The young woman appeared to be about the same age as Jiang Si. Her coarse cloth clothing couldn’t hide her fair skin, and her oval face, though not beautiful, was youthful and appealing. Anyone who saw her would think she was a charming young girl.
Now, with a red and swollen handprint on her fair cheek, she looked even more pitiful.
Jiang Yi was kind-hearted, and seeing the young girl crying and begging while clinging to her, she immediately felt sympathy.
Jiang Si stared expressionlessly at the girl on the ground, feeling a sense of relief that things were falling into place.
She was relieved that the clue she had been desperately searching for had appeared right before her eyes. This young woman must be the person her elder sister had mentioned in her previous life, the one she shouldn’t have saved!
So, her elder sister would likely agree to the girl’s request soon.
At this moment, Jiang Si hesitated.
It wouldn’t be difficult to prevent her elder sister from saving the girl, but in her previous life, her sister had fallen into such a desperate situation. What exactly had happened during that time was unknown, and what role the person her sister mentioned had played was also unclear.
If she were to drive the girl away from her sister now, what if someone else approached her sister in an even more unexpected way?
It was hard to guard against the unknown.
In that case, it might be better not to prevent the girl from being saved by her sister. At least there would be a clear target to watch. Whether the girl later harmed her sister for personal reasons or was acting under someone else’s instructions, there would be clues to follow.
“Get up!” The large man tried to grab the girl as if picking up a chicken.
The girl panicked and tried to hide behind Jiang Yi.
The man was tall and burly, with a fierce face. Even Jiang Yi felt a bit frightened seeing him.
Zhu Ziyu stepped forward to block the man, “Let’s talk this through calmly. Don’t frighten my wife.”
The man’s eyes darted around, sizing up Zhu Ziyu, and then he sneered, “I advise you not to meddle in others’ affairs. This girl’s brother owes me twenty taels of silver, and he said he’d use his sister to pay off the debt.”
Saying this, the man grabbed the girl and pushed her forward for all to see, “Look here, everyone. With this little girl’s looks, I could buy three for twenty taels of silver. I’m already being merciful by accepting her as payment…”
The girl struggled desperately, tears streaming down her face, “Let me go! If my brother owes you money, go find him. How can he use me to pay off his debt?”
The man slapped her again, “You little wench, blame your misfortune. Who told you to lose both of your parents? Your brother offered you as payment, so from now on, you belong to our flower boat. If you try to run again, we’ll throw you in the river to feed the fish!”
“No, I’d rather die than go to a flower boat. Madam, please save me…” the girl pleaded.
Jiang Yi bit her lip, hesitating. Usually, she would have helped such a pitiful girl without a second thought, but today, her Fourth Sister had already reported to the officials about the startled horses, causing considerable trouble for the Zhu family…
However, the girl’s desperate pleas made it impossible for Jiang Yi to turn a blind eye. She instinctively looked towards Zhu Ziyu.
At this moment, Jiang Si was also quietly observing Zhu Ziyu’s expression.
First the out-of-control carriage, and now this girl seeking help. She was certain the former was deliberate, but whether the latter’s appearance had any connection to Zhu Ziyu remained to be seen.
Zhu Ziyu comfortingly squeezed Jiang Yi’s hand and said softly, “It’s up to you to decide.”
Jiang Si’s eyebrows raised slightly, and she inwardly scoffed.
Zhu Ziyu’s words sounded noble, seemingly respecting her elder sister’s opinion, but in reality, he was counting on her sister’s soft-hearted nature.
In other words, Zhu Ziyu’s lack of objection meant he was pleased to see the girl being saved by her sister.
However — Jiang Si glanced at Zhu Ziyu, deciding to confirm once more.
“In that case, then—”
“Wait,” Jiang Si interrupted Jiang Yi abruptly.
Jiang Yi looked at her sister in confusion, and Zhu Ziyu also turned his gaze towards her.
Jiang Si stepped forward, standing in front of the large man.
The man was startled at first, then smiled maliciously, “What’s this? Little miss wants to stand up for her—”
“Enough talk. Is this sufficient?” Jiang Si handed over a few gold beads.
Seeing the man stunned, Jiang Si impatiently asked, “Or is this not enough to cover twenty taels of silver? Don’t try to fool me. My uncle works in the government office and despises swindlers and cheats.”
The man’s eyes darted around, instinctively glancing towards Zhu Ziyu.
Though he tried to be discreet, Jiang Si was watching for exactly this and immediately noticed.
Jiang Si frowned, “Is it not enough, or do you not want it? Just say so.”
“It’s… enough…” the man reluctantly said.
“Then you don’t want it?” Jiang Si glanced at the young woman with a meaningful smile, “Perhaps you’re keeping her to compete for the title of flower queen in the future?”
The triennial flower queen competition in the capital of Da Zhou was an event as grand as the imperial examinations. It was held by the Golden Water River, and even young children would playfully toss flowers to the beautifully dressed courtesans.
Jiang Si’s words made the onlookers smile knowingly.
The unfortunate girl could at best be described as pretty, not even outstanding enough to be a maid in a wealthy household. The idea of her competing for the title of flower queen was laughable.
The man clearly understood this point. Questioned by Jiang Si, he glanced at Zhu Ziyu again.
Jiang Si raised her eyebrows, “You’re a strange one. Just give a straight answer whether you accept or not. Why do you keep looking at my brother-in-law? Are you perhaps responsible for finding this young lady a good home?”
Zhu Ziyu’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He wanted to argue but feared it would only make things worse. He could only remain silent, secretly signaling to Jiang Yi with his eyes.
By now, he realized that his impression of his aloof sister-in-law was constantly being challenged by her unexpected shrewdness.
“Fourth Sister, I have money here…” Jiang Yi began.
“Elder Sister, this isn’t about competing to pay the bill,” Jiang Si cut off Jiang Yi’s intention with one sentence. She looked at the man with displeasure, “I’ll ask one more time: do you want it or not? If not, then take the girl and leave quickly. This has nothing to do with us in the first place.”
“I want it, I want it!” The man reluctantly accepted the gold beads and turned to leave with his companion.
“You’ve forgotten to give me something, haven’t you? Where’s the contract of indenture the girl’s brother wrote for you?” Jiang Si asked.
The man, sweating profusely, stuffed a contract paper into Jiang Si’s hand and quickly left.
Jiang Si placed the contract in the young woman’s hands, the corner of her lips curling up, “Elder Sister, shall we go?”
Next, the girl should say she couldn’t repay this life-saving kindness and offer to serve her benefactor as a slave, right?
However, this time it was Jiang Si who paid. How would the girl play her part now?
Thinking of this, Jiang Si found herself looking forward to the girl’s performance.
Sure enough, the girl hesitated, looking from Jiang Yi to Jiang Si. Finally, she quickly walked up to Jiang Si and knelt, offering the contract with both hands, “I can never repay the young miss’s great kindness. I’m willing to serve you as a slave from now on…”
“Serve as a slave, you say…” Jiang Si smiled slightly, “But we don’t need slaves at home. Besides, you couldn’t do a slave’s work anyway, so don’t make empty promises.”
The girl was stunned.
This was quite different from the young lady of a noble family she had imagined!