The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

As dawn broke in the east, Magistrate Tang awoke.

He opened his eyes and realized something was wrong in the room.

Where did the vase and teacup on the table go?

"Madam, did you have someone remove the teacups?"

No.

Magistrate Tang cried out "Oh no!" and ran to his study without even getting dressed properly.

Seeing the scene in the study, he was so angry that he plopped down on the floor.

His camphor wood bookshelf is gone.

The secret room behind the bookshelf was also emptied.

That's where the fruits of his years of hard work are kept; he racked his brains to embezzle those riches over the years.

In the end, it was all for naught!

Inside the Pengcheng government office, Constable Lin was reporting the latest security situation in Pengcheng to Prefect Xu.

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency, everything is fine in the city. Please focus your forces on defending the city. Although we only have a dozen or so constables, the Gu family branch has spared fifty men, all of whom are skilled in martial arts and can help us maintain order in the city."

Prefect Xu of Pengcheng felt extremely fortunate.

I'm so glad I listened to Miss Su and kept the number of soldiers in the garrison to the maximum limit of one thousand set by the imperial court.

I'm so glad I listened to Miss Su and found someone to teach the soldiers martial arts.

I'm so glad I listened to Miss Su's advice and stockpiled a lot of food.

Many counties near Huainan are in chaos, but he has a lot of talent at his disposal, so order in Pengcheng remains good and grain prices are within a controllable range.

Because the Gu family's branch required its employees to learn martial arts, almost the entire population in the city started learning martial arts.

It is estimated that there are no fewer than 3,000 people who have practiced martial arts. If the King of Huainan only sends 10,000 men to besiege the city, Pengcheng should not fall.

Even if Pengcheng really falls, he still has a backup plan.

Heeding Miss Su's advice, he secretly sent people to dig five secret passages that led directly to the dense forest outside the city.

If Pengcheng really cannot be defended, then the people will be arranged to evacuate safely through the secret passage.

Prefect Xu exclaimed, "Miss Su is truly amazing! She made so many preparations in advance, and Pengcheng has managed to remain safe and sound amidst the chaos. We should really thank Miss Su!"

Lin, the head constable, nodded. "Yes, it's truly amazing. We should definitely thank Miss Su."

\

The Great Qi Dynasty was in a period of turmoil.

The war in the north is getting fiercer and fiercer, and two cities have already been massacred by the northern barbarians.

Large numbers of people fled from the northern frontier to the south, while many people from the Huainan area also fled to the capital.

When the people of a country are busy fleeing for their lives, that country is not far from destruction.

The power of the King of Huainan grew rapidly.

Many county magistrates, seeing that the imperial court was not sending anyone to suppress them, assumed that the court had given up on them.

The county magistrates either fled or surrendered.

The positions of county magistrate and prefect near Huainan became the most dangerous professions.

In just half a month, the King of Huainan easily captured twenty-one cities.

The King of Huainan's men had already reached Sicheng, which was next to Qinghe County. Magistrate Tang had no time to think. After weighing the pros and cons, he wrote a letter of surrender and sent his advisor, Cai, to deliver it secretly to Huainan City.

\

Lotus Village is brightly lit at night.

Villagers from nearby villages gathered in Lotus Village to urgently discuss important matters.

I heard that the King of Huainan's troops have arrived in Sicheng.

Sicheng is right next to Qinghe County, and you have to pass through Hehua Village to get there from Sicheng.

If the King of Huainan really attacks Qinghe County, the dozen or so villages including Hehua Village and Niujia Village will be the first to be affected.

The villagers are in the most dangerous situation, and everyone is on edge.

The old village chief's house was filled with village chiefs from various villages.

The village chief of Niujia Village was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth incessantly. "What should we do? If the King of Huainan attacks Qinghe County, our villages will be the first to be hit, and the villagers will be in great danger."

The village chief of Wangjia Village was also very anxious, with blisters on his lips. "There are too many people from so many villages combined, it's not easy to resettle them all."

The old village chief of Lotus Village remained calm. "What's there to be afraid of? At least most of the villagers have learned martial arts. They're better off than no one at all."

Finally, all the village chiefs looked at the old village chief of Lotus Village.

"Brother, the villagers are so scared they don't even dare to sleep. We village chiefs can't bear to see them suffer, right? Why don't you go to the county town and ask Miss Su for help? Let Miss Su help us think of a solution."

Of all the people they knew, Miss Su was the most capable. When they encountered difficulties, the first thing they thought of asking for help was Miss Su.

The story of Su Qianqian encountering the white tiger in Cao County was spread by the villagers as Su Qianqian killing a tiger with her bare hands, thanks to the constant propaganda of Su's second son's wife.

Su Qianqian's reputation as a "tiger-fighting hero" had already spread far and wide.

The fact that she could kill someone with her bare hands shows that Miss Su is extremely powerful.

"Old village chief, only Miss Su can save us now. You are quite familiar with Miss Su, so please ask her for help to save our lives."

Unable to refuse, the old village chief drove his oxcart to Qinghe County overnight.

He met Su Bing on the way, along with twenty of Gu Ji's employees.

The men were all dressed in the same clothes and each carried a pine torch.

The imperial court stipulated that ordinary people could not carry broadswords, but the men did carry weapons. They all carried bows and arrows on their backs and had sharpened short sticks hanging from their waists, about the same length as broadswords.

Bows and arrows can be used for long-range attacks, while sharpened clubs can be used for close-range attacks.

The old village chief was amazed. Just six months ago, Su Bing was dark-skinned and thin, and a pitiful man who was beaten and scolded by Old Lady Su every day.

But now it already has twenty guards.

The Su Bing of the past was timid and hesitant, but the Su Bing of today stands tall and proud, his demeanor completely different from before.

Look at Su Bing, he brings so many people with him when he goes out now, how impressive!

Who can blame them when they have such a remarkable daughter?

Among the children of officials, the competition is based on their fathers' connections; but Su Bing's competition is based on his daughters.

How enviable!

"Master Su."

Su Bing blushed. "Old village chief, please just call me Su Bing as before."

Su Bing went out of town that night precisely for the safety of the villagers near Lotus Village.

"Old village chief, I was just on my way to Lotus Village to find you. My daughter Qianqian said that all the villagers can move to Qinghe County, where there are city walls and moats for protection, which is safer than living in the village."

The old village chief thought that moving to the county town was indeed a good thing, but with more than a dozen villages and over five thousand people, if they went to the county town they would only be able to sleep on the streets. In such cold weather, he was afraid that many people would freeze to death every day.

"Su Bing, going to the county town is good, but there are more than 5,000 villagers there, and there's nowhere for them to stay."

"Don't worry, old village chief, my family's daughter, Qianqian, will provide the accommodation."

The old village chief was very surprised; he hadn't expected that Qian Yatou could produce so many houses.

"Su Bing, it's cold, you should go back to the county town. I'll go back and inform everyone."

The old village chief was overjoyed and hurried back to his home in Lotus Village to relay Su Bing's words to the other village chiefs.

"You village chiefs should tell the villagers that everyone should pack their belongings and head to the county town. Miss Su is willing to provide us with shelter from the wind and rain."

The county town has city walls, which makes it much safer than living in the village.

A large group of village chiefs were very happy that the villagers could move to the county town.

"Miss Su is so righteous, providing shelter for so many people."

"I'll go and inform the villagers of Niujia Village right away. After we pack our things, we'll set off tonight." The village chief of Niujia Village was very excited and was about to leave immediately, but was stopped by the old village chief of Hehua Village.

The old village chief instructed, "You must convey to the villagers that they should bring their own food and daily necessities. We are already extremely grateful to Miss Su for providing us with shelter from the wind and rain; we cannot let Miss Su provide the villagers with any more food or money."

Although the old village chief already knew about Su Qianqian's free porridge distribution in the county town, there were more than 5,000 villagers in total. If they relied on Su Qianqian's food every day to survive, they would definitely eat her out of house and home.

The other village chiefs nodded repeatedly, echoing the old village chief's words.

"Brother is right. It's already very kind of Miss Su to provide us with accommodation. We definitely can't let Miss Su export food. Don't worry, we will definitely warn the villagers."

The village chief of Niujia Village said, "Miss Su is truly kind-hearted. There are over five thousand people here, and it's already quite remarkable that she's providing them with accommodation."

He felt that the villagers of Niujia Village were incredibly lucky; in such a time of war, someone was willing to provide them with a place of refuge for free.

Miss Su is truly a living bodhisattva!