Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

The guards in Liujia Village heard noises on the road from afar and immediately became alert. They saw a carriage approaching them, getting closer and closer. Without thinking twice, they immediately banged on their gongs as they ran, shouting, "Bandits are coming! Bandits are coming..."

The villagers immediately sprang to their feet, grabbed sticks, and rushed out, swarming towards the village entrance, ready for battle.

The guards at the village entrance, armed with sticks and machetes, held the gate firmly, waiting for reinforcements.

Lei Yi and the others immediately gathered and rushed to the village entrance. Qingwu remained motionless, guarding Liu Siyue.

The carriage stopped at the door. Qingye got off the carriage, walked to the door, and knocked on the door. "Open the door, it's me, Qingye."

"You're Qingye? How can I believe you?"

"You can ask my master to come out, or you can ask Qingwu."

Lei stepped forward and said to the villagers, "Don't panic, open the door."

"What if bandits break in?"

"She's not a bandit, she's Qingye, the maidservant of the master. I can recognize her voice. Besides, bandits don't talk like that; they would have kicked your door down by now."

The villagers thought about it and realized they were right!

The door opened, and Lei Yi looked at the person in front of him. "Miss Qingye, why are you back so late? Did something happen?"

"Lei Yi, something terrible has happened. Tonight, the county town was occupied by bandits. The county magistrate was killed and taken over by the bandits. I killed the bandits guarding the city gate and escaped with my family."

Everyone should be on high alert tonight and take precautions.

Do you know how many bandits are in this county?

"I don't know, but there should be quite a lot."

"Hurry home, the masters and the others are all up."

"Lei Er, take a few men and head to Baini Bay immediately. Tell them to be on guard as well."

Lei Er took a few men, got a gong from the villagers, and immediately headed to Baini Bay.

Everyone was sound asleep when a sudden burst of rapid gong sounds startled them awake. Someone immediately opened the door to investigate. They approached the gong-beaters and saw it was indeed the same group of instructors they had trained during the day. "Instructors, why are you playing gongs in the village in the middle of the night?" they asked.

"Wake up, everyone! Bandits have seized the county town, and the magistrate has been killed. Quickly grab your weapons and get ready!"

"What? Bandits are here!" The villagers scattered in a panic, some running home to grab sticks, others machetes, and they quickly gathered together.

"Masters, could you please not leave?" Ma Daya pleaded.

"Okay, I'll stay here with you and guard the village entrance together."

Where is your village chief? I can't find him.

If your village chief doesn't care whether you live or die, then we won't care either.

"We don't want him to be the village chief anymore. He's not even as good as Ma Daya; he doesn't care about anything."

There always needs to be someone in charge in a village; otherwise, things can fall into chaos.

"I think Ma Daya is fine. Let him manage the village for now, and we'll all listen to him," a villager said.

"I think Ma is a reliable person, having been busy for the village these past few days."

Does anyone have any objections?

"No objection." Someone muttered quietly, even if they had an objection, they didn't dare to say it. Why should a woman listen to him?

"Alright, since your village chief isn't doing anything, then you'll have to listen to Sister Ma. If anyone doesn't listen, then don't be rude. Go to the village chief's house now and get the village gong. I'll arrange it for you right now."

"Master, we'll go now." One of the young men grabbed a stick and ran off.

When they arrived at the village chief's house, they saw the lights were on through the crack in the door. They pounded on the door, and footsteps came from the yard. He asked through the door, "Who is it?"

"Erdan, open the door quickly! The bandits are about to invade the village, and your family is just holed up at home, not caring about the lives of the villagers at all. Your father is the village chief, you've really neglected your duty. We're here to get the gong."

Wei Yuanguang stood at the door and said, "You little brat, who was it that rescued you from the mountain? Now you dare to criticize me. People from other villages are interfering in our Bainiwan affairs, and you're all joining in the chaos. Do you even respect me as the village chief?"

"One thing at a time. These days, Liu Siyue has had people training us. You're two-faced, and you're still not going to stop. Since you don't care about village affairs, then call out the gong and we'll defend ourselves against the bandits."

"You see the bandits coming? Stop fooling around."

"We trust Liu Siyue. There's no need for them to go through all this trouble for us. Besides, it's better to be safe than sorry. It's always good to be prepared."

"No, back then the yamen issued gongs to the village chiefs, why should we give them to you?"

"If they won't give it to us, then we'll take it ourselves."

"Let's see who dares!"

"Brothers, go in and get it. I'll take responsibility if anything happens. We have our mothers and families behind us; we can't take risks."

Several men barged into the house, grabbed the gong, and left. Wei Yuanguang was so angry that he stomped his feet. They were all going too far.

"Old man, you and the eldest son go along and check, just in case something really happens."

"What are you looking at? The villagers are praising that Ma Daya to the skies now, and they don't respect me, the village chief, at all. Just wait and see, they'll be begging me for help someday."

Besides, those guarding the village won't be able to harm our family anymore. Go back inside and sleep.

"Dad, isn't this a bad idea? What if the villagers scold us?"

"You're not allowed to go. I'm the village chief, and I'm in charge of this village."

"Master, the gong is here."

"Did the village chief give them to you?"

"It wasn't given to me; I stole it."

"Well done, you have guts, you didn't embarrass me, and you know what's important."

Listen to me, everyone. Now, Sister Ma is in charge of the village, and Erdan is in charge of leading everyone to guard against bandits. Everyone should listen to them. Anyone who disobeys orders will be beaten with sticks.

"Erdan, after dawn, make some barricades and put them at the village entrance."

"Master, we've never seen a barricade made before, and we don't know how."

"Don't worry, I'll have someone teach you."

Lei Er taught them how to defend, how to stand guard, and how to handle problems. They worked on this until dawn. Nothing happened that night, and everyone was exhausted, so they went back to sleep.

Erdan arranged for a few people to guard the village entrance. He led his men up the mountain to cut bamboo, and Lei Liu taught them how to make barricades. The bamboo was shaved into sharp and long pieces and placed at the village entrance.

Lei Liu surveyed the direction of Baini Bay, found a spot, and called Erdan over. "If there's an emergency, light a fire here. I can see it from Liujia Village."

"Understood, Master, thank you for helping our village so much."

"You're usually fine during the day, but you have to be extra alert at night."

"Don't worry, Master, I will."

"Master, are you a soldier? Can I follow you from now on?"

"We'll talk about it later. Focus on honing your skills." After arranging things at Bainiwan, Lei Liu returned to Liujia Village.

Qingye returned to the end of the village and met Liu Siyue. She told her about what happened in the county town, "Master, I have brought them all back safely."

"Yes, that's very well done."

"Feng Yi and the others are still in the county town. I didn't have time to notify them today, but they should be fine. I told them how to deal with emergencies before."

"Yes, those kids are clever; I'm sure they'll protect themselves."

"Master, I was eavesdropping outside the county government office, and I think I heard a familiar voice among the bandits."

"Huh? Who is it?"

"It seems to be Yu Feng, but I'm not entirely sure."

"He actually survived and even became a bandit in the mountains. She hates me to the bone and will definitely come to Liujia Village."

"Alright, you can go and rest now."

Daylight broke. Today was the final deadline given by the government. I wondered if the officials would still come.