Chapter 111

Soon, He Lingchuan escorted Wang Pangzi into He Chunhua's temporary residence, where there were still two guards left behind by He Chunhua. The mistress of the house was also there, watching the group and trembling.

He Lingchuan asked her: "Was the man who was in this house earlier also a bandit?"

"The child's father was killed, and that damned thief impersonated him to monitor you." The things the thief had done to her were not just this one. The mistress's tears flowed down. "I beg the official to save our lives!"

He Lingchuan sighed: "Go into the inner room and lock the door from the inside. The matters in this outer room have nothing to do with you."

The mistress nodded silently, turned, and walked into the main room. Everyone heard the metallic sound of the door being locked.

He Lingchuan placed Wang Pangzi and Zhu Xiuer in the kitchen, and the five of them guarded the doors and windows, all gripping their weapons tightly.

Before long, footsteps sounded outside.

He Lingchuan listened carefully; there were quite a few people, and their footsteps were not hurried. Clearly, the people walking over were very steady and not in a panic.

More importantly, he also heard small, quick steps.

This was Lady Ying's gait.

He opened the main door immediately and stepped out.

Sure enough, He Chunhua had returned with his wife and son, followed by the guard Zhao Qinghe.

Another person named Mo Zhejingxuan, whom He Lingchuan also recognized, was a staff member his father had brought back from Heishuicheng.

Everyone was startled to see He Lingchuan open the door. He Chunhua breathed a sigh of relief: "You're back, good, good!"

During the chaotic battle by the lake earlier, he had been worried about his eldest son, who hadn't shown up.

Then everyone entered the door, and the personal guards stood watch all around to ensure the safety of the masters.

Lady Ying asked her eldest son: "Where did you go just now?"

"Prepared a gift for Father." He Lingchuan said, leading his father inside and pointing to Wang Pangzi on the ground. "This fatty is a person close to Boss Lu and holds a high position among the bandits. I was worried about how to bring him back while he was staying with Zhu Xiuer, but it just so happened that the battle started by the lake..."

Hearing that this fatty was a close associate of Lu Han, He Chunhua's perpetually furrowed brow relaxed slightly. He patted He Lingchuan on the shoulder and said: "Well done!"

"He has already made a preliminary confession that the bandits occupied Qianteng Town the day before yesterday, and they still have over two hundred accomplices in the town."

"Accomplices?" He Chunhua was startled.

"The interrogation was interrupted just now; I can still..."

Before He Lingchuan could finish, He Chunhua interrupted: "No need. Leave everything from here on to me."

He sent someone to interrogate Wang Pangzi, and Zhu Xiuer, who had been in the kitchen, hurried out.

In the small dining room, there were now six or seven people standing. She walked straight up to He Chunhua and knelt down with a thud: "Lord He, save me!"

This move was unexpected; even He Chunhua was stunned.

Lady Ying stepped forward to help the common woman on the ground up and said softly: "Get up and speak."

"My name is Zhu Xiuer, the granddaughter of the Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, Zhu Xiyan. Seven years ago, I was drugged and abducted at the Flower Festival in Xin'an and sold to a wealthy merchant from the coast. His wife was jealous and privately sold me here."

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing mottled old scars on her thin arms, like those left by whips or ropes: "I tried to escape several times but was caught and brought back, leaving these behind. The other scars are in hidden places and are inconvenient to show."

Everyone looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

After a good while, He Chunhua said in a low voice: "Lord Zhu lost his granddaughter seven or eight years ago and searched for a long time without result. This matter spread widely in the capital, and the Xin'an County Assistant even lost his position because of it. However, how can you prove that you are Zhu Xiuer?"

This kind of dilemma—"you have to prove you are you"—was the most troublesome.

However, Zhu Xiuer was clearly well-prepared. She turned around, pulled up her hair, and showed everyone the mark on the back of her neck: "This lotus-petal-shaped red mark has been there since I was born. When my grandfather first saw it, he said that when I grew up, I would be as graceful as a lotus orchid; my grandfather loved wine and was always warming wine under the trellis in the backyard."

She paused: "I can tell you everything about my childhood; every single detail can be verified."

Seeing her fluent responses and clear conscience, the staff member said to He Chunhua: "My lord, this matter is very easy to verify."

He Chunhua also nodded: "Good, you will travel with us."

Zhu Xiuer wept with joy and bowed deeply: "Thank you, my lord!"

"You have helped us a great deal; we should be the ones thanking you." He Chunhua waved his hand. "Otherwise, the mountain bandits would still be secretly plotting against us at this moment."

He glanced at Lady Ying, who understood, stepped forward, took Zhu Xiuer's hand, and pulled her aside to talk.

Hearing that her husband and mother-in-law had been killed and her two children had been abducted by the mountain bandits as hostages, Lady Ying sighed: "These villains should all be brought to justice."

He Lingchuan took out a green apple and crunched into it: "Justice? Justice doesn't care about these things; only evil can grind evil."

Ouch, why are the apples in the mountains so sour? He clutched his cheek, feeling as if his teeth were going to fall out.

Lady Ying glared at him.

Comfort, this is comfort; what does this brat know? ￥￥￥￥￥

After the leaders on both sides nodded, the government soldiers and the routed army quickly retreated back into their respective territories, the former occupying the east of the village and the latter occupying the west.

Actually, He Chunhua had wanted the other side to safely release the residents in the west of the village as well, but Lu Yao wasn't stupid; he knew these were excellent hostages and refused to agree no matter what.

Hearing this news, the villagers in the west cried bitterly.

Lu Yao originally ignored it, but the crying was earth-shattering and annoyed him, so he waved his hand: "Tell them all to shut up, or I'll cut out their tongues to go with my wine later."

He had done this before, but now that the government soldiers were right across from them, it wasn't good to be too provocative.

Speaking of which, he looked around: "Where's the dead fatty?" Usually, he didn't need to speak up for such annoying little things; Wang Pangzi would be the first to rush out and settle them.

Of course, he couldn't see the fatty.

Several bandits were starting a fire to grill fish, and Lu Yao took a sip of wine. Although they had just had a fight, he was in quite a good mood.

Previously, he had always been worried that these unreliable subordinates would show their true colors and be exposed by the government soldiers; now it was fine, everyone stopped pretending, and establishing a village alliance was actually quite peaceful.

A confidant on the side advised: "General, drink less wine, in case they launch a night raid."

Lu Yao laughed with a "psh": "Them? Launch a raid? Don't overestimate that dog official too much!"

He wiped his mouth: "The official is going to Xiazhou to take up his post, and these three hundred people are his entire foundation, just like you are to me. Without these core troops, he's a stranger in Xiazhou and won't be able to get anything done! Let alone losing half of them, even if he only lost thirty percent, he couldn't afford it! You tell me, is he thinking about waiting for dawn to get on the road, or sneaking a raid on us at night?"

"Of course he wants to escape as early as possible." Another person flattered. "That dog official's insight and courage are far inferior to our General's. Besides, he's just a passing official; why would he meddle in local affairs? As long as you tell him that we can safely go our separate ways tomorrow morning, he definitely won't make a move at night!"

Lu Yao narrowed his eyes and put down his wine cup: "Strengthen the guard after the fourth watch; don't let them run away. By the way, where did you say the units under Wu Shaoyi and Pei Xinyong have reached?"

(End of chapter)