CHAPTER 103: CHAPTER 101:

Li Mao rolled up his sleeves, and like picking up a chick, he lifted Qi Nanfeng, bringing him before Ruan Mian, and kicked him, complaining.

"Miss Ruan, this scoundrel told me to drug you and frame you for having an affair with a wild man; he wants you dead!"

Qi Nanfeng’s eyes widened in disbelief; since when did Li Mao become Ruan Mian’s "lackey"?

He didn’t forget to claim credit in front of Ruan Mian.

"Miss Ruan, I bear no ill will towards you now, but it’s this rabbit scoundrel! He schemes against you every day! I’m helping you teach him a lesson now!" With that, he beat Qi Nanfeng so badly that he was left writhing on the ground, with nothing but Qi Nanfeng’s howls echoing through the forest.

The Liu Family were late to realize, shouting in fear, "Lord, Lord, help! They’re going to beat him to death. My son is being beaten to death!"

But no matter how much she cried, the newly arrived government officers remained indifferent.

She could only run to Ah Ruolan’s nearby tent for help.

Lately, Ah Ruolan had been pitching her tent nearby, constantly summoning Qi Nanfeng and ordering the Liu Family around.

The Liu Family had endured frustration for days, but now had no choice but to take the risk and seek help.

But when she arrived crying outside the tent, she didn’t see the usual high and mighty Ah Ruolan...

Despite the defiance in her eyes, she was tied up by several government officers, unable to resist.

Overnight, she had become a prisoner.

This shocked the Liu Family immensely, but with the soldiers present, she dared not take any rash actions, only hiding behind the bushes.

She watched helplessly as they scolded Ah Ruolan, tied her to a tree, and left with a statement.

"Your father can’t even protect himself now, what use are you?! Trash! Just wait, we’ll take you back to the reception camp to be locked up!"

After saying this, the officers went off to tend to other matters. Seeing this, the Liu Family hurried over, asking in surprise, "Ah... Miss, what happened to you?"

Ah Ruolan saw her, her eyes lighting up instantly: "Hurry and untie me!!"

She needed to run while those people weren’t paying attention!

If not, she would really become a prisoner.

However, the Liu Family remained cautious, scrutinizing her carefully, a slow smile spreading across her face, her chin lifting higher and higher.

The anger from being bullied by Ah Ruolan for days suddenly accumulated.

She put on a gloating expression and laughed mockingly: "Oh dear Miss, why should I untie you? I wouldn’t dare, those lords are life-threatening!"

"I’m just a convict’s woman, how would I dare to go against the lords?"

Ah Ruolan’s face turned vicious, and she cursed!

"Untie me!! If you don’t, I’ll kill you!"

"Oh, so scary, so scary!" Liu Shi laughed uncontrollably, immediately waving her hands as she ran off into the distance, completely unconcerned about Ah Ruolan’s fate.

By now, her son’s safety was long forgotten, her mind solely filled with Ah Ruolan becoming a prisoner, finally getting her revenge!

But she laughed so much she didn’t notice the snow pit, and plunged in sharply.

And this scene was all witnessed by Ruan Mian and the others from not far away.

She originally came to check the situation, hearing that there were changes at the reception camp, and seeing those unfamiliar government officers that morning, she guessed something was happening.

But instead saw the Liu Family’s self-induced misfortune.

Even Cui Zhu laughed: "That old hag really got what she deserved for her little triumphs!"

As soon as she finished speaking, there was movement from the logging site.

A large group of government officers arrived, and Ruan Mian exchanged glances with Cui Zhu before returning to the work area.

As expected, the gatekeepers were raided, and their private extraction of clay coal with the General was fully exposed.

Following this, the entire reception camp was thoroughly inspected and personnel were replaced.

Before the firewater site reported to the court, the camp’s cells were temporarily relocated.

Today, so many officers came to transfer these convicts.

Possibly to better account to their superiors, Ruan Mian and her group were relocated to a temporary village near the post station.

Some former convicts lived inside, with some empty straw huts available.

For those who had just come from the reception camp, the conditions here were significantly better.

The Liu Family felt they were turning the tables, joyfully choosing a straw hut with her newly recognized daughter. Meanwhile, someone had arranged for Ruan Mian’s family to stay in the straw hut closest to the river.

It was far from other convicts’ huts, with a river in front and mountains behind, and a large open space in between for a yard.

This place pleased Ruan Mian very much!

That night, she gathered her family to renovate the house, building a kang bed-stove where needed, repairing the roof, surrounding the place with tree branches, and after clearing snow, they built a large stove.

Everyone worked together, and by the end of the night, the house looked decent.

Early the next morning, their task changed from logging to repairing the city wall.

Leading them was another group of government officers, stricter and harsher by comparison.

Even though Ruan Mian did some arrangements, it wasn’t as relaxed as before.

They were even given a deadly order: "If you don’t complete your section before spring, you’ll live a bad life!!! You’ll all be thrown into the river to feed the fish!"

The crowd looked at each other’s paths winding for hundreds of kilometers to the mountain summit, almost impossible to finish before spring! It was sheer fantasy.

It seemed they deliberately gave these convicts impossible tasks to punish them.

If they couldn’t complete it, they’d suffer terrible penalties, and could become the lowest slaves, subject to all manners of abuse, and even death would go unpunished.

With the order given, no one dared to slack off, wishing they could skip meals to complete the task.

But this was laborious work; it couldn’t be completed quickly.

Ruan Mian saw her brothers exhausted and urged them to rest.

Ruan Qingsong gravely said, "Mianmian, repairing the city wall is more exhausting than logging; you womenfolk can’t contribute much, only we men need to work more so that you can lighten your load."

In such a short time, Ruan Qingsong had already developed a muscular build.

Ruan Mian knew he was committed to the family, looked to the distant mountain silhouette, and devised a plan.

"Brother, don’t worry, I have a way to finish it soon."

But they couldn’t make it too obvious, so she quietly shared some plans with Ruan Qingsong amid his confusion.

However, before their plan began, unexpected weather struck.

That night she saw a peculiar red in the sky, and under the bright night sky, rolling dark clouds were visible.

It started to snow lightly, but there was little wind, and it fell steadily.