Bring Her Away

When the servant heard this, she nodded calmly. She didn’t seem surprised that Xiaoguo had guessed correctly. She was quite sure that Xiaoguo would not make things difficult for her.

Xiaoguo sized her up. Judging from her aura, she was definitely quite extraordinary. If she guessed correctly, this woman must have been a person of high status before she came to this island.

Although the woman’s face was filled with wrinkles, her facial features were well-defined. It was not difficult to imagine how beautiful she was when she was younger. Although her figure had become hunched due to years of hard labor, her figure looked well proportioned. She must have had a good figure in her younger days.

Taking a cautious stance, Xiaoguo did not speak. Instead, she sat down and waited quietly for the other party to speak first. In this situation, whoever was more anxious should speak up first. Besides, the other party had something to ask of her.

The woman did not sit down at Xiaoguo’s invitation. Instead, she remained standing by the side. After a long time, she sighed and slowly recounted her past.

The woman’s real name was Zhao Yuyan. Taking on her husband’s surname, people addressed her as Madam Sun Zhao. The Magistrate Zhao of Yangzhou was her father and she got married to the son of Magistrate Sun of Liuzhou. It was a joyful union.

Unfortunately, in their 15 years of marriage, they did not have any children. At the beginning, the couple enjoyed a harmonious relationship, but gradually, due to some external voices, the relationship became estranged.

However, the heavens were still kind to the two of them. In the sixteenth year of their marriage, she became pregnant. The entire family was overjoyed and made a lot of preparations to welcome the first baby in the family.

Eventually she gave birth to a girl. After all, it was her first child, so the couple was still very happy. However, the Sun family was quite wealthy and they eagerly hoped for a boy to be born. But things did not go according to their wishes. Zhao Yuyan had hurt her body when she gave birth to her daughter and could no longer have another baby.

The news was a huge blow for the entire family. From then on, her husband came home drunk every day and got bewitched by other women. He became someone who was obsessed with beauty and power.

Within a few years, the entire family got torn apart by him. Some family members died and some ran away. In the end, when the house was confiscated, Zhao Yuyan and her young daughter were the only ones left. They waited quietly at home to accept their fate.

After five years in prison and five years of exile, they finally came to this island. Although they still had to work, this place was like heaven for them.

The families of sinners like them didn’t have to suffer or worry. They didn’t have to worry about not having a proper meal or their health. They didn’t have to worry about not seeing the sun the next day. They didn’t have to worry about anything. They just had to work every day, eat their fill, and get a good night’s sleep.

But ultimately, they had no freedom in this place…

After hearing her story, Xiaoguo sympathized with her. But she did not let down her guard. After all, she still did not know what the other party was up to.

After telling her story, the woman knelt down again. She looked at Xiaoguo with tears in her eyes and said sincerely, “Madam, please take my daughter away. She shouldn’t be trapped here like me for the rest of her life.”

Xiaoguo quickly stopped her and tried to pull her up. But the other party refused to get up no matter what. She looked like she was not going to get up until Xiaoguo agreed to her request.

“Madam, Madam!”

The woman grabbed Xiaoguo and cried in a low voice, “You’ve seen my daughter before. She’s the skinny little girl with big eyes who brought you to the cellar. Her name is Yuling. She’s 13 years old this year. I beg you, please be kind. I beg you, I beg you. I’ll kowtow to you. I beg you, I beg you…”

Xiaoguo quickly tried to pull her up, but the other party seemed very determined. No matter how hard Xiaoguo tried, the woman simply wouldn’t budge. She remained in the same position and kept kowtowing to her.

The sound of the woman kowtowing made Xiaoguo’s feel terrible. Seeing that there were blood stains on the ground, Xiaoguo pulled her back with all her might. Her voice was a little hoarse from anxiety. “Calm down first. I have to think carefully.”

At this moment, the woman was no longer the same as before. She was in a panic. Her eyes were blurred with tears, and her forehead was swollen. Blood flowed from her forehead to the bridge of her nose. Even though she looked like she was in a daze, she kept repeating, “Please, please…”

Xiaoguo tried to calm herself down as she comforted the woman.

The other party kept begging her in a lowered voice. Xiaoguo’s heart felt like it was going to stop.

Perhaps it was because she was a mother, therefore she could empathize with the woman’s situation. Just thinking about Zhuang Zhuang starving and freezing made her feel terrible. Not to mention that Zhao Yuyan had to endure seeing her daughter go through jail and exile with her. A young girl’s memories of her childhood were filled with suffering. It was really a scary thought for anyone.

Watching Xiaoguo’s receding figure, the woman said, “I don’t have many years left to live. I might die in my sleep any day, but Yuling is still young. If she was left all alone in this world, I won’t be able to rest in peace even if I die.”

Xiaoguo paused and stood there for a few seconds before leaving.

The woman stood alone in the pavilion and watched her back view quietly. With tears in her eyes, she clutched her heart and coughed uncontrollably. Then, she skillfully wiped the blood from the corners of her mouth.

“I’m really begging you…”

The woman wrapped her forehead with a thick veil. When she dragged her tired body back to her residence, she bumped into Yu Ling, who had just returned to change.

“Mother, what’s wrong?”

When Yu Ling saw the woman’s tired appearance, she immediately went up to her. She looked at her mother worriedly and reached out to help her up.

“I’m okay.”

When the woman saw her, she immediately returned to her usual cold self. She straightened her chest and pushed away the girl’s hands. “Why are you here?”

“Mother, I’m not slacking off!” Yu Ling was so frightened that she quickly shook her head and explained, “I came back to change my clothes because they got wet when I was shaving the ice.”

As she spoke, she was afraid that her mother wouldn’t believe her. She thought of going back to the house to show her the wet clothes.

The woman pretended to be impatient and stopped her. “Hurry up and get to work. Don’t slack off!”

“Yes…” Yu Ling said aggrievedly. Then, she rubbed her eyes and left.

After she left, the woman coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of blood on the ground.

Yu Ling, who was behind her, seemed to have sensed something and turned around. “Mother, what’s wrong?”

“Hurry up and leave! Hurry up!”

Yu Ling retracted her raised foot and nodded.

She had always been an obedient girl to her mother. No matter what her mother said, Yu Ling would automatically follow her instructions and do as she was told. When she heard her mother tell her to leave, her body immediately reacted first and she turned to walk in the opposite direction.

However, Yu Ling still turned around worriedly. She didn’t know when that thin and weak body had become so frail. She could hear her mother coughing constantly in the middle of the night.

It seemed that the mother in her memory had always been weak and frail.

On the other side.

When Xiaoguo returned to her residence, the sounds of the woman’s kowtowing and her begging were still ringing in her ears. She couldn’t hear or see anything else. It was a strange sensation.

Even the insensitive Li Shouji noticed that something was wrong.

At the dining table, he kept signaling at Jiang Danhe with his eyes to ask what was wrong.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Danhe shook his head.

Jiang Danhe was deeply worried about Xiaoguo, who only ate plain rice and not anything else. So, he helped to pick out fish bones for her while adding more dishes to her plate. Xiaoguo only continued eating in a daze, eating whatever that was put on her plate. She was behaving very strangely.

Just as Jiang Danhe placed a piece of fish on her plate, the other party suddenly put down her bowl and chopsticks. She said that she was full and returned to her room.

She didn’t stop no matter how hard Jiang Danhe called out to her. Even Zhuang Zhuang and Wen Xiaoyi’s loving kisses did not bring her out of her daze.

Jiang Danhe also put down his chopsticks. Why did she suddenly become like this after going out for a while? No, it was even worse than before.

Before this, she was still responsive. Now, she has completely withdrawn herself.

At night, when Xiaoguo was lying in bed, she did not even notice when Jiang Danhe lay down beside her.

Just as he was thinking about how to start the conversation, Xiaoguo suddenly sat up and looked at him.

“Do you know Magistrate Zhao from Yangzhou?”