Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 97: Was it really necessary to be this unlucky?
Jiu Que smiled but remained silent. For someone like her, newly arrived and completely clueless, speaking less meant survival. She was naturally worried about her other companions, but right now she couldn't even protect herself, so she could only suppress her urge to ask questions and wait for the right opportunity.

The meal was quite simple, but after everything was finished, the woman who had saved Jiu Que washed her hands as thoroughly as possible, started cooking again, and even took out a rather large piece of raw meat from under the cutting board.

It has to be said that when they saw that trembling piece of fresh raw meat, everyone present couldn't help but swallow hard. However, no one dared to covet it at that moment. To avoid suspicion, everyone even took a few steps away. One of the older women even tugged at Jiu Que before leaving.

“Little girl, this is food made for the overseers. Those of us who are not clean should stay away.”

However, Wang Mo called out to Jiu Que.

"Come and help me."

The other women were somewhat surprised, especially the older woman who had been holding onto Jiu Que. She couldn't help but let go of her hand and stare at her several times. It seemed she wanted to see what had gotten into this skinny little girl that Wang Mo would be willing to let her stay and help.

You see, cooking for the overseers was usually a pretty good job. Not only could you get to taste some meat while cooking, but if the food was delicious, you'd even get some leftovers as a reward. Everyone envied Wang Mo for cooking for the overseers, but she treasured this job like the apple of her eye, and no one was allowed to interfere. Who would have thought she'd be willing to teach this new little girl…

It has to be said that everyone felt a little dissatisfied, but they dared not say anything, since Wang Mo had some connection with one of the minor leaders, otherwise she wouldn't have been given such an easy job.

"Sister Wang, what do you need me to do?"

"Smash this piece of meat into mincemeat."

Wang Mo had a rather aloof personality. When she called Ying Jiuque over, she only quietly instructed her to do the work. Everyone waited for a while and realized that Jiuque was just there to do hard labor, so they breathed a sigh of relief. They thought that Wang Mo would never entrust such an easy task to a stranger; it turned out she just wanted her to do the hard work.

This minced meat is hard to chop. My arms are constantly straining, and before I'm done, my shoulders are aching terribly. That new girl is so pitiful. Not only was she kidnapped here and she has to do hard labor, but she's also unfamiliar with the place. She's young and probably pampered by her family. But once she's in this mine, she'll never be able to leave.

Sigh, aren't they the same? They can only live one day at a time.

After everyone went back to their own work, Wang Mo asked her in a low voice.

"What's your name?"

"Ah, my name is Jiu..."

"So your name is Xiao Jiu. I guess the reason you have this name is because you have too many brothers and sisters in your family, and you just happened to be the ninth one?"

"Ah, I...yes."

Jiu Que's tone took a turn here, and she agreed without blinking. Lin Wei had quite a few children, both publicly and privately, it was hard to count whether there were actually nine, but now she was called Xiao Jiu. "Then you're probably not very favored at home, otherwise you wouldn't have given her such a perfunctory name."

"Ah, yes, I'm indeed not very favored at home, mainly because I have too many brothers and sisters, and I'm a girl, so the elders in the family are a bit sexist. Actually, I came here to visit relatives in Qianzhou, but because we didn't have enough carriages, my parents and several older brothers and sisters left ahead of me, and I and the rest of my siblings were left behind. To be honest, I don't know how I ended up here..."

Jiu Que carefully chose his words before speaking. For some reason, although the woman beside him, Sister Wang Mo, seemed cold and unapproachable, her questions just now seemed to be intentionally guiding her to reveal her tragic past.

This didn't seem so bad. After all, in a place where law and morality were practically nonexistent, there were too many lawless outlaws. If she exaggerated her background, some people might want to experience what it was like to be a so-called noblewoman. Jiu Que wasn't a naive child; she couldn't fathom the dangers involved. What was the big deal about telling a few lies to protect herself? Now, she was more interested in knowing where Chunyu and the others were and whether they were in danger.

Wang Mo paused slightly while chopping vegetables, and the next moment the cleaver slammed down on the cutting board, his voice turning cold and sharp.

"Now that you've ended up here, don't overthink it or ask any unnecessary questions!"

Jiu Que was somewhat disappointed. Wang Mo sighed and glanced at the women standing far away. In the end, she couldn't bear it.

"There's no turning back from this place. Now that you're here, don't think about your family outside. The most important thing is to think about how to save your own life. As for your other brothers and sisters, there are mountains and mines all over Qianzhou. Who knows which mine they've been taken to?"

So there were other mines here. It seemed Chunyu and the others had been taken to other mines. She wasn't worried about the two men, but Chunyu wasn't as strong as her; wouldn't he be bullied?
But thinking back, Chunyu was no ordinary woman; she had fought her way up to the fifth rank in the male-dominated Ministry of Justice. With her intelligence, she could certainly protect herself, but she still needed to contact them as soon as possible.

At this moment, Jiu Que missed the peerless martial arts master Cui very much. Where was Senior Cui when they were captured?
Senior Cui, Senior Cui is currently running around like a headless fly! I don't know what happened, but in a moment of distraction, those two huge carriages in front of her disappeared! She is indeed skilled in martial arts, but there's no rule in this world that says any martial arts master with outstanding skills doesn't need to take care of their daily needs!

It was only a short while, but when she returned, she found that the two large carriages and the four large people were nowhere to be found!

Searching back and forth along the official road, Cui Zhufeng found very few travelers on this road leading to Qianzhou, which meant she didn't find any crucial clues. She knew she was unlucky, but surely not so unlucky that she couldn't even keep an eye on her children?

He searched everywhere like a gentle breeze, even looking up at the bushes on both sides and the distant mountains, but found nothing. He wondered why this place was so desolate, having walked so far without seeing a single living person.

Standing on the mountain, Cui Zhufeng looked at the endless mountains in the distance, took a deep breath, and felt extremely grief-stricken.

"Nine Palaces—"

Where did you all go?!
Ying Jiuque suddenly looked up, and Wang Mo beside her gave her a strange look.

"what happened to you?"

(End of this chapter)