Li Chenghuan was so excited that she didn’t know where to put her hands; one moment she reached out as if wanting to hug the person in front of her, and the next she was awkwardly rubbing the back of her own head, staring foolishly at Jiang Jinyue.
Two hundred bullets—haha, this is too wonderful!
“Chenghuan, what’s wrong with you?” Beside them, Old Madam Li couldn’t help but lean in.
Ever since just now, the second granddaughter had been whispering continuously with that jinx, and she had even pulled the youngest granddaughter to sit further away, while Xie Yuwan had also tactfully turned her back and distanced herself from them.
Who would have thought that the ill-fated granddaughter would suddenly start acting like she was having an episode—not only were her hands twitching all over, but she was also grinning like an absolute fool.
With overwhelming joy in her heart, Li Chenghuan smiled brightly and said, “Grandmother, it’s a good thing. Just rest easy.”
Hearing this, Old Madam Li glanced at the calm-faced Jiang Jinyue. What good thing could this jinxed child possibly have? Nine times out of ten, it was something good for the jinx.
However, as long as nothing was wrong, she couldn’t be bothered to worry anyway.
The old matriarch nodded and moved back to her spot.
Only then did Li Chenghuan look back at Jiang Jinyue, her smile completely uncontainable: “Sister-in-law, you’re the best!”
This surprise came too overwhelmingly and all too suddenly. She desperately wanted to know what caused it; if she could figure out the trick, wouldn’t she be able to farm rewards like crazy?
How astute was Jiang Jinyue’s mind? Seeing her so overjoyed, she understood instantly: “Could it be that you have many bullets?”
Li Chenghuan nodded vigorously and asked, “Sister-in-law, were you in a very good mood just now?”
The young maiden’s face was full of expectation, her eyes resembling stars, making it effortless for anyone to read what was in her heart.
Jiang Jinyue understood the subtext behind her words and curled her lips slightly: “My mood was indeed not bad.”
“What was the reason?”
“No particular reason.”
Refusing to give up, Li Chenghuan pressed on: “Then what were you thinking about just now?”
Jiang Jinyue lowered her gaze. What was she thinking about? What she was thinking of was precisely the person before her.
After a brief silence, she slowly shook her head: “Thinking of nothing. It’s getting late, let’s rest.”
With that, she turned around and gently lay down.
Li Chenghuan: “…” Thinking of nothing? She just suddenly became happy?
Puzzled for a moment, her attention soon drifted to the two hundred bullets she had just acquired. She so badly wanted to belt out a song—ah, ah, ah!
As the night grew deeper, the sound of snoring filled the air, along with the muffled, low sobbing of someone crying quietly.
Yet Li Chenghuan managed to get a rare, wonderful night’s sleep, dreaming that she was wielding a submachine gun and directly slaughtering all directions—hahaha…
Soon, dawn arrived quietly.
Jiang Jinyue woke up leisurely, and upon turning over, she saw the young maiden’s lips curved upward as if she had been having a pleasant dream.
Seemingly infected by the young maiden’s smile, she unconsciously hooked the corners of her lips, looking at the sleeping person with deep gentleness in her eyes.
She had never imagined that the hope of returning to the capital would fall upon the young maiden—it was both beyond expectation and an unexpected joy, inexplicably bringing a sense of peace to her heart.
[Female lead’s darkening value decreases by two, rewarded with one Wild Ox submachine gun]
! ! ! ! ! !
A mechanical-sounding voice rang out in her mind, and a dazed Li Chenghuan opened her eyes, locking gazes instantly with a pair of smiling eyes that were bright, alluring, and brimming with profound tenderness.
Li Chenghuan stared in a daze, temporarily unable to tell whether she was still dreaming or awake, and murmured: “Cold-beauty sister-in-law, so charming.”
Within her line of sight, the cold beauty’s smile vanished as she shot her a frowning glare and sat up.
Li Chenghuan’s mind emptied out, and she jerked upright: “Sister-in-law, I’m awake.”
So it wasn’t a dream—the golden finger had actually coughed up another Wild Ox submachine gun!!
Jiang Jinyue pursed her lips in silence, her gaze deep. Otherwise what, did she think she was dreaming?
“Is that what you call me in your dreams?” Cold-beauty sister-in-law, hmph, what a scoundrel.
Recovering her wits, Li Chenghuan hurriedly shook her head in denial: “No, I didn’t dream about you, really.”
Wait a minute, there was a more important question right now. Without waiting for Jiang Jinyue to pick up the conversation, she asked: “Sister-in-law, did you feel happy again just now?”
The topic shifted too abruptly, causing Jiang Jinyue to pause slightly before answering: “My mood is passable.”
This person’s expression was identical to last night’s—could it be that the magical ability to conjure items out of thin air had produced bullets again?
Li Chenghuan immediately gave her the answer, leaning in close: “Sister-in-law, this time it’s a gun. We can each have one now.”
It felt as though they really could sweep through all directions now. Was this what it felt like to closely follow the female lead’s footsteps? It was simply too exhilarating.
Jiang Jinyue’s expression froze. She could use that gun too?
Seeing her remain silent, Li Chenghuan couldn’t help asking again: “Sister-in-law, were you really not thinking about anything?”
Jiang Jinyue’s pupils flickered slightly. She was thinking about something; what she was thinking of was still…
Could it be that that magical ability wasn’t triggered solely because of her? That made sense—if that ability had nothing to do with Li Chenghuan, how could it manifest on Li Chenghuan’s person?
Pondering for a moment, she hesitated and said: “Perhaps it is…” The words trailed off midway, stopping abruptly.
“What is it?” Li Chenghuan pursued.
Jiang Jinyue fell silent for a moment, raised her head to look at the foggy, hazy sky, and spoke in a light, drifting tone: “Perhaps it’s being soft-hearted.”
“Soft-hearted?” Li Chenghuan blankly repeated the term, and then her eyes suddenly lit up: “Sister-in-law, then you should be a little more soft-hearted in the future, especially toward me.”
Hitting the mark by a lucky fluke, she had found the correct answer.
Jiang Jinyue withdrew her gaze. Still not looking at Li Chenghuan, she stared at the prisoners waking up one after another and gave a soft acknowledgment: “Mn.”
By the time Boss Gu woke up, the prisoners were all awake as well.
The sky was broad daylight. Boss Gu produced the corn buns as per routine, his mood exceptionally heavy—these were the last rations for the prisoners. Once eaten today, they would have to go hungry tomorrow.
Fortunately, Youlong County wasn’t far away. If they quickened their pace, they could enter the city by tomorrow evening, and by then they would have water to drink as well.
Right at that moment, a commotion suddenly erupted ahead. Amidst flying dust, carriages rolled past one after another, followed closely by ordinary commoners evacuating with their entire families, all wearing anxious and frantic expressions.
Everyone stood by the roadside, watching in a daze as the crowds surged past in an endless stream.
“Hurry up! If you run too slow, you’ll lose your life.”
“They’ve rebelled, they’ve truly rebelled…”
Amidst the chaotic sound of footsteps were mingled vague and hurried phrases.
Boss Gu and Zhou Yuan exchanged glances and hurriedly intercepted two commoners: “What did you say? What rebelled?”
The old couple who had been stopped had no desire to waste time; they shook their heads without speaking, wanting only to hurry along.
Zhou Yuan fished a corner of a broken silver piece from his pocket and stuffed it into the old man’s hand: “Uncle, what on earth happened?”
The old man deftly accepted the silver, sized them up for a few seconds, and said: “You’re bailiffs escorting prisoners, right? Quickly change your route, don’t walk forward anymore. Youlong County has been seized by bandits, they’ve revolted.”
After dropping this series of remarks, the old couple hurriedly grabbed each other’s hands and walked away, as if the King of Hell were hot on their heels.
Boss Gu couldn’t quite react in time: “Could they be joking?” Youlong County seized by bandits? Revolted?
Zhou Yuan also felt it was unreal. Youlong County was so close to the capital and usually had garrison troops stationed there—how could such a thing be possible?
The two men looked at each other, momentarily unable to make up their minds on whether to change their route.
At the rear of the procession, Li Chenghuan and the others had also asked commoners nearby and received nearly identical answers.
“Sister-in-law, what do you think is going on in Youlong County?” Li Chenghuan’s first reaction was to consult Jiang Jinyue. The cold-beauty sister-in-law was the female lead of this world, so her perspective on problems would definitely be more reliable than anyone else’s.
Jiang Jinyue lowered her brows in thought, her pupils dark as she said: “Natural disasters and man-made calamities—it is nothing more than that.”
With a great drought across the land, the imperial court had consistently failed to come up with viable solutions, and disaster relief grain was merely a drop in the bucket. As time went on, the commoners lost any means of survival, leaving them with no choice but to take to the hills as bandits and raise the banner of rebellion.
Only, Youlong County was so close to the capital, and previously not a whisper of news had been heard. This matter likely held some hidden trick or complication.
Up ahead, Boss Gu and Zhou Yuan failed to reach a conclusion through discussion, so they simply ordered the procession to halt and rest in place first.
“Someone ran away!”
“It’s the Liu family!”
“Old Madam Liu didn’t run—why is she still sleeping?”
“Dead! Old Madam Liu is dead!”
Shouting wildly in panic, the prisoners caused an uproar, prompting Boss Gu and Zhou Yuan to hastily draw their sabers and run toward the rear of the procession.
Subconsciously, Li Chenghuan grasped Jiang Jinyue’s hand, shielding her behind her as she watched the chaotic crowd.