PFC Chapter 222 Zhang Pingping
Chapter 222 Zhang Pingping
When Fan Jingrui heard this, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. However, he resisted the pang and asked in a gentle voice, "Can you tell me who is chasing you?"
"Yes, human traffickers. We risked our lives to escape from their lair. They kept chasing us relentlessly. We had no choice but to flee into this forest."
Although the children were full of fear, they decided to take a gamble because of Princess Minghui.
As expected, Princess Minghui frowned and said angrily, "Damn human traffickers, do you still remember what they look like?"
Several people suffered a lot at the hands of human traffickers, and deep fear took root in their bones.
After hearing what Princess Minghui said, there was no pleasure of revenge on their faces, only fear from the bottom of their hearts. Their eyes were horrified, their bodies were trembling, and they shook their heads repeatedly. "We just want to go home!"
Princess Minghui was about to take charge, but Fan Jingrui took the lead and said, "Okay, we can help you get home."
Hearing that Fan Jingrui was willing to help them, the children suddenly felt happy, their faces instantly relaxed, and there seemed to be light on their faces.
But then, Fan Jingrui poured cold water on us mercilessly: "But, what if those traffickers are still waiting outside, and we don't know them, what if we are careless and fail to check..."
Sure enough, someone couldn't hold it in any longer and said anxiously, "I remember..."
But as soon as he said this, his friend beside him covered his mouth fiercely. "You can't say it. Don't forget the identities of those people!"
When Fan Jingrui heard this, his eyes suddenly flashed, and he pointed at Princess Minghui opposite him and said loudly: "Do you know who she is? She is Princess Minghui, the granddaughter of the current emperor."
Seeing this, Minghui slowly stood up and walked in front of the people, and said with a firm but extremely gentle look: "Don't be afraid, no matter how big the difficulties are, we will do our best to help you."
"Really? What the Emperor's granddaughter says must be much more trustworthy than what we say. Can we really go home?" After receiving Princess Minghui's promise, the children hugged each other excitedly and jumped up and down, with cheers echoing all around.
They were excited like this for a long time before gradually calming down.
The children, who had calmed down, now felt a little guilty.
They lowered their heads, their faces flushed, and stammered, “We…we…we’re sorry, we thought you were bad guys. Please wait a moment, we’ll go call for help.”
After they finished speaking, before Fan Jingrui and the others could respond, two of the older boys couldn't wait to run towards the forest behind the shack.
Before long, the two returned with more than ten children.
There were both boys and girls in this group of children. Together with the five people who had been captured before and Li Jing who was lying in the shack, there were as many as eighteen people in total.
Among this group of children, the most conspicuous one is a tall girl. Moreover, these people seem to respect her.
As soon as the girl appeared, she bowed to Princess Minghui in a standard lady's manner and said softly, "I, Zhang Pingping, greet Princess Minghui."
Seeing this, others also hurriedly followed suit and saluted in the same way.
Princess Minghui didn't say anything. Fan Jingrui stepped forward and asked seriously, "Can you tell us in detail what happened?"
Zhang Pingping frowned upon hearing this and said slowly, "We don't know the specific situation, but from what I know, the person behind this must be very powerful."
"The reason." Fan Jingrui did not believe Zhang Pingping's words directly, but asked sharply.
Zhang Pingping had expected this, and replied calmly, "Because everyone present is the heir of a well-known merchant family in the south. These merchants have deep roots in the south, strong financial resources, and great influence. If the people behind the scenes control us, it is equivalent to controlling the lifeblood of these merchant families."
After hearing such an answer, even the eldest prince and the fifth prince, who had previously not taken it seriously and thought that the little girl was exaggerating the facts, were now shocked and had expressions of disbelief on their faces.
"What are these people's intentions?" The fifth prince muttered to himself, and subconsciously turned his head to stare at the eldest prince.
The eldest prince looked solemn. After a moment of silence, he slowly uttered two words: "Treason!"
Zhang Pingping's next words confirmed their guess: "Moreover, our Zhang family has already planted an identical 'Zhang Pingping'. The fake 'Zhang Pingping' imitates my every move in the mansion, trying to control the Zhang family's business and connections."
At this point, Zhang Pingping paused and said, "The same is true for Li Jing's family. They also have an imposter operating in secret."
"I think the situation is similar for other families."
So the eldest prince stopped being silent and asked sternly, "How do you know all this? When you went back before, was it the Zhang family or the Li family that chased you? Or was it another family that exposed their tracks?"
The eldest prince's original intention was to obtain more useful information from Zhang Pingping, but his expression was too stern, and the power he deliberately exuded actually frightened Zhang Pingping.
Zhang Pingping's face turned pale, her body trembled slightly, and she was unable to speak for a while.
The others were even more frightened and hid behind Zhang Pingping, not daring to face the eldest prince's majesty.
Fortunately, the poison in Li Jing's body had almost been eliminated by this time. Chu Ci quickly withdrew the needle and walked out of the shack.
He pretended to know nothing and asked in confusion, "What's going on? Weren't there only five people running away just now? How come there are so many more in the blink of an eye?"
When Princess Minghui heard Chu Ci ask this, her smart little eyes turned.
He immediately ran to Chu Ci happily, pulled her clothes and said, "Sister Yixin, these brothers and sisters are so pitiful. Some bad guys have taken their families away and are hunting them down. Sister Yixin, you and Dad must help them."
Chu Ci did not answer when he heard this, but turned to look at Zhang Pingping, with a probing look in his eyes: "Is what Minghui said true?"
Zhang Pingping looked at the eldest prince, then at Chu Ci, and after a slight hesitation, he repeated what he had said before in detail.
Finally, she stared at Chu Ci with hope in her eyes and said, "Princess Minghui promised to help us get home. You are someone close to Princess Minghui, so you will definitely not sit idly by, right?"
He is really smart, no wonder he can convince so many people!
However, Chu Ci did not take on too much responsibility. Instead, he walked to the side of the first and fifth princes and introduced them respectfully: "Let me introduce to you all. This is His Royal Highness the King of Shu of the Great Zhou, the eldest son of the current emperor."
"This is His Royal Highness Prince Qin, the Emperor's fifth son and second son."