Xu Hengyi paused, "You mean Wu Hongyun and her mother, are they like them too?"
Xie Jiang replied, "I don't know."
Xu Hengyi said, "Then you say..."
Xie Jiang interrupted him before he could finish, "If they themselves are unwilling to resist, then no one can save them."
Xu Hengyi fell silent.
The reactions of Xiao Tao and her mother just now made it impossible for him to say that they were just weak women with no ability to resist.
If they themselves dared not and were unwilling to try to break free, then no one could pull them out of the quagmire.
The knot in his heart was finally untangled, but it left him feeling suffocated.
"Are there many such things? Have you seen many like this?" Xu Hengyi asked Xie Jiang.
Xie Jiang didn't answer him. Luo Shou, who was walking behind them, suddenly spoke up.
"There was such a thing in our village, or rather, in the west village. The men in our east village would never do such spineless things."
"Old Niu beat his wife particularly hard. Late at night, there were cries and screams, so tragic that we in the east village could hear the commotion."
"What happened later?"
Xu Hengyi hoped to hear an ending that would make him feel better.
"Later, when Old Niu was drunk and asleep, his wife took scissors and gouged out both his eyeballs, then took her son and fled to Third Grandpa's house."
"Third Grandpa is of the same generation as my grandfather. He has the highest seniority in the entire village. With Third Grandpa willing to protect Old Niu's wife, Old Niu's family and the west village didn't dare to say anything."
Xu Hengyi was indeed invigorated by this, "Then what happened, then what?"
Luo Shou continued, "Then Third Grandpa arranged for Old Niu's wife to remarry the next day. There are many bachelors in our village. Old Niu didn't cherish his wife when he had her, so why would we leave her for him? Even her son followed her and became someone else's son."
Xu Hengyi slapped his palm, "Your Third Grandpa did a great job!"
Luo Shou said, "Of course. Old Niu became blind, and no one took care of his eating, drinking, and defecation. He was so miserable."
Xu Hengyi declared, "Scum should have such an ending!"
Luo Shou said, "So what Young Master Xie said just now was right. If you're unwilling to resist, no one can save you. But if you resist, there's always a way out."
Xu Hengyi nodded in agreement, then frowned again, "Are there only so many such things? What's wrong with these men, to beat their own wives and children?"
Perhaps it was because such things were too common that Xiao Tao and her mother only felt their lives were unfortunate. Even though they despised Xiao Tao's father and wished him dead, they were unwilling when truly taught to resist.
Nie Tong led the horses forward, and Xie Jiang mounted hers, saying in a flat tone, "They're just sick, terminally ill."
Luo Shou boasted, "It's not common in our village. The men in our village cherish their wives. Only Old Niu is the one with a problem."
Seeing that they had all mounted their horses, Xu Hengyi also got on his, "Where are we going?"
Xie Jiang replied, "Let's go back."
Xu Hengyi rode slowly behind her.
The words Xie Jiang and Luo Shou had just said echoed repeatedly in his mind.
If you're unwilling to resist, no one can save you. But if you resist, there's always a way out.
Had Wu Hongyun and her mother resisted?
His elder brother had treated Hongyun's mother's injuries. If they had sought help from his elder brother, his elder brother probably wouldn't have ignored them, right?
However, thinking about his elder brother's temperament, it was really hard to say.
Don't think that just because his elder brother treated illnesses and saved people everywhere, he was compassionate and saved all beings.
His elder brother treated illnesses and saved people purely out of hobby and generally had no interest in meddling.
However, Wu Hongyun often went in and out of Yuxu Palace. Even if his elder brother didn't meddle, as long as Wu Hongyun had sought help from others, someone would have stepped in to assist.
Even if no one helped, couldn't the two living people, mother and daughter, think of a way?
But why were they both unwilling to resist?
The more Xu Hengyi thought about it, the more confused he became, "Xie Jiang, when do you think they will learn to resist?"
Xie Jiang chuckled, "With your little brain, you can still ponder these things?"
Xu Hengyi replied, "I'm almost driven mad! Now I understand what it means to pity their misfortune and be angry at their lack of ambition."
Riding his horse slowly behind Xie Jiang,
Xu Hengyi suddenly thought of something, "Xie Jiang, you specifically accompanied me on this trip today just to resolve my inner turmoil?"
He knew Xie Jiang considered him a friend!
He knew Xie Jiang still cared about him!
Xie Jiang said, "What I actually want to tell you is that Lu Baohong didn't set any trap for you. Lu Baohong just happened to encounter you meddling and then took you away at his convenience."
Nor did he use his sesame-seed-sized brain to think that if the Xiao Tao family of three had any problems, the Duke of Wei's mansion would have allowed the Xiao Tao family to live peacefully until now?
Xu Hengyi was struck by lightning!
Was he that incompetent!
He...
And what did Xie Jiang mean by this?
Just to attack him!
*Crack*—
Xu Hengyi's forehead was suddenly hit.
He yelped, clutching his head, and looked towards Xie Jiang. He thought Xie Jiang was annoyed with him and had hit him again.
To his surprise, he saw Xie Jiang had stopped at some point and was looking at a window on the second floor of a teahouse by the street.
Xu Hengyi looked up, following her gaze.
He saw a young girl standing by the window on the second floor. She was extremely beautiful, holding her small fists to cover her face, looking at them timidly.
"Huh? Isn't that Miss Song the Third? Why is she here?"
Xu Hengyi suddenly realized something and looked down. He indeed saw a dried fruit on the ground.
Xu Hengyi immediately understood. It wasn't Xie Jiang who hit him, but Miss Song the Third who had thrown a dried fruit at him.
Miss Song the Third, covering her face with her small fists, looked at Xu Hengyi with innocent eyes and said, "I didn't mean to..."
Xu Hengyi didn't believe her!
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
When had she ever encountered Miss Song the Third without being sneak-attacked by her?
However, the enmity between the Duke of Dingguo's mansion and the Duke of Wei's mansion...
He couldn't bring himself to scold Miss Song the Third.
Moreover, Miss Song the Third was young and so cute...
Suddenly noticing that Xie Jiang was looking at Miss Song the Third for a long time, Xu Hengyi became a little worried about little Miss Song. He reached out and waved, trying to block the gaze of the "beastly" Xie.
*Crack*—
Xie Jiang slapped him.
The back of Xu Hengyi's hand immediately swelled.
"She's still young, you..."
The Duke of Dingguo's mansion was already in a miserable state, and Miss Song the Third was young. If she were targeted by the "beastly" Xie, what hope would she have?
"Xiao Xun, who are you talking to? Are you being naughty again?"
A gentle voice suddenly came from a private room on the second floor.
It turned out that Young Master Song was also here.
Song Ze's voice was as distinctive as his person. Anyone who had seen him would not forget him, and anyone who had heard his voice would not forget him.
But why were Young Master Song and his sister appearing in Ninghe County?
Then he saw Xie Jiang dismount and walk into the teahouse.
"Hey, where are you going? Didn't you say we were going back?"
Seeing a beautiful young girl...
Miss Song the Third was too young!
Xu Hengyi quickly dismounted and followed, whispering to Xie Jiang, "Are you having impure thoughts?"
Xie Jiang smiled, "Do I need to ask?"
Xu Hengyi felt her smile was particularly charming, "Miss Song the Third is still a child. How about we go to a brothel instead?"
Xie Jiang paused her ascent up the stairs and looked at Xu Hengyi strangely, "Why are you protecting her so much? Your elder brother is said to have contributed greatly to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion's current predicament."
Xu Hengyi's face turned red with embarrassment, "My elder brother, he, my elder brother, he... It's not what you think..."