Chapter 272: Scheming Minds, Keeping Them is a Disaster

Chapter 272: Scheming Minds, Keeping Them is a Disaster

"Yes, raising her until the Double Seventh Festival, just in time to offer her as a sacrifice to the Dragon King!"

"Right, this baby girl is so pretty, her flesh must be tender and tasty. The Dragon King will surely like her!"

Several people chattered away, their eyes filled with greed as they looked at Ruo Xi Baby.

"You idiots are asking for it!" came a childish curse.

"Whoosh!"

Xiaoyue raised her hand, and a sharp burst of energy swept through her palm.

"Ahhh!" The villagers who had just been eyeing Ruo Xi Baby felt a sudden flash of light before them, followed by intense pain. They all doubled over, clutching their eyes.

"Ah, you, you... Princess, what have you done...?" The old man was shocked. He turned to see a dozen people fall in an instant, his eyes wide with disbelief as he shouted, "Get up! All of you, get up! Don't you all have martial arts? Can't you handle two women?"

"Village Chief, the Princess Royal knows martial arts. I told you earlier."

"Yes, she descended from Cangming Mountain. Her skills are formidable. Why didn't you believe us?"

Several people covered their eyes, screaming in pain, their bodies bent over as they struggled to stand.

"Go ahead, kill her! Only by killing her can we survive. Kill them and take the child!" The old man shouted, lunging straight at Nanny Gui.

"Bang!"

With just one kick, Nanny Gui sent the old man sprawling far away.

Xiaoyue turned and took Xiao Xi'er from Nanny Gui's arms. Holding the child, she began to slowly walk down the mountain.

The old man fell near the stone steps. He watched as Xiaoyue approached step by step, his body twitching but unable to move.

Xiaoyue walked over, lifted her foot, and stepped on the old man's hand.

"Talk. Who ordered you to kill me? And what does the Stone Dragon Emerges from Water mean?" Xiaoyue asked coldly.

"No, I can't say!" The old man shook his head, trembling all over. The next moment, Xiaoyue applied a bit more pressure with her foot, and he immediately howled in pain, "Ahhh! It hurts! It hurts so much! I'll talk, I'll talk..."

The old man said that a masked man had arrived in the village, claiming that their food had been poisoned and that they must obey him.

At first, the villagers refused to listen and even called the man a madman.

But then, the villagers who cursed him were killed instantly by the masked man, which terrified everyone.

The masked man said that the Stone Dragon Emerges from Water symbolized the impending upheaval in Great Wei. The emperor was unjust, a tyrant who needed to be overthrown, and a new emperor must be installed.

Nandun Village originally consisted of villagers who worked as river diggers, building dams for a living.

From Yunzhou to Chizhou, and all the way to the Imperial City, the dams along the moat were all constructed by the people of Nandun Village.

So, it wasn't surprising that the masked man had come to Nandun Village.

"What does the Stone Dragon Emerges from Water mean?" Xiaoyue asked.

"Commoner, I don't know, Princess Royal. Our village doesn't possess such large stones, and we couldn't possibly have done something like this. For the past three years, the emperor has exempted us from many taxes. We have no reason to hold any grievances against His Majesty!" the old man cried.

"Hmph, now you claim to have no grievances against the emperor, but earlier, I thought I heard you say you had quite a few grievances, even considering overthrowing the dynasty!" Xiaoyue said.

Baby Ruo Xi, nestled in her mother's arms, looked down at the old man and pouted, feeling unhappy.

"People with bad intentions are nothing but trouble!" Baby Ruo Xi thought. "They probably wouldn't leave much evidence behind!"

Xiaoyue thought the same as her daughter and didn't expect much from the old man.

She raised her foot and slowly moved towards the old man's neck.

"Please, don't kill me!" the old man shook his head in terror.

On the mountain, Nanny Gui came down slowly, wiping her hands as she walked. She approached Xiaoyue and said, "Princess Royal, let me handle the questioning!"

"Hmm, don't kill him yet. Take him down the mountain and see if he has any family. Capture and kill them all!" Xiaoyue said, turning to leave.

"Princess Royal, please spare me! I really know nothing, I've told you everything I know. That man said General Shangguan Jinghong drugged you, so you lost your martial skills and became clumsy. That's why he said dealing with you would be easy!" the old man quickly explained.

"Thud!"

Nanny Gui raised her foot and kicked him hard.

The old man died, crashing into a tree, and the falling leaves buried him.

"Let's go. There are wild wolves on this mountain. They'll come when they smell the blood," Xiaoyue said.

"Alright!" Xiaoyue, holding the child, led Nanny Gui down the mountain.

"Over there!" A shout made Nanny Gui instantly clench her fists. She stepped forward and said, "Princess, stay here. I'll go check!"

Rounding the mountain corner, Nanny Gui saw the young man leading the group and stood still.

"Nanny, you're here? Where's the Princess?" asked the young man.

"Why are you here? What happened?" Nanny Gui asked.

"Nanny, sorry. We just found out. The village chief's youngest son said the chief added something to the medicine packets at home. He said he wanted to capture the Princess and raise the little princess until the seventh day of the seventh month," the young man explained.

"Yes, we had no idea, Nanny. Who would have thought it was a conspiracy!"

"Nanny, is the Princess okay? If something happens to her, our village is doomed."

The other young men stepped forward, asking Nanny Gui.

"I'm fine!" Xiaoyue, holding her daughter, stepped forward slowly.

"Princess Royal, forgive us. We had no choice. At first, we thought the plague was strange, but then we heard about the Stone Dragon. We've been stonemasons all our lives; how could we believe that? Just now, Doctor Wen said we were poisoned. That's when I thought about the chief coughing in front of you on purpose, so I asked his youngest son," the young man explained.

"What's your name?" Xiaoyue asked.

"Your Highness, this commoner is Yu Fan," the young man replied.

"Yu Fan, very well. Let's go back!" Xiaoyue nodded, and the young men followed her and Nanny Gui back to the village.

In the village, Wen Xu stood in front of a carriage, distributing medicinal herbs, one packet per person, for both adults and children.

"Doctor, are we all poisoned? It's really not the plague?"

"I also think it's not the plague. How could the plague be like this? It even picks its victims. I find it impossible!"

"Earlier, the Princess Royal was right. If His Majesty the Emperor wanted to poison us, who would build the dams for him? We don't take up much land or food!"