The next day, the Seventeenth Prince vaguely heard the laughter of many women in his sleep. He suddenly opened his eyes and pricked up his ears, only to find that it was not a dream!
The Seventeenth Prince quickly woke up the guards beside him. Sure enough, everyone could hear the faint noise coming from not far away. The guards were secretly delighted and quickly put on their women's clothing.
Seventeenth Master led a few people towards the other side of the jungle following the sound. The sound grew closer and closer. Seventeenth Master lifted a patch of weeds and what came into view was a spacious basin.
It turns out that yesterday, Seventeenth Master and the others were lost and wandered around in the jungle, even though they were already very close to the exit.
Suppressing his inner elation, Seventeenth Master carefully hid on the hillside to observe. He saw many women working in the basin. Elderly women sat leisurely on the field mounds with young children, basking in the sun, while middle-aged women carried hoes and worked hard in the fields. Every now and then, they would stop and sing a few lines of folk songs. Once one person started singing, everyone would join in, creating a scene of joyful singing and laughter.
The Seventeenth Prince rubbed his eyes and looked closely. Even the guards beside him couldn't believe their eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "These people are members of a cult?"
Seventeenth Master paused, then said uncertainly, "I don't know either. They look no different from ordinary villagers..." Seventeenth Master looked around, but there was no one else around except for these people.
The guard asked, "Seventeenth Prince, what should we do now? Should we arrest them and interrogate them? Perhaps these women know the exact location of the White Lotus Sect's stronghold..." The Seventeenth Prince refused without hesitation. Looking at the children's innocent smiles, he couldn't bear it and said, "No... These people don't seem like truly evil people. There are elderly people and children among them. Although we are ordered to apprehend a cult, we cannot indiscriminately kill innocent people..."
The guard said urgently, "But Seventeenth Prince, we have no other choice right now... we can only look for clues on these people..."
The Seventeenth Prince pondered for a moment and said, "Even if I'm driven to desperation, I will never kill innocent people indiscriminately..." Seeing that the Seventeenth Prince was soft-hearted, the guard pointed to the people in the distance and advised, "Seventeenth Prince, they are not innocent people!"
The laughter of the peasant women echoed in his ears again. The Seventeenth Prince insisted, "Although I am not sure why these people are opposing the court, at least in my eyes they are just ordinary people. I cannot kill them at will..." The guards knew the Seventeenth Prince's temperament and knew that no amount of persuasion would work. They could only think of another way.
The Seventeenth Prince glanced at the guards' clothes, then at the clothes of the other women in the basin. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he snapped his fingers excitedly, "I've got it!" The guards waited expectantly for the Seventeenth Prince to speak. He lowered his straw hat, completely covering his face, and laughed, "Why don't we dress up as women and mingle among them? Perhaps we'll make a new discovery!"
The guards looked at each other, thought for a moment and decided that the Seventeenth Prince's plan was feasible. They all took off their hats and veils, straightened their clothes, and went down the mountain one by one, looking embarrassed.
Sure enough, the guard dressed as a woman slowly walked into the crowd, casually found a spot, and worked alongside the others in a very professional manner. Surprisingly, no one noticed anything amiss.
Reassured, the Seventeenth Prince followed. He chose a seat next to a peasant woman and a child. Because of the straw hat and veil, the peasant woman and child couldn't see his face at all. Although the child tried to lift the veil several times out of curiosity, the peasant woman quickly stopped him. When the Seventeenth Prince wanted to move to another seat, a hand tightly gripped his arm as he left…
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