After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Luoxia Mountain, a gathering place for bandits from the Northern Liang, is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The imperial court has launched several sieges against it, but each time it has suffered heavy losses and has not been able to take it down to this day.

Ruan followed behind Xie Chaoyun: "Madam, did you see his wound? It's shallow on the outside but deep on the inside. It's obvious that he cut himself. He's lying to you. He wants to lure you to Luoxia Mountain."

Xie Chaoyun glanced back at Madam Ruan and took off her clothes: "I know."

Ruan was alarmed: "You knew it and you still fell for it?"

Xie Chaoyun lowered her eyes: "The Marquis is missing! He is my husband, I must find him."

Ruan pursed her lips, turned her back and leaned against the table: "This matter has nothing to do with Southern Chu. Capturing the Marquis of Pingnan will not benefit our mission in any way."

Xie Chaoyun changed into a striking red outfit.

"I believe you. The people of Southern Chu would not do something so futile."

After closing the cabinet door, Xie Chaoyun began counting the silver notes, analyzing as she did so: "I also believe what you said. Lu Yong has a secret, and that secret is not only related to Nan Chu. The bandits of Luoxia Mountain would not have kidnapped the Marquis for no reason, nor would Lu Yong have mentioned Luoxia Mountain for no reason. There is only one answer: Lu Yong has some kind of connection with Luoxia Mountain. He tricked me into going up the mountain, so he must be planning something behind the scenes."

Ruan stamped her foot: "You know this already, yet you still want to walk into the tiger's den."

Xie Chaoyun raised his eyes: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Perhaps this time we can not only rescue the Marquis, but also take down the bandits on Luoxia Mountain in one fell swoop."

“I’ll go with you.” Ruan touched her face. “I owe you three lives. I have to repay this debt of gratitude, both morally and logically.”

“If you really feel indebted to me, tell me your plans in the capital.” Xie Chaoyun, dressed neatly, came to Ruan Shi and handed her a stack of silver notes: “The people in the capital are innocent. They should not become victims of the conflict between the two countries, especially those ordinary people who can’t even afford rice and are starving.”

Ruan bit her lip and remained silent until Xie Chaoyun sighed and prepared to leave. Then she said loudly, "I don't know their plans. I only know that the capital will be in chaos before the first day of the ninth lunar month."

It's the first day of the ninth lunar month; there's still time. I should write to my eldest brother, second brother, and Physician Jiang to take precautions in advance, which might minimize the extent of this unrest.

During the last Lantern Festival in the capital, Lu Zhiyuan encountered the legendary human trafficker.

She admitted that she was blinded by the trafficker's handsome face, especially since he was carrying an adorable rabbit lantern and calling her "little sister" so gently.

The woman who caught her looked disgusted when she was thrown onto the car.

"There are so many pretty kids out there, why did you choose this sickly one? Look at his skin tone and lip color, he probably won't live more than a few years."

"She'll be fine after a while," the driver said nonchalantly. "Judging from her clothes, she seems to come from a wealthy family. Even if we can't sell her, we can ask her family for some ransom."

“It’s always the wealthy who cause trouble.” The woman frowned. “Where did you meet this child? Why do I feel uneasy? I have a feeling something’s going to happen. Are we going to get into some trouble?”

“What trouble could we possibly get into? Even if she were the emperor’s daughter, once she came to our Luoxia Mountain, our chieftain would have the final say.” The man yawned. “Those government dogs have been beating us for years. Are we afraid? Have they won? You women are always afraid of this and that. If you don’t have the guts, don’t come out and do this thieving work.”

Lu Zhiyuan pretended to be unconscious, her mouth splitting open to the back of her head.

Bandits and mountain strongholds—it sounds like a really fun place.

Either take it for your own use, or use it to achieve merit. Since you've come across it, you can't let it go easily.

Her gaze fell on Lu Zhiyuan's upturned lips, and the woman asked suspiciously, "Has this child been drugged? Why is she still smiling even though she's been drugged?"

The man glanced back and muttered to himself, "Maybe I'm dreaming? Good, it saves me from crying when I wake up."

That makes sense, the woman nodded and looked away.

During the Lantern Festival, there was no curfew or city guard duty, and the carriages left the capital in a grand manner.

The quiet countryside, with the sound of wheels and insects, allowed Lu Zhiyuan to sleep soundly, a rare treat. Opening her eyes, she didn't see the woman from last night, but instead saw several unfamiliar faces: two boys and two girls, ranging in age from five to fifteen. A scarred man sat by the door, holding a whip. The driver was the same man from last night, though he wasn't as talkative.

The youngest child was huddled in a corner crying, and the one hugging him seemed to be his older sister. Judging from their clothes, they didn't seem to be from an ordinary family. Lu Zhiyuan touched her with her hand: "My name is Lu Zhiyuan. I was tricked into coming here. What are your names? How did you get onto the carriage?"

The young woman looked at her in surprise.

Knowing she'd been tricked by bad guys, how could this pretty little girl still be sleeping soundly in their carriage? Is she a fool?

"What's the use of crying? Like your brother, he cried all the way here, his eyes are swollen like walnuts, and he's still stuck here. Instead of wasting time and energy, you should close your eyes and rest."

Lu Zhiyuan took out a handkerchief and wiped the little boy's nose: "Don't cry, you're making me hungry."

After saying that, he stretched out his hand in front of the scarred man who looked fierce: "Is there anything to eat?"

Scarface was taken aback, not expecting Lu Zhiyuan to dare reach out and ask her for food. As the escort, he had seen hundreds, if not thousands, of children, and every single one of them was terrified of him.

Seeing that he remained silent, Lu Zhiyuan's temper flared up, and she slapped his arm twice: "No big fish or meat, but surely you have dry rations? I'm starving to death. How can you be human traffickers like this? I'm going to complain to your chieftain about you."

Scarface pulled a paper package from his pocket; inside were three cold sesame seed cakes.

The children had all been abducted at night and had been hungry ever since they got on the carriage. When Scarface took out the sesame cakes, they all looked over, and even the youngest little boy stopped crying.

Lu Zhiyuan took the sesame seed cake, squeezed it, and complained, "It's too hard. Eating it will easily cause a stomachache."

Scarface glared at her but didn't say anything.

"Stop the car, I want some baked flatbread!" Lu Zhiyuan patted the carriage, and when she saw Scarface glaring at her, she glared back with a cold look: "We're in the middle of nowhere, just a few kids like us, do you think we'll run away?"

"Eat if you want, or go hungry."

"Although I don't know where the Luoxia Mountain you're talking about is, judging from the direction the carriage is traveling, it should be heading to Lin County. Near the capital, only Lin County has mountains, and only the mountains in Lin County are easy to defend and difficult to attack, making them suitable for hiding bad guys. It will take at least two or three days to get from the capital to Lin County. Are you sure you want us to go hungry?"

Scarface frowned as he looked at her.

How could a little girl who falls asleep as soon as she gets on the bus know all this?

He shifted his body and said in a gruff voice, "It's only three days, no one will starve."

"Alright, then I won't eat it." Lu Zhiyuan stuffed the sesame seed cake into her bosom, closed her eyes and said, "I'd rather starve to death than be sold by you! Remember to throw my corpse far away. If my maternal grandfather and the others find out, I'm afraid you won't be able to hold onto your Luoxia Mountain."

The man driving the carriage scoffed, "Little girl, aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew? Who is your maternal grandfather? Tell us."

Lu Zhiyuan squinted and said, word by word, "Grand General Xie Yuandao!"