If you offend an ordinary person, it might not be a big deal. But offending bandits is a serious problem.
Zhen Xiaoyu rushed in a hurry to find Old Master Zhen and expressed her concern about the possible revenge from the bandits.
Old Master Zhen didn't dare to be careless. After all, it involved the safety of his precious granddaughter. He immediately made an arrangement. "Early tomorrow morning, I'll send someone to escort you to Zou City. No matter how powerful the bandits are, they won't dare to act recklessly there."
"Grandpa, aren't you going with us?"
Old Master Zhen reached out and gently stroked her head. "Grandpa has to go find your father first. Even if all I find is his remains... I have to know the result."
Zhen Xiaoyu looked up and saw the solemnity and worry in the old man's eyes. She comforted him, "Grandpa, my intuition is very accurate. You have to trust me. Dad must be okay."
The old man forced a smile but changed the topic. "There's a house and a wine shop in Zou City. They both belong to your father. But now they're managed by your uncle. You can go there and stay for a while. I'll come back to pick you up later."
Zhen Xiaoyu had no objection to this arrangement. She told A Hua to pack their luggage and then went to find A Man by herself.
"A Man, we're leaving for Zou City early tomorrow morning. Get ready."
Hearing the name Zou City, Zhao Zongying was a bit stunned. He had thought of countless ways to contact his subordinates before, but he never expected that Zhen Xiaoyu would suddenly come and tell him that she was going to take him to Zou City.
That was his territory!
"What are we going to do in Zou City?" His eyes peeked out from under his messy bangs, secretly sizing up Zhen Xiaoyu's expression.
"Of course, it's to find a better doctor to treat your injuries. And by the way, I'll inspect our family's business."
To Zhao Zongying, what she said sounded like: She just wanted to inspect the family business.
In his eyes, Zhen Xiaoyu was just a miser who was only concerned about keeping the family fortune. She wanted to find him as a son - in - law because she thought he had no background and was easy to control.
Humph! Since she cared so much about the family fortune, when they got to Zou City, he would make her experience what it meant to go bankrupt!
...
Early the next morning, when it was still dim, two carriages left the most luxurious Zhen Mansion in the village and headed straight out of the village. They went their separate ways at the village entrance.
In one of the carriages, Zhen Xiaoyu was yawning constantly. A Hua was sitting next to her, while the injured A Man was lying on the soft couch at the innermost part.
The carriage was swaying forward.
Zhen Xiaoyu was so sleepy in this swaying that her eyes were almost closing.
Suddenly, the carriage stopped abruptly.
"Gentlemen, what's this about?" Uncle Jiaxing, the coachman, asked from the front.
Zhen Xiaoyu woke up instantly. She lifted the curtain next to her and looked out. She found that the carriage was surrounded by a group of people on horseback.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Did they run into the bandits so soon?
Although she put down the curtain in time, the people outside still saw clearly what was inside the carriage: an ugly man with a scarred face, a fat girl, and a strong maid.
"May I ask if Jinglye Village is in this direction?" A rough voice sounded beside the carriage window.
"Yes. Jinglye Village is near our village. You take this road too." Uncle Jiaxing replied.
Zhen Xiaoyu felt a little more at ease. This Uncle Jiaxing was really an experienced person. No wonder the old master sent him to escort her.
"Is there anyone with the surname Zhen in Jinglye Village?" The rough voice asked again.
"Most people in Jinglye Village have the surname Zhen. My younger sister married into Jinglye Village, so I'm quite familiar with the place. If you're looking for someone, you can ask me." Uncle Jiaxing said cheerfully.
"Is there a girl named Zhen Xiaoyu?" A young and magnetic voice came from the front.
Zhen Xiaoyu and A Hua looked at each other and didn't dare to say a word.
If these people weren't from that mountain stronghold, she would twist her head off and use it as a ball!
She didn't expect them to show up so early. Fortunately, she reacted faster. Otherwise, she would have been blocked at the door today.
Uncle Jiaxing didn't answer immediately. He looked at the group of people warily. "What do you want with her? If you have bad intentions, I won't tell you. If I offend Old Master Zhen, he'll take back the rented farmland from my family."
"If you tell us now, no one will know it was you." The rough voice said.
"Second brother, let me handle it." The young and magnetic voice sounded again. "Don't worry. Xiaoyu is actually my long - lost younger sister. I'm here to recognize my kin."
"Recognize kin?" Uncle Jiaxing breathed a sigh of relief. "Although I've never heard that the second young lady has any long - lost relatives, since you're here to recognize kin, I'm relieved."
"After you enter Jinglye Village, the most luxurious house is Old Master Zhen's. Zhen Xiaoyu is Old Master Zhen's granddaughter. We still have to go to Niushan Town to visit my wife's father. Alas, he was on his last legs last night. We have to rush to see him for the last time."
"Thank you for the directions, fellow villager. We'll definitely invite you to dinner if we have the chance." The young and magnetic - voiced man said straightforwardly.
"No need. It's just giving directions. Gentlemen, we'll take our leave."
The carriage started moving.
Zhen Xiaoyu took the risk of being discovered and lifted a corner of the curtain. As the carriage moved forward, her view became wider. She immediately saw the most handsome young man among the group of road - blocking people.
This must be the stockade leader who was very popular among the readers.
"He's quite handsome." She murmured.
Sure enough, he was the infatuated supporting male character arranged by the author for the female lead. He really did look good. No wonder so many readers left messages in the comment section, saying that they liked the stockade leader and wanted him to be the male lead.
[Gained ten points of killing intent!] The system prompt suddenly sounded.
Zhen Xiaoyu was a bit stunned. She continued talking to herself. "He's really the most good - looking man I've ever seen."
[Gained ten points of killing intent!]
A Hua also lifted the curtain on her side and looked out. As she looked, she echoed, "That man is really handsome. It's a pity that you already have a husband, miss."
Zhen Xiaoyu secretly glanced at the man on the soft couch and met his dark, cold, and fierce gaze.
She felt secretly happy and couldn't help but want to anger him more. So she deliberately said in a very soft but audible voice, "It doesn't matter if I have a husband. Grandpa said I can change him."
[Gained thirty points of killing intent!]
Zhao Zongying looked at this shameless woman, and there was an inexplicable feeling of anger in his heart.
In the past, those who had provoked his killing intent never lived to see the next day. Only this woman made him want to kill her immediately on one hand and keep her to torture her slowly on the other.
When they got to Zou City, he would surely make her pay a heavy price for her past frivolous actions!
The bandits who passed by the carriage rushed straight towards Jinglye Village. They didn't know what they had missed yet.
Jinglye Village used to be called Tugou Village. One day, Old Master Zhen, who was working outside, came back to the village with his son Zhen Dafu. Zhen Dafu became rich with his excellent business mind, and even the originally extremely poor Zhen clan members improved their living standards.
Those people with other surnames were gradually squeezed out of the village by the Zhen clan members. Now, almost only the Zhen clan members remained in Jinglye Village. The clan leader asked Zhen Dafu for money to build a memorial archway and a ancestral hall and officially renamed Tugou Village Jinglye Village.
So Jinglye Village was easy to find. As long as you were on the right direction, you could see the memorial archway at the village entrance from afar along the official road.
When they were approaching the memorial archway, the bandits all stopped.
"Everyone, remember. Our purpose this time is only to find Zhen Xiaoyu, that heartless woman, and cut her into a thousand pieces to comfort the spirits of Fifth Sister and the others in heaven. Don't touch anyone else who's not involved!" The young and handsome man looked around at his brothers.
Everyone had angry expressions on their faces, but no one refuted. Although they didn't agree with the last sentence, they were used to following the leader's orders in everything and wouldn't go against the leader's instructions.
"Let's go. Let's go in!" The man took the lead and entered Jinglye Village.