Jiang Susu's disappearance for no reason was poked out in the end. The dozen or so guards who went with them did not realize that something was wrong until the dawn of the east the next day, and no one answered after a few calls, only to find that there was only a dead maid in the carriage, and there was still a young lady.

After the dozen or so guards returned to Shangshufu in a panic and told Jiang Quan about the matter, Jiang Quan was so angry that he almost fainted. However, the guards also made it clear that Jiang Susu killed the personal maid and pretended to be a personal maid and escaped by himself, complaining about others, and the people sent by Jiang Quan also confirmed that this was indeed the case, and Jiang Quan could no longer speak except for scolding the evil girl. It's just that the dignified lady of the mansion escaped by herself, and her whereabouts are unknown, and it is not a clear thing to say that she is going to go out, and the dozen or so guards must not be able to stay alive, Jiang Quan ordered these people to be dealt with. Xu is these guards knew that they were wronged, and they didn't know what means they used to poke this matter out before they died, and for a while, the whole capital knew that Jiang Quan had lost the second lady in his house.

Since these days, the entire Shangshu Mansion has been on the cusp, walking in the streets and alleys, and what people talk about everywhere is inseparable from the Jiang family. Jiang Quan was mad, but it was difficult to block the mouths of the people, and Jiang Ruan was taken back to the Jinying Mansion by Xiao Shao, otherwise he would go to the palace to accompany the Empress Dowager Yide, in short, he came to the bottom of the kettle to draw salary, and Jiang Quan was helpless. In this way, Jiang Quan doubled the anger in his heart on the small birth of Hongying. Hongying's body was already weak, Jiang Quan punched and kicked her like this every day, and wanted to torture her to death, Hongying knew that there was no way to live, so she swallowed gold and died in one night.

An aunt fell out of favor again, and died when she died, Jiang Quan didn't even let people prepare a coffin for her, and directly let her mother-in-law roll up a broken mat and throw it into a mass grave. A generation of beauties died of this, but they couldn't say whether they were embarrassed or what.

So a huge Jiang Mansion, except for the aunt who lives in a simple place, there are no concubines anymore. Jiang Quan was greatly affected by this, and often stood in the courtyard to be distracted, and the soft voice of the warbler and Yanyan in the past was in stark contrast to the cold and indifferent depression now, and it became more and more obvious that the entire Jiang Mansion had gradually collapsed.

The people who were sent to search for Jiang Susu were found for a long time, and Jiang Chao was more anxious than Jiang Quan, Jiang Chao and Jiang Susu were brothers and sisters of the same mother, Jiang Susu was loved since she was a child, and Jiang Chao naturally loved her. Although he was annoyed that Jiang Susu was so impulsive, he still asked Xuanli for help and sent a group of people to search for Jiang Susu's whereabouts. Now he is also useful to Xuanli, and Xuanli will be a wise gentleman of Corporal Lixian, and he will help him with all his might.

Xuanli's people are really much more useful than the servants of the Jiang Mansion, at least the people sent by Jiang Quan have not yet found out their whereabouts, and Xuanli's subordinates have already reported to Jiang Chao: "Hui Gongzi, I have found the whereabouts of Second Miss Jiang." ”

At that time, Jiang Chao was practicing calligraphy in the study, and no matter what, he couldn't calm down, and the handwriting was crooked. When he heard this, his hand shook, and a large drop of ink fell on the snow-white rice paper, and a large ink flower appeared. He looked up and said eagerly, "Where is she?" ”

"This ......" The guard looked a little embarrassed, and he didn't look at the opening, Jiang Chao suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart, and he couldn't care about anything else, grabbed his collar and shouted: "What the hell is going on!" ”

"Hui Gongzi." The guard was taken aback by Jiang Chao's appearance, and he didn't dare to hide it anymore, and said, "The spies came to report that the second lady was taken captive to the mountain bandits' den, and now ......." It's been days. ”

With a "snap", Jiang Chao could no longer hold the pen in his hand, and the white jade wolf fell to the ground and made a crisp sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet room. The guard felt that the atmosphere around him was simply frightening, and he lowered his head motionlessly and did not dare to look at Jiang Chao's expression.

I don't know how long it took for the terrible silence to hear Jiang Chao's voice gritting his teeth: "Prepare the horse." ”

"Childe?" The guards were stunned, and they couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when they looked at Jiang Chao. I saw that those eyes, which were already slightly gloomy, were filled with deep hatred and madness at the moment, and there was almost no doubt that he would destroy everything in the next moment. Such a terrible look, but the expression was very calm, calm to the point of distortion. He said, "Come on, follow me to save the second miss." ”

……

The sunlight in the mountains seemed to be obscured by the dense shade of the trees, and only a few bits of sunlight shone down. The dilapidated village is like a discarded bead embedded in the mountains, worn and blackened, but still stubbornly left in place.

The door creaked open. A woman stepped out of it.

The woman was wearing a coarse linen gown that had been changed from a man's dress, and her trouser legs were too long and halfway up, revealing a pair of white calves, which were covered with bruises. It's the same with the arms and neck—clothes that are too big, and even if they are smaller, they still don't fit. Her appearance was extremely beautiful, a little bit of a fairy's beautiful appearance, but because she was too haggard, she showed a bit of old age, and her eyes also gave birth to a heavy blue-black, which greatly reduced her beautiful appearance. She has fair skin and a slender figure, if she wears beautiful clothes and dresses up a little, she will definitely be able to overwhelm the crowd, but unfortunately, now this woman is just a peasant woman who looks a little haggard.

With a basket in her hand, she went out of the door, walked to a stream not far from the village, squatted down, took out the clothes from the basket that smelled of wine, and began to scrub them slowly. She washed very slowly, her green and white hands were worn out by such activities, and her hands were red and swollen from the cold water of the river, which was obviously not used to doing these things before, but even so, she was still slowly scrubbing. This woman is none other than Jiang Susu.

Around her, there were many women like her washing clothes by the river, all of them dressed in unscrupulous clothes, some of them beautiful, some of them a little mediocre, but each of them had the same expression, showing a kind of dead numbness, and their eyes were blank, as if they were accustomed to such a life.

The sun rose in the east, but it did not bring the slightest warmth. Jiang Susu washed very seriously, her eyes no longer had the disdain and ridicule of the first few days, showing a numb obedience.

These days, she has lived a hellish life. The women in this village are all men's accessories, they are their tools to vent, and they have to do laundry, cooking, and sewing clothes for them on weekdays, and if they do something wrong, they will be punched and kicked. Mountain bandits will never pity the jade, whether you are a lady or a small girl, but if they are not satisfied, they will be fists and feet. Every woman here has been beaten.

This is not the most painful, the most painful thing is that once it is night, you have to serve several men at the same time, which is worse than the women in the Qinglou. If the woman in the Qinglou is a red card, she probably still has to hold some, but here, women have no dignity at all, and at night, these beasts only care about venting their beast words, and women don't live long here, and no one can accept such a long toss.

It's not that I haven't thought about running away, but the people here have their own way of dealing with the women who escaped, and they will be caught and beaten badly, and then locked up and repeated the nightmare of the night. However, in a few days, there was no intact place on Jiang Susu's body. Of all these women, she was the best-looking, the most delicate, and the new, and almost every man was interested in her. Therefore, her life is extremely miserable.

In such a place, those so-called charms are useless, and they are very useful when they are used against the sons of the princes and nobles. But in this barren mountain range, except for arousing the beastly desires of more men, it is useless. It's just because these mountain bandits and wild robbers don't know how to pity the fragrance and cherish the jade at all, and they only have tyranny and plunder in their bones, so in a short period of time, Jiang Susu has almost changed a person.

When she had finished washing her clothes, she was about to go back to the house to collect firewood for cooking, but she was halfway through when she heard the sound of horses' hooves rolling in, and the leader reined in her horse, turned over, and cried, "Sister! ”

Jiang Susu raised his head a little sluggishly, as if he had been looking at the person in front of him for a long time, he was stunned for a moment, and shouted: "Brother." ”

Jiang Chao looked at Jiang Susu in disbelief, Jiang Susu has always been dusty and beautiful in his heart, and there will never be a trace of dust on his body. Who is this dirty, haggard, stinking woman now? Is it still his sister in the glamorous capital?

Jiang Susu looked at Jiang Chao, blinked his eyes, suddenly his eyes turned red, two lines of tears rolled down, he couldn't care about anything else, he hugged Jiang Chao tightly all of a sudden, and cried: "Brother, why are you here now!" ”

Jiang Chao was hugged by Jiang Susu like this, and the tip of his nose was immediately filled with a disgusting stench. The two brothers and sisters have always lived a pampered and privileged life in the Jiang Mansion, and they look down on the poor in their hearts and think they are superior. Jiang Chao was shocked when he saw Jiang Susu so embarrassed, Jiang Susu hugged him like this, he subconsciously reached out and pushed Jiang Susu away, but he was stunned when he stretched out his hand, looking at the red marks on Jiang Susu's neck, his eyes straightened.

The spies who came back reported that Jiang Susu had been taken captive to the mountain bandits' den for several days, and his body must no longer be complete. But thinking in my heart is different from seeing it with my own eyes, seeing the traces on Jiang Susu's body, the most lull in Jiang Chao's heart is gone, and his mind is blank, and he can't make a sound.

Jiang Susu didn't realize it, the moment she saw Jiang Chao, she gradually walked out of the numbness and sadness of the previous few days, with only endless hatred in her heart, and her voice became sharp and distorted: "Brother, you want to avenge me, and you want to kill all the mountain bandits here!" These mountain bandits are not people, they beat me ....... Brother, kill them, kill them all! Jiang Susu cried and laughed, her voice was on the verge of collapse, but the resentment in her words was undiminished. Jiang Chao is her elder brother, and he will inevitably avenge her, and these filthy stinky men will all turn into corpses. As long as he thought of this, Jiang Susu's heart was full of happiness. She said, "And those women, they have seen me, and none of them can be left!" ”

She only cared about venting the pain she had suffered in her heart in the past few days, but she didn't pay attention to Jiang Chao's expression. Jiang Chao stared at the red mark on Jiang Susu's neck, his eyes were straight, and his eyes were a little trance-like.

Jiang Susu has become like this now, even if he brings it back, his body is not innocent. Originally, this girl was as beautiful as a fairy, and it was very likely that she would pave the way for his career and the Jiang family's prosperity, and she might even become the mother of the country in her prime. But now that the abacus is ruined, Jiang Susu's reputation is no longer there, and there is no innocence, it is impossible to climb a marriage that is beneficial to the Jiang Mansion by virtue of her beauty, if one day today's events are spread out, Jiang Susu has become the plaything of the mountain bandits, and the innocence of the concubine of the dignified Shangshu Mansion has been occupied by a group of rabble, and it will be impossible for the Jiang family to lift it up from now on. In that case, Jiang Susu's existence is a spark that doesn't know when the Dao will cause a fire, and it is a hidden danger to keep it.

Moreover, Jiang Chao's eyes darkened, now that he is under Xuanli's men, he has gradually improved, and Xuanli has also begun to reuse him, he has been quite guided by his colleagues because of Xia Yan's affairs, if there is another Jiang Susu, it is also rare to have a career in the future, and those colleagues who fight openly and secretly with him will definitely not let go of this opportunity to fall into the ground. No, maybe they're already doing it now. The news of Jiang Susu's loss has now spread in the capital. If he can find Jiang Susu, others will definitely be able to find him.

He couldn't let Jiang Susu's existence become a stumbling block for him.

Jiang Chao's eyes changed a few times, and he seemed to have finally made a certain decision. He looked at Jiang Susu who threw herself into his arms, reached out and stroked her dirty hair, and comforted gently: "Okay, I'll kill them for you, and the second brother will avenge you." None of these women, nor the mountain bandits, could escape, so I asked them all to go to Hades. ”

Jiang Susu grabbed Jiang Chao's clothes tightly and said: "And Jiang Ruan's slut, if she hadn't calculated me, why would I be here, brother, I have fallen to this point, all thanks to that slut." There is also Xiao Shao, the two of them have joined forces to harm me so far, this revenge will not be avenged, I swear not to be a man! ”

"It's good," Jiang Chao's voice was gentle and dripping water, and he patted Jiang Susu's shoulder lovingly, as if he was really a kind brother, and comforted: "Jiang Ruan, Jiang Chao and the General's Mansion, Jinying Wang's Mansion, don't let go of any of them." My brother will avenge you, these people hurt you, I want them all to be buried for you! ”

Jiang Susu was nestled in Jiang Chao's arms, feeling very happy in his heart, but he also ignored Jiang Chao's strange gaze. She asked, "Brother, when are we going home?" ”

"Going home?" Jiang Chao said apologetically: "Sister, you can't go home." ”

"What?" Before Jiang Susu could comprehend, she felt a chill in her chest, and when she looked down, she saw that a snow-white sword tip had already pierced into her chest. The hilt of the sword at the other end was in Jiang Chao's hand, Jiang Chao pulled the sword back, Jiang Susu spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body fell softly.

All this happened too fast, she didn't even ask what was wrong, she just stared at Jiang Chao with wide eyes and unwillingness, Jiang Susu didn't expect that the rescuers who were waiting for her in every possible way died in the hands of her own brother.

"I'm sorry, Su Su," Jiang Chao opened his eyes, not daring to look at Jiang Susu's corpse: "I can't let you get in my way, those who become big things are not informal." Moreover, this is also to free you early. He sighed: "Don't be afraid, Mother will come down to accompany you soon, and you won't feel lonely." As for the things I promised you, and the revenge I have avenged you, I will not leave any of them behind. ”

……

At night, in Zhuangzi, a few hundred miles away from the capital, in a dilapidated and pitch-black house, a figure sat quietly. The oil lamps had long since dried up, and apparently no one had been here for a long time to add oil to the oil lamps. The smell of dying decay permeated the room.

The woman was very old, and the gray hair on her temples was glued together with oil and dirt, and was messy and unkempt at the back of her head. It seems that his body has not been clean for a long time, and his body seems to have a layer of armor, and only a pair of big eyes can still vaguely see his former elegance, but it is only in the past.

Xia Yan didn't know how long she had been here, day after day, no one spoke to her, she lived in seclusion in this place every day, there were no fresh fruits and vegetables, only rancid meals, dirty quilts, and damp roofs. Sometimes she is crazy, sometimes she is sober, most of the time she is crazy, but now she is sober. Today, she didn't know what Lu Dao was about, but she felt a little uneasy in her heart. An inexplicable depression stuck in my heart, as if something big was going to happen. In vain, she stretched out her hand stained with black mud and scratched the ground.

But I heard the door squeak open.

Xia Yan suddenly raised his head, and watched a person walk in with a fire fold in his hand, and gently closed the door. She hadn't seen a bright light for a long time, and she was a little dazzled by this bright light for a while, and she couldn't see the appearance of the person in front of her.

The man put the fire fold aside and sat down, the light slowly settled, and Xia Yan began to adapt to the temporary light. Only a familiar voice was heard: "Mother." ”

Xia Yan was shocked, and tears flowed from his eyes. She lived in this place day after day, being bullied and beaten as if she had been forgotten by everyone. never thought that her son would appear alive in front of her now. She opened her mouth, but her voice was dry because she hadn't spoken for a long time.

Jiang Chao seemed to be extremely shocked when he saw Xia Yan like this, and then, a trace of anger appeared in his eyes: "They actually treat you like this!" ”

Xia Yan was still angry with Jiang Chao for not coming to see her before, and the noble man in Chen Fang's mouth was going to kill her sooner or later. Now looking at Jiang Chao's appearance, there is no anger at all. She thought that Jiang Chao was her son after all, and he was still towards her after all. It's all these slaves who make their own decisions. After all, Jiang Chao still recognizes him as his mother.

But Xia Yan didn't think about it, if he really cared about his mother, how could he not ask for such a long time. Even if Jiang Chao is busy on weekdays, it is good to send a small servant over to take a look at the situation. Just as Jiang Ruan was sent to Zhuangzi to be bullied, these people dared to act so recklessly because Jiang Chao didn't care much about Xia Yan. Jiang Chao is not so stupid, he naturally knows that Xia Yan is likely to be bullied if he is sent to Zhuangzi, but he is indifferent, the selfishness in this person's heart has reached the extreme. Although Xia Yan is vicious, she is a competent mother, everything she does is to pave the way for Jiang Chao's two siblings, but unfortunately these two siblings take care of themselves equally and do not take this mother to heart.

Jiang Chao glanced at Xia Yan and suddenly said, "Mother, my sister is dead." ”

Xia Yan was stunned and looked at Jiang Chao in shock.

Jiang Chao continued: "She fell for someone else's trick and angered her father, who wanted to send her to the nunnery to be a sister-in-law, but she refused, so she escaped at night and was caught in the mountain bandit's den, and was insulted and committed suicide." ”

He said every word calmly, but every word was poked in Xia Yan's heart. Xia Yan let out a miserable scream from his throat, but he couldn't speak anymore. Only two lines of tears kept falling.

"What are you talking about...... Didn't protect her? She asked with difficulty.

"I protect her?" Jiang Chao sneered: "How can I protect her?" Shouldn't my mother, as the mother of my sister and me, protect us? Do you know how Sister Lu Dao fell for someone else's trick? My sister wants to seduce King Jinying and be willing to be a concubine! Does the mother know why the sister of Lu Dao wants to be a concubine? Because my mother's reputation is bad, no one has proposed to my sister until now! Jiang Ruan, that slut, has already been married to King Jinying by the Queen Mother. And my sister will be ignored because of the corruption of her mother's morality, and my sister's death is caused by her mother! ”

Xia Yan was shaken and looked at Jiang Chao in disbelief. She was clearly calculated by someone at the beginning, even if others doubted her virtue, Jiang Chao was her biological son, how could he say such a thing!

She didn't know what to do, because her reputation was ruined, Jiang Chao couldn't hold her head up in front of her colleagues, and this matter became a handle for others to slander him from time to time. Today, Jiang Chao accused Jiang Susu of dying because of her, but he was actually venting his resentment! He complained about Xia Yan!

"No...... Not me.... Xia Yan said.

Jiang Chao shook his head: "It's not important, mother, it's just that I promised my sister to avenge her, and now King Jin Ying and Jiang Ruan are higher than me, only if I make progress in my career, can I avenge my sister." He looked at Xia Yan, and a strange light flashed in his eyes: "And mother, as long as you are one day, I will have a reason to be criticized, and I will never be able to be promoted in a dignified manner." ”

It took Xia Yan a long time to understand the meaning of Jiang Chao's words, and she stared at her son as if she didn't know her: "You..." Want me to die? ”

"Since my mother loves my brother and sister so much, I also want to fulfill my sister's long-cherished wish, but now I really can't think of any other way." Jiang Chao's voice was low, but there was no trace of guilt: "Mother is a smart person, so I don't want Jiang Ruan's slut to climb on her son's head." ”

"Son of ......." Xia Yan gasped heavily: "Get out!" ”

Jiang Chao shook his head: "My son came this time, just because the blood was thicker than the water and wanted to make his mother more comfortable, and the mother had to give up if she didn't appreciate her son so much." It's just that...... Some things, the process is not important, the result is important, is it? ”

"You're going to kill me?" Xia Yan's eyes widened.

"No, I'm sure Mother will figure it out, won't she?" He smiled slowly, showing his white teeth, but he no longer had the brightest posture he had ever had, like a mad beast under the lamplight. He said: "The beams in this house are high enough, mother, exchange a life for an innocent reputation, mother knows how to make the most cost-effective?" ”

He walked out the door.

------Off topic------

The little white flower is dead, and the scumbag mother is also dying...... Jiang Chao also began to die .......