noffsinger Chapter 679 2 Difficult Choices
Chapter 679 2 Difficult Choices
Aunt Jing answered truthfully: "I am fine, and so are the princess and Miss Yuan. The kidnappers did not make things difficult for us, and they provided us with food and water on time every day. They should not be in danger of their lives for the time being."
Zhou Chang's mind was in a mess. He didn't know where to start. He just asked whatever came to his mind: "Besides you, did the kidnappers kidnap anyone else?"
Aunt Jing shook her head: "No more, just the three of us..."
When he said the word "three", he suddenly stopped and looked up into the distance.
There were supposed to be four people originally, but the kidnappers thought there were too many people, so they first got rid of the most insignificant Liu E, and then released Aunt Jing who was a slave, leaving only the two people who might be the most important to Prince Yi - Princess Yuan Yun and former Princess Yuan Qi.
Zhou Chang didn't dare to think about it too much, as he found it hard to breathe.
Gao Yuan was still standing there motionless.
Even without watching it, I can feel the heartache, but it's useless to say anything at this moment.
In order to divert attention, Aunt Jing asked, "Your Highness, the kidnappers have been asking for that jade pendant, and they also said it was the key to some treasure, and it was in a tomb under Fengming Mountain. Is that true?"
Zhou Chang took out a jade pendant with intertwined branches from his bosom and looked at it in his hand. Although the broken jade pendant had been repaired by inlaying chalcedony with gold, the crack in the middle was still clearly visible.
"Is this jade pendant really the key to some treasure?" Aunt Jing also came over to take a look.
It's not like he had never seen this jade pendant before. When Yuan Qi left, he advised King Yi not to hold it all day long, so as to avoid being reminded of the king by the sight of it.
Zhou Chang was unable to answer, but couldn't help but think of the words of "Taosha Xunling" in the Beijiyuan family mansion.
Aunt Jing didn't get an answer, so she said to herself, "This jade pendant originally belonged to Miss Yuan. This old servant knows it. I'm afraid that the kidnappers kidnapped Miss Yuan because of this. They didn't expect that the jade pendant would be given to the prince. But Miss Yuan has always denied that the jade pendant is the key to the treasure. She also said that if the kidnappers only want money, then they can ask for any price and the Yuan family can pay it. But the kidnappers didn't believe it and insisted on getting the jade pendant."
"Yuan Qi denies it?" Zhou Chang murmured.
Aunt Jing sighed heavily: "Alas... yes... Miss Yuan kept telling the kidnappers that it was all nonsense and told them not to believe it, but it was useless."
At the beginning, "Taosha Xunling" had warned that this jade pendant with intertwined branches might cause big trouble. They didn't believe it at the time, but they didn't expect that someone would believe it.
Zhou Chang thought about it for a long time, but couldn't see anything special about the jade pendant in his hand.
As for whether this jade pendant is the key to some treasure, I am not interested, but the person must be saved.
"Your Highness, what should we do next? We have to use this jade pendant to save people." Aunt Jing recovered and became anxious again.
"We need to save people, but how?" Zhou Chang really didn't know. He had never encountered such a thing in his two lifetimes, and his mind was confused.
"Your Highness, I'll go..." Gao Yuan, who had been standing still, suddenly spoke, his eyes red, "I will definitely be able to rescue the people, and then I will, I will..."
Before he could even utter the word "revenge", Aunt Jing came over and grabbed him: "Gao Yuan, calm down first. This won't work. The kidnappers specifically asked the prince to go in person, and others might become suspicious. If you want revenge, you have to wait until the people are rescued first."
"Do I have to go there in person?" Zhou Chang couldn't help but look down at the letter in his hand.
The few words on the kidnapper's letter made it very clear, but tomorrow at 9:00 p.m., would be the time for the decisive battle with the Mirage Army.
Isn’t this too much of a coincidence?
As for the location…
Fengming Mountain also belongs to the Wushan Mountains, but it is exactly opposite to their current stationing location, on the north side of the Wushan Mountains. The Mirage Army that will attack tomorrow will advance in the southeast of the Wushan Mountains.
The directions are completely opposite and the distances are also very far.
No matter where you go, it will take more than an hour to ride at full speed.
In other words, if you go to Fengming Mountain to redeem someone, you will not be able to lead troops to the battlefield, and if you go to the battlefield, you will not be able to redeem someone.
Not to mention that the kidnappers specifically asked Prince Yi to go in person. Even if Gao Yuan could be a replacement, he would be indispensable for tomorrow's battle, and there would not be many people available in the army.
Yuan Qi must be saved, but the final battle with the Mirage Kingdom must also be won.
On one side are the people who are most important to Zhou Chang, and on the other side are the souls of tens of millions of people in the three states and countless soldiers who have sacrificed their lives.
There is no such thing as having the best of both worlds, but if you can only choose one of the two, you really can't choose.
Aunt Jing thought of something and added, "This is what the kidnappers emphasized before they released me. They said that although the letter was clearly written, it was to prevent us from cheating. Unless the prince goes there in person, we can't believe it."
"Do they know me very well? How do they know I will cheat?" Zhou Chang really wanted to know, but his mind was in a mess and he had no idea.
Gao Yuan's fists were clenched so tightly that veins were exposed. "No matter what, if the prince goes, I will follow him. After the people are rescued, I will tear them into pieces."
"Of course, but don't forget what day tomorrow is?" Zhou Chang held the jade pendant in one hand and the kidnapper's letter in the other. He really didn't know what to do.
Gao Yuan was so overwhelmed by the grief over the loss of Liu E that he was stunned again after being reminded: "This... is... what should I do?"
Aunt Jing didn't know their plan, but she could see that they were in trouble, and suddenly she remembered that they were missing someone: "By the way, Your Majesty, where is Mr. Zhong? He left Jindu in early April and rushed here. According to the time, he should be here by now, right?"
When Zhong Yu was mentioned, Zhou Chang remembered that Zhong Yu was in a bad condition. "Yes, Aunt Jing, let's go and see Mr. Zhong. He fainted after working so hard on the journey. His condition is critical. He fainted again when he heard the news about you just now. I don't know how he is doing."
"Ah?" Aunt Jing was quite surprised. "How could this happen?"
Gao Yuan naturally knew that Zhong Yu was in a bad condition these days, but he was still surprised: "What happened to Mr. Zhong? Did he faint again or is it more serious?"
With so many things pressing on him, Zhou Chang didn't even have time to catch his breath. "Let's go, let's go over there and take a look. Let's get through this first. Gao Yuan, believe me, we will definitely be able to avenge Miss Liu."
Gao Yuan nodded, forcing himself to suppress the heart-piercing pain.
Zhou Chang put the jade pendant back into his arms, folded the kidnapper's letter in two and stuffed it into his sleeve, then took the two of them to Zhong Yu's tent.
When they arrived at Zhong Yu's tent, Zhong Yu had woken up again and was anxious to ask Shouhou to find out whether it was Aunt Jing who had suddenly come.
When Zhong Yuyi saw Aunt Jing, he almost couldn't breathe. He wanted to cough but he had no strength. He could only stare with his eyes wide open and his lips moving.