The Bookish Scholar of the Red Mansion

The water is round and the mountains are heavy. The boat crosses the east side of the bridge. Looking at the moon is as white as jade. After several wanderings, the sparks are like rain.

Inside the window, Miss Zhen looked at the fireworks outside the window, and couldn't think of a sentence to express her mood at the moment.

Xu Mazi himself couldn't read a word, let alone give her a chance to read.

From the day she was abducted, all she had to do was eat well and wait to be sold for a good price.

Fortunately, she grew taller and more protruding. When she got older, Xu Mazi didn't hit people as much.

She will just be locked in her room all day long and not allowed to go out.

If a trafficker wants to raise a child, he will always have to endure some hardships.

Miss Zhen has not been hiding in Tibet these years. Just stay in the dark room, waiting for Xu Mazi to come back with the crying child.

These children generally stay for a short time. Some may be sold in the first few days, while others may only be sold in half a month.

There are only a few people like me. There wasn't much she could do, other than comfort each crying child, and try to remember their names.

Maybe one day, I can get out of trouble? Then we can bring people to rescue them.

Miss Zhen was thinking this, and couldn't help but read out the string of names, Liu Daniu, Huang Li, Xu Zongli, Wang Yue, Long'er...

She recited it slowly, but without stopping. Although the voice was very soft, it also contained a certain sense of stupidity and persistence.

Although there were sounds of all kinds of people having fun outside the door, she still remained immersed in it. It's like the world is only so big and there is only you.

Until the last syllable disappeared, Miss Zhen stood quietly in front of the window, watching the excitement downstairs and the grand scene in the sky.

Suddenly, I felt like I was in another world.

So, is the moon so beautiful?

And those colorful colors...

It would be nice if the fireworks could last longer.

she begged.

Make your wish towards the full moon in the sky.

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The fireworks above our heads are still blooming in bunches.

Big brother, big brother, how long will our fireworks last tonight?

All night. Chen Heng raised a finger and vowed to the children who ran up: Xiaohu, as long as you behave well and don't make your parents angry, I will let you go all night.

It turned out that the boy named Xiaohu was also very funny. Instead of being happy when he heard this, he curled his lips and said, Brother, you have grown up.

Ah?! Chen Heng was stunned, probably because he didn't expect to hear such a reply.

Like adults, you have learned to coax children.

Xiaohu muttered and ran towards his companions in the distance.

Ha ha ha ha.

Xinda, who was standing aside, really couldn't hold it in any longer. Seeing the helpless look his brother gave him, the boy belatedly covered his mouth.

Chen Heng took away the blanket from his legs and asked the child to interrupt. The others were also refreshed and ready to get up and walk.

Needless to say, the campground was lively. Except for a wide corridor exposed in the middle, it was crowded with people all around. In order to maintain safety, the government office specially sent two hundred additional people. Counting the students on site, they could still maintain order among everyone.

The place where the fireworks are set off is at the porridge shop, which is close to the city wall and can be connected with the fireworks in the city, making it more enjoyable to watch.

It is said that the fireworks in the world are the most soothing to mortal hearts.

When Chen Heng walked through the crowd with Xinda, he met many people who greeted him. These refugees may not have recognized him, but they were in a really good mood tonight. Seeing that Chen Heng was dressed as a scholar, his attitude was a bit more cordial.

During this period, the students’ efforts were seen by the refugees. Whether it's about their food, clothing, housing, transportation, or complaints about illness, if you catch a scholar on the roadside and talk to him for a few words, you can always find someone to solve the problem.

People's hearts are full of flesh, and few people can accept the kindness of others with peace of mind.

Refugees are also human beings, and all they can repay for this innocent kindness is kindness and understanding.

Brother Heng, Brother Heng, we are here. Jiang Yuanbai spotted Chen Heng from the crowd and waved at him.

Jiang Yuanbai was just crazy on his own, but tonight's excitement was just what he wanted. When Chen Heng saw that there were several children around him, he just smiled and nodded, and yelled 'be careful' at him.

He took Xinda and continued walking towards the back of the crowd until he found Xin Suzhao, wearing armor and holding a knife, standing with his back to the fireworks, maintaining order among the refugees.

Is everything okay tonight? Chen Heng came to his friend's side, Are you tired? How about I watch for you for a while while you go and have a rest?

No, it doesn't seem to be a big deal at the moment. Xin Suzhao smiled and waved his hand. He, the Heng brother, didn't know that the soldiers transferred to the city today were all following his orders and could not easily leave here, lest others find him. .

However, Xin Suzhao didn't explain the matter to Chen Heng. Chen Heng looked at his friend's expression specifically. Seeing that his expression was quite relaxed, he smiled and nodded and said: Then just hold on a little longer. When the fireworks are over, I'll go Bring me Uncle Er’s wine for you to drink.”

When Xin Suzhao heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said, Really? How did you know that your second uncle brought wine?

I saw it with my own eyes during the day. Chen Heng raised his neck proudly and winked at his friend, It's a pity that I can't give you all the food and drinks.

What's such a pity? It's really a pity... Xin Suzhao turned his head, his eyes fell on the overlapping figures in front of the people, and suddenly said with emotion, Brother Heng, you don't drink, so I lose a drinking partner.

As I said, there will always be opportunities in the future. Chen Heng smiled casually, and the green-brown earth was suddenly illuminated by the blue light from the sky.

Brother Heng, after the New Year... Xin Suzhao was talking.

Sir!!! Suddenly a pawn came flying towards me. Before he could stand firm, he said urgently, There is a family whose child is lost!

What? Xin Suzhao immediately frowned. He looked at the lively crowd around him and said hesitantly, Have you ever asked carefully if you are hiding there with your playmates?

Brother Su Zhao, please continue to stay here. I will go take a look for you. Chen Heng was shocked. Before the two could continue talking, he had already pushed the soldier to let him lead the way.

Although Xin Suzhao was anxious, he nodded when he saw this and just warned: If something is wrong, send someone back to tell me.

When a group of them arrived at the scene of the incident, they noticed a group of children surrounding several adults, and a group of onlookers standing outside.

Give way, give way.

Chen Heng finally squeezed into the crowd and was grabbed by the parents who had lost their child.

Little brother, little brother. My Niuniu is missing.

Seeing that the mother was already crying, Chen Heng quickly patted her hand that was pulled into his clothes, and asked her husband, who was still calm, Brother, can you tell me about your children?

I promised Niuniu tonight to let her go out to play with them... The child's father pointed to the children beside him, and while supporting the woman, he said anxiously, I don't even know that they came to me and told me Niuniu was abducted.

Chen Heng looked down and felt that these children looked familiar. A bunch of fireworks bloomed in the air. After the dazzling light flashed, he recognized the people in front of him at once, Li Xiao, Zhao Jing, why is it you?

Big brother, big brother, we saw Niuniu being taken away.

It's a man in gray.

He hugged Niuniu and she fell asleep.

Wang Xiaohu went after them.

Seeing that someone finally paid attention to them, these children started talking to each other. If Chen Heng hadn't reacted quickly, they wouldn't have heard clearly.

When he heard that Xiaohu was chasing the traffickers out, Chen Heng was really angry and stamped his feet. Why was there such a stupid child? Why didn't he come back and tell the adults?

Did you see what that person looked like?

iHearing Chen Heng's question, several children looked at each other and began to say their own words. Some say he has a mole on his face, some say he looks fierce, and some say he has small eyes.

Finally they all agreed that the man had pockmarks on his face.

Chen Heng remembered the characteristics of wearing gray clothes and pockmarks, and was about to get up and leave, but Xin Suzhao had already rushed to him on horseback. Before Chen Heng could reply, he had already said in a hurry: Brother Heng, get on the horse, another child has been arrested. Turned around.

Chen Heng didn't hesitate and directly held Su Zhao's hand, and a huge force easily pulled him onto the horse's back.

Xinda, you go find Du Yunjing and the others and ask them to start searching in the camp first, as fast as possible.

Among the crowd, there was an aisle blocked by officers and soldiers, although some people were still standing on the roadside. Fortunately, Xin Suzhao's riding skills were superb, and Chen Heng was on the horse to help him drink, so he didn't bump into anyone along the way.

The two of them ran all the way to the city gate. After communicating with the guards on the city wall, they realized that no suspicious person had passed by just now.

Since there isn't one at the nearest city gate, it's probably not possible in other places. But now is not the time for logic, and we must not let go of any opportunity we may find.

Chen Heng jumped off the horse and told Xin Suzhao to notify various city gates, while he turned back and ran to the porridge shop.

With so many children abducted overnight, it was obviously a team crime. As he ran, he thought that it was absolutely impossible to hide in the camp with his children.

Everyone's names are registered, and it's clear at a glance which family has more people.

Then they will inevitably enter the city. Apart from Yangzhou City, it is surrounded by plains and there are so many refugees watching. There is absolutely no place for them to hide in the cold winter months.

But if you want to enter the city, you must not hide it from the eyes of the guards.

Unless, these traffickers know some small roads through which they can sneak into the city?

You have to find someone who might know this way.

Chen Heng ran all the way to his second uncle and pulled him out of the crowd while panting.

Heng'er, what's wrong with you? You're running like this.

Not caring to catch his breath, Chen Heng explained the matter clearly in a few words, and then asked Chen Huaijin eagerly, Second uncle, do you know this way? Or if you can imagine it, who might know?

At this time, many students who had received the information began to organize themselves and search the crowd. Du Yunjing rarely got together with Cui Youdao, and the two of them discussed back and forth without knowing what they were talking about.

Seeing that his second uncle was thinking slowly, Chen Heng knew that there was no need to rush now, so he suppressed his temper and told himself to calm down. At the same time, he gave guidance, Second uncle, don't be in a hurry, think slowly. Before you think about it, When we were here at the tea shop, did anyone mention a trail, or there was something wrong with that road?

When his nephew said this, Chen Huaijin, who had been thinking hard for a long time, suddenly clapped his hands and said: I remembered, Heng'er, there really is such a thing. When I was building the waterway for the government office, a worker said that east of the city One of the wooden fences was in disrepair and no one had replaced it for a long time.”

I remember they said that a slightly thinner person could swim across that road. Chen Huaijin became more confident as he spoke, and his tone began to be high-pitched, But very few people knew about that road. There were only a few people there at that time. Tea shop.”

Chen Heng was overjoyed when he heard this. He didn't care about a few, and immediately said: Second uncle, take me there quickly.

When they arrived all the way, they saw nothing on the dark water. Chen Heng did not dare to let go of this opportunity, so he ordered people to search everywhere to see if they could find anything. He took Xin Suzhao and Xinda who came over and held a torch to explore the way forward.

The two of them walked to the corner in one breath and found nothing special. Seeing that they could only swim further in, Xin Suzhao was about to take off his clothes and go into the water. Chen Heng suddenly pointed to the broken wooden fence in the distance and said urgently: Torch, give me the torch.

Taking the torch from Xinda's hand, Chen Heng looked forward. He had excellent eyesight and saw half a piece of rag on the wooden fence on the spot.

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Brother, why do you have to walk all night? It's really freezing to death going back and forth.

Good brother, blame me. I don't know what kind of bad luck I got today. I just remember everything. I went out to do something today and let a child see it.

Ha, brother, I think you are a prostitute after not doing anything for three days.

Fart, your hair didn't even grow when I was doing this. When I go out this time, I will find a temple to worship Mr. Guan to get rid of bad luck.

Okay, I'll do whatever you want, brother.

This group of people was none other than Xu Mazi, who had just returned from kidnapping a child from the camp. This time they went out and kidnapped five children in total. I thought it was just a trivial matter. If the general government wanted to deal with this matter, it would have to wait until the official opening tomorrow.

Unexpectedly, my eldest brother was followed by a seven or eight-year-old kid. This can't be said to be a good thing or a bad thing. Although he was so rich, Xu Mazi felt inexplicably flustered while sitting in the Manchun Courtyard, so he took a group of brothers and prepared to leave the city immediately.

Everyone, please be patient. As long as we leave the city, we will find a place to hide in the wilderness. Tomorrow morning, we will go to Jinling. By then, we can do whatever we want. Xu Mazi was afraid that these brothers would have complaints. Promising bright days ahead.

Don't worry, brother, we brothers agreed to share blessings and share hardships.

That's right, where to go and what to do are not a matter of your words, brother. Brother, I just recognize you as a person.

Xu Mazi was also impressed by what he heard and just raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet and go on their way.

Although there are fireworks in the city now, the streets are bustling everywhere. But they were dressed strangely, their clothes were wet, and they were holding a woman in their hands.

Yes, a woman with a rope around her neck.

In public, if Xu Mazi and his gang dare to take to the streets like this, the Yangzhou people will eat them alive. So this group of people could only walk through alleys and groping their way forward.

Finally, we reached the entrance of the alley, and we had to wade into the water further. Xu Mazi cautiously stuck his head out, and after checking that no one was around, he turned back and discussed with his brothers who should go first to explore the way.

What a big deal, brother, let me do it.

A brother volunteered, walked to the river in a few short steps, pulled the bank with his hands, and melted his body into the water little by little.

Several people on the shore watched nervously as he kept swimming forward. It wasn't until he successfully passed the wooden fence that everyone finally let go of their worries.

Xu Mazi immediately called on his brothers to follow him quickly.

Brother, can this woman swim? The man holding the rope in his hand asked the eldest brother.

Xu Mazi thought for a while, then turned over and took out a half-person-high wooden board from the alley, Let her swim with the board in her hands. Wang Laosan, you have to tighten the rope.

Don't worry, she won't be able to throw away the thousands of taels of things I lost. The man showed a proud smile.

A group of seven or eight people greeted each other with their hands, quietly dived into the water, and swam away together.

Seeing that the end point was getting closer and closer, before Xu Mazi could get excited, a sharp rustling sound suddenly came from both sides of the strait.

There was a sudden burst of fire.

Guys, it's cold and the water is cold, why don't you come ashore and have a chat?

A sound that they had never heard before suddenly came. Everyone looked up in panic and saw dozens of soldiers standing around holding bows, arrows, swords, and torches.

Chen Heng looked at this group of timid people and saw that they had no intention of going ashore, so he gave Xin Suzhao a look. The latter immediately let go of the bow string, and the flying arrow immediately hit a man's arm.

The first people who swam to the outside saw that everyone was ambushed, and they couldn't care less about their brothers in trouble. Immediately, he plunged into the water fiercely, trying to dive out from under the water.

Chen Heng, who had noticed him for a long time, was not willing to give him a chance. He asked Xin Suzhao, Can you shoot him to death?

Xin Suzhao was very surprised, but he was very happy and said: I thought you would persuade me to show mercy. As he said this, the arrow in his hand was already on the string.

There is nothing to reason with the traffickers, they are just pawns exploring the road. Chen Heng gritted his teeth angrily. He didn't know how the atmosphere among the refugees would be damaged because of these few pieces of mouse droppings.

To be honest, giving him an arrow would be an advantage for that damn ghost.

Xin Suzhao took aim for a long time, and when the man surfaced to take a breath, the flying arrows pierced into the man's body. Perhaps because he was worried that one arrow was not enough, Xin Suzhao shot two more arrows in succession.

This scared the six people in the water out of their wits. Yes, they had done some outrageous things, but the King of Hell had to be held accountable for killing people.

Don't kill me, don't talk about me, the children are still there, the children are still there.

I'm going ashore, I'm going ashore, I'll be up right away, officers and soldiers, please be merciful.

Seeing that these human traffickers finally showed their cowardice, Chen Heng immediately shouted, Come up, the last one will be punished with an additional penalty.

Dozens of pairs of eyes stared at them. This group of people didn't mess around after landing, they just squatted on the ground shivering. Xin Suzhao wanted these people to resist. There was such a big mess tonight. He didn't know how he would ridicule his father after he went back. He was also holding back anger in his heart.

Chen Heng saw that one of them was holding a woman in his hand, and couldn't help but ask Xinda to come forward and call the girl over.

When the girl stood in front of him, she was all wet, with most of her black hair sticking to her face, making it hard to tell how old she was.

Are you...the one they abducted? Chen Heng was a little unsure of the situation, Have you seen the children who were abducted by them?

I know, I remember them all... The girl nodded, Liu Daniu, Huang Li, Xu Zongli, Wang Yue, Long Er...

At first, Chen Heng didn't react, thinking that the girl might have been abused for a long time and suffered mental trauma. But seeing how firmly she was reciting them, she suddenly realized that these were the names of children abducted by human traffickers.

After finally reciting the names of Niuniu and Wang Xiaohu. The girl suddenly raised her head, not knowing what she was looking at for a long time.

The fireworks are gone.

she said suddenly.

There will be more, and there will be more tomorrow night. Chen Heng took off his robe and handed it to Xinda to signal him to put it on.

When he came to the trafficker, it would be better not to look at him. Once he saw him, he would recognize the acquaintance among them.

Xu Mazi?!

Xu Mazi didn't even remember him. Under the dark light, he was still upset and regretful. At this moment, someone suddenly called out his name, and he became as alert as a mouse.

Who are you?

Chen Heng sneered and didn't reply. He said to the officers and soldiers, Ask about the children's situation and send them all to the government office.

This chapter is 5,500 words, and the next chapter is 5,000 words. They will be sent out in the early morning. Brothers, you don’t have to wait. The 10,000 words I promised you will definitely arrive.