Your Majesty, Please Stop!

Chapter 27: Little Thief, You...

"Just now was an accident, unintentional offense, you should understand!" Xin Zhuo explained earnestly.

The woman clearly couldn't understand and closed her eyes, refusing to listen any further.

Xin Zhuo had no choice but to try using the logic of his past life, and said to himself, "I think you should be a smart person. Since you can't resist, why not try to communicate with the thief and seek self-preservation?"

The woman couldn't help but open her eyes again. "I have thought about it, but I don't think a rude and bloodthirsty bandit like you would listen to reason. Just like Mr. Xu's injury, you haven't said a word from beginning to end."

"I have to be responsible for my brothers and sisters. Why give him the opportunity to delay? Actually, my character is quite good!" Xin Zhuo laughed. "My nickname is the Just and Merciful Iron-faced Judge Pure and Kind Young Master."

The woman blinked her eyes, seemingly trying to decipher the meaning behind this nickname.

Xin Zhuo continued, "So, can we chat now? I'm Xin Zhuo, the hardworking Xin, the extraordinary Zhuo, a bandit!"

"I know you're a bandit!" The woman finally decided to chat with him.

Xin Zhuo smiled. "Your surname is Su?"

"Yes."

"What about your name?"

"Miao Jin!"

"Su Miao Jin?"

"Yes."

"Nice name, it sounds like the daughter of a wealthy family, the governor's daughter?"

"...Yes."

"Very good! You can eat now. Since what should happen will inevitably happen, what shouldn't happen will never happen. Why starve yourself? I won't watch you."

Xin Zhuo stopped asking questions and got up to search through a gift box that was taken from robbing Su Miao Jin.

Su Miao Jin was slightly surprised. Is he just going to chat? No plans to harm or threaten?

However, the dagger placed against her neck was finally removed.

Then she thought seriously and felt that Xin Zhuo's words made some sense. She hesitated for a moment, took a light step, and walked towards the table, picking up a piece of preserved fruit and taking a bite.

This was a precious palace snack from Zhi Shan Zhai in Bazhou. She had bought it to bring back for Uncle Su, Aunt Su, and Little Brother and Little Sister to eat, but she hadn't been willing to touch it. Unexpectedly, it was now taken by the bandit.

And she had been on the road all day without eating, so she was really hungry.

After eating three pieces of preserved fruit, she avoided the jerky that Xin Zhuo had touched and took out two pieces from below.

Then, she heard the sound of moving tables and chairs from behind.

She turned around cautiously and saw that the little thief had moved another table and was writing something with the ink and paper she had bought for Little Brother.

The little thief looked very serious, sometimes biting the tip of the pen in thought, sometimes writing quickly. His soft long hair fell over his shoulders, making him look like a student of Confucianism.

He was a bandit who could read and write!

And he looked handsome, like a girl.

In fact, at first glance, when she saw Xin Zhuo, she felt that this young man was somewhat different, and it had nothing to do with his appearance.

She had seen too many sons of officials and nobles, as well as scholars from prestigious families, who were good-looking, had excellent temperament, outstanding martial arts skills, and were knowledgeable in literature and poetry. But this little thief seemed to be different.

What was different about him?

His expression and temperament.

He didn't have the air of a bandit, nor did he resemble a Confucian student, and he didn't seem like a commoner's son either. It was as if... everyone was equal, without the distinction of etiquette and hierarchy, without awe.

But he was still a bandit!

She stopped looking and thought the jerky tasted good, so she took two more pieces.

After finishing eating, the little thief was still writing quickly.

She looked towards the door, imagining the possibility of escape, but in the end, she gave up. There were other bandits in the stronghold, and she might not be able to run away.

She looked at the little thief again.

A small bandit naturally didn't have the qualifications to seek fame and fortune, so what was he writing?

Her uncontrollable footsteps led her to a suitable position, not too close but still able to observe the tabletop.

With a quick glance, her face turned pale in an instant.

On the table was a rectangular piece of Xuan paper, a famous product from Bazhou's "Yufang Studio," used for writing poetry and couplets. But now, it was filled with a series of horrifying words:

"We have decided to punish Miss Su as follows: 1. Shave her hair, 2. Cut off her nose, 3. Break her teeth, 4. Dig out her eyeballs, 5. Pierce her ears with iron nails, 6. Sever her arms, 7. Sever her legs, 8. Rape her, 9. Get her pregnant, 10. Peel her skin, 11. Disfigure her, 12. Brand her with a hot iron..."

Line by line, each one more brutal than the last, surpassing even the tortures of the prison guards.

Su Miaojin took several steps back, her face turning ashen. In her heart, there had been a glimmer of hope, after all, this Xin Zhuo seemed different from the others.

But who could have expected him to be so cruel?

She felt all hope slipping away.

Xin Zhuo noticed her reaction, looked up at her, and waved his arm to cover the words. "I just wrote it randomly, don't be nervous!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Su Miaojin retreated again, raising her dagger. "Xin... Your Majesty, I have never done anything wrong in my life. I don't deserve such punishment. Please grant me the dignity to end my own life!"

With that, she closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face, and her trembling lips whispered, "Father, mother, I have not yet completed the seven days of mourning for you, but I am already on the path of no return. I have been unfilial. Farewell!"

Without hesitation, she slashed at her own neck.

"Oh my god!"

Xin Zhuo moved even faster, taking two quick steps and narrowly grabbing the dagger from her hand. He angrily asked, "Are you crazy?"

"Get away!"

Su Miaojin was determined, holding onto the dagger tightly, trying to break free from Xin Zhuo's grip.

Her hand was in pain, blood flowing, and Xin Zhuo was also annoyed. He forcefully took the dagger from her, threw it out of the broken window, and stared at Su Miaojin. "Your life is mine now. I won't allow you to die. Do you dare to die? Damn it, I've gone mad!"

Su Miaojin's chest heaved, anger in her eyes, a stubborn and fearless look on her face.

"I have my own plans. Don't worry, I will send you safely down the mountain afterwards. I won't harm a single hair on your head. Trust me."

Xin Zhuo bandaged his finger, put away his broken knife, and cleared away anything that could be used for self-harm. Ignoring the dazed Su Miaojin, he returned to the table and continued writing.

Of course, he had no intention of actually doing anything to Su Miaojin. These matters concerned his grand plan.

The room fell silent.

Outside, it was already late at night, with the moon shining brightly and a few crickets chirping in the corner.

After a while, he finished and turned to look at Su Miaojin. He found that she had gone through some internal struggle and had fallen asleep with her head on the table. Her forehead was slightly furrowed, tears still wet at the corners of her eyes, and a few crumbs on her beautiful lips.

Shaking his head, he took out two clean blankets and neatly laid them on the floor.

Su Miaojin was suddenly awakened by this, watching Xin Zhuo's actions with no excessive expression on her face, seemingly numb and unsure how to think about the situation.

"Go to sleep!" Xin Zhuo said.

"I won't sleep!" Su Miaojin stubbornly replied.

"If you don't sleep, then stay awake. Don't think about running away, and don't think about leaving the room. I've given orders outside. If you go out, I'll shave off your eyebrows and eyelashes. Just imagine how ugly you would look."

Xin Zhuo stretched lazily, lay down on the bed, and placed the broken Yanling knife under the covers, pressing it against his body.

Before long, a faint snoring sound could be heard.

Su Miaojin furrowed her brows, looked at the door, then glanced around the room. She tried to move the table but couldn't, then struggled to lift the bamboo chair, carefully walking to the bedside, and laboriously lifting it.

Her long eyelashes blinked, feeling as if smashing it down wouldn't do much harm to him, but it might alert the other bandits. She gently put the chair down, then extended her delicate hands, like jade, slowly approaching Xin Zhuo's neck.

After hesitating for a while, she ultimately didn't go through with it.

...

Xin Zhuo didn't sleep soundly. No one could sleep soundly when faced with a thousand-mile journey. Opening his eyes, it was already dawn outside.

He scanned the room and found no one!

Surprised, he sat up and realized that Su Miaojin had moved the blanket to the corner, cleaned the floor, and was now curled up like a little cat, her long black hair spread out, her delicate features still pleasing even in sleep.

Little Huang was lying by her feet, sniffing her feet and wagging its tail, looking quite pleased with itself.

(End of this chapter)