Chapter 268: A Fortune Made

Chapter 268: A Fortune Made

Qin Xiaoyao hurriedly had the breakfast delivered to the hall and then sent a portion to Song Que before joining the others for breakfast in the hall.

At this moment, Lady Liu could no longer hold back her curiosity and asked Qin Xiaoyao about what had happened yesterday.

Everyone else also turned their gazes toward Qin Xiaoyao, waiting to hear the story.

"Oh, there's not much to tell."

"After my husband was captured by the mountain bandits, he was imprisoned in the county office's dungeon."

"Later, I found him in the dungeon. I took the opportunity to kidnap the bandit leader, killed the second-in-command, and waited inside the dungeon for the Imperial Army to raid the county office."

"After nightfall, the Imperial Army finally arrived."

"Then, we explained the situation to them and accompanied the soldiers to meet the Second Prince. After that, we were sent back." Qin Xiaoyao recounted truthfully.

After last night, it was expected that the county office would issue an announcement today to reassure the people and announce the execution of the bandit leader.

The Second Prince had promised her a reward, which she knew would be hard to keep from her family.

So, she decided to tell the truth.

As for some of the finer details, she wouldn't elaborate, leaving it to everyone to fill in the gaps themselves.

Qin Xiaoyao spoke calmly, but the others were shocked.

Qin Dazhuang was relatively calm, thinking that Qin Xiaoyao must have had her master's help to accomplish these deeds.

The rest were utterly amazed.

They knew Qin Xiaoyao was strong and skilled in martial arts, but they never imagined she had such capabilities!

Kidnapping the bandit leader, killing the second-in-command, and then meeting the Second Prince?

She—had accomplished so much?!

While everyone was still in shock, a knock came from outside in the courtyard.

Qin Xiaoyao went to open the door herself.

There, she saw soldiers carrying two large chests into the yard.

Then, one of them read out the Second Prince's decree.

It turned out that the promised reward from the Second Prince had arrived.

The chests contained a total of a thousand taels of silver, awarded by the court for Qin Xiaoyao's capture of the bandit leader and the killing of the second-in-command.

When the chests were opened, and the gleaming silver caught everyone's eyes, they finally believed Qin Xiaoyao's story.

"Additionally, the Second Prince has sent a message to Lady Qin. He will visit personally once he finishes his business at the county office in a few days," the leading soldier said to Qin Xiaoyao.

Qin Xiaoyao was taken aback.

"Oh, alright!"

"Please convey to the Second Prince that my husband and I will prepare to welcome him with open arms," she replied, bowing to the soldier.

With everything settled, she had already declined his offer to join him. Why was he still coming?

Was he not giving up? Did he still want to recruit her?

Forget it, who cares.

If he wanted to visit, she couldn't refuse.

Even if only for the sake of the thousand taels of silver, she should agree.

Besides, the ten thousand taels of silver given by the bandits, which the Second Prince hadn't demanded back, meant that he had actually given her more than just a thousand taels.

Thinking about this, Qin Xiaoyao felt quite pleased as she accepted the matter.

After exchanging pleasantries with the soldiers, she saw them off.

Just as she returned from seeing off the soldiers, Qin Xiaoyao was surrounded by the others.

Clearly still in shock, they all waited for Qin Xiaoyao to explain the situation.

The Second Prince, the Second Prince had sent so much silver.

And he had even proposed to visit in person in a few days.

That was the Second Prince! The son of the Emperor!

For commoners like them, even the county magistrate was rarely seen, let alone someone as high-ranking as the Second Prince.

Not to mention, being acquainted with the Second Prince.

"Everyone, stop standing around. Help me move the silver back inside," Qin Xiaoyao said, amused by their expressions.

Everyone quickly snapped out of their daze.

They rushed forward to help, carrying the silver back to Qin Xiaoyao's room.

Once the task was done, they left the room and again turned their gazes toward Qin Xiaoyao.

Qin Xiaoyao didn’t continue to explain, letting everyone go back to their breakfast.

Then, he escorted Li Daniu’s family of three out the door.

After that, he found his father and slipped him a hundred silver notes.

Qin Dazhuang was startled and refused to accept it.

But he couldn’t resist Qin Xiaoyao’s insistence.

“Father, just take it. This time your daughter made a fortune; this amount is nothing!”

Noticing that Lady Liu and others seemed to be looking over, Qin Dazhuang finally stopped refusing.

“The fortune is yours. I—” Qin Dazhuang thought his daughter was referring to the thousand silver notes she had received.

Qin Xiaoyao gave her father a reproachful look.

“This time, if it weren’t for you and the two elder brothers coming to help, how could I have gone to the yamen to save my husband?”

Seeing Qin Dazhuang about to speak again, Qin Xiaoyao stepped forward and held his hand.

In a low voice, he said, “Besides, this silver note was taken from the mountain bandits. It’s like getting it for free. Giving some to you isn’t a big deal!”

Qin Dazhuang was surprised and immediately looked at his daughter.

“Don’t worry, Father. I’ve already mentioned this to the Second Prince. He hasn’t reclaimed it, so you can use it with peace of mind!” Qin Xiaoyao added.

Qin Dazhuang’s expression relaxed.

“You—got the silver note from the mountain bandits? No, did your master get it or did you?” he asked.

Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes widened in surprise.

Then, they shifted.

“Well, Master and I got it together. We got quite a bit. The majority went to Master, and I kept a smaller share,” he replied, following Qin Dazhuang’s line of questioning.

Qin Dazhuang nodded.

“What about your master? Did he also go to see the Second Prince?” he asked again.

“No—” Qin Xiaoyao responded quickly.

“Master is used to living freely and doesn’t like being constrained. Once he realized the Imperial Army had breached the city and that I and my husband were safe, he left.”

Qin Dazhuang sighed.

“Can you still contact him?” His daughter’s master had done a great favor for her and their family.

He wanted to meet him personally and express his gratitude.

“Master comes and goes without a trace. This time, he deliberately avoided the Second Prince. For a while, I’m afraid I won’t be able to contact him,” Qin Xiaoyao replied.

Qin Dazhuang’s face showed disappointment.

At this moment, he roughly understood why the Second Prince would visit his daughter’s family in a few days.

“What a pity…” he sighed, finally letting go of the matter.

Seeing this, Qin Xiaoyao felt relieved.

“Now that the mountain bandit problem in Lingquan Town has been resolved, with the Second Prince here, I believe the town will quickly return to normal.”

“Father, please go home and help the elder brothers tidy up the house.”

“In a couple of days, we should be able to live normally again.”

Seeing Qin Dazhuang nod, Qin Xiaoyao continued, “I’ll make preparations here. I’ll start sprouting beans this afternoon.”

“Once the bean sprouts are ready, I’m counting on Elder Brother and Second Brother to help sell them this winter.”

“Alright! I’ll tell Elder Brother and Second Brother when I get home!” Qin Dazhuang responded quickly.

Thinking for a moment, he added, “This afternoon, I’ll ask Elder Brother’s wife to come and help.”

Qin Xiaoyao smiled.

“Let’s skip it today. The Imperial Army just entered the city; things outside might not settle down so quickly.”