Chapter 374 The Uneasy Min Pan'er
The two shook their heads.
The second son replied, "Steward Qiao sent us to find His Highness the Prince of Chu. He went to see the Old Madam himself."
The third brother continued, "We killed several men in black and found arrows with the Da Xi standard engraved on them. Steward Qiao told us to find His Highness the King of Chu and then return to Dayan with the arrows and His Highness the King of Chu."
Upon hearing this, several guards around the King of Chu immediately stepped in to persuade him to turn back to Dayan.
However, no matter how much everyone tried to persuade him, the King of Chu refused to give up and insisted on staying to search for people.
The second and third sons exchanged a glance, then looked at the King of Chu's nurses before bowing and apologizing, "Your Highness, we are sorry."
“Da Xi is in too much danger right now; you can’t stay here any longer.”
"Manager Qiao instructed that if you refuse to go back obediently, we will have no choice but to knock you unconscious and forcibly take you back."
The third brother looked at the guards and said with a warning look in his eyes, "You are no match for us brothers. I hope you won't do anything foolish."
The guards lowered their heads and exchanged silent glances.
They would love to knock the King of Chu unconscious and take him back, but they just don't dare.
Now that someone is willing to take action, they'd be a fool to stop them.
The King of Chu stared in disbelief at the two figures slowly approaching him, then turned back in shock to look at his guards. He was both anxious and angry.
I don't know whether to scold these two for being so audacious or to scold the guards for being useless.
"Your Highness, I'm sorry."
The second son raised his hand, about to knock him unconscious, when the King of Chu finally relented, saying, "Don't do it, I'll go back with you!"
The second prince quickly stopped his chop, smiled, took a few steps back, and bowed apologetically: "I was rude, Your Highness, please forgive me."
The King of Chu glanced leisurely at the second and third sons, then turned and glared fiercely at the guards who were counting ants with their heads down.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "I'll go back with you. However, the rest of you must stay and help me find the Seventh Princess and the Old Madam. And Xihe..."
Before the King of Chu could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the second son.
“Your Highness! Da’e dared to attack the marriage procession, so he certainly won’t let you off easily. The journey back will be fraught with difficulties. These men must accompany you to escort you back.”
"As for Princess Xihe and the old lady, with Steward Qiao here, he will definitely find them and bring them back safely."
“Your Highness, if you don’t trust Steward Qiao, don’t you also trust the Old Madam? The Old Madam will not allow anything to happen to Princess Xihe.”
The King of Chu seemed to only then realize what was happening, and gave an awkward laugh, quickly nodding in response, "You're right."
He almost blurted out that Princess Xihe and the Seventh Princess were not the same person!
Along the way, apart from him, Min Qiaoshi, Li Sanqi, Min Pan'er, and the three maids beside Min Qiaoshi, no one else knew that Princess Xihe was not the Seventh Princess.
After being persuaded by everyone, the King of Chu was finally convinced and, after a short rest, set off on his journey back to Dayan.
***
Of all the couples who fled separately, Min Pan'er, A Jiu, and Jiang Hongling undoubtedly faced the most difficult situation.
After confirming that Min Pan'er was Princess Xihe, the man in black pursued her relentlessly, managing to escape with their lives. However, all three were injured to varying degrees.
Min Pan'er, in particular, became the primary target of the men in black because of her luxurious attire. With her hands and feet injured, she couldn't walk far at all.
So, after a whole night, the three of them managed to escape less than twenty miles.
Finally, having no other choice, they hid in a cave, and Ajiu went out to find food and a change of clothes after dawn.
"Do you regret coming along?"
Inside the cave, Min Pan'er leaned against the cave wall, enduring the pain and exhaustion in her body, and spoke intermittently to Jiang Hongling, who was taking care of her.
"You didn't have to suffer like this. The old lady tried everything to stop you, but you insisted on coming along, courting death."
"Do you know how much I wish the old lady would stop me from coming to the banquet!"
"But the old lady won't help me! I can't refuse even if I want to."
"I know this is my fate, I can't escape it."
"But Jiang Hongling, why did you come along?"
"Have you ever thought that coming with Da Xi would cost you your life?"
"You are clearly the daughter of the prefect, you could be enjoying a life of luxury and wealth..."
"Alright! Stop talking so much." Jiang Hongling impatiently interrupted Min Pan'er's rambling.
As she tore off the blood-stained strip of cloth from Min Pan'er's arm, she tore a piece of her own undergarment and used it to re-bandage Min Pan'er's wound.
She scolded him, "You're injured like this, why are you still talking so much?"
After finishing her work, she reached out and touched Min Pan'er's forehead. Feeling the unusual heat, Jiang Hongling frowned.
"You have a fever. I'll go see if Ajiu is back."
As he spoke, he was about to stand up and go find Ajiu.
Unexpectedly, Min Pan'er grabbed the hem of her dress.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Hongling turned her head in confusion, wanting to see Min Pan'er.
Min Pan'er looked up at Jiang Hongling, "Will you abandon me?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? We came together, so naturally we'll go back together!"
Jiang Hongling reassured her, "Don't worry, I won't go far. I'll just wander around the neighborhood and come right back."
Min Pan'er smiled at Jiang Hongling, then slowly released her hand.
Jiang Hongling rolled her eyes at her speechlessly. Even at a time like this, she could still laugh.
Watching Jiang Hongling leave, Min Pan'er closed her eyes, unable to hold on any longer, and fell into a coma.
She didn't know how long she had slept, but when she opened her eyes again, she vaguely saw Jiang Hongling using her soft inner garment as a handkerchief, dampening it with water, to wipe her face and forehead.
"You're still here!?" The words almost came out of my mouth.
Jiang Hongling said irritably, "Where else could I go if I'm not here? Don't worry, I said I wouldn't leave you, and I absolutely won't."
"These are some wild fruits I picked. I've tasted them; they're a bit sour and astringent. But they're not poisonous, so you can eat them."
As he spoke, he handed the largest and reddest wild fruit to Min Pan'er.
"Have something to eat first, there will be something good to eat when Ajiu comes back."
Min Pan'er took the wild fruit, but didn't eat it. Instead, she stared blankly at Jiang Hongling and asked, "Do you think A-Jiu will come back?"
"Why do you ask that?" Jiang Hongling looked at Min Pan'er in confusion. "Ajiu was sent by the old lady to protect you. You're here, she'll definitely come back!"
“Really?” Min Pan’er didn’t believe it. “But she’s been gone for a long time.”
Ajiu left at dawn, but looking at the sky outside the cave, it would soon be completely dark.
But Ah Jiu has yet to return.
Whether Jiang Hongling believed it or not, she felt that Ajiu had most likely abandoned them to go find Min Qiaoshi.
After all, Min Qiaoshi was her true master.
When there's nothing else to do, it's fine for Ah Jiu to stay by her side and pretend to protect her.
But now that something has happened, shouldn't Ajiu go back to Min Qiao's side as soon as possible?
Only a simple-minded fool like Jiang Hongling would believe that Ajiu would come back to find them.
Just as Min Pan'er was thinking this, there was a sudden noise at the cave entrance.
Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw Ah Jiu walking in carrying large and small bags.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com