bayedsolid Chapter 166 Seeking Help
Chapter 166 Seeking Help
Lin Chang'er frowned. As a businesswoman, she wanted a good start and didn't want to be crying and wailing from the very beginning.
Just then, Sister-in-law Gu came out of the kitchen, and the two sisters-in-law greeted each other.
Sister-in-law Gu also heard the noise outside. "What's that sound?"
Lin Chang'er shook her head. "It sounds like someone is crying?"
Sister-in-law Gu nodded, it seemed to make sense.
Sister-in-law Gu frowned. Who is it that's squatting at someone's door crying so early in the morning?
Sister-in-law Gu wiped her hands on her apron and opened the courtyard gate, only to see four or five women squatting at the gate, wiping away tears.
Sister-in-law Gu was good-tempered, but she still had her temper. "What are you doing squatting at our door wiping away tears so early in the morning?"
One of the bolder women stood up and replied, "Daughter-in-law of the eldest son, we are from the Niu family, we..."
"What?" asked Sister-in-law Gu.
The woman didn't speak, but covered her mouth and began to cry, "Several of our families have had girls kidnapped and sold by the Lin family, we..."
Sister-in-law Gu was stunned and even more confused. It wasn't that she was cold-blooded, but the girl had been kidnapped and sold by those beasts in the Lin family, so if they wanted to find her, they had to go to the Lin family.
If they come to their house, are they trying to get the third brother's wife to take responsibility?
Sister-in-law Gu immediately became alert. "What do you mean? The child was kidnapped and sold by those beasts in the Lin family. There's a cause for every grievance, and the debtor should be held accountable. You can't come to our house demanding an explanation, can you?" Her third sister-in-law was also a victim!
Upon hearing this, the woman's face stiffened, and she hurriedly waved her hands, saying, "No, that's not what we meant..."
Sister-in-law Gu said, "What does that mean? Yesterday, when the county magistrate was handling the case, he searched the Lin family's house and found silver to compensate your family. He also promised to find the person according to Lin's confession. Do you still have any complaints?"
“No, no,” the woman cried.
Lin Chang'er had been listening inside, but seeing that she couldn't explain anything clearly, she stepped forward and asked, "If you have something to say, say it. Crying won't solve anything."
She was getting a little annoyed by the crying, so her tone was somewhat stiff.
The woman immediately stopped crying, then knelt down in front of Lin Chang'er with a "plop" and said, "Sanlang's wife, I beg you to save my child."
The other women also knelt down, weeping and begging her.
Lin Chang'er was at her wits' end. "Get up, everyone. Let's get down to business. I'm not a god, I don't have any supernatural powers. Kneeling before me won't help."
Sister-in-law Gu pulled them up, one in each arm. "Alright, alright, tell me what's wrong. My sister-in-law has to deliver goods later."
Upon hearing this, the woman who had spoken quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve and said in a steady voice, "Yesterday, Lord Wu said he would help us find a girl, and we all went home happily to wait for news."
"But last night, the elders gathered together and discussed it, saying that these girls who were sold to that kind of place must have lost their innocence."
"Therefore, even if Lord Wu finds them, we cannot allow them to disgrace their family traditions and prevent them from returning home."
Lin Chang'er frowned. A serious illness! What kind of family tradition does the Niu family have? They even allow widows to remarry!
Lin Chang'er said, "What are you thinking of coming to me? Are you here to persuade those clan elders, or to ask Magistrate Wu to put pressure on them?"
The woman shook her head. "Sanlang's wife, when Lord Wu was handling the case yesterday, he made those uninformed women in the Lin family divorce their husbands, so that they and their children would not be implicated."
“We’ve thought it through. The Niu family doesn’t acknowledge the girl we carried for ten months, but we do.”
“We would like to ask Sanlang’s wife to help us with the divorce. The child is back, and we, mother and daughter, can live together.”
Lin Chang'er was startled; she had never imagined that women of this era would have such awareness.
However, people in this era often say that it's better to tear down a temple than to break up a marriage. If she were to preside over their divorces, she would definitely face gossip and trouble later on.
It's rare to find women who have such courage and clear minds, with girls helping girls.
Lin Chang'er pursed her lips and glanced at the other women. "Is that what you all think too?"
The women all nodded in agreement.
Lin Chang'er then asked, "Have you thought about how you're going to live your lives from now on?"
The women all looked at the woman who had spoken first. The woman lowered her head and said somewhat hesitantly, "We...we are willing to sell ourselves and beg Sanlang's wife to take us in."
Lin Chang'er: "..." She has brains, but only a little bit.
Lin Chang'er said, "I don't buy people."
The woman paused, seemingly unwilling to give up, and continued, "We can do anything, we eat very little, we..."
The woman tried her best to sell and make up for her losses, but eventually ran out of words. Finally, she closed her eyes and collapsed to the ground.
Lin Chang'er shook her head, "Do all the men in your family share the same views as the elders of the same clan?"
The women nodded dejectedly. Lin Chang'er continued, "I can't interfere in your divorce... What if you regret it later? Wasn't she the culprit who broke up other people's families?"
She didn't want to do something good that turned out badly and leave behind a bad reputation.
“If you have really thought it through, you can bring it up directly. If your husband’s family makes things difficult for you, you can ask the county magistrate to make the decision.”
"Lord Wu hates evil as much as he hates it, so he must disapprove of the Niu family's actions."
Moreover, after he brought the people back, the Niu family said, "We don't want these filthy things. Take them with you, or let them fend for themselves."
Isn't this a blatant slap in his face?
She believed that Wu Qingfeng would never let those stubborn old men from the Niu family take advantage of her.
"He will also help you get what you deserve." Oh, you don't want the child, but you want the compensation for the child? You're really dreaming.
Upon hearing this, hope rekindled in the women's eyes.
They all nodded in agreement. "Sanlang's wife is right. Let's go and ask Lord Wu to make the decision."
Seeing that they had taken her words to heart, Lin Chang'er felt a little relieved and then asked, "What if the child isn't found? Won't you regret getting a divorce like this?"
Upon hearing this, the women exclaimed, "Can't we find Lord Wu either?"
Lin Chang'er frowned. "Lord Wu will naturally do his best to help you find them, but so many years have passed, your child may not remain in the same place." They might have been resold, redeemed, or worse, perhaps no longer alive.
Although it was somewhat cruel, since they had come to her, Lin Chang'er didn't mind playing the bad guy and giving them a heads-up.
The women fell silent again. After a long while, one of them said, "Then they should get a divorce even more. Her father and grandfather don't want her, so I will try my best to give her a new home and wait for her to come back."
The other women nodded in agreement.
Lin Chang'er was inevitably moved and said, "Alright, as long as you sincerely want to take your daughter back, come to me after the divorce. I can give you a job so you won't be left to live off your savings!"