When Widow Dong saw Li Xiaoxiao, she hurriedly pulled her aside, saying, "Madam Li, I have something to tell you. Let's find a quiet place." As she finished speaking, tears streamed down her face as she wiped them away with her sleeve.
“That day, bandits stationed in the mountains dozens of miles from Yunli Village came to Xinghua Village. I don’t know how they ended up in my house. Poor me, a widow and her daughter, my Cuihua was kidnapped. They said they would make her their sixth concubine. Master, please have mercy and help my Cuihua. I was planning to marry her off to a scholar’s family. How can I let those bandits get away with this?”
Widow Dong cried and pleaded, and Li Xiaoxiao listened helplessly. The bandits had their eyes on Widow Dong because they knew that there were no men left in her family. It was said that the bandits had more than a hundred men stationed there and had always been a malignant tumor in Yunli County. Even the county magistrate had no way to deal with them.
“Madam Dong, there are over a hundred people stationed on this mountain. I am willing but powerless to help. Why not report it to the authorities?” Li Xiaoxiao carefully wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.
Upon hearing this, Widow Dong collapsed to the ground, wailing, "What can we do? Can the government do anything about it? Last time, the Chen family's daughter who sold clothes was dragged in and hasn't come out yet."
After pondering for a moment, Li Xiaoxiao finally decided to accept the commission.
"Madam Dong, don't say a word after you go back. I will help you, but you need to deliver a gift. Send a jar of fine wine called 'Daughter's Red.' There's something in this wine. Remember to keep a happy expression so no one can tell anything."
Widow Dong immediately stopped crying, stood up from the ground, and watched her leave intently. She saw Li Xiaoxiao bring out a large jar of wine from her home. Just by smelling it, she could smell the aroma of the wine. She had never smelled such a mellow fragrance before.
Li Xiaoxiao ignored her dazed state and handed the wine to Widow Dong. Widow Dong hugged the wine and said, "You say that, sir. This is a wine that I have treasured for many years. It has been passed down from my ancestors for more than a hundred years. It is comparable to the nectar of the palace. Originally, this wine had a beautiful name, called Immortal Phoenix, but now, for my daughter's marriage, it only has one name: Daughter's Red."
“Yes, this old servant obeys.” After Widow Dong said this inexplicably, Li Xiaoxiao replied with a smile, “Go then.” She then carried the wine and walked home step by step.
Li Xiaoxiao smiled as she watched her leave. Bai Yi came out from behind and asked inexplicably, "Master, Madam Dong only signed a labor contract and is not a real servant. Why does she call herself an old servant?"
"Little Baiyi, think about the difference between outsiders and insiders." After Li Xiaoxiao finished speaking, she took out the handkerchief she had just used to wipe Widow Dong's face and was about to wash it when Baiyi blinked and took the handkerchief from Li Xiaoxiao's hand.
"Master, I'll do it for you." Bai Yi took the basin and walked towards it. Li Xiaoxiao's eyes flashed. Bai Yi was indeed a smart child; she understood immediately.
She went back to prepare other ingredients. Tonight's meal was the usual braised pork and stir-fried vegetables. She had planted some vegetables on the hill behind her house, and Steward Hu had been taking care of them.
The two wolves sometimes come back and sometimes they don't. Behind them is a small mountain, and behind that is a series of rolling mountains that connect to Yunli County. The bandits are in these mountains. We need to find a map and scout ahead before we can take action.
Li Xiaoxiao was still making all sorts of plans when Qi Yu came out of the room, witnessed everything, walked to her side, looked at her with a questioning expression, but ultimately said nothing.
After explaining the arrangements for the evening to Manager Hu, she left home with two pancakes, changed into a clean and crisp black outfit, and watched Li Xiaoxiao leave, her fists clenched.
After leaving home, she ventured alone into the mountains and forests. She hadn't felt so free in a long time, and her body was exceptionally joyful. She jumped and leaped, and the large insects in the forest fled in a frenzy as if they had seen a ghost. Little did they know that her bad reputation was notorious in the deep forest. Whenever she took a fancy to someone, she would take that prey away, and even these wild beasts were terrified of her.
As soon as she entered the forest, the animals started to make a ruckus. There were birds chirping, insects buzzing, and small animals squeaking and scurrying about. Li Xiaoxiao had no mood to chase after them today, and soon headed towards Yunli County.
Using his past life's chasing skills, he finally found the outskirts of the bandits' lair after an hour.
There were a few hooligans guarding the area, one of whom was actually Tao Biao? Wasn't that guy beaten to a pulp last time?
Could it be about Widow Dong?
Just as Li Xiaoxiao was beginning to have doubts, Tao Biao kept complaining, "The boss is really something. He said it was the left side, but he insisted on saying he had been to Xinghua Village. In the end, he went to Widow Dong's house, not only did he go to the wrong place, but he also took a fancy to her unmarried daughter. He promised to help me get revenge, but he didn't. He just came back and was busy getting married."
"In the end, it was just a bunch of brothers having a good time. I don't know when it will be my turn. I've already said that Lady Li is prettier." Another guard next to him was calmly brandishing his gun.
"Come on, even if you were the one who went to deliver the message, you've only been here for two months, how could it be your turn? I should be next. There are more than a dozen women in this mountain stronghold, that's not enough."
Li Xiaoxiao felt nauseous as she listened. The man continued, "At least tonight it has to be the boss's wife. You'd better not think too much about it." Ignoring the need to gather more information, Li Xiaoxiao darted away from behind Tao Biao and headed straight for the largest building.
Tao Biao sensed something was wrong and shouted, but Pan Sanfa beside him continued brandishing his musket, "You must have misheard me. It's almost midnight, how could there be anyone? Who would dare to break into our mountain stronghold?"
"But I heard someone." Tao Biao looked around, but the surrounding trees remained motionless and made no further sound. Tao Biao shook his head, guessing that it was probably some wild rabbit or something that had wandered into the area at night.
The imperial court doesn't have enough troops to deal with this matter right now. Xinghua Village is experiencing a rare and unusual disaster. No one knows why, but countless hard-shelled things and two strange large pincers have suddenly appeared, occupying the ponds and even climbing into the fields to damage the crops. This year's taxes will not be paid.
Li Xiaoxiao crawled to the back of the base camp, jumped onto the roof, and heard a strange sound. It turned out that there were two women in the room, while Chen Cuihua, the protagonist of the night, was tied up and watching the whole thing.
“Cuihua, look at Chen Xueqing. She shares the same surname as you, Chen, and she learned how to please her husband on her very first day. But you are so dull. You should learn from her. I don’t like a block of wood.”
Li Xiaoxiao wanted to cover her ears. Damn beast.
But he had already memorized the location, and since it was nighttime and there were many people around, he lifted the roof tiles and pierced a tiny needle directly into the neck of the man who was laughing happily inside.
The man suddenly stopped, feeling a bit strange. "What is that? A mosquito?" But he was surprised to find that something was not quite right. He tried a few more times, with the two women beside him. Late at night, he finally couldn't continue and had to cover himself with the blanket and go to sleep.
Li Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief; at least Chen Cuihua's innocence was preserved.
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