Chapter 222 Zhang Pingping

Upon hearing this, Fan Jingrui's heart ached. However, he suppressed the bitterness and asked gently, "Can you tell me who is pursuing you?"

"Yes, human traffickers. We risked our lives to escape from their lair. They kept chasing us relentlessly. We had no other choice but to flee into this forest."

Although the children were full of fear, they decided to take a gamble because of Princess Minghui.

As expected, Princess Minghui frowned and said angrily, "Damn human traffickers, do you still remember what they look like?"

Several people suffered a lot at the hands of human traffickers, and deep fear took root in their bones.

After hearing what Princess Minghui said, their faces no longer showed the pleasure of revenge, but only the fear from the bottom of their hearts. Their eyes were filled with panic, their bodies were trembling, and they shook their heads repeatedly. "We just want to go home!"

Just as Princess Minghui was about to take charge, Fan Jingrui took the initiative and said, "Okay, we can help you get home."

When the children heard that Fan Jingrui was willing to help them, they suddenly felt happy, their faces instantly relaxed, and there seemed to be light on their faces.

But then, Fan Jingrui poured cold water on us mercilessly: "But, what if those traffickers are still waiting outside, and we don't know them? What if we fail to check..."

Sure enough, someone couldn't hold it in any longer and said anxiously, "I remember..."

But as soon as he said that, his friend beside him suddenly covered his mouth. "Don't say that! Don't forget who those people are!"

Upon hearing this, Fan Jingrui's eyes flashed. He pointed at Princess Minghui across from him and said loudly, "Do you know who she is? She is Princess Minghui, the granddaughter of the current emperor."

Seeing this, Minghui slowly stood up and walked over to the group. With a firm yet incredibly gentle gaze, she said, "Don't be afraid. No matter how big the difficulties are, we will do our best to help you."

"Really? What the emperor's granddaughter said must be much more credible than what we said. Can we really go home?" After receiving Princess Minghui's promise, the children hugged each other excitedly and jumped up and down, and cheers echoed all around.

They were excited like this for a long time before gradually calming down.

The children who had calmed down felt a little guilty after realizing it.

They lowered their heads, their faces flushed, and stammered, "We...we...we're sorry, we thought you were bad guys. Please wait a moment, we'll go call for help."

After they finished speaking, before Fan Jingrui and the others could respond, two of the older boys couldn't wait to run towards the forest behind the shack.

Not long after, the two returned with more than ten children.

There were both boys and girls in this group of children. Together with the five people who had been captured before and Li Jing who was lying in the shack, there were actually eighteen people in total.

Among this group of children, the most conspicuous one was undoubtedly a tall girl. Moreover, these people seemed to subtly respect her.

As soon as the girl appeared, she gave a standard lady's greeting to Princess Minghui and said softly, "I, Zhang Pingping, greet Princess Minghui."

Seeing this, others also hurriedly followed suit and saluted in the same way.

Princess Minghui remained silent. Fan Jingrui stepped forward and asked seriously, "Can you tell us in detail what exactly happened?"

Zhang Pingping frowned upon hearing this and slowly said, "We don't know the specifics, but from what I know, the person behind this must be very powerful."

"The reason." Fan Jingrui did not believe Zhang Pingping's words directly, but asked sharply.

Zhang Pingping had anticipated this and replied calmly, "Because everyone present is the heir to a prominent merchant family in the south. These merchants have deep roots in the south, strong financial resources, and enormous influence. If the people behind the scenes control us, it's like controlling the lifeblood of these merchant families."

Upon hearing such an answer, even the eldest prince and the fifth prince, who had previously not taken it seriously and thought the little girl was exaggerating, were now shocked, with expressions of disbelief on their faces.

"What are these people's intentions?" the fifth prince muttered to himself, subconsciously turning his head to stare at the eldest prince.

The eldest prince looked solemn. After a moment's silence, he slowly uttered two words: "Treason!"

Zhang Pingping's next words further confirmed their suspicions: "Furthermore, our Zhang family already has an identical 'Zhang Pingping' planted within it. That fake 'Zhang Pingping' is mimicking my every move in the mansion, attempting to control the Zhang family's business and connections."

At this point, Zhang Pingping paused and said, "The same is true for Li Jing's family. They also have an imposter operating in secret."

"I think the situation for other families is probably similar."

The eldest prince then stopped being silent and asked sternly, "How do you know all this? When you returned earlier, were the people chasing you from the Zhang family or the Li family? Or was it another family that exposed their tracks?"

The eldest prince's original intention was to obtain more useful information from Zhang Pingping, but his expression was too stern, and the power he deliberately exuded actually frightened Zhang Pingping.

Zhang Pingping's face turned pale, his body trembled slightly, and he was speechless for a while.

The others were even more frightened and hid behind Zhang Pingping, not daring to face the eldest prince's majesty.

Fortunately, the poison in Li Jing's body had almost been eliminated by this time. Chu Ci quickly withdrew the needle and walked out of the shack.

He pretended to know nothing and asked in confusion, "What's going on? Weren't there only five people running away just now? How come so many more people showed up in the blink of an eye?"

When Princess Minghui heard Chu Ci ask this, her smart little eyes turned.

He immediately ran to Chu Ci happily, pulled her clothes and said, "Sister Yixin, these brothers and sisters are so pitiful. Some bad guys have taken their families away and are hunting them down. Sister Yixin, you and Dad must help them."

Chu Ci didn't respond. Instead, he turned to look at Zhang Pingping, his eyes searching: "Is what Minghui said true?"

Zhang Pingping looked at the eldest prince, then at Chu Ci, and after a slight hesitation, he repeated what he had said before in detail.

Finally, she stared straight at Chu Ci, her eyes full of anticipation as she said, "Princess Minghui promised to help us get home. You are someone close to her, so you will definitely not sit idly by, right?"

He is really smart, no wonder he can convince so many people!

However, Chu Ci did not take on too much responsibility. Instead, he walked over to the eldest and fifth princes and respectfully introduced them: "Let me introduce everyone. This is His Royal Highness the King of Shu of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the eldest son of the current emperor."

"This is His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, the Emperor's fifth son and second legitimate son."