I Haven't Had Enough Fun Yet!

Old Madam Zhou exclaimed with delight, "Black Wind Stronghold? This little girl has become a bandit in the mountains?"

Cheng Xiao nodded and said:

"Yes, so I spoke with the prefect and ordered him to summon the prefectural troops directly."

"Take down Black Wind Stronghold? What great things can a little girl like her accomplish?"

Old Madam Zhou nodded and said, "That's true. We should just kill this little girl to avoid endless trouble later."

These people were highly unified and quickly gathered more than 500 people, charging towards Black Wind Stronghold.

The little birds in the trees outside chirped, "Oh no! Something terrible has happened! These bad guys are coming up the mountain!"

"I need to hurry and inform Lingbao so they can make preparations quickly."

Several birds flew up the mountain. It would take several hours for these people to gather, but these birds were very fast.

They soon discovered Lingbao, Lingbao was cultivating. It sat motionless on a rock.

Suddenly, they heard birds chirping. "Lingbao, get ready quickly! The bad guys are coming! The bad guys are coming!"

Lingbao opened her eyes and ran towards Zhou Wanwan.

Zhou Wanwan fed Hongshu energy all night and is exhausted; she's sleeping now.

Lingbao rushed over and said, "Wanwan, something bad has happened! Cheng Xiao has sent more than 500 people this way, and I heard they are the elite troops from the prefecture."

Zhou Wanwan hadn't expected that Cheng Xiao could actually mobilize the prefect's troops; over 500 men was already a large number.

She immediately summoned Tie Niu, Tie Niu quickly gathered several hundred men and said, "We'd rather fight them than do anything wrong. Why are they coming up the mountain to arrest us?"

Zhou Wanwan shook her head and said:

"What are you afraid of? Have you forgotten the geographical environment of our Black Wind Stronghold?"

Ahead lies the Black Wind River, Black Wind River it is a suspension bridge. I plan to dismantle that suspension bridge.

Others need to cross the bridge over the Black Wind River, but Zhou Wanwan doesn't need to at all. All her subordinates are tree people, and these trees can climb mountains directly.

This mountain is so steep that most people can't climb it, but these trees can.

Tie Niu thought it made sense, and then they heard someone report, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! A lot of people are rushing in from outside. What should we do now?"

Zhou Wanwan coldly said, "Let's go, let's go take a look."

These 500 men were all wearing iron armor; they were actually Ironclad Army.

Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said, "Cut the ropes on the suspension bridge."

Zhou Wanwan then found the Old Scholar Tree and said, "Since these soldiers are already here, let's show them what we're capable of."

The Old Scholar Tree chuckled and said, "Don't worry, leave it to me!"

Several armored soldiers complained:

"These petty thieves in the mountains, do we really need our Ironclad Army to get involved?"

What are we for? We're here to guard the city gates and suppress bandits!

"This is just a minor incident; wouldn't sending a few constables solve the problem?"

Someone immediately chimed in:

"That's absolutely right! If you ask me, it's all because Cheng Xiao has gained favor with the prefect now."

They want to use the pretext of suppressing bandits to show off!

Then a well-informed person came over and whispered:

"You don't know yet, do you? Last time, Eunuch Hai personally came to our prefecture to see the prefect. The two of them talked behind closed doors for most of the day, and they already reached an agreement!"

As long as Cheng Xiao can secure his position, the prefect will certainly reap the benefits in the future.

"Eunuch Hai? He's quite powerful in the court now! No wonder!"

As soon as a group of the Ironclad Army reached the middle of the bridge, they felt it begin to sway.

One of the Ironclad Army shouted, "What's going on? Why is the bridge suddenly shaking? Something feels wrong!"

"Oh no! Run! The bridge is collapsing!"

But no sooner had he finished speaking than the rope at one end of the bridge was cut, and half of the Ironclad Army fell into the Black Wind River.

The Black Wind River in winter is icy cold; even if you don't die, you'll be skinned alive.

The Ironclad Army behind them trembled with fear and immediately turned and ran.

As he ran, he shouted threats, "Listen up, bandits of Black Wind Stronghold! You dare to plot against us? We are officials of the imperial court! You just wait and see!"

Zhou Wanwan watched them run away and sighed, "Hey! These guys are such cowards, why are they running away? I haven't had enough fun yet!"

Liu Xiuyuan, Zheng Yuanbao, Tie Niu stared at each other, and Liu Xiuyuan whispered, "Master, isn't it bad that we've offended the imperial court?"

Zhou Wanwan shook her head and said:

"This is Cheng Xiao's idea; Cheng Xiao is colluding with the prefect."

Their goal is to arrest us; if we don't resist, we'll be lambs to the slaughter.

Zhou Wanwan didn't know why things had turned out this way.

Originally, she only wanted to feed the people of Liu Family Village, but she didn't expect the situation to become increasingly uncontrollable.

She truly had no way out. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have been imprisoned long ago, or lost everything.

In ancient times, losing everything was a terrible thing. Those people wanted her dead, but she was determined to live a more exciting life.

She didn't want to go against the imperial court, but now the court wanted to take action against them, especially Cheng Xiao, whom she originally thought she could get rid of directly.

But now Cheng Xiao has hooked up with the old eunuch and is living a very successful life.

Zhou Wanwan changed her clothes and then walked down the cliff with the Old Scholar Tree.

Zhou Wanwan went directly to Feng Jiao. Feng Jiao had just finished crying, and upon seeing her, she sighed and said, "Wanwan, you're here. There's something I need to discuss with you."

Zhou Wanwan looked at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Feng Jiao sighed and said:

"I just received a letter from the capital. Take a look! My three older brothers are all involved in a case of treason. This case is very complicated and deeply entrenched."

The eldest brother has been ordered to go home and reflect on his actions.

Although my second brother is still sitting in the position of Vice Minister, he is now surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Third Brother's business in Beijing plummeted, and he faced constant harassment.

Fortunately, the third brother was meticulous and noticed something was wrong beforehand, so he transferred most of his capital to the branch in Jiangnan.

That's how they managed to avoid being wiped out and barely escaped disaster.

This must have been the work of Eunuch Hai. He's now a favorite of the Emperor, wielding immense power; we can't defeat him."

Zhou Wanwan looked at her and asked, "What is the current emperor like?"

Zhou Wanwan had only been in this world for a short time and had no idea what the emperor of the Great Xia was like.

Feng Jiao sighed:

"In his early Great Xia was a truly wise ruler who reduced taxes and levies and rectified officialdom."

But ever since Eunuch Hai has been whispering in His Majesty's ear every day, the political landscape of the court has completely changed.

How can His Majesty have any interest in governing the country now? He is completely absorbed in the alchemy room, seeking elixirs and medicines, hoping to achieve immortality.

The Daoist priests who practiced alchemy were treated as honored guests, and the memorials piled up on the emperor's desk, covered in a thick layer of dust.

The officials of the six ministries were shirking their responsibilities, and the exorbitant taxes and levies in the localities were becoming increasingly heavy. This is also why I don't plan to return to the capital.