After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The chaos eventually subsided. The battle at Shili Gorge gradually came to a halt after an hour, and the wails within the gorge also quieted down.

The fire in the canyon was gradually extinguished as the laborers added soil to the ground.

Xiao Chun eventually escaped.

Ning Nan was somewhat surprised... she was quite lucky to be alive.

"That traitor Qi Qiao finally showed his true colors."

One of the centurions, his face contorted with indignation, angrily reported it in the news.

"This fellow abandoned his horse and used his swift swordsmanship to kill at least five of us, saving Xiao Chun's life... We wanted to capture him alive, so we shot Xiao Chun's horse, but at that moment, a mute man rode a horse and led several other horses from another road and rescued Xiao Chun, who had fallen to the ground."

"How do you know that person is mute? Does not speaking mean they are mute?" Ning Nan retorted.

Qin Yuanyao's eyes narrowed instantly, a fierce glint flashing in them... There was more than one traitor.

The centurion was taken aback, then immediately stepped forward and said urgently, "We heard it all! Xiao Chun was shouting something about a mute, a mute, and the mute was making 'ah ah ah' noises too..."

"...The mute man was leading two horses. He was incredibly strong. He grabbed a spear in each hand and lifted the soldier up...On one of the horses the mute man was leading, there was a person tied up with rope. We didn't know who it was, or whether they were dead or alive..."

"Qi Qiao refused to surrender even in death. After his leg bone was pierced, the traitor bit off his tongue..."

"There were probably more than ten survivors, and they were all captured... One of them was a soldier from the Beijing Garrison, Chen Mu's personal guard... They said Chen Mu promised them great wealth and honor..."

Chen Mu was definitely not someone who was temporarily recruited. We need to investigate which official within the Five Armies Commandery sent Chen Mu to Hangezhuang… Qin Yuanyao's pretty face was clouded with gloom… Sigh… This is not the end of the matter, but the beginning…

Ning Nan stood up, yawned widely, and stretched.

"Let's go," he said with a smile.

"Let's go back to Lijia Village first; the fighting should be over there by now."

Qin Yuanyao slowly exhaled, her expression uncertain. "Are you... are you sure Miss Zhu will be alright?"

Her tone was somewhat uneasy.

While she spoke of Miss Zhu, she was naturally thinking of Prince Xin. However, Miss Zhu and Prince Xin were arranged to be together by the other party.

"Of course it's fine." Ning Nan pursed his lips... Just kidding, his mother and Cui Cui... and this would probably be his wife's fiancée in there too, how could he dare to take any risks?

Qin Yuanyao silently pursed her lips.

Two nights ago, after the other party revealed part of the plan, I thought that the camp they built in the valley behind the mountain was really meant to house the people of Lijia Village. I was even a little glad that I hadn't ruined their plan before, and that the huge sum of money I spent to build that impregnable camp had actually come in handy... But I never thought of it.

It wasn't until midnight last night that the other party came to our door with an oil lamp, saying that he had no intention of settling the people of Lijia Village in the mountain stronghold behind the village.

She glared at him and immediately stood up to object, saying, "There are several hundred people in Lijia Village. Apart from the hundred or so able-bodied men we need, there are still over a hundred women and children. Where do you plan to settle them?"

Do you think the bandits have any conscience and wouldn't lay a hand on women and children?

After the other party uttered a few words, she was stunned... After a long while, she completely agreed to the other party's plan.

The warm summer sun shines down.

My body, which had been chilly from being sweaty, now felt warm again.

In the short time that Qin Yuanyao was lost in thought...

Ning Nan had already mounted a tall, chestnut-red horse and was ready to set off.

The original three muskets were damaged.

He ordered his men to prepare three muskets filled with fine gunpowder. At this moment, he took the muskets and stuffed them one by one into the leather straps at the back of his robe.

"Commander Qin, let's go. We can leave everything here to Shangguan Xiu... He sacrificed a lot in this battle, he deserves the greatest credit! We still have a lot to do!" Ning Nan grinned, pulled on the reins, and turned his horse around.

He immediately took the lead and began heading west towards Lijia Village.

Behind.

Including Qin Yuanyao, dozens of Imperial Guards mounted their horses one by one, cracked their whips on the backs of their horses, shouted "Giddy up!" a few times, and spurred their horses on, following closely behind.

...

...

The Erhu River is about two hundred miles long, flowing gently from north to south.

When the river passes through the section near Lijiacun, the riverbed becomes shallower, the channel narrows, and the current becomes more rapid.

Not far downstream, the river channel spreads out along the mountain and gradually widens, finally allowing large ships to pass.

The golden sunlight of summer shines down, making the river water sparkle.

On the open waterway, dozens of merchant ships of all sizes and numerous small boats were moored side by side.

These were originally boats rented by Changqing Trading Company a few days ago to transport large quantities of earth, timber, bricks, and stones to Lijia Village.

I heard that some wealthy man wanted to build a mountain villa in this remote village, which is why he embarked on such a grand project.

It seems that the wealthy man was extremely impatient and wanted to transport a lot of bricks and stones over at once, so he rented a lot of boats in a hurry.

But often after a boat has been moved a few times, there isn't much work left. However, since the other party has rented the boat for many days, a certain young master said that they should stop here for now and wait for work to come.

The other party needed the boat urgently, so the shipping company asked for a high price, charging for each day it stayed. The boat owner and his servants were quite happy about this, hoping to stay for as long as possible.

But today was a bit unexpected.

Today, all the boats were filled with people... mostly elderly people and women and children from Lijia Village.

The boat owner and his servants were a little confused, but since the master had paid them, they could transport anything.

The host also said that the women and children would only stay for one day and the boat owners would not need to cook for them... The boat owners were immediately relieved, but they complained, "Hey! What are you saying, host... A meal isn't worth much money!" They planned to cook some fish soup.

The ships were crowded together, but once anchored, they were actually arranged in a rather orderly manner.

Larger and more expensive ships tend to be closer to better locations.

A rather large merchant ship was moored in the best spot on the water.

The merchant ship had a second floor for resting, where there were elm wood tables, and at each table sat some chattering old women.

The women chatted and ate fruits, occasionally bursting into laughter.

After handing two eggs to her prospective daughter-in-law, Widow Ning happily tidied her hair, saying that Fourth Grandma was clever. The village head and the village chief were rushing her, and she only had time to grab two eggs, but Fourth Grandma brought out a whole set of mahjong tiles!

"The bandits are here!" Widow Ning rushed to another table playing mahjong and told her daughter-in-law, Cuicui, "Cuicui, don't worry at all, that guy is just lucky..."

"He's been incredibly lucky since he was a child. Chen the Blind Man from Hangezhuang said, 'Neither bandits nor the emperor can cut off this kid's head!'"

"The blind man stammered that he hoped the child was from our Great Liang Dynasty, so he named him Nan. Originally, he was supposed to be called Ning Liang, but others said it was taboo, so the blind man changed it to Nan... Two years after the blind man died... his grave opened up, and people said he became an immortal and ascended to heaven... His words still carry weight..."

After giving her daughter-in-law a few rambling words to appease her, she went off to play mahjong with a smile: "Coming! Coming! You old hags who scream like crazy! You've got too much money to burn! You only dare to come here to your grandma before you can shut your mouths..."

Zhu Cuiwei's gaze softened as she slowly withdrew her eyes from the woman's vigorous back, resting her chin on her right hand and looking out at the river.

The boats transporting earth, timber, bricks, and stones were actually the "fake" facilities prepared by the other side... She only found out last night.

"Even I was fooled..." She was inexplicably annoyed with the pretentious doctor... but when she thought about what he said, that if he didn't do this, he wouldn't be able to lure Xiao Chun into the trap... she could only purse her lips and convince herself to understand him.

"Wow, Sister Cui, are you worried about Brother Ning?"

At this moment, across the elmwood table, a woman of exceptional beauty, dressed in white and wearing a gold hairpin, smiled warmly at her, her fair, oval face glowing with a brilliant golden light in the sunlight… Ah, Zhu Qingmian, Miss Zhu.

Cui Cui was dressed in a simple cloth skirt and a hairpin, but the moment she raised her eyes, she subtly overwhelmed the other person in terms of aura.

"Hmm," Cui Cui shifted her hand to her chin, nodded at the beauty opposite her, and said in a flat tone, "...I'm worried about my husband."

"Uh..." Zhu Qingmian's smile gradually faded, and she gently bit her teeth.