Aping hurriedly entered Jiang Qinyu's study, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in apology, and said, "I have failed in my duty and have not captured anyone. The Western Qiang reinforcements have arrived. Please leave immediately, Madam!"
"What's going on?" Jiang Qinyu suddenly stood up. "How many people from the Western Qiang have come? Did Liu Ruyi run away too? What about Wang Jinhua?"
Aping briefly explained what had happened in the mountains: "Wang Jinhua's death is not a pity, but the Western Qiang have sent over a thousand reinforcements, and there may be more to come. Madam can no longer stay in the village. Please make a decision as soon as possible."
Jiang Qinyu paced back and forth, frowning as she asked, "You saw over a thousand people?"
"Yes, if their reinforcements hadn't arrived at such a convenient time, I would have already brought back the Fifth Prince of Western Qiang and Liu Ruyi." Aping felt regretful, but he knew that the most important thing right now was to take Jiang Qinyu and Shufan Pan'er away safely.
Jiang Qinyu asked again, "You said you pressed Jiang Chengyou's acupoints, so how long will it take him to recover?"
“Twelve hours,” A-Ping confirmed.
His acupressure technique is a unique secret. Unless someone from his school is involved, Jiang Chengyou can only wait for the acupressure points to release themselves when the time comes.
Jiang Qinyu lifted her foot and walked out, "First, notify the village and tell everyone to get ready. We'll talk about the rest later."
Jiang Chengyou is currently unable to move or speak, so even if the Western Qiang reinforcements arrive, they won't be able to storm the village so quickly.
Aping quickly stood up. "I have already sent a message to Lord Wei by carrier pigeon, asking him to bring men to provide support."
“Madam, leave the village affairs to me!” Deputy General He appeared in the courtyard at some point and bowed to Jiang Qinyu.
He hasn't returned to the border town yet because Uncle Chen's message to them was to protect his wife's safety and not to return until he was sure she was safe.
Jiang Qinyu looked at him, thought for a moment, and then nodded, "Alright, I'll leave the village affairs to you. Once Lord Wei's men arrive, cooperate with them as much as possible."
"Don't worry, Madam. Most of the garrison troops in Yongshan County are from the border army. I know them all well," Deputy General He said calmly.
Jiang Qinyu felt much more at ease upon hearing this, and then strode out to personally go find Village Chief Li.
Upon hearing that the Western Qiang people were hiding in the Yunshan Mountains, Village Chief Li was so frightened that he almost fell off his chair. His face turned pale as he looked at Jiang Qinyu, "My dear niece, you must think of a way to help everyone!"
"Don't worry, Uncle Village Chief, Lord Wei will send people soon, and Deputy General He will also cooperate with Lord Wei to protect everyone's safety in the village," Jiang Qinyu said in a deep voice. Then, she changed the subject and said, "But the Western Qiang people don't take us seriously at all. How can we let them treat Yunshan like their backyard? Uncle Village Chief, are you willing to accept this? This is our home!"
The people of Dingshui Village have lived here for generations, but now the Western Qiang people have threatened their lives. She doesn't believe that the people of Dingshui Village will simply hide away out of fear.
Village Chief Li was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then his expression changed as he looked at Jiang Qinyu and said, "My dear niece, you've reminded me! What am I afraid of? We villagers aren't made of clay. Let them try to enter the village!"
He stood up, his whole body filled with fervor. "My dear niece, you go back first. I'll go and inform the villagers. We can't let them threaten us like this. We can hunt wild boars and tigers in the mountains. Are these Western Qiang people more terrifying than tigers?"
He was indeed a little frightened when he first heard the news, but his eldest niece was right—this was their home! Someone wanted to destroy his home; could he just stand by and let them succeed? Absolutely not!
As the voices faded into the distance, Village Chief Li had already run out.
Jiang Qinyu smiled. Although she had expected that Village Chief Li would not be someone who would easily admit defeat, she did not expect him to be so eager.
But that's fine too. As long as the villagers can stand on their own two feet, and with Wei Chengzong sending people to protect them, she doesn't have to worry about anything.
Jiang Qinyu paused after leaving Village Chief Li's house, then headed towards Granny Wang's house.
Tonight, Granny Wang and Wang Che did not go to town, but returned to their previous home.
Wang Che looked at Granny Wang with a complicated expression, "Mother, you really don't blame Lu Yanzheng's wife?"
Granny Wang was stunned and didn't even react when she heard the question.
She was still lost in her own thoughts, her mind filled with memories of Wang Bo from childhood to adulthood.
When Wang Bo was born, she was overjoyed to have given birth to a big, healthy boy. After her postpartum period, she spent her days proudly showing off her baby in the village.
Back then, some people in the village told her not to be too happy, because the child might grow up to be a spendthrift.
Later, when she saw the Lu family sending Lu Yanzheng to school, she also felt a surge of anger and sent her own son there. She kept telling Wang Bo that he must be better than Lu Yanzheng and not be outdone by others.
Wang Bo grew up amidst her constant nagging about "being better than others".
Later, both she and Wang Bo realized that Wang Bo was indeed inferior to Lu Yanzheng, whether in terms of intelligence, interpersonal skills, or physical strength.
Lu Yanzheng was able to go hunting in the mountains, and Wang Bo followed suit, but it took him more than half a year to catch one or two pheasants.
Later, they stubbornly refused to admit that Lu Yanzheng was better.
Then, the two of them were both conscripted and ended up in the same military camp.
When Granny Wang learned that Wang Bo was a deserter, she felt like the sky had fallen. At that time, everyone knew that Lu Yanzheng was a great general. She was extremely unwilling to admit it, but when she thought of those who died because their sons deserted, her conscience wouldn't let her go.
Afterwards, she became increasingly aware of the foolish things she had done in her youth, so much so that when she learned of Wang Bo's death, she didn't think much of it.
When Jiang Qinyu admitted to herself tonight that Wang Bo died at her hands, she was almost stunned. But then she thought that even if Jiang Qinyu hadn't accidentally killed him, her son wouldn't have survived after doing something like that.
But the thought that her son had been killed by Jiang Qinyu made her feel extremely distressed.
This feeling of distress is not one of resentment or desire for revenge; it is simply distress at not having properly educated my child, which led him to commit such a grave mistake.
"Mother, someone is knocking on the door. I'll go open it." Wang Che got up quickly upon hearing the knocking.
Granny Wang stared blankly at the doorway, and after a moment she saw Jiang Qinyu's face.
Jiang Qinyu didn't go inside. She stood at the front door, looking at the Wang family mother and son, and slowly said, "I came to tell you that Wang Jinhua has been killed by Liu Ruyi and the Fifth Prince of Xiqiang. Her body is on the mountain. Xiqiang has sent thousands of soldiers, and our people cannot help bring her body back."
She turned and left after she finished speaking, without any intention of saying anything more to them.
When Wang Che and Granny Wang heard this news, they both froze on the spot.
A moment later, a heart-wrenching wail came from Wang's courtyard.
Jiang Qinyu glanced back, then immediately turned and continued walking home.
The dead members of the Wang family don't deserve sympathy. I just hope that Granny Wang and the others can live a good life from now on and not cause any more trouble.
Back home, Jiang Qinyu asked Yunzhu to call Grandpa Lu and Qin Ziyi over.
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