Chapter 33 With me here, one night passed, and several villages, one family...
A night passed, and after checking each household in several villages, there was still no news.
Zhao Linzhang's eyes were bloodshot, and his eight-clawed dragon brocade robe was wrinkled. He hadn't slept for a day and a night. He couldn't even sit still, fearing that if he made the slightest mistake, he would never be able to find Shen Yunrong again.
The thought that he might lose her caused him a churning, searing pain in his heart.
Xiao Zheng advised, "Your Highness, you haven't eaten for a whole day. How can your body take it? Even if you don't take care of yourself, you have to do it for Miss Shen. She's still waiting for you!"
Zhao Linzhang stiffened, silently picked up the chicken porridge from the side, and swallowed it in a few mouthfuls.
Just as he put down his bowl, Liu Hu rushed over: "Your Highness, a boy wants to see you!"
"A boy?" Zhao Linzhang thought for a moment, then immediately called out, "Where is he?"
Soon, a little boy was brought before Zhao Linzhang by the guards.
"You want to see me?" Zhao Linzhang narrowed his eyes and sized him up, remembering the girl who had lured Shen Yunrong away.
The figure and appearance were similar to those reported by the guards, except that this one was a boy.
"Summon the fifth and sixth of the month!" Zhao Linzhang ordered Xiao Zheng to bring the two guards who had gone to search over so they could be identified.
“Yes, I know you are a high-ranking official, and I know where the person you are looking for is.” The little boy had a maturity and composure beyond his years.
"What did you say?" Zhao Linzhang stood up as if relaxed, his eyes dark and brooding as he scrutinized him, as if trying to see through him.
Under the pressure, the little boy did not flinch. He held up two fingers and said, "Give me a hundred taels of silver and a fast horse, and I'll tell you."
Seeing Zhao Linzhang's disbelief, a hint of anxiety appeared on his face: "She was wearing a pale yellow gauze robe and a light green Xiang skirt, with a jade hairpin in her hair, and her name was Yunrong..."
"Where is she?" Upon hearing this, Zhao Linzhang's heart skipped a beat, and his voice became hoarse.
"You, you give me silver and a horse and I'll tell you, but you also have to guarantee my safe departure and not arrest me!"
"Someone, give him the silver and the horse!" Zhao Linzhang released him, and the boy fell to the ground with a thud.
Soon, a hundred taels of silver notes and a chestnut horse were brought to the boy. The boy carefully put the silver notes away, saying, "Sir, you must keep your word!"
"Speak!" Zhao Linzhang's heart was pounding.
"Sister, sister is in that dilapidated temple!"
"Nonsense! You dare to fool me!" Zhao Linzhang was furious. He was desperate and grasped at straws. How could he believe this child's nonsense!
"It's true! There's a secret room under the dilapidated temple. I discovered it by accident!" Xiao Feng patted his chest to assure him. He even got a few extra coins from that strange lady for the secret room.
"Dark room! Men, seize him! The rest of you, follow me!"
"You said you'd let me go, but you're such a high-ranking official, you're lying!" Xiao Feng kicked and struggled to break free.
"Once you find the person, I will release you! I'll even reward you with a hundred gold pieces. Lead the way now!"
"Wang, Baijin?" The boy seemed to understand something, his legs trembling and going weak. He seemed to have offended a big shot.
With a knife to his neck, his dream of getting rich vanished instantly, and he trembled all over.
"Why was she in the dark room of the dilapidated temple? Who are you?"
"Yes, sir, my name is Xiao Feng. A strange lady gave me one tael of silver and asked me to disguise myself as a girl to lure my sister out."
Zhao Linzhang roughly understood what was going on. Someone had instructed him to lure Shen Yunrong to a dilapidated temple, where there was a hidden room beneath the crumbling walls.
No wonder they searched for so long without finding anyone.
As for that strange young lady, Zhao Linzhang sneered. He had truly underestimated her; she actually had the ability to hide his people.
In just a few words, they had completely surrounded the dilapidated temple.
They also rushed over on the fifth and sixth days of the lunar new year. They identified the boy in front of them and said, "It looked like a girl that day!"
"I'm speaking in a low voice!" Xiao Feng's words caused Chu Wu and Chu Liu to kneel excitedly before Zhao Linzhang: "Your Highness, it was him, he took the girl away!"
"Tell me, where is the entrance to the secret room?" After confirming that he had not been fooled, Zhao Linzhang ordered his men to release him.
Xiao Feng had no idea that this man was so important. She was so scared that she almost wet herself. With a sob in her voice, she pointed and said, "Under that wall."
Princess Ana, who was inside, heard the commotion outside and knew that Xiao Feng, who had gone out to deliver food to them, had not yet returned. She knew that something terrible had happened.
He had a maid lift up the woman who was about to faint, and then drew a dagger from his body and pressed it against the woman's thin neck.
The stinging pain instantly cleared Shen Yunrong's mind. She also heard the noisy footsteps outside, and she knew that Zhao Linzhang would definitely find her.
No wonder he called this princess a madwoman, locked her up here, and interrogated her about her relationship with Zhao Linzhang. She only said that she had worked as a wet nurse in the palace.
The mad princess pulled out her soft whip and lashed her more than a dozen times. If it weren't for the maid beside her stopping her, she might have been beaten to death.
"Princess, we are surrounded!"
"This woman should have been killed long ago, but you're the one who stopped me!" Princess Ana angrily lashed her whip at the maid. That day, when she was discovered following Zhao Linzhang, she didn't go back but secretly followed him from a distance. She thought it was this woman who made Zhao Linzhang unwilling to accept her.
Upon inquiry, she discovered the woman was a servant, which infuriated her even more. She had gone to such lengths to capture such a servant; she should have been beaten to death long ago.
The maid was still holding onto Shen Yunrong, who turned to the side in pain, causing the knife to be plunged even deeper into her neck.
“Princess, she was King Zhuang’s woman. If she dies, when King Zhuang gets angry, not only you, but all the people of Annam will suffer.”
The maid lowered her eyes helplessly. She probably couldn't go back, but she still had her family in Annam. She couldn't and didn't want Annam to be destroyed because of this stupid princess.
"She herself admitted that she was a breastfeeding maid!"
The maid was too exhausted to persuade her any further. Who would mobilize so many people for a thorough search just for a servant girl?
They originally planned to hide the person here and take them out at night, but by the time she and the princess arrived, they had no chance to leave because there were people everywhere outside.
Ana was so angry she didn't want to play anymore. Just as she was about to stab him with her dagger, a loud bang was heard and the door to the dark room was kicked open.
A cloud of dust rose as a tall figure leaped in, followed by a dense mass of archers clad in iron armor.
"Annan princess, how dare you! Release my woman!" Zhao Linzhang's heart clenched when he saw Shen Yunrong covered in wounds, and his eyes seemed to devour her.
"You, you stay away, or I'll kill her!" Even though Ana was a princess, she had never seen such a murderous scene.
"I'll say it again, release her." Zhao Linzhang's eyes were covered with ice, and his whole body exuded a murderous aura.
Enraged to the extreme, Zhao Linzhang's tone became surprisingly calm. Shen Yunrong opened her eyes wide in pain, as if she had just hallucinated Zhao Linzhang's voice.
With her last urge, she bit her tongue. It really was Zhao Linzhang; he had found her.
She tried to call out to him, but her neck hurt so much that she couldn't make a sound. She could only stare at him greedily.
His face was pale, his eyes were dark and swollen, and a few loose strands of hair hung down on his face. He had suffered a lot in his search for her.
She had no regrets about being able to see him one last time. She had thought a lot about it. If she died, Zhao Linzhang would definitely treat her mother and daughter well.
The only regret is that she kept her feelings to herself. Zhao Linzhang had been very good to her, but she was unable to repay him.
"Linzhang, I like you!" She couldn't utter a sound, she could only mouth the words.
Zhao Linzhang, who hadn't taken his eyes off her since entering, instantly understood her words, and the passion surging in his heart was like a tidal wave.
His cheeks trembled: "With me here, no one can hurt you!"
He took a step forward, raised his hand, and the archers behind him all took aim.
"If you promise me that you will marry into my Annam Kingdom, I will not kill her!" Ana was not afraid at all. She was a princess. How could Zhao Linzhang dare to kill her? It turned out that this servant was so useful.
"Marry into the family! Ha!" Zhao Linzhang thought he had heard a funny joke.
"Very well, I promise you, I will release her."
"Furthermore, I, the princess, forbid you from seeing any other women in the future. You must listen to me from now on, and you must also drive this woman away!" Ana raised her head; she knew this tactic would work.
Zhao Linzhang glanced at her as if she were dead, and replied, "Release her, and I will do whatever you say!"
As Ana was getting into her story, the maidservant leaped forward and snatched the knife from her hand. In an instant, Zhao Linzhang appeared, grabbed Shen Yunrong, pulled her into his arms, and stepped back, shouting, "Shoot!"
Princess Ana and her maid were instantly pierced by a hail of arrows while still lost in a beautiful dream. Her amber eyes widened in disbelief. How dare he kill her!
The maidservant cried out with all her might, "Your Highness, please spare Annam!"
Zhao Linzhang hugged the person in his arms tightly, without turning his head: "Granted!"
Shen Yunrong closed her eyes with peace of mind in the familiar embrace.
Zhao Linzhang quickened his pace, shouting to Liu Hu and Xiao Zheng, "Quickly fetch a doctor! The Annamite princess attempted to assassinate me! Send their bodies to the foreign embassy!"
"Yes!" The two men acknowledged the order and passed each other.
When Shen Yunrong opened her eyes again, she saw the dark black tent ceiling, as if she had been transported to another world.
"You're awake!"
Hearing the familiar voice, she tried to turn her head, but a sharp pain shot through her neck; it seemed her whole body ached.
"Well!"
"Does it hurt a lot? That crazy woman, leaving her a whole corpse is too good for her!" Zhao Linzhang felt heartbroken but couldn't help her relieve the pain. Her fair and smooth skin was covered with scars. Her face was slashed, and the most serious wound was on her neck. If the knife had gone any deeper, even a god wouldn't have been able to save her.
When he saw those wounds, he was so angry that he wanted to trample Annam. If it weren't for the fact that the maid saved Shen Yunrong, he would have made Annam pay for their princess.
"Don't speak yet, just focus on recovering. The imperial physician said you'll be fine in a few days!" Zhao Linzhang could only kiss the top of her head.
"It's all my fault, I couldn't protect you properly. You can punish me however you want once you're better!" Zhao Linzhang kissed away the tears at the corners of her eyes: "Don't be afraid, no one will be able to hurt you in the future!"
Shen Yunrong wasn't afraid; she was only afraid of letting him down.
She reached out and touched the large hand that dared not touch her, slowly climbing up to hold it tightly.
Zhao Linzhang shook hands with you back: "You should rest and recover in the manor. I have increased the number of people guarding the small courtyard. I will bring Ruoyu back. I was afraid that Madam Shen would worry, so I will take you out for a trip!"
Shen Yunrong nodded in relief; she was most afraid of her mother finding out.
Once she relaxed, she drifted off into a deep sleep again.
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