The woman tightened her grip, and Tang Zhuyun immediately felt a burning pain in her chin. She cursed the wicked woman in her heart.
"Let the Prince of Jin bring my man in exchange for you."
Tang Zhuyun: "Your man? Who is your man? What is his relationship with the prince?"
"My man has been captured by the imperial court's henchmen, and now I'm going to use you to exchange for him."
Tang Zhuyun: Honestly, big sister, you overestimate me!
This is absolutely not feasible.
"I heard you're the daughter of Tang Mingfan, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and also the woman whom the Prince of Jin dotes on excessively?"
No, she is from the Tang Family, but the poor thing has never experienced the Prince of Prince of Jin's favor.
Rumors, absolutely rumors.
However, Tang Zhuyun instantly understood the reason for her bad luck today—the grand performance on the fifteenth of August had gone too far, leading everyone to believe that Prince of Jin was deeply in love with her.
No, comrades!
"Sister," Tang Zhuyun said with a bitter face, "I am indeed my father's daughter, but the Prince of Jin does not favor me, that's really not true."
She tried to prove that she had no use to her.
Given her father's upright and incorruptible nature, if bandits held a knife to her neck, he would probably advise her to sacrifice herself for righteousness.
Needless to say, the Prince of Jin wouldn't even glance at her; it would be a loss for her.
"She has such a sweet mouth and such delicate skin; no wonder she captivated the Prince of Jin."
Hey sis, stop adding your own drama to my story!
I'm useless!
However, when you're under someone's roof, you have no choice but to bow your head.
The female bandit leader would tell her what to write, and she had to obediently write it down, only to be criticized by the bandit leader again for her ugly handwriting.
Tang Zhuyun: I'll endure it!
The female bandit leader dictated the story, which Tang Zhuyun wrote down. She rambled on for two whole pages, the core message being. "Your Highness, come quickly, or I'll be killed first and then killed."
"That's enough for now." The female bandit leader, probably tired of racking her brains for words, waved her hand and said, "Are you finished? Let me see."
Tang Zhuyun got up from the ground—poor thing, she had just finished writing the letter while lying on the ground and then handed it to the female bandit leader.
The female bandit leader then criticized her handwriting again, and asked, "What do you mean by all this?"
"I can't write the characters, so I'll just draw circles," Tang Zhuyun said. "But it shouldn't affect the general meaning, right?"
The letter reads: Your Highness, I've been... (illegible - likely a typo or a slang term for a sexual assault). The court has... (illegible - likely a typo or a slang term for a sexual assault). Order someone to release me quickly, or I'll... (illegible - likely a typo or a slang term for a sexual assault).
The female bandit leader threw the letter in her face. "What kind of garbage is this!"
Tang Zhuyun: "If you don't know how to write it, please find someone to teach me, and I'll copy it again. I'll be honest and follow your instructions carefully; I haven't dared to miss a single word."
She cooperated and begged to be let go.
"You cowardly cowards," the female bandit leader said, her words barely concealing her disgust.
After Tang Zhuyun finished rewriting the letter, she waved her hand and said, "Drag her away and lock her up with that sickly girl. If I feel like it later, I'll kill them both in the middle of the night."
Tang Zhuyun: "!"
Perhaps because her wide-eyed expression was too obvious, the female bandit leader reached out and touched her chest. "Not bad, indeed, three thousand hearts cannot compare to two ounces of breasts. Perhaps this is why Prince of Jin likes you? This old lady likes you too."
Tang Zhuyun: That's terrifying! Weren't you trying to save your man? Why are you talking about both men and women?!
"By the way, no one is allowed to touch her without my permission! If she becomes a slut, the Prince of Jin would rather leave her for us to kill, and then we'll have lost everything."
Tang Zhuyun: Thank you, Your Highness...
Then Tang Zhuyun was locked in the woodshed.
When she was led out, she realized that the wind was howling all around her, and the vegetation was lush; it seemed that she had been taken to the mountains.
"Go in!" The two men roughly pushed her into the woodshed, then locked the door and began to talk outside.
The room was dimly lit by candlelight. A tall, slender person lay in a pile of straw on the ground, his clothes tattered and his exposed skin covered in wounds.
He lay on the ground, his face completely obscured by his disheveled hair, making it impossible to see his expression.
Tang Zhuyun secretly observed for a while, and confirmed that the man was still alive by the slight rise and fall of his chest, but she did not dare to rush forward. She tentatively asked, "Are you alright?"
After a long while, just when she thought she wouldn't get a reply, she suddenly heard a hoarse voice. "Not dead."
His tone was somewhat cold, but not hostile.
Tang Zhuyun breathed a slight sigh of relief.
She sensed that this man was not someone to be trifled with, but now that she was locked in a room by bandits, if he wanted to do anything to her... she could protect herself, right?
The effects of the Soft Bone Powder are fading, and the other person is in such a half-dead state, she should still be able to manage.
But being able to coexist peacefully is obviously the best option.
"Um," Tang Zhuyun wanted to get some more information out of him, but after thinking for a moment, she said, "I see you have some injuries. I have some wound medicine in my purse, do you want some?"
"Use."
The answer was surprisingly straightforward.
"Here I am." Tang Zhuyun stepped forward, squatted down, and said, "Where are you injured? How did you get here? I was captured for no reason."
The man seemed to know her intention and said in a hoarse voice, "This is a bandit's den. I don't know why you were captured, but I was captured because that thieving woman took a fancy to me."
"Ah!" Tang Zhuyun's mouth dropped open.
That's Aquaman!
She kidnapped me to save a man, and now she's set her sights on me. And there's even a man she's eyeing lying here... This world is truly chaotic.
"So you were beaten like this because you resisted to the death?" Tang Zhuyun's voice trembled slightly. "Let me help you undress and apply the medicine first."
The man hummed in response, then slowly swept his hair aside, revealing half of his face—handsome and aloof, his gender ambiguous.
Tang Zhuyun unbuttoned his shirt and saw the old and new wounds on his body, and couldn't help but worry about her own situation.
She applied the medicine to him and asked, "Can you move?"
"No, they laced my food with sleeping pills, and I also have an old injury, so I can't move."
"Then, shall I take off your clothes and pants and apply the medicine to your lower body?"
Firstly, she wanted to cultivate relationships to extract more information, which might help her save herself; secondly, when encountering patients, she wanted to help treat them, which is almost every doctor's instinct.
Good people and bad people are for judges to decide; a doctor's duty is to save lives.
Not to mention, we're all in the same boat.
"Okay," the man agreed without hesitation.
That's incredibly satisfying.
"Don't be embarrassed, I'm doing this to treat your illness; you won't have to take responsibility later, I... ah!"
Tang Zhuyun had just pulled down his pants when she looked down and couldn't help but want to scream. She covered her mouth tightly, her eyes wide open like saucers.