The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 490 Zhao Ying
The women sat around Li Miao, seemingly in a disorderly manner, but actually in an orderly fashion.

Those who have managed to endure Huangfu Hui and the Japanese's methods until now are undoubtedly women with strong wills. However, the psychological pressure of waiting for the next round of torture in that dark and sunless stone chamber is obviously not something that can be easily endured by one person alone.

So these women actually established connections with each other during the brief periods when they were not under surveillance. It was these faint connections that helped them endure the torment.

The woman closest to Li Miao was the one who established this connection, and she was also the only one who was kidnapped when the Huang family was first established and has survived to this day.

She respectfully accepted the item Li Miao handed her, but without hesitation handed it to the woman next to her. Then she suddenly fell to the ground and slammed her forehead down hard.

Wu Mingxiao's pupils contracted sharply, and he wanted to step forward to stop him.

This woman didn't want to kowtow at all; she wanted to commit suicide!

But she showed no warning and moved with extreme speed. By the time Wu Mingxiao tried to stop her, it was too late. He could only watch as she slammed her head to the ground.

puff.

His forehead hit the ground with a soft, yielding sound.

A layer of protective true energy had somehow extended to the ground, cushioning her head.

Li Miao pointed at her with his finger.

"What's going on? We finally made it this far, and now that we've been rescued, we're being told to die?"

The woman did not look up.

He managed to squeeze out a single sentence.

"With old friends before me, I am ashamed to live on."

"Ok?"

Li Miao raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Wu Mingxiao.

Wu Mingxiao quickly waved his hands and shook his head. Even the mosquitoes in the military camp were male. How could a simple-minded guy from Shandong like him meet a girl from Jiangxi?

So Li Miao turned his head and asked in confusion.

"Are you talking about me?"

Surprisingly, the woman actually agreed.

"Yes."

This made Li Miao even more puzzled. He raised his hand and lifted the woman's face from a distance to examine it closely.

This woman had been imprisoned in the Huang residence for a year. Her face was covered in scars, and her body was so emaciated that there wasn't a trace of flesh left. The skin on her face was taut on her cheekbones and covered in filth. Even her own mother might not recognize her.

But Li Miao judged people not by their appearance, but by their bone structure. After examining them carefully for a while, he did indeed vaguely discern some clues.

"A bodyguard?"

The woman answered calmly.

"Yes, it's been a long time."

Li Miao tilted his head back, let out a long breath, and then laughed.

"It's been a long time."

He finally remembered the woman's name.

Zhao Ying.

When Li Miao first entered the martial arts world, he encountered Zhao Ying, the daughter of Mei Qinghe's target of revenge and the young head of the Tiger Might Escort Agency.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that they were among the first group of people Li Miao encountered on his first journey through the martial world, and that he had some connection with Mei Qinghe, he really might not have been able to remember them.

But now, thinking back, Li Miao understands why Zhao Ying committed suicide.

It's nothing more than gratitude and resentment, entanglements and torments.

If I can't stand this situation, I might as well die.

Li Miao twirled his fingers, remaining silent.

Wu Mingxiao, standing next to him, glanced around, his eyes darting about, seemingly making up some story in his mind.

Zhao Ying also lowered her head and remained silent.

The courtyard fell silent.

After a long pause, Li Miao finally broke the silence.

"Didn't you investigate your father's affairs after that day?" Zhao Ying shook her head.

“I’ve investigated. I’ve found out about the Plum Blossom Thieves, the Mount Tai Sect, and the Ming Cult. I’ve also vaguely guessed some things… but I didn’t continue investigating.”

“If I investigated any further, I was afraid my father would really become a bad person. So I just lived like this in a daze, wandering around to Fukang County, where he was arrested... and that's how I survived until now.”

“If it weren’t for you saving me, I could still continue living in a daze, but now, I can no longer remain in a daze…”

Li Miao nodded.

Zhao Ying had already learned some of Zhao Dehua's past and guessed that her father was not as righteous as she knew him. Mei Qinghe's revenge was likely justified, but she could not accept such an outcome no matter what.

Now Li Miao has become her benefactor, but he has put her in a dilemma.

Either accept the truth, and at the same time accept that her father was a villain, and that Li Miao, who killed her father, was her benefactor.

Either she continues to play dumb, in which case she must accept the fact that Li Miao is both her father's killer and her savior, and in return, she will lose the legitimacy of her revenge.

Torn between two difficult choices, she contemplated suicide.

Zhao Ying was a smart woman. She guessed that Li Miao was hiding his identity, and because there were some things that were difficult to say, she didn't explain them clearly. Anyway, Li Miao would understand.

Wu Mingxiao, however, was completely confused by what he heard.

Seeing that Li Miao and Zhao Ying remained silent for a long time, he mentally fabricated a long story of love and hate between the two based on Zhao Ying's words. He also thought of Li Miao's ruthless methods and feared that Li Miao might suddenly raise his hand and kill Zhao Ying.

His eyes darted around, and suddenly a brilliant idea struck him.

"Um, young lady, do you... have children?"

Wu Mingxiao asked Zhao Ying.

Zhao Ying remained silent for a while, then nodded.

"Yes, but due to too many old injuries and too much resistance, she gave birth to a stillborn child before full term, which happened just last month."

Wu Mingxiao nodded and turned to look at Li Miao.

"Brother Li, could you please listen to me for a moment?"

Li Miao raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue.

So Wu Mingxiao continued.

"Brother Li, do you remember why we came to Fukang County? It's to find a wet nurse for my young lady."

Li Miao understood Wu Mingxiao's meaning without him needing to finish speaking, and nodded with a smile.

"She's clever, that's good."

After saying that, he turned to look at Zhao Ying, lifted her up with a flick of his wrist.

"Since you want to live a muddled life, I'll give you a muddled choice, how about that?"

Li Miao raised his hand and pointed at Wu Mingxiao.

“I’m going to Dengzhou with this guy. I have a child with me and we need a wet nurse to feed him along the way.”

"Consider it me repaying your kindness by having you act as my wet nurse. Consider this arduous journey your way of thanking me. Once we arrive, the debt of gratitude will be settled. After that, all that will remain is hatred. I will still be your clean and clear-cut enemy who killed your father."

"Then you can continue to be confused."

"how?"

Zhao Ying remained silent for a moment, a slight smile appearing at the corners of her lips.

She is a smart person.

The biggest weakness of intelligent people is that they are too hard to be confused.

How could she not understand that Li Miao's solution was just an excuse for her to deceive herself?

But she really needed this excuse to survive.

She wants to live.

Zhao Ying nodded almost imperceptibly and said in a hoarse voice.

"it is good."

(End of this chapter)