was complete, he would have these two women silenced. The fewer people who knew about this, the better.

When the bamboo basket was opened and the Great Uncle saw the small figure sleeping inside, he was stunned.

Damn!

This… this is… the Tenth Princess!

Even though the little one was dressed like a young page, those eyebrows unmistakably belonged to that little terror.