Chapter 35: Encounter and Taken Away: Iron-Blooded Tenderness in the Republic of China

After feeling slightly dizzy, Rong Zhen looked up and met a strange and stern face.

His eyebrows and eyes were hidden under the wide-brimmed hat and could not be seen clearly. His chin and cheeks were covered with a thick beard, and he looked like someone who was not easy to mess with.

His hands were as tight as steel around her knees and neck, as if he was holding a cat that had suddenly fallen from the sky. If it had the slightest intention of hurting anyone, it would be decapitated in a matter of seconds.

Rong Zhen's alertness skyrocketed like that of a little animal, and he immediately wanted to roll over and get off the ground to get away from this person.

Just then, a gust of snow blew up, lifting her thick bangs and revealing half of her beautiful and picturesque face that had been sealed for a long time.

Even though her face was pale and her hairstyle was old, she was still like a warm and bright pearl in the man's eyes. Even though she was covered with a veil, she still emitted a dazzling brilliance. When he accidentally caught a glimpse of a corner of her, he felt that she was dazzling and heart-scorching.

His hand suddenly loosened, and Rongzhen took the opportunity to escape from his control.

After making sure she was no longer under his control, she remembered to thank the man. She took a step back, bowed, and said, "Thank you for your help just now."

The man hummed, his voice low and pleasant, completely inconsistent with his image of wearing a coat, military boots and a beard.

He looks like a fierce bandit, but his voice sounds like that of an elegant scholar.

This thought flashed through Rongzhen's mind, leaving no trace.

Suddenly, there was a clang. The man quickly pulled her behind him, dodging the incoming bayonet. With his other hand, he simultaneously grabbed a gun and pointed it at the military police officer in the car window. His voice suddenly became deep and stern: "I urge you to lay down your weapons immediately. This is the Republic of China, not Japan, where you can do whatever you want!"

"Baga! Go to hell!" The military police soldier with blisters all over his face didn't hear the warning at all. The burns on his face and body made him furious. When he saw that he couldn't stab with his knife, he just wanted to shoot.

The man didn't give him the chance. He fired the instant he was about to move, and the bullet hit the man's forehead accurately.

Bang—a bloody flower of life burst out.

Rongzhen was firmly hidden behind the tall figure and did not see this thrilling scene.

A Cui and Da Zhu, who rushed over in a panic, saw it clearly and were so scared that they almost screamed. When the man turned his head to glance at them, they instinctively covered each other's mouths and hugged each other, trembling.

Just like a little chicken trembling in front of a hungry wolf.

Rong Zhen followed the man's gaze and explained in time: "They are the servants who accompanied me. I know their backgrounds and they are of clean origin."

Ah Cui nodded like a chick pecking at rice, and with trembling hands, she agreed as she pushed Dazhu's thick hands away, "Yes, yes, we are all good citizens, sir."

They brought their identification documents with them when they came, but they were kept by the housekeeper, and now they can't get them out even if they want to.

The man's scrutinizing gaze swept over A Cui and Da Zhu, and finally fell back on Rong Zhen, who seemed particularly calm compared to the other two.

The man was very tall. Rongzhen was half a head taller than A Cui, and about the same height as Dazhu, who was about 1.7 meters tall. However, he was a head taller than them, about 1.9 meters tall. He was extremely oppressive when looking down at them from above.

"You are quite courageous." The man's voice became clear and pleasant again, and it was unclear whether the words he hummed were mocking or praising.

Rong Zhen's fingers trembled as she pursed her lips and said, "I am their head, so naturally I should be able to handle the situation better than them."

The man noticed her body's uncontrollable reactions and the blush on her lips caused by the force, and knew that she was just holding on.

But even so, she is much better than those weak and powerful people in the city who are obsessed with money and luxury.

The train finally stopped at the station, and the man's men quickly came to report: "Director, we've determined that the people who boarded the train were a small group of military police, six in total."

One of them had his head blown off by the man, and now there are only five people left.

"Catch them all, move faster." As soon as the man gave the order, his men who had been ready for action immediately pounced on the car like wolves and tigers.

A Cui and Da Zhu were afraid of the military police and the devils, so they quietly approached their young lady, secretly glanced at the man next to them who was not easy to mess with, and did not dare to say a word.

Rongzhen noticed that Ah Cui's walking posture was not right, and there was blood on Dazhu's face and hands. "Are you injured? Are you seriously injured?"

Ah Cui shook her head repeatedly: "I'm fine, I just twisted my foot, I can still walk."

Dazhu hummed, "I'm fine, just a few scrapes on my face and hands."

Fortunately, the car had slowed down at that time, otherwise I would have lost half my life if I jumped down suddenly.

This was a blessing in disguise for the two of them. No one felt at a loss, but instead was grateful that they could exchange a minor injury for a chance to escape.

Now that his life was no longer threatened and the master, servant and three others were all fine, even though there was a great god standing next to him, Dazhu couldn't help but relax slowly and think about other things.

"Miss, the housekeeper is still on the train." Dazhu mustered up the courage to remind Rongzhen.

Ah Cui grew bolder when she heard him speak, and whispered, "He's nowhere to be found when we need him. I wonder if he's fallen into the toilet and can't get out. Do we have to go get him ourselves?"

Rongzhen smiled silently, but the man turned around and saw her, and her smile paused.

After Ah Cui noticed this, she gently tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Miss, let's not risk going up. Why don't we pay for some tea and ask the officer's men to help us? The butler can let him climb up by himself. Don't lose your luggage and your dowry."

Then, an embroidered purse was stuffed into Rongzhen's hand. There were about ten silver coins in it that jingled.

Ten dollars had considerable purchasing power during the Republic of China period. The fact that Ah Cui asked her to pay so much at once was obviously an attempt to ward off disaster and, by the way, see if she could get someone to help them find their people and luggage.

It is not appropriate for the servant to come forward at this time, and the master has to negotiate on his own.

It just so happened that Rongzhen didn't seem to be afraid of the bearded officer, so A Cui gave her a purse of money and gave her an encouraging look.

Rongzhen did not refuse. Under the man's gaze, she walked over, handed over her purse and expressed her request.

The man looked at the little thing in her hand, then looked up at her. Rongzhen thought he was going to refuse. She was about to put it back awkwardly and think of another way, when a slender jade-like hand suddenly reached out, picked up the purse with two long fingers, took a look, and took it away.

Rongzhen's hands felt empty, and he felt warm fingertips gently brushing across his palms. It was so vague that he thought it was an illusion.

"Do you agree?" She raised her head to confirm with him. Her beautiful eyebrows were covered by her bangs again, but her charming look had already been seen and remembered by everyone.

The man calmly adjusted his wide-brimmed hat, his eyes fixed on her through the brim, and replied calmly, "Well, wait."

After saying this, he flicked his clothes, turned around and strode away.

The dark green color fluttered, and the tall and straight figure of the man walked away with the regular sound of his military boots stepping on the ground.

A Cui and Da Zhu, who had been holding their breath, breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did they feel the relief of surviving the disaster.

"Miss, I was scared to death. He looked scarier than the military police." A Cui covered her chest with her hands, her face full of fear, and there was no trace of the courage she had in giving Rong Zhen advice just now.

Dazhu was both afraid and yearning, "If I could be that powerful, the young lady wouldn't have to suffer."

"You?" Ah Cui looked him up and down. "You idiot Zhu can only be a runner for the young lady. Being a boss is fine, but with your gluttony, eating eight bowls of rice a meal, no one can afford to support you."

Dazhu scratched his head and his stomach growled in response.

Because of the previous chaos, some fruits and cakes were scattered on the ground. A Cui picked up some clean ones for him, and then picked out the best ones and gave them to Rong Zhen.

Rongzhen wasn't hungry. After refusing, she saw Ah Cui's expression of wanting to say something but not wanting to, so she asked her, "What do you want to say?"

Ah Cui observed her expression and asked carefully, "Miss, how come you can speak Japanese?"

"I heard it from someone else before." Rong Zhen answered casually and looked very natural, but her fingers were clenched under her sleeves.

Fortunately, Ah Cui didn't pursue the matter further. Rong Zhen had just loosened her grip on Bai's fingertips when she suddenly heard her mutter, "I always feel like the young lady is a little different after leaving home."

Rong Zhen said tactfully, feeling nervous, "Outside is different from home. I should definitely make some changes. Besides, I'm going to see him soon... I heard that he appreciates cheerful and progressive people. I..."

There was no need to explain too clearly. Ah Cui nodded with an ambiguous understanding on her face. She lowered her voice and whispered, "Miss, to be honest, you should have done this a long time ago. Look how beautiful you are now, with your back straight and speaking loudly. But please don't listen to the master and his wife and bend over, hunch your back, and droop your head anymore. Those men are short because they are not capable."

It was true that she respected and appreciated the master and mistress, but some of their demands were too harsh and demanding, which she, as a servant, could not stand.

I didn’t dare to say anything before when there were so many people around at home. But now that I’m out and see that the young lady is willing to change, I have to express my support immediately.

Rong Zhen grasped some information from her relieved words. No wonder she felt some muscle soreness when she straightened her chest and raised her head as usual. It turned out that the original owner had always been hunched over because of her height.

That was too frustrating. She could just use Ah Cui's words to make changes.

Rong Zhen agreed, "You're right. We had no choice at home before. My parents told me I couldn't be unfilial. But now that we're out here, we should adapt to local customs. I believe my parents will understand."

Ah Cui praised happily, "That's right. Young lady knows how to adapt. Unlike the stubborn housekeeper, who says women should be chaste, quiet, and have bound feet, bah!"

Rongzhen moved her feet under her skirt and felt a sense of squeeze and restraint as if she were wearing small-sized shoes, but it was not painful and did not affect her movements.

Is it wrapped or not? It feels like it's just a pretense to please someone.

A Cui's next words cleared up her doubts.

"Luckily, your feet are small to begin with, so if you wear smaller shoes, no one will notice anything. Otherwise, if they were really broken as the foot-binding woman requested, it would be very painful. The pain would be fine, but if you encounter a situation like this, you won't be able to escape."

Rongzhen agreed very much and was glad that the original owner was not really injured, otherwise she would be in a miserable situation now. Not to mention how to escape if she encountered danger, even walking would become a problem.

So she decided to change her shoes to a suitable larger size after she settled down, and to reject bound feet, starting with me.

As they were talking, their luggage was thrown out of the car window, and the boxes and bags fell to the ground in an instant, some of them were scattered.

A Cui and Da Zhu did not dare to disdain them, and ran to pick them up one by one in surprise.

The housekeeper was also carried out of the car unconscious with a bruised face and nose. It was unknown who had beaten him.

Rongzhen went to take a look and was just about to ask the kind officer to send the man to the clinic without bothering anyone else, when suddenly there was a bang from Dazhu's side and he accidentally pulled open a brown rattan hand box.

The box was thrown out of the train window and landed on the tracks, which must have broken the keyhole. Someone casually flipped it open, revealing the contents.

It is a small black object that looks like a radio.

The scene fell silent. The man approached with a solemn expression. Without waiting for Rong Zhen to ask anything, he immediately handcuffed her hands and said gravely, "Huh, radio station? I almost got tricked by you."

"No, I have no idea what that is!" Rongzhen tried to defend herself.

Dazhu was so frightened that he quickly put down his things and said in a panic, "Sir, I'll pay for what I broke. It has nothing to do with the young lady."

Ah Cui was almost pissed off by him. She suppressed her fear and argued loudly: "Sir, please be careful. This is not in our luggage. We must have taken it by mistake."

The man stared at Rong Zhen, his eyes sweeping over her red wedding dress, his gaze slightly cold. "Whether you're right or wrong, come with us and you'll understand. Take him away!"