Xu Lin's eyes stung: "The vanguard is not only arresting bandits, but also all the merchants and civilians who have ties with them. We... are very likely to be implicated."

Xu Lin knew, of course, that doing business with bandits was against the law, but at the time, he was truly desperate.

Now that we've reaped the bitter fruit, we can only swallow it down with tears in our eyes.

Xu Lin slammed his hand on the table: "No, we have to leave as soon as possible, otherwise the fire might come on our heads at any time."

Although the valley and bamboo house were located deep in the mountains and difficult to find, the government troops were numerous, and the advance team did not alert the bandits, clearly intending to wait for the main force to arrive so that they could search the mountains together and not let any bandits escape.

Secondly, if they really couldn't find anyone, setting fire to the mountain was not a difficult task for the soldiers.

Ye Wenxue patted her head hard and said to the elderly people who were looking at her helplessly, as well as Wang Chun, "You go and pack your luggage and belongings first, and I'll think about it some more."

The others didn't understand what Ye Wenxue was thinking, and didn't dare to ask any more questions. They quickly picked vegetables, gathered herbs, and dug bamboo shoots to take with them later.

Xu Lin, however, knew that Ye Wenxue was considering whether or not to go and save the person.

Other bandits were one thing, since they had all done some risk-free business before, but the four men led by Zhixing were different.

In particular, Zhixing, Zhiwen, and Zhiwang earned them a lot of money.

Ye Wenxue was certainly capable of sitting idly by and watching Zhiwen and the other three be sent to perform forced labor, but she was afraid that Dazhuang would be unhappy if he found out.

Ye Wenxue pondered for a long time, just about to decide to pack her things and go down the mountain to Qingxu Town the next day, when the door was suddenly pushed open.

A boy dressed as a young boy, around ten years old, walked in with a pale face, shoved a small crumpled piece of paper into Ye Wenxue's hand, and said in a flustered manner:

"Brother Ye, Brother Xing, Brother Wu, and Wang Jin have been sentenced to death for murder by bandits. They will be executed at noon tomorrow."

The town was sealed off; only entry was allowed, no exit. Brother Wen and Brother Wang were stopped from entering the mountains and almost got arrested.

Ye Wenxue glanced at him a few times and confirmed that this child was the exceptionally good-looking one that Dazhuang had mentioned.

As she unfolded the crumpled paper, she asked, "So how did you get out?"

Chenchen blinked, trying to calm her rapid breathing: "I sneaked out when the guards were changing shifts."

Zhiwen and Zhiwang are being watched; they'll be discovered if they slip away.

Fortunately, he has always been relatively unknown, which is why he was entrusted with an important task and came to ask for help.

Seeing Ye Wenxue's ever-changing expression after reading the crumpled paper, Xu Lin peeked over and his pupils widened even further:

"Impossible... How could the territory of a single dynasty..."

Ye Wenxue stuffed the crumpled paper into his hand: "Nothing is impossible."

With Tanzhou as the boundary, the imperial court governed the area north of Tanzhou, while the rebel army from Qiongzhou governed the area south of Tanzhou.

With such a major incident, it's no wonder that the campaign to suppress bandits in Longxing Prefecture has caused such a stir.

If the imperial court loses its authority and fails to win over the hearts of the people to deter the world, it fears it will have to surrender even the remaining half of its territory.

Xu Lin still couldn't understand and remained in surprise: "But..."

Ye Wenxue glanced at him: "If we don't do this, the imperial court will have to send troops to attack the rebels and reclaim the territory that they have taken over. Do you think anyone would dare to lead troops to fight the Qiongzhou rebels?"

Moreover, the effects of last year's drought were still lingering, and many people starved to death in the winter. If the imperial court wanted to send troops again, there would be no food supplies available.

No general would be willing to fight a war without silver or grain, fearing that after a defeat, they would be pushed out by the court to take the blame, just like the Huo family who had guarded the border for generations. Not only would their property be confiscated and they would be exiled, but their ancestors would also be infamous for eternity.

Chenchen, who was sitting obediently to the side, had a slight glint in his eyes but did not interrupt rashly.

Ye Wenxue squinted at Chenchen: "Zhixing and the other two were bandits, but they never killed anyone or robbed anyone. They shouldn't be sentenced to beheading."

There are probably some unspoken secrets hidden inside.

Chenchen's face turned cold: "Someone insisted that Zhixing ordered Wang Jin to break his leg in front of his family and kill more than one person."

The general initially didn't believe him, but later merchants from surrounding towns, as well as the captured bandits, went on a rampage, smearing them...

The townspeople believed them, and Zhiwen and Zhiwang's businesses plummeted; they were even nearly beaten up several times.

To quell the anger of the people, the general had no choice but to order the execution of Zhi Xing and the other two.

Ye Wenxue's eyes darted around: "Who was the first to point it out?"

She felt that something was off about the plot.

Zhixing and his two companions sold charcoal to earn money, but they also brought many benefits to the people of several small towns at the foot of the mountain. For example, they gave away good charcoal at a low price for three days, and they also gave away five catties of charcoal ash for one coin.

After earning some money, Zhiwen distributed porridge and rice at the town entrance more than once, benefiting the people.

Even if they were bandits, they had done many good deeds, so they couldn't be considered extremely heinous, nor did they deserve to be universally condemned.

Chenchen didn't understand why she was asking this, but since Zhiwen had just checked, he told her everything:

"He was a man surnamed He, everyone called him Old He Wu. I heard he was from Tanzhou, and he passed through the deep mountains while fleeing famine..."

Chenchen was about to continue speaking when Ye Wenxue waved her hand and said, "I know. You rest for a while before going to the mountain stronghold to collect your silver and rice. Don't go to town anymore; the farther you go, the better."

Chenchen frowned, about to ask for clarification, but when she saw Ye Wenxue's cold eyes filled with murderous intent, she was instantly frightened and quickly turned to leave.

Xu Lin pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Could it be...?"

Ye Wenxue nodded: "That's right, that person is very likely from the same village as me."

She didn't finish her sentence.

Ye Wenxue suspected that the reason why Zhixing and the other two had to be beheaded was most likely because the original female protagonist's biological father wanted to kill them.

The female protagonist of the original book, Sui Bao, has extraordinary luck. Her father has more or less gotten involved with her. If she wants to deal with a few people whose names are mentioned in the book, it's a piece of cake. She can easily get a lot of people to respond to her call.

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that other people were also slandering Zhixing and his two companions like madmen?

The townspeople who had received favors from them didn't say a word in their defense.

In fact, Ye Wenxue had a vague suspicion that the reason why Zhixing and the other two were about to be beheaded was partly due to her and her children.

After all, her children are all villains, and Zhixing and the others are helping her earn money, which is, in a way, helping the villains.

What good can come of opposing a protagonist with overwhelming luck and helping the villain make money?

Ye Wenxue pressed her head, and after a moment made a decision: "Xu Lin, you, Su Jiu, and Wang Chun will take the three elders and the children to Qingxu Town tomorrow. No matter what happens, don't look back."

Xu Lin was taken aback, then understood the implication in her words: "And you?"

"I'll try to save them." Ye Wenxue noticed his conflicted look and reassured him, "Don't worry, even if I can't save them, I'll get out of here unscathed."

But if she doesn't give it a try, Zhixing and the other two will really be gone.