Fang Qing had been keeping an eye on the situation. Seeing that everything that needed to be said had been said, Fang Qing and Zhao Wuxia headed back, telling Seventeen and the others to go back and rest early as well.
After watching Fang Qing walk away, the youngest child, who had drunk quite a bit, couldn't help but sigh at how kind Seventeen and the others were, that the host family still cared about them so much.
“Our family is kind-hearted, and you deserve it for not being discerning.”
"What can we do? We don't know if it's too late to correct it now. Do you need more manpower? Watch me..."
However, before he could finish speaking, he was tugged by the person next to him.
"I see you're drunk. We've eaten quite a bit today, thank you for your hospitality. We should get back to our posts now."
As he spoke, the man helped the dazed child to his feet.
When they reached a place where the seventeen couldn't hear them, the man tapped the person next to him on the head.
"What nonsense are you spouting? If Yin Sheng's people knew you had such thoughts, would we even be alive?"
This man was the oldest of the five, named Erzhu. The five of them were from the same hometown, so they were assigned to the same group.
The youngest is called Xiaohe.
Xiaohe had drunk quite a bit, but his mind wasn't muddled.
"If our master comes to kill us, we'll still be dead. Didn't you listen to that brother? Yin Sheng is a traitor. If we work for a traitor, we're accomplices. It's not just about losing our heads, it'll implicate our entire family."
These words struck at the heart of their pain, and their expressions varied.
A long silence fell between the five of them, until finally Xiaohe kicked the stone under his feet.
“The county princess came all the way from the capital to plant rice for us, and what have we done? We've actually done such beastly things that have harmed so many children. If this continues, I'll never be able to stand up straight again. If you want to continue working for that beast, then go ahead.”
As he was talking, Xiaohe started to walk back, but Erzhu stopped him.
“I understand how you feel. I think the same way. A man should be upright. We can’t continue to work for Yin Sheng, but we can’t rashly surrender to the county princess. If Yin Sheng finds out, we’ll lose our heads.”
Xiaohe thought about it and realized that was indeed the case. He asked, "Then what should we do?"
"I'll have a good talk with my seventeenth brother tomorrow. We'll do what we can, without seeking any merit. We just hope that after the world ends, we can be spared."
Erzhu's words were agreed upon by the other four. They discussed it in hushed tones and then continued their duty.
The next day, Fang Qing was having breakfast when Seventeen came over and told her about Erzhu's meeting with him early that morning.
"They are smart people."
That night, it was still Erzhu and the other four who were on duty.
Then they saw that the people who usually rested and did nothing at night were now busy.
Seventeen and his brothers from Fengyulou were digging something in Fang Qing's courtyard, where Fang Qing, who would usually be asleep by now, was also there.
The moon is exceptionally bright tonight; even without a torch, visibility is not impaired.
"Brother Erzhu, what are they doing?"
"I don't know, let's not worry about it. The brothers should keep a close eye on things, and if anyone else comes over, remind Brother Seventeen."
Besides the five of them, there were more than a dozen of Yin Sheng's fellow villagers among them. These days, they had been treated like dogs by Yin Sheng's men, and even their food was not as good as that of Yin Sheng's confidants. They had grievances in their hearts.
After hearing Erzhu explain the pros and cons of the matter to them today, they naturally agreed with Erzhu's approach.
Fang Qing and Seventeen didn't sleep that night; they worked through the night to install the mechanism.
Fang Qing's claim that the manor was full of traps and mechanisms was a lie. Zhao Shi'an didn't use the tea house as a base, so why would he have set up traps here?
However, the courtyard is already decorated inside and out tonight.
This was designed by Fang Qing based on the mechanism on the notebook that Zhao Shi'an brought back from the Mo family.
Whether it's powerful or not, it's definitely easy to catch people.
After working late into the night, Fang Qing told Seventeen and the others to go and rest.
When Erzhu and the others changed shifts, Yin Sheng's men discovered that Fang Qing and the others were still asleep.
Fearing something was amiss, they used another pretext to check on Seventeen and his group, only to find that they were indeed asleep inside.
This had never happened before; usually, it was Seventeen and his group from the Wind and Rain Tower who got up even earlier than them.
Yin Sheng's confidants sensed something was wrong and specifically summoned Erzhu to inquire about the situation.
"Hey, you have no idea how noisy they are. They've been drinking until the wee hours, and we can only watch and not drink. We're so envious! You see, we brothers haven't had a drink in ages. Could you let us brothers..."
"You still want to drink? Don't you know your place? Get your job done, or we'll take your heads."
Yes, yes, yes.
"roll."
Erzhu left, and where the others couldn't see him, he spat out a loud "Pui!"
What the hell? A bunch of traitors are actually bossing them around.
Yin Sheng was naturally unaware of Fang Qing's plan.
That evening, Fang Qing arranged for Seventeen and Erzhu to meet, intending to give them a chance to earn merit.
Erzhu agreed without hesitation and even assured Seventeen that if they took any action, he could turn nearly a hundred people to Fang Qing's side.
Fang Qing knew she was in the bag as soon as she heard that.
The weather was nice that day, and Fang Qing took Seventeen to Hou Mountain for a stroll. However, she didn't expect that she would fall down a hillside as soon as she arrived at Hou Mountain.
Yin Sheng received the news shortly afterward.
How is he?
Fang Qing is now his important bargaining chip. If anything happens to her, he doesn't know if he will still be able to exchange what he wants with Zhao Shi'an.
"She was carried back, and she looks quite seriously injured. When I arrived, Zhao Shi'an's aunt had also gone there, along with the doctor from the resort."
Upon hearing this, Yin Sheng put down his teacup and got up to leave.
"I'll go take a look."
"I'll go over there myself. After all, we don't know if that woman is up to anything."
Yin Sheng waved his hand.
"If she wanted to do something funny, she would have done it already. Why would she wait until now? I guess this fall is quite serious. We can't let it delay our business."
Yin Sheng had already had the entire manor thoroughly searched inside and out, but they found no trace of the trap Fang Qing had mentioned. Therefore, he concluded that Fang Qing was just faking it.
Yin Sheng went to Fang Qing's courtyard.
The people here were busy running around, their expressions hurried and anxious, as if something had truly happened.
Yin Sheng became even more determined and stepped inside.
Inside the room, Fang Qing and Zhao Wuxia sat on a low couch drinking tea, while the doctor was taking Zhao Wuxia's pulse.
Yin Sheng was stunned by the scene. Then he looked at Fang Qing, whose face was rosy and who did not look injured at all.
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