Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 50
Tled by Serena Love
Unedited
Chapter 50: Kidnapped
Jiang Shuyao was shaken awake.
The moment her consciousness returned, the pain on the back of her neck made her gasp.
She touched the back of her neck, then looked at Xie Pei's face that appeared in her vision, and suddenly sat up.
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"Where is this?" She looked around warily.
Xie Pei wanted to cry, "The bandit's den."
Jiang Shuyao looked at the room she was in and couldn't help but be confused. It was not like a bandit's den, but it was a simple small Buddhist hall.
Xie Pei answered this question for Jiang Shuyao. But because she was afraid, her voice trembled, "I saw them killing the monks, but then they shaved their hair and replaced their clothes with a dead monk's robe."
Jiang Shuyao was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out, rubbed Xie Pei's head, and touched her black and gray face.
Xie Pei was taken aback. She wanted to cry long ago, but after being rubbed by Jiang Shuyao, she couldn't help but howl and said, "What are you doing!"
Jiang Shuyao wiped her face again, and Xie Pei became even angrier, "I will fight back!"
As soon as she said this, the door lock rattled. Xie Pei became stiff and immediately went quiet.
The wooden door opened, and the gangster with the monk's robes walked in. Except for the one in the lead, the others had fierce eyes and were full of hostility.
"Which family are you?"
Xie Pei subconsciously wanted to bring out the name of Duke Xie's mansion. When the words were almost at her lips, seeing the murderous intent of the gangster, she suddenly lost her confidence.
"Duke Xie's Mansion." She was hesitating, but Jiang Shuyao's voice sounded in her ear.
Xie Pei hurriedly pulled her sleeves.
The gangster who was on the opposite side was silent for a moment, and the person next to him immediately said, "Big brother, what kind of house is that? The other woman killed our three brothers. We can't let them go."
Hearing the information about Zhou-shi, Jiang Shuyao felt tight and held her breath.
The lead bandit was not as angry as the others but sneered, "Can't beat even a woman. Do you still have a face?"
Can't beat her? It seems that Zhou-shi is safe.
Jiang Shuyao breathed a sigh of relief.
"Big brother, what about the two of them? We can't attract attention anymore."
Feeling their killing intent, Jiang Shuyao tensed all over and suddenly said, "Actually, we are not even the family member of Duke Xie Mansion."
The man looked up at her, his eyes deep.
Jiang Shuyao shrank, her voice trembling, "I, I'm just a lowly concubine."
Xie Pei didn't react, staring at her with wide eyes.
Everyone was taken aback.
With such a sudden sentence, she inexplicably broke the killing intent in the air.
Jiang Shuyao raised her sleeves and wiped away the tears that did not exist from the corners of her eyes. Her face was bitter, as if she sighed and laughed at herself, "Look at my appearance, how can I be a regular wife? I'm just a plaything."
Xie Pei: ?!
If it weren't for the horrible situation at the moment, she would definitely sighed for the lies that Jiang Shuyao casually muttered.
The leader was different from the other rude gangsters. He was an adviser to a nobleman before he fell to this point.
Jiang Shuyao's hair buns were scattered, and her head was half raised. Even if her face was dirty, she couldn't hide the enchanting eyes. When she lowered her eyes, the tails of her eyes flew up, smart and charming. It looks nothing like the appearance of an elegant mistress.
At this point, Jiang Shuyao also knelt on the ground. While trembling, she said, "If it weren't for my eldest brother who was seriously ill and had to take medicine, I wouldn't be willing to go as a concubine. This robbery is also my luck. I beg older brothers to save me. My father and my brother are still waiting for me to get a silver tael back home to save a life.
Just now, when these people came in, only the leader had no evil thoughts in his eyes. Jiang Shuyao looked at him, and he seemed to disdain to be associated with these rough people. Anyway, she would end up either with humiliation or death. So why not give it a try?
She whimpered, "The second master of Duke Xie's mansion is a beast. He raised women in his yard and used them for fun. If he were happy, we would get a meal, and if he was unhappy, we might not get a meal. After we serve, the doctor must prescribe the wound medicine for the next round, and even when praying in the temple, he brought us for the amusement of the abuse."
She said sincerely, with sorrow and grief, even Xie Pei almost believed it. She began to doubt her own understanding... this, this is her second brother, right?
Men are the most greedy for power and women, but they are also the easiest to be swayed by power and women.
Seeing the beauty in tears, even the bandits who had killing intent and evil thoughts earlier felt weak.
"Those high-ranking families never treat us ordinary people as human beings." Jiang Shuyao said angrily.
She cried so much that she completely drown the gangsters' insults. Everyone was born in poverty. Listening to what she said and thinking about what happened to them, they felt like they have the same enemy.
But this is only useful for gangsters with only a bit of brain. The leader's complexion remained unchanged. His eyes swept across her face, and obviously, his thoughts were not swayed.
"You said your family is poor. How can you raise such fleshy face?"
Xie Pei listened on the side and instantly broke into a cold sweat.
Jiang Shuyao started crying again, saying, "If it didn't look like a young lady of a wealthy family, how could I be sold into Duke Xie's mansion? It is because of this face that my brother's illness can be saved."
"Okay, it's okay. Don't cry. My brain is hurting from your crying." A gangster next to him interrupted her.
Jiang Shuyao closed her mouth, and her cautious appearance was indeed like a weak and humble woman.
"Brother, let's talk about how to solve them later. I've been hungry the whole day. Let's find something to cushion our stomachs."
Xie Pei's hand, which was grasping Jiang Shuyao's cuffs, loosened. She was rejoicing that she could save her life.
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Thinking that this is the end of the matter, Jiang Shuyao suddenly said, "Brothers, if you don't dislike it, let me cook a meal for you."
As soon as these words were spoken, the leader finally believed her identity. Because neither a dignified mistress nor a rich lady would cook in person, only peasant women would enter and leave the kitchen.
His eyes fell on Jiang Shuyao and looked a little bit less murderous. He said, "I'll go with you."
Jiang Shuyao nodded obediently, pulled the stiff Xie Pei, and followed the man out of the room.
He stared at the side, and it was difficult for Jiang Shuyao to do anything suspicious.
The monks in the temple eat simply. Every day they just eat cooked vegetables with buns, so Jiang Shuyao can't make anything else no matter how good her skill is.
Xie Pei, who was prone to reveal stuff, was sent to wash the vegetables. She opened a basket and looked at it. There were still a few steamed buns inside.
Jiang Shuyao burned firewood to heat the steamed buns and then blanch the greens. It barely enough for a meal.
She was quick with her hands, and it was obvious that she was the kind of woman who cooks all the time. No matter how suspicious she was, the gangster had to believe her, thinking she was really a peasant woman.
After the meal was finished, the two were locked up in the previous room.
The fear was hanging on Xie Pei's head just now disappeared. She said with difficulty, "Will they still kill us?"
Jiang Shuyao sighed, "This is not what I fear most."
Xie Pei knew what she meant, and her face was pale. As if to comfort herself for a while, she asked, "Don't the bandits want ransom?"
Jiang Shuyao shook her head, "They sound like desperate people hiding in the mountain. I guess they brought us back because it was not easy to escape."
Xie Pei was silent.
After a while, she suddenly held Jiang Shuyao's hand, "About before... I was wrong..."
Jiang Shuyao patted the back of her hand.
Xie Pei suddenly shed tears. She dared not look at Jiang Shuyao's eyes. She wiped her face on her sleeves, sniffed, and said, "I heard people say that there was a noble lady who was taken away by bandits. After she was rescued, her family got her hair cut off and made her into a nun."
Jiang Shuyao looked at her.
Xie Pei was emotionally broken, and her nose flushed from crying, "I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I won't be able to escape. I'm afraid that my family won't want me even if I escape."
"The old madam spoils you so much. She won't do that."
Xie Pei choked a few times. She was crying so much that she couldn't speak clearly, "What about you? What would you do?"
This question froze Jiang Shuyao.
She only paid attention to how to escape, survive, and reduce the possibility of being violated but forgot that this is not modern times. In her eyes, no matter if it is her or any abducted ladies, everyone is a victim. But obviously, for the ancients, instead of sympathizing and pitying them, they would name them "unchaste" and "unclean."
Even Xie Pei, who grew up splendid and spoiled, would worry that her family would be disgusted. This concept has long been carved into the bones of the ancients.
Xie Pei is still crying. She seems to have thought about her miserable future. She is unavoidably afraid, but she wants to relieve Jiang Shuyao, "Don't be afraid, third brother, my third brother... maybe he wouldn't mind." She wanted to say definitively that Xie Xun would not mind, but she can't say for sure.
Jiang Shuyao's heart was excited, and these few short words seemed to her like a scream.
Once she saw Xie Lang was elegant, considerate, and gentle. She thought that he must have a beloved, who is one in a million. However, he was only another feudal man, and she was extremely disappointed and sad.
Before that, she thought that she pitied Zhou-shi and Lin-shi from a bystander's perspective. It wasn't until now that she suddenly thought of Xie Xun soberly that she realized that he might not have any thoughts of hurting her.
She was in a daze, the wooden door was pushed open with a "creak," and Xie Pei's cries went out.
Jiang Shuyao immediately regained consciousness, put aside distracting thoughts, and concentrated on dealing with the incoming person.
This time only the bandit leader came, and his gaze fell on Xie Pei, "You go out."
Xie Pei was shocked all over and looked at Jiang Shuyao in a panic.
Jiang Shuyao still looks humble and pitiful, "Brother, my sister is still young, don't hurt her."
The man was silent, and Jiang Shuyao bowed her head tremblingly.
He had been following nobles for so many years and had seen many beauties. Only a few are more beautiful than the woman in front of him. For people like him, great beauty was always untouchable.
But now it's different. This woman is extremely beautiful. She was born in poverty, not dangerous. She is humble and meek, and he can never find another one like her. It would be too violent to simply kill her or to enjoy her with those rough men.
He walked over and softened his voice, "Do you want to go back to Duke Xie's Mansion?"
Jiang Shuyao raised her head with tears, her beautiful eyes filled with terror, "No, I don't want to go back."
"Then are you willing to live with me?" He was waiting for this answer.
Jiang Shuyao did not answer immediately. After hesitating, she tentatively asked, "Then what should I do with my sister?" Before the man answered, she straightened her upper body and said sincerely, "Big brother, I'll tell you the truth. What we ordinary girls ask for is simple; we just want to live well. If big brother can protect us sisters, I will be a cow and a horse for you."
Hearing these words, Xie Pei was so frightened that she couldn't breathe. She knew what was going to happen next.
The man smiled cheerfully, "Okay." Turning his head and saying to Xie Pei, "You go out, with my instructions, they dare not touch you."
Jiang Shuyao held the hairpin in her palm tightly, and her whole body was tense.
Xie Pei cried and did not want to leave, but the man had no patience.
Remembering to give face to the beauty he endured and not to do any rude action. He shouted loudly for someone to come in and drag Xie Pei away.
After Xie Pei was dragged away, the wooden door snapped closed and locked.
Jiang Shuyao couldn't calm down anymore, and the tight string in her heart suddenly broke. At this point, she had exhausted all her strength.
She jerked away from the approaching man, but when she turned around, she was caught by the sleeve. With a "swish," one of her sleeves was torn off.
It seemed that the beauty was particularly moving when she was frightened. The man slowly walked towards her while taking off his robe and said with a smile, "Why do you want to hide from me? Do you regret it?"
Jiang Shuyao mental state collapsed completely. Her palms were sweaty, and she held the hairpin in her hand desperately.
The moment the man walked over and approached her, she instinctively waved towards his neck.
Maybe she could stab him, maybe not. Jiang Shuyao's mind was chaotic. After the extreme fear, her vision has become blurred, and her ears were ringing.
She heard the man's screams and felt that he turn over and fell beside her. He is not breathing, twitching, and howling in pain.
She stabbed him?
Jiang Shuyao stared blankly at the golden hairpin in her hand—it's not bloody.
She raised her head, and the figure against the light in her blurred vision gradually became clear.
The long sword, the bright official uniform... And finally, Xie Xun's face.
Others were afraid of Xie Xun because he always had a cold face, but Jiang Shuyao knew that there was a lot of emotion in his face.
It wasn't until this moment that she saw what Xie Xun really looked like with a cold face.
His face was frosty, his eyes filled with hostility, the air around him solidified and suppressing. He was like a quenched cold sword. His body was full of sharp energy, making Jiang Shuyao instinctively afraid and retreated.
His gaze fell on the bandit, who had removed his robe, and then turned back to her torn sleeve and exposed arm.
The man was still struggling. He just got up on his knees, and Xie Xun cut his head with a sword without blinking.
There seemed to be a sound of blood splashing, and Jiang Shuyao smelled the blood in the air, but her blurred vision only focused on Xie Xun's hostile face.
She hated her lack of strength, and when Xie Xun's gaze fell on her arm again, her first reaction was to hide her arm behind her back.
Xie Xun suddenly strode forward, and when she backed down subconsciously, he yanked her and embraced her with one hand.
His tone was no longer as flat as usual, and his voice trembled, "Are you all right?"
In her eyes, there is only the bright color of his official clothes, and on her ears was the sound of his heart beating sharply in his chest.
Jiang Shuyao's reasoning has not yet returned to her mind, and she subconsciously wanted to explain that she was not defiled. She is afraid that Xie Xun is the kind of feudal man who thinks his wife was taken away and not innocent.
Just when she spoke the word "I," the long backlog of fear suddenly crushed her. Teardrops kept rolling down, and she was sobbing and crying.
The iron sword fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
Xie Xun didn't hesitate to let go of his sword, just to hold her deeper into his arms.
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