"You!" Madam Gui Lan was immediately cut off by her words. After hesitating for a moment, she sighed.
"Alright, there are a few empty rooms on the third floor. I'll take you up."
"By the way, I'll have someone deliver your three meals a day to your room. Please, do not come out for any reason."
The Lotus Cult Leader nodded, "Very good. When the city gates open, I will leave. Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly."
Meanwhile, Shen Ziyan and Huang Ying had already begun teaching the villagers how to make charcoal.
Chen Xiaobei had a general idea of how to make charcoal, but only a rough understanding.
Therefore, he had to humbly learn from Shen Ziyan and Huang Ying.
Huang Ying led the villagers to first build a circular wall, about one person deep and ten feet in diameter, with stones.
Then, two fire openings were left, after which wood was to be loaded inside.
The wood had to be placed vertically.
After filling it with wood, some small branches were piled on top, and then it was covered with soil. A single opening was left at the very top for smoke to escape.
Then, mud was carefully used to seal all possible air leaks.
This whole process took until nightfall.
Seeing such a large project completed in a single day, Chen Xiaobei secretly marveled at the power of many people.
Just then, a carrier pigeon quietly landed in Liu Rumei's room.
After reading the letter, Liu Rumei's brows furrowed.
After a moment of thought, he got up to see Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun, "Your Highness, I have just received intelligence that the commander of the Qingniu County garrison, Zhu Yan, was killed this morning, and his head was hung at the county yamen as a warning."
"It is said that the city guards have searched house by house all day, and the killer has not yet been apprehended."
Hearing this, Xiao Jingyun frowned.
"What?"
The scene from yesterday, when he asked Princess Zhaoning, flashed through his mind. The princess's master had gone down the mountain, and immediately afterwards, something happened in the city.
With this thought, Xiao Jingyun angrily knocked on Princess Zhaoning's door.
Upon seeing Xiao Jingyun, Princess Zhaoning's heart sank, as Tian Wen had also conveyed the same news to her.
Princess Zhaoning forced a calm demeanor, "Imperial Brother, what is wrong? Who has angered you?"
Xiao Jingyun sat down on a chair, gave Princess Zhaoning a cold look, and asked, "I've come to ask you, where exactly is the Lotus Cult Leader?"
"Didn't I tell you? She went to Xiao Family Town. She doesn't like it here."
Xiao Jingyun grabbed Princess Zhaoning's arm, "Alright, then take me to Xiao Family Town now and show me which inn she is staying in."
Cornered, Princess Zhaoning had no choice but to blush and explain.
"Imperial Brother, since you already know, I won't hide it from you. My master went to Qingniu County yesterday. She said she wanted to kill Zhu Yan and claim the first merit."
Xiao Jingyun slammed his palm on the table in anger, "Reckless!"
"With your actions, the situation might change, and we will be passive in our response."
Saying that, he huffily flicked his sleeves and left.
Standing in the courtyard, Xiao Jingyun looked up at the starry sky and sighed deeply.
Heaven does not favor me! My grand plan was already set, but I never expected such a thing to happen.
My sister was eager to gain merit, which is understandable. Zhu Yan was a general of the rebels and deserved to be killed, but the timing was wrong! He was killed too early.
As Xiao Jingyun had feared, his worries became reality.
At dinnertime, the peerless Daoist's face was grim as he listened to reports from various parties. After a day of effort, nothing had been achieved.
He walked back and forth in front of everyone with his hands behind his back. Su Dan Novel Network
"The opponent has started to make a move, and we must respond."
"You all must immediately leave the city and go to the nearby villages to invite all the villagers into the city. Remember to be polite, and help them carry more grain and clothing. We don't know how long we will be staying."
After making arrangements, the peerless Daoist immediately wrote a letter and sent it by carrier pigeon to Zhu Meng on the mountain.
Zhu Meng had been living in the Jujube Tree Forest for the past few days. Although he was uneasy, he was also quite at ease. Other than eating and drinking, he had nothing else to do each day.
In the morning, he received a report that Zhu Yan had been killed. He was very worried and sent Wang Long with troops down to the foot of the mountain, ready to deal with any possible accidents.
However, after waiting for a day, everything was calm, and there were no anomalies.
Just as he was puzzled, he received another letter from the peerless Daoist.
In the letter, the peerless Daoist advised him to capture more villagers and take them to the mountain as hostages.
Zhu Meng read the letter without a word and handed it to Zhang Liao.
After reading it, Zhang Liao sighed deeply, "I didn't expect the Crown Prince to suddenly attack Zhu Yan."
Zhu Meng nodded, "Yes, it is reasonable for Daoist Master Jueding to do this. If we don't capture more hostages, making Xiao Jingyun hesitant, then Qingniu County might not be saved."
Zhang Liao agreed with Zhu Meng's viewpoint.
"The Marshal is right. We must also capture some people and bring them to the mountain. We must hold out at least until the Great Tu Kingdom and Great Lin Kingdom send troops."
Hearing Zhang Liao's words, Zhu Meng nodded.
"Wang Long is at the foot of the mountain, so this matter will be entrusted to him."
Wang Long received the order at the second watch of the night. After a moment of thought, he set his sights on Cui Family Village, which was adjacent to Hetou Village.
Thousands of soldiers pounced on Cui Family Village like wolves and tigers.
The village guard of Cui Family Village were all long-term laborers of Cui Daneng.
As soon as they saw the imperial army coming, they were so scared that they turned and ran.
At this time, only the steward, Cui San, was present in the Cui family courtyard. Cui Daneng had already gone to Xiao Family Town.
Upon hearing that the imperial army had arrived, Cui San was extremely flustered, but he had to maintain a calm facade. "What are you panicking about? Be calm, and follow me to take a look."
Cui San was fully dressed and was about to go out when soldiers arrived at the door. They were very polite to Cui San. "Everyone, I am here to deliver a message from the Great Marshal. Please go up to the mountain to help cook. By the way, it's best to bring a few extra clothes. If you have food at home, bring it along, and we will buy it at the market price."
Cui San accepted the reward and had reported Chen Xiaobei before. He was not as fearful of the imperial army.
As soon as he heard that they were to go up the mountain to cook, he instantly understood what was happening. He clasped his fists at the arriving imperial soldiers.
"Sir soldier, I want to report someone to you. His name is Cui Fugui, the father-in-law of Chen Xiaobei, the village chief of Hetou Village."
"This Chen Xiaobei helped the Crown Prince move a lot of things up the mountain with the villagers a few days ago."
This group of soldiers was eager to achieve merit, and as soon as they heard that they could capture someone related to Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun, they were no longer polite.
Led by Cui San, this group of people soon arrived at Cui Fugui's doorstep.
At this time, Cui Fugui had already been awakened by the commotion in the village. As soon as he got dressed, he heard the heavy pounding on his main door.
Cui Fugui quickly said to his old servant, Ah Xiang, "It's most likely aimed at me. Quickly hide in the cellar. If anything happens to me, at least someone can inform Hong Yu."
Ah Xiang wanted to say more, but Cui Fugui had already gotten up to greet them at the door.
Ah Xiang had no choice but to drill into the woodshed and hide in the cellar, listening intently to the sounds on the ground.