Chapter 242: Senior Sister Knows Too Much

Niu Jiahua pleaded and explained for what felt like an eternity before finally convincing Zhou Yang that she was, in fact, Niu Jiahua.

But by then, it was too late to scout anything. Xu Nianqing had already led his men up the mountain.

Niu Jiahua said anxiously, "What do we do now? We have to go warn Father and the others."

Zhou Yang said, "Quick, we have to leave before they do."

Seeing the two of them actually preparing to rush back and sound the alarm, Xiao Li was speechless.

"Even if you make it back, do you really think the people of Tianhu Village can defeat these government soldiers?"

Niu Jiahua immediately calmed down. "Senior Sister, do you have a better idea? Please, help us."

Zhou Yang’s expression stiffened. The thought of an invisible, intangible ghost nearby was enough to make anyone’s blood run cold.

Xiao Li, however, did have a plan. "Have you ever heard of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao?"

Niu Jiahua asked, "What’s ’besieging Wei to rescue Zhao’?"

She didn’t know the story, and Xiao Li had no intention of telling it. She got straight to the point. "Xu Nianqing took a lot of men from Kunyu County with him. The county’s defenses are weak right now. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Go kidnap his father. Wouldn’t he have to rush back to save him?"

Niu Jiahua’s knees went weak. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. "Kidnap... his father? The County Magistrate...?"

They were bandits, and they did oppose the government, but they only skirmished with soldiers occasionally. If they could win, they didn’t dare push their luck. If they couldn’t, they ran.

The other day, when the soldiers came and started slaughtering people, was the first time in history they had ever fought back and killed so many of them.

Although Niu Jiahua had gone on raids with Niu Tianhu and fought government soldiers before, kidnapping the County Magistrate? She wouldn’t dare, not even if you fed her the gall of a leopard.

Xiao Li couldn’t help but tease her. "You were bold enough to force yourself on the County Magistrate’s son, but you don’t dare kidnap the County Magistrate himself?"

Niu Jiahua was speechless. ’...Senior Sister knows way too much.’

"Well... I didn’t know he was the County Magistrate’s son at the time."

Zhou Yang couldn’t hear Xiao Li, but he could piece together the conversation from Niu Jiahua’s words.

"Kidnapping the County Magistrate might make them turn back, but what happens after? We can’t just hold him forever. Once they rescue him, they’ll just attack Tianhu Village again, only this time they’ll be even angrier. They’ll definitely try to wipe us out completely."

Xiao Li replied, "Then don’t let them know it was people from Tianhu Village who did it. Disguise yourselves. After you kidnap the County Magistrate, flee northeast. The farther you get, the safer Tianhu Village will be."

Eventually, you just need to find a place to kill Xu Shuangnian. Kunyu County would get a new County Magistrate, and the current crisis would be resolved.

She didn’t say that last part out loud, though. These two didn’t even have the guts to kidnap someone, let alone kill them.

Besides, even with a new County Magistrate, Tianhu Village would still be a bandit stronghold, and the government would still try to exterminate it.

Unless an order came from above to grant amnesty to Tianhu Village, allowing its people to be registered as common citizens again, this whole affair would never truly end.

Xiao Li was the Emperor. Though she wasn’t at court, the systems she had established certainly didn’t include any provisions for protecting mountain bandits.

It was only because she had unexpectedly ended up in this bandit stronghold, seen the conditions here, and because the County Magistrate was connected to Xu Nianqing that she was helping them against the government soldiers.

The bandits were commoners forced into the mountains, which was understandable, but it was also a fact that they robbed others.

Right and wrong were never absolute, but banditry was ultimately not a righteous path.

Niu Jiahua and Zhou Yang discussed it for a moment and finally decided to kidnap the County Magistrate.

In the end, it was the ghost, Xiao Li, who gave them courage. ’If a ghost is helping us,’ they thought, ’what’s there to fear about kidnapping a County Magistrate?’

As it turned out, luck was more important than skill when it came to success.

Who would have thought that Xu Shuangnian would go out with only a single servant? He strutted down the street, confident no one would recognize him. Niu Jiahua and Zhou Yang barely broke a sweat; they just grabbed him and took off.

The two split up. Niu Jiahua fled on horseback with Xu Shuangnian, while Zhou Yang stayed behind. Once the government soldiers returned, he would go up the mountain to inform Niu Tianhu.

Niu Jiahua took her captive and rode east, quickly leaving Kunyu County behind.

She galloped nonstop for two hours before daring to stop. Looking at Xu Shuangnian, who had been jostled into unconsciousness, Niu Jiahua couldn’t believe she had actually kidnapped the County Magistrate.

"Senior Sister, will this really work?"

Xiao Li said, "Take a look toward the mountain, and you’ll know if it worked."

At the foot of the mountain, a group of men on horseback was galloping toward them, kicking up a cloud of dust. The one in the lead was none other than Xu Nianqing.

Niu Jiahua’s face paled in terror. She scrambled onto her horse and shouted, "Giddy-up!"

In an era with no navigation, where one couldn’t even get a map, Xiao Li could only rely on analysis to determine their direction, guiding Niu Jiahua toward the area where Prince Wei was likely to appear.

Xiao Li was furious. ’If only I were in my own body,’ she thought, ’I wouldn’t have to suffer like this.’

For now, her only option was to get Niu Jiahua to Prince Wei’s side as quickly as possible. Only Xiao Jingyi could save the people of Tianhu Village, and only Xiao Jingyi could bring her back to the palace.

However, after riding for only five hours, the horse couldn’t take it anymore, and neither could the rider. They had to stop and rest. Most importantly, it was getting dark, and they needed to find a place to spend the night.

"Miss, what grudge do you hold against me? Why have you kidnapped me?"

Xu Shuangnian was awake. Fortunately, Niu Jiahua had the foresight to tie him up securely.

Xiao Li had warned her not to mention Tianhu Village under any circumstances, or she would bring trouble to her father and the others. But Niu Jiahua couldn’t think of a good excuse.

After racking her brain, she had a sudden flash of inspiration and blurted out, "I’ve taken a fancy to your son. Will you betroth him to me?"

Xu Shuangnian was speechless.

Xiao Li was also speechless. ’Nice one.’

Xu Shuangnian almost laughed in anger. "If you’ve taken a fancy to Qingyun, then go find him! By kidnapping me, haven’t you made it even more impossible for you to be with him?"

One lie requires a thousand more to cover it. Just as Niu Jiahua was floundering in embarrassment, Xiao Li helped her answer: "Tell him Prince Wei owes you a favor. You’re taking him to the Prince so he can preside over the marriage."

Niu Jiahua was stunned. ’Senior Sister really has some nerve! Prince Wei! He’s a Prince, a noble of the highest rank! How can I just make up a connection like that? This is bragging to the high heavens.’

But she couldn’t think of another excuse, so she had to bite the bullet and say it.

Xu Shuangnian truly hadn’t expected such an answer. "Miss, you live here at the border. How could you possibly know Prince Wei?"

Niu Jiahua screamed internally: ’I don’t know him at all!!’

’Senior Sister, he’s going to see through the lie! What do I say now?’

Now it was Xiao Li’s turn to be speechless. ’So it’s my job to spin this lie, is it?’

"What’s there to explain? He’s the hostage. Just tell him it can all be confirmed once you’re in front of Prince Wei."

Xiao Li had Niu Jiahua say a few vague things, something about Prince Wei coming for an inspection and likely passing through certain areas. Xu Shuangnian was skeptical, but after thinking it over, he decided that meeting Prince Wei might be his only way out of this alive. He even took the initiative to help Niu Jiahua plan the route.

Niu Jiahua looked at the route to Prince Wei as if it were her own lifeline. Once she reached the end of it, she was afraid she’d be a dead woman.

’Senior Sister is really something else,’ she thought. ’Even if I’m going to die, she wants me to go out with a bang.’