PNB Chapter 200 lists several types of transactions that are off-limits.
Chapter 200 lists several types of transactions that are off-limits.
Early the next morning—
Xia Mo, disguised as a maid, was led by Huangfu Qian, who was disguised as Steward Huang, and moved towards the dock with Yin Rou.
In Lingzhou Prefecture, there was a large wharf. People came and went at the wharf, and boats came and went on the Grand Canal. There was a row of wharves specifically for boats to dock, and a large boat was moored at each one. As soon as the boat in front finished unloading its cargo, another boat would immediately follow and dock behind it.
The arrival of the group at the end of summer did not attract much attention, except for one person.
Cao Kai, who was on one of the cargo ships, saw Yin Rou on the deck and stared in shock.
Yin Rou also recognized Cao Kai. She didn't quite understand why Xia Mo and the others had brought her to the dock.
"See that ship? We're here to stop the cargo from landing, or rather, to have the goods on that ship confiscated by the authorities," Xia Mo, disguised as a maid, whispered in Yin Rou's ear.
Yin Rou's heart tightened, and she whispered, "That's Cao Yun's boat."
“Heh,” Xia Mo smiled wryly and retorted, “So what?”
“The Cao family…after all, they raised me,” Yin Rou explained nervously, afraid that Xia Mo would misunderstand her.
"There's human trafficking on that ship. If you don't do anything about it, the Cao family will be destroyed by a collateral descendant, Cao Kai, sooner or later. Is that what you want to see?" Xia Mo asked softly.
Yin Rou's expression immediately turned serious, and she clenched her fists. She hated human traffickers! And she herself had been a victim of human trafficking!
"Really?" Yin Rou frowned and pressed for an answer.
“Now, asking you to expose this is giving the Cao family a chance. If I report this to that person, the Cao family will be raided,” Xia Mo said, shrugging her shoulders and looking at Yin Rou. She was certain that Yin Rou wouldn’t let this go unpunished.
Yin Rou gritted her teeth and nodded forcefully: "Okay, what do I need to do?"
Seeing the cooperative Yin Rou compared to Lin Fengzhi, who had his own ideas and refused to cooperate, Xia Mo felt that helping Yin Rou regain her luck wouldn't be difficult.
Xia Mo, disguised as a maid, stepped forward and blocked the cargo ship where Cao Kai was.
"Who are you?!"
Xia Mo, disguised as a maid, turned to look at Yin Rou and said, "Why are there human trafficking shipments on your ship?!"
"What nonsense are you spouting!" the Cao family boatman shouted.
With a flick of her wrist, two black ironwood sticks appeared in her hand.
"What are you doing?" the Cao family boatman shouted. "Come quick, someone's causing trouble!"
At this shout, the Cao family boatmen swarmed forward like a swarm of bees.
Xia Mo swung the short stick in his hand and knocked the swarm of people who rushed up to the ground.
Cao Kai disembarked with a dark face, rushed to Yin Rou, and loudly ordered, "Tell your maid to stop!"
Cao Kai's actions at the end of summer were ordered by Yin Rou.
Yin Rou, recalling Xia Mo's words about the human trafficking taking place on that ship, immediately turned cold: "If you have nothing to hide, what are you afraid of?!"
"What right do you, an adopted daughter who was kicked out of the Cao family, have to stand here and talk to me?!" Cao Kai said coldly.
Upon hearing the words "adopted daughter kicked out of the Cao family," Yin Rou felt a pang of pain in her heart and no longer wanted to speak to Cao Kai. She directly said to Xia Mo, "Heh, Siya, get on the boat!"
Xia Mo was the fourth child in the Xia family, so she gave herself the maid's name, Si Ya.
"Yes!"
Cao Kai was shocked to hear that "Siya" was only ranked fourth. If Siya was so amazing, and she was only ranked fourth, then how amazing must the third, second, and first place be?!
"Stop them!" Cao Kai urged the boatmen.
But at this moment, the boatmen were knocked to the ground by Xia Mo and could not get up at all.
Cao Kai was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead. He asked the live streaming system in his mind: If Yin Rou takes the lead and discovers the business on the ship, does that mean that Yin Rou will take back the fortune?
A chat window popped up on the screen in front of Cao Kai: System: Yes.
Cao Kai was furious and said, "Yin Rou, have you been in a brothel for too long and don't you even know the basic rules?! The affairs of our Cao family are none of your business, you outsider!"
Yin Rou met Xia Mo's questioning gaze and said, "Continue."
Xia Mo would continue even without Yin Rou's instructions, but she needed Yin Rou's instructions to establish a premise where Yin Rou would take the lead.
Xia Mo, wielding two short sticks, directly struck the Cao family's cargo ship moored beside the dock.
The dockworkers carried sticks, but the boatmen on the boats didn't carry sticks; they drew large, sinister-looking machetes that gleamed with a white light.
"Go down yourself, or do you want us to do it?" the foreman asked loudly.
Xia Mo rushed over and smashed the man's hand.
The boatman realized Xia Mo's actions, but his body couldn't react in time. The next moment, he let out a pig-like scream, and the large cleaver in his hand fell to the ground.
"Go together!"
The foreman, clutching his aching hand, addressed the other boatmen who were holding knives.
Xia Mo still fought without any strategy, but she always managed to knock the knife away with the stick in her hand, and she always managed to hit the knife-wielding person so hard that they couldn't hold on to it.
There were thirty boatmen in total, but Xia Mo had only one left. Looking at the situation, it seemed the boatmen had a clear advantage! But unexpectedly…
In late summer, one man managed to subdue all the boatmen on the ship in just a quarter of an hour.
After the boatman was knocked down, six well-dressed wealthy merchants emerged from the cabin.
Xia Mo looked at the six people.
The six well-dressed men twitched at the corners of their mouths, and unease flickered in their eyes.
“We are just merchants who came to inspect the goods. We are not from the Cao family’s freight business. May we disembark first, young lady?” asked the wealthy merchant A.
As summer faded, she swung her stick again, this time knocking six wealthy businessmen to the ground, rendering them unable to even crawl.
The six wealthy businessmen glared angrily at Xia Mo.
"Do you know who we are?! How dare you treat us like this!" The wealthy businessman, A, was beaten to the ground but still shouted threats.
Xia Mo looked at Yin Rou, who was following her onto the ship, and Huangfu Qian, who was disguised as the manager.
Xia Mo's gaze met Huangfu Qian's for a moment.
Huangfu Qian understood and led Yin Rou into the cabin.
In the past, Cao Yun would abide by the rules, and there were certain types of transactions that were off-limits. But now, with Cao Kai implementing the scheme and Master Cao in charge, things might be different.
Master Cao was in charge of the overall situation; what his subordinates did and how they did it depended on how the implementers arranged things.
The wealthy merchant A discovered that his voice was completely ignored by the ordinary-looking maid!
The wealthy businessman A looked at Yin Rou as she entered the cabin and shouted, "Stop it! I'm not someone you can afford to offend! The Cao family doesn't dare offend me, how dare you?!"
Yin Rou paused slightly, but then, remembering that the person beside her might also be one of Jiang Wang's men, she took another step without further hesitation.
If it were truly a human trafficking operation, King Jiang would already know and wouldn't allow it to continue.
Yin Rou entered the cabin, which was quiet and without any unusual noises. In the cargo storage room, the goods were neatly arranged, and some items were partially visible, but they did not look like people were being trafficked.
Just as Yin Rou was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Huangfu Qian stepped forward and moved aside a pile of messy goods in the corner, revealing a small, hidden door.
Yin Rou's heart clenched.