allonlinenovel Chapter 257 Stay
Chapter 257 Stay
"We...we, Sister Chu, we want to go to the capital with you. Please accept us." Zhang Pingping hesitated for a moment, her eyes reddened, and she knelt on the ground with a plop. She said with a trembling voice, "Sister Chu, we have gone through all the hardships all the way just to follow you. We are sincere and there is absolutely no falsehood."
The other thirteen people 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 when he saw this, and his voice became a little louder, "Do you know what you will face in the future if you follow me?"
"The future is uncertain if you follow me. 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 thought 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, but hurt you in the future!"
Chu Ci's original intention was just to scare them and make them retreat, but he never thought 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, but 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 will not bother with you kids. He will take good care of you and let you live a peaceful life. This is 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 to go. Sister Chu, please don't abandon us."
Zhang Pingping was the first to burst into tears, and her tears flowed 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 have lost our home and our loved ones. Now you are 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 upset after hearing this, and suddenly put the teacup in his hand heavily on the table. With a "bang", the teacup hit the table with a dull sound. "What do you mean you have nowhere to go? I am the Purple Envoy of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the confidant of the Emperor. I will never embarrass you children."
"Tell me, why did you sneak out and find the inn where we are staying accurately? Did someone instruct you? Tell the truth!"
Being questioned by the eldest prince, Zhang Pingping and his party were shocked. The original grievance and sadness were instantly replaced by fear. They dared not act like before, nor did they dare to make trouble again. "We didn't lie..."
Zhang Pingping's voice was trembling with obvious fear.
"We always remember what Sister Chu said and listened to the Purple-Robed Envoy. If we were really anxious, we could also look for 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 didn't dare go out on the streets during the day. We could only look for them at night, but we searched the entire city and couldn't find any trace of the Purple Envoys."
Zhou Haoran also echoed, his voice trembling. His originally tall body was obviously very small because of the slight trembling of fear. "Every night, we are always worried, afraid of encountering bad people, and afraid of not being able to find you."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, there was nothing we could do. We had to find a way 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 sobs, "The owner of the pawnshop even lowered the price very low. We really had no choice. We had to sleep in the open air and suffered a lot along the way."
Zhang Pingping and his group spoke one after another, telling in detail what happened to Chu Ci and his friends after they left.
But everything about it is weird.
First of all, the transfer method was extremely strange. Even though Zhang Pingping and the others were young and ignorant and slept deeply, it was really puzzling that none of the fourteen people noticed that they were being transferred.
Was he drugged? Or did the person who transferred him have extremely advanced means to do it without anyone noticing?
Secondly, there was no trace of the Purple-robed Envoy and his companions in the entire city, as if they had disappeared out of 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 secret to make them disappear 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 the 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 some other deeper meaning?
"In this case, I agree that you can stay. But remember, you must not act on your own. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Since the other party's goal has not been achieved, the eldest prince can only grit his teeth and keep them. Perhaps this can be used to 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 thick fog could be revealed.
Although the eldest prince was harsh in his words, 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, so she nodded and said, "Then I will listen to His Royal Highness the King of Shu."
Zhang Pingping and her group of children were about to cheer when Chu Ci interrupted them: "You are in a hurry to be happy. This is all temporary. When your own affairs are resolved, you will still return to your families. Do you understand?"