Her guards

Chapter 98 The Jewel-Studded Necklace
This, this, this is...

The dancers looked terrified, and the embroidered maids standing nearby noticed Wei Jiao's movements, paused for a moment, and then let out a soft gasp.

"not good."

As the low voice rang out, the embroidered women around looked over, their expressions changing, and a commotion immediately broke out.

"Imperial doctor!"

"The imperial physician didn't come this time! The journey was too rushed!"

"Where's the medicine? Is there any more medicine?"

"We ran out of them not long ago."

As they spoke, the women in embroidered robes surrounded Wei Jiao, and several of them pulled out their belts...

The geishas looked incredulously at these men in embroidered robes who had previously been respectful and somewhat fearful, now using their belts to bind the hands and feet of their captains.

The movements were also very fierce, seemingly giving no chance to resist.

The young captain felt no offense whatsoever, neither shouting angrily nor struggling.

He was still smiling, but his once spirited eyebrows drooped, and his already dark eyes became even darker, as if they were empty.

Even though his hands were tied, he still raised them to his mouth and began to bite his wrists, leaving a row of teeth marks and beads of blood on them instantly.

"Quickly help the captain inside."

"Find a sealed room."

Accompanied by the voices of the embroidered women, Wei Jiao was lifted up and hurriedly moved backward by several people. In the blink of an eye, only the singing and dancing girls who were scrubbing the floor remained in the hall.

The geishas knelt on the ground, looking at each other, their faces pale and their expressions blank.

What happened?
From the few words just now, there was something about medicine, so it seems that he is sick?
"This one was kept..."

A geisha suddenly noticed the small box lying on the ground.

This is a gift from the captain's father.

What is it? Why did it suddenly turn like this after just one glance?

One of the geishas closest to them boldly moved over, picked up the overturned box, and with a thud, something fell to the ground. The geishas who had gathered around all felt their eyes light up.

First, you see a shimmering rainbow of gemstones, then you see a red gold necklace.

"So beautiful."

A gasp of surprise rang out in the hall. The women momentarily forgot their fear and crowded around, watching and discussing.

"So many gems!"

"It's pure gold."

"No, there's another layer of leather underneath."

"This kind of collar is quite rare."

Upon hearing this, one of the geishas suddenly exclaimed, "I've seen this before!"

All eyes in the hall immediately turned to her, asking curiously, "Who wore it?" "In our household?"

This is the villa that Ma Qing used to entertain guests. He kept many beautiful women there, and the favored women would receive jewelry as gifts from Ma Qing or his guests.

Of course, when the person finally dies, the jewelry will still be returned to the Ma family.

The geisha murmured, "Not a person, but a dog."

dog?
Everyone was surprised again.

“Once, the lord went hunting, and after nightfall, dog fighting began. I saw that the winning dog was given a collar studded with jewels by the lord, who said that this was the most fashionable thing in the imperial palace in the capital.”

As the geisha spoke, she began to tremble, and her face lost its joy and envy, replaced by fear.

"That night, out of more than a dozen of us sisters, I was the only one who survived."

"The others were torn to pieces by the hounds."

Upon hearing this, everyone else around the collar immediately stepped back. When they looked at the collar again, their expression shifted from amazement and envy to fear.

……

.......
Darkness, endless darkness.

Wei Jiao tried to open his eyes, but they seemed to be tightly wrapped in cloth.

He tried to lift the cloth off, but his hand felt as if it were being pressed down by a boulder.

Why can't he move? What's wrong with him?
A low growl came from the darkness, followed by howls and wails, as if countless hunting dogs were fighting all around.

He cannot remain still; if he does, he will be bitten to death.

He let out a roar.

The roar finally broke through the cloth covering his mouth and came out.

Although the voice was somewhat immature.

He opened his eyes and saw that it was a large dog cage, with hunting dogs of different sizes, colors and appearances crammed around him, their eyes gleaming in the darkness.

“Ah Jiao—”

A soft female voice came from the darkness.

He looked up and saw a woman standing in front of him. Behind her, the lights flickered, and there were many shadows. The sounds of singing, dancing, and laughter could be faintly heard.

mother!
"mother--"

He took a step forward, but the hounds growled menacingly in his ears, and their gleaming eyes all turned to him.

"Ah Jiao, live well."

The woman's voice came again, and then she turned around and headed towards the many figures in the distance.

Mother! Don't go, don't go— He was scared!

He reached out his hands, bent his knees, knelt on the ground, and slowly crawled out.

If we act like dogs, we won't be spotted by the hunting dogs.

These hunting dogs were taller than him; he could see the drool dripping from their mouths and smell the strong, fishy stench.

He closed his eyes and hunched over, trying to speed up, but the next moment countless hunting dogs pounced on him, biting his back, arms and legs.

His clothes were torn, and pieces of flesh were bitten off.

He clutched his head and rolled on the ground.

Darkness enveloped them again. Had his eyes been bitten off?

Is he going to die?
He's going to die; he's going to be eaten.

He will never see his mother again.

No, if I die I'll never see my mother again. She told me to live, to live—

He struggled to open his eyes and looked ahead. The flickering lights cast a shadow, but it wasn't his mother.

It was a child.

A child who isn't much older than a puppy.

The child was also holding a crow in his hand.

The child suddenly looked at him, and then bit the crow.

The crow struggled and cried out in terror.

Blood trickled down the corner of the child's mouth.

Bite it to death.

Yes, he has a mouth too, and he can bite.

He'll bite whoever bites him.

Bite them to death!

He suddenly flipped himself up and bit the neck of the nearest dog, which was bigger than him. The dog howled and tried to shake him off.

His thin limbs were tightly wrapped around the dog, and he could hear fear in the dog's screams—

They are afraid of him too.

He became even more excited and pounced on the hounds, tearing at them one by one.

He didn't know how many hunting dogs he had bitten, until the howling around him stopped. He lay on the ground, and heard applause in his ears.

"Good, good, good."

"Good dog, the best dog in the world."

The best dog in the world, he reached out and touched the collar around its neck.

This was originally placed around the neck of the fiercest dog in the dog cage.

Now, it belongs to him.

He smiled, turned his head to look to the side, where the child was still lying in the distance, biting a crow, and smiling at him.

……

……

As dawn broke, the troops inside Wangyang Pass stood in neat formation, with banners bearing the characters "Wei," "General of Longxi," and "Majestic" among the many.

Wei Cui, wearing an old cotton robe, came out of the room.

"General." A messenger hurried forward, bowed, and whispered, "The embroidered-robed men should leave before dawn."

Let me pause here.

"The Commandant of the Guards left in a carriage; no one saw him."

Wei Cui looked in the direction of Qin'an City and sighed softly, "I don't know when we'll meet again after this parting." He then raised his hand in acknowledgment.

The guards stepped aside, and his entourage stepped forward to drape a cloak over his shoulders and put a hat on him. They then escorted him toward the carriage ahead.

Master Wei was already standing respectfully in front of the car, personally helping Wei Cui into the car, and then following behind.

The car was warm and cozy.

"What should we do about Qin'an City?" said Master Wei Qi, his expression tense. "The Feng family has occupied this place, which is bad for us."

He looked remorseful as he spoke.

"It's all my fault for being useless and not noticing A-Jiao's motives."

The key point is that Sun Shu's son is hiding in Qin'an City, and he has no idea about it or where Wei Jiao got the information from.

Wei Cui didn't blame him, but smiled and said, "This child's mind is different from ordinary people. It's okay if you don't notice it. Don't blame yourself."

Master Wei breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could say anything, Wei Cui took off his cloak.

"But what about that child?" he asked. "How come you came back empty-handed, with his whereabouts, his real face, and even a portrait of him in a mask?"

He paused again at this point.

"All of our own people are dead."

Master Wei's breath caught in his throat. He bent down and kowtowed with such force that even through the thick seat cushion, it seemed to hit the carriage floor with a thud.

"Please forgive me, General," he said in a muffled voice.

(End of this chapter)