As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Wanwan suddenly had a guess in her mind.

Could the disappearance of Deputy General Liu also be related to the Yellow Flag incident?

So she hurriedly asked, "Just now I saw the bandits taking away both women and young men. The women are taken away to be their wives, but what use are the young men? Doesn't that mean we have to spend food to feed them?"

"Madam, you are unaware of this. I heard that the mountain stronghold is expanding and urgently needs a large number of people. Therefore, anyone who is able to move and is not too old will be taken to the stronghold to help with the construction."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanwan and Qi Zhao exchanged a glance, both of them having their own guesses.

After asking a few more questions about counterfeit goods, Jiang Wanwan asked the waiter to leave.

After closing the door tightly, Qi Zhao looked thoughtful. He frowned and spoke first, "Do you think Deputy General Liu might have also been captured by the bandits and taken to their stronghold?"

Jiang Wanwan nodded vigorously, "What a coincidence, that's what I was thinking too. The alley where he lived was the poorest and most dilapidated alley in Anhuai County. The people there were also quite poor, and they couldn't possibly pay ten taels of silver a month. Meanwhile, the bandits desperately needed people to help build their stronghold, so all the families in that alley must have been arrested."

This is why many of the gates to those courtyards were left wide open.

“Your analysis makes a lot of sense. Here’s what we’ll do: you go to sleep first, and I’ll go keep watch at Vice General Liu’s place. If we still don’t see him in a day or two, we’ll find a way to go up the mountain stronghold to look for him,” Qi Zhao said.

“Okay, let’s do it this way.” Jiang Wanwan agreed with his approach.

After the two agreed, Qi Zhao opened the window and used his light-footed skill to leave.

After he left, Jiang Wanwan felt really sticky all over, and there were some bloodstains on her clothes. If she didn't take a good shower, she probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep tonight.

So, Jiang Wanwan gave a few coins to the shop assistant and asked him to bring water to her room.

Of course, you need to use toiletries to take a shower. While Qi Zhao wasn't here, she bought a bottle of shampoo and a shower gel from the mall. She chose toiletries with a light fragrance so she wouldn't have to worry about being discovered.

She quickly washed herself thoroughly. Surprisingly, the once clear water had turned a bit yellowish, a result of the dust she'd picked up during her journey.

After showering, Jiang Wanwan casually put the shower gel and shampoo into the storage cabinet. She had eaten vegetarian food tonight, and still felt a little hungry, so she bought a soda and a roast chicken from the mall to treat herself.

The next day, Jiang Wanwan didn't wake up until noon.

Without having to help make mosquito coils or worry about guarding against Su Wan'er, Jiang Wanwan finally had a comfortable and relaxing nap.

After washing up, while Qi Zhao was still away, she bought a bowl of oatmeal ginseng porridge and a steamer of crystal shrimp dumplings from the mall to have breakfast.

Jiang Wanwan pushed open the window and peeked out.

There were significantly more people on the streets today than yesterday, and many stalls were set up along the way. It seemed there was still plenty of time, so there was no need to worry about bandits entering the city to rob.

Jiang Wanwan learned from the waiter that the bandits and the magistrate had agreed on a time limit: the bandits were only allowed to enter the city at night, and not at any other time.

Since she had nothing better to do, she decided to go downstairs and browse around to see if she could buy anything good, preferably something that would increase her online store balance.