"It's okay, it's okay. The escorts I hired are all very capable. We returned from Xirong with a lot of Xirong goods, which we will sell in the capital."
"This is the only way we can take. If we take a detour, it will take us a long time. We also need to buy a lot of goods from the Great Chu along the way and sell them to the Western Rong. After making this money, we will have a prosperous year."
"If we take a detour, it will extend our journey. By then, it will be cold and snowy, and the road will be difficult to travel on."
Duke Jing sighed and said with great embarrassment.
"So you are back from Xirong." Xiaoliu and Xiaojiu looked at the vehicle covered with oilcloth with sly eyes, and the greed in their eyes could not be concealed.
Duke Jing saw their appearance and then looked at the scholar again. He always felt that this scholar was extraordinary.
He was not in the same group with the bandits, but why he was with them was unknown.
"Yes, little brother, thank you for taking the risk to come and tell us. If you don't mind, please have a meal with us!"
Duke Jing invited him with a smile, and Xiaoliu immediately agreed. However, the scholar said hastily, "We, we shouldn't eat. I've already said that, so I'll be leaving first."
"It's okay. I told you not to worry. My escorts are all good fighters. We encountered bandits in Xirong before, and they were easily dealt with."
Xiaoliu and Xiaojiu trembled, and fear appeared in their eyes.
After all, he is still a little boy. Even if he grew up in a bandit's den, it is normal for him to be afraid.
"Come, come, don't be polite, sit down and have something to eat. But why did you come to this valley?" Duke Jing asked while inviting.
Xiaoliu's expression froze and he looked at the scholar for help.
The scholar then smiled and said, "We have no choice. We need to cross this valley to get to Lijia Village on the other side of the mountain. My father broke his leg not long ago, and my bride was kidnapped by bandits and taken up the mountain."
"I don't know what the situation is now. I am a useless man who can't even protect my own bride."
As he spoke, his eyes turned red, as if tears were about to fall at any moment.
Xiaoliu couldn't help but give a thumbs up and praise him. The master was really smart and spoke from the heart.
Duke Jing and others remained calm and felt that the scholar was telling the truth.
"My family is barely making ends meet. I'd like to go find my aunt who married into Li Village and ask her to help me out and give me some money so I can pay next year's tuition."
"Let's take our old father to the city to see if his leg can be cured."
"I see. It must have been really hard work." Duke Jing sighed, took a plate, and cut some roasted lamb for him.
After politely expressing his thanks, the scholar reached out to take the roasted lamb handed to him by Duke Jing.
Duke Jing cut some more for himself. Xiao Liu quickly reached for it, baring his yellow teeth. Duke Jing was stunned and smiled embarrassedly: "Sorry, these are mine."
Xiaoliu's smile froze, and displeasure flashed in his eyes. Before he could say anything, he felt a pain in his neck and fell directly beside the fire.
Xiaojiu stood up in fear, his mouth full of meat, which he had taken himself.
He didn't have time to swallow it, and couldn't speak. Then he felt a pain in his neck and fainted on the ground.
The scholar quickly put down the plate and was about to lift up his clothes and kneel down.
Duke Jing was still eating, but Qiu Hanqing quickly stopped him: "Don't kneel down, there are people watching. They can just say they were drunk later."
The scholar was stunned, then said in surprise: "So you are really on duty?"
"I guess so!" Qiu Hanqing thought about it and nodded in agreement.
The scholar quickly said, "There are thirty-six of them in total, including these two."
"The others are lying in ambush in a grass nest not far away. This plan was proposed by me. I really am a scholar from Ma Village..."
"I know. Let's get to the point." Qiu Hanqing hurriedly stopped him, and the scholar nodded.
"Originally, I was planning to use a knockout drug on you all, knocking you all unconscious. Then I'd take the women away and kill all the men."
Nan Mawei paused, and just when the scholar thought she was scared, he almost fell to the ground in fright when he heard Nan Mawei's words.
"Just relying on these bandits, do you think you can snatch me away to the stronghold and make me your wife?"
"You, you are..." The scholar's pupils shrank slightly.
He also heard the news that the Southern Region had surrendered and that envoys would be sent to the Great Chu Palace soon to sign a surrender agreement.
I never thought that these people in front of me were envoys, and even the Queen of the Southern Region came in person.
Looking at the elegant Duke of Jing dining, this guy must be...
The famous general who defended the country in Nanyuzhou, General Jing, who was recently named Duke of Jing.
"I greet the Duke of Jing and the Queen of the Southern Territory. Please forgive me for the only way I can greet you."
"No need to be so polite. You went deep into the bandits' territory to avenge your wife?" Duke Jing wiped his mouth and asked.
Ma Shusheng nodded and said, "I have worked very hard to gain the approval of the bandit leader, and now I have earned the title of "Master Advisor" in the mountain stronghold."
"In order to gain their trust, I have offered advice and harmed some people. When they confess their crimes, I will also go to the government to apologize."
Nan Mawei looked at Duke Jing and said, "He just wanted to avenge his wife. To gain trust, he did some unforgivable things. Shouldn't we give him a reasonable sentence?"
"That's natural. The merits and demerits offset each other. Are those people dead?"
"No, we chose a place close to the city, so we deliberately frightened them. We only robbed the merchants of their belongings and did not harm their lives."
Nanmawei continued to cut the mutton, saying, "That's fine, it's not a big mistake."
The scholar was dumbfounded. Why did Duke Jing and the others have the same expression, as if what he did was nothing at all?
"You don't need to be so distressed. Although you planned to rob people of their property, you saved their lives, which is also a good deed."
"However, I am very curious. Since there are this group of villains here and the defenders in Tianque City, the county magistrate has never thought of wiping them out?" Qiu Hanqing asked doubtfully.
Ma Shusheng was silent for a moment, then spoke with a look of grief and indignation, "The county magistrate had previously joined forces with the Tianque City defenders to suppress the bandits, but there were countless casualties."
"That place is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Everyone has always thought it would be difficult to capture, which is why so many soldiers and generals were killed or injured."
"It wasn't until I went to the mountain stronghold that I learned that the bandit leader had a beautiful sister who was the county magistrate's favorite concubine."
"Not long ago, that lady came back to stay in the village. She was also a ruthless person."
Duke Jing put down the knife in his hand and took a sip of tea. After finishing it, he said to Wei Lanyi, "Lanyi, send someone to investigate."
"Yes, Duke." Wei Lanyi responded with a fist clasped.
Not long after, two people left the valley from the darkness and headed towards Tianque City.
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