Chapter 265: A Group of Black-hearted People

Chapter 265: A Group of Black-hearted People

Except for the few masters, the rest of the guards didn’t dare to get too close to the lakeside.

Meanwhile, the guards were busy making fish soup.

Earlier, the Princess Royal had provided them with ingredients, and Nanny Gui was guiding them on the side. They added some simple ingredients to the fish soup, making it even more delicious, with a fragrance that wafted far and wide.

"Let’s red-cook the rest. The princess loves red-cooked fish!"

"Keep two for grilling. Grilled fish is also very tasty."

With only about seven or eight fish, they prepared three different flavors.

Meanwhile, Ci Xin was holding the baby, followed by Hongmei and Xiaoyu Heng, who had just arrived. The three grown-ups and a little one were walking around the lakeside.

"Let's take a stroll through the village." As they walked, the group reached the front of the village.

The three adults moved quickly, covering nearly two miles.

"Who are you?" One of the villagers, working in the fields, came over and stopped them, asking, "Are you officials?"

"Your forehead looks ominous; there’s going to be bloodshed today!" Ruo Xi Baby muttered as she looked at the man who spoke.

"We... came down from the mountain and wanted to borrow your village's small fishing boat to catch some fish to eat," Ci Xin said, pointing to the few fishing boats at the village entrance.

"You want to fish..." Another villager came up from behind, about to speak, but the first man turned and raised his hand to stop him.

"You can borrow the boats, but it costs fifty coppers a day, no limit," the leader said.

"Fifty coppers is not a problem, but we don't know how to row. We'll need someone to row for us," Xiaoyu Heng stepped forward and said.

"We... we all have work to do, no time. Rowing is very simple."

Other villagers also gathered around, exchanging glances and nodding in agreement.

"How about this, we'll hire two rowers to take us around the lake, five silver taels," Nanny Gui stepped forward, holding a few pieces of broken silver in her palm.

"Five, five silver taels!" The villagers' eyes widened.

Five silver taels could build a house. They could barely save a few dozen coppers in a year, and now they were being offered five taels at once. It was incredibly tempting.

"Alright, I'll do it!" Someone stepped forward.

"It's not like we encounter that thing every time!" the leader muttered to himself, then turned and said, "What are you trying to prove? Who in this village doesn't know that besides me, no one else can row?"

"Village chief, you can't hog it all!" The others were furious but didn’t dare to say a word, only staring at the silver in Nanny Gui's hand, unwilling to look away.

It was as if by staring long enough, the silver would follow them.

"Are you sure you'll do it?" Ci Xin asked.

"Yes, I will!" The village chief patted his chest and said, "I, Liu Erkui, am the village chief. Wait a moment, I'll pick a few people!"

"Me, me, village chief, I can do it!"

"Village chief, with five silver taels, I should get two taels, right? If I get two taels, I’ll give it my all!"

"Village chief, if you just give me three taels of silver, you don’t even need to go up. I can handle them alone!"

"Hmph, you think you're so clever. I, the village chief, decide who gets chosen and how much money they receive. Can you really distribute it as you wish?"

Ruo Xi Baby was taking in the sights of the village, listening to their noisy arguments, and when she turned around, these people had actually started fighting.

"Bang!"

The village chief’s head was struck by a hoe, which split his skull open.

"He’s dead! Ah, he’s dead! Doggy, you killed the village chief!"

"Doggy, how could you strike so hard? Quick, we need to stop the bleeding!"

"Hmph, stop the bleeding? Is there any need? He was always greedy for gain. Recently, he even said he wanted to learn from Yunzhou and throw children into the lake. His own child wasn’t among the choices, but he insisted on selecting our children. His heart is more wicked than anyone’s!"

"That’s right! His own child is eight years old, just the right age, yet he wants other people’s children. Despicable!"

"Don’t save him. Let him die!"

"Ah, husband, husband..." A woman ran from afar, pushing through the crowd and throwing herself at the man.

"Hongmei!" Ci Xin turned to look at Hongmei.

Hongmei then squatted down, took out the golden wound medicine from her waist, and applied it to the injured man.

After swiftly bandaging him, she stepped back to stand beside Ci Xin.

"Earlier, what did you mean by sacrificing children?" Ci Xin asked.

The group looked up at the child in Ci Xin’s arms, their eyes flickering.

"Nothing, nothing!" Someone was about to speak but was nudged by a companion, and then they all looked at the baby in Ci Xin’s arms.

Ruo Xi Baby looked at the group in front of her, her little brows tightly furrowed.

"Hmph, a bunch of heartless villains. It seems I’ve been too lenient. They dare to set their sights on me!"

Thinking this, Ruo Xi Baby extended her little hand, wanting to teach these guys a lesson.

"Whoosh~"

Suddenly, a fierce wind swept through, with flying sand and stones hitting the villagers’ faces, causing them to scream and dodge.

"Xier, that’s enough. We still have important matters to attend to!" Ci Xin waited for a while before pressing down on the little girl’s hand, whispering, "They will face their own fate. Let’s not waste our energy!"

"Mm!" Ruo Xi Baby withdrew her hand, looking at the townsfolk before her with no sympathy left.

"Hmph, you troublemakers, what evil schemes are you plotting?" Xiaoyu Heng, watching his sister’s actions and hearing the Imperial Tutor’s words, roughly understood that all this was caused by his sister. So, he immediately turned and scolded the villagers.

"Do you realize who stands before you?" Nanny Gui stepped forward, standing in front of Xiaoyu Heng, coldly saying, "This is Your Highness Prince Heng!"

"Ah, it’s the second prince of the emperor, Your Highness Prince Heng!"

"This... this... the prince is here, we... we..."

These villagers had never seen a prince before, and they all knelt down, kowtowing to Your Highness Prince Heng: "Long live Your Highness Prince Heng! Please forgive us, Your Highness!"

"I ask you, what is the deal with the lake? Those travelers dragged into the water—did you collect their belongings?" Xiaoyu Heng directly asked.

"We..." The townsfolk looked at each other.

"Speak, or else..." As Xiaoyu Heng spoke, the sword at his waist was drawn, its gleaming edge making the townsfolk immediately kneel and kowtow.

"Your Highness, please forgive us! We, the commoners, will confess everything!"