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

"It's such a pity that the little girl ran away. The one left behind is too old. She can't be sold to a brothel for a good price. She can only be sold to a bachelor who can't find a wife to make some money."

Wu Ya heard these words when she woke up from her coma.

With her eyes blindfolded, her mouth gagged, and her hands and feet tied so she couldn't move, she could only vaguely feel herself in a sack, being placed on the back of a mule.

It seemed as if the sky was just beginning to brighten, and I had no idea what time it was.

Her hands and feet were numb and she had no feeling at all. She also had a splitting headache. Wu Ya was tossed around by the mule's movements and felt like vomiting but couldn't. It was so uncomfortable.

At this time, she was smart enough and didn't dare to make a noise to let these people know that she was awake.

At this time, the burly man who had knocked Wu Ya unconscious replied in a generous tone, "Forget it. One should not be too greedy. We have already taken a lot of silver from this woman, which is enough for us to live happily for a while. I didn't expect that this woman was carrying so much silver and jewelry. I am afraid that we are right. Is she a mistress who stole men?"

The man pondered.

"Who cares about her? Even if she is the Queen Mother, once she gets to the mountains she can only be an obedient bachelor and give birth to children. She can't run away," someone said nonchalantly.

The leading burly man nodded. "That's right. We didn't sell her to that filthy place. We've done her justice. Alas, we were too kind! Oh, and when you see her later, tell her she's just fifteen this year. Don't let it slip, or you'll get a discount on the price."

"I know, I know. Don't worry, big brother, I'll do the job."

"Did you ask Mrs. Hong to stuff pigeon blood into your mouth?"

"It's blocked. Well, big brother, don't worry. It's no problem to fool those ignorant mountain people."

The more Wu Ya listened, the more desperate she became. Only then did she feel something was wrong with her lower body.

At this time, Zhang Ping'an was still having breakfast in Luojia Village and had no idea that such a big thing had happened at home.

Xu and Zhang Laoer only sent their trusted servants to the town to look for him, but no news came back.

The two were extremely anxious at home and did not sleep all night.

The next morning, he looked very haggard, which was noticed by Li. "Second brother, second sister-in-law, what's wrong with you two? Why are you so listless?"

Xu said a few perfunctory words and forced a smile, "There were too many mosquitoes in the room. I didn't sleep well. It's nothing."

"I thought it was something else," Li said with a sigh of relief. "You should use more mugwort. It works. Don't worry about the smell. It's better than being bitten by mosquitoes."

"Thank you, sister-in-law. I will ask the servants to fumigate more mugwort tonight," Xu replied.

Zhang knew exactly why, so she interrupted them and said, "Second wife, come in and discuss the menu for the homecoming banquet."

"Hey, here I come, mother," Xu said, bringing Zhang Laoer over.

Li felt a little unhappy. The second branch was too powerful, and the first branch had no say.

Nowadays, even when discussing the gift list, people go directly to the second wife.

I just hope my grandchildren can have something promising, Li thought to herself.

"What's going on? No news yet?" Zhang asked.

"No, oh, this girl is looking for death!" Xu was anxious and angry.

"Forget it, let's just do our best and leave the rest to fate. When he returns safely, I'll have him come to my room and we can discuss countermeasures."

"Mom, what do you mean?" Zhang Laoer hesitated.

"One or two days is fine, but if she can't be found for a long time, there will be a lot of gossip. To be honest, I didn't sleep well yesterday. I thought about it all night. Let's let that maid go to the nunnery to practice asceticism in the name of Wu Ya. If Wu Ya can come back, there will be room for maneuver. If she can't come back..." Zhang paused while smoking.

Amidst the smoke, his tone became erratic, "Just assume she's dead!"

"What do you think?" Zhang looked at the two of them.

Xu wrung her hands and looked at Zhang Laoer, her eyes wandering and she looked very embarrassed.

After a moment, Qiqi Aiai said: "Mom, after all, you have raised such a big daughter. Wu Ya is usually sensible."

Zhang Laoer was also in a difficult situation. He was not a bad person, and could even be said to be a good father in this era.

But for the sake of his son, after thinking for a while, he finally agreed to Zhang's suggestion, "Okay, mother, I'll listen to you. Let the maid go to the nunnery first, and we will look for Wu Ya in secret. It would be great if we can find her, but if we can't..."

Zhang Laoer took a deep breath and said, "...just treat her as dead. She didn't appreciate her blessings, and no one can do anything about it!"

"Well, you are a sensible person. We can't help Ping An, nor can we hold him back. Everyone is counting on him, and he has a hard time!" Zhang said lightly, with cruelty in her kind words.