That night, Wu’s wife glared at Ruan Ning, enraged that her son had been ruined. She berated him for his suicide attempts, while Ruan Ning rolled her eyes in frustration.
Ruan Ning realized that Zheng Yu had never successfully committed suicide not because of plot armor, but due to his lack of courage. He was only trying to intimidate Wu’s wife.
Determined to take action, Ruan Ning decided that if escape was not possible, she would find a way to help Zheng Yu commit suicide. Completing this task would yield a significant reward, which she could use to help Meng Chi escape before leaving this world.
After the third watch, Wu’s wife started snoring, and Ruan Ning gave Zheng Yu a meaningful look to untie the ropes. However, Zheng Yu felt that being tied up made her appear more pitiable and whispered, “Don’t make mother unhappy; just bear with it a little longer.”
“Good brother, my hands and feet hurt so much, please,” Ruan Ning said, suppressing her goosebumps and attempting to act coquettishly.
Zheng Yu couldn’t resist this and quickly began to untie her.
Ruan Ning peeked through the carriage curtain and saw two burly male servants sitting on the driver’s seat, with two more on donkeys behind. They were clearly Wu’s trusted subordinates. With their abilities, escaping would be difficult, especially since they were one weak and one foolish.
As Zheng Yu struggled to untie the tightly knotted hemp rope, he began to sweat, but the knot remained unmoved.
“Good brother, you’re so good to me,” she encouraged, “I heard you were going to commit suicide for me. I’m so touched.”
Zheng Yu smiled and replied, “It’s all to scare my mother. She loves me the most and won’t let me die. She’ll be scared into listening to me sooner or later.”
“Yes, I know, but if it’s always this mild, your mother might not take it seriously,” Ruan Ning said tenderly. “It’s best to make a big scene, make her think you’re really going to die, then she’ll be scared.”
Zheng Yu scratched his head: “I’m afraid of pain.”
Ruan Ning sighed. This conversation was going nowhere.
