Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 323 Rescue
It is well known that nine-year-old boys are generally only constrained by three things.

The teacher's ruler, the father's shoe sole, and the elder sister's bloodline suppression...

Although Zhuge Liang wasn't exactly a troublemaker, he basically fit this pattern.

Especially their recklessness... They didn't need to take any risks, but they still did.

The women's hairpins were pressed against Zhuge Liang's neck. The guards hesitated and slowly moved forward, but Zhuge Liang himself remained quite calm.

"Back off! Don't come any closer!"

A maidservant gestured with a hairpin towards the guards.

Another maid turned back and grabbed Fu Shou at the door of the side room.

The other two, supporting Zhuge Liang, slowly retreated towards the side room.

These women looked quite skilled; they were clearly specially trained and their physiques were no weaker than men's.

The guards did not retreat, but they did slow their pace, and a small team had already split up and gone out through the front and back gates.

"Go easy... If you strangle me to death, none of you will survive..."

Zhuge Liang didn't struggle wildly, but only pressed down on the fat arm that was binding him: "Did you also murder the Princess?"

The women ignored him, only watching as the guards who had surrounded them slowly moved towards the door of the side room: "Don't move!"

The woman's hairpin pierced Zhuge Liang's skin, causing a trickle of blood to seep out.

Zhuge Liang raised his head, but his hand was under the woman's arm, and he waved to the guards.

The guards had stopped when they saw Zhuge Liang bleeding, but when they saw him beckoning, they looked at each other and then slowly continued forward.

"They are on duty and cannot let you go... Your Majesty, please step back!"

Zhuge Liang continued speaking with some difficulty, and then called out loudly to Liu Xie.

Liu Xie's voice came from the outer corridor: "I am here! Do not harm Lianglang!"

In fact, the shout was meant to identify them. Zhuge Liang and Liu Xie both knew that these women had mistaken them for someone else, since they couldn't have infiltrated the emperor's residence just to capture an unrelated child.

The plump woman in the lead glanced at the guards, then looked down at Zhuge Liang, and loosened her grip slightly: "Whose son are you?"

"Zhuge Liang..."

Zhuge Liang pried open the woman's arm, his mouth never stopping: "These are all the Right General's guards. If you escape, all the guards will be executed. You can't hold me hostage, and you can't kill me either... If you hurt anyone here, you will be torn to pieces."

"Even if you manage to take me away, but you've grabbed the wrong person and attracted the pursuers, your master will still tear you to pieces... This is your only way to survive..."

The plump woman, seeing the armored soldiers closing in, used her arm to restrain Zhuge Liang: "Shut up..."

"It's no use holding me hostage."

Zhuge Liang continued with difficulty, "The guards don't care about my life, much less about Lady Fu... I know you may not be afraid of death, but you will only needlessly implicate your entire clan and suffer unnecessary torture..."

In fact, holding Zhuge Liang hostage would have made the guards hesitant to act, but Zhuge Liang beckoned the guards to continue forward, and the guards naturally cooperated.

The women were already somewhat at a loss.

As Zhuge Liang said, they are now certain to die.

Neither kidnapping nor assassinating Liu Xie was feasible anymore. Kidnapping Zhuge Liang and Fu Shou seemed pointless, as the emperor's guards could not allow them to escape.

“If someone is killed in the Emperor’s residence, they will be executed by slow slicing, and His Majesty will surely desecrate your ancestral graves. Your relatives will also be torn to pieces, and even your chickens and dogs will not be spared.”

Zhuge Liang spoke again: "Now only His Majesty can pardon you... You haven't harmed anyone yet, so there's still a chance. Why not use me to exchange for His Majesty's promise of immunity from death? The Emperor's word is law; if he says he won't kill you, no one else will..."

The women looked at each other, and there was indeed some hesitation in their eyes.

The fat woman tightened her grip on her arm noticeably, but made no other movements.

"If you insist on seeking death, then you should kill yourselves immediately to avoid implicating your families..."

Zhuge Liang carefully explained the reasons: "If you want to live, you can surrender and remain silent. As long as you don't confess, you won't die. You can be loyal to your master and save your lives... If you want to make a contribution, then reveal the mastermind behind it all, and you can be guaranteed wealth and honor... Which do you choose?"

"...Even if we don't die, we will certainly be subjected to severe torture..."

The plump woman looked at Zhuge Liang in surprise, but shook her head: "He is dead then..."

The guards had already closed in on the women and formed a circle around them.

“What’s the point of torturing you? You’re nothing but servants at someone’s beck and call. You were sent here by the Fu family steward. It’s the Fu family members who will be severely tortured…”

Zhuge Liang said, "But if he escapes, then we'll really have no choice but to torture you... There's a legitimate path to pardon and great merit, why seek your own death? Let go, it hurts to hold you like that..."

As he spoke, Zhuge Liang gently nudged the plump woman's arm, and she promptly loosened her grip. This was actually a psychological tactic; although the nine-year-old Zhuge Liang hadn't yet grasped its essence, it was at least effective…

Instead of taking the opportunity to escape, Zhuge Liang shouted into the corridor, "Your Majesty, they have already expressed their intention to surrender. I beg Your Majesty to spare their lives!"

Liu Xie readily agreed, saying, "As long as you don't harm anyone, I will forgive your crimes!"

At this moment, Zhang Fei had already entered.

Zhang Fei's troops weren't equipped like imperial guards; they were equipped for the battlefield, each carrying a crossbow.

Zhang Fei immediately took control of all the exits, carrying a horizontal sword and pushing through the guards to reach the front.

Seeing bloodstains on Zhuge Liang's neck, Zhang Fei glared angrily, about to say something, when he saw Zhuge Liang slowly reach out and grasp the hairpin in the fat woman's hand, pushing the hairpin away.

The fat woman knelt down, letting Zhuge Liang escape her control.

It seems she intends to take the right path.

Once the hairpin is removed from the hostage's neck or above, it loses its deterrent effect, and the guards immediately surged forward.

Seeing this, another tall woman nearby shouted, "You lowly servant! Are you trying to kill your master?!"

Then he stabbed the fat woman with a hairpin.

The plump woman tilted her head slightly, inserting the hairpin into her shoulder and neck.

"Death!"

Seeing that Zhuge Liang was no longer being held hostage, Zhang Fei immediately rushed forward and slashed at the tall woman who had injured him.

The severed arm flew up.

The three women quickly turned into more than ten pieces.

Only the fat woman who had knelt down beforehand was unharmed; Zhuge Liang had his guards protect her.

But at that moment, Zhuge Liang suddenly felt dizzy and fell to the ground.

"Liang Lang? Liang Lang!"

Zhang Fei panicked and immediately checked the wound on Zhuge Liang's neck.

The wound was actually very shallow, just a cut, but it looked a bit abnormal.

"The hairpin is poisoned... Get it to the clinic quickly, quick!"

Zhang Fei's army also had medics sent by Xiu Niang. Upon seeing the situation, they quickly used silver needles to prick the blood several times to slow the blood flow, and ordered the soldiers to immediately send Zhuge Liang for emergency treatment.

In the army, the enemy often used poisoned arrows. Zhang Fei's troops usually carried one or two poisoned arrows with their crossbows, which the medics could spot at a glance.

The physician then pulled the obese woman over: "What kind of poison is it?!"

The guards all looked at the other hairpin inserted in the fat woman's neck and shoulder.

"I...I don't know! How could it be poisonous?!"

The plump woman looked panicked and turned to look at the wound on her shoulder: "I really didn't know... they gave me this hairpin!"

"who are they?"

Zhang Fei yanked the hairpin off the woman's shoulder: "You're not the Princess's person?"

"I am a retainer of the Fu family... This was planned by Prince Qi. He wanted to kidnap the Eldest Princess, hoping she would use the opportunity of visiting Lady Fu to abduct His Majesty. But the Eldest Princess is resolute and would rather commit suicide than do anything rebellious..."

The plump woman hurriedly explained, "My young master is being held hostage by the King of Qi, and we've also heard that our lord is being coerced. We've been ordered to try and kidnap His Majesty in exchange for our master's life... But we have absolutely no intention of harming His Majesty. This hairpin was given to us by Zhang Kai, a servant of the King of Qi!"

The hairpin was stuck much deeper into her body than Zhuge Liang's, but it hadn't been long and the poison hadn't taken effect yet.

However, after saying a few words in a fit of anger, the fat woman began to sway.

Judging from this, it seems that the King of Qi deceived the Fu family. If they had really taken Liu Xie hostage, this matter would not have been resolved so quickly. If the hairpin had only slightly scratched the skin and the matter had dragged on for a while, Liu Xie might have been gone.

Of course, given that these women had the audacity to kidnap the emperor, it is clear that the Fu family's education of their retainers was not based on loyalty to the emperor or patriotism.

"Send her to the clinic... Left side, go to the Qi Prince's mansion to arrest her! Right side, go to the Fu family to search for her! Anyone who resists will be killed without exception!"

Zhang Fei immediately began to mobilize his troops: "Go and send a message to Sister Zuo, we have clues and witnesses..."

……

(End of this chapter)