At this moment, Samuel Green had already put on his clothes. Grumbling about how inconvenient they were, he casually interjected, “Why ask so many questions? Just send someone to Jiangdu County to notify them, have them come identify the person. Once they arrive, everything will be clear, won’t it?”

Chapter 5: Aware or Unaware?

Samuel Green’s interjection was abrupt. He had always kept out of everyone’s conversations, so after he spoke, Henry Brooks looked at Samuel Green in astonishment and said, “Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that? It’s so simple, all it takes is a bit of time—if anyone says you’ve been beaten silly, I’ll be furious with them. Listen to what you just said, so clear and logical… you’re obviously not stupid at all!”

The little girl leaning against the door rolled her eyes and quickly chimed in, “I also heard the kidnappers talking. When they knocked him out, he was wearing a scholar’s robe, and in his backpack were several books: ‘The Original Meaning of Mao’s Poetry’ (by Ouyang Xiu), ‘Commentaries on the Book of Documents’ (by Su Shi), ‘Huangji Jingshi Shu’ (by Shao Yong, a mathematics book), and a few works by the Guanzhong School master Zhang Zai. So he must be a scholar.”

At this moment, Grace Harper had just stopped vomiting and steadied herself. Suddenly remembering something, she cried out and rushed toward the side rooms. Henry Brooks raised his hand to stop her, but Miss Chu had already dashed into the rooms like a gust of wind. Before the yamen official could even lift his leg to chase after her, the little girl at the door spoke up to reassure him: “The leader of the kidnappers heard your commotion and slipped out early to hide. The people left in the courtyard are all lying here now.”

As soon as the little girl finished speaking, Miss Chu had already rushed into the courtyard, crying out in anguish, “Just as I thought… There are three little girls lying in the room, all sleeping soundly. No matter how I shake them, they won’t wake up—they must have been drugged.”

Before anyone could respond, Miss Chu turned around and dashed into the other side rooms…

In those rooms, some had two people lying down, some had three—in total, there were eight side rooms, with eighteen young girls lying there. Counting the little girl at the door, that made nineteen in all.

After a brief pause, Grace Harper came running into the courtyard, holding a seven- or eight-year-old girl in her arms, her face filled with pity and anger as she shouted, “What a sin! Even such little girls are kidnapped. When I was this young, I was still enjoying my parents’ love, completely unaware of the dangers of the world. Now, snatched away and thrown into the mud, even if they survive, they’ll be like walking corpses, never daring to believe in happiness again. So young—where do these kidnappers plan to sell her?”

From nearby came the sound of someone reciting scripture. It was Alice Benson, her head bowed as she chanted: “Superior virtue is not virtuous, thus it has virtue; inferior virtue does not lose virtue, thus it has no virtue. Superior virtue is non-action and acts without acting; inferior virtue acts and has a reason for acting. Superior benevolence acts without a reason; superior righteousness acts and has a reason. Superior propriety acts and no one responds, so it bares its arms and forces compliance. Thus, after the Way is lost, then comes virtue; after virtue is lost, then comes benevolence; after benevolence is lost, then comes righteousness; after righteousness is lost, then comes propriety.”

As Alice Benson recited this passage, her tone was full of remorse, as if Grace Harper’s earlier reproach was directed at her. Looking guilty, Alice Benson said softly, “What a sin—The old scholar who rented the house often came here for the exams. The abbess thought he was a familiar face, so she trusted him and rented him the house. Who would have thought he was a kidnapper, and even the ringleader… He seemed so kind—how could he do something so utterly heartless?”

To kidnap more than a dozen girls at once—this was clearly organized crime. Such a big matter couldn’t be covered up by anyone. Taohua Temple was already inescapably guilty, and with Alice Benson involved, could she really claim to have known nothing…?!

Henry Brooks busily sent servants to notify the authorities. Hearing Alice Benson’s words, he muttered under his breath, “That old scholar came every year… Who knows how many girls he’s trafficked over the years, utterly heartless. What a pity he got away.”

Grace Harper, holding the seven- or eight-year-old girl, broke into a relieved smile: “Yamen official, you’ve really accumulated virtue this time. If you hadn’t arranged for us to come to Taohua Temple for an outing, how could we have cornered this gang of kidnappers in the courtyard? This little girl is truly blessed—Heaven must have sent us to save them. Otherwise, who knows where they would have been sold.”

Henry Brooks, hearing Miss Chu speak as if he were a hero, immediately beamed with joy. Meanwhile, Samuel Green, who was still busy putting on his clothes, strolled over and lazily bowed to Henry Brooks and Grace Harper, saying, “Benefactors, thank you so much for saving me, blah blah blah…”

As he bowed, Miss Chu noticed that he was loosely draped in a long robe, which seemed far too short for a “murderer”—it exposed half his knees, and his bare feet were planted in the mud. Those feet were so white—whiter than many women’s feet. At a glance, it was clear he’d never worked the land or done any hard labor in the wind and rain.

Looking up from those feet, sure enough, after being cleaned up, he was truly fair-skinned, his complexion as delicate as a woman’s… in fact, even fairer than most women. Next to him, Little Henry, though a yamen official’s son and pampered in daily life, looked like a field of rapeseed flowers compared to jasmine when standing beside this person.