Xia Ze Shi and Ruan Zi Ji both left, and with no one to compete with him at the table, Xu Heng Yi found himself lost in thought.
"I wasn't actually abducted in broad daylight. What insult are those unsavory rumors trying to cast?"
While eating, Xu Heng Yi stealthily glanced at Xie Jiang. Seeing Xie Jiang finish his meal and put down his bowl and chopsticks, Xu Heng Yi immediately slammed his own chopsticks onto the table.
Without regard for whether Xie Jiang was interested in his petty affairs, Xu Heng Yi began to passionately defend himself.
"It was that scoundrel Lu Bao Hong, who was despicable and shameless. He set a trap ahead of me, and I fell into it due to a moment of carelessness!"
Xie Jiang allowed Aunt He to take the warm cloth and wipe her hands. "That's still better than being abducted in broad daylight. Being abducted in broad daylight would only prove your lack of strength, and falling into Lu Bao Hong's trap due to a moment of carelessness would not only prove your lack of strength but also that you're not very bright."
Xu Heng Yi felt ten thousand points of critical damage.
Luo Shou stifled a laugh.
Xu Heng Yi looked at Xie Jiang and said indignantly, "Then you don't know how meticulously Lu Bao Hong, that scoundrel, planned and what kind of trap he set for me."
Xie Jiang, hearing him say this, became somewhat curious. "What kind of trap?"
Xu Heng Yi said, "I encountered a pitiful young girl who was about to be sold by her drunken father to a nearly sixty-year-old man! After I rescued her, I learned that her father often beat her and her mother when he was drunk..."
Xie Jiang raised an eyebrow and said, "This plot sounds a bit familiar."
Xu Heng Yi said, "Isn't this the same situation as Wu Hong Yun and her mother! If I encountered such a thing, how could I not intervene?"
Xie Jiang looked at him and suddenly smiled meaningfully. "Are you blaming yourself for Wu Hong Yun's situation? Or has Wu Hong Yun's fate left you with psychological trauma?"
It wasn't exactly self-blame, but encountering such a situation that day suddenly brought it to mind.
Xu Heng Yi's brows furrowed into a knot. "How could I forget so quickly when a living person is gone like that?"
There was probably some trauma, but not because of Wu Hong Yun's death, but because of how she died.
Lu Bao Fang, that beast!
Xie Jiang's gaze fell on him. "You think you could have saved Wu Hong Yun?"
Xu Heng Yi said, "If I had broken her father's legs earlier, or brought her into the manor sooner, she wouldn't have died so miserably."
Not being able to save Wu Hong Yun and her mother back then, being able to save someone in a similar situation now could offer him some comfort.
Xie Jiang knew he was very naive, but he hadn't expected him to be so naive. "And this young girl this time? Did you save her?"
Xu Heng Yi said, "I stopped it at the time, but later, when you and my second brother were abducted by Lu Bao Hong, I didn't have the mind to deal with it."
If his second brother had suffered any misfortune, the Duke of Wei's manor would have collapsed, and he wouldn't have cared about the suffering of others.
Xie Jiang suddenly asked, "What's the girl's name?"
Xu Heng Yi, not understanding, replied, "...Xiao Tao."
Xie Jiang got up and walked out. "Do you know where Xiao Tao's home is? Let's go take a look at Xiao Tao's house."
Xu Heng Yi immediately became energized. Forgetting he hadn't finished eating, he grabbed a steamer basket of dumplings and followed. "I knew you were the same as me; you would never ignore such a situation!"
~
Ning He County was not large. Two quarters of an hour later, they arrived in front of Xiao Tao's house.
Whether it was a coincidence they arrived at this time, or if this was the usual state of Xiao Tao's home, was unclear.
Even through the courtyard gate, the sounds of crying and scolding could be heard from inside.
The neighbors seemed accustomed to it. An old woman sat in the alley, sewing shoe soles, only looking up and shaking her head when the crying from Xiao Tao's house became more piercing.
The woman next door leaned against her doorway, cracking melon seeds, with an expression of schadenfreude. Seeing Xie Jiang and his entourage, dressed in fine clothes and riding tall horses, she cautiously retreated into her own house and closed the door.
Hearing the piercing cries from inside, Xu Heng Yi couldn't help but think of Wu Hong Yun's mother, who had also been beaten to the brink of death. He couldn't wait to knock and instead kicked the door open.
Xiao Tao's father was cursing obscenely, revealing a lot of information and letting them know what had happened in the past few days.
It turned out that the old man who had wanted to buy Xiao Tao last time got up in the middle of the night to go to the privy and stepped into a cesspit, where he suffocated to death.
Xiao Tao's father's silver, which was already in hand, was taken back by the old man's family. Xiao Tao was also branded with the reputation of having a strong destiny that brought misfortune to her husband. Xiao Tao's father found it even harder to sell Xiao Tao for a good price.
It was for this reason that Xiao Tao's father took his anger out on Xiao Tao and her mother.
Listening to these words from outside the door, Xu Heng Yi was so angry his hair stood on end. Was this still human? How could he bear to abuse his own daughter like this!
Xu Heng Yi burst through the door to see Xiao Tao's father, drunk, holding a stool and about to beat Xiao Tao to death. Xiao Tao's mother had grabbed his leg, and the stool landed on her instead.
Xiao Tao couldn't bear to watch her mother be beaten to death and rushed forward to snatch the stool from her father's hand. The family of three became entangled in a struggle.
"Stop—"
Yi Shan and Yi Shui quickly rushed in and pinned Xiao Tao's father to the ground.
Xu Heng Yi turned to look at the mother and daughter, who were still shaken. Blood could be seen on their heads and bodies. The anger in Xu Heng Yi's chest erupted through his throat. "Does this beast always beat you like this!"
Xiao Tao's mother cried, "This is our fate, to have encountered such a thing..."
Xu Heng Yi felt they were indeed fated to suffer. How could there be so many beasts in this world!
"You, you are the young master who saved me that day?" Xiao Tao wiped her tears and looked at Xu Heng Yi.
She remembered Xu Heng Yi. Such a noble young master, she had only seen one like him, and she could not forget him.
Last time, when her father dragged her to be sent to Master Li's house, it was this young master who stopped him. This young master had also ordered someone to beat her father severely.
Her father couldn't get out of bed for a day and a night. The next day, she heard that Master Li had died.
"What's wrong with this beast? Why does he beat you like this?"
Xiao Tao and her mother recounted, through tears, how Xiao Tao's father loved to drink and how he would beat and scold them.
Listening to them, the veins on Xu Heng Yi's forehead began to bulge.
This household was entirely supported by Xiao Tao and her mother selling flatbreads at their stall. Xiao Tao's father, a grown man, did nothing all day but drink.
That alone would have been enough.
But Xiao Tao's father was not only useless, but he also disliked Xiao Tao's mother for not giving birth to a son, and he disliked Xiao Tao for being a financial burden. He would beat them severely every few days.
Xiao Tao's mother's ear had already been deafened, and one of her legs had been broken and was still lame.
Xu Heng Yi angrily said, "And you just endure it! Don't you know to report it to the authorities?"
Xiao Tao's mother said timidly, "The officials, they wouldn't bother with such matters..."
Xiao Tao's mother knew that Xiao Tao had been saved by a young master from a wealthy family that day. Judging by Xiao Tao's words, it was the person in front of her. Seeing Xu Heng Yi's noble demeanor, Xiao Tao's mother's eyes darted around, her thoughts becoming active.
"Young master, why don't you buy my Xiao Tao? It doesn't matter if it's as a concubine or a maid, as long as it can give Xiao Tao a way to live."
Xiao Tao's mother felt that Xiao Tao had reasonably good features. This young master from a wealthy family had saved her Xiao Tao twice, and today he had specifically come to their door. Wasn't this a sign of his affection for Xiao Tao?
Xiao Tao was stunned for a moment, not expecting her mother to say such a thing, but she remained silent.
This young master was a good person...