"No, my mother likes her. Please don't let her in. Okay?"

Hei Bao neither agreed nor disagreed. "You'll marry whoever your mother tells you to? Are you that obedient? Are you saying this because you're afraid I'll make things difficult for her?"

"No. My grandmother didn't like my third aunt, but my third uncle insisted on marrying her. My grandmother couldn't persuade my third uncle otherwise, so she let him marry her. After she married into the family, my grandmother often made things difficult for my third aunt. I've seen my third aunt suffer at the hands of my grandmother since I was little, and I've seen my third uncle caught in the middle between my grandmother and my third aunt."

“I don’t want my wife to suffer, nor do I want to be caught in the middle between my mother and my wife. Also, my third uncle was originally expected to pass the imperial examination. But my grandmother and my third aunt made a fuss every day, making it impossible for him to concentrate on his studies.”

“I didn’t want to end up like my third uncle, a failure. So I married a girl my mother liked.”

Hei Bao thought Young Master Mei's reasons were quite valid. However, only Young Master Mei himself knew whether they were true or false.

Hei Bao stood up from his chair. "Let's go see if it's your wife. Don't worry, I won't let anyone bully her."

Before Young Master Mei could say anything more, Hei Bao had already walked out first. Young Master Mei had no choice but to follow.

Soon, Hei Bao and his group arrived at the entrance of the mountain stronghold.

There were four people standing outside the door: a middle-aged man, a middle-aged woman, a young girl, and a young man.

Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Hei Bao immediately recalled what Young Master Mei had just said. "Is that middle-aged man your third uncle?"

"Um."

"No wonder you look so frustrated. Who are the remaining three?"

"My wife and her wet nurse, and I don't know the other one." This female bandit even knows that the government wants his wife to be an inside man, so he'd better be honest. However, he can't let that young man get hurt.

As soon as Young Master Mei finished answering Hei Bao, he loudly asked, "Third Uncle, what brings you here? And who is this young master? I don't recognize him."

Master Mei: "..." How could this child be so foolish? He shouldn't have kept quiet if he didn't know the person! Fortunately, the government had prepared several excuses for them.

"Let's see how you are doing. This young master is the second son of Magistrate Han. He is here on behalf of his father to negotiate with Black Wind Stronghold."

Hei Bao was somewhat surprised. Magistrate Han was actually willing to let his son put himself in danger. Hei Bao and Fourteen exchanged a glance, then looked at Uncle Han and the others and said, "Since you're here, come in."

Young Master Han bowed slightly to Hei Bao. "Thank you, Chief."

Young Master Mei's wife, Pei Yali, rushed in anxiously and grasped his hand. "Husband, I've finally seen you. Husband, you...you..."

Pei Yali wanted to ask Young Master Mei if he had been sexually harassed by Hei Bao, but she was afraid he would lose face. "Husband, have you missed me?"

Young Master Mei has no time for this. "Come with me."

Master Mei hesitated for a moment before walking in through the door. "Greetings, Boss."

Hei Bao smiled and said, "Greetings, Third Master Mei. Please."

"Please come, Boss."

Here, Hei Bao invited Master Mei and Young Master Han to the main hall.

On the other side, Young Master Mei brought Pei Yali and her wet nurse to his room.

As soon as he entered the room, Young Master Mei looked at Pei Yali with a dark face and said, "Why are you, a woman, getting involved in this kind of thing? You're not like that female bandit who can fly over walls."

Pei Yali was afraid that someone might overhear her. "Husband? What are you saying? I don't understand. I just want to beg her to give you back to me."

The wet nurse chimed in, "Yes, young master. Miss has come to ask that female knight for help."

Young Master Mei rubbed his forehead. "Alright. Stop talking. They already knew the government wanted you to be their inside men before you even arrived. You...you're just walking into a trap!"

"What?" Pei Yali's face turned pale instantly. "They already knew?"

The wet nurse was also terrified. "What do we do now? Will they...will they skin us alive? Will they pull out our tendons?"

Young Master Mei looked helplessly at Pei Yali and her wet nurse. "Now you're scared? Why did you agree in the first place?"

Pei Yali: "I'm worried about you."

"What do I, a man, have to worry about?"

The wet nurse said, "Young master, please don't blame Miss. Miss... Miss brought poison up the mountain. She said that if the people of Black Wind Village tried to assault her, she would commit suicide by poisoning herself."

Young Master Mei: "...Why are you doing this? Alright, you all rest here. I'll go ask that female bandit how she plans to settle you. By the way, is that young master really the second son of Magistrate Han?"

Pei Yali: "Really."

"Magistrate Han is really generous. Does that Second Young Master Han know martial arts?"

"Won't."

"So he's just offering a hostage to that female bandit, isn't he? Alright, you guys rest now. Don't wander off."

"knew."

After Young Master Mei left, Pei Yali looked at her wet nurse and whispered, "Wet nurse, do you think my husband was... you know... taken advantage of by that female bandit?"

The wet nurse grasped Pei Yali's hand. "Miss, those are minor matters. The most important thing now is to bring the young master back." Although this wasn't caused by her young mistress, there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't pin the blame on her, saying that her young mistress was a jinx or something.

Pei Yali knew this, but she still couldn't help wondering if Young Master Mei had been... done something to Hei Bao.

On the other side, just as Han Er Gongzi was about to persuade Hei Bao to submit to the imperial court, Hei Bao took out a seal from his person. "Since you are the son of Magistrate Han, you should recognize this, right?"

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