Chapter 419 If Line - Kidnapping

Lingnan, Baiyun County, Xunzhou.

On a desolate mountain road, the midday sun is scorching.

At the door of a shabby restaurant, a dirty wine flag fluttered in the wind.

There are a few small benches and tables with chipped corners and peeling paint at the entrance of the restaurant.

There was a group of people sitting at the table eating.

There were several horses and two carriages tied outside.

To the east of the restaurant, the path was lined with weeds, some of which were half a person tall.

A group of masked men hid behind the weeds, staring at the diners at the restaurant door.

Wu Yingniang's eyes swept across a row of unfamiliar faces, and finally locked onto a fair-faced young man dressed in silk and wearing a jade pendant around his waist.

She exchanged glances with the bandits around her and spoke in low voices:

"Is that Zheng Laogou's youngest son?"

"Tsk, Zheng Laogou is fat and big-eared, but his son looks good, not like his biological son."

"You don't understand. Zheng Laogou is ugly, but his wives and concubines are good-looking, and they gave birth to a good-looking child."

Someone asked: "Could it be a mistake?"

Old Man Qin said, "We've inquired before. They came from Chang'an and were heading to Baiyun County. Who would have the urge to come all the way from Chang'an to Baiyun County at this time?"

Old Xu narrowed his eyes and analyzed, "Look at their carriage. The satin for the carriage curtains isn't cheap. And the horses, how well-fed are they? In the surrounding area, only the Zheng family can still afford horses!"

"He's dressed so richly and has bodyguards around him."

"It must be someone from Zheng Laogou's family!"

Lingnan has suffered from famines in the past two years, and every household has tightened its belt.

Those who had some money could still afford to buy some rice, but many poor people had to rely on wild vegetables and roots, or catch wild game in the mountains to fill their stomachs.

If this continues, and the situation hasn't improved by next year, I'm afraid all the wild vegetables and game in the mountains will be eaten up. By then, who knows how many people will starve to death, and how many will have to eat their own children.

At this time, a wealthy businessman named Zheng Gu in Xunzhou actually hoarded a large amount of grain and drove up the price of grain. The price of grain in rice shops became more and more expensive, but the local officials of Baiyun County turned a blind eye.

Everyone privately called Zheng Gou "Old Dog Zheng".

The bandits on Black Bandit Mountain couldn't stand it anymore.

The people are starving to death, yet these unscrupulous businessmen are still making money by violating their conscience.

They decided to teach Zheng Laogou a lesson.

Not long ago, the bandits heard a piece of news:

Zheng Laogou once sent his youngest son to Chang'an to study. After studying for several years, he didn't make any progress and is about to return.

Wu Yingniang discussed with the bandits and decided to abduct Zheng Laogou's son and take him to the mountain to force Zheng Laogou to sell the grain in his warehouse at a lower price.

Otherwise, I will kill you!

At this moment, the bandits looked around and felt that the people at the restaurant door were definitely from the Zheng family.

Qiu Jinyu: "When Uncle Qin and I went to visit them a few days ago, I heard them mention their last name was Pei, but they mentioned the Zheng family when they were talking in the room."

Old Xu sneered: "Humph, that's right. The Zheng family is notorious, so they naturally dare not reveal their true identities on the road."

"Shh!" Old Man Qin's ears twitched slightly: "They are about to leave, right now!"

"superior!"

A group of masked bandits flew out from the weeds and rushed to the restaurant entrance at lightning speed.

Pei Lingyun, who was just coming out of the restaurant, was startled for a moment, then immediately realized that it was bandits who were robbing him, and quickly hid backwards.

The guards around him drew their swords and stood in front of them.

Upon seeing this, the restaurant owner and his wife quickly grabbed the benches and bowls outside the door, rushed in and closed the door.

Pei Lingyun was shocked and angry, his face turned pale and red, and he shouted angrily:

"How dare you do such evil in broad daylight? According to Dayu's law, anyone who dares to rob people on the road—ah!"

Two plum blossom darts flew over and nailed Pei Lingyun's sleeves to the door panel.

The plum blossom dart almost pierced Pei Lingyun's hand.

The guards blocking the front were knocked down in the blink of an eye.

These were all guards carefully selected by the Pei family, yet they couldn't even withstand a few moves from the opponent!

Pei Lingyun swallowed his saliva and looked at the bandits' shiny weapons. He truly understood what the book said about being "at the mercy of others."

This was the first time he had encountered such a situation, but he tried to calm himself down.

Pei Lingyun did not know martial arts, but he was well-read and had excellent eloquence. He was praised by the emperor and court officials during the palace examination.

He wanted to convince these uncivilized bandits that this was not possible.

Pei Lingyun took a deep breath and said solemnly:

"Everyone, to be honest, I am——"

"I don't care who your grandmother is, I'm going to catch you today!"

Bang.

Old Xu swung a knife at Pei Lingyun's neck from a distance.

Pei Lingyun fell down before he could finish his sentence.

Wu Yingniang lifted up the spear in one hand and carried the unconscious Pei Lingyun with the other:

"Let's go back to the mountain!"

A few hours later.

The sun sank behind the mountain.

There are no cicadas, frogs or birds singing on the mountain.

The cicadas among the leaves, the frogs in the pond and the birds on the branches were all caught and eaten.

When Pei Lingyun woke up, the mountains were quiet.

The red glow of the evening light came in through the window and spread around his feet.

His hands and feet were tied with ropes, so he couldn't stand up, let alone walk.

Pei Lingyun could only barely sit up from the thatch.

When I looked down, I saw white trouser legs.

It shouldn't be white.

He was wearing an indigo robe today, embroidered with several bamboos, which looked elegant and graceful.

But now, he was only wearing a white undershirt, as his outer garment had been taken away at some point.

The bandits didn't even spare his clothes.

Pei Lingyun thought it was not easy to come all the way from Chang'an.

The weather is hot and the road is difficult to walk on.

He almost got heatstroke, and one of the celadon cups in the carriage was broken.

Especially after entering Lingnan, I was bitten by mosquitoes every day.

The insects in Lingnan are as fierce as the local people. They bite you and leave big red bites that last for several days.

Pei Lingyun entered the territory of Baiyun County amidst the scorching heat and mosquitoes. He was about to reach the county town tonight, but he didn't expect that he was kidnapped and taken to the mountain while he was having lunch in a restaurant at noon.

Pei Lingyun was extremely indignant.

With these unruly people and bandits causing chaos, the people in Lingnan are really living in dire straits.

Indignant, he suspected it was a conspiracy.

Before coming to Lingnan, the emperor had told him that the place was in chaos and that various forces were intertwined.

Pei Lingyun has been collecting information about Lingnan since he received the notice, and he also inquired about it many times on the way here.

On the way, he met several victims who had fled from Lingnan to escape famine. From them, he learned that officials and businessmen in Xunzhou were colluding with each other, and some merchants were even maliciously hoarding grain, causing rice prices to remain high.

As for the disaster relief grain allocated by the imperial court, some people have never even heard of it.

Pei Lingyun suspected that someone had embezzled the imperial court's disaster relief grain, so he sent people to Lingnan to investigate the situation in advance.

Later, he suspected that a merchant named Zheng Gu in Xunzhou was colluding with local officials.

Today, bandits suddenly robbed the road, which made him wonder whether the officials and businessmen in collusion with Lingnan sent people to intercept him.

He must find a way to escape from this place, and then wipe out these people in one fell swoop to eliminate this harm to the people!

Pei Lingyun was lost in thought.

squeak--

The small door of the thatched hut was suddenly pushed open, and several figures appeared on the ground.

A gust of evening breeze blew in.

Pei Lingyun turned around and saw several bandits walking in.

Pei Lingyun was slightly stunned.

The bandits all looked ferocious, but among them was a girl who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, and was about the same age as Xuan'er.

The woman had a slightly dark complexion, a slender figure, and extremely heroic features. She didn't look like a bandit at all.

Pei Lingyun even suspected that the girl was tricked into going up the mountain.

At this moment, Pei Lingyun was very glad that Xuan'er went to the martial arts school.

Because Xuan'er said that if she didn't succeed in joining the martial arts school, she would go out and venture into the world.

But she was so simple and reckless that if she really went out into the world, she might be deceived into becoming a bandit like the girl in front of her.

The heroic woman moved closer and closer to Pei Lingyun, staring at him straight.

Pei Lingyun knew that he had outstanding looks and temperament, and attracted many women in Chang'an, but at most they would only look at him shyly from a distance, and no one had ever stared at him like this.

It's really presumptuous.

He saw the woman's face getting closer and closer to him, staring at him hungrily.

Pei Lingyun closed his eyes, feeling a little annoyed. His handsome appearance might only cause trouble at this time.

He wanted to say that this was inappropriate.

The next moment, a sharp dagger was pressed against his neck.

The heroic girl frowned and said coldly:

"Do you know how many lives your father has killed?!"

Pei Lingyun opened his eyes immediately after hearing this, his face full of confusion:

"My father has always been an upright person. How could he kill someone? There must be some misunderstanding."

"Nonsense! Zheng Laogou hoarded so much food, causing so many people to have no food to eat!" Old Xu spat.

"The gold and jade you wear are all the blood and sweat of the people of Xunzhou!"

When Pei Lingyun heard this, he suddenly realized that these bandits might have kidnapped the wrong person.

He tried his best to sit up straight and explained earnestly:

"Everyone has misunderstood. I am not from the Zheng family, I am from the Pei family—"

Everyone laughed: "You want to say your last name is Pei? You're quite the pretentious one."

"Your lies can only fool people outside, but not us."

"Your surname is Pei? Why don't you brag that you're from the Hedong Pei clan? Hahaha..."

Pei Lingyun said that he was indeed from the Hedong Pei family, and his father was the former Shangshu Ling Pei Dingli.

After hearing this, the bandit laughed even harder.

Amidst the laughter, Pei Lingyun took a deep breath:

"I am the newly crowned third-place scholar in the imperial examination, Dayu, and the magistrate of Baiyun County!"

After the words fell, there was silence in the thatched hut for a moment.

Then, someone gnashed his teeth and said:

"Oh no! Zheng Laogou's son is going to be the county magistrate!"

"Wouldn't Old Dog Zheng be even more lawless then?"

"Why not just kill him!"

Pei Lingyun:? !!!