Zhu Jiayu suddenly didn't know what to say.
That fire must have quite a story to tell.
But Tao Yao stopped talking. She was silent for a while before saying, "The name Tao Yao was given to me by a scholar."
“He found out about me, took me in, and gave me this new name. I like it very much,” she said with a smile that curved her eyes.
Zhu Jiayu nodded.
However, judging from the current plot development, it is obvious that something else happened to Tao Yao after she was picked up by the scholar, otherwise she would not be here now.
However, Zhu Jiayu didn't care much about that; she only cared about why Tao Yao would tell her these things.
As she was pondering, she saw Tao Yao change her expression: "Sister, shall I help you escape?"
Zhu Jiayu looked up at her in surprise, seemingly not understanding why she would say that.
Tao Yao pursed her lips: "I know, sister probably still holds a grudge against me for pushing you in the carriage earlier, but if I hadn't done that, Li Sanba wouldn't have let me get close to you. He always thinks I'll ruin his plans and is afraid I'll let the people he captured go."
It sounds like this Li Sanba must be the man with the scarred face.
Zhu Jiayu did not interrupt her and continued to listen to her:
“I once helped a woman escape, but he found out about it. During his chase, she fell off a cliff, and he took me back and starved me for several days.”
“After that, he didn’t really trust me anymore.”
She began to sob softly, her voice trembling with sadness: "But I know what we did was wrong. I don't want to keep making the same mistakes..."
Zhu Jiayu offered her a half-hearted consolation: "To err is human, to forgive divine. Don't worry, if we can escape, I'll definitely take you with me."
“But what I’m more curious about is what would have happened if I hadn’t run away?” she asked Tao Yao with a smile.
“Yes…” Tao Yao shuddered, “You will be sent away.”
She clenched her teeth tightly, as if it were something extremely terrifying, and she dared not utter a word of it.
Zhu Jiayu nodded knowingly and didn't press further. Instead, she changed the subject and asked about the girls who had arrived before her, "So they were all sent away too, right?"
Tao Yao looked at her for a long while, then looked away uncomfortably: "Why are you asking so many questions? Even if you know they were sent away, so what? Their whereabouts after leaving here, not only me, but even Li Sanba doesn't know."
"Where did you go, you brat? You don't even know how to cook or do anything this early in the morning! You've developed such a spoiled attitude! I'll send you to those people one of those days!"
Li Sanba's sudden shout interrupted their conversation. Tao Yao glanced outside like a frightened bird, then turned back to Zhu Jiayu and said, "Sister, be a good girl and listen to me. I'll untie the ropes on your hands. Eat something first, and I'll go cook for him."
After she untied the ropes binding Zhu Jiayu's hands, Li Sanba's urging voice rang out again. She hurriedly walked to the door, couldn't help but turn back, and said obediently, "I'll come to see you when I find a chance. Don't be afraid here, he won't do anything to you."
Zhu Jiayu's face showed trust and reliance. He smiled and nodded gently at her. After she left the room and closed the door, Zhu Jiayu's expression returned to indifference.
Although Tao Yao spoke with sincerity, she would not believe her, let alone entrust her life to her.
...
Although Tao Yao said she would find an opportunity to visit Zhu Jiayu again, she didn't show up for several days afterward.
About two days later, after realizing that Zhu Jiayu was indeed very honest, Tao Yao and Li Sanba locked the door every morning and went to the city with their carrying poles.
Before leaving, Li Sanba would check on Zhu Jiayu's condition to make sure her hands and feet were properly bound with ropes, and then tie her mouth with strips of cloth so she couldn't speak.
"They were doing this kind of business because they were afraid of being investigated by the authorities, so they came up with a way to cover it up by using their identity as vegetable farmers."
Lin Zhi's men whispered to Zhu Jiayu outside the wall: "They are cautious. Our men have been following them these past few days and have discovered that the girl named Tao Yao often wanders the streets, probably looking for a new candidate. But as soon as Li Sanba finishes selling his vegetables, she comes back with him without delaying at all."
“We discussed it and we all agree that they want to wait until you resell it before they start implementing their plans for the next target.”
After he finished speaking, Zhu Jiayu tapped the wall twice with his backhand, and then let him leave.
That night, after Li Sanba fell asleep, Tao Yao secretly opened Zhu Jiayu's door and said urgently, "Sister! I stole the key! We can leave here now!"
Seeing Zhu Jiayu sitting upright in the corner, Tao Yao couldn't help but tug at her clothes: "What are you still standing there for? Get up! I'll help you untie the ropes, let's run, or it'll be too late! I heard him say today that he's going to send you away tomorrow!"
Zhu Jiayu slowly stood up, turned her back, and let Tao Yao untie the ropes binding her.
However, in the next instant, she grabbed Tao Yao and held her slender neck tightly. She whispered a "shh" in her ear and said with a smile, "Keep your voice down. If you wake him up, we won't be able to escape."
"Sister...sister," Tao Yao's face turned pale. After all, she was young and no match for Zhu Jiayu in terms of strength. Now that she was being held hostage, she had no power to fight back. "What are you doing...cough cough, what are you doing..."
She asked intermittently.
Zhu Jiayu smiled and said, "You'll find out in a little while."
Not long after, a man dressed in a close-fitting outfit pushed open the door and entered. He cupped his hands in greeting to Zhu Jiayu and called out, "Miss Zhu."
He was still holding a bloodstained dagger in his hand; in the candlelight, the blood formed beads and dripped continuously onto the ground.
Zhu Jiayu didn't even look up, her tone calm: "Li Sanba is dead?"
“Dead,” the man replied.
This was something they had discussed with Zhu Jiayu beforehand. If Tao Yao came to help Zhu Jiayu escape, the people waiting around would take the opportunity to kill Li Sanba.
Zhu Jiayu then released Taoyao and said leisurely, "If your sister doesn't want to run away, you shouldn't rush to run away either. Little Taoyao, how about you do your sister a favor?"
Tao Yao stared at her blankly, not daring to utter a word.
"Do you know why your sister killed Li Sanba? Because your sister knew he wouldn't listen to her, but Taoyao is different. Taoyao will definitely listen to your sister, right?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com