Chapter 160 The Deceased

"Did you see Wu Yuhuan's body?" Jiang Cheng pressed, "What did the body look like?"

Hearing this, the man looked embarrassed for a moment but quickly regained his composure. "No, people are already dead; what's so interesting about looking at a corpse? But the Marquis's residence is too stingy. She died in the Marquis's residence, and they didn't even give a burial fee. Even the grave is empty. That good-for-nothing deserves to be poor in her next life." The man spat on the ground, his tone as light as if he were talking about a stranger.

Fatty's blood pressure spiked upon hearing this. "She's your daughter! She's dead, and you still talk about her like that? Do you have any conscience?"

The man curled his lip, unimpressed. "What's conscience? Can it be eaten or spent? Besides, she's my daughter. I can do whatever I want. Do you guys have anything else? If not, get lost!"

Jiang Cheng stopped Fatty, who was about to hit him, and glanced at one of the thatched huts. Several women's clothes were drying on a rack outside. "I'd like to talk to your daughter, Wu Yujiao. Is she in?"

The man immediately put on a businessman's face, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "My daughter is a virgin. How can she meet a strange man like you? If word gets out..."

Taking out a few pieces of silver from his clothes, Jiang Cheng displayed them in his palm. "I'll just go in and say a few words to her, then I'll leave. I'm not interested in anything else. This... should be enough, right?"

Seeing the silver, the man immediately snatched it, nodding as he counted. "Enough, enough. But I'm warning you, hurry up. I'll keep watch outside. If someone finds out a man went into my daughter's room, she won't be able to sell for a good price."

Pulling the furious Fatty along, Jiang Cheng lifted the curtain and entered the room first. The room was dimly lit, and before Jiang Cheng's eyes could adjust to the darkness, a cold glint suddenly came at him. Jiang Cheng dodged instinctively, but the sharp blade still cut through his clothes, along with the flesh underneath. Jiang Cheng immediately grabbed the attacker's wrist with his right hand and pulled it outward forcefully. The other party lost their balance, and then he punched out with his left hand, aiming for their face.

But in an instant, he saw the attacker's face. It was a very young girl, probably only 16 or 17 years old. She had a clean appearance, and her face, still marked with tear stains, was filled with despair. The weapon she used to attack him was just a sharpened pair of iron scissors. Jiang Cheng couldn't stop his momentum and had to twist his body. The punch finally missed, but he also lost his balance and fell to the ground.

The girl thought it was a gift from the heavens. She raised the scissors in her hand and stabbed at Jiang Cheng. Luckily, Fatty reacted quickly, rushing in and snatching the scissors away. "Don't misunderstand! We mean no harm!"

The girl's heart was dead. Seeing the first lecherous man getting up, she steeled her resolve and raised her hand to scratch Jiang Cheng's face hard.

A minute later, Jiang Cheng, his face scratched, and Fatty sat side by side, while the girl named Wu Yujiao sat across from them, looking apologetic. The iron scissors lay on the ground between them.

"I'm sorry, did I… did I hurt you?" Wu Yujiao looked at Jiang Cheng's face, embarrassed to say.

"Why don't I scratch your face and stab you with scissors? Would you like to try?" Jiang Cheng couldn't remember ever suffering such a loss since he was a child. Those who had tried to trick him were left with nothing.

Hearing Jiang Cheng's words, Wu Yujiao lowered her head even more shamefully and explained in a very soft voice, "I'm sorry. I heard my dad brought you here, and I thought it was those people from the casino coming to collect debts. The last time they came, they said that if we couldn't pay the debt, they would take me as collateral."

Wu Yujiao rolled up her sleeve, revealing a section of her forearm covered in bruises and scars. Noticing Jiang Cheng staring, she hurriedly pulled down her sleeve to cover it.

"Your dad did this?" Jiang Cheng frowned.

"Yes." Wu Yujiao nodded very lightly. "He wanted me to go to people's houses to weave cloth. I refused. I know he's lying to me. Those people aren't decent. He always avoids hitting my face because if my face is injured, I can't be sold for a good price."

Jiang Cheng understood Wu Yujiao's situation, but he had more important things to do. "We're here today to ask you about something. Wu Yuhuan is your older sister. She was sold to the Zhennan Marquis's residence. Did you know about this?"

"Yes, my dad did it." Wu Yujiao's eyes dimmed. "And... and she's already dead. She died in the Zhennan Marquis's residence a year ago."

"Do you know anything about your sister's situation in the Zhennan Marquis's residence?"

Jiang Cheng asked casually, but to his surprise, Wu Yujiao actually nodded and said in a very cautious voice, "I know a little. My sister once had someone bring me a message, saying that she was well-fed and clothed in the Marquis's residence, and told my mother and me not to worry. It's just... just that there were many rules in the Marquis's residence."

"It's natural for a high-ranking family like the Zhennan Marquis's residence to have more rules. There's nothing strange about that." Jiang Cheng pretended not to care, but he was still observing Wu Yujiao.

Wu Yujiao shook her head. "No, you misunderstand me. It's normal for a family like the Marquis's residence to have many rules, but most of the rules in the Marquis's residence are very strange. For example, the backyard is off-limits, and at night, if you hear someone knocking on the door, you must ask who it is. Also, no matter how wronged you are, you can't cry late at night..."

"Also, my sister said that the atmosphere in the Marquis's residence was very strange, and the Marquis... the Marquis is a very mysterious person. She's been in the Marquis's residence for months, and she hasn't seen the Marquis's face."

Gradually, Wu Yujiao became emotional. "Until the last time she had someone bring me a message, this time it was written. She wrote a note. The handwriting on the note was very messy, but I could recognize it as my sister's handwriting. She said she had seen the Marquis, and she warned me not to go to the Marquis's residence, even if I was sold to a worse place, don't be sold into the Marquis's residence!"

"Right, on the note... on the note there was also blood, on the corner, as if it had been splashed on by accident. At that time, I suspected that my sister had been hurt, and then not long after, less than half a month after I received the letter, my sister... my sister died!"

"And she died so miserably! She... she was murdered! By someone in the Marquis's residence. I know my sister's personality. She's not a competitive person. She would never make enemies with anyone."

"How do you know she died so miserably?" Jiang Cheng looked at Wu Yujiao, who was crying, and asked the most crucial question, "Have you seen her body?"