Ye Shang followed Ye Quan to cover the rear, and they were terrified by the bravery and skill of the Longtan soldiers and the Yun family troops.
Fortunately, the old man had a discerning eye; Longtan was truly an entity that the Ye family could not afford to offend.
The old man had a keen eye, and Ye Shang wasn't stupid either.
The people of Longtan are not bound by blood ties, yet they can still stick together as a group.
In just a few years, it has established a firm foothold in Longtan and has been able to grow and develop rapidly.
The decision-makers in Longtan dared to allocate large tracts of abandoned fertile land to the people who came to seek refuge.
Modify various farming tools and improve crop cultivation techniques to increase yields.
Furthermore, given their already meager resources, they implemented a two-year tax exemption, allowing the people under Longtan's jurisdiction to completely solve their basic needs for food and clothing.
They dared to negotiate with the imperial court and implement a salt tax law; their audacity was extraordinary!
However, as it turns out, Longtan's series of actions quickly won over the hearts and minds of the people.
Even the people under their city's jurisdiction praised the Lord of Longtan City highly.
Therefore, when he learned that the bandits had attacked Nanzhou Prefecture and Longtan had sent troops to support them, his father would not hesitate to mobilize manpower to participate in killing the bandits.
The Yu family was shrouded in gloom. After two days of fighting, the guards and clansmen suffered heavy casualties.
Without outside help, the Yu family might not be able to hold on.
So where should we find outside help?
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
Yu Shida was thousands of miles away and couldn't possibly come back to save them.
Currently, all the main forces of the bandits are attacking the Yun family.
With the Yun family ruined, the Yu family will be next.
The atmosphere in the Yu family was very somber. Several braziers were lit in the living room for warmth, and everyone lay on the floor fully clothed. Apart from the sound of breathing, no one spoke in the room.
Everyone was secretly praying for themselves.
After an unknown amount of time, the crowd heard screams coming from the street. They were already used to it and simply listened quietly.
After a long while, one of the guards noticed something amiss.
"It looks like someone is killing bandits!"
Those who weren't asleep scoffed, saying that everyone was struggling to survive these days, so who would have the ability to do so?
The guard felt something was wrong as he listened, so he got up and climbed over the wall to check.
Many mysterious figures dressed in black armor appeared out of nowhere on the street, wielding swords and chasing after the fleeing bandits.
He witnessed firsthand the bandit leader who had led the attack on the Yu family in the past two days being slain by a mysterious man in armor.
The mysterious man sheathed his sword and looked in his direction, startling the guard so much that he almost fell off the ladder.
Once he had regained his footing, the mysterious man killed two more bandits in quick succession.
One of the bandits slammed his head against their outer wall with a thud.
Looking at the head with its eyes wide open in death, the guard's heart pounded, and he stared outside again in disbelief.
They're saved!
Outside, a mysterious figure clad in armor is slaying bandits.
The guard quickly descended the ladder and rushed to Yu Xunmei's side.
"Reporting to the young lady, there really are people killing bandits outside. I saw it clearly."
Yu Xunmei threw off the blanket covering her and climbed the ladder in two steps.
Just as the guard said, a group of soldiers in black armor came down the street.
Could it be him coming back?
Realizing this possibility, Yu Xunmei hurriedly climbed down the ladder.
"Quickly gather everyone, open the gates, go out and fight alongside them, drive the bandits out of Nanzhou Prefecture!"
Just as the door was opened, five or six bandits, driven in a panic, tried to rush into the Yu family home with knives in hand. Yu Xunmei and her men fought back fiercely.
Just as the two sides were about to clash, a small squad of armored soldiers appeared from a distance.
They quickly moved forward, surrounded the bandits, and then killed them one by one, their methods clean and efficient, without any hesitation.
He is not one of Yu Shida's people!
Yu Xunmei could tell at a glance that she was somewhat disappointed.
From behind the crowd, a man in black stepped forward, removed his mask, and smiled at her.
"Miss Yu, we meet again!"
"It's you?!"
Yu Xunmei was shocked; she hadn't expected that he was from Longtan.
"What? Don't you want us to come and rescue you?" Yun Er sneered.
Seeing that Yu Xunmei was being tactless and fearing that she would offend someone, the Yu family elders quickly stepped forward to bow.
"On behalf of the Yu family, I thank you, young hero, for saving our lives!"
"The bandits have fled, so you should still be on guard."
After finishing speaking, Yun Er waved and led his team away without lingering.
Curious, a member of the Yu family stepped forward and asked, "Does the young lady recognize this person?"
Yu Xunmei's face turned pale, and anger surged in her eyes. She squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.
"They are from Longtan, and they are in cahoots with Yun Zhenchuan."
The deputy general was relieved; they had come to rescue Yun Zhenchuan, which meant the entire Nanzhou Prefecture was saved.
He immediately ordered his men to begin clearing away the corpses of the bandits surrounding the Yu residence.
Yun Er led his men to search for the bandits hiding in the city's slums. Looking at the reddish-brown soil on the ground, he curled his lip in disgust.
He stomped the mud off his feet; these were new shoes Ah Ying had made for him, and he couldn't let them get dirty.
A guard rushed in to report.
"Brother Yun, two corpses of people from Linjia Village have been found in a house."
"Who are the people from Linjia Village?"
Yun Er doesn't remember anyone from Linjia Village who remained in Nanzhou Prefecture.
They followed their men to a dilapidated courtyard to investigate. There lay two corpses, a man and a woman, who appeared to be a mother and son. The woman had gray hair and a face full of wrinkles, while the man was emaciated.
They had been dead for more than three days. Their abdomens were swollen, and their exposed skin had developed putrefied green spots, emitting a strong, foul odor.
Yun Er covered his nose with a handkerchief and carefully examined it.
"So it was them?"
The guard asked, "Who is it?"
"Don't worry about them for now, send someone to the Yu family to inform them."
Yun Er didn't look at the two men again, led his guards out of the courtyard, whispered a few words in their ear, and then turned and left.
Those who commit many evil deeds will eventually face retribution.
Yu Qiutao rubbed her stiff knees and returned to the backyard.
The old lady died, and she had to spend several hours each day keeping vigil before her coffin.
Yu Qiutao sat down and took the hot water handed to her by the maid. She had just taken a sip when she heard a servant come looking for her outside the door.
"Aunt Tao, the eldest young lady is looking for you. She wants you to go to the front yard."
Yu Qiutao forced a smile and said in a gentle voice, "Okay, I'll go right away."
She put down her water glass and followed the servant to the front yard.
In the front courtyard reception room, Yu Xunmei, leaning back in her chair, glanced at her sideways and said leisurely, "The Yun family sent a message that your mother and your eldest brother were killed by bandits. Do you want to go and collect their bodies?"
Yu Qiutao was so shocked that she felt as if she had been electrocuted. Her eyes widened, her mind went blank, and then her lips began to tremble and her hands shook uncontrollably.
When the bandits came, she did think about the safety of her mother and elder brother, but she always held onto a sliver of hope that the bandits wouldn't be going to their remote and simple place. In the end, something still happened.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
