Chapter 4
The morning sunlight filtered through the lush forest, casting soft dappled patterns on the thatched cottage nestled in the woods. A beautiful young woman slowly awoke to the chirping of birds.
When Yuan Qiong first woke up, she was a little dazed. She lay on the stone bed, staring blankly at the thatched roof, and it took her a long time to realize where she was.
Yes, this isn't the Prime Minister's residence, and she's not in her own courtyard either; she's been robbed by bandits.
She got out of bed, glancing with disgust at her filthy brocade robe. She coughed twice, a sharp pain shooting through her chest. After silently cursing those who had plotted against her countless times in her mind, she composed herself, clutching her chest as she opened the door.
"Sister, you're awake?"
Tan Xiaoque was drawing water from the well when she saw Yuan Qiong and greeted her with a smile. Yuan Qiong returned a pale smile and then turned her gaze to the kitchen where white smoke was rising.
"Are you hungry, sister? Sit there and wait a moment, dinner will be served soon."
Tan Xiaoque held onto the well rope with one hand and pointed to a low wooden stump not far from her with the other.
Yuan Qiong frowned, glanced at the wooden stool that barely reached her calves, hesitated for a moment, and then decided not to sit down.
"Little girl, what's your name?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Hehe, my name is Tan Xiaoque. 'Que' means sparrow, so you can just call me Xiaoque, sister~"
"Little Sparrow, do you have any clean clothes here?"
"Yes!" The little girl deftly carried the bucket of water to the large vat outside the kitchen and poured the water in with a splash.
"The boss bought a lot of pretty dresses for Sister Yuan. Wait a minute, I'll ask Sister Yuan to borrow one."
Yuan Qiong was stunned for a moment, then realized that this Sister Yuan must be the bandit leader's former sweetheart.
Tan Xiaoque put down the bucket and skipped into the kitchen. Then a little girl with a towel wrapped around her head, an apron around her waist, gauze wrapped around one arm, and a spatula in her other hand came out.
Yuan Qiong's lips curled up slightly. That bearded man had quite the eye for talent. This girl's outstanding appearance was rare even among the young ladies of the capital.
When Yuan Luo saw Yuan Qiong after leaving the kitchen, she was also stunned by her beauty. She had always thought she was beautiful enough, but she never expected that the girl the black-bearded man had just kidnapped would be even more beautiful than herself. No wonder the black-bearded man's attitude had suddenly changed.
It's not fair to say who is more beautiful between the two. Yuan Luo, as the female lead, is undeniably stunning. With peach blossom eyes, a delicate nose, cherry lips, and an oval face, she exudes gentle charm with light makeup and alluring allure with heavy makeup—a classic beauty with immense versatility. Yuan Qiong, on the other hand, possesses long, narrow, fox-like eyes, with delicate yet sharp features. As the eldest daughter of the Yuan family, she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, her status exuding nobility. Her privileged aura from a young age is enough to outshine countless others.
At first glance, judging from the initial impression alone, Yuan Luo is still lacking in some inexplicable aspects compared to Yuan Qiong.
Yuan Luo felt a sense of relief and began to believe what the bearded man had said.
She handed the spatula to Tan Xiaoque, took off her apron, and walked over with a smile: "Xiaoque said you don't have enough clothes to change into. I have a lot here, come and pick out a few."
"Thank you." Yuan Qiong's gaze unconsciously shifted to her bandaged arm. Yuan Luo covered it and smiled, without saying anything more.
After collecting her clothes and leaving her room, Yuan Qiong asked, "Is there a place to take a bath around here?"
"There's a stream in the woods not far away. I've been bathing there these past two days. I'll take you there when it gets warmer around noon, because the water is very cold right now."
"Okay, thank you." Yuan Qiong didn't rush to change her clothes, but decided to eat first and change after taking a shower.
Yuan Luo brought the food to the stone table in the courtyard. Yuan Qiong looked around but did not see Granny Tian, whom they had mentioned.
Tan Xiaoque noticed her question and smiled, "These days are the blooming season for longan grass. Its flowering period is very short, and it grows in very remote places, so Grandma has to go out very early every day to look for it and doesn't come back until very late."
Yuan Qiong nodded, seemingly unconcerned. She scooped a bowl of water from the vat, rinsed her mouth carefully, then sat down at the table, picked up her chopsticks, and with her sleeve behind her ear, picked up a piece of green vegetable and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly and deliberately. Her whole movement was elegant and refined. Not to mention the starving Tan Xiaoque, even Yuan Luo standing next to her felt instantly like a country bumpkin, and her eating became a bit more reserved.
While scooping up her rice, Tan Xiaoque asked, "Sister, your name is Wang Yao, right? Can I call you Sister Yao from now on?"
Yuan Qiong glanced at the vegetables that Tan Xiaoque had ruined, then picked up a pancake, nodded, and stopped touching the vegetables.
"Sister Yao, you must be from a wealthy family, right? Sister Yuan is too! And Sister Yuan can cook, and her cooking is delicious. Sister Yao, can you cook?"
Tan Xiaoque's words were barbed, but Yuan Qiong pretended not to hear them.
"Actually, whether it's you or Sister Yuan, marrying the Boss is like a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung."
Upon hearing the words "cow dung," Yuan Qiong instantly lost her appetite. But knowing that her body couldn't handle not eating, she took the flatbread back to her room and forced herself to eat it.
Yuan Luo watched her retreating figure, lost in thought.
Tan Xiaoque chuckled, and the bells on her feet jingled even more merrily, their tinkling sound irritating. Yuan Luo didn't dare get up and go back to her room like Yuan Qiong did; she could only chew on her pancake like it was wax, listening to Tan Xiaoque spouting nonsensical and divisive words.
At noon, the sun was shining warmly. Yuan Qiong and Yuan Luo headed towards the stream together.
"Are you a girl from the Yuan family? Which Yuan family?" Yuan Qiong asked.
"The Yuan family of Zhaojun."
Yuan Qiong searched her memory but found she had never heard of it. She figured it must be some minor, neglected branch of the family, so she stopped asking.
The two walked quietly for a while, then Yuan Luo suddenly asked, "Were you also robbed by that black-bearded man?"
"No, the chief is my savior."
Yuan Qiong smiled and said with genuine joy, "If it weren't for the Boss saving me, I might be dead by now, so I must repay him properly!"
"My savior?" Yuan Luo's expression was exactly the same as Lin Qiang's yesterday.
That ruthless bandit would actually save people?!
"The chief has a fierce appearance but a kind heart; he's the kindest person I've ever met."
Kindness? Are you sure we're talking about the same person? Yuan Luo didn't know how to express her feelings.
She couldn't help but say, "Miss Yao, do you know that Black Beard is a notorious bandit who kills without hesitation and commits countless evils? The local people are often harassed and harmed by him, and even I... was forcibly taken by him!"
Yuan Qiong shook her head in disagreement, her fox-like eyes crinkling with laughter: "Miss Yuan, you can't believe everything you hear. Even if the Big Boss had kidnapped you, look at you now, aren't you doing just fine?"
"That's because I fought desperately, and that bandit didn't succeed!"
"But in the days that followed, didn't the chief not come to cause trouble for Miss Yuan? Just like now, if Miss Yuan wanted to leave, there's no one watching to stop her from escaping, is there?"
Yuan Luo was speechless.
Escape? How can we escape? Running around in these deep mountains is even more dangerous, isn't it?
Yuan Luo thought Wang Yao must have lost her mind. Well, it's fine this way. She willingly married the bearded man, which will put her at ease and free her from any psychological burden.
But she still couldn't accept this person's idiotic remarks, and angrily walked away first, no longer walking side by side with Wang Yao.
Yuan Qiong followed behind her with a smile, pondering whether to deal with the girl as well in a few days. After all, she wasn't a member of the Yuan family's direct lineage; killing her was fine.
Meanwhile, Lin Qiang had spent the entire day taking stock of the village's assets. He discovered that, apart from the bag of gold leaves given to him by the group of men in black yesterday, which amounted to a huge sum, there was absolutely no surplus grain!
So these bandits are just living for the moment, not caring about tomorrow's fate? If they succeed in robbing someone, they'll have a good meal; if they fail, they'll steal the people's food; if all else fails, they'll go into the mountains to hunt a rabbit.
This style... is really bandit-like!
The rumors circulating down the mountain weren't entirely unfounded.
“ε(ο｀*))) Sigh…” Lin Qiang leaned back in the tiger-skin chair and sighed deeply, feeling that the road to garrisoning troops was long and arduous.
The fourth brother had just returned from playing dice with his brothers when he saw his eldest brother sighing deeply. He ran up to him eagerly and asked, "Big brother, what's wrong?"
"Fourth brother, are there any hills or valleys with a lot of soil in Black Wind Cliff? Or any relatively flat areas with a lot of soil?"
"Hehe, big brother, you're joking. Our Black Wind Cliff is notoriously steep and treacherous. How could there possibly be a flat area?"
"So how do we usually prepare our food?"
"Of course, it was all carried up by our brothers!"
"......."
As expected... I shouldn't have had any hope for these people. ε(ο｀*))) Sigh... I'm going bald.
"Oh, right."
"What?"
"Brother, you can go check out the back mountain. I remember once when I was chasing rabbits, we ran through a grove of trees and came to a really remote valley. There's lots of grass there. If you're interested, I can take you there, but it's a bit far from here, and I don't know if any wild beasts roam around there..."
Black Wind Cliff covers a vast area, while Black Cloud Village is only located in a small corner. The deepest parts of the mountains are often the most dangerous, so these bandits dare not easily venture into many unknown places.
"It's alright. Grab your weapons, call a few more brothers, and let's go take a look."
To station troops, food supplies must first be prepared. Ideally, the mountain area should be able to ensure their self-sufficiency. If not, other methods must be considered.
Carrying grain up the mountain on foot is absolutely out of the question! It seems we need to install some simple equipment in the village.
But... he weighed the gold leaf in his hand and realized how incredibly poor he was.
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