diskusbooks Chapter 88 Sacrifice?
Chapter 88 Sacrifice?
Zheng Luoqi also received the message brought back by Boyu.
"Young Master, our spies from Prince Gong's fiefdom have reported that Prince Gong is indeed secretly recruiting soldiers, and he is also colluding with powerful families. The Kong family is one of Prince Gong's subordinates," Boyu respectfully reported.
"Oh? What exactly are their interactions? Have you found out what they're doing?" Zheng Luoqi asked.
“It’s not clear yet, but what is certain is that the Kong family are Prince Gong’s people,” Boyu replied.
"Keep an eye on the activities of those powerful families during this time, and see if you can find any more clues," Zheng Luoqi instructed.
"By the way, young master, it seems the Kong family is still holding some kind of sacrificial ceremony. We haven't found out exactly what it is, and they do it every year," Boyu added.
“Oh? A sacrificial ceremony? Interesting…” Zheng Luoqi fell into deep thought.
“There’s one more thing, young master. Most of the women with special destinies who were kidnapped are related to these priests,” Boyu said.
"So the Kong family kidnapped so many women and sent them all to be sacrificed?" Zheng Luoqi pondered.
"That seems to be the case, young master," Boyu replied.
“So, the biggest problem now is to find out where those women are as soon as possible,” Zheng Luoqi said.
"Young Master, why don't we just storm into the Kong family and arrest them for questioning?" Boyu suggested.
“No, that would alert them. If we do that, they might kill those women to cover their tracks and destroy the evidence,” Zheng Luoqi said, shaking her head.
"Young Master, what should we do now?" Boyu asked.
“The most important thing now is those women. We need to find out where they are being held. Since they are to be sent for the sacrifice, they should be fine before the sacrifice begins. We need to find out as soon as possible and deal with this before the sacrifice,” Zheng Luoqi said.
"Yes!" Boyu replied respectfully.
“A few days ago, someone came to plead for justice. His sister was one of those women. He found a purse around the Confucius Mansion. Ask him to recall exactly where he found the purse in the Confucius Mansion. Also, send more spies to guard around the Confucius Mansion. If they make any unusual moves, report back immediately,” Zheng Luoqi said.
"Also, what have you found out about that person with the special pattern on his face?" Zheng Luoqi continued to ask.
Boyu shook his head and replied, "No, we haven't found any trace of them anywhere else yet."
"Alright, I understand. You may leave now!" Zheng Luoqi said.
"Yes!" Boyu replied respectfully and withdrew.
..............
In a courtyard of the Confucius Mansion
Gardenia had tried to escape but was caught and beaten. Now she is lying in bed, with several women taking care of her.
Gardenia opened her eyes groggily and saw that she was still in her familiar room. Her heart sank into despair.
"Gardenia is awake," the woman taking care of Gardenia called out.
The other women also gathered around.
The women locked up with Zhi Zi were all captured by the Kong family. And there were more than just these women; in the next room lived more than a dozen pregnant women, their bellies already very large, and it looked like they would be giving birth in the next few days.
Those pregnant women were women captured by the Kong family over the years. They were all forced into pregnancy because it was uncertain whether they could conceive on the first try, so 'those women' came very frequently.
Furthermore, 'those men' are very strict about the timing of sexual intercourse. They usually choose to force these women to have sex at the end of the year, then ensure that they can get pregnant at the beginning of the following year, and then give birth to the child in October.
October is a yin month, and those pregnant women don't know why they have to give birth in a yin month.
Many of them were sold to the Kong family, where they lived a life that was neither human nor ghost.
They tried to escape more than once, but no matter how they tried, they couldn't get away and were eventually caught and brought back.
Some pregnant women who had been detained here for several years went insane after being sent out for sacrificial rites, for reasons unknown. Several of those who were sent out for the same rites with them never returned.
Only they came back, and after returning, they had to get pregnant and give birth.
Even when people went mad, they weren't spared; perhaps women with such special destinies are too rare.
Looking at the girls surrounding her, Zhi Zi felt a pang of sadness for some reason. She had tried her best, but there was no way out.
The women who were taking care of Zhizi seemed to have read her mind and said, "Perhaps, this is fate!"
The girl who spoke was named Tingting. She was sold to the Kong family by her family. She was the first child in the family and had been scolded by her parents for being a "money-losing" child for more than ten years. She was beaten and scolded as she grew up. In the end, the Kong family bought her back for ten taels of silver.
Many girls here are like that, and some, like Zhizi, are bought from places like the Chunhua Courtyard brothel.
Gardenia was sold to Chunhua Courtyard because her family was struggling to make ends meet when she was a child, and now she has been sold to the Kong family. She is really unwilling to accept her fate and wants to escape.
Because she had resigned herself to her fate last time, she could only make a living in a brothel. When she finally saved enough money to redeem herself, the madam sold her to the Kong family.
"Tingting, do you know how many days until the sacrificial ceremony begins?" Zhizi turned to Tingting and asked.
"Zhizi, do you still want to run away? But haven't you already tried? It's no use. And even if you do run away, where can you go? This Xuzhou city is full of these powerful families. Who can we turn to for protection?"
"They'll be caught again soon," Tingting said with a shake of her head and a sigh.
“We can leave Xuzhou. Once we leave, we’ll find somewhere to go. Are we going to be locked up here for the rest of our lives, treated like tools?” Zhi Zi said unwillingly.
“Half a month, there should be another half a month until the sacrifice. Judging from the women’s bellies, it should be within this half month,” Tingting replied.
"Tingting, do you believe me? If you believe me, I will definitely rescue you once I get out," Zhizi said, holding Tingting's hand.
Tingting didn't want to shatter Zhizi's illusions, so she nodded to show that she believed her, even though she felt in her heart that it was probably impossible for her to get out.
In the following days, Zhi Zi focused on recovering from her injuries and waiting for the right opportunity.
...........
Zheng Luoqi wasn't idle either; she sent people to investigate and found out a lot of information, knowing that the Kong family would take action in the next two weeks.
Therefore, Zheng Luoqi's side has already prepared its forces, just waiting for the day of the Confucius family's sacrificial ceremony to surround and wipe them out in one fell swoop.