The Prestigious Family's Young lady and the Farmer

4

Ten days had passed.

All this while they were locked in the carriage around the clock, and the only time they were allowed to go out was to relieve themselves. Trafficker Qian gave them less food and water. On top of that, the carriage was bumpy due to the uneven road. Thus, in just a short span of time, everyone became exhausted.

The few girls who used to cry all day long, also stopped crying, presumably, because of their lack of strength.

Lin Qingwan was also no better, with her spirit weary and strength exhausted, she was thirsty and hungry but would still find time to move her legs and feet in the available small place.

On the way, she had heard bits and pieces of words from a few conversations of other girls. She got to know that they were being transported to the north by Trafficker Qian to sell them off. Most of the girls here were the servants who worked in wealthy families, had offended their master in one or the other way- some of them had made a mistake, some of them had committed a crime, while few girls dared to crawl onto their master's bed offending the concubine in the process, and so on... likewise all the people who couldn't stay in the capital anymore were gathered by Trafficker Qian to sell them in the north.

Every time they were let out of the carriage Lin Qingwan stealthily scrutinized her surroundings. Although she couldn't observe much, she would sill spare no pains or effort. She would also, intentionally or unintentionally, enquire about the outside circumstances.

After all, the original owner grew up in the rear courtyard. The only time she stepped out of the house in her 16 years of life was when her dimei [1]invited her to burn the incense, and this was the time she was deceived. Thus, she had indeed no idea how the real world looks like.

Lin Qingwan would always plan before she acted on anything. She wouldn't act blindly without knowing what was going on outside or being fully confident that she could escape. Since this was different from the world in her previous life, she didn't want to take the wrong step and regret it all her life.

Moreover, she found it difficult to escape in her current circumstances. Every time she went out, she was closely guarded by the old women and was surrounded by footmen and hired thugs. Furthermore, the carriage in which she was locked in was in the middle of the fleet. Thus, escaping during the day was out of the question, and the only possibility to escape was during the night. A large fleet, such as theirs, cannot stop in the middle of the cities, so they can only stop at the desolate areas out of the town to sleep. But she still had to work on planning for her escape...

Lin Qingwan's actions didn't attract much attention from others, but Xiao Hua, who was sitting beside her, took note of her actions.

That night, when others fell asleep, she gently patted Lin Qingwan. She knew that Lin Qingwan was still awake.

"You want to run away." Her voice was low, her tone wasn't that of questioning rather affirmative. Xiao Hua's big black eyes were gleaming slightly in the darkness.

Lin Qingwan was silent for a moment, then she nodded in affirmation, "En." After being together for the past few days, she and Xia Hua gradually became familiar with each other, sometimes, they would even sit together and chat for a while. She knew that Xia Hua was smart. Moreover, the two of them were like kindred spirits, with a similar temperament. So, if she wanted to escape, she wouldn't hide it from her.

"You're not a maid, you are a young miss from some rich family, right?"

Lin Qingwan was startled and did not speak.

"Hehe~~Curious how can I tell?" Looking at the faint moonlight passing through the carriage window, Xiao Hua's big eyes gleamed as she replied without waiting for her to answer, "Intuition and Perception."