Chapter 122: Using Beauty to Serve People (II)

Princess?

Princess?

Liu Er's mind buzzed, as if struck by a muffled gong.

Those two words bounced back and forth in his eardrums, leaving him dazed.

In an instant, he recalled that figure on horseback under the blazing sun before Ju Cheng.

That woman, with just a gaze that overlooks all things, possesses an imposing presence.

No credentials needed; she is naturally destined to be above others.

Since childhood, he has always feared such nobles.

But he never imagined that such a noble would also concern herself with the life and death of common folk...

You must know, though this place is rich in produce, with the emperor far away and heaven high, it is most prone to breeding "great rats".

He had performed in Ju Cheng for many years, seeing plenty of local gentry smugly boasting how they squeezed oil and water from the peasants, yet never once seeing them spend money on disaster relief!

Is this the princess's magnanimity?

So the so-called royal bloodline also inherits a lineage of benevolence?

Liu Er's mind was in a haze; he unconsciously followed the crowd a few steps, wanting to catch another glimpse of the princess's bearing...

However, after taking a few steps, his foot slipped in the filthy water, and only then did he snap back to his senses——

Walk my ass!

How could he go to Cang Cheng?

He still carries a life on his back nowadays!

Although Qian Youde that beast is old and muddle-headed, the officials and soldiers in Ju Cheng aren't all just eating dry rations.

His accidental killing of the county magistrate and theft of money before fleeing has long spread throughout the streets and alleys of Ju Cheng.

If the princess had never seen him before, that would still be okay to say.

But he just had the bad luck to have gone out of the city with the county magistrate and met the princess!

If he were discovered, if he were discovered......

Liu Er gritted his teeth, hesitating for a moment.

The rain was still falling, lighter than before, yet it still pattered densely on his straw hat, making a pattering sound.

He stood in the muddy water, watching the dark mass of people surge eastward like a headless long snake, slowly writhing in the gloomy heavens and earth.

Go, or not go?

If he went, once recognized, it would be a dead end.

If he didn't go, the flood was still rising; who knows if going elsewhere could save his life.

He lowered his head and looked at the bundle in his arms.

The oilcloth was wrapped tightly, but in that moment of daze his hand unconsciously loosened a little, letting rain seep through the seam and leave a dark spot on the cloth.

He hurriedly retightened the bundle, his knuckles whitening from the grip.

He cannot go.

He gritted his teeth and made his decision.

The most important thing in this world is to stay alive.

As long as he lives, with silver in hand, where couldn't he go afterward?

Cang Cheng is off-limits, so he'll head south, into the mountains; there will always be a way.

He looked left and right; the crowd was all surging forward, nobody noticing him.

Thus, he turned slightly sideways, moving against the flow, slowly edging to the side.

The water hadn't reached his calves; each step felt as heavy as stepping in starch paste.

He walked extremely slowly and carefully, afraid that any big movement would draw attention.

At last he edged to the crowd's edge, where a crooked section of collapsed earth wall stood, half submerged in water, barely serving as a resting spot.

He planned to hide here first, wait for the main group to pass, then find another route.

However, no matter how well one plans, one cannot withstand heaven's tricks.

Liu Er had just thought to relax a breath when, turning around, he bumped head-on into someone.

The collision came too suddenly; Liu Er felt his chest suffocate, his whole body staggering back a step, nearly falling into the water.

The bundle in his arms was jolted upward, then fell back into his embrace, and from inside the oilcloth came a muffled sound——

"Ding."

It was the sound of a silver ingot colliding. Not loud, but extremely clear, like biting a small piece of ice in winter.

Liu Er's blood ran cold halfway through his body.

He jerked his head up and saw a tall man standing before him.

That man had a square face and broad forehead, his skin darkened by the sun, wearing a patched‑and‑repaired coarse‑cloth short jacket, soaked through by the rain, clinging to his body and revealing the solid muscles underneath.

He was bent at the waist, both hands gripping a thick hemp rope whose other end was tied to a flatbed cart, half of which was sunk in the muddy water, the cart loaded with some jars, blankets and clothing, roughly covered with oilcloth and bound with several lengths of rope.

The man obviously hadn't expected to bump into someone; he froze for a moment, then let go of one hand, hastily wiped rain from his face, revealing a simple, honest smile as he opened his mouth to speak.

Liu Er didn't hear a word.

His mind was filled only with that "ding".

That sound wasn't loud, and the rain was dense; an ordinary person might not hear it clearly.

But the square‑faced man was this close; he might well have heard it.

If he heard it, he would know that there was something hard hidden in his chest.

Knowing he had something hard in his arms, one would wonder what it was and guess it was silver.

Guessing it was silver, they would wonder where this person got so much silver, and then think of reporting to the authorities......

No.

It's not possible.

With great difficulty, just a little more, and Liu Er could bring home gold and silver and live a good life.

How could it be, how could it be discovered by someone?

Murderous intent rose like a snake, silently surging up from the depths of the heart, icy cold, coiling around Liu Er's five viscera and six bowels.

Cannot leave a living witness.

Liu Er lowered their eyes, hiding that glint of ferocity in the shadow of their eyelashes.

Liu Er's breathing steadied, a pained expression slowly spreading across their face, brows furrowed, lips trembling slightly, as if they had truly been struck hard.

"Ouch......"

Liu Er clutched their chest, voice pressed low, tinged with a sob:

"It hurts so much I could die......"

The square-faced man indeed panicked.

He hurriedly loosened the rope, took two steps forward, reached out to help Liu Er, and said repeatedly:

"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't see the road in this water, I didn't mean to, little brother, are you alright?"

Liu Er stepped back half a pace, evading his hand, bent at the waist, one hand propped on the knee, the other pointing down at the feet, voice soft and weak, like a thread about to snap:

"Big brother…… could you help me check? I feel like I stepped on something under my foot, it's painfully hard, I can't bend down......"

As Liu Er spoke, their face showed pain and helplessness, even the corners of their eyes squeezing out a glint of moisture.

Those beautiful brows and eyes were scrunched together, looking utterly pitiful.

The square-faced man said nothing, bent down, buried his head in the murky wastewater, and reached out to feel the mud beneath Liu Er's feet.

The opportunity had arrived.

Liu Er's hand slowly rose.

Ten fingers were white as scallion tubes, joints slender, looking soft and boneless, yet now they were clenched tight, like five iron hooks.

Liu Er only needed to press firmly on the back of the man's head, and they could push his head into the water.

This water is full of silt and sand; choking on a few mouthfuls makes one faint, and once fainted, they never get up again.

No one would discover it.

Dead people everywhere, corpses everywhere—what difference does one more make?

Liu Er's hand pressed down another inch.

Then Liu Er saw that cart.

To be precise, they saw the person lying on the cart.

It was an old woman, curled up in the middle of the cart, covered with a cotton jacket patched all over, the jacket soaked through, weighing heavily on her like a waterlogged stone slab.

Her face was so thin it was unrecognizable, cheekbones high and prominent, eye sockets deeply sunken, lips darkened, half-open, exhaling white mist like a wisp of breath.

One of her hands reached out from under the jacket, emaciated like a stick, veins bulging, fingers unconsciously grasping at something in the air, like a drowning person clutching at the last piece of driftwood.

Liu Er's hand hesitated half a beat, frozen in midair——

Liu Er recalled the old woman who had just been swept away by the water.

Back then......

Back then, Liu Er, did they not want to save anyone?

Yes, they simply didn't want to save anyone! They were the most cold-hearted person.

Yes, they simply didn't want to save anyone. Besides, the old woman had no children or grandchildren beside her, was already old, and at a glance one could tell she wouldn't live long even if rescued.

Yes, they simply didn't want to save......

After all, Liu Er's own life hung in the balance.

?? came, actually today is a short biography of a minor figure, everyone guess how the female lead will use this person, Liu Er~