Chapter 71 Your Man
Yao Shisan hugged his daughter and took several steps back.
Her lips trembled. "Brother, all we seek by becoming outlaws is wealth. I've already said I'm willing to pay the toll..."
Yao Zhengliang had by then reverted to his bandit ways, twirling a half-length knife in his hand.
The third leader grinned wickedly and said, "In this cemetery, whether we need people or money, our eldest brother has the final say!"
Ningzhou and Hezhou did send troops to suppress the bandits, but under Yao Zhengliang's command, they never managed to break through.
They're all a bunch of good-for-nothings.
The third leader always felt that this woman dressed as a man looked somewhat familiar.
He suddenly remembered the painting that the chief had kept in his room.
"The Boss! It's her!—"
Yao Zhengliang ignored him and said, "What are you yelling for? Lock him up."
The more I look at the third leader, the more he seems to resemble him!
He gestured towards the direction of the chief's bedroom, then pointed to Yao Shisan.
He stammered incoherently, "Isn't this just something God sent into the hands of the boss—"
"Thump!"
The third leader was kicked and flew out of the door.
Laughter erupted outside.
He immediately got up and kicked the two nearest henchmen to the ground.
"What are you laughing at! Didn't you hear what the boss said?! Lock him up right now!"
Yao Shisan and Shuang'er were separated and locked in two different rooms.
In the innermost room of the village, which felt more like a home, a young woman with a protruding belly was doing needlework in the corner, with two timid-looking children beside her.
In the very center, a middle-aged man with a fierce expression and a thick beard is eating a roast chicken.
"You brought in two women?"
"Yes, I heard it clearly!"
The informant didn't go down the mountain with him; he saw him halfway down the mountain path.
Now, whether they're robbing people or stealing goods, they're all working for the head of the gang. The second-in-command has lost control of Panyi Mountain over the years.
You should know that Panyi Mountain Stronghold was established single-handedly by the second-in-command.
Since Yao Zhengliang came to the mountain, he has pulled the second-in-command down from his original position as the leader in several competitions.
Why would a bunch of perfectly good bandits bother with land reclamation and farming?
However, they did have some foresight. There are hardly any people left in Panyishan now. If they don't grow something themselves, the hundreds of people in the village will starve to death.
The second-in-command threw down the roast chicken in his hand, "He, Yao Zhengliang, wants to be a gentleman, but I'm not!"
"Go see where those two women are locked up."
"yes!"
After the informant left, the woman sitting in the corner glanced at the second-in-command before slowly putting down her needlework, getting up, and pulling her two children to go out.
"Where to?"
The second-in-command didn't even look up, but the young woman trembled in fright.
"The clothes outside are dry..."
"Don't think that just because Yao Zhengliang is backing you up, I won't dare to hit you."
The second-in-command threw down his chopsticks and said, "If you can't have a son this time, I'll give you to those hundreds of brothers to have a taste."
The young woman's face paled.
She clutched the hem of her skirt, her fingertips turning white, lowered her head without saying a word, and took her child out the door.
As soon as she stepped outside, she saw a large number of people standing in the middle of the village.
They must have been watching the people who were arrested.
Just like her.
Another person with a tragic fate.
*
The setting sun cast its golden rays upon the city walls.
Wei Xun and three Shadow Guards stood far away in the woods, their faces weathered.
They galloped at breakneck speed, and six horses died from exhaustion.
"According to the message sent by carrier pigeon, the King's carriage has been loaded and he will probably leave early tomorrow morning."
"We must act separately. We must investigate the official residence, the governor's mansion, and the prefect's mansion tonight, and we must be careful not to alert them."
As night fell, several dark figures silently swept past.
The officers and soldiers changing shifts at the city gate were completely unaware.
Wei Xun ducked to avoid the patrolling guards.
King Cheng was not as gentle and harmless as he appeared. The carriages and attendants accompanying him when he went to his fiefdom were all arranged by Zhou Congxian. These guards were clearly not selected from the Yan Guard Camp.
Upon leaving the capital, he was replaced by one of King Cheng's own men.
A motorcade was neatly parked outside the mansion, with an extremely spacious and luxurious carriage sandwiched in the middle.
After glancing around, he exchanged a glance with another shadow guard and quickly slipped into the mansion.
Wei Xun only realized how tight the King Cheng's control was after he entered the guesthouse!
Guards were stationed at fixed locations on the rooftops, and guards were constantly walking by on the ground.
They could only stick close to the wall and use the cover of the shadows to pass quickly.
The guesthouse was quiet, as if everyone had fallen asleep.
The two sneaked into King Cheng's house.
Upon entering, the two smelled a faint odor of blood.
People have died here.
The two exchanged a quick glance; Tang Qifeng's death was probably related to Prince Cheng.
There was a box in the corner.
Just as Wei Xun was about to make a move, he was stopped by another Shadow Guard.
He slowly drew his dagger and approached.
Upon opening the box, they discovered it was full of secret letters!
He randomly opened one of the letters and found it to be a correspondence between Grand Secretary Chen and Tang Qifeng!
The two opened their cloth bags, emptied out all the letters, and tied them to their bodies.
Having made a significant discovery, the two immediately left the inn.
Watching the two figures leave.
Wen Xi turned around from the shadows and said, "Your Highness was right after all."
"Such a great favor has been given to Prince Zhou. I wonder how he will repay it in the future."
King Cheng walked out from behind her with his hands behind his back.
His voice was indifferent, "Is the debt between me and Prince Zhou still clear?"
Wenxi turned around and couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, are you really not going to save Lady Yao...?"
Xiao Shu glanced at her, his voice completely flat.
"You have overstepped your bounds."
With just four simple words, Wenxi's face turned pale, and she immediately knelt down.
"Please punish me, Your Highness."
Xiao Shu didn't even glance at it, and turned to leave without saying a word.
Wen Xi, kneeling on the spot, dared not move an inch.
Wei Xun, who had just left the inn, suddenly stopped and looked back.
The Shadow Guard who was with him looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"
Wei Xun shook his head. "King Cheng anticipated that we would come."
"Everything from the guesthouse has already been loaded onto the truck, but this important item is left behind for us to retrieve."
"You think this thing is all fake?"
He shook his head. "No, it's all true. It's a favor that Prince Cheng did for the Crown Prince."
*
The moon in the image is very round.
Yao Shisan and Fu'er were locked in an empty room.
She found a hole in the wall and saw Shuang'er next to her.
She kept recalling the two names the bandit had mentioned during the day.
Meng Qinglian, Yao Zhengliang.
Meng...
A thought struck her.
Could it be related to that old General Meng?
Thirty-eight years old, could she be that daughter who ran away from her arranged marriage and disappeared?
But why did he ask her if she knew Meng Qinglian...?
Suddenly, the reaction of the two bandits flashed through her mind.
She reached up and touched her face.
Could it be that she looks somewhat similar to Meng Qinglian?
Fu'er was already asleep, placed on the haystack.
She reached out and gently brushed her daughter's hair aside.
Since the bandit leader didn't kill her, he didn't ask her for a ransom.
They still have a glimmer of hope.
The breakthrough might lie with Meng Qinglian.
Since it looks like it.
Why can't Meng Qinglian be her mother!
Just then, the sound of a lock being opened came from the doorway.
Yao Shisan instantly became alert.
The door creaked open, and moonlight spilled onto the floor.
A man with a thick beard walked in.
She had never seen it before.
The second-in-command looked at the woman dressed in men's clothing, yet with fair skin, delicate features, and a satisfied smile on his face.
"I knew it! How could that son of a bitch surnamed Yao not want women? Turns out he wanted to pick the best ones."
Yao Shisan shielded his daughter behind him, shouting, "Who...who are you?!"
The second-in-command took off his outer garment and shouted, "Who am I? I'm your man tonight!"
He opened his arms and was about to pounce!
She pulled out the hairpin that was holding her hair in place and stabbed the second-in-command in the stomach.
Her long hair fell loose, and there was a fierce determination in her eyes, a determination to live even in the face of death.
She quickly got up and stabbed at his neck again.
Caught off guard, the second-in-command was stabbed in the stomach and cried out in pain, taking two steps back.
"Damn it!"
He touched his stomach, then looked up and saw that she still wanted to stab him again.
He grabbed her hand, twisted it violently, and broke her wrist!
"ah!--"
Her screams woke up the other bandits in the village.
The second-in-command was the first to arrive.
"You son of a bitch! What are you doing! These are Brother Yao's men!"
Ma Bazi turned his head to look at the second-in-command at the door, his eyes full of hostility. "Maozi, you used to call me Brother Ma, but after you followed that Yao guy, you don't even call me Brother Ma anymore."
The Russians knew that Ma Bazi had never been convinced of his superiority since he became the second-in-command.
Unfortunately, he couldn't beat Yao Zhengliang.
Even when he led a dozen or so brothers in a sneak attack, they failed.
Instead, Yao Zhengliang beat him so badly that he couldn't get out of bed for six months, and his manhood was almost ruined.
"Brother Ma, we're all brothers, let's talk this out!"
"They're all brothers?"
Ma Bazi's eyes swept over the brothers watching the commotion at the door.
"Don't you all forget, I'm the one who built Panyi Mountain Stronghold!"
"How many of you were living the high life with me back then? Look at the state you're living now!"
When Panyi Mountain Village was in the hands of Ma Bazi, it was notorious.
His men were all thugs who robbed and plundered.
They lack real skills and merely bully unarmed civilians by relying on their numbers.
When the bandit stronghold was wiped out by government troops and only thirty or forty people remained, Yao Zhengliang went up the mountain. He led twenty men and kept a group of government troops, who were originally on the verge of victory, in the mountains for more than twenty days.
The final counterattack was a resounding victory!
Only then did Maozi truly admire Yao Zhenglian.
Because he was convinced, he specifically instructed that no one was allowed to touch the woman after he discovered that she resembled the person in the portrait.
However, no one expected that Ma Bazi would have lustful thoughts.
"Brother Ma, the boss hasn't interfered in your and Second Sister-in-law's affairs. She's the boss's woman, so don't touch her."
Ma Bazi grabbed Yao Shisan's chin, his eyes filled with lust.
"I'm going to make my move!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
