Indeed!
Just as that person had said, was this Zhou Ya already trying to lobby her?
Song Chaoyu lowered the disdain in her eyes and asked Zhou Ya, "Then, Sister Zhou, what do you think I should do now?"
"Here!"
Zhou Ya pointed to the women lying on the ground, covered in blood, their lives uncertain, and sighed at Song Chaoyu, "Look, they all resisted, and this is what happened to them. If you ask me, why don't you just not resist? In the end, the outcome is the same whether you resist or not. How can we weak women withstand the strength of those big men?"
She shook her head, as if lamenting the women who had been beaten: "It's better to appease Boss Shi well; life here would at least be better, wouldn't it?"
Actually, if she were just persuading the women, Song Chaoyu felt that her method wouldn't be wrong.
But if she intended to step on the "corpses" of those girls to curry favor with Boss Shi, then Song Chaoyu could not agree.
Zhu Ya didn't notice the change in Song Chaoyu's expression. She continued to say to Song Chaoyu, "Like your sister, isn't it precisely because I complied that I still have freedom? Just like your sister, appease them, and no matter what benefits you get, your sister will prioritize you. Sisters, we have to rely on each other in a place like this, don't we?"
Song Chaoyu had intended to endure, but at this moment, she felt she could no longer hold back.
Why could someone openly harm others and consider it a skill to gain merit?
Her eyes grew colder, and she kept staring at the group of women ahead, whose lives were uncertain: "Then, Sister Zhu, did you say the same to them? Did they receive the promised benefits? Why are they still lying there, their lives uncertain, after receiving them?"
"You... how do you know?!"
This Zhu Ya was truly impatient. Her eyes changed. Although she quickly realized her gaffe, she also knew she had said what she shouldn't have!
She frowned and her expression immediately changed.
Zhou Ya suddenly stood up and stared intently at Song Chaoyu, a completely different person from before: "Since you know, you should also know my capabilities, right? If you do as I say, without fuss, I can spare you! Otherwise, you will end up like them, rotting here like stinky fish and rotten shrimp with no one to care! There is no shortage of women here anyway, you have no other choice but to submit to me!"
This person's expression changed so quickly!
It reminded Song Chaoyu of when a Sichuan opera troupe came to the capital. She and Han Xi had secretly snuck out at night.
They leaned against stones by the roadside at the entrance of the manor and spent the night together, just to see the Sichuan opera troupe's face-changing skills early the next morning.
Of course, they didn't finish watching before Han Xi's wet nurse and her own concubine found people to take them back.
That was the first time Concubine Liu had spanked Song Chaoyu, but Song Chaoyu knew it was out of concern.
That was also the first time Han Xi was punished by the Han family's wet nurse to stand facing the wall. However, the happiness at that time would be hard to find again in the future, wouldn't it?
Pulling her thoughts back, Song Chaoyu was not afraid of Zhou Ya at all: "You were also harmed by them, yet you have learned from them to become a villain. If you ever get out in the future, do you think you will be spared?"
"Ha—"
Zhou Ya sneered, as if hearing the greatest joke: "A day to get out? How could we ever get out?! I was among the first to arrive in Ping'an County. This place is as if it's been forgotten by the government, and no one will care about us! Why do you think we can still get out?"
Song Chaoyu looked at Zhou Ya like this, but her tone was calm: "But is inflicting your pain on others your solution? Then what's the difference between you and them? Haven't you become the person you hate the most?"
Song Chaoyu's words were like a sharp dagger, fiercely piercing Zhou Ya's heart.
"No! I won't listen to all this!"
Zhou Ya's eyes turned red, and she glared at Song Chaoyu resentfully: "I can't manage that much anymore! Being able to survive here is already good. Can I still care about so much?! If you insist on provoking me today, I won't let you off!"
With that, she actually turned around and walked towards Boss Shi.
When facing Boss Shi, Zhou Ya was completely different from when facing others.
She was extremely coquettish and fawning, pointing in Song Chaoyu's direction as if lodging a complaint.
Boss Shi also fell for her act. He pulled her into his arms and looked at Song Chaoyu with anger in his eyes.
"Alas... why did you have to provoke her?"
It was still that girl who reminded Song Chaoyu: "I'm afraid you're in for a rough night tonight."
After the girl finished speaking, she ignored Song Chaoyu.
Boss Shi pointed at Song Chaoyu, as if issuing a warning, but didn't say much more.
Zhou Ya didn't come over again. At least it seemed they were safe during the day.
Song Chaoyu remembered Shui Jing's previous instructions and gently touched the girl beside her: "I want to ask you, have you seen a girl named Shui Yue in this place? Li Shui Yue, she should be from Ping'an County."
However, it was this name that made the previously motionless girl sit up abruptly and look at Song Chaoyu vigilantly: "What are you looking for her for?!"
Song Chaoyu finally saw the girl's appearance clearly and understood a little: "It's her brother, Li Shui Jing, who asked us to find her. You... are you Shui Yue?"
She looked very much like Shui Jing, making it almost instantly recognizable that she was Shui Yue.
This name made Li Shui Yue's eyes suddenly turn red.
She reached out and grabbed Song Chaoyu's arm: "How is Shui Jing? How are Mom and Dad?! Have you seen Shui Jing? Has he been captured too?"
"It's okay, don't worry, Shui Jing is fine!"
Song Chaoyu comforted Li Shui Yue and looked around: "There are many people watching here, shall we find a corner to talk?"
Li Shui Yue nodded desperately and then led Song Chaoyu and the others to a dark corner before asking earnestly: "You know Shui Jing, have you seen Shui Jing? How is he?"
"He's doing well, at least he's safe now."
Song Chaoyu gently patted Li Shui Yue's shoulder: "However, I don't know any news about your parents yet."
"Alas—"
Li Shui Yue sighed: "It's a pity you were still captured. Didn't Shui Jing tell you to stay away from this place? Moreover, you are so beautiful; you will be tortured terribly!"
But actually, that was what Li Shui Yue had experienced, wasn't it?