Chapter 257 Stay
"We...we, Sister Chu, want to go to the capital with you. Please accept us." Zhang Pingping hesitated for a moment, her eyes reddening. She sank to her knees and said with a trembling voice, "Sister Chu, we've endured all these hardships just to follow you. We are sincere and honest, without a trace of falsehood."
The other thirteen followed suit, kneeling down and saying in unison, "Sister Chu, please accept us. We are willing to go through fire and water for you, no matter what."
Chu Ci frowned, his eyes filled with doubt and scrutiny, "Your problems will be resolved one day. Why did you follow me?"
However, facing Chu Ci's questioning, Zhang Pingping pursed his lips and said nothing, just knelt stubbornly, looking at Chu Ci with firm eyes.
Chu Ci's face darkened upon seeing this, and his voice became a little louder. "Do you know what you will face in the future if you follow me?"
"Following me, the future is uncertain. There may be many dangers, and you may even lose your life. Aren't you afraid?"
Chu Ci's original intention was just to scare them and make them retreat, but he never expected that they would all shout, "We are not afraid."
The voice was uniform and loud, with great determination.
Chu Ci was stunned when he heard this, and a ripple appeared in his heart, but he continued to harden his heart and said: "But I don't want to take you in because of a moment of weakness, and then hurt you in the future!"
Chu Ci's original intention was just to scare them and make them retreat, but he never expected that they would all shout, "We are not afraid."
The voice was uniform and loud, with great determination.
Chu Ci was stunned when he heard this, and a ripple of emotion could not help but continue to speak with a hard heart: "But I don't want to take you in because of a moment of weakness, and then hurt you in the future! I can't bear this responsibility, and I don't want to bear such guilt."
"You should go back. The Purple-robed Envoy won't have any problem with you children. He will take good care of you and let you live a peaceful life. That's the best way."
Chu Ci's words were firm and resolute, like an extremely sharp blade, instantly breaking through the defenses of these children who had suffered so much, causing their hearts to burst. "But we have nowhere else to go. Sister Chu, please don't abandon us."
Zhang Pingping was the first to burst into tears, tears flowing freely like a broken dam.
Zhang Pingping's crying seemed to open a floodgate of sadness, and the other children also started sobbing, and the whole place was filled with sorrow.
"We've lost our home and our loved ones. Now you're the only one who can give us a glimmer of hope. If you don't want us, we really don't know what to do."
The eldest prince was distraught at what he heard. He slammed the teacup in his hand onto the table with a dull thud. "What do you mean you have nowhere to go? I am a dignified Purple Envoy of the Great Zhou Dynasty and a trusted confidant of the Emperor. I cannot possibly embarrass you children."
"Tell me, why did you sneak out and find our inn so accurately? Did someone instruct you? Tell the truth!"
Being questioned by the Crown Prince, Zhang Pingping and his companions felt a chill in their hearts. Their initial grievance and sadness were instantly replaced by fear. They dared not act like they had before, nor did they dare to continue to argue. "We didn't lie..."
Zhang Pingping's voice was trembling with obvious fear.
"We always remember what Sister Chu said and listen to the Purple-Robed Envoy. If we are really anxious, we can also find Brother Jinming. But we didn't expect that when we woke up, everyone was gone, and we were moved to the basement of an abandoned house." Zhang Pingping said in a crying voice, her eyes full of fear and helplessness.
"Sister Pingping, I didn't lie."
"We tried to look for them, but we were too afraid to venture out into the streets during the day. We could only search at night, but we searched the entire city and couldn't find any trace of the Purple Envoys."
Zhou Haoran echoed, his voice trembling. His normally tall frame was now noticeably smaller as he trembled with fear. "Every night, we were terrified, afraid of running into bad guys and afraid of not being able to find you."
"Yeah, yeah, there was nothing we could do. We had to pawn a few pieces of clothing. We asked around and found our way here." Another child named Liu Ran wiped his tears and added with a sob, "The pawnshop owner even lowered the price so much that we really had no choice. We had to sleep in the open and endure a lot of hardships along the way."
Zhang Pingping and his group took turns talking and told in detail what happened to Chu Ci and the others after they left.
But everything about it is weird.
Firstly, the method of transfer was extremely strange. Even though Zhang Pingping and the others were young and naive and slept soundly, it was truly puzzling that none of the fourteen people noticed they had been transferred.
Was he drugged? Or did the person who transferred him possess such advanced skills that he could do it without anyone noticing?
Secondly, there was no trace of the Purple-Robed Envoy and his companions in the entire vast city, as if they had vanished into thin air. This situation was extremely strange. Did the Purple-Robed Envoy and his companions deliberately hide their whereabouts, or was there some powerful force working in the dark, causing them to vanish without a trace?
The last and most crucial point is that the children were able to pawn their clothes smoothly along the way and also found an inn by asking around.
For a group of young children, this process was too smooth and unreasonable.
The whole incident seems to be manipulated by an invisible hand. What is its purpose?
Is it directed at Chu Ci and his group, or is there another deeper meaning?
"In that case, I agree that you stay. But remember, do not act on your own. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Since the other party's goal had not yet been achieved, the eldest prince could only grit his teeth and let them stay. Perhaps this could lure the snake out of its hole, the eldest prince thought secretly, and then said.
The eldest prince's eyes were deep, and he had already made some plans in his mind. He was just waiting for the subsequent development of events to see if the truth behind the fog could be revealed.
Although the eldest prince spoke harshly, he finally agreed to let them stay.
When Zhang Pingping and the other children heard this, they couldn't hide the excitement on their faces. They cheered and their eyes were shining with excitement.
But they remembered that the person they wanted to follow was Chu Ci.
Then, they instantly fell silent again, each of them waiting eagerly for Chu Ci's reaction.
Under such circumstances, Chu Ci naturally couldn't let them go back. Her heart softened, and she nodded lightly and said, "Then I will listen to His Majesty the King of Shu."
Zhang Pingping and the other children were about to cheer when Chu Ci interrupted them: "Don't be so happy just yet. This is all temporary. Once your issues are resolved, you will return to your families. Do you understand?"
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