“Hahaha, I really didn’t expect that, Second Aunt is already of such an age, yet she’s still so innocent and amusing. It seems my apparently dull and boring Second Uncle is actually very good to you, Auntie.”
Ren Jingshu’s laughter carried far. Over there, the few women only glanced up briefly before quickly lowering their heads again.
“As long as your Second Uncle hasn’t said he doesn’t want me, then I am still your elder. A young unmarried girl like you, surely you wouldn’t dare kill your own aunt-in-law, would you?”
Second Aunt gritted her teeth, her face flushed red with anger and embarrassment.
Just moments ago she had been talking about being one family—so why be so distant now?
“Second Aunt, don’t misunderstand. Why would I kill you for no reason?”
Ren Jingshu smiled and lightly patted the sturdy cangue, looking very satisfied.
This cangue had likely been used on countless people; its surface was thickly polished smooth, a dark, oily brown.
Second Aunt, who had never suffered like this before, now had delicate skin on her neck and wrists. At this moment, after all the tossing about, several bloody marks had already been rubbed into her skin.
“Wear this nice set of things and walk all the way to Lingnan. I’m sure Second Uncle will be very pleasantly surprised when he sees you again.”
Ren Jingshu leaned close to her ear and spoke softly.
Second Aunt’s face turned even paler.
Not to mention whether she could endure the journey with this burden—if she somehow survived, would her husband still treat her as before when he saw her like this?
“No… no…”
Images flashed uncontrollably in her mind, and she began to struggle frantically to break free.
“Please… please let me go… I was wrong… I really know I was wrong…”
The more she thought, the more frightened she became, and finally she broke down crying uncontrollably, her sobs heart-wrenching.
“Big sister, please let Mother go. If not… I’ll kneel to you.”
Ren Zhenzhu, seeing her mother crying so miserably, also knelt down immediately.
“Big sister, I beg you too… please don’t hurt my mother anymore…”
Ren Yuzhu also knelt down, both sisters kowtowing and crying bitterly.
But Ren Jingshu remained unmoved, her expression cold and indifferent.
So this is unbearable now?
Then when they plotted against the original owner, did they ever think about how a clean and innocent young girl would survive if she were ruined?
What kind of suffering would she endure if she didn’t dare die and had to keep living?
Compared to that, this little physical pain meant nothing.
“Enough!”
Her sudden shout made even Ren Jingyan, who was standing nearby with teary eyes, flinch.
“If you can’t bear to see your mother suffer, fine.”
“I’ll say it right here—this set of things, any one of you three can wear it.”
The three of them instantly froze.
The sisters quickly stepped away from their mother, deliberately distancing themselves, as if drawing a clear line.
Second Aunt felt a stab of bitterness but did not blame them.
After all, they were still children.
But she never considered that her own niece—only a couple of months older than her daughters—had once been thrown to those soldiers by her without mercy.
“From today on, all three of you will be responsible for your own food, drink, and survival. If you can find food, you eat. If not, just stretch your neck and wait to starve to death.”
Ren Jingshu said coldly, then turned and left with Ren Jingyan.
Night was approaching, and they could no longer travel. She called over Zhang Shitou and Chen Quan, ordering them to prepare the carriage so she and her sister could rest.
After some inspection, she discovered there were three carriages and two flatbed carts in the group.
“These goods in the carriage… most of them were sent by Second Aunt’s maternal family,” Ren Jingyan whispered.
“No wonder she was so arrogant,” Ren Jingshu said lightly.
Inside the carriage were sacks of grain—rice and flour, neatly stacked.
“They clearly have so much food, yet they can’t eat it. I wonder if they’ll be angry enough to lose sleep,” Ren Jingyan muttered.
“I don’t know if they’ll sleep,” Ren Jingshu replied. “But at least tonight, we will sleep peacefully.”
After arranging everything, she carried her sister into the carriage.
Once inside, she finally relaxed slightly—but still did not dare fully sleep in this unfamiliar place.
After thinking for a moment, she pulled the blanket over her sister, then took her into the space with a single thought.