Ji Ziyun nodded and bent down to enter the carriage.
Leaning against the soft couch, Ji Ziyun's knuckles were still bulging on the back of her hand holding the handkerchief.
No one, having once strayed from the right path, understood the importance of reputation more than she did. Her life was over, but her elder sister was not yet married. She absolutely would not allow, nor would she stand by and watch her own fate befall her elder sister or any other daughter of the Ji family.
Fortunately, she had discovered it early today. Once the Xu family spread the word about today's events, the rumors pressuring her elder sister would crumble on their own. As for the Jiang family…
"Squeak—!"
Just as Ji Ziyun was contemplating, she felt the carriage beneath her suddenly stop.
Immediately after, the voices of Shui Huan and the coachman rang out in alarm outside the carriage door.
"What do you want?"
"This is the carriage of the third young lady of the Ji family. How dare you be so rude!"
At the same time, the tightly closed carriage door was violently kicked open. Several ferocious-looking men rushed into the carriage, dragged out Ji Ziyun, who was sitting inside, and roughly threw her off the carriage.
Ji Ziyun, unable to resist, crashed heavily beneath the carriage, her palm scraping and drawing blood.
Shui Huan, frightened, quickly rushed over, "Miss, Miss, are you alright?"
Ji Ziyun shook her head and gently comforted Shui Huan, "Don't cry, I'm fine."
Seeing that her mistress was bleeding, Shui Huan turned and glared at the men, anger making her forget her fear, "Who exactly are you people, and why are you treating my mistress like this?"
"What mistress? To me, she's just a piece of trash."
"Who knows how many times she's been played by the young master of the Zhao family, yet she still acts so high and mighty in front of us!"
"Clearly, she's a jinx kicked out of her home, but she can't be content and has to meddle. Brothers, let's teach you a good lesson today, so you know a jinx has no right to speak!" Su Dan novel network
The men sneered and spoke without restraint. Such lewd words, let alone for a woman, would make even a man clench his fists in anger.
Shui Huan and the coachman were so angry they wanted to rush forward and fight the men to the death. These people were spewing pure filth!
Ji Ziyun, however, pulled them to her side and said softly, "Don't act rashly."
Shui Huan stamped her feet anxiously, "Miss, you're just going to let them say all this about you?"
"Mouths are on other people's faces. It's their freedom to say what they like. We are outnumbered and weak. If we truly fight them, we will be the ones to suffer."
"But Miss..."
"Nothing is more important than staying alive!"
This lesson, Ji Ziyun had learned from her elder sister.
Before, she too had felt that if she lost her dignity, what was the meaning of living?
But her elder sister had told her that no one was worth sacrificing one's life for, and in the face of life, everything else was just fleeting clouds.
After comforting the coachman and Shui Huan, Ji Ziyun looked up at the men and said, "Since you gentlemen have even hijacked the carriage, I fear today's matter will not end easily. Why don't you give us a swift end? What must we do to be spared our lives?"
The men were surprised that Ji Ziyun was not only unafraid but was also negotiating with them. A hint of astonishment appeared on their sneering faces.
However, soon the men burst into laughter and said, "As expected of the Ji family, you have courage. It is said that men in our imperial city have gold beneath their knees, and the Ji family values its knees as much as gold. Why doesn't the third young lady of the Ji family kneel down and kowtow to us brothers? We might consider letting you off."
"You are shameless!" Shui Huan cried out in anger.
"Shui Huan, silence!" Ji Ziyun snapped back.
Shui Huan looked at the forbearance in her mistress's eyes and tears of heartache flowed, "Miss, no, I beg you, don't kneel..."
The coachman also said, "Our lives are cheap, and we are not worth you, third young lady, humiliating yourself so!"
Humiliation?
If it were the Ji Ziyun of the past, she might not have done so much for the people around her.
But now, she did not think kneeling was a matter of great humiliation.
Her elder sister had said that in this world, there were no nobles or commoners, only people worth dedicating yourself to.
After returning to the Ji family, very few people truly respected her and stayed by her side. Only Shui Huan and the coachman were willing to stay by her side and follow her orders from beginning to end. If she could not even protect those around her today, how could she help her elder sister support the Ji family?
"Plop!"
Ji Ziyun bent her knees and knelt on the cold snowy ground without hesitation.
Seeing this scene, Shui Huan and the coachman both wept.
But the mockery in the eyes of the men did not diminish. "The Ji family members are indeed abnormal, even willing to risk their lives to protect two servants. I say from now on, don't say the Ji family values its knees as much as gold, but rather that all Ji family members have cheap lives, which would be more fitting!"
"How can you bully people like this!" Shui Huan shouted angrily.
"This is bullying? Then let us show you what real bullying is." The men were completely unconcerned and even took out several pre-prepared sacks.
Shui Huan looked at the sacks and clenched her fists, "You never intended to let us go, so why are you still making things difficult for my mistress?"
The men sneered, "It's your mistress's own fault for being cheap. What does it have to do with us?"
Seeing that the situation was dire, the coachman rushed over to pull Ji Ziyun and Shui Huan away, but how could they be a match for those men? Soon, they were surrounded, and sacks were put over their heads.
"Bang bang bang... Bang bang bang..."
Soon, the muffled sounds of sticks could be heard in the alley.
Nearby residents, hearing the noise, secretly watched but no one dared to intervene.
Just then, a man carrying a burden passed by the alley.
Upon seeing the carriage parked in the alley, the man's pupils trembled, and then he madly charged towards the men who were beating others.
The men who were beating were surprised that the newcomer was truly willing to risk his life to entangle with them. Fearing that the matter would escalate, they finally dropped their sticks and ran out of the alley.
The figure, enduring the blows, stood still. Only when the men had completely disappeared did he bend down and untie the sacks at his feet.
Shui Huan and the coachman looked at the stranger whose face was gradually becoming clear, and they were both stunned and surprised.
Ji Ziyun, enduring the pain in her body, took the initiative to speak, "Thank you, benefactor, for your rescue. May I ask for your name? I will personally visit you another day..."
"Bang—!"
Before Ji Ziyun could finish speaking, the man collapsed to the ground.
Wisps of blood flowed from the back of the man's head, dyeing the snow-covered ground a bright red.
Ji Ziyun quickly called out to Shui Huan and the coachman, "Don't stand there blankly, quickly take this person back to the manor!"