Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The Crime of Gender 38

Without Qin Shuangshuang inquiring, Qin Qiao’er immediately spilled all the information she knew.

It turns out that although Cui’er’s parents sold her, it wasn’t because they didn’t like their daughter. In fact, they loved Cui’er very much, and the reason they sold her was hoping she would have a better life. When they initially sold her, they sent her off with thirty taels of silver for safety.

After Cui’er left, within a few days her parents began to miss her and thought of going to the county to see her. Even if the household rules of the wealthy family were strict and wouldn’t allow a visit, they could at least ask someone to send a message to know how their daughter was doing.

However, once they entered the city, they stumbled upon a tremendous event! It turned out that the wealthy family hadn’t bought anyone at all! Cui’er’s parents were stunned on the spot, but soon realized they had been deceived. Cui’er was most likely sold to one of those filthy places!

Although society believes it’s permissible for parents to sell their children, doing so without being forced into desperate circumstances leads to people criticizing them behind their backs, unless it’s to a wealthy family who needs servants, which is an exception.

Selling a daughter into service for a prestigious family is considered by the common people as finding a very profitable opportunity, where more can be earned if done well. However, there are only so many affluent families, and they don’t need many servants. Such opportunities are rare and hard to come by.

Apart from wealthy families buying servants, many other places buy people, such as buying concubines, child brides, laborers for factories...

But the only places that dare not openly declare buying pretty girls under the guise of wealthy families hiring servants are brothels!

After inquiring everywhere, and confirming that none of the wealthy families in the county had bought servants, Cui’er’s parents collapsed on the spot. Her mother cried until she was limp, blaming herself for harming her daughter, engulfed in anguish.

Cui’er’s elder sister-in-law was immediately sent back to her own family, and the whole family sought help everywhere to find news about their daughter!

Perhaps heaven does not disappoint the determined, but Cui’er’s parents did manage to find her, right in a brothel in the county. Thankfully, Cui’er’s strong temperament saved her from being fully trained, and the madam’s greed for her virginal silver kept Cui’er intact.

The madam refused to release her, but human trafficking is a major issue, and the law prohibits fraudulent sales. Determined, Cui’er’s parents threatened to go to the county government to demand justice, which frightened the madam. Plus, Cui’er was not a major asset, so she agreed to return the purchase price in silver and release Cui’er.

Qin Qiao’er, while recounting the story, felt relieved for Cui’er. Qin Shuangshuang, however, recalled the look in the middle-aged woman’s eyes she saw that day. Was she assessing their worth, she and the Eldest Lady? Thinking this, Qin Shuangshuang suddenly felt uneasy.

Lying in bed at night, Qin Shuangshuang once again couldn’t sleep. Listening to Qin Qiao’er’s recount of Cui’er’s story, she felt as if something was trying to surface in her mind but she couldn’t quite recall it. The sense of unease and anxiety intensified, coming abruptly and refusing to dissipate.

After a sleepless night, she was naturally tired and weary early the next morning. To make matters worse, there wasn’t even a warm meal. Old Chen in the main house had been in a foul mood recently. At first, she refused to give them rice or grains, and now she even forbade the use of firewood. Without firewood, it was impossible to cook.

Mrs. Bai, left with no choice, had to borrow a bundle of firewood from Aunt Hao next door to make breakfast. After breakfast, Qin Shuangshuang reluctantly picked up the rope and chopper to go to the mountain to chop wood.

Feeling very uneasy, Qin Shuangshuang worked especially fast that day. She hastily chopped some dead branches at the foot of the mountain and hurriedly ran home. Before she could reach her house, she saw Qin Qiao’er running towards her in a panic.

Seeing Qin Qiao’er’s expression, Qin Shuangshuang felt a jolt in her heart, instinctively sensing something was wrong. Sure enough, Qin Qiao’er, upon seeing Qin Shuangshuang, immediately said, ”Second Lady, something terrible has happened! The madam who came to buy someone from Cui’er’s house last time came to your house with many thugs! Your grandparents sold you to that madam, and now those people are waiting at your house for you to come back, Second Lady, you must escape quickly!”

Qin Shuangshuang’s head started to throb painfully the moment Qin Qiao’er mentioned that her grandparents sold her to that madam, as if it was about to explode. Her memories were like a floodgate being suddenly lifted, and images she had long forgotten flashed through her mind like a lantern.

Since her rebirth, she had been desperately trying to remember these memories, and finally, they all came rushing back in this instant! Qin Shuangshuang remembered everything!

In just a moment, Qin Shuangshuang broke out in a cold sweat from the pain, but she couldn’t care anymore. She threw down the dry wood on her back and sprinted towards her home. It was all wrong, all her memories were wrong!

It turns out that Qin Shuangshuang’s mother didn’t die when she was six, but when she was five, almost six, which was precisely this time! No wonder Qin Shuangshuang had been feeling an inexplicable panic recently, for the madam’s appearance indirectly led to her mother Mrs. Bai’s death.

The incident with Cui’er also happened in the previous life, but while Cui’er was found by her parents, the Qin Family took a liking to the hefty sum of over fifty taels from her sale, and Qin Shuangshuang was much prettier than Cui’er, certainly worth more.

Coincidentally, the madam came with many thugs, roaming through villages wanting to buy a few pretty girls. After all, brothels need a continuous supply of new beauties.

Unfortunately, during this era, while many were willing to sell their children, very few dared to sell their daughters to a brothel, fearing social backlash.

So when the madam, once again roaming near the Qin Family Village, encountered Mr. Qin, who purposely sought her out, and learned that he wanted to sell a pretty girl to her, she happily came with her thugs.

In the previous life, it was also Qin Qiao’er, the closest to their house and quickest to get the news, who ran over to inform Qin Shuangshuang. But Qin Shuangshuang was just a child, physically weak, unable to run far, and was caught after a few steps by the thugs brought by the madam.

Seeing her daughter caught, Mrs. Bai remained unusually calm. She took advantage of the Qin Family’s inattention, ran to the village ancestral hall, and rang the great bell of the Qin Clan Ancestral Hall.

The Qin Clan Ancestral Hall had a large brass bell, which couldn’t be rung lightly, but once rung, signaled something significant!

For example, during clan sacrifices, or when a reputable member of the clan passed away, or when a clansman was oppressed—once the bell was rung, all members of the Qin Clan had to gather at the ancestral hall.

Mrs. Bai rang the bell, gathering all the members of the Qin Clan, then revealed that the Qin Family intended to sell her daughter to a brothel. She kowtowed three times, imploring the clan leader and elders to save her daughter, then got up and dashed her head against the large green stone outside the ancestral hall, staining it with blood!