latelenovela Chapter 173 Hostage (Part )
Chapter 173 Hostage (Part )
The female commander took out another silk handkerchief, walked over in three or two steps, and gently covered Tao Yao's mouth and nose with the handkerchief.
"Don't be afraid, girl. I will help you escape. Just pretend to faint."
When Tao Yao heard the female commander's words, she suddenly felt her limbs go weak and powerless, as if she was drunk. She gradually lost consciousness and fell asleep.
When Tao Yao woke up again, the scene before her eyes had completely changed. She was lying on the ground, and she could hear several people whispering nearby, some near, some far, some men, some women, but Tao Yao couldn't make out what they were saying.
Half of her face was still covered with the silk handkerchief that the female commander had put on her earlier, but it wasn't completely covered, leaving one eye exposed. Tao Yao felt weak all over, so she simply looked around with one eye. This was a bamboo house, and there was nothing inside.
After lying there for a while, her consciousness gradually came back and her strength gradually recovered. Tao Yao pulled away the silk handkerchief covering her face and sat up. Suddenly, she found that the gold hairpin given to her by Chu Huanjun was still lying beside her. She thought that the female commander must have left it for her on purpose.
Tao Yao immediately grabbed the golden hairpin and gently pressed the small button hidden inside the hairpin. Suddenly, an extremely sharp blade popped out from the end of the hairpin.
At this moment, there was a sudden sound of quarreling outside the house. It was the people who had just spoken. It seemed that someone smashed some sharp porcelain on the ground, making a clear crisp sound.
"Everyone, get out of the way! No one is allowed to block us!"
A familiar voice entered her ears, and Tao Yao's heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat. It was Lu Che's voice.
"Are you crazy? Are you going to disobey even the Pavilion Master's orders? Do you want to die?!"
Another voice sounded immediately afterwards, it was that of the female commander.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of fighting was heard outside the house again. The two sides argued for a long time and suddenly became quiet again.
For a moment, those people knelt on the ground and said in unison: "Greetings, Pavilion Master!"
Tao Yao's heart moved, and she secretly looked out through the gap in the door, only to see a group of people kneeling on the ground. The person they were kneeling to was the man who had given her Longjing tea cakes in Qingshui Town before.
So he is the leader of Wuyan Pavilion?
So, the person who spent lavishly to buy a large number of treasures at the incense tasting conference was indeed Lu Che.
Tao Yao's heart pounded like a drum, her thoughts a tangled mess. If Wuyan Pavilion was determined to seize these treasures, then why did Chu Huanjun intervene to seize them? Furthermore, the last treasure on display at the incense tasting conference, the set of glazed brushes and inkstones, had a distinctly unusual look on Chu Huanjun's face. Could these items have some special connection?
There are no answers to anything. Chu Huanjun said he would explain it to her, but now, how can she find Chu Huanjun?
The gold hairpin given by Chu Huanjun was still tightly held in Tao Yao's hand. When he inserted the hairpin into her hair, his eyes were as gentle as water, sometimes affectionate, and sometimes looking a little helpless and powerless. He told her to protect herself.
He also told her that when he was not around, she should be careful and not die, because he would be very sad.
Now, she could only stand here alone, helpless. Fortunately, she still had this golden hairpin in her hand, which might be able to save her life when necessary.
She saw the man they called the Pavilion Master lift his legs, step over the group of people kneeling on the ground, and walk straight towards the house where she was.
Lu Che jumped up from the ground immediately and hugged Zhong Wuyou's thigh desperately to stop him from moving forward.
"Pavilion Master, you promised me before that you would not harm her life! Does that mean you no longer hold true?"
Anger suddenly appeared on Zhong Wuyou's face. He raised his leg and kicked Lu Che away like a beast, but Lu Che immediately pounced on him desperately.
"Lu Che, are you threatening me? Who do you think you are?"
Tao Yao's heart was empty for a moment. She had never seen Lu Che like this before. He had always been strong and stubborn, so much so that even after being beaten and injured by Zuo Qiuling that day, he did not show any vulnerability to her. But now, for her, he would rather disobey the orders of the Pavilion Master and even lose his dignity to find a way out for her.
Tao Yao clenched the golden hairpin in her hand, hid it in her sleeve, held her breath, and pushed open the door.
At that moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Tao Yao. Lu Che was obviously shocked and looked over in surprise.
Tao Yao walked forward without any fear and met Zhong Wuyou's amusement-filled gaze.
"Awake?" Zhong Wuyou smiled awkwardly. "It seems the drug you and I gave you wasn't strong enough... Or maybe you're just lucky enough to have escaped this disaster. But life is full of disappointments. If you can escape this one, how many more can you escape in the future?"
Zhong Wuyou's eyes were full of mockery. He looked Tao Yao up and down without any hesitation. It seemed as if he wanted to strip off all her clothes. His gaze was fierce, sinister, and ambiguous.
"I don't know how many more I can escape in the future, but at least I can be sure that I will survive today."
Tao Yao stared back with sharp eyes. If Zhong Wuyou was very fierce, she would resist with twelve points of anger.
Zhong Wuyou's smile deepened as he grabbed Lu Che and brought him close. Lu Che stumbled and nearly lost his footing. He looked up at Tao Yao, a look of embarrassment covering his face.
"Look at this woman, it's her. She says she's a prostitute, her father has passed away, and she's working in a brothel to make a living to pay for her mother's medical treatment." Zhong Wuyou said halfway before turning his gaze to Lu Che and saying, "That's her. She's full of lies, but she manages to make them sound so sincere that they all believe her. Lu Che, this woman is a habitual liar. How long have you been reunited with her? Do you dare to say you truly understand her? Can you be sure that every word she says to you is genuine?"
Tao Yao frowned, feeling furious - this old man actually dared to sow discord between her and Lu Che.
But Lu Che was this man's subordinate after all. He still needed to rely on Wuyan Pavilion's job to make a living and complete his mission. This relationship was inseparable. Tao Yao didn't want to embarrass Lu Che, so she quickly said, "What do you want to do? If you have anything to say, just come to me, don't bring Lu Che into this."
After these words were spoken, the guilt on Lu Che's face became even more obvious. In reality, Zhong Wuyou's words didn't change anything. He had never questioned Tao Yao in the first place—it was just that he felt guilty. Between him and Tao Yao, he was clearly the one who lied more.
Zhong Wuyou smiled wryly and said, "I want to kill you. I've wanted to do this for a long time. Now is the perfect time."