A piece of Japanese incense

"Ahe!"

"girl!"

Tingzhu and Yutuan both wanted to run towards Zhiyihe.

"Get—out of here!" Tingzhu screamed, drowning out the noise in the room!

Several villagers who were crowded in the front and almost pounced on her were frightened by her sudden scream and subconsciously took half a step back.

The chaotic scene came to a brief halt.

Without even looking at anyone, Ting Zhu pushed through the crowd in front of her and ran towards Zhi Yihe who was slumped on the edge of the kang.

She bent down, her skirt brushing against the dust on the ground, avoiding the branches and the wound on her forehead, and supporting her sweaty neck.

Zhi Yihe moaned weakly in her arms, his eyelids trembling.

Tingzhu gently wiped the blood beads oozing from the branches and forehead with his sleeves.

"Women are so annoying! They fall over as soon as you push them! Are you trying to blackmail me?"

"It wasn't me who pushed it! I'm not that strong!"

……

A woman in the crowd sighed, "Oh! Come on! Just cut the smack! There's so much blood! It doesn't look fake!"

Another woman exclaimed, "Look! There's another girl over there who's also fainted!"

Zhi Yihe gradually regained consciousness, raised her head, propped herself up, and slowly and with difficulty stood up. "Do you... know who I am?" She deliberately lowered her voice, with a mysterious sense of fear. "Do you know why we were injured so badly?"

The leading men narrowed their eyes, said nothing, and motioned for her to continue.

"I... am the fiancée of a 'noble' in Beijing! What I carry with me is an important 'token of love'!" Zhi Yihe deliberately emphasized the words "noble' and "token of love".

"We fled in a hurry the night before last and hid in your village. The people chasing us... are another group, top-notch fighters sent by your official enemies! They're nearby! Waiting for us to step out and fall into their trap!"

The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment. A noble from the capital? A sworn enemy? These words seemed too distant to them, yet they also carried a natural intimidating power.

"Who are you trying to scare?" the burly man roared in a timid manner.

"Is he trying to scare you?" Zhi Yihe smiled sadly, pointing at the unconscious Yu Tuan behind her. "Look at her! She was injured by those people! If we hadn't been alert, we would have died without a burial place that night!" Her eyes suddenly became sharp, and she pointed at the villagers present. "You forced me to stay, letting those people know we had stayed in your village... Just think about it, when the people sent to pick me up arrive and find that I have been detained by you, my property has been stolen, and I have been injured... What will they do?"

Zhi Yihe continued to throw out bait: "If you let us go now, we will leave immediately and will not implicate your village. When the rescue team arrives, I will tell them that it was you who took me in. They may even give you some 'reward'."

"The contact...the contact person?"

"Village chief...how about..." Some people began to back down.

"Listen to this woman's nonsense! They've been here for two days. Where are these pursuers or nobles? They're clearly trying to trick us! We can't let them go! A handkerchief is worth two taels of gold. Who knows how many valuable things they have on them!"

Several men immediately started clamoring, blocking the doorway, their eyes glaring at them fiercely: "I think so too! Sell all the valuables! We'll be rich!"

"That's right! We'll strip them of their clothes and sell them to the brothel..."

"How dare you!" Zhi Yihe said firmly, "I am the daughter of the former Grand Secretary Zhi Yian—Zhi Yihe! How dare you act so rashly!"

"Bullshit!" a clueless villager nearby retorted, "How could a lady from a noble family end up as destitute as you? You're kidding!"

"We! We sent out a secret signal yesterday! Calculating the time, in two hours at most, the 'special person' sent to escort me will definitely find this place! They... are not as easy to talk to as me! If anyone dares to hurt me... the consequences..." Zhi Yihe did not continue, but just gave a suggestive smile.

"You...what you said is true?"

"Absolutely true!" Zhi Yihe straightened her back, her eyes sweeping across the faces at the doorway, her gaze finally landing on the jade bracelet held by someone unknown. "Do you think this jade bracelet is just a valuable ornament? It's a tribute, a gift from the Crown Prince himself. If it's damaged, the entire clan will be executed!" She suddenly raised her hand and pointed at the man: "This is your death warrant!"

"You little bitch! Do you think I was scared?!" Several men continued to provoke.