With her hands looped around Little Tian's neck, she let herself cry out loud.

"My lady, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let you deliver the tea to Master Dongfang, I shouldn't have gone to watch over Ming Yan, I shouldn't have left your side..."

Little Tian returned the embrace, her face soaked in tears as well as reproach and regret.

Obviously, Dongfang Ming would never fall for the same trick again, but the unfortunate event happened because she was not able to stop her lady from executing her foolish plan!

The officers realized that the two women were not in the right state to answer them, so they turned to interrogate the other servants. "Where are you staying at? We'll come over and ask about the situation when your lady feels better."

They could tell from Little Tian's accent that they were not from around here.

The servants replied dutifully, "You can look for us at Dongfang's tailor shop."

The two guards acknowledged the answer and left for the streets.

The servants looked at Wang Xiangyun and Little Tian bawling together. None of them knew what to do.

Ye Liu and Li Wazi arrived at Ye Mo's location. They took the cart by the reins and headed towards the town entrance.

At the same time, Wang Liu arrived with two officers in tow after reporting the case.

"Some pedestrians saw my lady being dragged in that direction by some punks," he told them.

That was as far as he could lead them. There were too many alleys around here and he was not sure which one the pedestrians referred to. He was not familiar with this place.

The officers nodded, saying, "Alright, got it," and beginning their search.

The three punks were on their way to the pawnshop when they saw the two guards and the pedestrian (Wang Liu) from afar. Perhaps they were just sensitive towards officers in official uniforms, or it was because they bore the guilt of rape and robbery and were afraid of being arrested, but they quickly went into hiding when they saw Wang Liu conversing with the guards and pointing in their direction.

"Bro," one punk quietly suggested, "Should we hide out somewhere in the meantime? We can return after this incident blows over."

In fact, the three of them were very used to life in prison. It was no big deal. However, if they were caught for sexual assault, they would be castrated, and that would cost them their lives.

After all, no man would be willing to become a eunuch!

Other than the ones entering the palace to earn a living.

"Yes, I think that's a good idea too!" the other one seconded.

Yet the leader said, "No need! Judging by how that lady talked, I bet she's not from around here, and she won't be staying here for long! So there's nothing to worry about."

The other two felt relieved to hear that and had little to fear, as long as they took caution these next few days.

On the bullock-cart, Ye Mo flipped through the accounts book and said to Li Wazi, "We can split our earnings this month. I'll give you your share after dinner."

"Oh, sure," Li Wazi nodded with a smile. He never asked how much he would get.

In other words, he was not worried that Ye Mo would deceive him or pay him less than he deserved.

The family could have kept the business to themselves, but they were kind enough to share the opportunity with him, so he did not have any worries about being cheated.

Ye Liu threw a glance back at Li Wazi and smiled too. "Li Wazi, how big of a house do you plan to get for your family when spring comes?"

The house they currently lived in was quite small, with only two rooms and a kitchen.