Chapter 313: Forced
Although those women’s methods were similar to Mo Yuan’s, it wasn’t the same. Mo Yuan followed Shen Yijia directly. At least those women could not enter the residence for now.
Shen Yijia was someone who would listen to coaxing but not coercion. In her opinion, they were threatening her by kneeling outside the door, so she ignored them.
“I’ll get someone to send them back for you,” Song Jingchen said.
Actually, he still hoped that Shen Yijia could nurture a few trusted aides. Those women were still relatively young, and Shen Yijia had done them a favor. They were the most suitable candidates.
However, if Shen Yijia was unwilling, he would not force her.
Shen Yijia puffed up her cheeks and shook her head. “No need. The weather is so cold. It’ll snow later. They’ll naturally leave when they’re tired of kneeling.”
Didn’t they say that the male lead dealt with external troubles while the female lead dealt with family matters? It was better not to let Song Jingchen interfere in this matter.
At the entrance of the Shen residence, eleven girls in rough linen clothes were kneeling neatly.
Those who could be captured were all good-looking. At the very least, they had good facial features.
Aside from their trembling bodies, it was a pleasant sight.
A total of 18 people were saved this time. Those who were not here were all children under the age of ten.
Compared to the girls who were supposed to discuss marriage within a year or two, they were less affected. At least they wouldn’t be forced into a corner.
Occasionally, when someone passed by and saw this scene, they would stop and watch curiously. However, when they looked up and saw the words “Shen Residence”, they did not dare to stay for too long.
Snow had begun to fall from the sky. This was adding insult to injury for the girls who were not wearing thick clothes.
“Sister Shuang’er, will Young Master Shenzhi’s wife really accept us?” A girl whose lips had turned purple from the cold asked in confusion.
If this path didn’t work, would she have to go home? She still had a few sisters at home. She didn’t want to go back and affect their reputation.
The girl called Shuang’er knelt at the front. She looked up at the Shen family’s door with longing and said firmly, “Yes.”
The madam who had descended from the sky to save them would definitely not leave them in the lurch.
She was different from the other women here. Most of them came because they didn’t want to implicate their families, but she was forced by her family.
It was normal for families to favor boys over girls, but it was especially so in Shuang’er’s family. Her mother gave birth to two daughters in a row before giving birth to a son.
Before she gave birth to her third son, her mother was often troubled by her grandmother because she could not give birth to a son.
Her mother blamed her and her sister for everything.
When her brother was born, her mother’s status in the family rose. However, this did not mean that she and her sister’s treatment had improved.
At most, there would be one more person at home to order the two of them around.
Her sister was one of the people rumored to have been abducted by the Huns.
That was two years ago. At that time, girls disappeared from time to time in the city. Many people did not dare to let their daughters go out.
On the other hand, because her son wanted to eat fungi soup, her mother ignored the snow outside and was not worried at all that her sister would encounter the Huns. She insisted that she go to the mountains to look for fungi.
Unexpectedly, her sister never returned after that trip.
What was even more ridiculous was that no one in the family was worried. Not only that, but they also blamed their sister for being useless.
The reason why she was captured this time was because Third Brother was tired of eating potatoes and wanted to change his taste.
In the past, she was glad that her father at least cared about his reputation and was afraid of being criticized for not betraying his daughter. Otherwise, he would have sold her and her sister out long ago.
However, now, she hated her father for being so considerate, because the gossip was like a noose around her neck.
She accepted it calmly, but the moment the rope was hung around her neck, the figure of that lady suddenly appeared in her mind.
So she changed her mind. She struggled to break free and escaped from the house.
If she lived, she might be able to see her sister again.
At first, she did not think of coming here. She only thought of this path after she unintentionally saved a few young girls who were seeking death.
“My daughter, why are you so silly!”
A cry pulled Shuang’er back from her thoughts. She turned around and saw a group of people running towards them.
When a few of the girls saw who it was, they got up with red eyes and staggered over.
“Father, Mother…”
They had secretly run out. When some familiar faces saw them, the news spread to their families. Their hearts ached for their children, so they rushed over.
“You wretched girl, how many times have I told you? Your father and I are still young. With us around, we won’t starve you.”
Although Shen Yijia did not intend to pay attention to the people outside the door, she still asked Mo Yuan to pay attention.
If anyone fainted, she would quickly send them home.
When she heard that the families of the women outside had found her, she heaved a sigh of relief and said stubbornly, “Seriously, they clearly have a family, but they still want me to raise them. Do they really think I’m a fool?”
Fortunately, she did not go out. Otherwise, those people would think that she had kidnapped their daughter.
Song Jingchen was stunned. He thought that Shen Yijia didn’t want to accept those people because she was afraid of trouble. He never thought that she actually felt that it was a waste of money to support more people.
He pursed his lips and said, “We have enough money to support them.”
Previously, he did not want to attract attention in Xiagou Village. Besides, compared to the 50,000 private troops, these people were really nothing.
Shen Yijia still shook her head. “I don’t want it either.”
She wasn’t afraid of trouble, but she didn’t want to cause trouble for Song Jingchen.
Seeing her determined attitude, Song Jingchen didn’t say anything else.
Shen Yijia thought that since those women’s families had come to look for her, they would definitely leave, so she ignored them.
After lunch, Song Jingchen was called away by South Wind. Shen Yijia was about to return to her room to take a nap when Mo Yuan came again.
“They haven’t left yet?” Shen Yijia gritted her teeth.
Mo Yuan said, “There are still five people left.”
Shen Yijia looked at the sky outside, pursed her lips, and put on her shoes again. “Let’s go out and take a look.”
They had been kneeling for around four hours.
Shen Yijia arrived at the door and saw five people kneeling outside. They were all covered in snow.
The five of them heard the door open and struggled to straighten up. They looked hopefully at the person standing at the door.
Shen Yijia frowned and said coldly, “You can go back.”
Shuang’er’s teeth were trembling from the cold. She opened her mouth a few times before saying, “Please accept us, Madam.”
The other four also kowtowed repeatedly. “Madam, please accept us.”
Shen Yijia pursed her lips and remained silent.
Shuang’er gritted her teeth and suddenly raised her head. She reached out and pulled down her collar, revealing a red mark on her neck.
Seeing this, the others also revealed the traces that had been left behind.
“Madam, we know that we’re forcing you, but we have no choice. If you don’t accept us, we won’t be able to survive.”
“Madam, please give us a way out.”