Yingxiang's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but she dared not look directly at him out of fear. She gently wiped away her tears and said tremblingly, "Yes, we eloped... Young Master took me to settle down in Wusu and we made a living by doing small business. If you gentlemen are only after money, please let us go. We are willing to offer you all our silver!"
One of the thugs went into the main room, looked around, shook his head, and left, saying disappointedly, "There's really no one here."
Of the four thugs, one had the calmest and most composed voice, clearly their leader. The other three were all looking at him, seemingly awaiting his decision.
In that dark corner, the bandit leader pondered for a moment, his voice low and cold: "We've fought fiercely for a long time today, but that mysterious figure has yet to appear. He's probably not here. This alley is just a stone's throw from the government office. If we make too much noise, we might attract unnecessary trouble. Now that we've got the loot, we should leave quickly."
He gently patted Deng Shen's cheek, his tone laced with sarcasm, "You guys are lucky. Now, tell me, where are you hiding the valuables!"
Deng Shen's trembling hand pointed to his bedroom, "There's a wooden box hidden under the bed, inside are the proceeds of my business over the years..."
Jiang Huaiyu had entrusted him with managing all the recent income from Han Yi Fang, which was now proving useful.
However, the bandit leader frowned. "As the homeowner, why didn't you hide your valuables in the master bedroom?"
Deng Shen was startled; he had completely overlooked this detail.
Although his face was as pale as paper, he still tried to remain calm and slowly said, "The situation in Wusu City has been turbulent recently. The two guards I hired are highly skilled, so I entrusted the silver to them for safekeeping."
The bandit leader's gaze darted around, and he shook his head with a hint of disbelief. "You've already deceived us once before. I can't fully believe everything you say."
He assigned one of his men, "Go in and search."
Yingxiang hurriedly spoke up: "Heroes, the young master did not deceive you. The money box is indeed stored in the side room. There are only some precious ornaments in the master bedroom that I have collected. Those are all the private savings that the young master accumulated for me. I am willing to offer them all up, just please be merciful and let us go..."
One of the thieves had already found the money box in Deng Shen's bedroom. After counting it, he said in a deep voice, "There are more than two hundred taels of silver and silver notes inside!"
The bandit leader pondered for a moment, then said calmly, "The number isn't small."
The search was too slow; he judged that the maid wouldn't lie, so he turned his attention to her, demanding, "Where are the valuable ornaments?"
Yingxiang's lips trembled, her voice weak: "In...in the box under the bed in the master bedroom."
Upon hearing this, one of the thieves rushed into the house to search. A moment later, he came out carrying a wooden box. Upon opening it, he found it indeed filled with ornaments. The thief leader's eyes lit up, but upon closer inspection, he discovered that although there were many ornaments, they were not very valuable and far from being the so-called precious jewels.
He instinctively thought the maid was just joking with him, but then he thought again that this family obviously couldn't have foreseen the intrusion tonight, so how could he keep it a secret from them?
Upon closer inspection, although the young master was wearing new clothes, the fabric was not of the highest quality. In addition, the courtyard was not spacious, so it was estimated that their wealth was probably limited to this.
The bandit leader sneered, preparing to give the order to retreat.
At that moment, the thief holding the jewelry box suddenly exclaimed in confusion, "Hey, what's this?"
He picked up the item in his hand and examined it carefully in the dim light under the eaves.
The bandit leader snatched it and examined it, only to find that it was a small, exquisite tiger-head shoe, just big enough to cover a man's palm. Such a size was obviously made for an infant.
His eyes immediately turned cold. "Where did you find this?"
The thief replied, "It was under the bed. I found it by chance while searching through the jewelry box. I didn't know what it was, so I took it out along with the jewelry."
The bandit leader's gaze shifted to Yingxiang's flat stomach, and his tone gradually turned cold.
"Since you are not pregnant, where did these tiger-head shoes for the baby come from?"
Yingxiang's heart suddenly raced, and an ominous premonition began to grow in her heart.
A few days ago, Jiang Huaiyu meticulously embroidered a pair of tiger-head shoes, originally intended for her unborn baby. However, shortly after the shoes were completed, one of them disappeared. Yingxiang searched the house for a long time and finally found it under the bed.
Her heart was pounding like a drum, but she still tried to remain calm. She chuckled softly and gently stroked her pregnant belly, saying in a soft voice, "I sewed these tiger-head shoes myself. I'm pregnant, but it's not obvious yet because it's still early in the pregnancy."
The bandit leader stared intently at her and questioned, "The child is still a long way from being born, why are you in such a hurry to prepare these things?"
Yingxiang sighed softly and replied, "Brave warrior, I am all alone, far from my homeland, with no relatives or acquaintances here. Every day, the young master is busy with business, so I can only pass the time at home by taking up needlework. That's why I prepared these items in advance..."
The bandit leader, finding her words quite reasonable, was preparing to issue the order to retreat. Suddenly, one of his men hurriedly approached from the courtyard wall, a strip of cloth-like object dangling from the tip of his knife.
"Boss, these are drying in the open space behind the main house, aren't they...that kind?"
Yingxiang's eyes widened as she saw the thing on the tip of the knife. She felt a rush of heat to her head, almost making her lose her balance and faint.
That thing was actually the menstrual belt she had washed and was drying in the backyard.
She was filled with utter despair, thinking to herself: This is it, I can't hide it anymore.
She could only pray silently in her heart, hoping that these rough men did not understand the mystery of a woman's menstrual cycle.
However, things didn't go as planned. The bandit leader was silent for a moment, then immediately recognized what it was.
"How dare you deceive me!"
He kicked Yingxiang to the ground and stormed toward the main room, shouting, "Search! I want to see who they're hiding in there!"
Jiang Huaiyu hid in the closet, nervously listening to the footsteps approaching. She held her breath and listened carefully.
The footsteps circled the room, then suddenly stopped beside her. Immediately afterward, a crisp snapping sound rang out, and the iron chain on the wardrobe fell to the ground like a defeated army flag. The wardrobe door was slowly pushed open from the outside.
The bandit leader discovered her huddled in the wardrobe, a glint of malice flashing in his eyes.
"There were indeed survivors hidden inside this house!"
Just as he was about to drag Jiang Huaiyu out, he saw the woman in the wardrobe suddenly cover her mouth and nose with her sleeve and sprinkle a handful of fine powder on his head.
He was too close, and within a few breaths he inhaled a large amount of powder. His nostrils and mouth instantly felt like they were being burned by flames, causing excruciating pain.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jiang Huaiyu shoved him away and rushed towards the door with all her might.
The Zhao brothers fought valiantly to hold off the remaining bandits. Zhao Zuo shouted to Deng Shen, "Quickly take the lady and get out of here!"
(End of this chapter)
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