Chapter 16

Judging from their figures, three men, one strong, one thin and one fat, ran towards Lin Yin's parents' home with skillful movements.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Cui Youyi vaguely felt that the ambush runners were making slight preparations. She couldn't help but hold her breath, fearing that she, as an outsider, would alert the enemy.

"ah!"

"Who are you?"

A slightly strange voice was heard, Cui Youyi was stunned, she looked at Wang Jun.

What's going on? Didn't Lin Yinniang transfer?

This is different from what we agreed at the beginning!

It’s over, nothing will happen!

Cui Youyi was anxious: "Sir, it will be too late if you don't save him now!"

Eighteen kinds of martial arts emerged in Cui Youyi's mind. She wished she had mastered the unique martial arts so that she could rush in and save people immediately, instead of pinning all her hopes on others like this.

Wang Jun knew that Cui Youyi was really anxious, and he didn't want to show off his lawsuit, so he said soothingly: "Don't worry, we have made arrangements."

"Lin Yinniang is Zhao Si in disguise."

He had heard Cui Youyi say that Lin Yinniang would be in danger tonight, and even though he was half-believing and half-doubting, he still arranged for people to make some preparations quietly before leaving.

They were the only ones in the house now.

Knowing that there might be danger tonight, it is not a gentleman's act to put a weak woman like Lin Yinniang in danger.

Besides, this matter was just a matter of convenience for him, but for Lin Yinniang it was indeed a matter of life and death.

After hearing this, Cui Youyi felt a little relieved and couldn't help but sigh that Wang Jun was indeed doing things properly.

From the time he heard her say that Lin Yinniang would be in danger to the time he led the team to set off, it seemed like less than a quarter of an hour. He thought of many possibilities and made many arrangements.

Originally, Cui Youyi had a neutral impression of Wang Jun, but after experiencing this incident, her impression of him changed a little.

As a county magistrate, he had done his best to help the local people live a good life. He did not have the pedantic idea that women were inferior to men.

He listens to advice, acts decisively, and thinks carefully. He is a good person!

But why was she lying in ambush here? She could have been discussing life with Lin Yinniang!

Alas, now that I’m here and have waited until this moment.

Cui Youyi continued to follow Wang Jun obediently and wait for the result.

At this time, all the yamen runners who were lying in ambush came out, and the fighting in the house continued, with weapons being handed over and making ping-pong sounds.

"Damn it, how dare you lie to me."

The trio, realizing they had been tricked, were furious.

Desperadoes like them are doomed to suffer if caught, so they can only seize the opportunity to break the encirclement and have a chance of survival.

They found the right opportunity to run outside the house, but were ambushed again by the yamen runners and others who squatted down tightly.

It took a lot of fighting to take down the trio.

It had been an exhausting night.

The three killers were taken back to the county government office as key figures involved in the case, Lin Yinniang was taken back for questioning as the victim, and Cui Youyi, who was hiding a secret, was also taken away.

Although there are many things to face tomorrow, fortunately everyone's life is safe, of course, except for those criminals.

Cui Youyi thought she would suffer from insomnia after moving to a new place, but unexpectedly she slept very soundly in the yamen.

Early in the morning, Cui Youyi was awakened by Cui Langxi, who said that Lin Yinniang had sounded the drum to file a complaint against the Zhang family for robbery and murder, and that they had already been brought to court for questioning.

Before the court session began, Wang Jun specifically sent someone to instruct Cui Langxi to call Cui Youyi over.

Thinking of today's lobbying task, Cui Youyi suddenly felt full of pressure, and she didn't know what kind of woman Lin Yinniang would be.

If nothing unexpected happens, they will have to work together for a long time. They hope that the other party is someone who is passionate about ice sculpture and easy to communicate with.

In the 21st century, Cui Youyi worked for a particularly self-conscious ice sculpture master. In order to learn an ice sculpture technique, she humbled herself and was dominated miserably.

She is in tears now when she thinks about it. She respects their pursuit of art, but she really doesn't want to be dominated again.

The so-called team competition is a collective, but there is always a leader and a subordinate. Cui Youyi is not interested in dominating others, but she also does not want to be dominated by others.

Cui Youyi took Cui Langxi by the hand and hurried to the outside of the court.

Mingling with the people in the audience, I have to say, this feeling is quite novel.

"Auntie, what happened?"

Cui Youyi wanted to know how far the case had progressed, so she took a fancy to an old lady who had a kind face but looked talkative, handed her a handful of melon seeds, and started asking questions.

The old lady was watching something exciting, so how could she care less about Cui Youyi? She looked down and saw a handful of melon seeds, which she quickly took, took Cui Youyi's hand and started to call her "sister".

"Tsk, this young lady from the Lin family is also unlucky."

The old lady's words were full of stories. Cui Youyi pulled Cui Langxi over with a smile, ready to eat melon.

"This young lady was beaten by her own father and had no way to survive. She was beaten every day and had to do housework and had no food to eat. So, she found out that ice sculptures could make money, so she secretly thought about carving some things to sell."

The old lady cracked some melon seeds and continued, "The Zhang family saw that her craftsmanship was good, so they came to her house and said they wanted to cooperate. This young lady relied on this craft to make a living, but she was deceived!"

Cui Youyi pretended to be surprised: "How could she be deceived? Could it be that the Zhang family took her money?"

Cui Langxi quietly covered his face and pricked up his ears to listen carefully to the old lady's clear and logical narration of the case.

"You are so young and inexperienced!" The old lady patted Cui Youyi's arm. "The Zhang family bought her work and said it was carved by their young master!"

"This is shameless!" Cui Youyi was quite angry. "But isn't it said outside that today's case was about murder for money?"

The old lady gave her a look that said, "You don't understand. We have a female ice sculptor from Ningguta. She even won the fight. Hmmmmmm."

The old lady was vague in her words and gave Cui Youyi a few glances.

Cui Youyi quickly expressed her understanding and motioned for the old lady to continue.

"After this victory, the rules of this year's ice sculpture competition were changed to allow women to participate. And now my young lady wants to participate too. That wicked man from the Zhang family hired someone to kill someone because he was afraid his fraud would be exposed and bring disgrace upon the family."

"This is too shameless!" Cui Youyi was very emotional. While the people from the Zhang family had not been summoned yet, the two of them chatted about random things.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise.

Cui Youyi shuddered with fear and looked towards the hall, only to find that it was Wang Jun who had struck the gavel again.

In this case, there was both witnesses and evidence. The Zhang family members resisted for a while but then realized that the situation was hopeless, so they abandoned the young master who had benefited from the attack.

Cui Youyi didn't quite understand the provisions of this law, so after listening to the follow-up, she found the right opportunity to find Lin Yinniang.

"Miss Cui, I heard that you were the first to tell me about the disaster I had last night. I really..."

As soon as Lin Yinniang saw Cui Youyi, she rushed forward and wanted to kneel down.

Cui Youyi dared not accept such a generous gift from her. She quickly supported her and said, "Miss Lin, I just talked a lot. It was thanks to the county magistrate and his servants that they worked hard all night to catch those thieves."

Lin Yinniang could no longer hold back her tears, all the grievances she had felt flooding her mind: "Miss Cui, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid I wouldn't have lived long..."

Cui Youyi was frightened. Could it be that she had an incurable disease?

"What do you mean, Miss Lin? If you need any help, please let me know."

"Look at me." Lin Yinniang wiped away her tears and forced a smile. "The county magistrate said that the young lady wants to see me for something. I wonder what it is?"

Lin Yinniang no longer wanted to complain. Over the years, she had come to realize that life was tiring for everyone. No one wanted to listen to you complain about life all the time, especially someone like her...

She needs to be valuable so that others will pay attention to her and exchange some help for her.

She didn't want to go back to that home. After this incident, her father was likely to beat her to death. Going back would mean death. She could only beg the county magistrate to give her a way out.

Now my life depends entirely on Miss Cui in front of me.

"Miss Lin, having said that, I'm taking the liberty to speak." Cui Youyi didn't know what to say to comfort Lin Yinniang. Judging from her expression, what she must need more is an opportunity to realize her own value.

Cui Youyi said carefully, "I'm sure you know that women are also welcome to sign up for this year's ice sculpture competition."

"But this year we've added a large ice sculpture team competition, and I came here specifically to invite you to join my team!"

"this……"

Lin Yinniang was a little panicked. Her ice sculptures were all made in her own unconventional way. Could she really not hold Miss Cui back?

She doesn't want to be a burden to others.

"Miss Lin, do you have any concerns?" Cui Youyi asked.

Lin Yinniang thought for a while before finally speaking, "Miss Cui, I have no experience competing in competitions, no teachers, and I don't even have the right tools. Selling the Zhang family's things is just my own random thinking. How can it be considered worthy of such a prestigious event?"

"I've been thinking about participating in the competition. If I compete on my own, I'll bear all the honor and disgrace alone. If I team up with you, I'll be a burden."

"Miss Cui, you are a very good person with great ambitions. You should not be dragged down by me."

Cui Youyi was very surprised. She didn't expect that Lin Yinniang was worried about dragging her down.

"Why would Miss Lin think like this?" Cui Youyi stepped forward and held Lin Yinniang's hand, hoping to use this to bring the two closer together and relieve Lin Yinniang's psychological burden.

"Miss Lin can carve ice sculptures so well just by studying it at home. It shows that she is very talented."

"Life is so difficult for women in this world these days. Finally, there's an opportunity for a woman to participate in the ice sculpture competition. Do you really want to give it up, Miss Lin?"

Cui Youyi thought of thousands of things to say, such as asking Lin Yinniang for help, saying that she needed her, or just making a big dream.

But after thinking about it, he felt that it was best to tell the truth and give the right of choice back to Lin Yinniang.

She wanted Lin Yinniang to participate in the competition with her, but people have to make their own decisions in their lives. If they interfere in other people's lives, they might have to bear the consequences for them.

As the saying goes, a little kindness is repaid with a peck of rice. If Lin Yinniang had listened to her advice and participated in the competition, and everything went well for her in the future, then it would be fine. But if she didn't live well, who knows how much she would blame her?

When the future is uncertain, human hearts are most vulnerable to the test.

Cui Youyi's words hit the nail on the head for Lin Yinniang.

Forget it, since she doesn't have many choices, let's just take a gamble.

Lin Yinniang was able to remain timid despite being beaten every day, and she was not a person of weak character.

She originally carved ice sculptures, not only to exchange them for food, but also to find an opportunity to "buy" herself from home.

Yes, when she was five years old, she heard her alcoholic father nagging that he would sell her to a slave trade when she came of age.

At that time, she was thinking, why should she need others to buy her? Can't she buy herself with her own money?

That's why she was frantically trying to find ways to save money, and for a while she fell into the trap of the Zhang family.

But is all this her fault? Definitely not.

She wants to take control of her own destiny, and now she has someone to help her. Isn't this the golden opportunity she has been waiting for?

If you are too hesitant and full of worries, the cooked duck will fly away.

"Miss Cui, I want to compete with you."

[Ding, congratulations to the host for successfully rescuing Lin Yinniang and completing the first side quest.]

[With the host's help, I resolved Lin Yinniang's concerns, prevented the loss of a potential female ice sculptor, and made a small contribution to the reserve of ice sculpting talents.]

[According to the main system, the third branch mission is to reserve ice sculpture talents and train reserve personnel for the ice sculpture competition. The mission progress is 1%.]

[This mission was exceeded, and the host is rewarded with two days of survival time. The host has seven days of survival time remaining.]

Cui Youyi was explaining the information she had obtained to Lin Yinniang when she received a report from the system.

It would have been fine if she hadn't been reminded, but once she was reminded she knew she only had seven days to live.

Hearing this news again still makes me feel tired.

This time, Lin Yinniang was taken to the county government office by the officials, so her father did not dare to take any action.

But her household registration pass is still in her father's hands. If she wants to attend the ice sculpture conference without any worries, she must find a way to get her household registration pass.

Lin Yinniang told Cui Youyi about her plan, hoping to use this opportunity to "buy" herself from her home.

In this way, she was openly a servant of another family, and her father's attempt to control her would violate the law and regulations.

If it weren't for the Ningguta law that stipulated that girls under the age of marriage could not sell themselves at a low price without the permission of their elders, she would have escaped from home long ago.

Lin Yinniang took Cui Youyi back to Xiaoguan Village. They had rehearsed the play along the way and were waiting to perform it.

It was Cui Youyi’s first time “doing something bad” and she was a little nervous.

The situation does not wait for anyone. When Lin Yinniang saw her father, she rushed over.

"Dad, you have to save your daughter!"