Zhao Heng covered his eyes and stomped his feet: "Grandma, this is so embarrassing! I'm so old! Can't you see there are other people here?"
Grandma Zhao laughed and said, "What's there to be afraid of? It's only natural for a grandmother to love her grandson. Why should I be afraid of other people being around?"
Jin Dashan covered his mouth, chuckling incessantly, while Su Qiaoqiao stood to the side, also making giggling sounds.
"Grandma, you really love Zhao Heng! I never imagined Zhao Heng had such a caring grandma!"
Zhao Heng, now embraced by the old lady, was no longer shy. Pointing to Su Qiaoqiao in front of him, he said, "This is Mr. Su's daughter, Qiaoqiao. This is my brother Dashan. My father told my mother that he can paint. He even painted a pair of shoes for you."
The old lady burst into laughter: "Oh dear, since you're all Hengheng's friends, come in and sit down! Don't worry, with the magistrate's help, he'll definitely bring your mother back!"
Jin Dashan and Su Qiaoqiao followed one after the other into the county magistrate's mansion.
The front yard was the county magistrate's residence, and the back yard had two rooms, one a kitchen and the other used for storing miscellaneous items. When Old Lady Zhao returned to the back yard, she pointed to a stone table in the middle of the yard and said, "You all sit down. Hengheng, go in and make some tea. Also, bring out some pastries so your friends can have a good taste."
Su Qiaoqiao said, "Grandma, you can still see the needle and thread. These stitches are so fine and even. I have never seen such even stitches before."
"It's nothing, I've always enjoyed doing these things since I was little. Do you like them? If you like them, I'll give you these insoles. I can tell you really like them!"
"Grandma, did you make this for Zhao Heng?"
Grandma Zhao pulled out a stack of insoles from the cupboard and said happily, "Look, Zhao Heng even has insoles for his wedding! Are you worried that he won't have any insoles to wear?"
Jin Dashan didn't stand on ceremony and stuffed a pair of insoles into his pocket: "Alright, since Grandma gave them to me, I'll take them. Zhao Heng only has one pair of feet, how can he fit them in? I'll help him put them on."
A crisp sound came from the backyard of the magistrate's mansion.
The magistrate arrived at Tiger Head Mountain with a group of people. When they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw several people dressed in long robes acting suspiciously, seemingly discussing something. The magistrate instructed his constables: "Go forward carefully and observe. See if you can find out any crucial information. Remember, under no circumstances should you harm the innocent!"
"Yes, sir!"
The man whispered, "I heard the woman we caught this time is quite beautiful. The boss said he's keeping her as his wife. That's really something, always putting himself first. When we were working together, he said such nice things, like sharing the good times and the bad. What a load of rubbish! He kept most of the money after we robbed him, and only remembered us brothers when he was done spending it. Now we're all single, so why should the woman we robbed be his alone? Is that fair?"
"But, but, he's the bandit leader now. What can we do about him? More than half of the brothers are on his side. What can we do?"
A thin man stood up: "That's a good idea, I understand. As long as a few of us team up, we can kidnap this girl, drug her, and then we brothers can have our fun, how about that?"
Liang Shuyan hid behind a large tree and spread the news of the group's conspiracy. The bandit leader was immediately enraged: "What? There's such a thing? Are they planning a rebellion?"
The messenger offered a brilliant idea: "Boss, we can't wait any longer. If we wait any longer, that girl might be kidnapped by those guys!"
The bandit leader shouted, "Brothers, grab your weapons and come down the mountain with me to capture those rebels!"
A large group of people, at the instigation of the bandit leader, fled the mountain stronghold.
The messenger came out and nodded to Liang Shuyan: "It's all taken care of. Where's the money?"
As agreed, Liang Shuyan took out two taels of silver from her bosom and gave it to the messenger, then walked towards the woodshed.
The county magistrate at the foot of the mountain was very curious as to why all these bandits were rushing down the mountain. Could it be that Liang Shuyan had used some tricks on the mountain?
The magistrate pondered for a moment: "No matter what, these bandits have all gone down the mountain. Perfect! We've blocked the mountain pass, so we can trap them like turtles in a jar. Wouldn't that be great?"
The magistrate gave the order: "Split into two groups. One group will surround these people and capture the bandits alive. The other group will go up the mountain to rescue them!"
When Liang Shuyan arrived at the woodshed, she found Ruyan bound hand and foot, with a piece of cloth stuffed in her mouth and large beads of sweat on her forehead.
Liang Shuyan stepped forward and untied her. When Ruyan saw Liang Shuyan, she excitedly hugged Ruyan and said, "Auntie! I knew you would come to save me!"
Seeing Ruyan trembling, Liang Shuyan gently comforted her, "It's alright, everything is over, don't be afraid!"
Not wanting to be captured by the bandits again, Liang Shuyan immediately pulled Ruyan and ran down the mountain. At this moment, a group of people rushed up from the back mountain. These people were none other than the martial arts school soldiers led by Jin Erniu.
"Alright, look, your brother-in-law has brought people here, we're saved!"
Jin Erniu rushed over, panting, and when he saw Liang Shuyan and Ruyan, his body went limp: "Mother, Ruyan, are you, are you alright!"
With red eyes, Ruyan said, "Brother-in-law, those bandits almost, almost ruined Ruyan's reputation!"
Liang Shuyan quickly covered Ruyan's mouth: "Don't talk nonsense! Come on, let's get out of here right now!"
The girl's reputation is very important, and Liang Shuyan didn't want to ruin Ruyan's reputation because of this. Jin Erniu seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "By the way, Mother, when I came up here just now, I met the magistrate with his men guarding the foot of the mountain. They must have trapped him like a turtle in a jar. Since you are alright, then I will go and help the magistrate to suppress the bandits!"
Liang Shuyan thought for a moment and said, "Yes, okay. These bandits must be eliminated. Otherwise, which girl will dare to go out in the future?"
Jin Erniu led his group of soldiers down the mountain, while Liang Shuyan led Ruyan around the front of the mountain and down the back.
The magistrate gave the order: "Take all these bandits away, and confiscate all the silver and belongings on the mountain!"
Jin Erniu arrived later and, upon seeing the magistrate, said happily, "Sir, I'm here to help you. We'll help send these bandits to prison, and you can take your men to loot all the gold and silver treasures on the mountain!"
"Ruyan, what happened to Ruyan?" A hurried voice came, accompanied by the clatter of horses' hooves.
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