Chapter 301: The Deaf-Mute Princess (16)

Just as he finished speaking, several wails of bandits deep in the forest could be heard, sounding sorrowful.
"This woman is truly ruthless! She actually killed my good brother like this!!"
"Should we chase after them?"
"No, we'll wait for the boss to come back. We must seek revenge for our brothers!"
Their discussion gradually reached the ears of the two. Xie Shizhu quickly broke free from Song Yan's embrace and pulled him towards where there were people, while gesturing with one hand free: "My lord, they're catching up. Run quickly."
Song Yan nodded and let Xie Shizhu pull him along.
They soon arrived at a bustling market.
When they returned the same way, the sun had already risen and Song Yan sighed somewhat helplessly: "It seems that I won't be able to attend the court session today."
Actually, it doesn't matter whether he goes or not. He has never had much presence anyway.
As soon as the words fell, Xie Shizhu quickly stopped a carriage, pulled his arm, and directly got on.
Song Yan's expression was slightly surprised, and he sat down. The woman beside him gently gestured with her soft hands, saying, "My lord, I will raise the price to make him move faster. He should be able to keep up."
After she stopped her hand movements, Song Yan's eyes softened and he replied softly, "Okay."
After the carriage left, it indeed traveled quickly and arrived outside the walls of the palace within half an hour.
Finally, it was Song Yan who paid out the money. He placed the silver coins in the hands of the coachman.
He then turned back and looked at the woman still in the carriage, saying, "I have paid for the round trip fare. You can take this carriage back to the mansion."
After speaking, Xie Shizhu nodded obediently and watched Song Yan's figure disappear into the gate.
Once Song Yan was out of sight, Xie Shizhu got off the carriage and dismissed the coachman. Translation:
After the groom left, a young woman appeared not far away.
Upon seeing Xie Shizhu, she hurriedly walked over and embraced Xie Shizhu's waist, whispering softly, "Sister." Please reply with the translated content.
Xie Shizhu smelled the fragrance of a woman, just like the scent of Xie Xi was sweet and pleasant.
"Hmm, we shouldn't stay here for long. Let's change the location," she quickly gestured in sign language. Please note that the translation might not be entirely accurate, as it relies on the given context.
Xie Xi nodded, listening attentively to her words.
The two quickly found a modest tea house and sat down.
After the waiter brought the tea, Xie Xi took a sip and then told her about her plan to steal the prince's token.
The rough plan is that they will find a substitute, and then claim that the Prince's token was stolen by the substitute.
Xie Xi will help to snatch the token in front of the Prince.
In another desperate move, she wanted to make the Crown Prince feel grateful towards her, and furthermore, she would marry him.
After listening to her words, Xie Shizhu remained silent for a few seconds before speaking: "Didn't you already use this trick last time? It's just calling the thief a thief again this time."
谢惜微微叹气，脸上满是无奈：“姐姐，太子只给我了银两外，就没再搭理我，他好像没看上我…”
谢时竹向她要回了令牌，沉着声音说：“我不想让我的妹妹也成为一个棋子，放心吧，我会想办法的。”
If she really enters the Taizi Mansion, she might repeat the same mistakes before long.
By then, in Xie Xixin's heart, family and country may not be as important as a man.
Both Yan Guo and Beimo may seem harmonious on the surface, but behind the scenes, they are coveting the territories of each country.
Xie Xi handed her the token, slowly retracting her hand and lowering her gaze. She said, "However, the Winged King is dead, and we no longer have anyone in the palace... Father said that he wants you to avenge the Winged King."
As soon as the words fell, Xie Shizhu immediately retorted without hesitation, "I can't avenge this grudge."
Xie Xiwu was slightly stunned, as if she couldn't believe that Xie Shizhu would refuse.
That Wing King even wanted her to marry an old man in his fifties. Xie Shizhu wanted to slap the Wing King. How could she possibly seek revenge for him?
冷冷清清的茶馆有人进来，谢时竹急忙闭上了嘴巴，她垂下头，拿起茶杯喝了一口，刚喝下茶水就感觉到不对劲。
而面前坐着的谢惜因为比她早喝一会，现在已经迷迷糊糊晕倒爬在桌子上。
Xie Shizhu was taken aback and quickly hid the token. In the next second, she fainted.
*
When she woke up again, she and Xie Xi were tied up, along with a group of young and beautiful women, inside a carriage.
The windows of the carriage were nailed around with nails, allowing only a faint glimmer of light to seep in through the cracks.
After she woke up, the other women gradually regained consciousness.
They began whimpering one after another, unable to speak because their mouths were sealed shut. Are you looking for any specific information or assistance?
Xie Shizhu tried to break free from the rope, when suddenly he heard the voices of men outside the carriage.
"Today the girls in the carriage are more and more charming..."
"Indeed, if the master sees that we have found so many exquisite beauties today, he will definitely reward us with silver coins. If we were to sell them..."
Xie Shizhu didn't hear clearly what was said afterward, but she caught a few key points.
It is estimated that all the women in this group are going to be sold to places like brothels.
Moreover, the people involved in the transaction are officials from the imperial court.
Adults are usually referred to as prestigious officials.
Xie Shizhu mocked with a smile. No wonder some people always wanted to kill her, it turns out they were afraid that she knew too much.
The carriage suddenly jolted and stopped again. One of the two people outside should have gone to relieve themselves.
Taking advantage of this moment, Xie Shizhu shook the hidden dagger from her sleeve and signaled the woman inside not to make any noise.
She quickly spat out the cloth stuffed in her mouth, bit down on the knife handle with her teeth, and skillfully used the blade to cut the bound rope from Xie Xi's wrist.
A woman who saw this scene suddenly became very excited, seemingly happy because she was about to be saved.
However, this action caught the attention of a man outside.
After hesitating for a moment, the man walked towards the carriage and quickly raised his hand to unveil the curtain.
In the next second, white powder was sprinkled on the man's face.
Xie Shizhu has already freed Xie Xi's hands at this moment, and quickly sprinkles it while the man opens the curtain.
The action is accurate and fast.
Xie Xi quickly untied the other women.
Halfway through untying them, another man who was untying their hands returned to his original position and saw some of the women in the carriage who had already gotten down, his face expressing incredulity.
He drew his sword from his waist, preparing to kill the fleeing woman.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his neck as a dagger swiftly pierced his artery.
The sound of blood splattering could be heard as the man passed out from the excruciating pain.
Plop! The sound of landing startled the women, making them scream.
Xie Shizhu's gaze was cold and indifferent as he surveyed them and said, "Let's go."
She had a slender and graceful figure, dressed in a light blue silk gown. Her ink-black hair was casually tied with a black cord, and strands of hair were blown by the wind, revealing an extremely beautiful face without any cover-up.
This left several women stunned.
Although they were all women, she held a dagger with a calm expression, surprisingly composed in this situation.
Xie Xiqing whispered, "Sister, let's go together."
Xie Shizhu drew out a dagger and made a cut on the neck of the man, who was still on the ground, covering his eyes in pain.
This casual move seemed as if he were stepping on an ant.
"Hmm."
Xie Shizhu retracted the dagger and quickly concealed it in her sleeve, then she left with Xie Xi.
The women fled one after another.
One of the women managed to escape, and when two guards saw her, they breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Princess, you dressed as a man and ran out of the palace, and now you haven't returned all night. It scared us to death. If the Emperor finds out, he will definitely chop off our heads, the few servants."
“本公主这不是没事吗？”
*
谢时竹跟谢惜分别后，让谢惜直接回北漠。
谢惜虽然不舍，但在刚刚她差点被卖了，也不敢继续在这里待下去，只能先回去了。
Looking at Xie Xi's departing figure on the horse, Xie Shi Zhu sighed in relief.
Moreover, the original host's malicious value dropped to 70.
The system exclaimed, 【This is a bit sudden!】
Xie Shi Zhu, however, was not surprised, as everything was somewhat related to Xie Xi.
She thought to herself, finally, this auntie had left.
Xie Shizhu quickly returned to the Wang Mansion.
When he returned, Song Yan had already finished attending the morning court. Upon seeing Xie Shizhu, he smiled and asked softly, "Where did you go?"
"I happened to encounter my younger sister on the way, so I had tea with her to catch up, and then I sent her off on a carriage back to the Northern Desert," Xie Shizhu gestured while observing Song Yan's expression.
她突然发现宋砚今天是由内而外的开心，而不是以往的伪装。
也不知道发生了什么事能让宋砚卸下伪装。
宋砚轻轻一笑，也并没有多问，而是走近她，微微弯腰凝视着她的眼眸，问了一句不着边际的话。
It was also this sentence that made Xie Shizhu almost weak in the legs.
" I want to ask you, if I give you 30,000 taels of gold to kill someone close to you, would you choose the 30,000 taels or the person close to you?"
宋砚是眉目温和，唇角带笑地问出这句话。
谢时竹脑子嗡了一下。
随后也知道了自己到底值多少钱。
三万两黄金，好多钱啊。
She's quite valuable!
System rolls its eyes: [Host, what are you so happy about?]
Xie Shizhu: "Do you understand the concept of finding joy in hardship?"
Xie Shizhu raised her hand and gestured: "I want thirty thousand taels of gold."
Song Yan's slight surprise was evident, and in an instant, his thin lips curved slightly. "It seems like you and I are on the same page."
Xie Shizhu: "..." Fine, she might as well commit suicide.