In the middle of the night, the sound of a baby crying suddenly came from the originally quiet alley.

"Whose child cries so pitifully? Is this sick? ”

Nian Yaoyue is also a mother, so she can naturally tell whether the child's cry is hungry or sick.

"It's the child of Liu Simei's family at the end of the alley, she went to be a pawn wife for two years and brought back a female doll~"

Qiao Erniang's face was full of pity.

Pawn wife...

In this Qing Dynasty, where the idea of male superiority and inferiority of women was prevalent, women were already of low status, and it was not strange to be polygamous.

There is also a strange wedding system that originated in the Han Dynasty and prevailed in the Qing Dynasty is even more incredible.

That is the pawn wife, the so-called pawn wife, that is, the poor rent a wife to have children.

The poor "rent" their wives to those singles in exchange for a sum of money, and the rented wives bear children for the rented wives, and when the agreed period is reached, they are separated in two, and each does not owe each other.

Liu Simei at the end of the alley, Nian Yaoyue remembered that she always lowered her head timidly, her man was infected with the vice of gambling and alcoholism, and her son Fulai was still sick in bed for a long time, and the family had no place to live.

I heard Qiao'er Niang say that Fulai's condition has become more and more serious in recent years, and in the end, Liu Simei and her man pawned her to a poor old bachelor who couldn't afford to marry a wife without even discussing with her in advance.

Two taels of silver, 100 catties of rice, and 20 catties of peanut oil, pawned Liu Simei to the old bachelor for two years.

"She gave birth to a son and a daughter to that family, and they sent back the girl who lost money, poor fourth sister, his man drank too much and was yelling to throw the evil seed to the baby tower~"

Listening to Qiao Erniang and Fat Tiger Niang talking about Liu Simei's tragic experience, Nian Yaoyue's heart is not a taste, this is the evil old society, and the status of women is not as good as dogs.

.....

On the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Yinzhen stood quietly on the deck with his hands in his hands, frowning.

"Master, the slave has asked the Green Camp Sailor to check the large and small ships going north one by one in the name of catching the water bandits, and he has not found the figure of the young master."

"The servant quietly asked people to ask along the road near Cao's house, and someone saw that the old master seemed to be going in the direction of Jiangning Mansion!"

Su Peisheng hung his head, and he didn't dare to gasp.

"Heh, go to Jiangning Mansion, South Cross Lane." Yin Zhen clenched his fists and laughed angrily.

....

Thousands of miles away in the House of the Four Baylors.

Tong Jinxian was throwing the secret letter in her hand into the brazier and burning it to ashes, although she did not go to Jiangnan with her fourth brother, but she knew everything about Jiangnan.

"Did she take the medicine?" Tong Jinxian's eyes flashed with cruelty.

Seeing the black shadow standing in the dark nodding slightly, a happy smile bloomed on the corner of Tong Jinxian's lips.

"Excellent! Tell the order to go down and do it! ”

......

With the help of Qiao'er Niang and Fat Tiger Niang, Nian Yaoyue cleaned the small courtyard inside and out.

The day after tomorrow is the Buddha's birthday, and the three of them meet to burn incense and pray for blessings in the Jiming Temple in the western suburbs.

Early in the morning, Qiao'er Niang and Fat Tiger Niang led the newly moved Li'er Niang and Feng'er Niang, and the five of them went to Jiming Temple together.

Qiao'er Niang and they were reluctant to spend money on a boat, so Nian Yaoyue followed them to take a path.

Among the lofty mountains, several people chatted and walked on the rugged mountain road with bamboo baskets.

"Oh, isn't that Liu Simei? She is. Oh, what a sin, she actually sent the child to the baby tower~"

Qiao'er Niang was heartbroken, that was a living child.

"What baby tower?"

Last night, I heard Qiao'er Niang and Fat Tiger Niang talking about the baby tower, and Nian Yaoyue thought it was the floating tower for the child to bless.

"Look, it's the little dusty tower that stands on the hill, made of rough stones, the top is cone-shaped, and the top of the tower is like a singing hat wearing a high hat~"

Nian Yaoyue followed the direction pointed by Qiao Er Niang and saw a small gray tower about four or five meters high standing on the hill not far away.

At the foot of the tower there were some rudimentary baskets, which were thrown haphazardly, and on one side of the tower there was a rectangular hole with a string pulled at the opening.

"What is the tower for?"

When she heard Qiao'er Niang say the role of the baby tower with palpitations, Nian Yaoyue only felt a chill down her spine.

It turned out that these pigeon-house-shaped buildings were used to house the corpses of babies and children.

In poor homes, many young babies were abandoned by their families in small stone and brick towers, either because of their daughters or because of illness.

Let the sun and rain shine, insects eat ants and fend for themselves.

It was as if I could hear a faint cry like a cat meowing from the baby's tower.

"That child is still alive, we can't see death without help!"

She rushed towards the baby tower, but she hadn't taken two steps before she saw a half-man's tall flame burst out of the tower.

The child's cry was completely drowned out in the tongue of fire, and she paused.

Baby towers like this are all over the Qing Dynasty, and the babies who are born at the wrong time are really distressing.

She is not a person who likes to shed tears, but at this time she suddenly burst into tears.

If this is the case in a peaceful and prosperous world, what will happen if it comes to a troubled era when the people are not able to make a living?

With a heavy heart, she followed Qiao'er Niang and them on the mountain road, and at this moment, Nian Yaoyue suddenly felt a powerful murderous aura.

"Who!!"

She pulled out the soft sword at her waist and protected the four of them, who didn't know martial arts, behind her.

At this moment, she suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck, and she was shocked.

When I turned around, I saw the newly moved Feng'er Niang and Li'er Niang's eyes showing fierce eyes, and they were holding silver needles more than two feet long in their hands.

No wonder she didn't feel that there was a problem with the two, they didn't know martial arts at all, but used poison masters.

Nian Yaoyue stabbed the two with all her strength, and then led Qiao'er Niang and Fat Tiger Niang to escape into the depths of the dense forest.

The other party didn't know what strange poison was given to her, and at this time she had no internal strength, and the soft sword in her hand, which was as thin as a cicada's wings, had no strength to lift it.

In the end, under the drag of Qiao'er Niang and Fat Tiger Niang, the two chasing women were barely thrown away without a trace.

Just when the three of them were exhausted from running, and finally sat down on the ground and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly there was a loud sound from all around.

"Robbery! Don't move! ”

Suddenly, in the depths of the dark dense forest ahead, more than a dozen masked men rushed out and hurried towards them.

"You go first, their goal is me!"

How could it be so coincidental that I met those two female assassins, and then I met the robbers.

Qiao'er Niang is an honest and honest ordinary people, so the purpose of these people can only be her, she can't involve the innocent Qiao'er Niang and Fat Tiger Niang.

She galloped desperately towards the other end of the forest, and as she expected, she saw the bandits chasing her almost without thinking.

Damn, who the hell wants her to die so much!

Nian Yaoyue gritted her teeth and ran wildly all the way, preparing to find a secluded place to take out Jia Nanfeng's thousand-knife skills for emergency.