Chapter 111 - 110: The One Who Saved Her Was Still Her Majesty
Chapter 111: Chapter 110: The One Who Saved Her Was Still Her Majesty
It was a breathtakingly beautiful face with incredibly striking features.
Her gaze swept over them, carrying an intense sense of oppression, making no attempt to conceal the aggressive aura radiating from her.
Ning Liuyu felt a bit dazed. This momentary sense of familiarity instantly pulled her back four hundred years into the past.
At that time, she was only thirteen years old. She was just a medicine woman in a small county town in Cangzhou, working as an apprentice in a pharmacy, responsible only for gathering and dispensing herbs every day. Cangzhou had been a chaotic region back then. Four-fifths of its land had suffered invasions by the Barbarians, leaving the common people destitute and homeless.
Ning Liuyu was already very content. At the very least, she had enough to eat and a cotton-padded jacket to wear during the winter.
On that particular day, she went up the mountain to gather herbs as usual. She was born with a sharp sense of smell and could identify various medicinal herbs at a single glance. It must have been because she had gathered a full basket of herbs that could fetch a good price at the market. Those few roaming bandits had likely been eyeing her for days, figuring out her route before blocking her path.
"Hand over all the herbs. Otherwise, a little girl like you wouldn’t want to know what’s going to happen next."
Ning Liuyu clutched the herb basket, her body trembling slightly from fear. Although she was young and inexperienced, she knew they intended to defile her. As important as the herbs were, they were not worth her life. She handed over the basket, but the bandits let out a sinister laugh, clearly having no intention of letting her go.
Ultimately, she was only thirteen. Tears of terror fell from her eyes. "You’re going back on your word!"
"Hahahaha, going back on our word? You want to talk about trust with us? Have you lost your mind?
"Besides, when she turns fifteen, her parents will just sell her off to pay for her brother’s bride. We might as well have some fun with her first."
Listening to these filthy words, Ning Liuyu used a trembling hand to pull a plain hairpin from her hair, pointing it at her own neck. She was a bit afraid of pain, wondering if dying like this would hurt a lot.
However, an unexpected turn of events occurred at that moment. An arrow pierced through the air.
SWISH!
The leader of the bandits was pinned to the ground by the arrow, instantly passing out.
Someone approached on horseback and let out a cold sneer. "A few thugs bullying a little girl. This really opens my eyes."
Ning Liuyu’s heart trembled as she looked up.
A girl dressed in red clothes and silver armor sat sidesaddle on the horse, looking down at the terrified bandits. Her face was unexpectedly young—definitely under twenty years old—yet the imposing aura she carried made it difficult to look her straight in the eye.
She waved her hand, and soldiers immediately stepped forward, subduing the bandits to hand them over to the authorities. She then looked over and asked, "Are you alright?"
Ning Liuyu wiped her tears and whispered, "I’m fine. You came right in time."
The girl nodded and ordered the deputy general beside her to escort Ning Liuyu home. It was through this deputy general that she learned the girl’s name and title.
Prince Jing, Shi Yaoguang.
At the tender age of fifteen, she was already leading troops into battle.
Ning Liuyu looked at the figure high on horseback with a hint of envy, sighing softly in her heart. Unfortunately, she didn’t possess Herculean strength and was not cut out for the battlefield.
After returning, an elderly woman at the village entrance wiped the dirt from her face and explained in a low voice, "Prince Jing was just passing through here on her way to the border region. A Yu, as you know, the Galuo have been plundering massively over there. We’ve lost a lot of land, and many people have died."
Ning Liuyu nodded.
"Even the Grand Ancestor went to fight them back in the day, but unfortunately, he couldn’t take the land back," the woman sighed. "Prince Jing is ultimately just a woman, and she’s so young. Those Galuo beasts... how could she possibly be a match for them?"
Ning Liuyu suddenly said, "She will win."
The woman was taken aback, clearly not knowing where she got this confidence from. She didn’t know either, but she inexplicably believed in that young Prince Jing.
Later, she was proven right.
A year later, Prince Jing’s army returned to the capital in triumph, passing through this place once again. Ning Liuyu waited for a long time on the army’s inevitable route to present the medicine she had made herself. Because her herbs were limited, she had only made ordinary wound medicine, which naturally couldn’t compare to that of an Imperial Physician. She never expected to receive any rewards for this; it was merely a small token of her appreciation.
But to her surprise, Prince Jing summoned her privately.
"Medicine is always bitter. I hate taking it," she said. "Those Imperial Physicians always say that bitter medicine cures the sickness, but can’t sweet medicine do the same?"
Ning Liuyu froze for a moment, recalling that the medicine she had made was citrus-flavored, sweet and sour, making it easy to swallow. She then heard Prince Jing ask her, "Are you willing to leave this place and come with me to Mingjing?"
Of course she was willing. In just another year, she would turn fifteen, and she did not want to be sold by her parents for a bride price.
And so, she left with Prince Jing’s army.
Afterward, she continuously researched all kinds of sweet medicines, altering their flavors without compromising their efficacy.
All because her Your Majesty hated bitterness.
Only when taking bitter medicine would her Your Majesty reveal the childishness typical of someone that age.
"Mind your own business! Do you know who we are?" the young man shouted harshly, pulling Ning Liuyu’s thoughts back from her memories.
Shi Changying leaped down from the tree with effortless ease. "I don’t know, but you interrupted me while I was enjoying the view, and I’m very unhappy about it."
Although there were few people here, the beautiful scenery made up for it. Thus, she had arranged to meet Shaoyuan here. She now had a hundred yuan in her WhatsApp wallet, and she planned to treat Shaoyuan to a meal today.
The young man frowned.
Their mission on this trip was to bring Miss Ning back. If they failed to get the job done, they might lose their lives. They had chosen to make their move here precisely because there were no surveillance cameras and hardly any people around. How did a little girl suddenly pop out of nowhere?
"You guys take her first—" The young man’s words were cut off because Shi Changying had already made her move.
Shoulder throws, elbow strikes, uppercuts, flying kicks, side kicks, high sweeps... It was a set of incredibly simple and brutal combat techniques, executed purely with brute force. In just the blink of an eye, all five young men were slammed to the ground by Shi Changying.
She clapped her hands and said, "You can’t even beat me. Your height and muscles are completely useless. From now on, you’re not allowed to eat and waste food, you hear me?"
Ning Liuyu was stunned. The little girl looked so soft and weak, but she was—she was truly a fierce warrior!
The five young men collapsed on the ground, their bodies feeling as if they had fallen apart. They didn’t even have the strength to crawl back up. Blood rushed to their heads, and they tasted the metallic tang of rust in their mouths. They couldn’t comprehend how they had been effortlessly beaten down by a little girl.
Having finished stretching her limbs, Shi Changying prepared to leave.
DING!
Her phone vibrated as two messages popped up simultaneously.
[Xie Xie]: May this subject have the honor of dining with you?
[Qingyuan]: Sister Ying, do you want to have dinner together tonight?
"Wait!" Ning Liuyu called out from behind.