Ye Wenxue expected that someone would stop her, but she didn't expect that it wouldn't be Dazhuang, Shuangshuang, or the other children, nor the Xu family she was worried about, but Su Jiu, who was bullied every day.
“You should be able to see that this is clearly a trap. If that young general really wanted to kill Zhixing and the others, he wouldn’t have kept them alive until now.”
Su Jiuqi spun around in a huff, slapped his head, and shouted at Ye Wenxue, who was picking vegetables and digging sweet potatoes.
Beside Ye Wenxue were Dazhuang, Shuangshuang, Sanyuan, and Siwang, who were making the most of their time to dig and pick vegetables after learning that they would be going down the mountain the next day.
Seeing that Ye Wenxue and the others did not respond, Su Jiu became even angrier: "If you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about the children. What will happen to them if they fall into the trap?"
Da Zhuang gave him a cold glance and said nothing.
Ye Wenxue helplessly tried to calm the agitated Su Jiu: "Even if I can't win, I can still get away safely. Besides, can you really just stand by and watch Zhixing and the others get beheaded?"
Su Jiu was speechless. When he returned, Zhi Xing had already gone to Longxing Prefecture. They had only met a few times, so there was nothing he was reluctant to part with.
But Ye Wenxue's words were clearly not asking him whether he was willing to do it, but rather that she herself could not stand by and watch Zhixing and the others be beheaded.
Su Jiu said indignantly, "What if it really is a trap? What if we weren't supposed to be killed in the first place, but you killed us as soon as you arrived? What if..."
Ye Wenxue tied up a bunch of sweet potato vines: "There are no 'what ifs'... If they really are going to be beheaded, I'll try to save them."
If we can't save Zhixing and the others, we'll try to rescue Zhiwen, Zhiwang, and the others. If that doesn't work, I'll escape back to the mountains and join you; there shouldn't be any problem."
Su Jiu couldn't understand where her confidence came from!
It's important to understand that the vanguard is not the same kind of villain that Ye Wenxue usually faces.
Leaving aside the main force still behind, this advance force at the foot of the mountain numbered at least five hundred men, each well-equipped and strong, capable of taking on five men at once on the battlefield.
No matter how capable Ye Wenxue is, she can't possibly rescue someone right under their noses.
The fact that Zhixing and the others were beheaded was an inevitable outcome. Rather than foolishly going down to rescue them and returning empty-handed, it was better to ignore it and pretend we knew nothing.
Before Su Jiu could continue speaking, Da Zhuang glanced at him and said, "Mr. Su, please don't say anything more. Mother's decision will not be changed."
Ye Wenxue meant the same thing.
Zhi Xing and the other two helped her earn so much money. Even if all she could do there was collect corpses, Ye Wenxue couldn't refuse to go.
Besides, Chenchen seemed to have mentioned that the He family was also down the mountain.
Even if Ye Wenxue couldn't kill the He family members, it wouldn't be a big problem to cause them some trouble.
Su Jiu remained silent, then said, "I'll look after the kids for three days. If you don't come back after three days, let these brats fend for themselves," before turning and leaving.
Ye Wenxue shook her head and said to Sanyuan, "Your master is really stubborn but soft-hearted. Go and coax him, and help him pack his luggage while you're at it."
In ancient times, it was considered normal for disciples to help their masters wipe their faces and wash their feet, let alone pack their luggage.
Sanyuan straightened up, rubbed the mud off his hands, looked at Ye Wenxue with a worried expression, and obediently agreed.
The past two weeks have been filled with many events, especially after news came that the local troops were about to wipe out the mountain bandits.
Ye Wenxue reduced the amount of vegetables she continued to grow and sold or consumed all the vegetables that she had stored in her space that wouldn't keep for long.
So there aren't many vegetables left to harvest yet, only two baskets full.
After putting away all the vegetables, Ye Wenxue washed each child's hands and patted their heads one by one.
When it was Dazhuang's turn, Ye Wenxue asked him with a smile, "Why didn't you stop me?"
Even with Su Jiu's limited intelligence, he could guess that the town at the foot of the mountain was full of traps; Da Zhuang couldn't possibly not have guessed it.
Dazhuang pursed his lips, obediently stretched out his hand, and let his mother rub the dirt off his hands: "I believe that Mother will definitely not be caught."
Although Dazhuang didn't understand why Ye Wenxue insisted on saving people—after spending so much time together, he could naturally tell that Ye Wenxue didn't meddle in other people's business and was quite cold and ruthless.
But he firmly believed that his mother must have her reasons for going.
Even if we can't save Zhixing and the other two, it would be great to collect their bodies and give them a proper burial.
Most importantly, Dazhuang no longer feels as insecure as he did when he first learned that his mother wasn't his 'mother'.
He knew that, no matter what, his mother would come back safely to find them.
Ye Wenxue smiled with satisfaction, picked up a handkerchief to dry Dazhuang's hands, and patted his head:
"Your mother will go to Qingxu Town to find you as soon as possible. You must take good care of your younger siblings."
Da Zhuang nodded in agreement.
"Mother..." Shuangshuang and Siwang clung to Ye Wenxue, wanting to say something but not saying it.
Ye Wenxue reached out and hugged the children: "Come on, let's pack our things. We'll lead the sheep, release the rabbits, and tie up the chickens, ducks, and wild boars and put them on the donkey cart."
The only clever thing the bald man did was leave behind a donkey cart and an ox cart before leaving the mountain stronghold, enough to carry the belongings of both families.
While everyone in the valley and bamboo hut was packing up their belongings to leave, down the mountain, Zhiwen and Zhiwang sat facing each other, their faces full of sorrow.
Because Zhixing was arrested, business in several surrounding towns and even the small town at the foot of the mountain plummeted.
Not only were no people willing to sell them charcoal, but even if they went out without disguising themselves, people would throw clods of dirt and stones at them.
—There's not enough vegetable scraps and rotten eggs to eat, let alone use them to throw at people.
Zhiwen and Zhiwang didn't care much about the charcoal business, since winter was coming to an end, the temperature was rising, and the charcoal business was not doing well anyway.
They managed to send everyone else in the house away to avoid being implicated.
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