Golden Branch

"Zhao Jinniang, are you crazy? What are you doing?"

When Ah Man saw this scene, he was shocked and angry.

She subconsciously raised one hand, her small, dark and thin fist creaking, the joints turning white.

"Aman! Don't move!"

Zhao Jinniang knew that Ah Man was very strong. If someone was hit by her small fist, the worst that could happen was redness and swelling, and the worst that could happen was a fracture.

However, Zhao Jinniang did not panic when facing Ah Man who was about to explode.

She gripped the hilt of the knife tightly and pressed it down gently.

The blade that could cut through even a hair actually left a red mark on the fair neck.

If she used more force, the skin would be broken and bleeding would occur.

Ah Man froze.

She didn't dare to move at all, for fear that Zhao Jinniang, the traitor, would really hurt Jiu Niang.

"...Why?"

Wang Heng was the calmest one.

She lowered her head and looked at the sharp sword.

She raised her head again, her eyes moved, and then fixed on Zhao Jinniang's face.

Wang Heng didn't say anything like "I've been good to you, why did you betray me?" She simply didn't understand why Zhao Jinniang, a slave from a good family, would collude with bandits.

Her father died at the hands of pirates.

Although this group of "water bandits" is not the same group as before.

But they are all lawless criminals who kill and rob.

Not to mention moral issues such as conscience, just the fact that once you get involved with such a bandit, you will become his accomplice.

The Dayu Dynasty emphasized collective responsibility.

Once the crime is investigated, the main offender will be severely punished and the accomplices will not be let off either.

Is Zhao Jinniang so sure that the bandits can succeed?

And she won't be implicated?

"Wang Jiu, you are a daughter of the noble Wang family, a noble person who is high above everyone else. How can you understand the suffering of lowly people like us?"

Zhao Jinniang herself couldn't explain what kind of feelings she had for Wang Heng.

Jealous? Yes!

Taking out your anger? Yes!

Resentment? Yes!

Perhaps, three or four years ago, on that night on the Yi River, Zhao Jinniang's mind had already been distorted by negative emotions such as hatred and unwillingness.

She cannot be judged by normal logic at all now.

She just wanted Wang Jiuniang to fall into the mud.

Before, she wanted to step on Wang Jiu and climb up to Lou Yu.

As for Lou Yu, he also seemed to have some feelings for her.

But soon, Zhao Jinniang discovered that Lou Yu seemed to have returned to his cold and reserved self.

She didn't feel anything "special" about him.

Especially, with Zheng Shisan, the "favored" one, as a comparison, Zhao Jinniang suddenly realized that she seemed to be "being too sentimental".

My dear, I don’t like her at all.

Maybe my husband doesn't like that fat guy Wang Jiu either.

The man likes a delicate, weak and timid little woman like Zheng Shisan.

And this is something Zhao Jinniang could not imitate no matter how hard she tried.

If the man doesn't like her, she will not be able to marry him and become a true noble.

God knows how ashamed, angry and resentful Zhao Jinniang felt when she realized this.

Just at this time, someone came and promised her wealth and a bright future.

Zhao Jinniang, who had already turned evil, completely sank into depravity.

it is good!

I might as well use Wang Jiu to exchange for glory for myself.

If that doesn't work, I can also drag Wang Jiu to die with me.

...Even if the Yi River Incident of that year was completely put to an end - it would be fair if both the nobles and the untouchables died!

Wang Heng: …

Ah Man was right to scold her, Zhao Jinniang had gone crazy.

Her thought process is beyond the comprehension of normal people.

There was no need for Wang Heng to waste her breath on a madman.

She turned her head and looked at the group of thieves.

"You're not just going to kidnap me, use me as a hostage, and make demands on Lou Yu, right?"

What money and food?

This is just an excuse.

Even if they wanted to take Wang Heng as a hostage and negotiate with Lou Yu, the conditions they proposed would not be just money and things.

They would "borrow troops" from Lou Yu, or even force Lou Yu to "join another wise leader."

Qi was the fief of the King of Qi and had a special meaning.

If all of Qi fell into the hands of the King of Chu, the King of Qi would not be seriously injured, but he would become a laughing stock.

And the concubine of King Qi——

"You also want to use me as bait to lure my mother out of the fort and then capture her!"

Wang Heng didn't understand Zhao Jinniang's train of thought, nor did she understand the thoughts of the mastermind behind these villains.

The King of Qi did like his mother, but his mother was not important enough to influence the King of Qi.

To put it bluntly, instead of kidnapping my mother, it would be better to kidnap Princess Li.

Well, Princess Li is in the palace, so even if someone wants to kidnap her, they have nowhere to do it.

Concubine Jiang, who "returned home to visit her relatives", became a moving target.

From the capital to Jingzhou, and then from Jingzhou to Yizhou... Along the way, it probably attracted a lot of firepower and caught a lot of "fish".

"You fat girl, you're quite clever!"

The leading thief, seeing that Wang Heng had been subdued and her female guards and bodyguards were too cautious to move, thought he had a sure win.

Faced with Wang Heng's questioning, the "bandit leader" was too lazy to make up a lie and simply told the truth.

"Your master probably foresaw that the civilians would be forced to rebel, but he didn't stop it in time, and instead took advantage of the situation."

"Because he also wants to take advantage of the chaos to do something. For example, kidnap me and force Lou Yu! Or, take the opportunity to capture the Prince of Qi's concubine and completely eliminate the influence of the Prince of Qi's Palace in Qi!"

"And once he achieves these goals, you will use the Lou family army to suppress the rioters. And push Lou Yu back to the position of canal manager and continue to dig the Grand Canal."

Wang Heng had a cute and innocent face, but she was making extremely wise "guesses".

The people behind the scenes knew that Lou Rang was incompetent and also understood the importance of the Grand Canal.

He wants both.

Take advantage of the "civil uprising" to get rid of a useless person and tie the truly capable people onto your own big ship.

The so-called "civil uprising" was just a small episode. In the end, Qi and the Grand Canal would be firmly controlled by "him".

The bandit leader was stunned at first after hearing Wang Heng's words, but then burst into laughter: "Haha! I really underestimated you, a fool who only cares about eating, yet you can still think of these things-"

The bandit leader was indeed somewhat surprised at Wang Heng's intelligence and couldn't help but admire her.

Zhao Jinniang was a little unhappy: "Humph! So what if she's smart? Didn't she still fall into my hands?"

These nobles, whether noble or intelligent, used to be high and mighty, but now they have become her——

The three words "prisoner" were still lingering in Zhao Jinniang's heart when a sudden change occurred.

Swish!

Zhao Jinniang had no idea what was happening. She only saw a flash before her eyes, and the plump girl who was being pressed down by her knife flipped over nimbly and jumped off the horse.

Zhao Jinniang saw Wang Heng moving around and was worried that she would really be killed with a knife, so she subconsciously raised her wrist.

The man in black who found her said that he wanted Wang Jiu alive.

If Wang Jiu died, her wealth would be gone, and he would have to die with her!

Although Zhao Jinniang always wanted to "die together", she didn't want to die unless it was absolutely necessary.

And "Wang Heng" is betting on Zhao Jinniang's "dare not".

Zhao Jinniang raised her wrist, and "Wang Heng" turned over. Her body brushed against the blade, but she was not hurt at all, and then she successfully escaped from Zhao Jinniang's control.

Zhao Jinniang realized that "Wang Heng" had escaped, and hurriedly waved her sword to remedy the situation.

This time, she was a little angry and no longer cared about whether there were any survivors. She aimed her knife at "Wang Heng".

"Wang Heng" has a round body but agile movements.

Facing Zhao Jinniang's fatal move, she dodged and kicked Zhao Jinniang's wrist.

Click!

The sound of bones breaking.

"Ow!"

The woman wailed in pain.

"Wang Heng" actually broke Zhao Jinniang's wrist bone with one kick.

Zhao Jinniang was injured and couldn't hold the handle of the knife.

"Wang Heng" took advantage of the situation to grab the sword, holding the sword, and jumped onto Zhao Jinniang's horse.

Swish!

The sword was placed on Zhao Jinniang's neck.

All this happened in an instant, as if in the blink of an eye, the hijacker and the hijacked had "changed sides"!

“…You, you are not Wang Jiu!”

Zhao Jinniang finally reacted when she felt the sharp pain in her wrist and the cold blade on her neck.

Do not!

This is not Wang Jiu!

Although Wang Jiu runs and dances every day, his body is more flexible than that of the average fat person.

But Wang Jiu doesn't know martial arts.

It is simply impossible to perform difficult movements such as vaulting, leaping, etc.

The most important point is that Zhao Jinniang smelled a familiar scent on this fat guy - guard!

She is not Wang Jiu, but a guard like Zhao Jinniang and A Man!

"Of course I'm not Jiu Niang! Jiu Niang is such a noble person. Even if I have to lure out mosquitoes, flies, and maggots from the gutter like you, I will never put myself in danger!"

"Wang Heng" is a bachelor, so instead of denying it, he started to mock her directly.

Zhao Jinniang's face was filled with shame and indignation. How could such a beautiful woman like her become a mosquito, fly, or maggot?

"you you!"

Zhao Jinniang was so angry that she couldn't speak.

She has many questions:

Besides Zhao Jinniang and A'man, does Wang Heng have many female guards?

Were female guards like "Wang Heng" sent to Wang Heng at the same time as them?

Wang Heng, oh no, it should be Lou Yu, had he noticed her abnormality a long time ago?

Is tonight a game?

Those "bandits" who think they are so high-end and are playing the game of "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" are actually the chess players on the entire chessboard.

In fact, they are the pawns being calculated.

And the real leader is Lou Yu? !

But, but, this is obviously Wang Jiu.

Although Zhao Jinniang was not as respectful and close to Wang Heng as A'man was to her.

But we get along every day.

It was impossible that the other person had changed and she hadn't noticed.

Zhao Jinniang couldn't help but wonder, could it be that Wang Heng, who she interacted with every day, was a "stand-in"?

Wang Heng & "Wang Heng": ...No! You're overthinking it!

A trump card like "Wang Heng" only appears at the most critical moment.

Tonight is Wang Heng’s debut show.

Not only can the trump card not be used lightly, but there is also the fear that if it is used too much, it will easily reveal flaws.

After all, "Wang Heng" is not 100% similar to Wang Heng.

The thing that most resembles her to Wang Heng is not her appearance, but her plump figure.

Wang Heng must be thankful that her little bit of flesh makes it easy for people to notice her "unique" roundness first when they see her, and then her delicate and lovely face.

Today we are operating at night again, and the light is not sufficient.

As for Zhao Jinniang, she was jealous and disgusted with Wang Heng. She was disgusted by the sight of her fat body and would not pay too much attention to her.

Well, okay, I guess Zhao Jinniang hadn't expected it at all—

In addition to the female guards in public, Lou Yu also prepared a "stand-in" for Wang Heng.

Even if they are not similar in body shape or appearance, there are ways to remedy the situation.

Wang Mian raised his hands desperately: Me! It’s me!

Hehe, let’s learn about the Chinese disguise technique, which is the first of the four evil arts!

Wang Mian directly used the face of the "stand-in" as a canvas.

Using dough and various cosmetics, they performed a "head-changing surgery" on the spot.

The female guard, who originally did not look very similar to Wang Heng, was transformed into Wang Heng under her skillful hands!

Wang Heng herself was stunned!

Of course, this kind of makeup cannot stand up to scrutiny.

If you look closely, you can still see the thick makeup and traces of adhesion on the nose, chin, etc.

For example, at this moment, "Wang Heng" was sitting behind Zhao Jinniang, almost sticking to her.

When Zhao Jinniang turned her head, the tip of her nose touched the tip of "Wang Heng's" nose.

Ok?

"Wang Heng's" nose was actually a little crooked after being bumped?

fake!

This nose tip is fake!

The forehead and chin also show signs of "processing".

Zhao Jinniang didn't know whether she should be happy about discovering "Wang Heng's" disguise or sad about her own failure.

The fact that they had prepared substitutes in advance was enough to prove that the so-called "careful plan" had long been exposed.

But she didn't know it yet and was actually very proud of it.

He thought he could kill the noble man, but he didn't know that he was always just a chess piece on the noble man's chessboard.

They were being used against them without even knowing it!

This is not just a flaw in her intelligence, but also an underestimation of power -

A wealthy and powerful family head like Lou Yu can afford to support thousands of soldiers and can get guards, either openly or secretly.

He's just a substitute. Not to mention Lou Yu, even Wang Jiu can be raised secretly!

Zhao Jinniang closed her eyes in despair.

Firstly, she didn't want to see the mocking looks of "Wang Heng", Ah Man and others who looked at her as if she were a fool.

Secondly, she needs to make up her mind.

He betrayed his master, but failed.

All that awaits her is death.

Rather than falling into Lou Yu's hands and being tortured and killed, it is better to end it myself.

He closed his eyes, raised his hand, held "Wang Heng's" hand, and exerted force suddenly.

Pfft!

The sharp blade scratched her throat, blood splattered, and Zhao Jinniang's body went limp.

This process is also very fast.

The bandit leader was a little overwhelmed.

What, what happened?

Suddenly, he turned into a living person?

The “hostage” killed the “robber”?

Whoosh!

At this moment, a cluster of fireworks suddenly exploded in the distant sky.

The bright flames illuminated the Yi River and also shone in the darkness.

"Wang Heng" saw the signal, raised her hand and threw the dead Zhao Jinniang off the horse.

She raised her sword and said coldly, "Kill!"

"kill!"

Ah Man and the guards responded in unison.

This is not the most terrible.

What really frightened the bandits was the continuous sound of "killing" that was actually spreading from behind them.

They were ambushed!