Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 140: Grievance
Surprisingly, Senior Cui nodded, not finding the request difficult at all.

She casually picked up two pebbles from the ground and tossed them in the direction of the noise. She really just threw them randomly, because Jiu Que didn't even see her aiming posture. Immediately afterwards, he heard two cries of pain from the other side.

The head steward, who was about to give the disobedient woman a good beating in front of many salt workers, rubbed his throbbing head and looked up.

"Who is it? Who dares to hit me..."

He finished speaking and then collapsed onto the floor with a thud. His lackey, who was right next to him, also lay down beside him.

Not only did the people involved not know how they were knocked unconscious, but those around them also didn't know. Everyone rushed over in terror to help Steward Yan up, only to find that the two men were already unconscious. The problem was, they hadn't seen anyone attack them at all. Could it be that they had gone too far and were being punished by heaven? It must be said that many people in this era are very superstitious; the thought of this possibility was impossible to suppress the terror on their faces.

Fear is contagious. Realizing that something might have happened that they couldn't control, the henchmen in charge of the strict order didn't dare to torture the poor woman in public and quickly let her go.

The salt workers who had been called to watch quickly helped the girl, who had been lying on the ground and had been whipped several times, to her feet and led her to a corner, intending to treat her wounds. However, they exchanged glances and realized they had no medicine on them, so they could only pick up a handful of dust from the ground and sprinkle it on her exposed wounds.

The girl struggled to sit up. Although her injuries were very painful, it was worth it as long as her younger brother could escape. After all, only the two of them, the siblings, remained in their family. Her brother had the title of a student in the imperial examinations, and if he escaped, it would add credibility to the story.

The more the child thought about it, the more she felt like she was hallucinating. How could she see someone in a corner that was hard to notice? It was a woman whose clothes looked expensive, clearly not an ordinary person. But the woman was waving and bowing at her, behaving strangely.

The older sister rubbed her eyes and found that the strange woman was still there, and because everyone's attention was on the two stewards who were being carried away, they didn't notice the corner.

That's really strange.

But what shocked her even more was that the older sister then saw her younger brother, who had already run away, peek out, his eyes filled with tears as he looked at her. She immediately panicked. Hadn't he already escaped? Why was he back? She had been told that if he were caught by the officials, he would either be killed or maimed. His tongue had already been cut out, and he would never have any hope of passing the imperial examinations. She only wished for him to live a good life; couldn't even this small wish be granted?

The girl, who had relaxed her guard because she thought her brother had escaped, suddenly felt a burning fire in her heart. No, her brother hadn't escaped yet, she absolutely couldn't die!

The girl, her life and hope rekindled, waved in that direction, then, taking advantage of the crowd's inattention, quietly moved to a corner. Coincidentally, there was a dilapidated shed across the street; it used to house livestock, but they had all died, making it an abandoned old building. Under the shed's cover, the girl finally reconnected with her younger brother—or so Jiu Que had hoped.

In fact, the girl was furious. She grabbed her brother by the neck, the movement vaguely familiar, and spoke fiercely.

"Didn't I tell you to leave? Why did you come back? I saw you run away with my own eyes, and these people didn't even set their dogs to chase you. Why did you come back?"

If the child dared to say that he came back because he was worried about him, she would be furious.

Fortunately, Jiu Que interrupted, glancing at Cui Zhufeng who was on guard duty, before speaking with relief.

"What's your name? I met your brother when I came in. He's not in good condition and definitely couldn't have run more than two miles. If, as you said, the people here have dogs, your brother will definitely be caught. Who knows what kind of injuries he'll suffer then."

Seeing that the older sister's emotions had calmed down slightly, Jiu Que continued to ask, "I want to ask what exactly is wrong with this saltworks? What heinous crime could your younger brother, at such a young age, have committed that warrants having his tongue cut out?"

Hearing this, the older sister was deeply saddened, but she remained very vigilant.

"Don't think I'll believe you just because you say a few nice words. Isn't it enough that you've used the same trick once? How many more times do you want to fool us?! We admit we've been caught this time. If you want to report us, go ahead! Don't bother with all this nonsense, we won't fall for it."

Hmm, judging from their appearance, it seems like this brother and sister have been deceived before.

Jiu Que looked herself up and down, and decided that she didn't look that scary. Besides, what she said was true, and the other person's lack of faith in her probably stemmed from some kind of psychological trauma.

After careful consideration, Jiuque can only represent...

"Well, to tell you the truth, we are imperial envoys sent by His Majesty. However, we didn't come specifically to investigate Yancheng. We were returning from Qianzhou and passed through Yancheng. We found it strange that the people of Yancheng couldn't afford salt, so we decided to come and find out. If you don't believe me, I can..."

"Are you the imperial envoys from Qianzhou?"

Before Jiu Que could finish speaking, the girl, who had been very wary, suddenly grabbed her hand with a look of surprise! Her face lit up with longing, and she looked Jiu Que up and down, muttering to herself.

"I heard she was a female imperial envoy, tall and slender. What's your surname?"

"Huh? I, my surname is Ying..."

"Do you know a woman who cooks at the cinnabar mine? With the help of that imperial envoy, she finally got her revenge and killed that heartless bastard..."

"Are you talking about Wang Mo and Yang Hui? Yang Hui has already been executed, and Wang Mo was kept in the kitchen of the government office. Do you know her?"

"It really is you, Lord Ying! I have been wronged, please help me!"

As she said this, the girl knelt down and kept kowtowing on the ground. Jiu Que's heart trembled, and he quickly took half a step forward to help her up.

"Please don't do this. There's no need for such a grand gesture. If you have any grievances, please tell me. We came here to inspect the salt fields. If you can tell me what you know, it will be of great help to us."

The girl was lifted up by a tremendous force, still somewhat dazed, but the next moment she wiped away her tears with determination in her eyes.

"This humble woman will certainly speak frankly and without reservation."

(End of this chapter)