Chapter 105 Bandits Invade Yuzhou City
"Sister, Ah Xun says he has something to tell you."
Shuang'er had finished feeding him. When Yao Shisan came in again, Wei Xun was not as frightening as when they first met today, but he was clearly trying his best to endure it.
"Madam Yao".
His voice was very hoarse.
"I'm sorry, I told the Crown Prince about your whereabouts."
She smiled and said, "I know you said it, and I also know you wanted Zhou Congxian to see it and give up."
"yes."
He admitted to everything.
Yao Shisan said, "You don't need to apologize. I think it's fine. I've given up. Let's both let go. He can be his heir, and I'll be my boss, Yao."
"I have two requests for Madam Yao."
Wei Xun gazed out the window with slightly reddened eyes.
"Firstly, I am already satisfied that I can see Shuang'er again. You can take her back."
"Secondly, there are people training troops in the mountains. It is a capital offense to privately garrison troops. The number of troops is at least more than 10,000. Moreover, some people are manufacturing large quantities of poison. I fear they may cause trouble. I ask Lady Yao to secretly report this to the young master."
Yao Shisan pursed his lips slightly, "You know I fled all the way to Yuzhou, do you think I would tell Zhou Congxian?"
Wei Xun was poisoned, and sweat slowly seeped from his forehead.
He bit his tongue to make himself continue, "Madam Yao has run so far, all she wants is a peaceful life with Miss Fu'er."
“If these people start a mass uprising or poison and harm the people, the peace that Madam Yao wants will be gone.”
“His Highness Prince Cheng is not as kind as Lady Yao appears. If disaster strikes, Lady Yao will likely be the first pawn to be discarded.”
"Moreover, these people are well-trained, and despite the harsh cold in the mountains, they have food and clothing. I have reason to suspect that they are closely related to King Cheng."
Yao Shisan lowered his eyelashes slightly. "Zhou Congxian is in Yuzhou now. I will tell him, not for anything else, but for the peace and tranquility we have now."
Wei Xun bit his tongue hard, the taste of blood filling his mouth. "Thank you, Madam Yao."
“Take Shuang’er back. If I live, I will fulfill the promise in the letter. If I die…”
"I've never met you since you left the capital."
Looking at Wei Xun, Yao Shisan hesitated for a long time before finally saying with difficulty, "I also wish we had never met..."
"no!"
Shuang'er pushed the door open with a bang, "I'm not leaving!"
"I'll be right here, I'll stay here until you recover!"
Wei Xun closed his bloodshot eyes slightly, and after a long while, he opened them.
With a ferocious expression, he roared at Shuang'er, "Go!"
Shuang'er bit her lip and took a step back. "I'm not leaving!"
Yao Shisan pulled Shuang'er outside, saying, "Let's go."
The door was closed, cutting off their view of each other.
Wei Xun gritted his teeth and endured wave after wave of excruciating pain!
"Sister, please, let me stay."
Shuang'er, tears streaming down her face, tightly gripped her sister's hand. "If he has no future, I will hate myself for not staying!"
Yao Shisan didn't know what it meant to feel pain to the bone, but she saw it today.
Shuang'er stayed behind, while she went back.
She wanted to return to Yuzhou, in case someone really launched a rebellion and poisoned the people.
Yuzhou is a living hell!
How could she and her children ever have a peaceful life again?
Fu'er sat at the entrance of the county government office, her hands supporting her chin, pouting as she waited for her mother.
Jiang Xingyao sat with her on the threshold, showing no sign of being a county magistrate.
When she saw her mother return, she jumped up immediately, exclaiming, "Mother's back!"
Yao Shisan touched his daughter's little face.
Just as he was about to tell his brother that he would return to Yuzhou that very night, a coughing sound came from the back office.
Then Xiao Shu came out carrying a hand warmer.
He glanced at the people at the door with a slightly resentful look.
It's as if he's saying, "Why are there three people on the ship, but only he got typhoid fever?"
The words Yao Shisan was about to say swirled on his tongue before he swallowed them back down.
If it involves King Cheng, what benefit would King Cheng gain from launching a war in his own territory?
But if it has nothing to do with King Cheng, how could Yuzhou have remained completely silent when so many reserve supplies were transported into the mountains?
The only plausible explanation is that it's related to King Cheng.
But he didn't have any soldiers, so he could only secretly amass troops.
However, since they were kept in the shadows, unlike other feudal lords with armies, they could not be used for other daily purposes.
If we hoard them deep in the mountains, wouldn't that be just raising them without using them?
"Mother."
Her daughter shook her hand. "Mom, Godfather is calling you."
Yao Shisan was lost in his own thoughts before he finally came to his senses.
"ah?"
Xiao Shu's voice was hoarse from coughing for a day and a night.
"What are you thinking about, so engrossed?"
Yao Shisan pinched his fingertips, "I... I was thinking about the herbal medicine business."
"The requirements for storing medicinal herbs are higher. If it were an ordinary herbal medicine shop, the required quantity would not be large, so it would be fine."
"If you want to be a pharmaceutical merchant, you have to go to more places. Different medicinal materials come from different places. Even the few common medicinal materials in Dingxian County are only used to dispel dampness and relieve pain."
Xiao Shu's gaze swept across her face.
"Didn't Madam Yao vow to become a great merchant? Is she going to back down after encountering such a small problem?"
Jiang Xingyao turned to look at Xiao Shu and said, "My sister is a woman. Why should she be a big merchant? She should just focus on doing a good job in the grain trade."
He then turned to his sister and said, “Don’t be foolish. Doing business is no less challenging than navigating the world, especially in a place where you don’t know anyone.”
"When dealing with all sorts of people, can you outmaneuver them with force or outmaneuver them with connections?"
Yao Shisan brought up this topic to cover up her distraction while thinking about garrisoning troops.
"elder brother……"
Xiao Shu's low, hoarse voice came through.
“What Lord Jiang said makes sense. Madam Yao’s handling of the grain trade is enough.”
"However, based on the amount distributed from last year's business, Madam Yao will need to work for another ten years to pay off my debt."
Yao Shisan, “…”
ten years……
She knew Xiao Shu couldn't speak.
His very first words were breathtaking.
Xiao Shu looked at her expression and was in a good mood, but before he could be happy for long, he was hit with another heart-wrenching cough.
It almost made him cough up his internal organs.
Fu'er tilted her head and looked at her godfather's distressed appearance.
Thinking back to what my godfather said at the temple yesterday, that without a single-minded heart, one will die.
She said earnestly, "Godfather, if you and Father were to be united forever, you wouldn't be so upset."
Xiao Shu, “…”
Jiang Xingyao, "?"
Yao Shisan, “??”
"My lord, something terrible has happened!"
Their conversation was interrupted by an urgent report from a yamen runner.
Jiang Xingyao stood up quickly. "Another murder?"
"Bandits have invaded Yuzhou City!"
Yao Shisan glanced at Xiao Shu subconsciously.
He just happened to come to Ding County, and then bandits entered Yuzhou.
A constable said, "The governor requests your assistance. Constable Shi has led teams to attack mountain bandits before and is very experienced!"
"no!"
She loudly refused, "He's just a scholar. He can handle a pen, but fighting bandits would be the death of him!"
Jiang Xingyao didn't look at his sister and walked straight out of the county government office.
"Have Officer Shi count the number of people and prepare to depart."
"elder brother!"
Yao Shisan hurriedly chased after him.
At this moment, she panicked as well, "The bandits kill without blinking an eye! You don't know anything, you can't go!"
Just like when they were little, Jiang Xingyao patted her head again.
"Yao'er, you were so brave when you were little, so now your brother can't let you down."
Yao Shisan shook his head, "Even the people in the prefecture can't hold on, what can a small county government like yours do!"
Jiang Xingyao bent down, picked up Fu'er, and put her into his sister's arms.
"Wait for me to come back."
Xiao Shu stood on the steps, his fingers gently touching the hand warmer, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
Yao Shisan, carrying Fu'er, turned around and rushed to Xiao Shu's side.
"What bandits? Aren't they all your men?!"
He suddenly looked up at her, and after a long while, a cold smile appeared on his lips.
"Yao'er, you're becoming more and more unscrupulous."
Yao Shisan's mind was racing, and he was spouting a string of rapid-fire remarks.
"What is Your Highness's purpose? We just left Yuzhou and bandits have already entered the city."
"Food and medicine are essential for war. What else? Should we open an iron mine and solve the weapons problem too?"
"Yuzhou is your territory. Why are you doing this? My brother is just a scholar. He'll die if he goes there!"
Tears welled up in Yao Shisan's eyes.
She had just found her brother, and now she's going to lose him so soon?
Seeing her mother's tears, Fu'er also started to cry in fear.
When Chief Steward Qing returned, he saw a scene in front of His Highness, with one adult and one child crying loudly.
What... what's going on...?
Xiao Shu was already coughing and feeling unwell, and with the mother and daughter crying loudly together, all he could hear now was their crying.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, "...He won't die!"
You won't die.
Yao Shisan immediately shut up, and didn't forget to raise his hand to cover Fu'er's mouth, manually silencing her.
"Your Highness."
Chief Steward Qing spoke up to remind him, fearing that His Highness might blurt out everything in his excitement.
Xiao Shu glanced at him, then continued to her, "Qingbo has already sent people to protect Lord Jiang, he won't die."
Yao Shisan turned around and glanced at Chief Steward Qing.
"Send people to protect you?"
Steward Qing nodded, "It's been sent. Please rest assured, Madam Yao."
*
People were fleeing everywhere in Yuzhou City.
The streets were filled with screams and shrieks.
The bandits started looting as soon as they entered the city.
They robbed people of money, goods, and women.
When the city's government troops and the mountain bandits clashed, the city's soldiers were quickly defeated.
Liu Minghan, as the prefect, was in charge of command.
How many people did the other side send?
"I estimate there are over a hundred people."
"There aren't many people, so lead a team to surround them."
This wasn't the first time the governor had encountered bandits, but this was only the second time they had entered the city.
"Lord Liu, you may not know this, but these mountain bandits are fearless and often win with fewer men. We don't have many people right now, so I'm afraid our chances of winning are slim!"
"I have already asked the surrounding county governments for assistance, especially Ding County, where there is a very experienced constable named Shi..."
"My lord, look!"
Before the governor could finish speaking, he was interrupted.
Everyone looked over.
Then a man wielding a long sword carved a bloody path through the enemy!
They managed to tear a gap in the attacking bandits, and the government troops swarmed in from behind.
There's actually a counter-pressure!
Liu Minghan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Zhou Congxian".
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