After sitting down, Rouyao thanked Prince Luo, "The gentleman beside the prince saved us. I have always wanted to thank the prince in person, but I was injured before and couldn't go out. Now that I am better, and the gentleman invited me, I will take this opportunity to thank the prince for saving my life."
After saying this, she stood up and bowed.
A Jing hurriedly supported him and bowed as well.
"Please take a seat, my lady. I am unworthy of this position." Prince Luo said with shame, "Actually, my lady has misunderstood. I never asked you to save you. In fact, I only found out about your presence in Nanjun today."
Rouyao was slightly startled and looked at Tianjizi.
Tianjizi explained: "The ones who saved you are some of my friends from the underworld. They were born in the grassroots and inevitably have some underworld airs, so they may have been disrespectful to the county lady on the way. Please forgive me, county lady!"
Rouyao shook her head. "It's okay. If they hadn't come to our rescue, Ajing and I would have died at the hands of the pursuers."
Indeed, on the way to Nanjun, the other party had a rather rude attitude and scolded her at every turn. If she had not been seriously injured, Ajing would have fought with them long ago.
But no matter what, the life was saved.
Tianjizi said, "It's like this, County Lady. I asked you to come here today because the prince wants to know about the incident at Wolf Tail Mountain. Can you tell me the whole story?"
Rouyao looked at Prince Luo and thought carefully. Tianjizi saved them but had not told Prince Luo yet. In addition, Ajing had told her before that Prince Luo and Chu Jing had a very deep brotherly relationship. He probably didn't believe that Chu Jing would do such a thing.
As for why they were suddenly called here today, it was probably because something unexpected happened in the capital.
She took a step forward slowly, and Ah Jing supported her worriedly, saying, "Just sit down."
Rouyao said softly: "It's okay."
She still looked at Prince Luo, then gently lifted the hem of her skirt and rolled up her wide, specially tailored trouser legs, revealing her legs.
Prince Luo quickly turned his eyes away and said unhappily, "County Lady, please respect yourself."
Rouyao said: "Prince, before you speak, please take a look at my legs. After seeing them, maybe you will believe what I say."
Prince Luo turned back slowly and his eyes fell on Rouyao's legs. He was stunned after just one glance.
Her legs were slightly exposed above her knees, and below her knees were horrific burn scars. There were also ulcers on the soles of her feet. Her injuries had not actually healed completely, but she did not seem particularly inconvenienced when she walked just now. It seemed that she had endured the pain. No wonder the big man was so nervous.
Ah Jing helped her pull down her trouser legs, then let down her skirt and helped her sit down, saying, "You don't have to show it to others. If he believes it, then he believes it. If he doesn't, then forget it."
A Jing's face looked unhappy. He was not as smart as Rouyao, but he could also see the purpose of Prince Luo calling them here today.
He didn't like anyone in the Chu family except Princess An and Prince Chu Yue.
Rouyao began to speak, "… We made a plan to steal food and herbs from the Beast Garden. Since we moved from the wooden village to Wolf Tail Mountain, food and herbs have been urgent things. Without these two things, no one can survive. Qin Zhou said that she would go to explore the way alone, but because the herbs had to be used immediately, Zi'an decided to go down the mountain with Qin Zhou to steal some herbs first. After the two of them went down the mountain, I was actually very worried, because I was not completely open-hearted with Qin Zhou. She didn't trust us before and felt that our purpose of coming to the Northern Desert was not to treat disaster victims and plague patients. She once spoke rudely to us, but Zi'an said that she believed in her heart for the people, so for the time being, we all believed her."
While Rouyao was speaking, Tianjizi took the tea handed to him by the servant outside the door. He waved his hand to let the servant go and brought the tea over himself.
Rouyao took the tea, her hands trembling slightly, fear and anger in her eyes. Memories were like wild beasts, corroding her heart.
She took a sip of water and then tried to narrate in a calm tone, "I remember that it was around midnight, and many people had gone to bed. Because there were many mosquitoes in the mountains, I was afraid that the mosquitoes would bite the patient and make his condition worse, so I got up in the dark and went with Liu Liu... Liu Liu was the granddaughter of Lady Chen of the Great Zhou. We burned some wormwood around the tent to smoke out the mosquitoes. Because the guards left by Qin Zhou were here during the day, we felt more at ease."
Her hands were shaking more and more. "After we finished all this, it was already past midnight. Liu Liu and I went to check on a few patients who were more seriously ill. Without medicine, these patients would not survive for more than two days. However, if Zi An could retrieve the medicine, they would be able to survive. In order to keep them going, that night I boiled the remaining herbs and gave them to them to take. When we left the tent, we heard the soldiers and guards running rapidly outside. I grabbed one of them... It was A Jing. A Jing asked us to hurry back to the camp, saying that he had found something unusual. Liu Liu and I did not go back to the room, but followed to see what was going on. As soon as we arrived at the intersection of Wolf Tail Mountain, we saw a large group of people walking up the mountain. The mountain road was dark at the time, so we couldn't see clearly, but it was estimated that there were several thousand people. A Jing and dozens of soldiers and guards blocked the intersection and asked us to go back immediately to evacuate the victims. Liu Liu and I ran back like crazy, picked up a pot and hit it hard, but it was too late. Arrows with fire flew over like rain, setting the camp and dry trees on fire. Thousands of people rushed forward, and the soldiers and guards couldn't resist at all..."
Rouyao's voice was very hoarse and had a strong nasal tone.
When Prince Luo heard this, his face turned very dark. He was holding a glass of water in his hand, and his fingers were clenched so tightly that they made a crackling sound.
He didn't say anything, but waited for Rouyao to take a breath before continuing.
"The fire spread very quickly, and we evacuated very slowly. As the fire burned, thick smoke billowed up. To survive, everyone ran for their lives. I saw with my own eyes those long swords piercing into the chests of the villagers, and blood splattered everywhere. No one was spared, young or old. It was a hellish massacre. All I saw was fire and smoke, blood, and wailing. I have never experienced such a cruel scene in my life..."
Her chest was heaving violently, and her tone could no longer be calm, becoming high-pitched and sharp. "I had already run out at that time, but I saw a villager being chased by soldiers. He was a good man, and I couldn't stand by and watch him die. I ran back, but I couldn't save him. I saw him fall in a pool of blood with my own eyes. My brain was about to explode. I picked up the dagger and rushed over, thinking that I was going to die anyway, so at least I could kill a few people to take the blame. I killed three people in a row, and finally the dagger was taken away. The dagger pierced my abdomen, and the fire burned over. I knew I was dead, and I cursed loudly. The man didn't act immediately, but robbed my belongings and jewelry. When he was about to attack me after the robbery, A Jing came to save me. A Jing inserted the dagger into the man's abdomen and ran away with me. When we rushed out, the hem of my skirt was burned, but there was no way to stop to put out the fire, because there were more than a dozen people chasing us..."
Rouyao couldn't help but tremble all over. She was angry and scared. Who wouldn't be scared when a woman experienced such a life-and-death situation
(End of this chapter)