Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Just when the bandit leader thought he was doomed to die, he suddenly heard a pleasant voice coming from the cabin.

"Let's tie them up first." A pleasant female voice suddenly came from inside the cabin.

The masked man glanced back in one direction, but it was too dark to see anyone. Turning back to the group of people being held down on the ground, he shouted orders.

"Listen to your master, tie them all up."

Once everyone was securely bound, Da Niu suddenly emerged from the cabin, carrying a brocade box. She walked up to one of the masked guards and said...

"This is a poison developed by our master. Have someone feed it to them. One pill per person. If they stay put, we'll give them the antidote when we get there. If any of them are restless, try to escape, or cause trouble, then there's no antidote. They'll just have to wait ten days for their flesh to rot and ooze pus until they die."

"Yes, I'll have someone feed them right away." The masked guard reached out to take it, but Da Niu dodged him again.

"You'd better keep something with you. The master said it's extremely poisonous, so you must be careful when administering the medicine. There aren't many antidotes, and only those who tell the truth will get one. If you get poisoned again, these people will die."

"Yes, Master, I will keep your arrangements in mind." The masked man knew from the last part of his words that he was trying to intimidate the people on the ground; he was very good at cooperating.

Amidst the wailing and howling of the bandits, the masked man fed each of them the 'poison' given to him by Xia Yu.

Inside the cabin, Shen Luo asked Xia Yu with great admiration.

"Sister Xiaxia, how did you develop such a powerful poison?"

"Silly boy, I was just kidding them. It's just salted beans made from bean flour, your big sister's favorite snack." Xia Yu explained to him quietly when she saw that he really believed they were poison and even looked at her with admiration.

"Why scare them? They look like just a bunch of ordinary robbers. We can just hand them over to the authorities. Why bother tying them up and taking them with us all the way? Wouldn't that just make things more complicated?" Shen Luo asked, puzzled, as she saw the people outside being taken away.

"Hmm, I won't talk about that now. Try to think about it yourself and see if you can figure out the reason." Xia Yu looked at the child in front of her, who was not even nine years old, and felt a little sorry for him. From now on, every day of his life would be filled with swords and shadows, killing and scheming.

"Nineteen, Da Niu, you two stay here with Luo'er. I'll go check if the Grand Tutor has been frightened." After cleaning up the mess outside, Xia Yu instructed the two women.

"Miss, why don't you stay here with Young Master Luo? I'll go check on the Grand Tutor." Nineteen was a little worried about Xia Yu going out alone.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen. The guards are still patrolling outside."

As she spoke, Xia Yu opened the hatch and went out. The guards patrolling outside saw her come out, simply clasped their hands in a fist salute, and then continued with their duties.

Xia Yu glanced at the moon in the sky. The moonlight was bright and clear. She wondered how Zhangjia Village was doing now? And how things were in the capital? What kind of situation would Luo'er face when they arrived in the capital?

The moonlight gently shines on the earth, and many people sleep soundly in this tender moonlight, while many others are unable to sleep all night.

At this moment, in the palace, Shen Jingheng stood outside the Emperor's bedchamber, gazing at the bright moon in the sky, his face serene and calm. Although he had tried his best to suppress the news, the death of the First Prince and the Emperor's coma caused by vomiting blood had still been leaked by those with ulterior motives. Today, he received a secret report from his spies. Both the Prince of Ding'an and the Prince of Pingxi had made unusual movements. Within the Prince of Ding'an's fiefdom, many soldiers disguised as merchants were heading towards the capital in batches via different routes.

Meanwhile, none of his men, who had been sent out to secretly investigate spies within the court, had brought back any useful information.

"Third brother, are you worried about the Crown Prince?" Shen Jingxun approached his cousin, who was standing in front of the palace gazing at the moon, and asked him in a low voice.

“Yes, I can’t rest easy until the Crown Prince enters the palace. Brother Xun, we must guard this palace well and not let anyone out.”

"Third Brother, don't worry, I will guard this palace like an iron barrel, not even a fly will be allowed to get out. It's just that today..." Shen Jingxun hesitated, thinking about what happened this afternoon, whether he should say it or not.

"What's wrong today? We can just talk things out, no need for this beating around the bush," Shen Jingheng said, glancing at him.

"This afternoon, my third sister-in-law said she needed to go back to the mansion to get some clothes and other necessities..."

"You let her out?" Shen Jingheng interrupted Shen Jingxun before he could finish speaking and asked urgently.

"No, no, I made an excuse that there was a curfew outside and asked her to leave the palace tomorrow. Third Brother, I think Third Sister-in-law is still pregnant with your child, why don't we let her leave the palace and go home to rest?" Shen Jingxun said, thinking of Third Sister-in-law's slightly protruding belly.

"..." Shen Jingheng sighed but didn't speak. Instead, he looked up at the clouds chasing the moon in the sky and remained silent. It was quite a while before his voice was heard again.

“The daughters raised by the Jiang family are all capable, and my wife is even more so than Consort Jiang. Her scheming and methods are far superior to Consort Jiang’s. Remember, you must never let her leave the palace. The matter of the Emperor establishing a Crown Prince must not be revealed before Luo’er enters the palace.”

Hearing his third brother say that his wife was even more formidable than the Imperial Concubine, Shen Jingxun couldn't help but shudder. Luckily, his third brother wasn't lustful, and she was his only wife in the household; otherwise, wouldn't it be even more fascinating than the Emperor's harem?

"Third Brother, don't worry, I will make sure to give repeated instructions to all the palace gates that no one is allowed to leave the palace."

"Yes, you've worked hard these past few days. Tell the brothers below that if they do a good job these days, we'll ensure the Crown Prince's smooth ascension to the throne, and they'll be rewarded with high positions and great honors." Shen Jingheng patted his brother on the shoulder and promised.

"Yes, I'll listen to Third Brother." Shen Jingxun knew that following this older brother was the right thing to do. Since he said so, it meant he was promising a lifetime of wealth and honor to his brothers. But the premise was that they couldn't do anything wrong. This was Third Brother's rule, and he knew it.