Transmigrated as the Villainess, She Made the General Blush - Chapter 89 - Let's All Drink Together 2

Chapter 89 – Let’s All Drink Together 2

The bandit leader blocking the road didn’t believe a word of it. He stepped forward and searched the driver from head to toe, only to find a measly twenty copper coins.

Seeing that the man was truly just a poor laborer, the bandit leader swung his blade and cut him down without hesitation.

“Bah! All that for a few coppers. What a waste of my time!”

After finishing off the driver, the bandit leader tapped the carriage with his heavy blade.

“Are the people inside coming out or not?!”

Shopkeeper Wang’s family of seven huddled inside the carriage, breaking out in a cold sweat. They held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Seeing no movement, the bandit leader outside struck the carriage twice more with force.

“You in there! If you don’t come out now, I’ll tear this carriage apart! I’ll hack down every single one of you as you step out!”

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Wang and his family trembled violently.

His eldest son took a deep breath, straightened his robes, and prepared to go out and negotiate with the bandits.

But the moment he stepped out of the carriage, a bandit swung a blade directly at him.

There wasn’t even time for a scream.

Blood sprayed across the carriage curtain. Through the swaying fabric, Shopkeeper Wang and the others saw the eldest son’s body tumble from the carriage and thud onto the ground.

“Ah-! My son!!” a woman inside wailed in grief.

Outside, the bandits erupted into blatant laughter.

Shopkeeper Wang took several sharp breaths and shouted at the top of his lungs, “I am from the Prime Minister’s Mansion in the Capital! You are committing highway robbery-do you not fear the Chancellor’s Mansion’s retaliation?”

At the mention of the Prime Minister’s Mansion in the Capital, the bandits outside gasped, their eyes turning toward their leader.

“Chief, this lot has a big background…”

“If we rob them, what if it brings the authorities down on us?”

The bandit leader by the carriage sneered. “Would people from the Prime Minister’s Mansion travel with their whole family for business? With only one driver? They’ve likely stolen their master’s wealth and are fleeing for their lives!”

He had seen plenty of people like this during his time as a bandit!

Hearing their leader’s words, the surrounding bandits relaxed.

While Shopkeeper Wang waited inside in a state of extreme tension, he heard the bandit leader speak again: “We’ve already killed two. We can’t let the rest go, or it’ll be trouble if they bring the authorities back!”

Having killed the family’s son, did they really expect the survivors not to seek revenge if they escaped?

If they were going to kill, they had to finish the job!

“Yes!” the other bandits shouted in agreement, raising their blades as they closed the circle and pressed in on the carriage.

Blades began stabbing through the carriage windows, followed by a continuous chorus of wails from inside.

Blood began to trickle out from the carriage.

When a blade hooked the curtain away from a window, one of the bandits cried out in surprise, “Chief! There’s a young woman in here!”

The surrounding bandits immediately broke into lewd laughter.

A grin spread across the bandit leader’s face. “Money and a woman-we’ve hit the jackpot today! Brothers, take this little lady. We’re drinking and feasting on meat tonight!”

***

“We’ve hit the jackpot today! This nest of bandits sure knew how to rob. Where did they get all this gold and silver?”

Moonlight shone down on the mountain stronghold, where blood now stained the grounds.

The bandits who had returned from their raid earlier that evening hadn’t even had the chance to enjoy their loot and the woman before government soldiers swarmed the mountain to wipe them out.

The bandits, full of food and wine and in the middle of their revelry, were caught completely off guard and fell one after another.

Lying on a bed, Shopkeeper Wang’s daughter was flushed, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling with an empty gaze.

The soldiers glanced at her and asked their companion in a low voice, “What do we do with her? Take her back to the yamen first?”

“Take her back. Let the people sent by the Chancellor’s Mansion see if she’s one of the servants who fled with their money,” the other replied.

At the sudden mention of the Chancellor’s Mansion, the daughter’s eyes snapped into focus, her face contorting with a terrifying expression of resentment.

The soldiers were startled by her look. They eventually gave her some clothes to wear and escorted her back to the government office.
The remaining men continued to clear out the bandits’ hoard, counting the total amount of money found inside.

…

Ten days later, at Brocade Gate in the Capital.

In the backyard, Xiao Wangshu was drinking tea and going over accounts with Ruan Fuxin when Luo Xing and Yang Ping suddenly brought a soot-covered woman before her.

Xiao Wangshu glanced at her and asked, “What is this?”

Luo Xing rarely spoke to Xiao Wangshu. He took a moment to organize his thoughts before answering, “This is Shopkeeper Wang’s daughter. She was in the bandit camp when the soldiers went to suppress them. Since she was still alive, the government officials handed her over to Jiang Linhai and Li Ya.”

Ruan Fuxin ignored that, focusing only on the men. “Where is the money from the bandits’ hoard?”

Yang Ping pulled a thick stack of wrapped banknotes from his robe and handed them over. “Right here. We took seventy percent; the remaining thirty percent was confiscated by the officials.”

“Let me see.” Ruan Fuxin reached out for the banknotes, unwrapping the layers of cloth around them to count the amount carefully.

Once finished, he placed the banknotes in front of Xiao Wangshu.

“Miss, eight thousand six hundred taels.”

How many people could survive being robbed by bandits?

There was no such thing as returning money recovered from a bandit’s hoard. It was standard practice for the local magistrate’s office to confiscate it and hand it over to the national treasury.

As for how much “human error” or loss occurred during the confiscation process, that was anyone’s guess.

Xiao Wangshu held a high status and was the one who had exposed the bandits. Since she had taken the lion’s share, the officials didn’t dare say a word to her.

However, now that she had eaten the meat, she had to leave some scraps of soup for the people who had done the work.

This bowl of soup was only interesting if everyone drank it together.

When everyone’s mouth was slick with grease, no one would point fingers at anyone else for stealing a taste.

“You keep it for now. Deduct the renovation expenses for Jade Feast Pavilion and the manor from it.”

Xiao Wangshu only gave the banknotes a cursory glance before shifting her gaze to Shopkeeper Wang’s daughter. She spoke leisurely, “It looks to me like Miss Wang has suffered quite a bit.”

Shopkeeper Wang’s daughter, her eyes brimming with tears, cried out, “Miss, please spare me! I beg of you! The money my father embezzled wasn’t that much. You’ve already taken back so much, please, show some mercy and let me go!”

“Let you go?” Xiao Wangshu gave a charming smile. “Let you go so you can wait for a chance to come back and take revenge on me?”

The moment she first saw her, this Miss Wang had a look of venomous resentment in her eyes, as if she wanted to carve Xiao Wangshu apart with her gaze alone.

Could such a person be released?

“I wouldn’t dare! Miss, I’ve seen what you’re capable of. If you just let me go, I’ll go far away and never come back to offend you again!

“The money my father embezzled was all used by my brothers. None of it was spent on me. Please, Miss, don’t take your anger out on me!”

Shopkeeper Wang’s daughter lowered her head and wailed, her messy hair hiding the gloom in her eyes.

Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, her raspy voice sounding as if she were about to lose her breath.

Luo Xing and Yang Ping held her firmly from both sides. No matter how miserably she cried, their grip did not loosen in the slightest.

If a woman dropping a few crocodile tears could make them soft-hearted, they would have been killed by spies countless times during their years in the military camps.

Xiao Wangshu rested her head on one hand, her narrow phoenix eyes fluttering open lazily. She smiled and said, “You sound quite wronged. But was the money your father embezzled truly not spent on you at all?

“For a Miss Wang who can afford even Brocade Gate’s Herbal Honey Paste, ask your own conscience-is that really true?

“Back then, your second brother’s fifth concubine was originally a girl from a decent family. Your brother kidnapped and abused her, forcing himself upon her. Half a month later, unable to bear the shame, the girl hanged herself. Do you still remember this?

“At first, that girl’s parents wept and pleaded before the Wang Family’s gates, begging you to release their daughter. You stood at the door and publicized the girl’s loss of chastity to everyone, even claiming she had climbed into your brother’s bed herself. Do you still remember that?”