"How could this happen?!"
For Aiwen, the scene before him was no different from the sky falling.
But Mo Fei seemed to have expected it long ago.
When he first heard Miles's plan, he had considered that the man might find a loophole in the system and arrange to have someone take him away.
That was not even the cruelest part. The cruelest part was that there were no other adults in the entire orphanage besides him. With only children left there, it would be far too easy for someone to pull something.
But now that the investigation order had arrived, Mo Fei had no way to stall for very long.
Surely there were accomplices among these people who had been paid off.
"Gentlemen, everyone here is a child. Please give me two minutes to settle things, and then I'll go with you..."
His manner was neither servile nor overbearing, and what he said was perfectly reasonable, so the man in charge gave a slight nod of approval.
But a short man behind him spoke unpleasantly in a rather snide tone. "Don't think about running away. Otherwise, we have much harsher ways of dealing with you..."
Those words did not change Mo Fei's expression at all. Instead, they made the man in charge frown slightly, and some displeasure rose within him.
It was not directed at Mo Fei, however, but at the man behind him.
"Let's take a few minutes to rest. Getting here was tiring, anyway!"
His lukewarm words immediately made the man behind him stiffen.
Mo Fei took it all in, making a few more calculations inwardly.
He came over to Aiwen and carefully instructed him, "Aiwen, as the oldest child here, do you remember what I told you before?"
Mo Fei's voice was deeply reassuring, easing Aiwen's despair considerably.
With some difficulty, he repeated the arrangements Mo Fei had previously given him.
"I remember, Director. If anything unexpected happens, I'll have Lina look after the children first, then go find Mrs. Field and ask her to come here and help for a while, until you return..."
He suddenly looked at Mo Fei with eyes full of hope. "Director, you will come back, won't you?"
"Of course. We haven't done anything wrong, have we? Don't worry. I'm only cooperating with an investigation. There's nothing difficult about it!"
He patted Aiwen firmly on the shoulder. "Then I'm leaving this place to you, our pillar of support. Wait for me to come back!"
"Yes, I'll take care of everyone else. I promise!"
In that instant, Aiwen felt he had grown a great deal again-not in age, but in his state of mind.
After giving his instructions, Mo Fei said nothing to anyone else, though he had already heard the other children hiding by the stairs on the second floor. They wanted to come down, but Lina had stopped them all.
Several children's eyes were brimming with tears. Even Zane, who had been so sensible before, had eyes full of panic.
The adults in the room had all heard their conversation. The man in charge gained a better understanding of the situation here, as well as more sympathy for the children.
The name Mrs. Field sounded somewhat familiar to him, but he could not recall who she was at the moment.
However, he also felt more disgust toward the fellow who had reported this place.
Unfortunately, the law was the law, and he still had to fulfill his duties.
"All right. Let's go!"
Mo Fei came over to the man, then took the initiative to follow him outside.
The short man wanted to seize the chance to manhandle Mo Fei, but the man in charge decisively placed himself between them.
This left the short man rather displeased.
"Dylan Kennedy, you're not the squad captain yet! You're only acting captain. Don't think you can secure that position. As long as I..."
"Harvey, whatever the case, I'm still the temporary captain. Don't forget that!"
"Hmph!"
The other man showed no intention of getting involved in their confrontation.
The three of them escorted Mo Fei into the carriage.
It was rather miserable, really. His first carriage ride since transmigrating was actually because he was being taken for questioning. This was far too hellish.
Sitting in the constantly swaying carriage, Mo Fei began sorting through his plans.
Selling bread at the orphanage was the sort of borderline practice that was inherently ambiguous, but once someone made a serious issue of it, he needed a better strategy to respond.
From the very first day he learned of the man's plan, Mo Fei had been thinking of countermeasures.
Initially, he had thought of approaching the chamber of commerce from before and asking them to step in to resolve this trouble.
But orphanages were very unusual organizations. Much of the time, they were dumping grounds, and no one had ever thought they could balance their income and expenses.
Even substantial government funding could only keep them at a bare subsistence level.
Orphanages like the Mo Orphanage, which received almost no funding at all, were actually in the minority.
Those in the chamber of commerce who were close to Mo Fei's father had tried many approaches, but none could get around this restriction.
Fortunately, someone had still managed to find a loophole in the rules.
It was this-"Children or organizers within an orphanage may obtain daily necessities through legitimate labor..."
Although this clause did not state that they could engage in commercial activities, it still gave Mo Fei an opportunity to explain...
So, when he was brought into the interrogation room and faced a large number of examiners, Mo Fei raised this point directly.
"We weren't conducting commercial sales. We were merely obtaining the necessities to sustain our lives by selling bread... This complies with the rules!"
Mo Fei's rebuttal forced the examiners to look up that regulation.
But some were ultimately dissatisfied with this explanation. "Oh, but I heard that you maliciously used the children to win sympathy, then sold at higher prices. That hardly counts as reasonable daily necessities, does it..."
"And how do you explain the rumors that you violently injured someone? What's your explanation for that..."
"Someone also personally witnessed you physically attacking the children. That violates an orphanage's basic responsibilities..."
Many questions arose at once, and Mo Fei had no choice but to keep explaining.
Mo Fei had good reason to suspect that many of the examiners raising these questions had been bribed to deliberately frame him... But in this setting, all he could do was offer explanations.
Judging by the presiding judge's attitude, however, they were not having much effect.
At times, Mo Fei wanted nothing more than to expose every last dirty secret. If those people in the municipal government had not embezzled the orphanage's relief funds, would he have been reduced to this?
But doing so would clearly accomplish nothing beyond venting his emotions, and it would cause even more trouble. So he merely thought about it and let the matter go.
Fortunately, Mo Fei had never placed his main focus here from the start.
Instead, he had placed it elsewhere-for example, on the young lady of the Winter family. As long as this noblewoman was willing to step in, things would become much simpler.