"Master, I wonder what the villagers think when they see the empty house." Qiuju couldn't help but imagine the villagers' expressions when she saw the extra pebbles as soon as she got up in the morning.

Qiu Rong sighed, "It's such a pity about those vegetables planted at the village entrance. I wonder who will benefit from them."

Liu Huan pointed to the corner beside her, "Are you talking about those?"

There was a bunch of small vegetable seedlings in the corner, looking very fresh.

Qiuju ran over and grabbed two, saying, "Master is amazing, he even brought back the little seedlings."

"Let's not plant flowers in the small garden in the yard for now, let's plant these vegetables instead, so as not to waste them."

Qiu Rong looked at the pebbles in the corner and asked, "Master, what should we do with these stones?"

The courtyards in the county are all paved with blue bricks, so these pebbles are no longer needed. Back then, everyone would go to the river to collect them whenever they had time, but now it's really hard to throw them away.

"Find a few people to wash and dry it, and keep it for Anzhi to use when he gets married and buys a new house for renovation."

The two covered their mouths and chuckled upon hearing this, "Master is thinking far ahead. Maybe if the young master becomes the top scholar in the imperial examination, he won't be in Nanchang County anymore."

"That depends on his good fortune; not everyone is like his father, a literary star descended to earth."

Everyone agrees on this point; Lord Su is truly a genius, one in a century. Not only is he handsome, but he is also skilled in both literature and martial arts. If it weren't for…

Forget it, if I say anything more, I won't be a good person.

For several days in a row, Qiu Rong was absent-minded and seemed to have lost her soul. Liu Huan didn't know why, but Qiu Ju, who spent every day with her, did.

Their rooms were next to each other. Before resting that night, Qiuju found Qiurong and asked, "Can't you still forget him?"

Qiu Rong lowered her head in shame. "I know I shouldn't have done this. I had already resigned myself to my fate, but I didn't expect him to reappear."

"But...what about the master..."

Qiu Rong immediately interrupted her, "I know, I just need to adjust. Once I figure it out, I won't worry about it anymore. Don't tell the master."

Qiuju reached out and hugged her. "Don't worry, sister, I won't tell anyone."

Life went on peacefully until one day, Ermo, who was still at the yamen, suddenly rushed back, in a hurry and a fit of rage.

Seeing this, the others quickly asked, "What happened?"

Ermo said, "Recently, for some reason, many people on the road to Hongdu Prefecture have been robbed. It turned out that there were many bandits on Wuji Mountain."

Qiu Ju was shocked. "How could there be bandits out of nowhere?"

Ermo shook his head and said, "I don't know, and without anyone noticing, houses were built on top of it. Nobody had ever noticed before."

Liu Huan asked the crucial question, "So why are you back now?"

Ermo then remembered the purpose of her return: "Recently, many people have reported that their daughters or children have gone missing. It must be the work of the bandits on Wuji Mountain. I came back to remind my sister not to go out unless necessary. I will buy anything you need."

Upon hearing that the children could be abducted, Qiu Rong suggested, "Why don't we call the young master and young lady back and find a tutor to teach them at home?"

Qiuju shuddered. "Shouldn't we hurry and bring them back?"

Liu Huan was the most composed among them. "How did the yamen handle it?"

"It has already been reported to Hongdu Prefecture. They will lead men to encircle and suppress them in the next few days. However, Wuji Mountain is located in a dangerous area, and it may be difficult to attack it."

As predicted, there is only one road to Wuji Mountain, and you have to go up from there if you want to get up.

However, before they could even get up there, they were struck down by flying stones and arrows thrown by the bandits above, resulting in countless deaths and injuries, but without any progress.

Ermo was carried back by Changbai, his forehead wrapped in bandages, which almost scared everyone to death. "Miss, he's alright. The doctor has already treated him. He just needs to rest for a while."

Qiuju was heartbroken: "Thank you so much."

Only Qiu Rong noticed the blood seeping through the bandage on Chang Bai's hand, her expression darkening. She gritted her teeth and said, "Your hand is bleeding, let me bandage it for you."

Changbai then noticed that the wound on his hand had reopened, so he nodded and followed Qiu Rong to the next room.

Seeing her frowning as she changed his bandages, her movements so gentle as if afraid of hurting him, he cleared his throat and said, "Go ahead and change them, I'm not in pain."

Qiu Rong looked up again, her eyes red-rimmed, "How could such a big wound not hurt?"

She carefully changed his bandages and tied a knot. She looked up and said, "Okay, you can go now."

As she turned around, Changbai grabbed her arm. "I visited your stepmother and brother when I came. They are doing well."

These words caused Qiu Rong, who had been holding back her composure, to break down completely. "Then what about them..."

“They don’t know that I told them you came with us, but it’s inconvenient for you to see them. They are doing well, and your brother is doing very well in school; he will definitely be successful in the future.”

Qiu Rong wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. "Thank you."

Changbai wanted to say something more, but seeing the girl's red and swollen eyes, he ultimately remained silent.

"I'm leaving now. Take care of yourself."

After Liu Huan helped Qiu Ju settle the two steamed buns, she came out only to find that the person was gone.

Qiu Rong wiped away her tears and said, "He's already gone. I'll go cook."

Ermo didn't wake up until the next day. When he talked about their attack on the mountain, his eyes were full of changes. "In short, not only was I injured, but Lord Su was also injured."

Hearing this, Liu Huan remained calm. "Alright, since you're injured, then rest well."

Ermo stopped talking when he saw that she really didn't care.

At the yamen, Su Yi sat at his desk handling a case, with Chang Bai attending to him on either side.

Changyun entered from outside, carrying a secret letter.

“Master, the people from Wuji Mountain are not the same as those from Changning Temple. These people are bandits from Lingnan. The second-in-command who escaped during the siege a few years ago has set up camp on Wuji Mountain with his old men. During the day, they pretend to be villagers and go down the mountain to buy things, and at night they build the stronghold, so no one has noticed.”

Changbai asked, "Do you know how many people there are?"

"There are about a few hundred people, a small portion of whom are men who disappeared when the earth dragon turned over."

Changbai couldn't help but complain, "Why do all those people like the mountains in Nanchang County so much?"

Su Yi instructed, "Send men to keep an eye on them. Since they don't have many men, taking them down is only a matter of time. The only problem is we can't attack from the main road again."

"Yes, I will take care of it immediately."

Changbai looked at Su Yi and involuntarily called out, "Master..."

Seeing his master's injuries, he almost couldn't help but reveal that Ermo's relative was the madam.

"What's wrong?"

"You're injured too, you should rest for a bit."

Su Yi shook his head slightly: "It's nothing, you can go now."

Although he knew that the group from Wuji Mountain and the people from Changning Temple were not together, he still couldn't help but worry whether there was any connection between the two and where they could rest.