"You all wait here for now. Chu Yun and I will go and fetch the rest of your companions."
After leading the children to the carriage prepared by the soldiers, Zhu Jiayu said this to them.
"Miss Zhu, I'm afraid your plan is going to fall through. Before you go to pick them up, why don't you come with us first?"
As soon as Zhu Jiayu finished speaking, a male voice rang out.
It was Rong Heng's voice.
Zhu Jiayu said silently to Chu Yun, "Go down the mountain and get reinforcements."
Chu Yun was slightly taken aback, and the next moment, she saw that Zhu Jiayu had already turned around.
Rong Heng stood with his hands behind his back and asked with great pleasure, "Don't you find it incredible to see me here?"
He narrowed his eyes: "Now that I've discovered you and Wei Qinglou are here, how could I possibly just sit idly by and wait to be captured when I realize things have changed?"
Zhu Jiayu wasn't surprised that he escaped. If he had actually been caught by Wei Qinglou's men, she would have suspected that he had some kind of conspiracy.
"Why don't you come with us, or should I personally invite you?" Rong Heng asked softly.
Zhu Jiayu looked at him and said, "I'll go with you, you let them go."
“Of course.” Rong Heng nodded.
Now that Hu Yanwang has fallen into Wei Qinglou's hands, these brats are of no use to him. Naturally, he won't do anything to them.
Rong Heng glanced at the guard beside him, gesturing for him to sheathe his sword, and then said to Zhu Jiayu, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. As long as you behave yourself, we can... live in peace."
Zhu Jiayu hesitated before stepping forward and asked again, "You really won't lay a hand on them? You'd be that kind?"
She repeatedly asked Rong Heng for confirmation because she knew that although Rong Heng had a thousand and one faults, he was a man of his word and kept his promises. For that reason alone, she was willing to go with him.
She understood his intentions; he simply wanted to use her to threaten Wei Qinglou. She believed Wei Qinglou wouldn't be so easily controlled.
The only thing she couldn't let go of was those children.
"I said no, and I mean no." Rong Heng promised her magnanimously, but then he saw the suspicious look on her face. Suddenly realizing what she meant, he laughed incredulously, "You suspect that Hu Yanwang is using them for profit because of my orders?"
"Isn't that right?" Zhu Jiayu retorted, sticking her neck out. "You've never been a good person to begin with, so it's not surprising that you would do something like this."
Rong Heng laughed again.
His laughter was full of absurdity.
After laughing, he glanced coldly at Zhu Jiayu and said leisurely, "You're right, I'm not a good person, but I wouldn't stoop to such a low level."
"I see that Miss Zhu has a lot of prejudice against me. Shouldn't we find some time to sit down and have a proper talk?"
Zhu Jiayu smiled and said, "Young Master Rong has a silver tongue. When the time comes, we can sit down and see what the truth is. I don't think it's necessary."
As the two were talking, Rong Heng suddenly heard footsteps approaching.
He looked behind Zhu Jiayu and found that the boy with the missing arm was indeed gone. He reached out again and grabbed Zhu Jiayu's delicate, porcelain-white neck: "Are you stalling for time?"
He had almost strangled Zhu Jiayu to death last time, but this time before he could even exert his strength, a figure pounced from under the carriage, grabbed his arm, and bit his wrist tightly.
Rong Heng was in pain and had no choice but to release Zhu Jiayu, while also pushing the girl who was biting his wrist to the ground.
However, Zhu Jiayu took out a dagger from his sleeve in the next instant, turned around and stabbed it into his waist and abdomen!
Meeting Rong Heng's astonished gaze, Zhu Jiayu said gently, "I said, if you don't kill me, you will die by my hand."
Behind her, the guards saw their master Rong Heng being stabbed and immediately drew their swords to cut Zhu Jiayu in front of him.
The moment the sword fell, the girl who had been lying on the ground lunged forward again to meet the sword!
As if sensing something, Zhu Jiayu turned around. After seeing the little girl lying in a pool of blood, she finally stopped caring about Rong Heng. She knelt down and picked up Tao Yao, holding her in her arms.
"Peach... Peach Blossom..."
She blinked, and tears rolled down her cheeks, landing on Tao Yao's face and causing a burning pain.
Tao Yao reached out with difficulty, wanting to wipe away her tears, but her hand fell limply to the ground.
Zhu Jiayu grasped her hand and frantically wiped the blood from her face: "Bear with it, I'll take you to the clinic soon, I'll get you the best doctor in the world..."
Her hand rested beneath Tao Yao, and she felt the scalding blood gushing from her body, staining her hands.
"Don't cry... It's... It's so ugly..." Tao Yao forced a smile. "You let me go, I'll save your life, we're... even..."
She nestled in Zhu Jiayu's arms, feeling the warmth emanating from her body, and couldn't help but close her eyes.
How heartwarming.
She had never experienced such warmth in her entire life.
"It won't be even. I will save you. You will still have to study and learn to read and write, and you will still have to work for me. If I don't send you to the authorities, you will owe me for the rest of your life!"
Zhu Jiayu, bewildered, tried to lift her up, but realized that the more she moved, the more blood flowed from her back wound. So he dared not move, and could only remain seated on the ground, holding her in his arms. She reversed her words, pleading, "I owe you…you must live, so I can repay you…please don't die…"
Tao Yao gently pressed her hand on Zhu Jiayu's hand. Her touch was very light, but Zhu Jiayu felt as if it weighed a ton.
"Listen to me..."
Tao Yao took a heavy breath.
"I can't go back with you. Please... tell them... I'm sorry..."
She witnessed the ugliness of the world too early, and this ugliness became fertile ground for the growth of vicious flowers in her heart, leading her to commit so many wrongdoings.
But it was too late for her to make amends.
"That day, I helped a child... and today... I saved you..." she said haltingly, "Am I... a good person now?"
"Yes! Yes!" Zhu Jiayu nodded vigorously.
Tao Yao smiled very softly.
But she felt that being a good person wasn't a very pleasant experience.
But if she could do it all over again, she thought, she would still be willing to be a good person.
If she could do it all over again, she would still be willing to stand in front of her.
Her body grew colder and colder, and Zhu Jiayu frantically called out to her, "Tao Yao, Tao Yao, don't sleep! Chu Yun, Chu Yun will be back soon! Don't you want to talk to him?"
Tao Yao's consciousness gradually dissipated, and the light in her eyes dimmed little by little. She felt so tired that she could no longer hear what Zhu Jiayu was saying.
She snuggled closer to her, her voice as soft as smoke: "I'm sorry... and... thank you."
As the distant sky gradually brightened to a grayish-white hue, the gloomy mountains and fields awoke, and Zhu Jiayu trembled as he held the little girl tightly in his arms.
The girl in her arms had a name that belonged to spring, but on this winter night, she closed her eyes forever.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com