Even women who travel through time can become prime ministers and nobles.

Chapter 489 The Tragic Death of My Benefactor

Shi Wanxia's heart skipped a beat. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Lin Yiyu's eyelids twitch. She quickly crawled over, her voice hoarse, "Xiaoyu? You're awake?"

Lin Yiyu slowly opened his eyes, and when he saw Shi Wanxia, ​​a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, but he gasped in pain: "Sister Shi... I'm so glad you're alright..."

He tried to raise his arm, but found it was tightly bandaged and painful to move.

For the next two days, Zhang Li and his wife went to the City God Temple almost every day, sometimes bringing food, sometimes bringing herbs, and also helping Shi Wanxia inquire about the rebels' movements.

Zhang Li said that he knew several people who worked in the rebel army's granaries and knew how the granaries were defended. Wang would chat with other women and inquire about the situation in the prison.

Shi Wanxia's injuries have healed somewhat, and she can walk slowly now. She changes the dressings for Cui Zhihao and Lin Yiyu every day. Seeing that Cui Zhihao's breathing is gradually becoming stable and Lin Yiyu is able to sit up, she feels a little relieved.

She said to Zhang Li, "When the reinforcements arrive, we will work together from the inside and outside to rescue all the people. I will definitely report to His Majesty and you will be credited for your merits."

Zhang Li scratched his head and smiled憨厚ly: "I don't want credit. As long as the rebels are gone, I can sell vegetables properly."

But this peace didn't last long.

On the evening of the third day, Shi Wanxia went to Zhang Li's house as agreed to pick up the grain depot defense map he had inquired about—Zhang Li said that he could find out the changing of the guard time of the grain depot today, and asked her to come later.

She endured the pain in her back and slowly walked to the entrance of Zhang Li's alley. Before she even reached the door, she smelled a bloody odor, her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly ran over.

The door to Zhang Li's house was ajar. The moment Shi Wanxia pushed the door open, her legs went weak.

The ground was covered in blood. Zhang Li lay by the threshold, a knife stuck in his chest, his eyes still open, as if he was still looking at something.

Wang lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the inner room, still clutching the little clothes she had sewn for her daughter in her hand; blood stained half of the kang.

"Brother Zhang! Sister-in-law!"

Shi Wanxia rushed over, knelt on the ground, and with trembling hands checked Zhang Li's breath, which was already cold.

Her tears fell instantly, and just as she was about to burst into tears, a pair of small hands covered her mouth.

"Sister, please stop making noise,"

A childish voice rang in her ears. It was Zhang Li's daughter, Zhang Yaya. She was hiding behind the cabinet by the kang (a heated brick bed), her eyes filled with tears, but she held them back from falling.

"Father said that you can't be woken up when you're asleep, or he'll get angry..."

Shi Wanxia's heart ached as if it were being stabbed. She turned around and hugged Ya Ya, her tears falling onto Ya Ya's hair: "Ya Ya... Father and Mother... they won't wake up..."

Ya Ya froze for a moment, then burst into tears, clutching Shi Wanxia's clothes tightly with her little hands: "Sister, do Daddy and Mommy not want Ya Ya anymore? They said they were going to take Ya Ya to buy sugar figurines..."

Shi Wanxia held Ya Ya in her arms, crying so hard that her whole body trembled, but she dared not cry out loud—for fear that the rebels would hear her.

She coaxed Ya Ya for a long time before she stopped crying. Then she carried Ya Ya back to the City God Temple and handed her over to Lin Yiyu, who was awake: "You watch over Ya Ya for me. I'm going to deal with Brother Zhang and his wife's matter."

Lin Yiyu looked at her red eyes and knew something was wrong. He nodded and said, "Sister Shi, be careful."

Shi Wanxia returned to Zhang Li's house. Suppressing her nausea and heartache, she dragged Zhang Li and Wang Shi's bodies to the kang (a heated brick bed) in the inner room, covered them with a clean cloth, and then locked the door—she couldn't let the rebels find their bodies, and she couldn't let Ya Ya see them.

She knelt by the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at the two corpses covered with cloth, and tears fell again: "Brother Zhang, sister-in-law, it's all my fault... If I hadn't let you inquire about the defenses, you wouldn't have died..."

She kowtowed three times, her voice firm, "Don't worry, I will take good care of Ya Ya. After I quell the rebellion, I will find a good place for you to be laid to rest, and let Ya Ya grow up well..."

By the time they returned to the City God Temple, it was already dark. Ya Ya was asleep, leaning against Lin Yiyu, tears still on her face; Cui Zhihao was still unconscious, but his breathing had become more steady.

Shi Wanxia sat by the haystack, looking at everything before her, her heart aching and heavy—the deaths of Zhang Li and his wife weighed on her heart like a stone, making her even clearer that this battle was not only for Cui Zhihao and Lin Yiyu, but also for these innocent people.

She pulled out half of the defense map that Zhang Li had drawn earlier from her bosom, her fingertips clenched so tightly they turned white, and a fierce glint flashed in her eyes: "King Rongyang, Lei Zhao... I will make you pay for Brother Zhang and Sister-in-law's lives!"

The night wind blew in through the broken window, causing the candlelight to flicker and illuminating Shi Wanxia's pale yet resolute face, as well as the tears that had not yet dried in the corners of her eyes.

The candlelight in the City God Temple had dwindled to a tiny sliver. The wind seeped in through the cracks in the broken window, making the flames flicker and illuminating the two pale faces on the haystack with stark contrast.

Choi Ji-ho had a high fever; sweat soaked his temples, his lips were chapped and peeling, and he occasionally talked nonsense.

It was always the same two phrases: "The people... don't hurt the people... reinforcements..."

Shi Wanxia reached out to touch his forehead, and it was frighteningly hot, even hotter than yesterday—the arrow wound on his back had not been properly treated and had begun to fester, and the skin around the wound was swollen and shiny.

Lin Yiyu, standing beside her, wasn't in much better shape. The bandages covering his knife wound were already soaked with blood. He tried to reach out to wipe Shi Wanxia's sweat, but the moment he moved, he gasped in pain, his brows furrowing in pain: "Sister Shi... don't do that. The rebels are checking closely; it's too dangerous to go out..."

"How can we not find medicine?"

Shi Wanxia's voice was hoarse. She wiped the sweat off Cui Zhihao's forehead, and when her fingertips touched his burning skin, her heart ached as if it were being pricked by needles.

"If your injuries are left untreated any longer, people will die!"

The medicine bottle in her arms was long gone. The last bit of wound medicine was used to treat Cui Zhihao's wound yesterday, and now there were no herbs left to stop the bleeding.

Ya Ya, who was squatting next to her, was holding a tattered rag doll with her little brows furrowed. Suddenly, she tugged at Shi Wanxia's clothes and said, "Sister, I have some candy here. Give it to Uncle Cui and Uncle Lin. If they eat the candy, their pain will go away."

She pulled out a piece of candy from her bosom, which had melted down to almost nothing. It was a piece of candy that Lin Yiyu had given her before, and she had been reluctant to eat it.

Shi Wanxia looked at the small piece of candy, and tears almost welled up in her eyes. She patted Yaya's head and softened her voice, "Yaya, be good, you can eat the candy yourself. I'm going out to get some medicine. You wait here, don't run around, and don't open the door for strangers, okay?"

Ya Ya nodded as if she understood, her little hands tightly clutching Shi Wanxia's clothes: "Sister, you'll come back, right? Don't be like Father and Mother, never coming back..."

Shi Wanxia's heart clenched, and she nodded vigorously: "Sister will definitely come back, she'll be back soon. You stay here and take care of Uncle Cui and Uncle Lin."

She carried Ya Ya to the haystack and placed the short knife beside her.

"If any bad guys come, shout, and your sister will hear you."