The Princess of the Substitute Bride Strikes Back

Zheng Chengyuan walked in, and a middle-aged woman came out of the room and greeted him: "Sir, where are you going? Why is the line so long?"

Zheng Chengyuan replied: "We are a team escorting prisoners from the imperial court. We are not in a position to reveal anything else. May I ask if there is any water or food for sale here?"

The woman's initiative and enthusiasm reminded Zheng Chengyuan of Mu Yiheng's words. Could there really be something unusual? But this small village only had a dozen houses, and it didn't look unusual.

The woman explained hurriedly, "I am a woman with little knowledge. I didn't mean to ask. We just dug a well a while ago and we have water. If you don't mind, you can come to my house to drink some water to quench your thirst. How can I charge you money?"

Hearing that the well water in the back mountain was not affected by the famine, Zheng Chengyuan felt a little relieved: "There is water in the well dug in the back mountain? That's really lucky, but there are so many of us, so I'm afraid it will be inconvenient."

When the officials standing by heard that there were pheasants and rabbits, their eyes lit up. They had not eaten meat for a long time and were really craving for it, and the villagers were so welcoming.

But Zheng Chengyuan frowned, and was suspicious. This village had no worries about food and drink, so why did they want to keep nearly 200 people to eat? They met many refugees along the way, so it was impossible for them to be so peaceful! It was really strange!

"Boss, since the eldest sister has said so, how about we take a rest here for a day?" The officers got excited and kept encouraging Zheng Chengyuan.

"Big sister, you are so polite! How can we eat and drink for free? It's hard to travel here, and it's a famine. We would be very grateful if you could ask for a drink."

The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. Zheng Chengyuan did not dare to act rashly. Although he smelled the aroma of meat, the woman said that the men had gone to the back mountain to hunt. The smell of meat wafting from the house was contrary to common sense, so it was better to leave as soon as possible.

"It's okay. If the officer doesn't want to stay for dinner, I'll go get a bucket of water to quench your thirst."

"Thank you, big sister!" Zheng Chengyuan refused to stay for dinner. The woman's expression did not change and she turned back to the house to get some water.

"Boss, given this good opportunity, why don't you stay and eat?" The officers were extremely confused. They could smell the aroma of meat even when standing at the gate of the yard, and they were all extremely greedy.

Is their boss starving?

"Shut up, everyone. Use your brains. This small village lives better than the people in Yuanbei County. Now there is a famine. Our team has nearly 200 people, and they still let us eat. Don't you think it's strange? You have a brain for nothing, you idiot."

"How should I know? I can only think of having meat to eat and I'll be happy. I'm almost starving to death, so why would I care about so many things?"

The officer only dared to mutter in a low voice, but after thinking about it, he felt that what his boss said made sense. After all, life is the most important, so he shut up!

"Are you all ready? There are more than a hundred people outside. Don't make any mistakes."

The middle-aged woman walked into the main room and asked anxiously.

There were more than thirty strong men sitting in the room, holding axes and knives. They were all big and sturdy, and they didn't look hungry at all.

"Don't worry! You are timid now, and you get scared when you eat meat. Look at those people outside. Although there are many people, there are only a few dozen officers and soldiers with swords and fighting ability. The others are skinny. What is there to be afraid of? As long as the officers drink water, they will be safe."

"It's easy for you to say that. I've already told you not to cook meat in broad daylight. Now that so many people have come, it will be troublesome if we can't knock them out at once."

"I also think we should proceed with caution and confirm whether the knockout drug is sufficient. It is better to be cautious."

"Oh, why are you guys taking so long? I just saw from afar that there are many little kids and pretty girls in the team.

"When they are dizzy, you won't hesitate anymore."

"That's right, let's get started. There's nothing to be afraid of. We have fifty or sixty people."

The people in the main room were discussing animatedly and no longer paying attention to the pot of meat on the kitchen stove.

"Master, do you think there is something wrong with this official? They invited us to be their guest, with meat and water, but they refused."

The people from the second branch of the Mu family were very close to the officials and heard the entire conversation. Cai really couldn't understand their behavior. It was so unlucky that they didn't even want to eat the meat that was right in front of them.

"Let's drink the water first when it comes. I'm so thirsty." Mu Yiguo ignored her. Cai had been making trouble along the way and had caused him to be whipped by the police. He didn't want to be implicated again.

"Wow... Grandma, I want to eat meat. Why can't we eat meat?"

Cai's original intention was to complain to Mu Yiguo, but she didn't expect that Mu Yuanzhang heard it. The five-year-old child cried loudly for meat.

"Go, cover his mouth and call Mu Yibai over."

Mu Yuanzhang's shout made Zheng Chengyuan's head buzz. He already had doubts about this woman, and now his thoughts became even more confused.

He remembered what Mu Yiheng said, thinking it must be Mu Yibai's instruction, so he asked him to come and discuss it.

As soon as Mu Yibai arrived, a woman came out of the room with a shoulder pole and a bucket full of water on her shoulder. She stopped outside the yard.

"Sir, here are two buckets of water. Drink first, and I'll fetch two more."

"Thank you, sister!" Zheng Chengyuan looked at the woman's back as she left, then looked at the two buckets of water on the ground, and asked Mu Yibai with his eyes.

"Sir, this water has a knockout drug in it. You can't drink it."

"How did you find out?"

"You asked me to come here so that I can judge. If you don't believe it, you can let the horse drink a bowl of water first, and then pour it into the bag. If the horse does not fall down after an incense stick, the water is safe."

Zheng Chengyuan felt that what Mu Yibai said made sense, so he asked his deputy to bring a skinny horse, scoop water for the horse to drink, and poured the rest of the water into bags but did not drink it for the time being.

"Sir, there may be a tough battle ahead." Before Mu Yi finished his words and the officers hadn't reacted, the horse had already fallen down.

Zheng Chengyuan ordered his men to retreat and draw their swords to be on guard.

"Sir, what do you mean? I gave you water out of kindness, but you drew your swords against me. Is there any law in this world?" The woman came out with water and her heart was in her throat when she saw this scene, but she still greeted him with a smile.

"How dare you! You drugged an official and tried to murder him, yet you still dare to make excuses! Our horses fell down after drinking water." An officer shouted angrily with a knife in his hand.

"Sir, this is too unfair. The horse is so thin and it is normal for it to be tired after running all the way. How can you blame the water?"

"Stop talking nonsense! Surrender immediately! Everyone inside, come out!" Zheng Chengyuan naturally no longer believed her and pointed his sword at the woman's throat.

"Help! The government is killing people!" The woman was panicked. They didn't even drink water. This was a big trouble.

In a flash, more than thirty strong men rushed out of the hall, holding knives and hacking at everyone, regardless of whether they were officials or civilians. At the same time, more than twenty people appeared from the side of the road, all holding sharp knives, and rushed straight towards the exile team.

Although Zheng Chengyuan and others were soldiers, they only knew how to fight and were exhausted. They lacked water and food, and their fighting power was greatly reduced. The villagers took advantage of this and rushed towards them with knives.

Mu Yibai held the official's sword and fought with more than a dozen strong men in a wheelchair. Within ten moves, he seriously injured them and they fell to the ground, unable to get up again.

The people in the team could only dodge the attacks of the villagers. Since they had no weapons, the Chen and Wang families played an important role and fought off the villagers with their bare hands.

Fu Yunxi and Mu Yiheng cooperated well, which was a good opportunity to test the results of their martial arts training. They joined forces to repel the villagers, and there was no need for Luo and others to take action.

No one was injured, but the eldest son of the second wife, Mu Yifan, and the women of the Ruan family were hacked. Old Mrs. Zhu, Old Mrs. Ruan and several children fell down in the scuffle.

Furthermore, many were too exhausted from the fighting to stand.

"Old Third, go into the house and search to see if there is anyone hiding."

"Okay, boss."