The next morning, the boat stopped slowly at the pier.

Boats on the river come and go frequently, and naturally many piers were built along the way for boats to rest and stock up.

On the dock, besides the laborers who were carrying goods, there were also many hawkers selling their wares. Some astute merchants had built tidy shops not far from the dock, selling local specialties such as tea, silk, porcelain, and cosmetics.

“Shu tángmei, let’s go to the shop over there.” Ling Jingyan said excitedly.

Since she got off the boat to relax, Ling Jingshu didn’t want to spoil the fun, so she nodded with a smile.

Uncle Ling and Madam Sun did not disembark, but the juniors couldn’t hold back anymore and got off the boat together. Girls who were not out of the cabinet should not show their faces in public, so Ling Jingshu and Ling Jingyan both put on their veiled hats. Madam Jiang also put on a veiled hat.

However, the group was still very eye-catching.

Ling Ji was tall and handsome, very conspicuous in the crowd. Ling Xiao’s unusually delicate and beautiful face also attracted everyone’s attention. The tall and slender Madam Jiang exudes the charm of a young woman in her gestures. The pretty Ling Jingyan laughed like a silver bell. Not to mention the beautiful Ling Jingshu.

The thin veil on the hat only vaguely concealed the appearance, but could not conceal the soul-stirring beauty.

The coolie peddlers on the wharf had never seen such a beautiful girl before, and they couldn’t help looking over frequently.

Fortunately, Ling Ji specially brought a dozen strong servants and surrounded Ling Jingshu and others tightly. The onlookers took a few glances through the crowd but soon withdrew their gazes, knowing better than to continue staring.

After sitting on the boat for a few days, once you set foot on the flat ground, walking was a bit soft, which was quite unaccustomed.

Ling Xiao held Ling Jingshu’s hand tightly, and whispered excitedly: “Ah Shu, it’s so lively here.” There were noisy voices in his ears, mixed with the loud shouts of vendors, which was really interesting to hear.

Ling Jingshu looked around, feeling a little bit embarrassed: “Yeah, it’s really lively!”

Not to mention that Ling Xiao had never seen it before, where had she ever experienced such a scenery?

Back then, she was raised in a deep boudoir and then married far away to Jizhou. From one exquisite cage to another more exquisite cage.

The time when she and Lu Hong had the strongest relationship was also when Lu Hong was studying hard and preparing for the provincial examination, so he had no time to take her out on a trip. Later, she became pregnant and gave birth to a child, so she had to stay in Lu’s house honestly. Later…she was under house arrest in the house, and she couldn’t even get out of the courtyard…

Ling Jingshu didn’t want to think about these painful past events, so she quickly changed the topic: “There are four treasures of the study in that shop there, let me accompany you to see it!”

As long as you were a scholar, you had to have the Four Treasures of the Study. Although Ling Xiao was blind and could not read, his love for the Four Treasures of the Study had not been affected in the slightest. Hearing this, he immediately responded with a smile.

Ling Jingshu smiled and asked Ling Jingyan and Madam Jiang again: “Are you coming together too?”

Ling Jingyan hurriedly responded: “Dasǎo^[1]wife of elder brother and I want to go to the makeup shop to have a look. Anyway, the two shops are not far away, we will meet again later Alright.”

Ling Jingyan had already said so, and Madam Jiang couldn’t go against her gūzi’s ^[2]Younger sister of the husband wishes and agreed with a smile: “Let’s divide our gourds into two groups. For the sake of safety, let half of the servants follow you. When we finish reading, we will I’ll go find you.”

That was fine.

Ling Jingshu nodded, took Ling Xiao’s hand, followed five or six family members, and walked into the Four Treasures of the Study together.

The two siblings entered the shop.

A thin beggar who was squatting not far from the shop stared at Ling Jingshu’s figure, a glimmer of surprise and greed flashed in his eyes.

…

This beggar was about twenty years old, with a thin face and a lame leg. Begging for a living at this pier.

It was common to see such beggars begging for alms at the pier, and no one paid any attention to him.

The crippled beggar got up quietly and left, turning into the alley on the other side of the pier. After entering the alley, the crippled beggar walked much faster, and his neatness was astonishing.

The crippled beggar stopped in front of a low house and knocked on the door with a special technique. He knocked three times before the door opened.

The one who opened the door was a strong man with a scar on his face: “Cripple, why did you come back so early? Why aren’t you watching the fat sheep on the pier?” 

The lame replied excitedly, “I just came back to report the news. Where is the Second Master?”

The man with the scar cursed a dirty word: “The Second Master slept with two prostitutes last night and is still asleep on the bed. I don’t want to get involved in his bad luck.” 

The crippled beggar was usually responsible for surveillance and finding “fat sheep,” as he had a sharp and accurate eye. He was highly valued by the Second Master. The Cripple smiled and responded, “This time, I found some really good merchandise. If I’m late in reporting and cause a delay, and then the big boss and the second boss blame me, I won’t be able to take the heat.” 

The man with the scar glared at the cripple and reluctantly went into the back room to call for someone.

After a while, the Second Master came out.

The scarred man was already very strong and tall, but the second boss was half a head taller than the scarred man, with a pair of triangular eyes shining fiercely, and it was intimidating to stand there.

The Second Master asked impatiently: “Cripple, you said you found a really good product, what does it look like? If you lift up the hood and look pockmarked like last time, I don’t need the big leader to take action, I will tear you up myself!”

The cripple became more honest in front of the tyrannical and ferocious Second Master and hurriedly said with a smile: “Please rest assured, Second Master, I will never be mistaken this time. The pair of siblings are about the same age, they should be twins, sister, and brother. They are only fourteen or fifteen years old. The girl was wearing a veiled hat, so I couldn’t see her face clearly, but she can be seen from a distance. She is a rare and stunning beauty. That young man also has a first-class appearance.”

When the Second Master heard that she was a beauty, he immediately became interested but cursed: “Through the hood, how can you know that she is a stunning beauty? If not, I will gouge out your dog eyes.” 

“Second master, just believe me this time!” The cripple said confidently: “I have been keeping an eye out all these years, and I have been wrong sometimes. But this time I am sure of what I saw. If I am wrong this time, I don’t need the Second Master to do it; I will myself gouge out my eyes.”

“I have already memorized the appearance of the official ship.”

The Second Master said,  “Then we will follow our old method of secretly trailing them for a day or two. When we find a secluded spot on the river, we will sneak into the ship in the middle of the night and take the people before we leave.”

Selling such a beauty from a wealthy family to the barbarians in the north could bring them a hundred fine warhorses. And with a few more transactions, they could earn a huge profit of tens of thousands of taels.

And that handsome young man was also a rare and good thing.

If this job can be successfully completed, the huge profits obtained were enough to make people willing to take the risk of being beheaded.

^[3]T/N And the problem for our FL due to her beauty starts.