Bai Zhiyue pressed the button to respond.
"We originally came out to play and hunt, but were trapped in the village over there by the heavy snow. We had some food and fodder with us, so we could barely survive. We were thinking of waiting for someone from the mansion to come and pick us up.
Unexpectedly, we were attacked by a pack of wolves last night. My son and I, along with the palace guards, fled here overnight. Please give us a place to rest and help us find the way. I will definitely reward you handsomely!
Although his subordinates didn't know why Lord Rongfu changed his story, they would not speak rashly.
Qinglian and Hongying saw that their master did not trust these people, so they moved closer and held the knives tighter in their hands.
The guard saw that the hostess in front was carrying a little child, and it looked like they were out for fun.
The group behind them were obviously the palace guards. There were things on dozens of horses, which must be food and property. Not to mention anything else, just these dozens of horses were enough to make people jealous.
He rolled his eyes and said,
"Wait a moment, I'll go tell them and see if they agree to let you in!"
"Okay, please excuse me, young man!"
"Mom, this village must have been taken over by bandits!"
"Well, after we go in, we'll find out how many people there are and then deal with them!"
Turning around, he whispered to Qinglian and the others
"These people don't look like villagers. They don't dress like villagers, and they don't act like villagers. They are very likely to be dangerous. Once you go in, don't reveal your identities. Follow my instructions!"
"yes"
After a while, the guard brought out an elder who looked very smiling. Behind him followed a group of strong men.
"I'm sorry, madam, you're frightened. I'm Wu Datong, the head of this village. No wonder we heard wolves howling all night long last night. It turns out that Wangjia Village has suffered a disaster. We are also afraid that wild animals will enter the village, so we have people patrolling at all times, which has blocked your way.
Come in, we've found some repairable houses these days and renovated them, so we have a place to stay. You must be very tired after walking all day, so come with me. There are two houses over there that can accommodate you."
The man who called himself Wu Datong was very enthusiastic and asked the men behind him to come forward to take the horses.
"Send these horses to the village drying yard to feed them. Don't worry, we still have fodder here."
Everyone stopped the people leading the horses. It was obvious that those people were strong and powerful, and they were almost unstoppable. It seemed that they had some skills.
"Thank you, Wu Lizheng. We have horse feed with us, so we won't bother you any more! I wonder how to get back to the Imperial City from here? You should be very familiar with this place, so please help us find the way!"
As he spoke, he took a bag of silver from Qinglian and handed it to Wu Datong.
"This money is my small token of gratitude!"
Wu Datong felt the weight of the silver, which was about thirty taels, but he showed no expression of satisfaction or dissatisfaction at all, and just pushed it back.
"I just wanted to borrow a place to rest and show you the way. There's no need to thank me. This is what I should do. Everyone has to suffer!"
While pushing it back, he talked about the situation in the village.
"The houses in our village are relatively sturdy, but many have been damaged. A few have been repaired in the last few days despite the severe cold, so we still have some shelter. But most villagers, fearing danger, have gathered near my home.
I've arranged for people to guard the place day and night, to protect it from both wild animals and bad guys. Everyone's very supportive, but the way out is blocked and the food is consumed too quickly."
Oh, if you don’t stare at the horses and the bags they carry, you can relate to them more.
"It's all thanks to Wu Lizheng's good management, otherwise some families would have gone hungry. It's the same in Wangjia Village. Everyone is gathered together and eats together, which gives those who don't have much food stored or whose food reserves have been destroyed a way to survive.
As long as people are alive, there is hope for the village. Wu Lizheng is a good person. When I return to the mansion, I will send someone back to bring more food."
Wu Datong didn't want to hear her nice words. He and his men couldn't stay in this village for long. If they waited for her to go back and send it back, who knew when it would take. The government officials might even come to pursue them.
After all, the people in this village were almost killed and robbed by them.
He wanted to ask for her food and horses openly, but after all, she was accompanied by dozens of palace guards, and he was afraid he would not be able to rob them directly.
Bai Zhiyue won't give
Wu Datong sent the people to the two houses farthest from his residence.
"I have no choice but to ask Madam to live here!"
“Thank you very much!”
"I'll send some food over later. It'll take a long time if you cook it now. There's some ready-made food over there, so you can rest for a while!"
"That's not good. You don't have enough to eat. How about this? I'll give you a bag of food in exchange!"
"Okay, ma'am, you are so considerate."
After Wu Datong took his men away, Bai Zhiyue clearly felt that someone was watching their yard.
"Everyone, take out some dry food and dried meat and eat them first. Don't eat the food they will send later. These people are good at fighting, and they smell of blood. They are definitely not ordinary villagers."
"Madam, I remember there was a bandit group in the mountains not far from here. They were hidden deep in the mountains, so they weren't wiped out. Could they be taking advantage of the heavy snow to rob us? We have more people, so why don't we fight our way out!"
The head of the palace guard, Sun Yuan, also saw the problem with this group of people.
"We don't know how many people there are in total, and they are holding villagers hostage. If we fight directly, we're afraid they will use the villagers to blackmail us.
After the food is delivered, watch my expression. If there is medicine, pretend to faint. Then some people will kill the guards outside and rescue the hostages, and the rest will wait for them to come to the door."
"Madam is right. We will follow your orders."
At this time, Wu Datong was also discussing with his subordinates
"These guys are fat, but they're not easy to take down. What do you think?"
"We'll give them some knockout drugs and knock them all out. Kill all the men and take a few women away to the village. Judging from their attire, they must have a lot of valuables. If we rob them, it will be enough for us to eat and use for a long time. In this heavy snow, no one will come to rescue them. By the time they find us, they will have already gone back."
"But this woman might be the wife of an official, and she might have a child. If they report us to the authorities, they will definitely wipe us out."
"How about we lure some wild animals over before we leave? We can kill everyone there and create a scene of a wild animal attack. It won't look like we were the ones who ate everyone, and we won't have any trouble that way."
"I think this is a good idea. After all, it's a fact that Wangjiazhuang was attacked by wolves. It's not surprising that something like this happened here."
"Then leave no one behind and kill them all!"
"Brother, you're decisive. If nothing else, those dozens of horses alone can fetch a lot of silver. I saw a BMW worth two thousand taels of silver."
"Wow, seriously, I'm rich! A horse is worth two thousand taels!"
"Even if it's worth it, you can't sell it. If you dare to sell it, you'll be arrested immediately!"
"That's not easy to do. We can just wait a few months and take it to another provincial capital to sell it. As long as we don't sell it in the imperial city, no one will know!"
"Alright, let's do it this way. Get everyone ready. Once the drug takes effect, kill them immediately. Don't leave any villagers alive. Sprinkle the beast-attracting powder on them, grab your things, and leave immediately."
"Yes, I'll listen to you, big brother!"
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