"Ha ha ha ha……"
Luo Pinzheng suddenly burst into arrogant laughter, pointing at the crowd that was huddled together in a ball.
"Of course I'm scared! Of course I'm scared, that's why I need your help!"
She patted the shoulder armor of the soldier beside her. "Go inside and bring out paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones."
Watching the soldiers take their orders and leave, the group of people looked at each other in bewilderment, and then became even more furious.
One person rolled his eyes and shouted from the crowd.
"You treat us like this, yet you still dare to expect us to help you? We'd rather die than join you in a rebellion!"
Someone incited her, and it was like throwing a tinderbox into a pile of cotton; everyone else joined in the shouting.
"Go ahead and kill us if you dare. We won't go back, but sooner or later someone will find out, and you won't have a good time either!"
"That's right! I don't believe you can wipe out all thirty-odd families of us silently!"
Everyone was filled with righteous indignation, and they all pointed their fingers at Luo Pinzheng and threatened her, but no one was really fearless enough to rush over and hit her.
They were all shrewd and cunning. They said they weren't afraid of death, but in reality, they were more afraid than anyone else. At this moment, they were trying to scare Luo Pinzheng with these words.
Luo Pinzheng looked at them with a mocking gaze. "Oh? Is that so? That makes a lot of sense. I'm actually a little worried."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt there was hope, and their attitude immediately softened considerably.
Threatening people requires a combination of soft and hard tactics; this often leads to a high success rate.
"Lord Luo, we don't know what troubles you have that led you to embark on the path of rebellion."
“But we have known each other for so many years. If you let us go, we promise not to tell anyone about this. We will not meddle in whatever arrangements you make afterwards.”
"We are all just trying to make a living in this world. We all cherish our lives and would never be ungrateful."
"Yeah yeah!"
A group of people spoke up all at once, offering their assurances and trying to persuade Luo Pinzheng to let them go back.
Qin Anmin was even more furious when he heard their indifferent remarks, as if it were none of his business.
Those merchants aside, there were also many officials among them.
They usually act like respectable, honest, and upright people, pretending to be dedicated to serving the people, but now not one of them is afraid of death.
Instead of insisting on speaking out and confronting Luo Pinzheng, it would be better to remain silent like she and Su Qinghe!
Everyone was eager to say nice things!
Seeing the group of people who usually acted so proper now fawning over him, Luo Pinzheng smiled disdainfully.
"Shut up, all of you!" she roared, frowning, and picked at her ear. "If you make another sound, I'll cut your tongues out and throw them into the mountains to feed the wolves!"
Luo Pinzheng's attitude changed so quickly that everyone was startled, and for a moment no one dared to speak again.
Seeing that the group of people had finally calmed down, Luo Pin chuckled twice, waved his hand, and turned around first.
"Bring everyone over here."
The surrounding soldiers obeyed the order and threatened to extend their swords forward.
"Hurry up! Don't dawdle! If you dawdle any longer, I'll kill you!"
These people were always treated kindly wherever they went before; they had never seen anything like this before.
Seeing that more than a dozen gleaming broadswords were about to be swung at them, the crowd hurriedly pushed and shoved each other, stumbling and stumbling as they moved forward.
Luo Pinzheng had already sat down in the chair with her legs apart. In front of her was a table with writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone laid out on it.
Everyone was puzzled but dared not speak, and could only watch her nervously.
Luo Pinzheng smiled, picked up a bunch of grapes, and slowly ate them.
"Now, each of you write a letter home."
"I have already completed the Ziyunling Pass. By order of His Majesty, I will hold a ritual to pay homage to Heaven and pray for the passage to be safe and smooth for many years to come."
"To make it easier for everyone to travel, this ceremony to pay homage to Heaven will be held at Lingyan Temple on the mountainside, and you will be waiting for them there."
At this point, Luo Pinzheng had just finished eating a bunch of grapes. She took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands and looked up at everyone.
Seeing their resentful expressions, he grinned contemptuously and spoke slowly, raising his voice.
"Call everyone in the house who is able to move around. Don't make me go and invite them myself!"
When she said the word "please," she deliberately emphasized it, and it was obvious that it wasn't anything good.
"Also, bring three thousand taels of silver when you come. Such a construction project for the country and the people should be of your own interest. It's an honor to do so, isn't it?"
After he finished speaking, everyone looked terrified, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
Luo Pinzheng not only wanted to arrest them, but also wanted to control their families to threaten them.
Some people couldn't bear this sudden change and protested agitatedly.
"Is this the favor you want us to do? I won't write it! None of us will write it, so don't fall for her tricks!"
"She hasn't achieved her goal yet. She still needs us. She wouldn't dare to do anything to us. If we really write it according to her wishes, then our families will be under her control, and that's when everything will be over!"
The man roared until his face turned red, and everyone who heard him was startled; they were no longer as afraid as before.
"hehe……"
At that moment, everyone heard Luo Pinzheng's contemptuous laughter again, and they all clenched their fists and stared at her nervously.
"Who wants to write first? The first one to finish can have dinner first!"
After she finished speaking, everyone just stared at her, but no one moved.
"Ha! Okay!" Luo Pinzheng chuckled again.
"It seems you're all stubborn and won't shed a tear until you see the King of Hell. You won't listen to reason, so let's just wait and see! I have plenty of time to waste with you."
After saying this, seeing that everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Luo Pinzheng kindly reminded them again.
"Oh! But don't worry, we won't take long. At most an hour, and you'll be suffering from the poison, hahaha—"
She laughed arrogantly and crossed her legs, placing them directly on the table in front of her.
"Hey you over there, go get some more fruit. And you over there, come over and give me a shoulder massage. I'm exhausted after climbing for three days!"
Luo Pin was giving orders to the soldiers beside him, completely ignoring the group of people whose expressions had changed.
Luo Pin was enjoying himself peacefully, while everyone else was sweating profusely. They were all stamping their feet in panic, wanting to run around, but because they were surrounded, they could only stay in one place.
"She prepared all the food for the whole trip, what should we do! She definitely didn't lie to us this time!"
"Why don't we write it? Since she has chosen to control us, she definitely won't kill us. Even if her husband and children fall into her hands, she certainly won't harm them."
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