Chapter 76 Chapter 76 Self-rescue

Zhe Rou was drowsy and didn't know what time it was when she was awakened by the pain at the back of her neck. Her eyelashes trembled for a while, and she finally opened her eyelids with great effort, but was dazzled by the glaring candlelight in the room.

She subconsciously raised her hand to block it, and her fingertips brushed across the cold and soft curtain. Only then did she realize that she seemed to be lying on an unfamiliar brocade couch.

After getting over the discomfort of just waking up, the scene on Ma Xing Street flooded into Zhe Rou's mind. She woke up immediately, sat up abruptly, and looked around vigilantly.

The room was quiet and no one was around.

The room was decorated magnificently, with bright candles shining brightly. What caught the eye was the charming red gauze seven-treasure tent with carved and gilded incense balls hanging from the four corners. The sweet and cloying fragrance of cosmetics filled the nose.

In the distance, intermittent string music drifted faintly, occasionally mixed with a few women's laughter and soft humming, and intertwined with the faint gurgling sound of water, as if it was there and not there.

It doesn't look like an ordinary girl's boudoir, but more like a place where men go to have fun along the banks of the Bian River.

Zhe Rou's heart sank.

Thinking about the fire on Ma Xing Street, it was obvious that it was done with brutal force. Such a cruel and brutal act could not have been done by Ming Qi.

The person who abducted her here must be a villain with evil intentions.

Fortunately, her hands and feet were not tied, so she could still move freely. Before the thieves came, the most urgent thing was to find a way to escape. Even if she really couldn't escape, she had to find one or two handy things to defend herself.

The window was sealed shut. Zhe Rou pushed twice, but the lattice door didn't budge and couldn't be opened from inside the house.

Zhe Rou walked quickly to the door, tentatively reached out and pushed it lightly. The door panel shook slightly, accompanied by the crisp sound of iron chains colliding.

Sure enough, the door was locked by someone from outside.

He turned around and searched the house again. Although this was the woman's residence, there were no sharp objects such as embroidery scissors that could hurt people. Even the candlesticks were shallow dish-shaped candlesticks without candlesticks inside.

Stay calm. Stay calm.

Although he didn't know why the thieves attacked her, she was kidnapped in the chaos. If Pingchuan couldn't find her, he would definitely go and inform Lu Chen immediately.

Someone will come to rescue her.

Even if she can't escape for the time being, as long as she can delay for some time, everything will turn around.

Before Lu Chenxun comes, you have to find a way to save yourself.

Zhe Rou forced herself to calm down and searched the house for something to protect herself. Finally, she picked up a short fir stick used to support the window, weighed it twice, and held it tightly in her hand.

It would be best if I could wait for someone to come in and surprise them from behind the door while they were off guard, and then escape out in the chaos.

Zhe Rou made up her mind roughly, but still felt it was not enough. She searched around for a while, broke another teacup, picked out the sharpest and most convenient piece of thin porcelain, and hid it under her pillow.

Just as I was getting ready, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

Zhe Rou's heart was pounding. She managed to calm herself down, holding her breath and quickly hiding behind the door.

With a "crash" sound, the iron lock on the door was unlocked and taken away.

The next moment, someone pushed open the wooden door and walked in.

Zhe Rou gritted her teeth, used all her strength, raised the wooden stick and smashed it down hard at the man who came!

However, the man was extremely agile. He dodged the stick with his head tilted, grabbed the other end, and snatched the stick away.

Zhe Rou felt a numbness in her palm, and she staggered as he pulled her, almost falling to the ground.

The man turned around slowly.

The candlelight in the room was bright, and when Zhe Rou saw the man's appearance clearly, her eyes widened in horror.

...It’s that Western Qiang man, Li Baoji!

She had seen him once at the Quchi Banquet that day, and she felt at that time that he had ill intentions, but she never expected that he would actually dare to snatch her here in broad daylight!

Li Baoji weighed the wooden stick in his hand, smiled contemptuously, slowly raised his sinister eyes, and stared at the woman in front of him.

I thought she was a delicate and weak girl, but she actually had some courage. It seems that Xie Yunzhou is not blind after all.

Seeing him approaching step by step, Zhe Rou clenched her palms tightly, trying her best to suppress the trembling in her voice, and asked: "Why did you kidnap me here? What do you want?"

Li Baoji looked at her with a direct and impudent gaze, "Of course it's you."

"If a man from Xiqiang likes a woman, he will just snatch her away and bring her back to his lair. That kid surnamed Xie was so cowardly and incompetent that he watched helplessly as a beautiful woman was lost. He deserves to be a cuckold today!"

Zhe Rou's heart sank completely.

It turned out that the thief and Mingqi had an old grudge that was hard to resolve, and now they were fighting violently, which had affected her.

If he had other requests, she might still have room to maneuver, but now he just wanted to vent his anger, and she was afraid that today would be difficult to resolve.

Li Baoji narrowed his eyes slightly, lifted her chin with a wooden stick, and looked her up and down with a frivolous gaze.

A soft white neck, rosy cheeks, and plump red lips. Looking up, his wolf-like gaze locked onto the pair of watery eyes that were trying to remain calm in panic.

Like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, yet a little prickly, it had the courage to bare its teeth at him.

Li Baoji licked her back teeth with the tip of his tongue. He couldn't help but lower his head, leaned close to her neck, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Zhe Rou suddenly felt a chill, and all the hairs on her body stood up.

Li Baoji felt her warm and rapid breathing, and smelled the faint and refreshing fragrance of apricot blossoms. He immediately felt a little distracted, his blood boiling, and his throat felt dry and tight.

He was well-versed in the world and had served countless women in the past ten years, but he had never tasted the delicate skin and tender flesh of a noble lady from the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Especially since it was his beloved one whom he had a blood feud with but could not get. Just thinking about Xie Yunzhou's reaction after knowing the truth, he felt his blood boiling, and an inexplicable pleasure rushed to his head, making him so excited that even his fingertips were trembling.

His Adam's apple rolled violently, and Li Baoji suddenly stretched out his hand, stretched out his iron arm, and immediately picked up the man by the waist and threw him onto the couch.

The fall was quite strong, and Zhe Rou felt a slight blackness in front of her eyes.

Before the person behind her could get close, she quickly stood up and secretly took out the thin porcelain from under her pillow. As she hurriedly retreated to the end of the couch, she warned in a cold voice, "Since you have abducted me here, you should also know that I am not an ordinary official's wife, but the wife of a third-rank general of the current dynasty, and I have an imperial decree.

If you dare to be disrespectful to me, neither the young prince nor my husband will let you off easily! If you ruin your marriage with the Great Zhou just for a momentary pleasure, is this deal really worth it?

Li Baoji, however, seemed to have heard something funny. He was not moved at all. Instead, he slowly untied his belt. "The marriage has long been a foregone conclusion. I will spend a night of ecstasy with you tonight, and tomorrow I will leave the capital with the envoys. When they find out..." He paused, then sneered disdainfully. "Oh, it's too late. What can you do to me?"

"I just want to let that Xie see how his beloved woman spreads her legs under me and cries and screams as I serve her, like the most despicable whore!"

Hearing his vulgar words that made people extremely sick, Zhe Rou felt sick in her heart. She couldn't help but frowned in disgust and shouted angrily: "Li Baoji, if you are still a man, go to the battlefield and fight with your enemies to see who is better. What kind of ability is it to make things difficult for me?!"

Li Baoji scoffed at the words, raised his eyebrows, and smiled disapprovingly: "Don't you Han people always love to call us Qiang people "獠子" (獠子)? We, the men of Western Qiang, are descendants of the Goshawk, carrying the blood of the fierce 獠 (獠子). How could we be as stupid and pedantic as you Central Plains people? No matter what means we use, as long as we can stab our enemies in the heart, we are heroes!"

Seeing the thief kneeling on the bed, Zhe Rou's heart began to beat wildly. Knowing he was no match for the thief, he couldn't attack rashly. He could only try to delay. "I've heard... that every early spring, cattle and sheep in the Western Qiang are prone to malaria and die suddenly. If you let me go... I have a good remedy for the disease."

Li Baoji paused for a moment, "Are you trying to negotiate terms with me?"

Zhe Rou looked at him calmly and said quietly, "It's just a deal where both sides get what they need."

Li Baoji looked at her with interest for a moment, then suddenly raised his hands and clapped his hands twice.

Soon, there was a sound of footsteps outside the house, and the maid's respectful voice rang out at the door, "May I ask what your Excellency may wish for?"

Li Baoji said, "Come in and serve some wine."

The maid replied yes immediately and walked into the inner room carrying a tray made of pear wood.

Li Baoji glanced at Zhe Rou with a smile and waved casually to the maid.

When the maid reached the bed, Zhe Rou didn't even have time to see his movements. She only heard a crisp "click" sound, and the maid's throat was immediately crushed. Without even a sound of crying for help, she collapsed to the ground like a rag and died instantly.

Zhe Rou suddenly screamed in shock.

Seeing that she was finally frightened and pale, and her face could no longer maintain its calmness, Li Baoji laughed out loud with satisfaction.

For a long while, Zhe Rou still couldn't recover from the shock of his sudden killing. She could only stare at him with wide eyes, her chest heaving violently.

"Are you scared now?" Li Baoji wiped his hands carelessly and sneered, "Since she was born in this lowly place where she serves as a servant, her life is worthless, not even worth an ordinary fox fur. As for you... you are very different. I want both you and the recipe."

Zhe Rou couldn't stop shivering all over.

This Western Qiang villain is clearly a heartless beast who cannot be explained by common sense.

The sight of blood seemed to arouse his ferocity even more. Even his pupils were slightly red with excitement, and his breathing became heavy.

"What? Still trying to stall for time and wait for someone to rescue you?" Li Baoji chuckled softly, leaning over her like a beast poised for action. "Give up on this idea as soon as possible. Be honest, and I can still make you happy. I've seen your husband before. He looks a bit more ruthless than Xie, but he also has the appearance of a short-lived man plagued by old injuries. How can he compare to the vigor and bravery of a Western Qiang man? He's definitely not as happy as I can make you."

Zhe Rou instinctively stepped back, gripping the porcelain shard even tighter in her hand.

Now that things have come to this, there is only one way to fight! Even if we are defeated, we must not surrender and allow the thieves to slaughter us at will.

The next moment, Li Baoji exerted force on his hands, grabbed Zhe Rou's shoulders, and pulled her in front of him.

At the moment he leaned over, Zhe Rou used all her strength to fiercely slash the porcelain shard towards the side of his neck!

Li Baoji felt that he had completely frightened her before, and he never thought that she would resist like this. Although he instinctively turned his head to avoid it, a hideous bloody mark was still left on the side of his neck by the sharp porcelain piece.

A few drops of warm and sticky blood splashed onto her cheek. Zhe Rou forced herself not to close her eyes, still tightly gripping the porcelain shard in her hand. Her chest heaved violently, and her breathing was rapid and disordered.

Li Baoji touched the wound on his neck in disbelief. When he saw the blood on his palm, he was furious. He raised his hand and was about to slap her hard when the door was suddenly knocked.

"Second Prince, something happened!"

Li Baoji turned his head and roared, "Get out! Get out of here!"

The Qiang guard's voice became anxious: "Second Prince, the Han guards are chasing us. There are quite a few of them. They say they want to capture the spies and criminals!"

Li Baoji froze.

Listening carefully, the sounds in the distance gradually became chaotic, with faint flashes of fire, and it seemed as if the person coming was not friendly.

Li Baoji turned his head and his gaze fell on Zhe Rou again, feeling confused and uncertain.

He was confident that the reinforcements should not be able to find the trail so quickly. After thinking for a moment, he waved his hand to call the Qiang guards, whispered something to them, and then got up and went out.