Chapter 96: Chapter 96
Chapter 96
"She has always been like this. I’m not surprised that she would eventually get into trouble," Mu Heng said calmly, showing no signs of sadness at the potential loss of his own aunt.
"Yes, but her actions this time are too dangerous. The villagers in a small village like this have never drawn much attention, and now she has made this remote village even more suspicious," Yueqian sighed wearily.
"It’s normal that when there are bandits, some villagers might act as informants for them. But do you really think they would kill the entire village?" Mu Heng asked again, even though he knew it was a possibility. But would those soldiers actually do it?
"Yes, because they are not making the decisions themselves. These matters are easily influenced by high-status individuals and nobles," Yueqian nodded.
She was well aware of people’s cruelty, so she was very confident about this. Mu Heng paused slightly. Yueqian’s tone was so assured. Mu Heng had never considered any life worthless; even a small wild rabbit was a life. If not for survival, it shouldn’t be killed just for fun.
And the people in the city, who Yueqian said would kill an entire village just because of pressure...—were they still human?!
"So, we must find a solution before tomorrow, right?"
"Yes. I have some ideas. This isn’t a difficult matter to prove our innocence. Since someone used a plan to frame Mu Tian with poison powder, we can have someone destroy the poison powder or replace it with something else. This will also help Mu Tian because the Young General is injured. I doubt the poison powder they got has been checked by a physician yet. Right now, the physician is likely busy brewing medicine and tending to the injured. There is still time to make changes," Yueqian expressed her thoughts.
Although the solution to this issue was not entirely satisfactory to her, as Mu Tian would also get a chance to survive, she saw no other way out.
"Is that so?" Mu Heng paused for a moment. He had figured that Yueqian must have had a solution all along because her demeanor when speaking to the villagers had not been fearful at all. On the contrary... she seemed to be enjoying herself.
"So, did you speak to the villagers in that manner to intimidate them?" Mu Heng gently stroked his wife’s hair, his demeanor full of affection.
"Well... you could say that. These villagers don’t know what to fear. It was all to make them understand. When I saw them chasing people from the capital and trying to seduce the soldiers, I realized that the villagers here have never encountered the true brutality of people. They don’t understand that a single misstep could cost them their lives. That’s why I wanted to teach them a lesson."
"............"
"As for Mu Tian, she is a greedy woman with a vile personality, but she hasn’t killed anyone. This is her first and only chance to turn over a new leaf. If she doesn’t learn from this, I’ll make sure she experiences something far worse than being thrown into a pile of soldiers’ excrement," Yueqian flashed her wicked smile.
"You haven’t changed; you’re still kind at heart," Mu Heng sighed softly.
He hadn’t expected Yueqian to give a chance to someone who constantly annoyed her. However, Mu Heng still didn’t know what other moves Yueqian had planned, which likely involved someone as greedy but terrified of death as Mu Tian.
From now on, this village would become a trade hub for her. Therefore, the villagers needed to have a form of immunity. They should know who the truly fearsome person is and understand that they can’t trust anyone except themselves.
When they develop more immunity, it will be easier to keep secret the exchanges of goods. They won’t just run to the authorities for every little things like they used to.
The next morning, the situation grew even more tense. The villagers woke up early in the morning then gathered at Mu Heng’s house, just as they had the previous night. They arrived with serious expressions, some clearly having had sleepless nights, evident from their dark circles.
"They’ve come again today," Xiao Long announced to everyone in the house. Fortunately, they had eaten before dawn, otherwise, they wouldn’t have had breakfast again. This was thanks to the foresight of his sister-in-law and big brother.
The two children exchanged glances before going inside the house, calling the other Mu siblings in as well. They left the adults to their discussion and went to practice their writing.
"Uh, we’re here today to continue finding a solution to this issue..." The village leader felt a bit embarrassed hearing Xiao Long’s complaint.
Yueqian and Mu Heng had no obligation to take care of the villagers. The village leader himself was incompetent, having only handled minor issues before. Now the matter had escalated way too far, involving high-ranking individuals. What could they do?
"Mmm, I understand. Please, have a seat," Mu Heng told everyone. Even though he knew his wife had already found a solution, teaching them about the harsh realities was still necessary.
More and more villagers gathered at Mu Heng’s house. Some offered their ideas, while others gave different reasons. No one caused trouble anymore. It seemed that one night had made them realize that what they should do today was cooperate.
"So, the solution now is to show our true intentions. We are not bandits, so we will cooperate to catch the bandits. Even if we’re refused to join their group, we can still help by making wooden bows and supporting them with weapons to fight and aid the injured," the village leader summarized all the thoughts they had been trying to come up with.
None of them had thought about addressing the root cause as Mu Heng and Yueqian had. This was due to their limited skills and the belief that showing sincerity would help them survive the crisis.
Yueqian could only shake her head at their innocence.
She couldn’t believe these villagers still had hope. Did they really think that the people from the capital wanted their worthless sincerity?!
Well, if they don’t see the coffin, they won’t shed tears easily. In that case, let them see their own grave first. Hopefully, they’ll become more enlightened after this.
"Let’s go, then." With confidence from their discussion, they decided to head to the soldiers’ camp, where the Young General was. At the very least, this matter should be discussed with the one who had a power to make decisions. If they could convince the Young General, they might survive.
Initially, Yueqian didn’t want to go, but remembering that something amusing happened today, she signaled Mu Heng to go with her.
Although Mu Heng didn’t know what was happening, when Yueqian told him to follow, the young man grabbed a thicker cloak for her. Yueqian accepted it with thanks, and soon they followed the villagers to the military camp.
It was still early in the morning. Usually, at this time, the children would be fetching water to fill the jars in front of their house. But today, they had chosen to wake up early to eat before the villagers arrived. Moreover, the time allowed for the villagers to discuss wasn’t long since some had already been thinking of solutions at home. They met just to share their ideas with hope.
Thus, the conclusion was reached rather quickly.
Yueqian was contemplating how to prevent the Young General and Liu Sun from preparing. She wanted the surrounding people to witness and create such chaos that even the princes from the capital would have to come. Those individuals should also witness this affair of love.
Walking at the rear, the beautiful woman signaled the people from the Art Institute who had followed them for once. Even Mu Heng didn’t know what she was doing. He simply walked beside her, blocking the signal so that those who were secretly monitoring them wouldn’t notice anything unusual.
As soon as they arrived in front of the big tent, many soldiers rushed forward to surround it, protecting the Young General’s tent. In their thoughts, they could no longer trust anyone after the news of the food poisoning had spread throughout the military camp. Even the villagers who had once been friendly were now seen as enemies.
Women who had secretly been in love with the soldiers from the first encounter were now suspected of plotting to harm them. The current situation, they seemed like their enemy, even more so than the bandits.
"I am the village leader. May I speak with the general?" The village leader said. His tone filled with much respect. But how could the soldiers let them in easily?
"Why do you want to go in? If you want to enter, only Eldest Young Miss Qin is allowed to do so." A soldier said, looking at Yueqian, the Eldest Young Miss Qin, who had come to meet the Young General many times when they were in the capital.
This was also the Young General’s order. Since yesterday evening, he had sent the squad leader to fetch Eldest Young Miss Qin. Although the squad leader returned empty-handed with words from Eldest Young Miss Qin, the Young General had said nothing. He simply looked at Mu Tian, who had been dragged in for questioning once and then sent back to the dung heap, causing her to scream. He had also issued an order that Eldest Young Miss Qin could enter the tent if she wished to.
Yueqian could guess that. The detestable man was likely trying to negotiate with her. He probably expected the Mu family to pressure her after what the squad leader had seen the day before. He must have thought she would come under that pressure, at least to say something.
Hearing the soldier’s words, Yueqian smiled wryly.
"Fine, I’ll go in then," Yueqian did not fear. She had wanted to enter anyway. If they insisted, then just invite her in.
"Thank you very much, A’Heng’s wife.”
"Please, speak with your fiancé, um, the general."
"Our lives depend on you now," many people placed their hopes on Yueqian. The villainess let out a dry laugh before walking inside, completely ignoring their pleas. She wasn’t some saint here to save them.
The reason she agreed to go in was simply to play her role as the villainess convincingly!
"Qian’er..." Mu Heng called out to his little wife. He wasn’t jealous, knowing how strong-willed she was, but he was worried about her.
"A’Heng, don’t stop Yueqian. She’s doing this for the villagers," one woman said selfishly. Seeing another man’s wife walking into the tent of a man she had once loved and planned to marry—any other person would have stopped her, according to tradition, right?
But at this moment, they cared nothing for such customs. If anything could save them, they didn’t care what happened to others.Of course, Yueqian didn’t value such people. After this, she would mess with their heads until they were on the verge of breaking!
