Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

Tao'er tossed and turned on the hard bed, while Dongkui and Ayan beside her were breathing steadily and asleep.

She stared at the blurry beams of the roof, her mind constantly on the dark figure that flashed past the window in the distance; she simply couldn't sleep.

She guessed that it was someone Hu Biao had sent to monitor them.

She had to be wary; the three of them were nothing more than fish on a chopping board in this bandit's den, and could be slaughtered at any moment.

Moreover, she had just offended the second-in-command, Hu Biao, today. He was a vicious and ruthless wolf who probably wouldn't let the three of them off easily.

During the day, she thought that Hu Biao was injured and would at least behave himself for a few days, but now it seems that she was too naive.

After much deliberation, Tao'er glanced at Dongkui and Ayan, who were sleeping beside her, and finally sat up.

She tiptoed out of bed, walked to the door, and listened intently to the sounds outside.

Apart from the low whistling of the night wind sweeping through the mountains and forests, there were no other sounds.

She took a deep breath, opened the wooden door, and slipped out.

It was dark outside, and the moonlight was partially obscured by clouds, barely illuminating the village path.

Tao looked around but couldn't see any dark figures. Only the bandits standing guard not far away stood ramrod straight.

The night wind rustled the leaves, the sound particularly clear in the quiet night, along with the hooting of owls. Tao'er was a little scared by these sounds.

She dared not go too far, and besides, there were guards outside the village gate, so she couldn't get out.

She found a secluded corner to hide and observe. After her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could make out the general outline of the village.

A few rows of simple wooden houses stood in the center of the open space, with a flagpole on which the flag fluttered weakly in the wind.

The flag is red with a majestic tiger's head on it; no wonder it's called Tiger Head Village.

After observing for a while, I still couldn't find anything unusual.

"Am I just overthinking it?"

Tao thought to herself.

That dark figure might just be someone from the village passing by by chance, or it might just be my imagination.

After all, so much has happened today, it's normal to be mentally stressed.

Thinking of this, Tao'er was about to turn back to their room when she suddenly heard hushed voices coming from a nearby room.

That was the voice of the first and second leaders.

Tao'er wondered if the chief had come to the second chief to comfort him because of what happened during the day.

A faint candlelight shone through the paper windows of that room, which was the residence of Hu Biao, the second-in-command.

In just half a day, she had Dongkui spend some money to find out the residences of the various masters of Tiger Head Stronghold.

The chief, Zhang Fei, slept alone, with his first wife and second wife on either side of him.

The first wife, Zhou Ying, lived on the left with her daughter, while the second wife, Liu Ruyan, lived on the right.

The head of the household can sleep in whichever room he wants, and he never stays overnight; he always goes back to his own room to sleep.

This puzzled Tao'er, yet she also felt it was normal. Perhaps the leader preferred to sleep alone, since sleeping alone was indeed comfortable.

Since she couldn't sleep anyway, and it just so happened, Tao'er decided to listen to what the two of them were saying.

She held her breath and quietly moved to the window.

The voice of Hu Biao, the second-in-command, came from inside, filled with obvious resentment: "Big brother, you really disregarded my feelings today!"

That bitch humiliated me in public, making me lose face in front of the brothers. How can I expect them to respect me now?

Thirty strokes of the cane!

Tao'er immediately recognized Hu Biao's voice; sure enough, he hated her intensely.

The leader, Zhang Fei, then spoke, his voice calm and steady: "Second brother, this is not my fault."

You lost the bet. As the leader of this stronghold, if I break my promise, how will the brothers submit to me in the future?

I had no choice.

You should know the village rules better than anyone else.

"But I was only thinking of my older brother!"

I want to find you a woman to have a son.

The first wife had only one daughter, while the second wife didn't even lay a single egg.

"Don't you understand my good intentions, elder brother?"

Hu Biao raised his voice a few decibels, his words carrying a clear sense of grievance.

Zhang Fei sighed: "I know you mean well."

But that little girl isn't willing, so we can't push her too hard now.

Besides, the food she cooks is really delicious; your older brother hasn't had a proper meal in so long.

The food those cooks make is really bad. You have to think about your brother's stomach too!

"Keep the three of them alive for now. When the time is right, find a chance to kill her man, then secretly sell the little girl, and say she got lost."

Hu Biao asked again, "So that's what you were planning, brother?"

I thought you'd fallen for that bitch and dumped me, your brother!

Zhang Fei paused, his tone reassuring: "Second brother, don't rush things. Everything takes time. Haste makes waste."

Once she has no one to rely on, she will naturally be willing to submit to me.

Regardless, I really like her cooking, and that alone makes it impossible for me to be too harsh on her openly.

Upon hearing this, the second-in-command seemed to calm down a bit, and his voice carried a hint of amusement: "Big Brother is truly remarkable; he thought of everything so thoroughly."

Tao'er felt a chill run down her spine as she listened outside the window. It turned out that the leader was even worse than the second leader.

One is wicked in the open, the other is wicked in the shadows, a smile hiding a knife, which is even more terrifying.

She clenched her fists involuntarily, her nails digging deep into her palms.

Tao'er, who was listening outside the window, felt a pang of anxiety. So that was what they were planning.

Just then, the topic of conversation in the room suddenly changed.

"By the way, have you found out anything about the Xiao family?"

Zhang Fei's voice rang out again.

Hu Biao replied, "Brother, I've found out everything."

The Xiao family was raided and exiled, but only a young master and a maid escaped.

It is said that Old Madam Xiao died the night her home was ransacked.

"That young master of the Xiao family ran away, have they been caught and brought back?"

Zhang Fei continued to ask.

"No, King Cheng has been searching for it, but has not found it."

The two men seemed to have vanished; I heard that a large number of Imperial Guards were mobilized that day.

Zhang Fei sneered, "Hmph! These princes are all useless good-for-nothings; they can't even find a single person."

Tao'er was startled.

The Xiao family?

The Xiao family they mentioned, along with their young master, and isn't the old lady Xiao referring to the Prime Minister's residence?

These bandits robbed people of money and goods, so why are they concerned about the Xiao family's affairs?

This doesn't seem normal.

They also mentioned Prince Cheng, whose family was implicated in the struggle for the throne and had their property confiscated.

It's highly likely that King Cheng was behind this, but what does it have to do with the First and Second Bosses?

It's utterly baffling that people in this bandit's den would care about such things!

Moreover, judging from the tone of Zhang Fei's voice just now, he clearly knows Prince Cheng, Xie Jingxing.

Tao'er then remembered that King Cheng had come here to suppress bandits twice before, so they probably met and knew each other.

That's possible!

To find out more, Tao'er decided to continue listening.

The conversation that followed almost took her breath away; it was completely beyond her imagination.