Republic of China: My great warlord, many children, many blessings.

With so many refugees outside begging for food, Chen Yulou had no choice but to resort to tomb raiding.

His father had previously forbidden him from treating refugees, but Chen Yulou hadn't listened. Now, the number of refugees was increasing, and he felt like he was getting too big to handle.

For a moment, I didn't know what to do.

Chen Yulou had heard many rumors about Shen Hao, but after meeting him in person, he realized how ridiculous the rumors were.

There were rumors that Shen Hao was a man with a full beard, a fierce and menacing appearance, but no one expected him to be such a handsome man.

After chatting for a while, Chen Yulou gained a basic understanding of Shen Hao.

He is low-key and not arrogant. He is not an unreasonable person and is quite easygoing.

Therefore, the desire to make friends with them arose.

The governor of a province—that's a lot of power. Just being able to get to know him would be a great honor for Chen Yulou.

Despite the rumors that he is the most powerful and influential figure in western Hunan, he may not be as powerful as others.

He controlled over 100,000 bandits and outlaws across 13 provinces, including the south, north, and south. All those with their own names in the underworld were at the command of Changsheng Mountain.

But that's just talk. These days, people only give you face; very few actually listen.

Besides, these bandits are all insignificant and none of them are respectable. Even if a dozen or a hundred people gather together, they are still bandits.

The truly formidable bandits have all been exonerated.

People like Zhang Zuolin, Zhang Zongchang, and Feng Delin.

These guys are incredibly popular in the bandit world; they're idols. Who wouldn't want to be promoted to a permanent position?

193. Two women become sworn sisters!

With Luo Laowai's incident resolved, Chen Yulou's men were completely certain of Shen Hao's stance.

There was no hostility towards Changsheng Mountain, which put everyone completely at ease.

After all, they were bandits, and they naturally had a kind of resistance to these officials.

Since both sides shared the same goal—to rob tombs—their relationship eased.

Among them, the relationship between Hong Guniang and Cheng Shuzhen progressed the fastest.

The two women shared similar tragic fates and had very similar interests, so they found themselves getting along very well as they talked.

When Hong Guniang heard that Cheng Shuzhen had been a bandit, she was both surprised and delighted, realizing that the two women's fates were now almost identical.

"You were also a bandit?"

Cheng Shuzhen nodded and said, "Yes, I was famous for my beauty in Shitou County, which is why I caught the eye of Luo Laowai, the head of the security regiment in Shitou County at the time."

My family was killed because of me.

At this point, Cheng Shuzhen thought of her deceased parents, and her eyes reddened again.

Those deep-seated hatreds won't disappear just because Luo Laowai was killed; they'll only intensify the remorse.

Hong hugged Cheng Shuzhen and comforted her, saying, "Good sister, don't cry. I'm just like you. It was because of my face that my father and family were forced to their deaths by powerful people."

That's all in the past now. There's a long road ahead; we must look forward.

Cheng Shuzhen nodded and continued, "In order to get revenge, I want to join a faction."

Back then, I heard that there was a female leader named Hong Guniang in Changsheng Mountain, whose experience was similar to mine, so I thought she was pretty good.

Without much thought or hesitation, I went straight to Changsheng Mountain.

Hong was taken aback, not expecting that she was involved in this.

The thought that the woman of the Guangdong governor actually admired her filled Hong Guniang with a slight sense of pride deep down.

His lips inexplicably curled up in a smile, the kind that even an AK47 couldn't suppress.

Then, the girl in red asked curiously, "Then why haven't I heard of you or seen you in Changsheng Mountain? Someone as beautiful as you should be quite famous."

Cheng Shuzhen said, "On the way to Changsheng Mountain, I accidentally saved the chief of Xianghualing, and he took me in as his goddaughter."

"Oh, I see. So your adoptive father died in the end and passed the position of the head of the family to you, is that right?"

Cheng Shuzhen sighed and shook her head, saying, "No, I killed him with my own hands."

The young woman in red was stunned and asked in confusion, "Why is that?"

“Sigh, back then I lost my family, so I treated my adoptive father like my own father.”

I thought that sincere effort would be rewarded.

Who would have thought that his decision to take me in as his goddaughter wasn't genuine, but rather had ulterior motives?

The reason behind it all is that they were attracted to my face.

Fortunately, I overheard him telling his men to drug me, so I acted first.

Otherwise, they'd be somewhere by now, maybe even dead.

Red Girl, filled with righteous indignation, exclaimed, "Good riddance! Damn it, these filthy men deserve to die! They're all the same, not a single one of them is any good!"

Chen Yulou, standing to the side, coughed incessantly and glared at Hong Guniang.

Seeing this, Red Girl said, "Hmph, Chief, have you caught a cold?"

Do you want me to brew some medicine for you?

Chen Yulou was speechless. He waved his hand and said to Shen Hao, "Governor Shen, my subordinates are a bit cynical. Please bear with them."

Shen Hao said, "I understand, let's go out for a stroll."

“Alright, perfect timing. I’ll take the Governor to see the clouds at Ping Mountain. The clouds here are even colorful,” Chen Yulou said.

Neither of them wanted to listen to the two women gossip, so they went outside.

Watching Shen Hao's retreating figure, Hong Guniang teased, "So how did you manage to seduce the Governor of Guangdong?"

Cheng Shuzhen blushed and said, "When I first became the leader of Xianghualing, I didn't expect the news to be leaked and discovered by Luo Laowai."

He then dispatched troops to besiege Xianghualing.

Of the 103 people in Xianghualing, I was the only one who escaped.

At that time, I was heartbroken and felt hopeless about revenge, and I was prepared to commit suicide.

Just then, I heard that my master had wiped out the ruthless warlord Cao Ying.

Cao Ying was much more capable than Luo Laowai back then.

I thought to myself, this Brigade Commander Shen is really amazing. He was able to wipe out Cao Ying, so wiping out Luo Laowai would be a piece of cake. So I mustered up my courage and went to find the master.

To my delight, the master was a very kind man and handsome, so I became his concubine.

Hong Gu Niang was stunned for a moment, not expecting there to be so much more to it.

Some said with disdain, "So in the end you still became someone's concubine, back to square one. What was the point of resisting in the first place?"

Anyway, she's going to be someone's concubine.

"If only you had chosen to marry Luo Laowai back then."

Cheng Shuzhen shook her head and said, "If it were you, would you choose to marry Luo Laowai or my master?"

Upon hearing this, a faint blush inexplicably appeared on the fair cheeks of the girl in red.

It seemed vague and ambiguous, leaving me momentarily speechless.

"Of course I look down on Luo Laowai, I'd rather die than marry him."

Cheng Shuzhen smiled and said, "Then that's settled."

So, you'll choose my husband too, won't you?

What woman doesn't want to marry a perfect husband? I think my husband is great. Although he has a lot of women, he doesn't treat them differently.

"Our status and attitudes are the same. I am very happy now, and I feel that meeting you, sir, is my greatest fortune."

Looking at Cheng Shuzhen, who was deeply poisoned, Hong Guniang shook her head in disbelief: "How is that possible?"

Won't his concubines bully you?

Will they look down on you because you came from a bandit background?

Cheng Shuzhen firmly stated, "Definitely not. The sisters in the family are all very harmonious, and no one looks down on anyone else."

The master often said that everyone has the same status, there is no distinction between big and small, and anyone who dares to bully others will be kicked out.

The master usually dislikes bullying others and will chase them away as soon as he finds one.

Therefore, none of the sisters or servants in the family dared to act recklessly.

Even when going out to buy things, no one dares to bully others.

"That's rare indeed. It's a blessing for Guangdong that there are still officials like this in this era." Hong Guniang's goodwill towards Shen Hao increased by 1.

She was bullied by powerful people since childhood, and her father was killed by such people. Therefore, she deeply hates corrupt officials who abuse their power.

“Sister Cheng, I think we’re really compatible. Our personalities are so similar. How about we become sworn sisters?” Hong Guniang said generously.

Cheng Shuzhen said, "Great! We've had similar experiences, so being sisters wouldn't be bad. You're a few years older than me, so I'll call you Sister Hong."