activa-t Chapter 7 Aunt Liu saves Li 2 and others
Chapter 7 Aunt Liu saves Li 2 and others
"We are merchants from Guanzhong, and we've unfortunately gotten lost in these mountains!"
Fang Xuanling raised his voice, trying his best to make it sound refined and convincing.
"We were robbed by those brutal Tibetans on the way, and all our belongings were stolen!"
The village women stopped in their tracks.
Upon hearing the words "Guanzhong accent" and "Tibetan people," their hearts softened unconsciously.
"We fought our way here, and were saved by the help of a little girl!"
Fang Xuanling, observing the situation, continued to throw out bait.
"But our old eyesight is failing, and we have unwittingly fallen into a trap in this forest."
We implore the ladies to be lenient!
"A little girl?"
Aunt Liu turned around.
She looked at Fang Xuanling, a hint of surprise and doubt in her eyes.
"How old is that girl? What does she look like?"
Aunt Liu took a few steps closer, her tone carrying a hint of scrutiny.
"She was about seven or eight years old, and looked like a fairy. She was dressed in white."
Li Shimin gritted his teeth and added.
"She was accompanied by... she was also accompanied by a huge worm!"
The village women exchanged glances.
In their minds, riding a large insect through the mountains and forests was something extraordinary.
There was no one else but Miss Yu.
"Since it was someone Miss Yu saved, they must not be a villain."
Aunt Liu muttered to herself.
"Miss Yu is kind-hearted."
The person she's set her sights on must be quite good.
Another village woman echoed in a low voice.
Their wariness lessened considerably.
"Please wait a moment, everyone."
Aunt Liu took out a sharp grass-cutting dagger from her bosom.
She walked to the tree and gestured to indicate its height.
"Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Madam!"
Cheng Yaojin thanked him repeatedly.
With a "rip," the rope broke.
Cheng Yaojin's massive body crashed to the ground like a heavy boulder, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Next was Yuchi Gong.
Then came Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling.
The four of them collapsed onto each other like a human pyramid, emitting muffled groans.
Upon landing, Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong's faces turned ashen.
They frantically untied the tattered ropes binding them, cursing under their breath.
"That cunning little girl, once I, Old Cheng, catch her..."
She absolutely has to get a spanking!
Cheng Yaojin patted the mud off his thighs.
His actions were rude, clearly indicating that he was extremely angry.
"Alright, aren't you ashamed yet?"
Fang Xuanling quickly interrupted him.
Despite the aches and pains all over his body, he immediately went to help Li Shimin, who was sitting under a tree panting heavily.
A kind-hearted village woman handed him a bag of water.
Li Shimin took the water and tilted his head back to gulp down two mouthfuls.
The splitting headache gradually subsided.
"Thank you ladies for saving my life."
Li Shimin stood up and respectfully bowed to the village women.
Although he was an emperor, in front of these saviors,
But he put aside all his arrogance.
Aunt Liu looked at the four people in front of her.
Although they were dressed in rags, their composed demeanor was unlike that of ordinary commoners.
In addition, their bodies were covered in blood and wounds, clearly indicating that they had just been through a fierce battle.
"Sigh, life is tough for everyone these days."
Aunt Liu sighed.
She looked at their disheveled appearance and remembered that they had been robbed and were penniless.
"This is still far from Guanzhong Road."
"Looking like this, you probably won't make it to town."
Aunt Liu turned around.
She and several other women whispered a few words to each other.
Then, Aunt Liu took out a neatly folded small cloth bag from her bosom.
She hesitated for a moment, then took out a handful of heavy silver coins from inside.
It was handed to Li Shimin.
"Take this money for now."
Aunt Liu's eyes were filled with sincerity.
"Let's find a place to rest in town and get some clean clothes."
Li Shimin reached out to take it.
But in the very instant he lowered his head...
Li Shimin was dumbfounded and froze on the spot.
"What... what is this?"
He stared intently at the silver ingot in his palm.
That was the latest official system of the Tang Dynasty.
The side of the silver ingot is engraved with an extremely fine flame pattern.
That was to prevent unauthorized counterfeiting; it was personally decided by Li Shimin.
Anti-counterfeiting labels specially made by the Ministry of Works in Chang'an.
These are clearly the items from the bag of valuables that the little girl just snatched!
Fang Xuanling also came over.
His expression instantly became incredibly interesting.
"Madam, where did this money come from?"
Fang Xuanling's voice trembled slightly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Oh, this was given to us by a young lady named Yu who saved our lives."
Aunt Liu didn't think much of it.
When this "Jade Girl" is mentioned, her face is filled with pride.
"She's a chivalrous woman born from the clouds, who specializes in fighting bandits who oppress the people."
"She just won a great battle and brought it back to share with us poor people."
Li Shimin felt an extremely absurd feeling rising from the bottom of his heart.
It took me most of the day.
He, the mighty emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was actually saved by his own money on his own territory?
That little girl...
She stole my money and then gave it to these displaced people.
Fang Xuanling was about to speak the truth.
But Li Shimin glared at him with a stern warning look.
He understood Li Shimin's meaning:
Wealth should not be flaunted, and the people should not be allowed to feel that the money was obtained illegally.
"I see. This Miss Yu is truly a chivalrous and righteous person."
Li Shimin cupped his hands in greeting, his tone now more sincere.
He carefully put the money away.
"Ladies, we are new here and have indeed gotten lost."
Li Shimin glanced at Fang Xuanling.
"Would it be possible for me to come down the mountain with you and visit that town?"
Fang Xuanling quickly nodded in agreement.
"The four of us old men are wandering around in this woods, and we're probably going to fall into a trap again."
Aunt Liu hesitated for a moment.
She glanced at her sisters behind her.
Seeing that everyone nodded, he reluctantly agreed.
"Then follow behind, but don't say much along the way."
The four of them followed behind the village women.
We walked along the rugged mountain path, our steps uneven, until we reached the edge of the mountain.
"Sister Liu, I heard you talking about that Miss Yu..."
As Li Shimin walked, he tentatively asked.
"Since this mountain area is so unsafe, why don't you go and stay in Luoyang Town?"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu's previously somewhat relieved expression instantly fell.
She let out a heavy sigh.
"Master, you don't understand, if it weren't for unavoidable circumstances..."
Who would want to live like a savage in these deep mountains and forests?
Aunt Liu's voice was choked with emotion.
"We were all originally from Luoyang Town."
Life was tough, but at least we had a safe place to live.
"But two years ago, those damned Tibetans came."
The village woman next to her chimed in, her eyes instantly reddening.
"They burned the crops and stole our food."
"Our men...they protected us as we escaped..."
They all died in the mass graves outside the town.
Li Shimin listened in silence.
This was a cry he would never hear in the magnificent palace of Chang'an.