Chapter 12: Qin Xuemei's Choice

Qin Wang finished reading the updated intel and practiced Taizu Changquan for another half hour, feeling the heat in his body gradually subside. He wiped his body with a dry towel and went to sleep immediately.

Currently, it was winter. Sweating all over and taking a bath would surely lead to a cold!

The next day.

At five in the morning.

Qin Wang woke up, washed with willow branches and plant ash, and locked his door.

He boiled the remaining half of the golden-winged red carp from the previous day and continued to eat.

"After practicing Taizu Changquan for another hour, I will have consumed the energy from the treasure fish and can then head to the Baicao Hall."

The remaining half of the golden-winged red carp was quickly eaten by Qin Wang, and his body started to heat up again.

Qin Wang assumed a stance and began practicing Taizu Changquan.

As time passed, heat and steam emitted from Qin Wang's head and body, forming white smoke that drifted around the room.

At nine in the morning.

At the Li Family Manor, a woman in a yellow dress was sitting on the ground outside the ancestral hall. She had a withered appearance, her nose was running, her hair was disheveled, and she was tear-stained, sitting motionless.

At this moment, the entire manor was in ruins, with most of the houses burned down, charred beams turning to ashes.

"Second Madam, you must take care of yourself!"

Several maids were attending to Li Chunxia.

"Brother, now that you've left, my nephew has followed you... The Li family is completely finished!"

Li Chunxia thought about having no family left and couldn't help but be overwhelmed with grief.

"Madam! What happened to the manor?"

At this time, a middle-aged man with a long knife hanging from his waist, dressed in blue and exuding a fierce aura, rushed in like a whirlwind and helped Li Chunxia up.

"Last night, Tianyi and Sister-in-law, along with three maids and servants, were keeping vigil. Sister-in-law told me to return to my room. Shortly after, the fire started in the ancestral hall, and both Tianyi and Sister-in-law... followed my brother... My family is gone now... boohoo..."

Seeing her husband Zheng Kecheng return, Li Chunxia was overcome with grief and collapsed in his arms.

"Oh no!"

"I went back to the county office yesterday, how did such a thing happen!"

"If I were here, I would have saved Tianyi no matter what!"

Zheng Kecheng, hearing this, began to blame himself, pounding his chest. His eyes gradually turned red, and he kept wiping away tears.

"Master, Madam, after careful inspection, it appears that there were three points of ignition last night."

At this moment, the steward Chen Pu stepped forward, bowed to Zheng Kecheng and Li Chunxia, and said respectfully.

"Three points of ignition?"

Zheng Kecheng's eyes flashed with a trace of darkness and he said, "Let me take a look!"

"Madam, the steward is right. There are three ignition points: the ancestral hall, the side room, and the main hall..."

Zheng Kecheng carefully inspected the ruined ancestral hall and his expression turned grim. "In my experience, if a candle fell and caused a fire in the second half of the night, there would be only one point of ignition! This is clearly someone setting the fire to kill my brother's family!"

"What? Someone set the fire to kill my brother's family?"

Li Chunxia examined the three ignition points described by Zheng Kecheng and said through gritted teeth, "Kecheng, my brother treated us well in life. Now that he and his family have been murdered, you must find the culprit and avenge him!"

"Madam, your brother's matter is my matter!"

Zheng Kecheng struck a granite roller in front of the ancestral hall, smashing it into pieces, and said fiercely, "I will find the arsonist who killed my brother, skin them alive, dismember them, and comfort my brother's soul in heaven!"

Yanyun County.

Chen Family.

In a side hall.

A noblewoman in her sixties, with a jade ring on her right index finger, dressed in luxurious clothing, radiating an aura of wealth, was sitting there.

Behind her stood two pretty maids, about seventeen or eighteen years old.

In front of the noblewoman stood four thin, poorly dressed girls, about fifteen or sixteen years old. They all had their heads down, not daring to look at the noblewoman, and appeared very reserved.

"Xiao Zi, Xiao Lan, Xiao Qing, Xiao Mei, you were all sold to the Chen family's laundry room because your families couldn't make ends meet."

"Do you want to earn a large sum of silver to help your families?"

The noblewoman looked at Qin Xuemei and the other three girls, smiling kindly.

Qin Xuemei, Xiao Zi, and the other two girls lifted their heads, nervously twisting their clothes, and nodded.

"You may have heard that in half a year, it will be the Jiang Shen Festival, and it's the Chen family's turn to provide a virgin girl."

"If you agree to be the sacrificial virgin, each of you will receive 20 taels of silver for your family!"

"And you won't have to work in the laundry room anymore. For the next six months, you'll be well-fed and well-treated!"

The noblewoman's eyes scanned Qin Xuemei and the others, her gaze narrowing slightly.

These four young girls, being young and virgins, were the best candidates for the Jiang Shen sacrifice. This was more of a notification than a discussion. If they resisted, they would be harshly treated in the laundry room, likely to die from overwork within half a month.

Upon hearing the noblewoman's words, Xiao Zi, Xiao Lan, and Xiao Qing looked at each other without saying a word. They knew very well that being a Jiang Shen sacrifice meant being thrown into the river on the day of the festival, becoming a sacrificial offering to the river god, ensuring a year of good weather and harvest.

It was a euphemism for death.

"Madam, I... I am willing."

"Before the sacrifice, I want to see my family."

Qin Xuemei raised her head slowly and looked at the noblewoman. She knew that this was a notification, not a choice. There was no room for refusal!

Defiance meant certain death. The Chen family had ways to torture and kill them.

Since it was a matter of life and death, she decided it might as well be meaningful.

She had willingly sold herself to the Chen family for 600 coins to help her brother survive for a while longer.

With an additional 20 taels of silver, her brother could build a house and have a secure life.

Who wouldn't want to live?

But if there was no way to change the outcome, it was better to leave something valuable behind.

"Very well, what is your name?"

The noblewoman looked at Qin Xuemei with satisfaction.

Every year, the Jiang Shen sacrifice required virgin boys and girls from twelve townships and four major families in Yanyun County. Naturally, these family members would not be used as sacrifices. They would buy virgin boys and girls to replace them as sacrificial offerings.

This was why the Chen family had initially bought laundry slaves.

"Madam, my name is Qin Xuemei."

Qin Xuemei kept her head down, twisting her clothes.

"Good."

The noblewoman nodded approvingly at Qin Xuemei and then turned her displeased gaze towards the other three. "You are unwilling?"

Xiao Zi, Xiao Lan, and Xiao Qing remained silent.

No one wanted to die.

"This is not a request, it's a notification. Fine, you have three days to decide."

The noblewoman's face darkened. She didn't want the sacrificial offerings to be reluctant and crying, disturbing the river god. Otherwise, she would have just tied them up and taken them directly, saving the silver.

Having sold themselves to the Chen family, the master had the right to punish them, even to death, without much repercussion.

Chen Laofu left.

"Sister Xuemei, being a sacrifice means death. Are you really...?"

Xiao Zi, Xiao Qing, and Xiao Lan looked at Qin Xuemei.

Although they had been sold to the Chen family, their parents had promised to redeem them if they could. Naturally, they didn't want to die.

"Do we have a choice?"

Qin Xuemei looked down at her feet and murmured, "If we hadn't come to the Chen family, we would have starved to death. The madam was notifying us. If we refuse, we won't survive for six months..."

Xiao Zi, Xiao Qing, and Xiao Lan remained silent.

The noblewoman had spoken, and refusal would be seen as ungrateful. They would likely be worked to death, disappearing quietly.