The Princess Smells So Good (GL) - Chapter 49

Judith stepped out of the Jin family’s front gate, taking a small side path. A carriage was waiting at the alley’s entrance. The carriage had also been provided by Master Jin, but perhaps to avoid suspicion, he didn’t appear in person—only sending a servant. A Zong silently followed Judith out, and when she looked up, she saw a short, foreign man holding the reins at the front. His skin was a light brown, and as he looked at them, there was a hint of deference in his gaze, but also a lively spark.

A Zong blinked. She couldn’t help but be drawn to these people. However, she had gradually learned to control her emotions, so she climbed into the carriage without reacting to his eager, deferential voice.

Judith seemed to be lost in thought. It wasn’t until A Zong had sat down that Judith turned her attention to her.

“Are you curious about the other slaves?”

“Huh?” A Zong was a little surprised and instinctively jumped slightly, then looked at Judith with a brief flash of panic.

Judith smiled. She was slightly older than Fa Yilian and Wei Zhao, and her manner was always sharp. This made it easy for others to forget her age. At that moment, though, her smile softened— the warmth that came with age became apparent, and A Zong felt a bit more at ease.

“You used to be a slave, haven’t you interacted with other slaves before?” Judith asked, her fingers moving slightly as she turned to look out at the passing scenery. “The Great Zhou needs a lot of labor, and slaves are the simplest, most cost-effective goods. But these people need to be trained before being sent to their masters.”

“Trained…?” A Zong asked, confused.

Judith made a small sound of realization, and a touch of sympathy appeared in her eyes. “You haven’t experienced this? Then perhaps your parents were slaves too, and were trained once before.”

“I… I don’t know.” A Zong twisted her fingers. She had never spoken of these things to anyone, not even to Fa Yilian. She had a sharp sense that Fa Yilian was different from her and people like her. Though she wore chains, she seemed to have strong wings. No one, not even her master, could command an eagle to break its wings.

Perhaps because of this feeling, or maybe from other reasons, A Zong was unwilling to share these things with Fa Yilian.

“I’ve never met my parents. When I was very young, there were many children like me. We trained in martial arts, took medicine…”

Judith listened quietly, her chin resting on her hand, her gaze fixed on A Zong’s face. A Zong stopped talking, her pale face tinged with a faint blush, giving her the innocence of a girl her age. Judith smiled, “Well, it seems you were lucky. Growing up like that, at least you learned some skills.”

“Nothing much… but I’m still a slave, not like you free people,” A Zong replied, shaking her head and lowering her gaze.

“I’m a slave too,” Judith said, and A Zong looked up in surprise. Judith nodded firmly. “That’s quite common in our place. If you lose a war, you get sold as a slave.”

“So, so what about you now?” A Zong stammered.

“I killed the man who bought me, gathered a group of people, and hijacked a ship.” Judith squinted, her eyes showing a hint of nostalgia. It seemed like a moment of pride to her. She smiled and looked at A Zong. “Once I left there, who would know I’m a slave? If I say I’m not, then I’m not.”

A Zong suddenly thought of her own freedom certificate, the paper she kept close to her, tucked in her pocket. It gave her a sense of safety and strength. But people like Judith, or even Fa Yilian, didn’t seem to feel that way. They could always raise their heads and declare themselves their own masters.

“That’s so nice…” A Zong whispered.

Judith noticed A Zong’s change in attitude, which she had expected, but still felt a bit worried. “Don’t trust people so easily.”

A Zong widened her eyes. “Are you lying to me?”

“No, but…” Judith began, but A Zong smiled and cut her off.

“Then it’s fine.”

Judith, usually quick with words, was momentarily speechless. She just touched the tip of her nose and muttered, “…As long as you’re happy.”

But the next moment, A Zong raised her head, her previously innocent eyes now sharp. She looked behind them. “There are people following us. More than one.”

Judith squinted, and suddenly the carriage stopped. The coachman’s voice came through, “What’s going on here? This is the Duobao Pavilion’s carriage.”

“What’s Duobao Pavilion to us? Our master wants you, so you’d better cooperate if you know what’s good for you.”

The coachman was about to say something when Judith heard a faint sound, like something had been thrown onto the carriage. Then the coachman’s trembling voice came, “It’s… it’s the Black Flag’s insignia.”

“Since you know it’s the Black Flag, then why haven’t you left?”

The coachman hesitated, not daring to speak. At that moment, the curtain was suddenly pulled open, and a hand emerged. “The Black Flag’s insignia? Let me see.”

The coachman turned around and saw the foreign woman from earlier stepping out. She was tall, her eyes sharp like an eagle, exuding a sense of authority. The blue-eyed girl stood protectively at her side. The coachman hurriedly handed over the wooden tag, and Judith took it, glanced at it, then turned it over to examine the marks on the back. She smiled softly. “It’s the Black Flag’s insignia.” She looked up, noticing the group of unfriendly-looking men surrounding them. Even without turning around, she knew they were surrounded.

“I haven’t even made it to the inn, and I already ran into them. Looks like these people are really in a hurry,” Judith sighed, turning to A Zong.

A Zong nodded, then hesitated before asking, “Should we report it to the authorities?”

Such a justifiable and sensible statement coming from A Zong made Judith feel an unspoken helplessness. “We’ve been surrounded, how can we report it to the authorities? And… they wouldn’t do anything. If they’re bold enough to act on the street like this, they must have some backup.”

But seeing the innocent face of A Zong, who still believed in the justice of the authorities, Judith found herself unable to say the words. It felt as though, if she said it, she would shatter the child’s image of the world. Judith touched her own conscience, surprised she even had one.

Just as she thought this, A Zong naturally spoke her second line: “Just get rid of them, and then we can report it.”

Still the same brash attitude. Judith chuckled bitterly. “I wouldn’t dare say something like that.”

A Zong patted Judith on the shoulder with a serious look. “Leave it to me.”

At that moment, she was like a sword being slowly drawn from its sheath, its edge cold and sharp. Judith turned to look at A Zong’s demeanor, then thought of Fa Yilian and Wei Zhao’s earlier attitudes. She realized just how powerful A Zong really was.

The fight was over quickly, and quite satisfying to watch. Judith and the coachman sat aside, almost like two spectators who were too mesmerized to clap.

“If I didn’t know these two had no connection, I’d swear they were working together,” Judith couldn’t help but remark.

“Isn’t it, isn’t it just a show?” the coachman whispered.

Their words, falling into the ears of the others, felt like the height of humiliation, but they were powerless to do anything. They couldn’t understand why they were acting so foolish, constantly approaching the others.

The area they were in was already quite remote, and now that there had been a fight, it seemed that everyone had scattered. Judith quickly shouted, “Leave one alive!”

A Zong quickly struck, knocking one of the men down, leaving him unable to move. She turned to Judith. “Now we can report it.”

Judith hummed in response. “Let’s go back first and interrogate this person.”

A Zong tilted her head slightly, looking puzzled. “Why not report it to the authorities? They could do the interrogation too.”

So, how much faith do you really have in the authorities? Judith felt a little helpless. She didn’t know Wei Zhao’s identity, nor the trust A Zong had developed after receiving her freedom certificate. But when she saw A Zong’s icy blue eyes, Judith once again touched her rarely-present conscience and said with more conviction than she thought possible, “We’re just lightening the load for the authorities. Otherwise, they’ll need time to interrogate him.”

“Ah, you’re right,” A Zong nodded. “I’ve had some experience in interrogations, so I can help with this.”

Judith made a sound of acknowledgment and patted the coachman to hurry up and drive. As she was about to climb back into the carriage, it seemed as though she had suddenly remembered something. She turned to A Zong and asked, “Your martial arts are quite impressive.”

“It’s just a little bit of involvement,” A Zong replied, sounding like a teacher lecturing his students.

Both Judith and the coachman fell silent, unable to stop themselves from giving sympathetic looks to the man, who now resembled a chicken in A Zong’s grasp. The man, realizing his fate, trembled and shouted, “I—I’ll tell you everything!”

Judith shook her head slightly. “You people have been relying on your big backing for too long, acting like you own the world.”

The air around them carried the damp scent of the ocean. The sky was clear, but the clouds were beginning to gather on the horizon, and the sound of waves crashing against the shore became increasingly restless. It seemed the city of Haizhou would soon face a storm.

As for Judith, she smiled lightly. The lady from Duobao Pavilion had shown her abilities, and of course, Judith had to respond.