Jiang Jiuniang had already learned about this family's situation and recognized the person at a glance in the bandit's den, which is why she immediately pulled her out.
Judging from Qinglian's willingness to risk her life to save her sister-in-law, the two had a good relationship.
"Yes, I am Qinglian's sister-in-law, and my surname is Lin."
She nodded, acknowledging her identity, then looked at Jiang Jiuniang with some concern and asked, "Miss, is my sister alright? When...when can I see her?"
Although I know it's a bit presumptuous to ask this, after all, these are their benefactors and they don't owe them anything.
But she was still worried about Qinglian. Her life was already ruined, and she couldn't let Qinglian suffer as well. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste for her whole family to protect Qinglian?
But Jiang Jiuniang didn't feel offended. As a sister-in-law, it was already quite commendable that she cared about her sister-in-law as soon as she escaped danger.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law, Qinglian will be fine. We'll send someone down the mountain to check on her when it's light."
This was already part of Jiang Jiuniang's plan, so it wouldn't hurt to tell her in advance.
"Thank you, thank you, young lady."
Lin knelt on the ground, about to kowtow to Jiang Jiuniang, but Jiang Jiuniang stepped forward to help her up and comforted her, "No need to be so polite, just rest well."
After settling everyone in, the couple found a place to rest.
At daybreak, Jiang Jiuniang went to the stream to wash up and casually tied her hair up in a bun, so that people wouldn't keep calling her "Miss" and making that jealous man unhappy again.
However, Lu Baichuan wasn't such a petty person. He had already tried his best to be generous, and at least he wouldn't get jealous over how someone addressed him.
Of course, he was generous now, but later he was humiliated and even physically assaulted.
Getting back to the main point, the two walked back hand in hand from the stream. When the women saw that she still had her hair in a bun, they immediately realized that they were a couple. Lin felt a little embarrassed, thinking that she had called her "Miss".
Jiang Jiuniang said nothing, found two people whose injuries were not too serious to go down the mountain to check on the situation, and the others ate some flatbread and continued to rest on the spot.
Lu Baichuan and Qin Jian went out separately to walk around and ensure the safety of the area, while Jiang Jiuniang chatted with the group of women.
In no time, they found out about their situation.
Some were robbed by bandits and taken up the mountain, while others were tricked and sent up the mountain by Fatty Zhao.
Because these bandits were armed and numerous, Fatty Zhao and his men were worried about retaliation and kept trying to please them.
Hearing this, Jiang Jiuniang's feelings could no longer be described as anger. If those people had been forced, she would have thought more highly of them, but the fact that they were actively trying to curry favor with her was simply too tacky.
Once they got down the mountain, she insisted on letting each of them try the newly developed medicine powder!
As they were talking, the two men who had been sent down the mountain turned back, bringing another person with them.
This man had a goatee, and his appearance clearly indicated that he was an extremely obsequious person.
“Sister-in-law, we caught him on our way down the mountain. He is the steward of Inspector Cen Shu’s family.”
That's interesting.
Jiang Jiuniang got up and walked over, looking down at the old man with the goatee, and asked with a smile, "Have you come up the mountain to ask for help?"
When the old man with the goatee was arrested by the two soldiers, he knew things were going badly. Now, seeing so many women, it was clear that the bandit's den had also suffered. His trip today had been in vain.
"No, it's not..."
He didn't know who these people were, so he didn't dare to speak easily, for fear of offending them and losing his life.
Jiang Jiuniang said, "Fine, since you won't talk, then let's beat you up first. Drag it a little further away so it doesn't disturb me."
Several guards then dragged the man away, and to prevent him from making a sound, they stuffed a rag into his mouth.
At this moment, one of the women stepped forward and said, "I know him. I... I was the one they sent up the mountain!"
As she spoke, the woman's eyes reddened. If it weren't for their mistreatment, she wouldn't have ended up in such a state.
Jiang Jiuniang nodded to indicate that she understood, and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely get revenge for you then."
The woman's eyes were red, and her voice was trembling with sobs: "What good is getting revenge? My life is ruined! Once this is over, I'm going to hang myself on this mountain and never go back to embarrass myself again!"
The other women remained silent, but most of them shared the same thought.
A woman's chastity is of utmost importance. If her purity is ruined, she will not only be unable to find a good husband, but she will also be pointed at and gossiped about for the rest of her life.
Jiang Jiuniang was immediately displeased upon hearing such remarks. She knew that this era placed too many demands on women, even shackled themselves with the bond of chastity, which made life increasingly difficult.
"Girl, you can't say that! It's the men who did wrong, what does it have to do with us women? Why should we women bear all the blame?"
"Can chastity feed you? It's just a despicable way for men to restrict women! Why can men have multiple wives and concubines, while women can only stay with one man for their entire lives?"
“We are women, we have hands and feet, we are no less than men, so why should we be looked down upon? If there were no women in this world, where would the men come from?”
"Despite these unpleasant experiences, as long as we're alive, nothing else matters! We can support ourselves without relying on anyone. If anyone dares to gossip, just go up to them and tear their mouths apart, so they won't dare to talk nonsense again!"
It's not good to talk too much about profound questions, because they wouldn't understand anyway, so Jiang Jiuniang chose to explain things in a simple way.
The guards nearby agreed and chimed in, saying, "Our sister-in-law is right. Without women, where would men come from? Those are just prejudices. Nothing is better than being alive. So many people want to live but have no hope. We should all cherish life."
Although what the sister-in-law just said wasn't exactly kind to men, they really thought it made a lot of sense. They didn't know why, but this era was just so harsh on women.
They also have mothers and sisters at home, and will have wives and daughters in the future, so they can really empathize with them.
The women were shocked when they heard what Jiang Jiuniang said, but when the guards chimed in, they couldn't hold back their tears.
Yes, this world is harsh. Even men don't think it's their fault, so why can't they give themselves a way to survive?
Even if they can't get married because of this, what's so scary? They can help people wash clothes, embroider and make clothes, or at worst, they can work as maids in wealthy families. There's always a way out. Why must they die?
Seeing that they had come to their senses, Jiang Jiuniang nodded with relief. Fortunately, she had managed to persuade them, otherwise all her efforts to rescue them would have been in vain.
Soon, the butler, beaten senseless, was brought back.
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