[Marriage first, love later] She is happy after marrying a widower

Soon, under the cover of night, more and more boats appeared on the river. One after another, those boats were like a group of ghost fleets that set out in the night, silently shuttling back and forth on the river bank.

Most of their hulls were also dark. In the faint moonlight, only vague outlines could be seen, like silent giants slowly approaching the shore.

Soon after, more ghost-like people stepped onto the land of Luosong Village from the boat.

After they got ashore, they first stood quietly, like black statues, vigilantly observing the movements around them, their cold eyes scanning every corner of the village, as if they wanted to see through everything here.

Afterwards, they quickly dispersed in the village and headed in different directions according to the previously planned routes. Some of them lurked towards the main road at the entrance of the village.

Some ran towards the houses in the village. Soon after they ran into the houses, they could hear a few muffled groans coming from the houses, and then everything returned to calm.

These people's actions were orderly, like an invisible net, quietly spreading towards Qinghe County.

All of this was hidden in the thick darkness of the night and no one noticed.

Song Yanzhi has been living in the camp for the past few days. The candle in her tent was kept burning all night long. The dancing flames cast mottled light and shadows in the tent, reflecting her slightly tired but extremely resolute face.

She did not dare to slack off at all. She would get up before dawn every day to inspect the camp, personally arrange patrol soldiers, and carefully instruct each soldier to stay vigilant at all times, pay attention to the movements around them, and not miss any place where there might be a loophole.

"Everyone, be alert. Jiang Zhi has suffered two defeats now, so he won't give up. Who knows when he'll attack us again. We can't let him succeed."

As Song Yanzhi spoke, she looked at the soldiers in front of her with a firm gaze. Her eyes were filled with unquestionable majesty, which made the soldiers' hearts tighten. They straightened their backs and responded in unison, "Yes, madam, we will do our best to protect the camp!"

During the day, Song Yanzhi often got together with Qin Daozi. The two sat in the tent. A map of the surrounding area was spread out on the table in the tent. The markings of mountains, rivers, villages and towns on the map were clearly visible.

They stared at the map, sometimes frowning in thought, sometimes gesturing along a route with their fingers, repeatedly discussing how Jiang Zhi would approach their Qinghe County, and trying to analyze Jiang Zhi's possible plans from various angles so that they could see through his conspiracy in advance and deal with it better.

"Military Advisor, do you think Jiang Zhi will start from the villages downstream of the Qingshui River this time and bypass our front line of defense?"

Song Yanzhi held her chin with her hand, looked at the map intently, and asked thoughtfully.

Qin Daozi stroked his beard, narrowed his eyes slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Madam, this is not impossible. Jiang Zhi is very cunning. After suffering losses twice before, he will probably change his mind and look for a breakthrough from some places we easily overlook. The village downstream is indeed worthy of our attention."

Just as the two were discussing heatedly, they saw a soldier with an anxious look on his face and beads of sweat on his forehead. He was led by another general and trotted towards Song Yanzhi's tent.

The hurried footsteps broke the original tranquility of the camp, attracting the attention of the soldiers who were resting nearby. Everyone looked confused, wondering what had happened to make these two people so panicked.

The two men arrived in front of the tent. Before they could even stand firm, they knelt on one knee with a plop, clasping their hands together. The soldier's chest heaved violently, and he gasped for breath. His face was filled with fear, and he stammered, "Madam, something's wrong!"

"Why are you so flustered?"

Song Yanzhi was originally discussing something seriously with Qin Daozi in the tent.

Hearing the sudden noise, her brows furrowed slightly. She raised her head and looked sharply at the two people kneeling on one knee at the door of the tent. After they stood up, she slowly asked.

"Madam, early this morning, several villagers on patrol in Liujiawan Village, downstream of Luosong Village, discovered several bodies floating on the river.

They immediately called the village chief. When the village chief heard the noise, he quickly gathered some strong men in the village and sent people to salvage the bodies.

After they salvaged the bodies, they took a closer look and discovered that the bodies floating on the river were actually villagers of Luosong Village, including their village chief.

This incident scared the entire Liujiawan Village. Everyone was wondering if Jiang Zhi's men had come, so they immediately sent someone to report it to us."

As the soldier spoke, he wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. The look of fear on his face did not diminish at all. It was obvious that he was frightened by this sudden incident.

In farming villages, the distance between each other is basically not very far, and people often interact with each other on weekdays.

They also do a lot of visiting relatives and friends, and going to the market to do business.

Although not every villager knows each other, the village chief of each village is basically familiar to everyone in the nearby villages. After all, they are all well-known figures, so they can be recognized at a glance.

So when the villagers of Liujiawan found the bodies, they quickly recognized that they were from Luosong Village.

Song Yanzhi's expression froze upon hearing this. Her eyes instantly became incredibly sharp, as if emitting a tangible cold light. An ominous premonition welled up in her heart, like a dark cloud, weighing heavily on her heart, making her feel a little breathless. She hurriedly asked, "Have you found the cause of death?"

The soldier quickly replied, "Madam, these people all had their necks broken."

Song Yanzhi and Qin Daozi looked at each other, and both saw deep worry in each other's eyes.

Qin Daozi pondered for a moment, stroking his beard slowly with his hand, frowning, and said slowly: "Madam, I'm afraid Jiang Zhi is closely related to this matter.

In my opinion, it must be their people who took advantage of the slack patrols in the village at night to eliminate the patrolmen from Luosong Village first, and then took the opportunity to attack us.

Jiang Zhi has several advisers around him who are extremely treacherous and cunning, and they are capable of resorting to such tactics."

After hearing this, Song Yanzhi nodded heavily. She had investigated Jiang Zhi before.

Knowing Jiang Zhi's character well, it's not surprising that he would do something like this given his vengeful personality.