Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Just when Madam Gu felt she couldn't hold on any longer, she suddenly heard a servant girl outside report...

"Madam, the Shen family has come with a matchmaker."

Upon hearing the old woman's words, Madam Gu couldn't hold back her tears and embraced her daughter. These past few days had been filled with anxiety and fear, worried that the Shen family wouldn't acknowledge the affair and wouldn't allow her daughter to be their legal wife. If that were the case, her daughter would likely have no choice but to become a nun in a temple.

"Madam, please hurry up and get ready to greet our guests. We have great joy to celebrate in our family," said the old woman beside Madam Gu, trying to comfort the mother and daughter who were crying uncontrollably.

"I was just too excited. Granny, please help me change my clothes. Rou Rou, now you can relax. Wait here for your mother to come back." Madam Gu wiped away her tears while instructing the nanny beside her to help her wash up.

"Yes, daughter is waiting for mother in the house." Gu Rourou's face was noticeably more haggard than a few days ago, like a flower that had lost its moisture. But the old woman's words just now had given her hopeless face a new lease on life. At this moment, she felt endless gratitude towards the Shen family. She was grateful that they were willing to accept her and give her a way out.

The marriage between the Shen and Gu families shocked those who had previously mocked the Gu family. They never expected the Shen family to actually be willing to marry the daughter of a minor official. But since Master Shen had publicly acknowledged the marriage, they had no choice but to believe it, no matter how unwilling they were.

Upon hearing the news of the engagement between the two families, Liu's anxiety, which had been building for days, finally subsided. The Gu family had been suffering these past few days, and she had been just as distressed. She didn't know what she had been waiting for—whether the Shen family had no intention of engaging with the Gu family, or something else entirely. Now, hearing the definite news, she breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling a sense of peace and acceptance.

As spring arrived and flowers bloomed, just when everyone thought that this year of famine was finally over, Zhangjia Village was targeted.

Zhangjia Village had been peaceful and quiet, and with the government providing daily soup kitchens for disaster relief, the night patrolmen gradually became less vigilant.

"Ah! There are thieves! Clang clang clang clang, there are thieves..." In the quiet night, people were fast asleep when they were suddenly awakened by the piercing sound of someone banging on a copper basin outside.

When Xia Yu finished dressing and flew to the rooftop, she saw that several houses at the village entrance were already on fire. People were fighting in the flames, and the sounds of people crying out in pain could be heard.

"Nineteen, Big Girl, come with me to rescue people." Xia Yu shouted coldly and took the lead, rushing towards the fire.

Da Niu took out the meteor hammer that Xia Yu had specially made for her, which weighed a hundred pounds, and followed Xia Yu and Shi Jiu towards the place where the fight was taking place.

Nineteen followed closely behind Xia Yu, feeling somewhat astonished by her young mistress's speed. When did her young mistress's lightness skill reach such a superb level?

In just a few breaths, the three had reached the center of the fight. Many people lay on the ground, mostly villagers, but also a few bandits. Xia Yu's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the familiar villagers lying on the ground. She drew her soft sword from her waist and, seeing a bandit, slashed directly at his neck or heart. Where the sword tip touched, a crimson stain appeared, and soon her clothes were stained crimson.

The villagers rescued by Xia Yu saw the once gentle and beautiful Lady Wenfu descend before them like a celestial being, then decapitate them with a single sword stroke, followed by a pillar of blood shooting into the sky. The shock they felt was beyond words, even after decades of living. Though somewhat frightened, they knew Lady Wenfu had saved them.

After killing all the bandits he saw, Xia Yu finally spotted a patrolman carrying a copper basin. He had a large gash several tens of centimeters long cut on his back from his right shoulder to his left waist with a knife. He was still clutching the copper basin, but lay motionless on the ground.

Xia Yu turned the person over and saw that it was Er Yong from the village chief's family.

Xia Yu didn't have time to speak. She took out a fruit from her spatial storage, poured the juice into a small basin, and then tore off a piece of the fruit peel and stuffed it into Zhang Eryong's mouth.

Turning his head, he saw another person squatting on the ground, shivering and covering his head. By the light of the fire, he could tell that he was also a fellow villager.

"Uncle, I'm leaving Eryong to you. You guys find a secluded place to hide and wait for our news before coming out."

"Okay...okay, I will definitely hide Eryong well, please rest assured, Lord Xiang."

Xia Yu glanced at him again to make sure the man was indeed from the village before she felt relieved enough to pick up her sword and continue killing.

Seeing Xia Yu leave with her sword, the man patted his chest, looked around, and then dragged Er Yong down to the wall by the roadside.

By this time, the men in the village had already reacted, each grabbing a knife, axe, shovel, and rake, and fighting with the thieves. As more and more people from Zhangjia Village joined the battle, the number of thieves dwindled, until finally, the remaining ten or so were surrounded by the villagers on the main road of the village.

The bandit leader had already spotted Xia Yu and Nineteen, both covered in blood. He hadn't expected there to be such skilled martial artists in the village. Realizing he couldn't gain any advantage there, he decided to retreat and try to break through the villagers' encirclement.

Xia Yu stood on high ground watching the surrounded bandits. One of the bandits said something to the person next to him, and then several bandits simultaneously slashed at two villagers in one place with their knives.

Just when the two thought they were doomed, they were suddenly pulled down to the ground from behind with great force. Then, the instant they fell, several round things rolled to their sides.

"It's...it's...the head, it...it killed someone." One of them said, trembling as he pointed at the round objects.

"Shut up! If it weren't for the village lord's rescue, those heads rolling on the ground would be ours by now!" The other man, suppressing his disgust and fear, angrily rebuked the other.

The remaining bandits, seeing Xia Yu sever several heads with a single sword stroke, threw down their broadswords and shouted...

"Don't kill me, don't kill me, I surrender."

"Hands behind your head, squat down!" Xia Yu shouted at the bandits.

Finally, Xia Yu saw the only robber still standing. His eyes flashed with inexplicable hatred as he looked at Xia Yu. The two stared at each other for a moment, then the man suddenly spoke.

"You are Lord Munbok!" The tone was not a question, but an affirmation.

Xia Yu did not answer him. The other person's face gave him a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.

Just as Xia Yu was pondering, she suddenly heard Nineteen exclaim in surprise.

"Be careful"

Xia Yu's body reacted before her mind could process it, quickly retreating to the left and backward. Suddenly, the man sprang up, first scattering a handful of white powder at the person blocking his way. Then, he swung his knife at Xia Yu. However, Xia Yu's retreat was too fast; the knife missed its mark and fell to the ground with a clang.

Just as the man was about to make a second slash, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, then his eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground with a thud, unconscious.

Xia Yu breathed a sigh of relief and gave instructions to the Zhang family's servants.

"Tie them all up, lock this one up separately, don't let anyone escape."

"Yes, Miss." As he spoke, Uncle Ma led several men over and tightly tied up those who were still squatting on the ground with their heads in their hands. The one who had fainted on the ground was tied up like a dumpling and then carried away by two men.

"Village Chief, please take a headcount of the casualties in the village. Bring the injured to my house; I'll go back and prepare medicine. Also, keep an eye out for any thieves hiding. It's best to check every corner of the village again to make sure no one escapes," Xia Yu said to the village chief, who had also sustained minor injuries.

"Okay, I...yes, I'll arrange for people to do these things right away." The village chief was a little frightened by Xia Yu. He never imagined that the little girl he had watched grow up could now protect the village.

In fact, not only the village chief, but also the Zhang brothers, Youjin and Youyin, in the old house, and Changsheng, all looked at Xia Yu differently. In the past, as family members, they thought that Xia Yu's appointment as the village lord was mostly due to luck, but Xia Yu's performance today forced them to admit that, in places they hadn't noticed, Xia Yu had grown into someone they looked up to.