CHAPTER 272: CHAPTER 269: COMING FOR HER

Old Mrs. Chen didn’t care about adding more firewood and hurriedly walked out.

At this moment, Mrs. Gao also heard the noise and quickly ran over: "What’s wrong with Miss Chen? Hasn’t she returned from the mountain? Was anyone accompanying her?"

Mrs. Gao remembered Chen Yongsheng, who was resting in the house, and immediately became furious. Miss Chen hasn’t returned, yet he went home first—does he realize the situation at all? Without waiting for others to speak, Mrs. Gao turned around and dragged Chen Yongsheng out of the house, looking as if she was about to eat him.

Chen Yongsheng was fixed upon by two eyes.

Mrs. Gao said, "What are you standing there for? If you don’t know, we’ll go search immediately."

In such a situation, Chen Zigeng, who originally had great confidence in Chang Yue, also became nervous.

Xu Tingzhen spoke first: "I received a note saying someone is watching Chen Family Village, and Miss Chen should be cautious."

Chen Yongsheng’s face immediately changed, and he turned to walk outside: "I’ll take people up the mountain to search."

Before reaching the courtyard’s exit, Chen Yongsheng turned back and looked at Old Mrs. Chen: "No need to worry too much, Miss Chen knows someone is watching us."

Before Old Mrs. Chen could speak, Mrs. Gao said urgently, her voice shaking: "Why didn’t you say earlier?"

Chen Yongsheng said, "With the autumn harvest approaching and potential battles starting, this is quite common; the mountain is prepared." Despite saying this, Chen Yongsheng hurriedly gathered people and headed up the mountain.

Chen Zigeng wanted to follow but was held back by Mrs. Gao, worried that in their search for Miss Chen, they might lose Zigeng as well.

Old Mrs. Chen stood there for a long time before slowly exhaling. She looked at Xu Tingzhen: "Let’s go inside and wait, instead of acting as if we’ve lost our souls. We’ve been through such ordeals before."

Wars, chaos, the Liao people entering the village, famine, epidemics, each one a significant event.

Most importantly, Chen Yongsheng’s words made Old Mrs. Chen feel somewhat reassured; Miss Chen is someone with a clear mind.

...

Chen Yongsheng led people all the way up the mountain.

In the woods on the mountain, Xie Liangchen already heard the commotion. She grabbed a nearby villager. Chang Yue beside her had long drawn his sword, moving toward the two black shadows.

The two shadows, seeing this, one dashed forward to entangle Chang Yue, while the other tried to bypass him to continue rushing toward Xie Liangchen.

The villager beside Xie Liangchen had never encountered such a scenario and was petrified. By the time he saw clearly, Sister Chen had already drawn the small crossbow from her back and shot an arrow at the shadow.

What Xie Liangchen didn’t expect was that the shadow, like a ghost, twisted away to dodge. She lowered the crossbow, raised her arm, but the person, as if anticipating her move, rolled on the ground, causing the sleeve arrow to drop.

Xie Liangchen wasn’t shocked by this person’s skill but surprised by how well the person seemed to know her.

As the shadow intended to advance, Chang Yue deprived him of the opportunity, stabbing with the sword toward his back.

In a brief moment, two more individuals ran from outside the woods, blocking in front of Xie Liangchen—they were Chang Yue’s men.

The group firmly surrounded the two shadows in the center.

"Grandpa, come quickly." The villager caught his breath and called out loudly.

Footsteps sounded from the nearby mountain.

A fire ignited in the mountain.

Xie Liangchen held a dry branch, poking the fire to make the flames burn brighter, illuminating the surroundings clearly.

Five individuals were bound and thrown on the ground.

Two black-clothed men who had hidden in the woods to attack her, the other three were merchants and their associates.

A few boys about thirteen or fourteen stood nearby, glaring at these people.

More sounds came from the surrounding woods. Soon afterward, Fan Lizheng from Beishan Village emerged and said: "We searched the area; indeed, there’s no one else."

Today, this part of the mountain was guarded by Beishan Village’s people, with Fan Lizheng waiting at the mountain’s foot.

Fan Jiang from Beishan Village said: "When the merchant arrived, we sensed something was off. Besides looking at the herbs, they specifically sought out isolated people for questioning. They inquired about the herbs and Chen Family Village, asking when Sister would come."

The woman nearby said: "Yes, the price they offered for the herbs was so high... The warehouse has already sent out news, roughly indicating this year’s herb prices. There’s no such thing as a free lunch; we should’ve realized they were intentionally deceiving us. They brought Miss Xie over to verify... yet didn’t expect..." They didn’t expect those people were there to harm rather than cheat.

As they spoke, men from several villages came back with Chang Yue’s men, having checked the surroundings several times to confirm no anomalies.

Only then did Fan Lizheng truly relax, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Miss Xie was right; even though the battle hadn’t officially started, the circumstances were different now. They couldn’t indulge in joy; they must be constantly prepared.

Although they had informed everyone beforehand to be cautious of strangers, this incident still occurred. If not for General Song’s men arriving in time, and Miss Xie’s ability to protect herself, who knows what could’ve happened.

Fan Lizheng felt that after this incident, he needed to instruct the patrols to be more vigilant.

Xie Liangchen stood up.

Chang Yue said: "I’ll have these people sent to the government office first."

Xie Liangchen nodded, as Fan Lizheng was just about to speak when he heard Chen Yongsheng’s voice: "Liangchen, are you alright?"

Fan Lizheng felt even more ashamed. This area was under their village’s patrol; Miss Xie should not have faced danger here. If they had noticed earlier and not invited Miss Xie over, it would’ve...

"No need to worry, village chief," Xie Liangchen anticipated Fan Lizheng’s concern, "With impending battles, such events are expected. Even if not this incident, others would arise. The autumn harvest is approaching; both crops and herbs are extremely important to us."

Fan Lizheng nodded.

"Everyone must remain vigilant," Xie Liangchen said, "It’s not only about the battles ahead; we must also prepare."

Not to mention, Baimaling is not far from Zhenzhou; General Song is about to lead his troops to battle. We can’t let chaos reign at home.

Xie Liangchen said: "We must guard our homes."

Fan Lizheng nodded.

Xie Liangchen continued: "Trading can be put on hold, but these lands must be looked after. During this period, we can reduce the collection of herbs and sell off some silkworm cocoons. More people should be allocated for patrols."

Tonight’s incident serves as a reminder for everyone.

Chen Yongsheng and Fan Lizheng discussed, planning for the next day among several villages.

After some deliberation, everyone began to descend the mountain.

Chen Yongsheng approached Xie Liangchen and whispered: "Were they remnants of the past dynasty or Liao people..."

Regardless of who they were, Xie Liangchen said: "They came for me." These individuals understood her well, and she sensed they didn’t intend to assassinate her but rather to capture her.

Chen Yongsheng felt a chill in his heart.

Xie Liangchen said: "We still need to go to the government office and wait for County Magistrate Qu’s interrogation to understand the outcome." She had a hunch they might be investigating her background.