Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Pan, the benefactor, seems quite surprised that the fields are flooded?"

Pan Jinlian was also a little puzzled when she saw Ren Yuan's surprised expression.

I probably don't know this benefactor.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just remembered an old friend of my master's."

Ren Yuan quickly made up an excuse, since the others around him also showed curious expressions.

"Then why did they arrest you?"

Sun An came to his elder brother's rescue, noticing that the encounter with these two women had made his brother somewhat flustered.

“I lost my father at a young age and lived with my mother. To make a living, I had to sell myself into slavery to the Wang family. But the master of the Wang family was a very kind man. He made me his daughter’s maid and allowed me to study with him. This continued until a few months ago when the master of the Wang family fell seriously ill and passed away. But before he died, he freed me from slavery and restored my status as a commoner.”

Pan Jinlian slowly recounted her life story.

Ren Yuan nodded to himself. That was indeed the case. When Pan Jinlian was first sold into servitude, she was very lucky. Her master was a kind person, and she served as the young lady's personal maid, even studying with her. In the end, even after her master's death, she was restored to her former status.

It is important to know that in the Song Dynasty, servants of large families had to sign indentures and register them with the government.

Once a contract of servitude is signed, one becomes a slave, and unless the master voluntarily releases the slave or the slave pays to redeem themselves, they remain a slave for life.

This wealthy man, Wang, was able to restore Pan Jinlian's status as a slave before his death, which shows he was indeed a good person.

"This Master Wang is actually a good man."

Zhu Wu also sighed; after all, he was a scholar and knew more about this kind of identity.

The fact that he took the initiative to restore his slaves to commoner status shows that this wealthy man, Wang, is a decent person.

Many maids in landlord households, even if they became pregnant with their master's child, might never be able to regain their commoner status for the rest of their lives.

"Um, Miss Pan, you don't need to use honorifics in front of us, just call me 'I'."

Ren Yuan gestured to Pan Jinlian that she didn't need to be so careful, after all, she was still a young girl.

“After I returned from the Wang family mansion, only my frail and sickly mother was left at home. We relied on each other for a month or so, and we really had no way to make a living. My mother fell ill again and needed to take medicine, so I had no choice but to sell myself to this Zhang family as a maid.”

"But this Zhang family originally agreed to buy me for 50 strings of cash, which would have been enough for my mother's medical expenses. However, they only offered 5 strings. My mother was furious and went to their house to demand an explanation, but she was beaten by their servants and died shortly after returning home. I went to the yamen to sue them, but I couldn't even get through the gate. Then these servants came to my house, trying to forcibly take me into their mansion. If it weren't for Sister Hua, I... I'd be..."

As Pan Jinlian spoke, her eyes reddened again, as if tears were quickly condensing in them.

Hua Yun quickly hugged her and gently comforted her.

"What kind of logic is this? How can anyone do things like this! This Zhang tycoon deserves to die!"

Sun An slammed his hand on the table and said angrily.

He also came from a wealthy family and had slaves in the past, but he had never done anything like this, such robbery!

"The world is like this, yet the imperial court pretends not to know, indulging in song and dance every day, haha..."

Zhu Wu shook his head directly.

"Excessive!"

Ren Yuan didn't say much, but he felt great contempt for this Zhang family.

No wonder he later forced Pan Jinlian to become his concubine; he was a rotten person to begin with!

"I see. Hua Yun did the right thing. That's how a hero should do it."

"See, I told you I was a great hero!"

Upon hearing this, Hua Yun was surprised to find herself praised and immediately felt a little smug.

"Yes, but Master Hua, next time before you save someone, think about the backup plan. Otherwise, if you fail to save someone, you will also lose your own life."

Ren Yuan was helpless. Although Hua Yun came from a military family, she was still innocent and romantic, unaware of the dangers of the martial world!

"Miss Pan, what are your plans for the future?"

Zhu Wu asked.

"I, I don't know either."

Although Pan Jinlian remained calm, it was clear that she was now homeless.

With her parents gone, how could she, a frail woman, survive in this cannibalistic society?

"Don't worry, little sister! Come back to Qingfeng Village with me! From now on, you'll be my own little sister!"

Unexpectedly, Hua Yun took the initiative to ask to become sworn sisters with Pan Jinlian, and provided Pan Jinlian with a place to go.

"Sister Hua... Waaah..."

Pan Jinlian finally couldn't hold back anymore, threw herself into Hua Yun's arms, and cried loudly.

Sigh, she's only fifteen or sixteen years old and has lost her parents. It's already quite remarkable that the little girl has held back until now before crying.

That's good. With Hua Yun by her side, she doesn't have to worry about her encountering any unpleasant things in the future. For Pan Jinlian, this is also a good thing.

Let Pan Jinlian, who was later despised, remain only in Ren Yuan's memory.

"Shi Qian, take this letter and token, and go to Qingfeng Village immediately. Remember, be quick!"

Ren Yuan finished writing the letter, carefully sealed it, and then gave the token and the letter to Shi Qian, giving him instructions again.

"Don't worry, brother, Shi Qian will set off right away!"

Shi Qian solemnly accepted the item, then walked to the window and flipped himself out.

"Brother Shi Qian, is this how you always go out?"

This action left Hua Yun completely stunned.

"Don't imitate him. He's good at light-footed skills and has a habit of climbing out of windows."

Ren Yuan was too embarrassed to say that Shi Qian had a habit of stealing.

Ren Yuan never expected that his casual remark would cause everyone to burst into laughter.

Many, many years later, when historians wrote biographies of these meritorious officials, they recorded this scene:

"When the Emperor and Empress first met in their youth, the Grand Commander fled through a window. Later, finding this strange, the Emperor said, 'It's nothing to worry about; it's just a common occurrence.'" — *Biographies of Meritorious Officials: Biography of Marquis Ying*

After Shi Qian left, everyone laughed and joked for a while, eating and drinking, and the atmosphere actually relaxed.

Just as everyone was having a good time, suddenly, a commotion arose downstairs!

"what's the situation?"

Ren Yuan was somewhat surprised. Wasn't Qinghe Inn an official inn of Qinghe County? Why were people causing trouble here?

"Report! Brother, the Zhang family has sent seventy or eighty people, blocking the entrance to the inn and demanding that we hand over the people! Brother Chen Da and Brother Yang Chun are blocking them right now!"

"what?"

Everyone was astonished. How dare the Zhang family be so arrogant as to come knocking on their door?

"He's gone too far! Brother, don't panic, I'll go downstairs!"

Sun An slammed his fist on the table and stood up. He felt that this Zhang family was taking him and his group too lightly!

Although they didn't use the Liangshan banner, they did use Chai Jin's name. Where did these people get the audacity to come directly to their door to cause trouble?

"Let's go down and have a look."

Ren Yuan's expression was also not good. He felt that if he did not handle this matter well today, how would he be able to survive in the martial arts world in the future?

He really wanted to see who this Zhang tycoon was, and why he was so arrogant!

You're the first person in all these years to disrespect Chai Jin, the user of the "Face Fruit" in the Water Margin world!