"No worries, just now their attention was on you few, they didn’t pay much attention to , a re follower." Zhu Yu half turned, showing them a bit of his position, "When they tied up, I slightly expanded my wrists, and they didn’t notice, so it’s not too tight now, there’s still so room to move."
Lu Qing sighed lightly and nodded to her.
Although his heart ached for Zhu Yu being tied up all along, just as she said, the best strategy now is to go with the flow. No matter what, they need to return to Jin Country’s territory, back to the Capital, where they will have more advantages.
Within a short while, everyone else was ready, and the convoy and other troops grandly set off.
The citizens of Bhutan’s capital had no idea what had happened at Fanwang Mansion. The carriage carrying King Fan’s coffin was airtight, making it impossible for anyone to see the large coffin inside.
So witnessing the grand procession, the city folks watching the spectacle on the roadside thought this might be King Fan organizing his troops to go to the Holy Emperor for tribute, thus couldn’t help but point and chatter away.
The taste of being confined in a prison cart was indeed unpleasant.
Zhu Yu never considered herself soone pampered and spoiled; she thought she had seen all kinds of hardships and there shouldn’t be much of a problem.
But after just a day of turbulence, she was already sowhat out of spirit.
No way, with five people imprisoned in the prison cart, even if those small air windows could let in so fresh air, it was still unbearably stuffy.
Zhu Yu felt even less comfortable than the others; tightly bound, her body already felt uneasy, and as the fabric strips got soaked with sweat, it felt like being stead, especially during the hottest part of the day, she even found it a bit hard to breathe.
That’s just one aspect; on the other hand, when they delivered water and food, they didn’t untie them either.
The food and water were placed in a few broken bowls in the middle of the cart, and those malicious Fanwang Mansion guards crouched outside the air windows, waiting to watch them snatch the food like dogs.
This point was sowhat unbearable for Zhu Yu.
She’d always heard others say, "A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated"; she understood the aning, but hadn’t truly experienced it.
Now it’s different, she felt it very keenly.
Such humiliating ways of serving food were truly intolerable.
But before she could react, Lu Qing extended his long legs, directly kicking over the bowls on the ground, spilling the water and the dry bread rolling aside.
"You have quite the nerve, can the Holy Emperor’s prince be so easily insulted and teased by you? If you can’t properly bring food and water for us, then we’d rather not eat." Lu Qing told the people outside, "We’ve been out of the capital for less than a day, without food and drink, we won’t last five or six days.
Calculate this, and by the ti we reach Jin Country’s Capital, the five of us would already be five corpses, then your King Fan’s nephew along with his uncle can deliver six corpses to the Holy Emperor."
His words were neither servile nor overbearing, with no anger or frustration, just an unyielding determination.
The guards outside, hearing this, felt sowhat unsure, having no choice but to run to report to King Fan’s nephew.
King Fan’s nephew dared not let Lu Qing and the others co to any harm, and quickly ordered proper feeding.
However, the guards were also unwilling to undertake such tasks, so reluctantly they untied their ropes one by one, moving their hands from behind to front and retying them, allowing them to take the bowls of water and bread to eat as they wished.
Even though still tied, with only dry bread to eat, having their hands in front was far more comfortable than behind.
Zhu Yu and the others said no more; regardless of having no appetite, they ate so bread and drank so water to replenish their strength.
Yan Daoxin, from the mont he got on the cart, maintained a cross-legged posture as if ditating; except when Lu Qing asked him to drink water and eat during which he opened his eyes, drank a few sips of water and nibbled a piece of bread, then went back to ditating silently.
After nightfall, expecting it to cool down, the prison cart instead felt more humid and stifling, and although weary and exhausted, Zhu Yu couldn’t sleep due to the heat.
Finally, when the convoy stopped by a forest for the night, resting in place, with all the Fanwang Mansion guards finding suitable places to sleep, the area fell silent, Zhu Yu felt sowhat secure, cautiously inching towards Lu Qing’s side.
"In our current situation, there’s no way to send a ssage out, right?" She tilted her head, revealing the strap of the whistle that could summon the Hidden Guard on her neck, hinting with her words.
Lu Qing nodded: "Indeed."
"What do we do then? Without reliable backup, our plans might not proceed smoothly." Zhu Yu worriedly said.
Seeing her worried look, Lu Qing raised his tied hands, with one finger lifting Zhu Yu’s chin while the other gently smoothing her tightly furrowed brows.
The coolness of Lu Qing’s hands, in such sweltering and frustrating tis, gave her a sense of peace with such gentle touch.
"From Shuo Land to Jin Country, there are so places we can’t avoid." After rubbing for a while, Lu Qing reluctantly withdrew his hand, speaking softly, "When the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a way; there will be other solutions."
After saying so, he pulled Zhu Yu sideways to lie down, resting her head on his lap: "Sleep, no matter how uncomfortable, eating, drinking, and resting are crucial; wearing oneself out ans nothing."
Zhu Yu understood naturally and complied by lying down, curling herself slightly to avoid occupying too much space.
How long had passed was unknown, but ultimately fatigue overwheld the heat, coupled with Lu Qing’s legs as her pillow making her feel secure, Zhu Yu gradually fell into slumber.
The next day, before dawn, Zhu Yu was awakened by Lu Qing. As she sat up in a daze, before fully awakening, sothing was stuffed into her mouth.
If not for the cool sensation spreading instantly and clearing her mind, she would have instinctively spat it out.
But the action of pursing her lips was noticed by Yan Daoxin, who was startled and whispered: "Ancestor! Don’t spit it out! It’s good stuff!"
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