“Can I save her?” Upon hearing this, Song Yilan was slightly stunned.

A bit of incomprehension and suspicion flowed in her eyes.

How could she save Sister A Yin?

Recalling what she had seen and heard in that brothel over the past ten days, the suffering and hunger she had endured, Song Yilan still felt lingering fear.

Just thinking about the old madam's terrifying face sent chills down her spine and made her scalp tingle.

She suspected that Yu Qingwu was simply mocking her.

At this moment, Xie Jin Yan spoke.

"Miss Song, you are Song Yan's daughter."

"Your father is the Tusi (local chieftain) of Qingzhou, your mother is a noblewoman of the Zhou family, a powerful clan in Qingzhou. You are also your mother's only daughter, and your father's most beloved legitimate daughter."

"Presumably, your words carry weight within the clan."

"Your parents own shops, escort agencies, and more throughout Shu. The merchants and brothels of Shu naturally give them considerable face. If you use your identity as a daughter of the Song family to ask the old madam for someone, would she dare refuse? Moreover, you don't even need to go in person; simply send a respected member of the Song clan from Qu County."

Xie Jin Yan's face was pale, and his tone was slightly more gentle than before.

Hearing this, Song Yilan seemed to awaken from a dream.

Yes, she had already escaped that den of devils.

She was no longer a weak brothel girl at anyone's mercy; she was still the legitimate daughter of the Song family.

The most esteemed legitimate daughter of the Song and Zhou clans.

A mere Crescent Moon Brothel—forget asking for someone, even buying it at a low price, the old madam wouldn't dare say a thing.

And the person behind the old madam, she heard, was a member of the powerful Qu clan of Qu County.

The Qu clan was no match for the Song clan.

In that instant, a sharp glint flashed in Song Yilan's sunken eyes.

At that moment, Yu Qingwu saw killing intent in her eyes.

Very good, even if she resented her.

But if Song Yilan's empathy could help many brothel prostitutes escape their misery, then it wouldn't matter if she hated her.

In the vast Wei Dynasty, completely banning prostitution was almost impossible.

Many women who made a living this way might have nowhere else to go for the time being.

But places like the Crescent Moon Brothel in Qu County and the Fenghua Courtyard in Qingzhou, if they could be eliminated entirely, that would be best.

Thinking this, Yu Qingwu stepped forward and handed Song Yilan the antidote she had prepared in advance.

But Song Yilan didn't reach out to take it; instead, she looked wary.

Suddenly, she shrank back.

The relaxed mood from just now instantly tensed up again, and the fear that had just dissipated from her eyes resurfaced, her face pale as she asked Yu Qingwu, "What… what do you want to do?"

"What can I do? Naturally, I'm detoxifying you."

Yu Qingwu smiled faintly, directly stuffing the powder into Song Yilan's mouth and then bringing a bowl of water to feed her.

Song Yilan was suspicious, but everything was beyond her control at this point, so even though she questioned it in her heart, she didn't resist.

After the antidote was swallowed, Yu Qingwu once again took out a small bamboo tube and a small bottle of medicinal powder from her bosom, and calmly said to her, "Miss Song, we have to leave Qu County in a little while and can't wait for you. The drug on your body will take two hours to completely wear off because it's been so long. If anyone comes to harm you during this time, use the insects in this tube to deal with them."

"Apply this jar of powder to your body, and the insects won't attack you."

"The insects inside can handle a hundred or so people, but you must use them carefully. If released rashly, it's very easy to harm the innocent."

As Yu Qingwu spoke, she helped Song Yilan onto the bed.

Song Yilan had been somewhat suspicious, but seeing the bamboo tube that Yu Qingwu handed over, her expression relaxed slightly.

A hint of curiosity surfaced in her resentful eyes.

She stammered and asked Yu Qingwu, "Can… can I ask you a question?"

"Ah?"

Yu Qingwu was taken aback, somewhat stunned.

But she still nodded and asked her in return, "What does Miss Song want to ask?"

"I want to ask, did you… did you really kill the Yang family of Qingzhou?"

"Also, I heard from that Qin woman that you are good at raising poisonous insects and taming beasts, and that you once used poisonous insects to kill two innocent men. Is all of this true?"

Innocent men?

This Qin woman was very good at twisting the truth.

However, since things had already reached this point, there was no need for her to hide it anymore. If they were going to cooperate, she couldn't rely on threats alone; she also needed to show some sincerity.

So, Yu Qingwu smiled faintly, nodded calmly, and replied to her, "Yes, I am indeed good at raising poisonous insects, and I did kill the Yang family men of Qingzhou, and I killed two other men as well."

"But do you think they were really innocent? Qin Yiliu is that kind of person. How can the words that come out of her mouth be fair?"

Hearing this, Song Yilan was stunned.

Yes, Qin Yiliu knew that she might die at the hands of the Yu family if she came here, but she still encouraged her to come. Someone so insidious and malicious would probably be biased in what she said.

Song Yilan lowered her eyes and stopped speaking.

A trace of hatred appeared on her face, which had become haggard and thin due to the ten days of hardship, but it was no longer directed at Yu Qingwu, but at Qin Yiliu, and at Shen Ke.

People are often like this: when they are living in luxury and without worries, they naturally don't think much, and they are willing to tolerate everything, or stubbornly admit mistakes.

But when they suffer hardship, they will completely realize how serious the consequences of this mistake are, and they will completely hate the person who led them into this mistake.

Looking at Song Yilan's increasingly gloomy eyes, Yu Qingwu spoke again, smiling at her and saying, "Miss Song, if you want to learn, I can teach you in the future."

"I can see that you are not a vicious person, but you have been deceived by malicious people. So, sending you to that Crescent Moon Brothel was not intentionally to torment you, but to let you see that there are many people in this world who suffer. I hope that Miss Song, you will no longer casually humiliate people and disregard the lives of others at will."

"Furthermore, we can also help you deal with Qin Yiliu and Shen Ke."

Hearing this, Song Yilan was silent again.

Yes, although she had been frightened these days, nothing had really happened to her.

On the contrary, watching the sisters around her, those sisters who helped her, being trampled on and tormented in that way, she truly felt the tragedy of those women.

They were not born lowly; some of them were from families that could no longer make ends meet, and some of them were from families that had committed crimes, but most of them were abducted by traffickers.

In the past, she thought that those prostitutes were born to be lowly and deserved to die.

But after this ordeal, she truly realized that places like Fenghua Courtyard should never exist.

At least, they should never exist for those innocent abducted women.

Moreover, she suffered this ordeal because of Qin Yiliu and Shen Ke's instigation.

But…

Song Yilan raised her eyes, took a deep look at Yu Qingwu, and said, "Madam Yu, it's not that I don't want to deal with that Qin woman, it's just that Qin Yiliu is too powerful."