"Sister-in-law, how are the kids?"
An anxious female voice rang out. Pei Jin, wearing a cloak, rushed back in a hurry.
Qi Jiao had invited a clerk to write a divorce petition. The two were in the courtyard, deliberating on the matter of Chun Niang's divorce.
Pei Jin and Fu Chengyi had gone out to do business. When they got home, they only learned the news that the kids had been kidnapped. Although the matter had been resolved, Pei Jin still rushed back to Lingle County at the first opportunity.
She was really worried about her niece and nephew.
The kids had suffered. How sad her elder brother and sister-in-law must be!
After briefly explaining things to the clerk, Qi Jiao turned around and grabbed Pei Jin. "A Jin, why did you come back?"
Seeing that Qi Jiao was in a normal state and hearing the laughter of the kids in the house, Pei Jin finally felt relieved. "I was worried about you all. Chengyi was held up by two business deals. He sent someone to take me back."
Qi Jiao stroked her hand and gave a gentle smile. "It's all okay now. Hurry into the house. Xia Jiao and A Hu are both there. They've been missing you so much."
Pei Jin happily went into the house to see the kids.
Since it would take at least a day and a night to travel back and forth, Pei Jin decided to stay in the small courtyard in Pomegranate Alley for one more day.
The whole family wanted Pei Jin to stay at home longer.
Although the prefectural city wasn't far, the Fu family had a lot of affairs, and it wasn't easy for Pei Jin to come back.
Qi Jiao even specially made delicious roasted lamb legs for her. She directly set up a rack in the open space of the courtyard, started a fire, put up the tender lamb legs, and then rotated them until the lamb legs were sizzling with oil.
Sprinkled with a little cumin and salt, it smelled so good that it could make the kids next door cry with envy.
Pei Jin had learned a lot of cooking methods from Sister Jiao, but she knew that her skills were still far inferior to Sister Jiao's.
Even though she lived a life of luxury in the Fu family every day, she still craved Sister Jiao's cooking in her heart.
Pei Jin thoughtfully handed a handkerchief to Sister Jiao. With the coquettishness of a young girl, she said, "Sister-in-law, can I stay for a few more days? I want to eat hot pot tomorrow..."
Hearing this, Qi Jiao laughed. "I'll do everything you want, A Jin! I'll cook it for you."
Just as the two sisters-in-law were chatting and laughing, A Le came back from outside the door.
A Le was the one Qi Jiao had sent to pick up Chun Niang and her daughter.
Seeing A Le looking dejected and no one behind him, Qi Jiao knew something was wrong.
"Where are Chun Niang and them?"
A Le always had a smiling face. When had anyone ever seen him so worried?
He quickly glanced at the roasted lamb legs in the courtyard, then with a bitter face, he reported to Qi Jiao, "Boss, you don't know! Chun Niang's husband's family... What kind of people are they! It makes me angry just thinking about it. They're just a bunch of leeches. They won't let her go even after sucking all her blood. I went there and tried to persuade them nicely, but I couldn't stop the whole family from making a ruckus. Niu Niu is in their hands. Chun Niang was so angry and anxious that she couldn't leave. She even got beaten up by her husband... I saw it wasn't going to work, so I came back first to report."
Pei Jin had also heard about Chun Niang's situation, but she didn't expect that Chun Niang's husband's family was behind it.
Pei Jin thought Chun Niang was a good woman, but unfortunately, she had a hard life and married the wrong person. She had sacrificed herself and even affected her niece and nephew.
If this matter wasn't resolved, no one knew what bigger troubles would arise in the future.
Pei Jin was an outspoken and just person. She didn't even want to eat the lamb legs anymore. Immediately, she called A Le. "Come on, call my guards. Let's go and rescue Chun Niang and her daughter right now."
After thinking for a while, Qi Jiao also agreed with Pei Jin's idea.
Chun Niang's husband's family was so despicable. If they went too late, no one knew what would happen.
Seeing that although A Le walked quickly, he kept looking back, Qi Jiao couldn't help but laugh and pat his head. "Come back and eat later. There'll be enough lamb legs for you."
A Le's eyes lit up. Obviously excited, he ran out to harness the carriage.
Since the shop in the front still needed to do business and couldn't be left unattended, Qi Jiao only took Pei Jin, A Le, and a group of guards with her.
On the way, Qi Jiao began to plan. "I'll go in first later. A Le, follow me and act according to the situation. A Jin, you take the guards and observe the situation outside. If soft methods don't work, we'll use force."
The two of them agreed.
Chun Niang's family lived in a slum on the outskirts of the county.
The environment there was in a complete mess. The carriage made a lot of twists and turns before finally reaching the place.
As it turned out, the alley was extremely narrow and only people could pass through.
Qi Jiao and the others had to get off the carriage and walk in.
The gray and low houses were right in front of them. The thin door panels weren't soundproof, and the inside was filled with a woman's scolding and crying.
Qi Jiao frowned. She gave Pei Jin a look and then led A Le inside on her own.
Pei Jin said, "Sister-in-law, be careful. We'll wait outside."
Qi Jiao nodded. A Le stepped forward to knock on the door first.
An impatient voice came from inside the door. "Who is it?"
Not long after, the door opened. A chubby woman with a round face came out scolding.
Behind her followed a tall and thin man with a sallow complexion.
The man's eyes kept shifting. He frequently glanced at Qi Jiao's fair face and neck.
The woman glared at the man fiercely, then turned around and carefully sized up Qi Jiao. Obviously shocked on her face, she thought to herself, When did such a decent person come to their shabby household?
"Who are you, madam?"
A Le popped out from the side and said in a bad mood, "This is our boss!"
A Le's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it was loud enough for everyone in the house to hear. Chun Niang, who was squatting in the corner covering her face and sobbing, suddenly looked up.
Wasn't the person standing outside the door clearly her boss?
The boss must have come to save her!
Chun Niang stood up excitedly and rushed over in three big steps. "Boss!"
Seeing Chun Niang with disheveled hair and bloodstains on her lips, Qi Jiao was extremely angry. It was obvious that she had been beaten by her husband!
She stared at He Sanniang and Zhang Dalang. "You're Chun Niang's elder brother and sister-in-law?"
Zhang Dalang was stared at directly by Qi Jiao's eyes. He said awkwardly, "Yes, yes."
Looking at Chun Niang's miserable state, Qi Jiao sighed in her heart. But on the surface, she asked coldly, "Where is Zhang Erlang?"
As soon as she finished speaking, there was a loud bang. The door of the inner room was shut tightly. At the same time, a little girl's sudden shrill crying sounded. It was obvious who was inside.
A Le's fists tightened. This Zhang Erlang was really worse than a beast! He shouted, "Being a bully in your own house and only beating your wife and kids. What kind of man are you?"
Qi Jiao ignored this for the time being. She just looked at Zhang Dalang and his wife with a slight smile. "Your younger brother, Zhang Erlang, colluded with the thieves and used Chun Niang to kidnap my two kids. I'd like an explanation from the two of you. Before, I was magnanimous and wanted to let him off. But now it seems that I can't do that anymore. A Le, since Zhang Erlang wants to be a coward, it's better for us to go home and report to the officials..."
Hearing that they were going to report to the officials, He Erniang panicked. She exchanged a look with Zhang Dalang. Immediately, their attitudes changed. It was a complete about-face.
"Boss Qi, don't be in a hurry. Erlang isn't very bright in the head. Usually, he's not like this. When Chun Niang wasn't at home, he, a big man, took good care of the kids. The last time, he was also coerced by someone. He had no choice but to do it. Please don't be angry with this scoundrel..."
Qi Jiao sneered. "Mrs. He has a very sharp tongue, but unfortunately, I'm not buying it."
She took out a piece of paper from her sleeve. It listed the compensation from the Yin family one by one. "Fine, I'll follow what you said. Zhang Erlang was coerced by the powerful and did such a despicable thing, but it doesn't mean he's not responsible and can just hide. Before, I didn't care about it for Chun Niang's sake. Since Mrs. He said so, every detail matters. If you don't want to go to jail, you should pay one-tenth of what the Yin family compensated."