She remembered there was still a basket of shrimp hanging in the well. It was the leftover from yesterday.
It was cold outside, so it could be stored for a longer time.
A sly look flashed across Qi Jiao's eyes. She caught sight of two limes in the basket on the table. She had no idea who had casually put them there.
A thought popped into her mind. Qi Jiao turned her face slightly and whispered timidly, "There's still a basket of shrimp on the well platform outside. If you, sir, don't mind, I can boil them for you."
The bandit's eyes lit up at the news. There was meat to eat!
Still holding the dagger in his hand, he pushed Qi Jiao towards the door. "Go and get it."
When they reached the well platform, Qi Jiao looked down into the well. It was pitch - black inside. She felt a bit scared. "It's too dark. I can't see."
The bandit got impatient. Annoyed by Qi Jiao, he pushed her aside. "Get out of the way!"
Qi Jiao let out a yelp as the bandit stepped on her foot. Then she shouted, "Be careful, sir!"
As she stepped back, she accidentally knocked over the bucket, which made quite a noise.
Inside the house, Leng Yao was awakened. She was a light sleeper and seemed to have heard Jiao Niang's voice in her dream.
When she heard the dull sound of the wooden bucket falling in the yard, Leng Yao wondered what Jiao Niang was doing in the yard at this late hour.
Leng Yao instinctively called out, "Jiao Niang? Are you outside?"
Qi Jiao froze. The bandit had already fished out the shrimp. His cold, menacing eyes were fixed on her, as if he was about to lash out at any moment.
Terrified, Qi Jiao bit her lip hard to calm herself down. "I'm thirsty. I got up to get a glass of water. It's nothing. Don't wake up Second Brother. He has to go to the market with Big Brother and Third Brother tomorrow morning. Go back to sleep..."
Leng Yao: "…?"
Wasn't it just her and Ye Yun who went to the market? What did Big Brother and Third Brother have to do with it?
And getting up to get water? There was always plenty of tea in Jiao Niang's room.
It was freezing cold outside. Even if they needed hot water, Yin Die would boil a big pot of water every day, which was more than enough for the three of them. Did they still need to draw water and boil it?
Something didn't feel right. Leng Yao bit back the words that were about to blurt out.
Remembering the news that the government had been hunting down bandits these days, she was suddenly struck with horror. Could it be that Jiao Niang had been taken hostage?
Leng Yao's breathing became uneven, but she didn't dare to alert the bandit. She answered with a soft "Okay" and then coughed twice, pretending to fall asleep again.
After a short while, she pinched Ye Yun hard and whispered in his ear, "Wake up quickly. It seems there's a bandit in the house."
Ye Yun was still half - asleep. When he heard this, he almost jumped out of bed.
Leng Yao quickly covered his mouth and pointed towards the door.
The couple quietly got out of bed and tiptoed towards the door like thieves. Through the translucent tile, they could see Jiao Niang and the bandit standing in the yard.
The bandit seemed to have been temporarily deceived by Qi Jiao.
Leng Yao and Ye Yun were extremely anxious. They wanted to rush out and fight the bandit to the death, but when they saw the shiny dagger in his hand and Jiao Niang standing there, they didn't dare to act rashly...
Qi Jiao stole a glance at the bandit and noticed that his expression had softened a bit. She softened her voice. "Sir, give the things to me."
Back in the kitchen, before Qi Jiao could start cooking the shrimp, the bandit grabbed a handful and stuffed them into his mouth, munching noisily.
Qi Jiao felt disgusted, but she kept working. She quickly boiled the shrimp in the pot. Then, when the bandit wasn't looking, she squeezed the juice from the sliced limes onto the shrimp and added some soy sauce and oyster sauce as if she knew what she was doing.
The bandit smelled the aroma and seemed to have forgotten his own name.
As soon as Qi Jiao put the shrimp on a plate, the bandit snatched it away impatiently and finished the whole plate in a few gulps.
The cleaner he ate, the more confident Qi Jiao felt.
Plus, Leng Yao had caught on to her hint for help, so their chances of success were even greater.
The street was deserted. Pei Xia and another soldier rode into the city on their horses.
They headed straight for the county yamen. Pei Xia showed the token from Yuhua Stockade, and the night - watch constable came forward to receive them.
"One of the bandits got away. Someone saw him get on a donkey cart heading into the city. Has the yamen found any clues?"
The county had been in a state of unrest recently. Everyone was on edge because of the bandits.
The county constable's office and several sub - inspection offices had been working together. After several operations, most of the bandits had been captured.
However, there were still some who had escaped. County Constable Zhou had ordered that not a single one of them should be spared. So the patrols in the county had been strengthened two or three times.
Another constable who had just come back to report his duty changed his expression when he heard this. "A donkey cart? An hour ago, my brothers and I were on patrol. We only saw a donkey cart outside Pomegranate Alley."
As soon as he said the words "Pomegranate Alley", the person in front of him disappeared like a gust of wind.
Pei Xia ran towards the small courtyard in Pomegranate Alley as if his life depended on it. The cold night wind was not as cold as his blood.
When he reached the door, he found it tightly closed. He drew his sword and probed inside. The lock was gone... There was no sound from inside. It was extremely strange.
Worried about Qi Jiao, Pei Xia climbed over the wall from the side.
Landing steadily on the ground, Pei Xia didn't dare to be careless. He saw a light in the big kitchen, so he moved towards it, using the flowers and trees as cover.
Pei Xia was extremely anxious and ran as fast as he could in his life.
Unexpectedly, he bumped into Ye Yun behind the water tank in the kitchen.
Ye Yun swallowed his exclamation when he saw it was Pei Xia.
Pei Xia looked up and saw Leng Yao standing behind Ye Yun, holding a stick.
The three of them exchanged glances, and Pei Xia took the lead, darting up the steps.
He hid behind the pillar in the corridor and heard Jiao Niang's voice in the kitchen.
"Sir... Don't be impatient. I haven't made the pancakes yet... Don't..."
She had thought that the bandit would immediately show the effects of the poisoned shrimp, but he seemed perfectly fine, showing no signs of being affected at all.
Qi Jiao's heart sank.
The bandit had filled his stomach a bit and lit the oil lamp in the kitchen.
The light was dim, but it was enough for him to see Qi Jiao's whole figure.
Qi Jiao even heard him gulp...
When he saw Qi Jiao's fair, bare feet, his eyes immediately became lecherous. "Little lady, come here and have some fun with me..."
In a split - second, just as the bandit was about to reach out for Qi Jiao, Pei Xia pounced on him like a fierce tiger and punched him to the ground.
The bandit's dagger flew out of his hand. He was about to pick it up when Ye Yun, who followed closely behind, kicked it far away.
The bandit tried another trick. He pointed his fingers straight at Pei Xia's eyes.
Pei Xia wouldn't let him get away with it. He quickly dislocated the bandit's arms and pressed his sword against the bandit's neck.
The bandit let out a scream of pain. He knelt on the ground like a boneless man, shaking like a sieve. He kept begging, "Spare my life, sir. I was just so hungry that I didn't care what I did. I just wanted to have a full meal. Please spare my worthless life."
Pei Xia's face was as dark as thunder. He tightened his grip on the sword, and a thin line of blood oozed from the bandit's neck.
The bandit was on the verge of collapse. He kowtowed to Pei Xia like a bloodless puppet.
Pei Xia turned his gaze to Jiao Niang.
She was standing beside the stove, her eyes slightly red, her hair a bit messy. She was wearing a thin inner garment and her feet were bare. She looked so pitiful.
"Jiao Niang, did he hurt you?"
Pei Xia tightly held the hilt of his sword. He tried hard to control his anger. He wished he could cut this bandit into a thousand pieces.
"I'm fine."
The moment Pei Xia came back, Qi Jiao felt all her strength drain away. She shook her head and said she was fine, but the tears kept streaming down her face.
Jiao Niang was crying. Pei Xia's heart ached as if being stabbed by a knife. He kicked the bandit to the ground and told Ye Yun to find a thick rope to tie him up tightly.
Leng Yao quickly came over to comfort Jiao Niang.
Just as Pei Xia was tightening the knot, the bandit suddenly started shivering.
In just a short while, his face turned pale and his lips turned blue. It was obvious that he was poisoned.
Looking at the used plate and the remaining juice on the table, Pei Xia realized what had happened. "Jiao Niang, what did you feed him?"
Qi Jiao was also extremely shocked. "I fed him shrimp and limes. I heard that these two things are incompatible. I did it to save myself just now..."
Ye Yun's eyes widened. He was both in awe and a bit scared of Qi Jiao. "Jiao Niang is really amazing. I wouldn't have known that."
Leng Yao patted Qi Jiao's hand, relieved. "Fortunately, you were quick - witted and managed to hold on until now. Otherwise, we would all be dead."
Although the bandit was poisoned, his mind was still relatively clear. When he heard this, he fainted in anger.
He looked in a bad state, but he wouldn't die immediately. Pei Xia kicked him away like a piece of ragged cloth.
Seeing Qi Jiao's tear - filled eyes, Pei Xia felt extremely heart - broken. He wiped her tears with his relatively clean hand.
Leng Yao smiled and pulled Ye Yun out of the room sensibly.
Qi Jiao noticed a dark stain on Pei Xia's dark red robe. It looked like blood.
"Are you hurt?"
Pei Xia looked at her steadily and comforted her softly, "It's not my blood. It's from the previous group of bandits."
Qi Jiao wasn't easily fooled. She grabbed Pei Xia's hand and pushed up his sleeve. There was a three - inch - long knife wound on his forearm.
Facing Qi Jiao's concerned and tearful gaze, Pei Xia couldn't say a word.
He picked up Jiao Niang in his arms and strode back to the bedroom.
Pei Xia found some clothes and put them on her. Qi Jiao told him not to worry about her. "Treat your wound first."
Pei Xia didn't listen. He first fetched some hot water to wash her feet.
After washing, Pei Xia put on warm socks for her and gently rubbed the soles of her feet with his big hand.
Qi Jiao's cold feet gradually warmed up, and she finally came back to life.
Meeting Pei Xia's deep gaze, a blush crept up Qi Jiao's face.
She rubbed her face and told Pei Xia to get the medicine box.
Afraid of hurting him, Qi Jiao bent down and gently blew on the wound while applying the medicine. It tickled a bit.
There was no gauze at home, so Qi Jiao temporarily used a clean and breathable handkerchief instead to wrap Pei Xia's wound carefully and tightly.
Pei Xia looked at Qi Jiao's lowered eyelashes. It felt as if a gentle spring breeze was blowing through his heart.