The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

The maid was holding the bag and was very nervous. "Master, why don't we go back? It's not safe to travel at night."

Wu Ya was also a little nervous, but she tried her best to maintain a calm expression and said, "It's okay, everything will be fine once we get to the county."

The darkness always magnifies the fear in people's hearts. Wu Ya actually feels a little regretful now, but the arrow has been shot and there is no turning back. She can only talk about it after she gets to the county.

In fact, she was also gambling, gambling that her family would not really ignore her completely. At that time, for the sake of her and her family's reputation, her younger brother would definitely help her negotiate with the Xiao family.

Although she offended her family, at least she had a good home and did not have to practice hard in a nunnery. She could not bear such a hard life.

The first half of the journey after leaving the town was smooth. The driver looked honest and didn't talk much.

If it weren't for the lucrative reward for this job, he would never have traveled at night, even though the world is peaceful now and there have been no reports of bandits on the official roads.

But there are always people with bad intentions, most of whom are ruffians and scoundrels from the troubled times of the past.

After surviving by chance, he kept a low profile in the new dynasty, and occasionally bullied his neighbors.

By the time we reached the second half of the journey, the night was deep and everything was silent, with only a few scattered stars and moonlight in the sky.

The only lights on the official road were two oil lamps hanging in front of the mule carts, which made people feel creepy.

Wu Ya couldn't help but urge: "Please hurry up!"

"Madam, this is already fast. If we go any faster, something might happen. We agreed on this before we set off. We can't travel fast at night, so it's better to be careful," the driver advised.

But he couldn't bear Wu Ya's constant urging, so he finally waved the whip to make the mule go faster.

A few idle men followed behind for a long time. After they confirmed that the person in the car was a woman who was alone and helpless, they whispered to each other and plucked up their courage.

Continue to follow quietly.

Looking at Wu Ya's outfit, as well as the hairpins and bracelets she wears, you can tell that she must be a fat sheep and must have a lot of money.

According to their calculations, the mule cart would arrive at the county at most after midnight, and definitely before the hour of Yin.

The city gates were not open at that time, so the people on the bus could only wait near the city gates or stay in a nearby farmer's house for half the night.

They were not officials and did not have tokens, so they could not get too close to the city gate. There were only three or five people on duty on the city wall, and they could not see that far.

Once the driver leaves, it will be a good time to take action.

It doesn’t matter if the driver doesn’t leave. There are many of them and we are not afraid.

It depends on whether the driver knows what's good for him.

As expected, it was still early when the mule cart arrived at the county, and even the earliest farmers who came to the city to buy vegetables were not to be seen.

But Wu Ya was not too stupid. She asked the coachman to wait with her near the city gate and return to the town after dawn for more than an hour.

The driver didn't care about it. After thinking about it, he decided to stay because the customer was a woman and the pay was high.

The people following behind waited for a long time but the driver didn't leave. They were afraid that there would be more trouble when daybreak came, so after some discussion they decided not to wait any longer.

"Okay, fortune and honor are achieved through risk, so let's not wait any longer," the leading man said, making up his mind.

Several people tiptoed to the front and back of the mule cart, then pulled out hatchets from their waists and shouted fiercely, "You prodigal woman, you dared to come from the town to the county in the middle of the night to meet your lover and cuckold me. Let me show you how I will deal with you. Get off me!"

The driver was a little confused for a moment and looked at Wu Ya in confusion.

Wu Ya was even more confused. To put it bluntly, she was a flower in a greenhouse. Although her material conditions were not very good since she was a child, it depended on who she was compared with. Compared with the people around her, she had always been lucky and lived a much better life than the girls around her.

I didn't really go through any hardships.

The maidservant was more knowledgeable and stepped forward and shouted, "Where are you from? We don't know you. Go away! Otherwise, we will report you to the police."

Wu Ya also realized at this time that these people had bad intentions. She turned cold and scolded them, "Do you know who I am? I've blinded your eyes. Hurry and leave, or you will suffer the consequences!"

Having taken this step, the leading strong man had no intention of stopping.

After winking at the three people traveling with him, he stepped forward, grabbed Wu Ya's hair, pulled her out of the car, and slapped her left and right, knocking her unconscious.

Wu Ya covered her face with an expression of disbelief. When she touched her mouth again, she found blood oozing from the corners. "You dare to hit me? I'll fight you. You dare to hit me? Do you know who I am? Do you know who my younger brother is? I will definitely put you in jail!"

"You bitch, you're still hysterical. I'll deal with you when I get home. I'll let you steal men, bah!" The strong man spat disapprovingly, then quickly blocked Wu Ya's mouth with her handkerchief.

Wu Ya, a woman who never leaves the house, was no match for him. No matter how she struggled, it was useless.

He could only hold on to the strong man's arms and whimper.

One of the remaining three went to pull the maid away, while the other two explained to the driver in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry, this is a family matter, a misfortune for our family. We have to solve this matter among ourselves, and it's not convenient for outsiders to be present."

As he spoke, he showed the hatchet in his hand meaningfully, staring with his eyes, a ferocious look on his face, implying a threat.

The driver felt something was wrong, but it was dark at the time and the other side had a lot of people, so it looked like they were not going to be easy to deal with.

He didn't dare ask any more questions and could only go down the stairs.

He smiled apologetically and said, "I understand, I understand. I'll leave now!"

After saying that, he jumped on the mule cart and rushed to the town.

The whip was cracked very fast.

If you encounter such a tyrant, you have to be smart and run away.

"Hey, don't go, we don't know them, help!" The maid struggled hard, scratching and clawing with her hands and feet.

"Hey, this little girl is quite energetic," one person said.

"She's good-looking, with fair and tender flesh, and can be sold at a good price. She's much better than her master. Don't let her get beaten up," another man touched the maid's face in an obscene manner.

The maid's eyes widened after hearing this. She knew exactly what this sentence meant.

That's what it means to be in darkness, unable to live or die!

So she struggled even harder, bit the man's hand that was covering her mouth, and pulled out the hairpin on her head and stabbed it back and forth, as if she was using all her strength.

It really hit her.

"Ah! You little bitch! I'm going to beat you to death!" The two men screamed while covering their bleeding thighs and stomachs.

Taking advantage of the time when the two men let go of each other, the maid ran forward without looking back.

She was so panicked that she didn't know where to run, so she could only hide in the dark on both sides of the road.

The three of them chased after the person and then lost sight of him.

"Forget it, second, third, and fourth brother, come back first!" The strong man in the lead looked around and shouted.

The remaining people could only turn back in anger, "What the hell! The little girl is young, but she ran pretty fast. She's lucky! Don't let me see her again, or I'll make her pay!"

Wu Ya became even more desperate when she saw the maid running away. She sobbed and tears streamed down her face.

In this way, Wu Ya was robbed of all the silver and jewelry on her body, and even the nice clothes she was wearing were not spared.

The big man changed him into a coarse linen shirt.

Then it was sold to an unknown place.