The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 368

When Sun Ao and the others heard this, their hearts skipped a beat. They never expected that Zhou Chu had such an army behind him. No wonder Zhou Chu was able to quell rebellions and suppress Japanese pirates so smoothly when he was in Suzhou Prefecture.

Such a fully armored and well-trained army, not to mention Jiangnan, Sun Ao couldn't think of any army in the entire Ming Dynasty that could rival it.

At this moment, Sun Ao was filled with regret. If he had known that Zhou Chu was hiding such a force, he would never have participated in the assassination attempt against Zhou Chu.

“Young lady, madam, there must be some misunderstanding. I have always known about Commander Zhou’s deeds, and I have the utmost respect for him. How could we dare to offend him? Lord Zhang told us that someone tried to assassinate him, but this matter really has nothing to do with us.”

At this moment, Sun Ao's will to survive made his eloquence incredibly fluent. The Sun Ao of the past would never say a soft word, but now he wished he could kneel down and kowtow to Yun Jin.

He used to know that no one could do anything to him, but now it's different; this old lady in front of him really dares to chop them up.

"Whether it matters or not, you all know in your hearts. Don't say I won't give you a way out. One of you can live. Whoever explains this matter clearly and tells me who did it, I can spare his life."

Yun Jin looked at everyone and said.

Zhou Chu had talked to her about the prisoner's dilemma before, so Yun Jin understood it.

Upon hearing this, Sun Ao and the others were shocked, especially those who understood the key point, who broke out in a cold sweat.

This is an open conspiracy. If they don't talk, others will betray them to save their own lives. What they're competing to see is who will confess first.

"Guards, separate them and lock them up."

Yun Jin shouted.

Meanwhile, in a small mountain village near Shaoxing, Er Ya ran all the way to the home of the only doctor in the village.

"Third Grandfather, please go and see, it seems that the older brother's fever has subsided."

Upon hearing this, the doctor's face lit up with joy, and he followed Er Ya to his house.

When Er Ya's mother saw the doctor arrive, she hurriedly greeted him.

"Third Uncle, please take a look. This young man has had a fever for several days, but it has finally stopped."

The doctor followed Er Ya's parents into their earthen house, which was filled with the smell of decocted herbs. Lying on the bed was a pale-faced young man, none other than Zhou Chu.

Besides Er Ya and her parents, there was also Er Ya's older brother, Da Zhu, a boy of thirteen or fourteen years old. Like most young people in the mountains, he had a dark complexion and looked very honest.

The doctor came to Zhou Chu, felt his pulse, and observed him for a while.

"The fever has subsided, so there's nothing to worry about. This person is incredibly lucky; they pulled through the jaws of death."

The doctor sighed.

He knew very well that the herbs he had prescribed wouldn't really help Zhou Chu's injuries much. The young man in front of him was too badly injured; when Da Zhu carried him back, he had lost count of how much blood he had lost.

If you were to say what he did, it was only to help Zhou Chu stop the bleeding. There wasn't much else on the mountain, but there were plenty of herbs that could stop bleeding.

"However, I must give you a couple of pieces of advice."

The doctor looked at Dazhu's family and said.

"Third Uncle, please speak."

"That's what Dazhu's father said respectfully."

Both his seniority and status gave the doctor a high standing in the village, and villagers generally treated him with great respect.

"This person is no ordinary person; you can tell just by looking at his clothes. And with so many knife wounds on his body, he's probably up to no good. Once he's almost recovered, you should send him away to avoid getting into trouble."

The doctor thought for a moment and then said.

"Uncle is right. That's what I've been thinking these past few days too, but we should wait until everyone is almost fully recovered before making a decision."

Dazhu's father said.

The doctor nodded upon hearing this.

"By the way, don't give him too many 'heaty' foods. Keep his diet light. If you really want to give him some, put a little in the porridge."

Before leaving, the doctor thought for a moment and gave instructions.

In their mountain village, people rely on the mountains for their livelihood, and every household always has some game. The meat of many animals is considered "heaty" or "inflammatory," such as venison, which is not suitable for Zhou Chu to eat at this time.

Not long after the doctor left, Zhou Chu on the bed coughed and slowly woke up.