"Believe it or not, that's the information I found."
He turned his head away, secretly annoyed.
How come he had no ability to resist this eldest daughter of the Jiang family?
"That would be best. Stay home and wait. I'll send someone over tomorrow to propose marriage, and you'll be married the day after."
Ji Yanwen stiffened, leaning back on the ground, watching Jiang Bai's figure disappear into the distance. His hands clenched into fists, his sharp nails digging into his flesh, sending waves of pain through him.
The words "passing through the door" were particularly jarring. If his family hadn't fallen on hard times, would he have allowed a peasant girl to humiliate him like this?
He gave a bitter laugh, returned to the house, and saw the two silver ingots, which eased his frustration somewhat.
It doesn't matter. Once he's on the list and gains power, Jiang Bai will be no threat.
Jiang Bai was unaware of Ji Yanwen's complex thoughts, but the news of the Song family in the capital truly stunned her.
Ji Yanwen was right about one thing: although her martial arts skills were good, they were not enough to fight against thousands or even tens of thousands of people. Even if she could win, she would not have the stamina to sustain it.
She's not some human machine.
The constraints imposed on women in this world far exceed imagination, confining them to a single village or county throughout their lives.
The household registration document only allows her to move around in Nan'an County. To go to other counties, she needs a travel permit, which a single woman cannot obtain.
Furthermore, to obtain a travel permit, the village head must issue a certificate, which must then be stamped by the government office.
Without a legitimate reason, the village head wouldn't issue her a certificate.
Ji Yanwen marrying into the family and studying for the imperial examinations was indeed a good way to leave Nan'an County.
Needless to say, as they approached the stone bridge at the end of the village, a faint light appeared ahead.
The soft murmurs drifted on the wind into Jiang Bai's ears.
"I know you died unjustly, but there's nothing I can do."
"I can't afford to mess with those people."
"Don't come looking for me anymore, I can't help you even if you do."
"If you're going to look for someone, look for the person who harmed you."
The woman's face looked somewhat familiar in the firelight; it was her former fiancé's mother, Aunt Qiu.
It was already late at night, around the beginning of the Yin hour, which is about 3 a.m.
Burning paper money in the middle of the night indicates either a guilty conscience or a feeling of remorse.
Clearly, she belongs to the latter category.
"It's almost burned out. Let's put out the fire and then leave!"
A man emerged from the darkness, embraced Aunt Qiu, and gently comforted her, "This has nothing to do with you. Who knows how he offended someone and brought this upon himself?"
"It's a pity that the wedding was about to take place, but because of this, it's off."
The man sighed deeply, helped Aunt Qiu up, pulled out the extinguished incense and candles, and covered up the traces of burning paper money with soil before leading Aunt Qiu back into the village.
Jiang Bai followed behind, all the way to the middle of the village, a little in front of Third Grandma's house.
This man was a hunter in the village; he owned no land and made a living by hunting.
His wife died early, leaving him only a daughter, who is about the same age as Er Ya.
The two entered the house, and the man put down his digging tools, picked up Aunt Qiu, and eagerly walked into the house.
"Be quiet, Chun'er is still sleeping next door." Aunt Qiu lowered her voice and gently punched the man's shoulder.
The man's movements became lighter, and soon a creaking sound came from inside the room, accompanied by heavy breathing.
Jiang Bai covered his mouth in shock.
Goodness.
She exclaimed, "Wow!"
Jiang Erlai's father passed away when he was five years old, and his mother has been raising him with great difficulty for the past ten years.
By all accounts, Aunt Qiu is not very old, only a little over thirty.
It's normal to have this kind of demand.
If the two people like each other and get engaged, what's wrong with merging their families into one? Why do they have to do it so secretly?
If the clan finds out, it's adultery, and they'll be drowned in a pig cage.
Well, the river is almost dry, so drowning the pigs in cages is out of the question.
But there's also hanging, where a rope is used to break their necks, and neither of them survives.
Not only that.
If their affair is exposed, Jiang Erlai and Chun Yatou will never be able to hold their heads up high again.
Why bother?
Jiang Bai didn't understand and was greatly shocked.
Jiang Bai glanced deeply into the room, which, though quiet, still felt somewhat ambiguous, and sighed.
The widow and widower were not having an extramarital affair, and she didn't want to cause the deaths of two people because of this. She would wait and see, and if there was really no other way, she would go to Aunt Qiu later.
Today was also an accident. Aunt Qiu probably didn't expect that there would still be people wandering around outside at this time, which is how Jiang Bai discovered her secret.
Song was deliberately bought away, and Jiang Anliang was murdered before she was bought.
It seems like a dark force is lurking behind their home, but they don't know what its purpose is.
Was it really a coincidence that Wang wanted to sell her and Jiang Lu? Or was someone manipulating things behind the scenes?
Jiang Lü and Jiang Songwen were fast asleep.
Jiang Bai held the silver lock he had brought back from the old house in his hand, his fingers unconsciously rubbing it.
What secrets does the Song family hold?
She didn't believe a word of the rumors about noblemen collecting beauties. She was more convinced that Song must have some secret that led someone to take her to the capital.
In my memory, Song was an only child. She lost both her parents at a young age and grew up with her uncle. Not long after she married Jiang Anliang, her uncle died of illness, and Song lost contact with her maternal family.
Unable to figure it out, Jiang Bai simply stopped thinking about it.
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