Yang Ning and the others were undamaged. After they came back to Pearl’s pleasure boat, Zhu Yuchen and his friends finally seemed to wake up and came back to reality. They were about to kneel down and salute him, while Yang Ning expressed with a smile, “If I wanted you to kneel down, wouldn’t I reveal my identity earlier? It’s the election of the beauty queen tonight and we just want to have fun here. Since we are sitting together, it’s our fate. Don’t stand on ceremony.”

Zhu Yuchen stated with gratitude, “Marquis, you are heroic and have saved us. If it weren’t for you, we might…”

Yang Ning responded, “Don’t thank me. They even took me away with you. Otherwise, I might not get involved in it.”

In fact, they were clear that even though the heir of Duke of Huainan was of an honorable position, the status of the Marquis of Honor was also extraordinary. At least, the heir of Duke of Huainan didn’t dare to take actions against the Marquis of Honor easily.

Yang Ning had intentionally hidden his identity earlier and gone to that pleasure boat. Although Zhu Yuchen and the others were not extremely intelligent, they were not stupid. They knew that Yang Ning might have predicted that the other party had a powerful background, so he went in person in order to protect them.

Now Yang Ning was calm but didn’t claim credit for himself, so they appreciated and admired him more.

Yang Ning turned to Yuan Rong and gave him the written pledge signed by Dou Lianzhong, saying, “Dou Lianzhong must tell somebody to send the slavery indenture soon. After it is sent, give it to Pearl and let her regain her freedom.”

Pearl aside trembled after hearing that.

Yuan Rong looked grateful and stated, “Marquis, I…” He turned to Pearl. “Peral, come here. Marquis has helped you get the slavery indenture back from Dou Lianzhong. From now on, you will be free and don’t need to be under the threat of others. Hurry up and come to thank Marquis.”

Pearl had tears in her eyes and trembled. She came forward and planned to kneel down, while Yang Ning waved his hand and stopped her. “Don’t do that. I can’t bear with it.” He looked at Yuan Rong with a frown. “Yuan Rong, I have something to say, that may be unpleasant to hear, but if I keep it to myself, I will probably feel bad for a few days.”

“What do you want to say?”

“I don’t know what kind of person Young Master Xue was, yet you have promised him to take care of Pearl, while in fact, you didn’t make it,” Yang Ning stated causally. “A man should keep his promise. Since you have promised, you should try your best to finish it even if you are crushed to powder.”

Pearl explained in a hurry, “Marquis, in fact, it’s not Master Yuan’s fault. He takes care of me all the time. I…”

“Pearl, stop,” Yang Ning expressed. “Yuan Rong, I know that you fear the Dou family’s strength. You are from a scholarly family, and you are overcautious but not bold. You tread as on eggs, which is something that I don’t like. I have contact with you only because you are decent and can tell the difference between right and wrong. You don’t know what happened to Pearl in the past two years, which means that you seldom take care of her.”

Yuan Rong smiled bitterly. “Marquis, you are right. I like romance but I am always indecisive when something happens. I am afraid of offending others…” He shook his head and sighed.

Yang Ning stated, “Of course, it’s not wrong to be cautious, yet if you make concessions all the time, it will only accomplish the very opposite. You have read more books than me, so you should know that if you give in blindly sometimes, you will make others look down upon you and want more after getting more. A man should do something and refuse to do something. When something is not important, we can turn a blind eye and laugh it off, while for some things, we can’t yield.”

Chen Mukuan couldn’t help but clap. “Marquis, good point.” After he said that, all the others looked at him, and he felt embarrassed at once.

Yuan Rong sighed. “Pearl, I am sorry to you and Master Xue.”

“Master, you…” Pearl sobbed with tears in her eyes.

Yang Ning laughed. “Well, as I have spoken it out, I don’t feel so bad anymore. Yuan Rong, if what I said makes you unhappy, you can take it as bullshit.”

Yuan Rong replied, “Marquis, if you don’t take me as a friend, you won’t talk frankly to me. If I don’t know this reason, I won’t dare to claim to be from a literary family.”

Yang Ning turned to Zhu Yuchen and the others. “I know that you are restless now as you offended a son of the minister in the Ministry of Revenue by accident today. Are you worried that the Dou family will get you into trouble in the future?”

Apart from Qiu Fang who was from Liaodong and didn’t care about the minister in the Ministry of Revenue of the Chu State, Zhu Yuchen and the others were worried about it. As Yang Ning exposed their worries, each of them showed a bitter smile.

“In fact, you don’t need to worry.” Yang Ning smiled. “As long as you observe disciplines and obey laws and do business honestly, I don’t think that the Dou family dares to go too far.” He laughed. “Don’t forget that I have the loan agreement of the Dou family. If they cross the line, I will go to their mansion to ask for payment of debt at any time.”

Yang Ning naturally wouldn’t be so zealous for public interests. He met Zhu Yuchen and the others for the first time and they had stayed together for only several hours. He didn’t know well about them, so he wouldn’t help them on impulse.

However, he indistinctly felt that if he could keep a good relationship with these wealthy men from Hangzhou, they might help him a lot in the future.

The prestige of the Marquis of Honor was known everywhere, and the two late marquises were famous generals based on military exploits. Such a fame and influence wouldn’t disappear in a short period. Although Yang Ning was the third Marquis of Honor, and he was still young, with the foundation laid by the two late marquises, it made these people regard him with reverence.

Moreover, Yang Ning had taught Dou Lianzhong and even Jiang Suiyun a lesson and convinced them in front of the heir of Duke of Huainan today, so they admired him more.

“Marquis, since you said that, we are relieved.” Zhu Yuchen cupped his hands. “Please take care of us in the future.”

Yang Ning smiled and talked to Yuan Rong, “After the slavery indenture is sent, this pleasure boat will belong to Pearl and must be worth a lot of money. Just let her handle it. You two discuss how she will make a living in the future, and it’s improper for me to get involved in it, but you need to be responsible for Pearl’s safety with no turning back in the future.”

Yuan Rong’s eyes were determined. “Marquis, don’t worry. I know what to do.”

Then Yang Ning asked Pearl, “Pearl, I have something to ask you. Can you give me a chance?”

Pearl responded in a hurry, “Marquis, just tell me what I can do for you.”

Yang Ning walked with his hands behind his back to the bow, and the others understood, so they stayed away and didn’t get close to the two.

There were still bright lights on the Qinhuai River, and Yang Ning found that the pleasure boat where the heir of Duke of Huainan was had moved away from the boat king.

“Pearl, I will ask you some questions. You may know the answer or not. If you know and want to tell me, just tell me. If it’s inconvenient for you to say, I won’t force you,” Yang Ning stated unhurriedly. “I know that you have suffered a lot these two years. I want to ask you if you know well about Ding Yitu.”

Pearl trembled and lowered her head. After she hesitated for a moment, she finally replied, “Marquis, Ding Yitu pretends to be forthright, broad-minded and generous in front of outsiders, but…in private, this man is narrow-minded and…extremely cruel.”

“Does he contact Dou Lianzhong frequently?”

“Yes,” Pearl answered. “The Dou family has a lot of properties in the capital city, and many pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River belong to this family. In addition, they have many shops and clubs. Sometimes, Dou Lianzhong sent somebody to ask Ding Yitu to see him at midnight, and sometimes, he went to see Ding Yitu in person. When they were talking, they never allowed outsiders to stay with them.”

Yang Ning nodded slightly and lowered his voice after a moment of hesitation. “Dou Lianzhong owns a lot of clubs and many girls on the Qinhuai River are under his control. Do you know where most of the girls in the clubs and pleasure boats came from?”

Pearl was stunned and lowered her head without saying anything.

“If it’s inconvenient for you to answer, I won’t force you,” Yang Ning expressed in a gentle voice.

Pearl looked around and moved closer to Yang Ning, whispering, “Marquis, I am just a weak woman, and I…shouldn’t say some words, but…you have saved my life, and how dare I hide it from you? Marquis, since you asked such questions, do you…want to deal with those beasts?”

“Oh?” Yang Ning smiled. “Do you think that I will turn against them?”

Pearl smiled bitterly. “Marquis, although it’s my first time to see you today, I can see that you hate evil as your enemy and you are heroic. Those b**tards are conscienceless and did many evil deeds. You must want to cope with them. Marquis, please forgive me if I am straightforward. They are too powerful, and you’d better…”

“Are you afraid that I can’t defeat them?” Yang Ning smiled. “Don’t think too much. I just want to know more information.”

Pearl hesitated for a moment and then lowered her voice. “Marquis, when I was twelve years old, my father was seriously ill and we had no money to see a doctor, so I could do nothing but sell myself to have him treated. After somebody bought me, I was sent to the capital city and then locked up in a room to learn playing zither and the game of Go, writing and painting. Till the election of the beauty queen four years ago, I came to the Qinhuai River for the first time.”

“So that is how most of the girls under his control came?”

Pearl whispered, “Ding Yitu works for an escort agency on the surface, yet he did many evil things under the cover of the escort agency. Half a year ago, he told me to see him. He was completely drunken that day and tortured me all the time, and he said…that he liked to see me black and blue all over, while he didn’t have an interest even if somebody else wanted him to torture her. He said that he had brought countless girls to the capital city from other areas every year, and half of the girls on the Qinhuai River had been brought by him…”

Yang Ning sneered and his eyes were cold.

“After he drank a lot of alcohol, he was totally different from what he was at ordinary times, and he was like a crazy dog,” Pearl stated resentfully. “He said that these women were like pigs and dogs in his eyes, and he could make anybody stay alive or die as he liked. Anyway, many new girls come every year, and if some of them are dead, it is like several bedbugs dying, and nobody will care.”

Yang Ning nodded slightly and expressed in a low voice, “It means that the girls in the clubs and the pleasure boats managed by Dou Lianzhong on the Qinhuai River were provided by the Rising Sun Escort Agency.” He paused for a while and then asked, “Pearl, have you heard that some new girls have been sent here recently from the north, Huize County?”

Pearl shook her head. “He sent somebody to take me to see him every month for once or three times at most. Every time I saw him, he tortured me after drinking and said almost the same words, so I don’t know much information.” She continued after a pause, “But last time, after I saw him as he told me to, he looked ferocious, saying that some girls sent from the north were intercepted on the way and it ruined his business…” She looked at Yang Ning and added cautiously, “I don’t know if the girls intercepted were from Huize County. Although he said whatever he liked when he was drunk, he…had never said where the girls were from.”

“Do you know the time interval for him to bring people once?” Yang Ning looked into Pearl’s eyes.

Pearl responded immediately, “I know. He would secretly bring some girls from other areas once after two or three months under the cover of the escort team, and the shortest time interval is two months.”

Yang Ning sneered. This was crucial information. With it, he could be sure that when the Rising Sun Escort Agency was intercepted, Xiaodie and the others were sent as he calculated the time. If the information Pearl had offered was right, Xiaodie had been intercepted on the way and didn’t enter the capital city, so her whereabouts was a mystery.