Chapter 267: Bandits 2
The farm house is located halfway up a hill, backed by the West Mountain, with a jungle on the right and a stream half a mile to the left. Both humans and animals of all sizes in the forest need water, so in order to prevent large animals from breaking into the farm house, Su Ruojin spent manpower to build a nearly two-meter-high wall for the farm house.
It is quite good whether defending against people or beasts.
Originally, Su Ruojin had no plans to open a farm stay this year, but when spring came and the creek swelled, she was attracted by the clear and sweet sound of the stream. When she saw the gurgling creek, a scene suddenly emerged in her mind of a kitchen with a creek flowing through it and fish being raised in the water under the eaves of a courtyard. It was this idea that made her start construction and it took her more than a month to build a dream farm stay using a combination of stone and wood.
There is no running water in the kitchen, but there is running water all the time. It is not only poetic and picturesque, but also convenient for all the people working in the kitchen. Mother Dong sighed and said, "It's like being in heaven."
Zhong Wanhui was attracted by the small fish in the live water pool under the eaves, and spent most of the day squatting under the eaves watching the fish swimming upstream.
The originally idyllic life in the countryside was thrown into danger and tension because Master Shangguan was captured. The Ning and Zhong families came to visit, bringing many maids and servants with them, and Su Ruojin was not polite to them.
Let Ye Huaizhen arrange for people to guard the back door, side door, and front door in three shifts, and make sure not even a fly can fly in.
Hua Ping is the chief security manager of the farm house. Only with him around can Su Ruojin dare to close her eyes and sleep at night.
Chunxiao and Qiuyue saw that their young master had finally fallen asleep. They patted their chests, tiptoed out of the room, closed the door gently, and walked a long way away before they dared to speak in a low voice, "Jinniang has been anxious all day, and she can finally take a nap."
"Who says it's not?" Chun Xiao said, "Let's go see what dinner Madam Dong has left for the master."
The two went to the kitchen together.
Mao Yatou held a pillow and a thin blanket and gently pushed open the door. She tiptoed to the bed, took away Su Ruojin's shoes, wiped the pedal with a rag, and then fell asleep on the pedal.
Normally, Su Ruojin would not let the maids and old women keep watch at night, but these two days were unusual. Mao Ya did not listen to her and still slept under her bed to keep watch over her.
The night is getting deeper and deeper.
Mother Dong and the others did not wait for the young prince and his companions to come back. Instead, they scooped up some icy stream water and put it into the stone pool. They also put the food into the stone pool and used the cool stream water to calm the food down to prevent it from spoiling.
After finishing everything, they all went back to the dormitory to sleep.
The moon was moving through the white lotus-like clouds, appearing and disappearing from time to time. When it disappeared, the sky was pitch black, and only the chirping of summer insects and the rustling of leaves could be heard; when it appeared, the moonlight poured down, as if it were daytime, emitting a faint silver glow.
There seemed to be a sound of large animals gnawing on food in the forest. There was a crackling sound, and the insects were startled and stopped chirping.
The wind blew, covering the clouds and the moon, and it seemed as if a dark shadow was passing through the dense jungle.
The wind dissipated, the clouds parted and the moon appeared, everything was quiet, only the dewdrops fell silently.
The kitten in the farmhouse opened its eyes on the footboard of Zhong Wanhui's bed, "Meow... Woo... Meow... Woo..."
Zhong Wanhui heard the kitten's meow and sat up, rubbing her eyes.
The eldest maid Qiao Qiao quickly sat up from the bed and held the kitten to the young master, "Hui Niang, the kitten has woken up and must be thirsty. I'll go get some water. Are you thirsty? I'll pour you a cup too."
The young lady nodded, "Yeah." She reached out to take the kitten, put her face against it, and loved it very much.
The cat stopped meowing under her gentle comfort, found a comfortable position and fell asleep again.
When Qiao Qiao came over, he found the kitten asleep. He laughed and asked, "Hui Niang, do you want some more water?"
Zhong Wanhui nodded, and the eldest maid Qiao Qiao reached out and handed the water to her. The young lady was about to lower her head to drink the water.
Suddenly, with a bang, the door was kicked open and a man in black rushed in, about to stab with a knife in his hand.
"ah!"
The screams of the master and servant broke the silence of the night.
Hua Ping jumped down from the roof like a god and stretched out his sword to block the black-clad man's knife.
Bang!
The killing came in an instant.
Everyone in the farmhouse was awakened.
Su Ruojin took out the dagger from under her pillow and jumped off the bed. "Sister Ya, where did the sound come from?"
"It seems to be Miss Zhong's side."
"quick."
The farmhouse was surrounded by iron barrels, and the only way to get in was the stream that ran through the wall. She still had some hope at that time, but she didn't expect that the cunning enemy would still take advantage of her. She wondered where Zhao Lan was?
As soon as the door opened, Mangzhong faced two men in black at the entrance. Mao Ya joined the fight with a knife in hand. Because of her joining, the men in black became passive and kept retreating. After jumping off the corridor, they fell into the pool.
But the water in the pool was not deep, and the man in black climbed out immediately.
"Where are the enemies?" Ning Ning's excited voice could be heard throughout the yard. She rushed up with the Ning family's gun in her hand, looking murderous, and the man in black was stunned.
Aren't all the men attracted to the bandits? Are there only a few young ladies and servants left in the farmhouse?
The girls are good, but what’s wrong with these girls? Are they all good at martial arts?
The man in black thought they were just showing off their skills, so he came at them viciously with his knife in hand, "You're looking for death."
The moon broke through the clouds.
The moonlight shone on the big knife, and the cold wind blew. Ningning raised her hand and caught the flashing swords and sabers. Amid the clanging sound, the man in black's palm was numb and his eyes were terrified. He was frightened by the strength of the delicate young lady.
No longer daring to underestimate the enemy, they started killing in droves.
Fan Yanjia was also frightened out by the sounds of fighting in the courtyard. He hid in the corner and secretly looked into the corridor. There were ten masked men. Hua Ping, Mangzhong, and Ye Huaizhen were fighting two each. Su Ruojin and Mao Ya fought one together. The remaining three...
They all surrounded Ning Banniang. Oh no... Oh no... What should he do? As a grown man, should he go up and help? Just as he was hesitating, three men in black attacked Ning Banniang together.
"No..." He closed his eyes in fear.
Ningning and the two older maids swung their whips in time to help their master out of the predicament.
Ning Ning counterattacked when he got the chance. He made a fancy move with his spear and then struck hard. He stabbed one of the men in black with a bullet. Blood gushed out of his heart and he fell to the ground.
Hearing the sound of plop, Fan Yanjia mustered up the courage to open one eye and said, "No, Ning Ba Niang, you can't... Hey, Ning Ba Niang is still hitting me, and it's not her who is being hit... He was just feeling happy when he suddenly realized what was happening."
"Ning... Ning Ba Niang killed the assassin?"
My God, she is worthy of being the daughter of General Ning. It is true that a tiger father has a dog daughter. This young lady has such amazing skills.
Fan Yanjia's eyes were full of admiration.
Su Ruojin didn't expect that Ningning, who was usually spoiled and willful, would be so skilled and was the first to deal with the assassin.
The men in black didn't expect that there were hidden talents in the farm house. No wonder Zhao Lan and others dared to suppress the bandits. Their sharpness in charging in was blunted, but they had no way to retreat. A green light shone in their eyes. No matter what, you guys have to die.
At the foot of Niutou Mountain, torches were alight in Xiaoniu Village. The front and back exits of the village were blocked. Hundreds of bandits were either dead or tied up. The leader held his head high, mockingly. No matter what Santai asked, they just didn't answer.
"Tell me, where did you hide the person?"
The bandit leader snorted coldly, "If you dare to kill me, my people will kill him." With a hostage in his hand, he was very arrogant.
Zhao Lan frowned at the bandit leader's arrogant look and said, "Teach him a lesson."
"Yes, Master."
Santai stretched out his knife and chopped off his arm. The sudden pain made the bandit leader lose his defense, "You dare to chop me, I... I also chopped off the pretty boy's arm."
Ning Qilang provoked him, "Go ahead, no one is stopping you from chopping."
Bandit leader: …He was suddenly gagged. He stared at the group of glamorous young men in front of him, and suddenly laughed out loud, “Haha…haha, so what if I’m caught by you? The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. I guess those young ladies are almost dead.”
Zhao Lan and Ning Qilang were both shocked.
"Zijin..."
Zhao Lan thought for a moment and said, "Go back quickly."
"Okay." Ning Qillang took his men, mounted his horse and galloped back to the farmhouse.
Zhao Lan said coldly to the moonlight, "Pull out his children and wife."
The bandit leader's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost, "Impossible... Impossible..." Not to mention that his wife and child were two hundred miles away, and he had always been a bandit in a very secretive manner, how could his wife and child be found out.
Zhao Lan stood under the moonlight with his hands behind his back, expressionless.
The back is straight like a green bamboo, bright and clear.
“Dad…Dad…”
"Dog's father...Dog's father..."
The moment he saw his wife and children, the bandit leader collapsed.
"I said... I said... don't kill my son... don't kill my son..."
The bandit leader regretted his decision so much that he should never rob the scholar for his money. If he didn't take the order, he would still be a hidden bandit, returning to the farmers after robbing things, and no one would know the true identity of the Qiushan bandit.
This is the result of greed.
The bandit leader finally revealed where Shangguan Yu was hiding.
Shangguan Yu was hidden in a dry well at the entrance of Xiaoniu Village. Everyone passed by the village, but no one paid attention to the broken and dirty dry well. He didn't starve to death, but he almost suffocated to death due to lack of oxygen.
When Zhao Lan was traveling, he was accompanied by a military doctor who rushed to rescue him. After giving him more than ten shots, he finally breathed his last.
"San Tai——"
"master."
"Transfer all these bandits to the Dali Temple, and don't let any of their family members go."
"Yes, Master."
The bandit leader, whose arm was cut off, shouted, "We are bandits, but our wives and children are not. Why are you arresting us?"
"Just because they hid the bandits and didn't report them."
The surviving bandits: …
It’s over…it’s over…Dongshitou Village is completely finished, it’s doomed.
After explaining everything, Zhao Lan asked Shuangrui to take Shangguan Yu and head straight to the farmhouse.
Ajin, please don't get into any trouble, otherwise I will kill Shangguan Yu!
When they arrived at the entrance of the farmhouse, they were so quiet that Ning Qilang's heart suddenly tightened. They jumped off their horses and were so scared that they didn't dare to walk anymore.
Suddenly, his eldest nephew Ning Yiqian shouted, "Seventh Uncle, there is a smell of blood."
So strong.
Ning Qilang, Wen, and Zhong looked at each other and ran inside in fear, "A Ning...A Hui..."
Passing through the loofah rack, the view in front of me suddenly brightens.
Torches were brightly lit in the courtyard of the courtyard-like inn.
His sister stood in the middle of the corridor like a mountain king, with her hands on her hips facing the center of the patio. There were seven people kneeling there, and three were lying on the ground, looking dead.
"A... Ning?" He looked at the situation in front of him in disbelief. Only four guards were left to guard the front and back doors. As a result, the four guards and the Su family's guards were now tying up several men in black.
Ning Ning raised her chin proudly, "Seventh Brother, I killed an assassin."
All the descendants of the Ning family practice martial arts and train their skills. It is required for men that everyone must practice, and it is a lifelong thing. However, the ladies are not forced to do so. As long as they practice for three years, those who are willing can continue to practice. Those who don't want to can be kept in the boudoir like the ladies in Beijing. There are few ladies in the Ning family, and not many of them practice, except for the eighth sister who is younger than him, who has been learning until now. But because she is a young lady, everyone usually gives in to her and no one thought she was good at anything. Unexpectedly, she killed an assassin the first time she went into battle.
Ning Qilang really didn't expect this.
In this situation, he didn't mean to praise anyone, so he suppressed his emotions and nodded, which was an affirmation of his sister.
When Hua Ping saw Ning Qilang, he asked, "Excuse me, where is my master?" When encountering important events, Hua Ping and others would address Zhao Lan as 'master'.
"He's dealing with bandits. He'll probably be back soon."
Su Ruojin was concerned about Master Shangguan, and asked anxiously, "Seventh Master, what about Master Shangguan..."
Ning Qillang now knows why Zhao Lan didn't come back first. It turns out that he knows why his beloved is so anxious. But if something happens to his beloved, is there any point in him saving Shangguan Yu?
He hadn't rescued Shangguan Yu before he came back, so he avoided the topic, "These assassins..." He was asking about Hua Ping.
Hua Ping turned around and said to one of them, "This man is a subordinate of the former King of Wei."
Ning Qilang asked, "What's your name?"
"Bi Changgui."
The Ning family didn't have much contact with minor civil servants, so they didn't know about this small-time figure like him.
Bi Changgui and the Su family are old acquaintances. Su Ruojin did not expect that it would be Bi Changgui who would come to assassinate her tonight.
Bi Changgui wanted to bite his tongue to commit suicide, but Ye Huaizhen blocked it tightly with a soil plug.
Everyone was in a good mood after catching the man in black tonight, except Ye Huaizhen. He thought it would be Yang Jingzi, but he didn't expect it to be such a thief. He was very disappointed.
Just when Ning Qilang was wondering whether he should lock these people up first and wait for Zhao Lan to come back to deal with them, he came back.
Su Ruojin ran over, "Brother Jin..."
Zhao Lan jumped off his horse, caught her, and found that she was safe and sound. He hugged her, "Ajin, I'm sorry." He didn't come back to save her in the first place.
Su Ruojin patted him on the back and said, "Brother Jin, you did the right thing. Believe in me, believe in Uncle Hua, and believe in all of us."
Zhao Lan sighed secretly, let go of the young lady, pointed behind him and said, "I rescued him."
Shuangrui supported the weak Shangguan Yu.
Su Ruojin was so scared that she ran over quickly, "Master Shangguan... Master Shangguan..."
If Zhao Lan was not sure of the young lady's love for him, he would have been jealous. Look at her, how useful she thinks this guy is, so he has to find him out.
Shangguan Yu tried his best to say to Madam Su, "Second Madam, you saved my life again."
"Don't talk yet." Su Ruojin hurriedly called Mother Dong, "Mom, hurry up and make him a bowl of ginseng soup. Sister Chunxiao, please take care of him for the next two days."
Chunxiao glanced at his master, and after receiving a signal from him, he hurried over and helped Shuangrui take the person to the room to rest.
Zhao Lan saw Bi Changgui, walked up to him, looked down at him, reached out to take the wooden plug from his mouth, pinched his jaw with his hand, and asked sharply: "You are the one who killed the King of Wei, right?"
Bi Changgui's already pale face turned even more deathly gray. "I don't know what you are talking about." As he said this, he was about to find a chance to bite the poison behind his tooth.
Zhao Lan didn't give him a chance and pinched his cheeks hard to prevent him from succeeding: "Do you think that the new emperor will not investigate and kill the people who killed him without the obstacle of King Wei when he ascends the throne?"
"He...he..." Why do we need to investigate? If it were him, he would be extremely happy if he knew that someone had killed the person who blocked his way for him.
Zhao Lan sneered and asked Ye Huaizhen to put the cork back in for him. "Tie them up first and bring them back to Beijing tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Master."
After locking up the men in black, everyone sat in the dining hall. Mother Dong and the maids and servants prepared food for them to fill their stomachs.
After eating, Zhao Lan asked everyone to go to bed.
Ningning couldn't sleep because she led everyone to subdue the men in black, but she hadn't received any praise yet, just like a child who insisted on getting a piece of candy.
Zhao Lan's mind was either on Su Ruojin or on the bandits and Bi Changgui and others. For a moment, he really didn't notice Ning Banniang who wanted to take credit.
Su Ruojin noticed it, and she was indeed quite surprised and admired Ningning. Although she looked spoiled at ordinary times, she was very helpful at the critical moment!
She quietly nudged Zhao Lan and nodded gently at Ningning.
Zhao Lan regained his composure, smiled slightly, and bowed to Ning Ning, saying, "Thanks to Madam Ning tonight, Zi Jin will present this to His Majesty and ask Him to reward Madam Ning."
Ning Ning wanted to be praised and recognized by everyone, but she didn't want to be praised by the emperor, so she waved her hand quickly, "Little Prince, please don't present it to His Majesty. If my father knew about it, I wouldn't be able to go out and play anymore."
Everyone: ...
Just for fun, she wouldn't allow anyone to talk about such a great achievement. I'm afraid there's no one else except Miss Ning.
"Really, this is what I really think."
Zhao Lan looked at Ning Qilang.
Ning Qillang also had a headache. The Ning Mansion had enough glory, and his sister was of marriageable age. Not to mention such a murder, not many people dared to marry her. With this added, no one would dare to marry her.
"Zijin, please don't tell His Majesty."
Zhao Lan nodded, "Okay."
Ning Ning was not giving up. She hadn't gotten Zhao Lan's approval yet, so she ran to Zhao Su and said, "Little Prince, I'm a little better than A Jin in beating up the bad guys tonight, right?"
Zhao Lan, who still didn’t know the situation: …
Su Ruojin: ...
Ning Ning said proudly, "However, I will still give you to A Jin, because besides me, only A Jin is worthy of you."
Su Ruojin: ...Thank you!
Zhao Lan was speechless.
Ning Qilang was also speechless.
Ningning was so pleased to see the two men being humiliated. She finally felt refreshed and waved her hands, "I'm going to bed." Then she left like a hero.
When Fan Yanjia saw her leave, he quickly said, "I'm going to sleep too." Then he trotted to catch up with Ningning.
There was nothing exciting to watch, so everyone went to sleep.
Ning Qilang didn't leave. He wanted to discuss with Zhao Lan what had happened in the past two days.
Su Ruojin and the other two worked together to sort out the matter of the bandits and Bi Changgui.
This matter is very clear.
Bi Changgui somehow found the invisible bandits, and when they went up the mountain during the summer harvest, he bribed them to rob Shangguan Yu, and then used Shangguan Yu to lure the tiger away from the mountain and break into the farmhouse.
Su Ruojin said: "There is one thing I don't understand. Since they want to kill us, their skills must be top-notch, at least killer-level. But they were subdued by a few rookies like us. This doesn't make sense!"
Ning Qilang felt that Su Erniang's analysis made sense.
Zhao Lan said quietly, "They actually want to hire a top assassin."
"Well?"
Shuang Rui replied from the side, "After the new emperor ascended the throne, there was sufficient funding, and the Investigation Department added a lot of manpower. All their channels were cut off by us, so they couldn't find a good killer even if they had money."
So that's how it is.
Su Ruojin asked, "What's the situation on the bandit side?"
"In the past few years, the court has been in turmoil, and no one has paid attention to these things. In addition, the disaster last spring was serious, and many chaos occurred. Many civilians formed groups to rob houses. But when I checked Anling County, 200 miles away, I found that during the entire disaster period, no one in Dongshitou Village became a bandit, and there was no selling of children in this village. This seemingly humane behavior is incompatible with last year's year."
"The ordinary is extraordinary."
Zhao Lan nodded. "This month, most of the men in the village are not at home. The villagers all said they were looking for work and helping people harvest wheat."
"Wheat harvesters? There are also some in other villages."
Zhao Lan nodded. "Yes, they also go in groups. But in other villages, the women who stay at home can tell you where the men go to harvest wheat. Only the women in Dongshitou Village are vague. When asked, they say it's very far away."
As expected, when a wild goose passes by, it leaves its voice behind; when a person passes by, he leaves his traces behind. If you don't want others to know, then don't do it.
Su Ruojin sighed, "To be able to remain invisible for nearly ten years without being discovered, these people are already very smart compared to ordinary civilians."
Ning Qilang said, "If it weren't for the greed for Bi's money, the court probably wouldn't have discovered it."
Su Ruojin patted his chest and thanked, "This year, the wheat in my father's area is the best in the area within a hundred or two hundred miles. If it weren't for this incident, I guess their goal would be to rob the granary in Weizhou County."
Don't say that, for sure.
Fortunately, they were greedy and were caught.
The young masters and ladies went to have a rest, while Santai took people to deal with the corpse and burned offerings to the gods to get rid of the bad luck in the farm house.
On the second day, Zhao Lan brought the bandits and Bi Changgui back to Beijing.
Ning Qillang came to help.
Ning Ning refused to go back to Beijing with them. "My sister asked me to bring Hui here to relax. When you are done with your work, come and play with us."
Ning Qilang reminded, "In mid-June, Prince Zhao will be 20 years old, so we may come over."
"Then I'll go back with Jin." Ning Ning said, "Anyway, Jin and I are both skilled, so if we encounter a thief on the road, we'll definitely be able to take care of him."
Everyone: ...
Finally, Ning Qillang thought that this trip was to escort prisoners to Beijing, and it was not a good idea for the young lady to go along, so Aunt Ningning stayed at the farm house.
No one noticed that Fan Yanjia did not return to Beijing.
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