Mentioning Dani, the aunt nodded with red eyes,
"It's all my fault. Dani was burdened by all the illnesses. In order to treat me, this child took ten taels of silver from Rich Master Li's family and couldn't pay back. She had no choice but to marry Rich Master Li's son, but... ...But this person will never come back once he leaves, and I dare not look for him even if I want to, hey!"
The rich man's son?
This sentence made Luo Lan and the three of them look at each other in surprise.
Luo Lan raised his hands to touch the hot water glass and continued to ask:
"Auntie, are you saying that your granddaughter Dani is married to the son of Rich Man Li's family in Lijiazhuang?"
The aunt sighed and nodded,
"Yes! But after we got married, Dani didn't come back for more than a year. I went to look for her, and the Li family said that Dani had been divorced by them. They even beat me up and let me know. I went to look for it and asked the government to arrest me. Hey! I heard that someone went to Li Mansion to make trouble in the past and was really arrested by the government. Moreover, he died in the sky prison. I thought, Dani should I was divorced. I couldn't think about it for a while and I didn't have the shame to come back. My son and daughter-in-law are no longer here. Dani is a filial child and will not abandon me. She will come back one day. I, an old woman, can only stay at home. It’s been a long wait.”
Luo Lan was completely stunned by the aunt's words. This rhetoric was exactly the same as Shui Chunhua's.
It seems that there must be something wrong with Mr. Li's family.
Thinking of this, she stood up directly and said to A Cai and A Hong:
"Let's go to Lijiazhuang."
The aunt who didn't know what was going on got up quickly and asked cautiously,
"Are the girls going to leave? Let's drink some water before leaving!"
Looking at the aunt's deep-set eyes and skinny figure, Luo Lan felt sour in her heart.
Although there are many poor people in this world, Luo Lan still feels very sad for an old man who doesn't even know where his granddaughter is, whether she is dead or alive, and who lives such a shabby life.
She sat down again, picked up the dirty-looking enamel jar, drank a glass of water, then raised her handkerchief to wipe the corners, and said with a chuckle:
"Mom, we are just passing by and have to hurry. Thank you for the hot water. I feel much warmer after drinking it."
After saying this, she looked at A Cai,
"Ah Cai, there is no reason why we should drink the water for nothing in vain. Let's leave some money for the mother."
Hearing this, the aunt waved her hands hurriedly,
"No, no, girl, you are just talking like that. It's just a bowl of water. How can I charge you?"
Luo Lan took a handful of broken silver from A Cai's hand, placed it on the table in front of the aunt, and said with a bitter smile:
"Auntie, there is a rule in our hometown that you can't drink other people's water for free, otherwise it will be unlucky, so you have to accept this money, otherwise we will feel taboo when we go out?"
Hearing this, the aunt looked at her suspiciously, "Do you really mean what you said?"
Luo Lan nodded with a smile on her lips,
"Seriously, this is the rule of my hometown. If you accept it, we are still on our way. If we have a chance to pass by in the future, we will come to see you."
Luo Lan was willing to tell such a white lie.
The aunt looked at the broken silver on the table, nodded with tears in her eyes, and choked with sobs.
"Looking at your age, you are as old as my Dani. When I see you, I feel like I have seen my Dani come back."
Having said this, the aunt raised her sleeves to wipe the turbid tears flowing from the corners of her eyes, and then smiled with her chapped lips. The row of jagged teeth made her look particularly old.
Luo Lan couldn't bear to salute her, "Auntie, we are leaving. I hope your auntie will come back soon."
With these words, she took A Cai and A Hong out of this simple courtyard. When they walked far away, Luo Lan looked back and could still see the aunt standing at the door of the courtyard, looking at them blankly. From time to time, he would raise his sleeves to wipe his eyes.
That's so sad.
Luo Lan sighed as he walked and said angrily:
"It's no longer as simple as finding Shui Chunhua. I also want to find Dani and the other women. I hope they are all alive."
After saying this, she walked towards the carriage with a solemn expression. A gust of breeze blew up, causing the broken hair on her forehead to fly in the wind. She ignored it at all, and her mind was filled with thoughts about the man just now. The aunt’s expectant eyes and thin face.
When they arrived at the entrance of Lijiazhuang Village, Xiao Lingzi and others also arrived one after another. After asking them, they learned that none of the other women had returned home. They all tried to come to Li Mansion to look for them, but no one was exception. They were all beaten up and thrown out. Some even came to look for him repeatedly without mercy. Finally, they were sent to the Minghua County Prison. It is not known whether they were alive or dead in the end.
Upon hearing these replies, Luo Lan's face suddenly filled with anger.
Standing at the entrance of the village, listening to the cheerful sound of drums and whips coming from the Li Mansion, Luo Lan's expression became indifferent.
She glanced in the direction of Li Mansion, gently lifted the broken hair from her forehead, and said to Xiao Lingzi with firm eyes:
"The Li family is getting married again today, and the guards must be loose. You take Zhang Yuan and a few of them to the backyard of Li's house to check if there is anything unusual. I will take Ah Cai and Ah Hong to have a wedding banquet."
Xiao Lingzi frowned and asked worriedly:
"Princess, this is not appropriate. Let Zhang Yuan accompany you while we go to the backyard to check. I'm afraid you may be in danger."
A sharp look flashed in Luo Lan's eyes, then he half-squinted his eyes and shook his head.
"In broad daylight, I don't believe they dare to do anything wrong. You go ahead. A Cai and A Hong are with me. Nothing will happen to you. Besides, you are in the backyard of the palace. You will also know what happens in front. Remember, at critical moments , find two people to interrogate, just don’t kill anyone.”
Leaving this order behind, she led the way with a solemn and dignified expression, while Xiao Lingzi and others followed her aggressively.
When Luo Lan brought A Hong and A Cai to the door of Li Mansion, looking at the two huge red flowers hanging on the door, Luo Lan suddenly felt a little dazzling and wondered which girl was unlucky today.
The three of them arrived at the gate, and no one stopped them. Probably because there were so many people coming to congratulate them today, the Li family's awareness of precautions was much weaker.
The courtyard of the Li Mansion was already full of people. Luo Lan led A Cai and A Hong towards the main hall of the Li Mansion. At this time, the bride and groom in the main hall were performing the ceremony of worship, but the one who was worshiping the bride was not A human being, but a rooster with a big red flower on its head.
Seeing this scene, A Cai covered her mouth and exclaimed in a low voice,
"Princess, the groom is actually a chicken?"
Ah Hong reminded carefully:
"Please keep your voice down. There is nothing strange about this. Generally, if the groom is not in good health or has other reasons, he can find a rooster to worship him on his behalf."
Luo Lan looked up and saw that sitting in the main hall waiting for the bride and groom to kneel down was not only Mr. Li, but also Mr. Zhou whom he had met yesterday. The two of them were just sitting on two sides, with the middle one sitting in the middle. There was a middle-aged man wearing a Taoist robe.
A man wearing a Taoist robe actually sat in the main seat? This is really strange.
Luo Lan frowned and glanced at the woman whose head was covered with red cloth. She felt a little more worried. She didn't know how much money this woman's family took from Rich Man Li before pushing her daughter into the fire pit.
At this moment, someone stood beside Luo Lan and asked displeasedly:
"Who are you? How do you meet each other?"
