Yu Xiaoshuang made a solemn promise to Zhao Jiaqi: "Cloud Queen, rest assured, as long as I am emperor, I will never wage war against the Cloud Kingdom as long as I am in power. If anyone dares to be unfavorable to the Cloud Kingdom, I will use the strength of the entire nation to help you, exchanging the truest friendship of the Wei Kingdom for the help you give!"
Oh my heavens!
Zhao Jiaqi felt rather embarrassed. She had truly never expected to gain a fan, especially a male fan!
Yu Xiaoshuang's sincerity touched Zhao Jiaqi.
She quickly waved her hand: "No need for the strength of the entire nation. If the Cloud Kingdom ever needs help, and you can lend a hand, my husband and I will be very content!"
Yu Xiaoshuang said nothing. He knew that words were always less convincing than actions. If that day came, he would naturally show both the Cloud Emperor and the Cloud Queen.
The Crown Prince of the Wei Kingdom, along with his envoy and guards, departed. The Crown Princes of other kingdoms also expressed their intentions and left one after another.
Suddenly, the inn became much quieter.
Returning to their room, Fan Zehao showered his wife's face with kisses. His wife's mouth was simply a sharp blade.
It could bring the dead back to life, and the living to the status of gods!
The next day, the group set off again.
Lingnan City was still a little over an hour away. But now, the sun was high in the sky, it was midday, and their stomachs had begun to protest with rumbling noises.
Zhao Jiaqi lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked at the lush forests on both sides of the path. This reminded her of Er Lang, but it was a pity that they could no longer find him in his original spot when they went to visit him.
Chun Fen saw her mistress gazing at the forest and stepped forward to ask: "Madam, do you need to dismount to relieve yourself?"
Zhao Jiaqi was startled by Chun Fen's words, then said: "Ah? Oh... No, I'm hungry. I want to eat roast chicken!"
After speaking, Zhao Jiaqi asked Sixi, who was driving the carriage, to stop. Fan Zehao rode his horse forward and learned that his wife was hungry.
"Rest here. Shi He, take two men and go into the mountains to catch some pheasants. Madam wants to eat chicken."
Shi He took the order, picked two guards, and went into the mountains.
The weather in August was still quite hot, but by the edge of the forest, the gentle breeze brought a cool feeling.
The heat on their bodies was no longer so bothersome. Zhao Jiaqi tilted her head and inhaled the unpolluted air, her mood cheerful, revealing two canine teeth as she smiled.
"It's so comfortable. Compared to being in the palace, the air outside smells sweet. Hmm, I want chicken, and I also want roast rabbit and roast fish!"
She listed several dishes in a row. Her appetite was much better than yesterday. It was a good thing that his wife could eat.
Fan Zehao, eager to show off, rolled up his trouser legs, pulled up his sleeves, found a branch, and sharpened it into a fork with his sharp dagger. He shouted to Zhao Jiaqi, who was sitting on the carriage's canopy: "Wife, I'll go find a small river to skewer fish for you. Wait, don't run around."
Her husband was indeed affectionate.
Zhao Jiaqi waved her arms at him a few times, indicating she understood.
Fan Zehao left, accompanied by his guards. At this moment, Zhao Jiaqi was only left with one guard, and Sixi, who was driving the carriage, was a man.
Su Ya and Chun Fen found a flat patch of grass and began to move pastries and fruits from the carriage. Their busy figures, like bees, were clearly spied upon by people in the forest.
Men wearing face masks, holding sharpened broadswords, flashed their sharp glints in the sunlight.
A short, thin man whispered to the man beside him: "Boss, those carriages down the mountain clearly belong to wealthy families. If we rob them once, we can eat for two years!"
The man called "Boss" was about 1.8 meters tall, well-built, with a fierce look in his eyes.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. The men who had just left wore swords at their waists, indicating they were skilled fighters. However, when it came to ruthlessness, he, Ma Wu, feared no one!
This bandit business was truly good. If they didn't make a move for a year, they could eat for three years!
A scar ran diagonally across Ma Wu's ferocious face, like a centipede crawling on his face, from his left eyebrow all the way to the corner of his right mouth. Just looking at his long face could scare one to death, let alone his eyes, which seemed poisoned.
"Rob them. Make sure not to hurt that woman, she's worth a lot of silver!"
As Ma Wu finished speaking, he pulled the mask over his face and swiftly charged down the mountain, followed by a group of men who rushed down in a flurry.
In an instant, Zhao Jiaqi and her group were surrounded. Zhao Jiaqi's heart sank halfway, and the other half was filled with curiosity.
In this day and age, there were still bandits who occupied mountains as their domain.
"Don't move, don't resist, or you'll be the one to suffer!" Ma Wu's rough voice echoed across the grassland.
Holding his broadsword and pointing at Zhao Jiaqi, he saw her standing still, not showing the slightest panic. A sense of foreboding flashed in his cold eyes.
This woman either knew martial arts, or the seemingly ordinary people around her were also martial arts masters. Otherwise, this woman wouldn't be crying, making a fuss, or begging for mercy!
Even the maids and servants around her were looking at them calmly. There was something fishy going on.
Zhao Jiaqi spread her hands, indicating she was being obedient: "Are you bandits from this mountain? Do you only rob for money and not for women?"
Ma Wu and his subordinates: "......."
Seeing their silence, Zhao Jiaqi frowned. Was this not the legendary mountain banditry? Or had her code phrase been wrong?
So, she imitated what she saw in TV dramas, putting her hands on her hips, raising her chin, and asking Ma Wu, who was speaking: "This tree was planted by me, this road was opened by me. Who are you? State your name! I, who never changes my name, never changes my surname, am Lingnan Qi Niang!"
Lingnan Qi Niang?
Ma Wu was bewildered. They had been occupying this mountain for several years, and they were quite familiar with Lingnan. They had heard of Wang Da, Li San, but who was this woman called Qi Niang?
Dog Egg, short and clumsy, asked Ma Wu: "Boss, who is Qi Niang? Could she be a concubine newly taken by the prefect?"
Ma Wu was also flustered. Thinking it wasn't right, he shook his head with certainty: "No, if the prefect took a concubine, he would have to pay a hundred thousand taels of silver!"
"What about a mistress?"
Ma Wu frowned, glancing at Dog Egg: "Do you see any mistress who would put a cuckold's hat on her master? Wouldn't she be afraid the prefect would take her life?"
Well, Dog Egg couldn't figure out who this Qi Niang was!
Zhao Jiaqi watched them mutter for a long time, estimating that her husband and Shi He would be back soon. She shouted to them again: "Are you gentlemen? State your names, stop dithering!"
They were still men who urinated standing up. They dared to come down the mountain to rob for money and women, but they were so timid. How could they dare to occupy mountains?
Men could never be called impotent. Zhao Jiaqi's words struck a nerve with Ma Wu. He was known as Lord Feng in the Phoenix Mountain area, yet he was being looked down upon by an old woman.
"Damn it, my name is Ma Wu, and I am the leader of this Phoenix Mountain. Today, we will not only rob you of your money and women, but we will also kidnap you." Ma Wu shouted, then waved his broadsword: "Go, capture them alive! I'll let her know tonight if I'm a man!"