Chapter 47
In the evening, a few drops of rain fell carelessly at first, and then the sparse rain gradually became heavier, until it became a downpour in the dead of night.
The sound of rain was loud, and Chu Miaomiao woke up from her dream. She subconsciously opened her mouth to call Chu He to pour her a glass of water, but suddenly fell silent.
She forgot that Chu He was taken away by those people for interrogation.
Yesterday she was still persuading Chu He to leave as soon as possible today, but she didn't expect the accident to happen after breakfast this morning.
The mighty general pounded open the gate of Chu Manor roughly. Before Chu Miaomiao had time to ask any questions, he ordered his soldiers to guard the gates of various places in Chu Manor.
Watching the team after team of soldiers in armor and holding spears entering, Chu Miaomiao looked dejected. The worst scene she had expected finally happened.
When the general who broke into Chu Manor asked in a gruff voice where the prince was, Chu Miaomiao snorted coldly, glanced at him, and turned to leave. At this moment, she heard a "clang" sound and felt something on her neck.
Chu Miaomiao lowered her eyes. The sharp blade was pressed against her neck. If she used a little more force, blood would gush out.
Death is at hand.
Chu Miaomiao's hands, hidden within her wide sleeves, clenched into fists, trembling uncontrollably. She took a deep breath, calming herself, and turned to the general, saying calmly, "The Saint has not yet issued an order to strip me of my title and status. General, this is truly an act of usurpation."
The bearded general sneered disdainfully upon hearing this: "The King of Chu has already rebelled. How can the daughter of a guilty minister act like a princess?"
"So?" Chu Miaomiao sneered, "The Saint has no intention of killing me at this time. Is the General acting on behalf of the Emperor?"
After saying that, Chu Miaomiao pushed the blade away from his neck with two fingers: "What did the saint send you here for? Please think carefully about it, General."
Regardless of the reactions of the people behind him, Chu Miaomiao took Chu He back to the house, completely ignoring the soldiers who were causing trouble in the manor.
Not to mention this manor, even she herself could hardly be saved at this moment.
As soon as the door was closed, Chu Miaomiao seemed to have lost all her strength in an instant, and she collapsed on the ground leaning against the door. Chu He hurriedly tried to help her up, but she smiled bitterly and said, "I really don't have any strength left. Let me sit on the ground for a while."
Chu He simply sat down with her and said with a worried look on her face, "Princess, are we really going to die this time?"
"This is treason." Chu Miaomiao said numbly, "I will definitely die. As for you... you are just a servant in the mansion and didn't participate in the rebellion. Maybe you can still survive, but I don't know where you will go to continue your slavery."
Chu Miaomiao looked at Chu He and saw that her eyes were filled with tears because of fear, and it seemed that she would burst into tears at any moment. She felt sorry for him, but she complained, "I told you to leave, but not only did you not leave, you also acted arrogantly and boasted. Do you regret it now?"
"But I really can't just abandon the princess and run away alone!"
Tears rolled down Chu He's cheeks. She looked at Chu Miaomiao with some grievance. Chu Miaomiao sighed helplessly and had to take out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears: "Okay, I already know how you feel. Don't cry. When you cry, I can't help it either."
As he spoke, Chu Miaomiao felt his eyes getting hot, his nose getting sore, and his hands began to tremble unconsciously.
"It's already like this, so why should I hold it in?" Chu He cried even harder. "When I think about being separated from the princess, I... I can't help it..."
Chu He's crying also infected Chu Miaomiao. She reached out and held Chu He in her arms, gently stroked her shoulders, and let her bury her head in her shoulder and cry loudly.
"You're right." Chu Miaomiao's voice was filled with a rare gentleness, but it was also filled with sadness. She sighed softly, "Cry, at least cry your heart out for the last time."
As the master and servant were weeping over the uncertain future, the door behind them was violently pushed open from the outside, startling them so much that they hurriedly stood up and took a few steps back. Chu Miaomiao held Chu He tightly, staring at the person who pushed the door open with vigilance and fear.
"Where is the Prince of Chu?"
The man who had arrived was the general who had sent troops to besiege Chu Manor. His men had searched the manor but found only a dozen or so servants and no sign of the Crown Prince. After questioning the servants, they learned that the Crown Prince and his wife had not been seen since the day before.
"Now the only one who knows where the prince is is the princess!"
Under the general's intimidation, a servant trembled and shifted the problem to Chu Miaomiao. Then, led by the servant, the general unceremoniously broke into Princess Pingyang's boudoir.
"Where is the prince now? Hand him over immediately!"
Chu Miaomiao's eyes flickered. She tried her best to suppress the fear in her heart and pretended to be indifferent. "That's my brother. Does he have to report to me every time and every place he goes?"
"Don't refuse a toast!" the general shouted. "Can you bear the consequences of deliberately harboring or concealing a wanted criminal?"
"You are such a ridiculous person. I am in this state now. Am I still afraid that I can't afford the crime of concealing the criminal wanted by the court?" Chu Miaomiao was so angry that she laughed, and her words became even more impolite.
The general quickly calmed down, his gaze shifting to Chu He, who was nestled in Chu Miaomiao's arms. He curled his lips coldly and waved his hand for the soldiers behind him to step forward: "Go and take that girl away for interrogation!"
Chu Miaomiao and Chu He's expressions changed. Chu Miaomiao held Chu He and retreated. Two tall and strong soldiers had already grabbed Chu He and were pulling her away.
"Princess!" Chu He exclaimed, her voice filled with unconcealable fear.
Chu Miaomiao wanted to grab Chu He's clothes, but was pushed away by another soldier. She fell heavily to the ground and her head hit the table leg hard.
The severe pain in her body and head made her unable to get up temporarily, and she could only watch those people drag Chu He away.
A chill came from the forehead, and a faint blood color soon appeared in the vision of the left eye. Pain invaded the body, and consciousness became dizzy.
"Chuhe..."
Chu Miaomiao murmured, and finally, unable to resist the drowsy consciousness, she closed her eyes.
"General Ma." A soldier noticed Chu Miaomiao's abnormality and quickly called out to the general, "Princess Pingyang has fainted."
General Ma turned back and went into the house to check on Chu Miaomiao's condition, then said, "It's just a superficial wound, nothing serious."
"The princess is injured. If the higher-ups ask about this..."
"A traitor's daughter, a wanted criminal of the imperial court, why are you questioning her?" General Ma shouted. "The sage has ordered the imprisonment of the Prince of Chu and his wife, as well as Princess Pingyang. As long as they survive, it doesn't matter if she's injured or not."
Afterwards, everyone left the yard, leaving Chu Miaomiao alone, still lying on the ground, unconscious. When she regained consciousness, the blood on her forehead had dried, leaving only the pain.
Chu Miaomiao staggered to her feet, closed the door, moved to the bed, covered her head with the quilt and burst into tears.
The grievances and fears that had been deliberately suppressed for such a long time burst out like a torrent, invading Chu Miaomiao's fragile heart again and again, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
They captured Chu He. Apart from her, Chu He was the only one in the whole mansion who knew where her brother and sister-in-law were.
She didn't know how those people would interrogate Chu He. If Chu He revealed the whereabouts of her brother and sister-in-law, she could only pray that she had left the farmyard and continued to flee eastward.
Chu Miaomiao, filled with worry, cried for most of the day until she lost all her strength, her eyes swollen, and she fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up again, the night was quiet and the rain was pouring down.
After crying for too long, her head and eyes ached. Chu Miaomiao slowly stood up and wanted to pour herself a glass of water. When she picked up the teapot, she found that there was not a drop of water.
Chu Miaomiao had no choice but to find some water to drink. As soon as she opened the door, she was blocked by two crossed spears.
She has been imprisoned.
"Bring water to this princess."
The soldier guarding the door didn't move.
"The Saint hasn't threatened to kill me yet. I'm dying of thirst. Let's see how you're going to handle this!"
Only after the harsh words were spoken did one of the soldiers set off.
Chu Miaomiao returned to the bed and lay there for a while. In a daze, she seemed to hear someone talking. Then the door was pushed open and someone walked in.
"Put your things down and get out."
She heard the door close, but the footsteps did not disappear, instead they were getting closer and closer to her.
Chu Miaomiao suddenly became alert and sat up from the bed. Looking at the heavy figure reflected on the curtain, she felt even more panicked.
It was a deep night, a heavy rain, and she was alone in her boudoir. If someone came with malicious intentions, what would she do? Although she was doomed to die, that didn't mean she could allow herself to be bullied.
Chu Miaomiao took out the silver hairpin from her hair and held it tightly in her palm. When the curtain was opened, Chu Miaomiao raised the silver hairpin and lunged at the person who came.
The man seemed startled and quickly dodged to the side. He then put one hand around Chu Miaomiao's belt and held it in his arms, and with the other hand he knocked away Chu's tight grip on her wrist.
Chu Miaomiao felt pain, and the strength in her hand drained away, causing the silver hairpin to fall to the ground. At this moment, she heard a hurried cry: "Miaomiao!"
A familiar voice sounded, and Chu Miaomiao's eyes widened: "Wei Zhen?"
Wei Zhen hugged Chu Miaomiao tightly in his arms and whispered in her ear: "It's me, don't be afraid."
Wei Zhen's embrace wasn't warm, but rather filled with a damp chill that assaulted the thinly clad Chu Miaomiao. His bony hands clasped her waist and arms tightly, exerting force without pain, and she could feel his gentleness.
Chu Miaomiao leaned on Wei Zhen's shoulder, tears welling up in her already red and swollen eyes.
She never dared to imagine that she would meet Wei Zhen here.
She was the daughter of a traitor, and he was the crown prince. He shouldn't have anything to do with her! He shouldn't be here at a time like this!
Chu Miaomiao closed her eyes in pain, tears sliding down and dripping onto Wei Zhen's shoulder.
Wei Zhen thought she was still scared, so he kept comforting her. Suddenly, he felt the person in his arms struggle. He was at a loss and said, "What's wrong with Miaomiao?"
Chu Miaomiao pushed Wei Zhen away, wiped away her tears, and said coldly, "What are you doing here?"
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