The Cold-Hearted Princess Who Transmigrated Here

Because enough information had been leaked, Ling Daquan had already surrounded Qingfeng Village by noon the next day.

Outside the mountain stronghold, Ling Erping's thousand soldiers stood ready in battle formation. They shouted slogans, their voices ringing out in a powerful and imposing manner.

Inside the stronghold, because the restrictions had not been broken, many people were still sleeping soundly.

Wang Xiyue continued to disguise herself as a guard and follow behind her brother, secretly observing and supervising everything, and controlling the progress of events.

Because the wooden suspension bridge was too dilapidated to bear the weight of too many people, Ling Erping had to abandon the plan for a large-scale attack and instead send only one or two soldiers to the bridge to probe the situation slowly.

As a result, their small numbers made them easy targets for the opposing archers.

As soon as the soldiers on this side stepped onto the drawbridge, or even before they had taken more than a few steps, the archers on the other side swiftly fired an arrow.

Because the suspension bridge was unstable and swayed from side to side, making it difficult to defend against, soldiers were either seriously injured or killed, and some even lost their balance and fell off the bridge due to fear.

As time went by, it approached noon.

Nearly a hundred soldiers have died, yet Ling Erping still cannot find the gate to the stronghold.

The sky was shrouded in thick, dark clouds, and the air was unusually muggy, making people feel oppressed.

The continuous defeats had driven the army's morale to its lowest point. The soldiers looked exhausted and their eyes were filled with fear, as if dark clouds were about to fall from above.

However, Xuan Yi, Xuan Tian, ​​and the others inside the stronghold had already woken up and were full of energy, ready to face this crushing battle.

Xuan Yi stared intently at the demoralized enemy force opposite him, a slight smile playing on his lips, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

He whirled around and shouted to his brothers behind him, "The time has come! Let's give these guys a surprise!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a group of agile "bandits" rushed out from the barrier. They moved swiftly and silently, circling around to the enemy's rear.

At Xuan Yi's command, the group of "bandits" pounced on Ling Erping's army like ferocious beasts.

Each of their attacks was incredibly powerful, instantly disrupting the enemy's formation.

Many soldiers were killed before they could even react, and they died without ever knowing what had happened.

The surviving soldiers were even more terrified. They couldn't understand where these bandits had come from, as if they were heavenly soldiers.

At this moment, Wang Xijie also displayed his bravery. Holding a long sword, he took the lead and charged towards the bandits, showing a willingness to fight to the death.

Even with the "help" of the Prime Minister's office, Ling Erping's defeat was still inevitable.

Soon, his army fell into chaos and suffered repeated defeats.

In the end, they had to return empty-handed.

Xuan Yi watched the departing enemy army, a smug smile spreading across his face.

This victory brought them one step closer to completing their plan.

-

Just as Ling Daquan was eagerly awaiting news of the victory in the bandit suppression campaign, Ling Erping returned home looking dejected and disheveled.

"Big brother, I...I failed." Ling Erping said dejectedly, his tone filled with self-blame and regret.

He originally thought he could easily complete the task, but reality dealt him a heavy blow.

Ling Daquan looked at his younger brother in surprise, "How could this be? You brought dozens of times more people than the enemy, and you still couldn't win?"

Ling Erping lowered his head. "Those bandits seem to have been prepared all along. We are in the open, while they are in the dark. Moreover, they occupy strategic locations. The mountain forest is narrow, so no matter how many of us there are, we have no room to maneuver."

"Those bandits must have some kind of supernatural ability; they always appear and disappear without a trace, and are completely impossible to catch."

"There is only one road into the mountain village, which is a very narrow and dangerous suspension bridge. We have no way to force our way in."

"I underestimated my opponent, please punish me, elder brother."

Ling Daquan took a deep breath to suppress his anger. "Now is not the time to assign blame. We need to think about what to do next. This failure not only damages our reputation, but may also embolden those bandits."

After a moment of contemplation, a resolute glint flashed in his eyes. "Since that's the case, we can no longer sit idly by and wait to die. I've decided to personally lead a team of elite soldiers deep into the mountain stronghold and wipe out these bandits completely!"

Ling Erping was startled and quickly dissuaded him, "Brother, this is too dangerous! Those bandits are treacherous and cunning. As the prefect, how can you put yourself in such danger?"

"Moreover, those elite troops cannot be deployed casually. If the Marquis finds out that you have used them without permission, he will definitely be furious."

Ling Daquan patted his younger brother on the shoulder and said firmly, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. If we don't get rid of these bandits, neither of us will survive."

"This is also our only chance to make amends."

Just as the two were about to make a decision, a servant came in and reported: "Master, there is someone outside who wants to see you. He says he has something important to tell you."

Ling Daquan frowned. "I won't see them. I'm not in the mood to deal with these unimportant people right now."

The servant hesitated for a moment, "But he said he has important information about the bandits."

Ling Daquan thought for a moment and then agreed, "Let him in."

After the man entered, he gave the Ling brothers a mysterious look, then lowered his voice and said, "I know why this attack on the mountain stronghold failed. Actually, someone tipped us off."

Ling Daquan and Ling Erping exchanged a glance, both of them startled.

"Who is it?" Ling Daquan pressed.

“Yes…” The man hesitated slightly before continuing, “It is the Prime Minister’s residence.”

"What? The Prime Minister's residence?" the Ling brothers exclaimed in unison, their faces showing disbelief.

Others may not know, but Ling Erping witnessed firsthand that the Prime Minister's heir was indeed helping to suppress the bandits. He not only injured several bandits, but he himself was also injured.

But perhaps it was a ruse?

"Absolutely true! There is absolutely no fabrication about this. I personally witnessed the Prime Minister's people secretly colluding with the mountain bandits!"

He shouted excitedly, "Your operation was actually leaked to the bandits by the Prime Minister's office, which is why you suffered such a crushing defeat!"

Hearing this, Ling Erping was both angry and shocked. He was about to get angry when his brother's eyes suppressed him.

Ling Daquan remained calm and stared at the informant, asking, "Who are you? How did you learn about this? Explain the whole story clearly!"

The informant was a little nervous, but he still mustered up his courage and answered cautiously: "I am just a beggar from the East District named Li Si. That day, I happened to pass by the Youfu Inn and noticed a few people sneaking in and out. Out of curiosity, I secretly followed them and found that they were the guards of the Prime Minister's son meeting and talking with a group of bandits."

"It was a bit far away and I couldn't hear clearly, but I heard things like 'mountain village' and 'robbery'."

“At the time, I dared not make a sound and could only leave the scene secretly. But later I heard that the government office had been robbed by bandits, and I realized that this matter was of great importance, so I decided to risk coming to inform you two sirs.”

Ling Daquan sternly threatened, "Do you dare to take responsibility for what you said?"

"If you lie, I will tear you apart with five horses."

Li Si knew he had no way out, so even if it was a lie, he had to make a guarantee: "I swear to heaven that I have never lied, or I will die a horrible death."

Ling Daquan's eyes darted around, and a smile returned to his face. He praised, "Good, Li Si, I'll trust you for now. Go and collect your reward. Keep an eye on things later, and report back promptly if anything happens. You'll definitely get your share of the benefits then."

Li Si knelt down with tears of gratitude and kowtowed several times. "Thank you for your kindness, sir. But I am all alone and have nowhere to go. I really want to stay in the Sun and Moon Hall. Could you please make an exception and arrange for me to stay there?"

He had heard from many people in the North District that going there meant all the food and lodging were provided and you didn't have to work at all; even the beggars from the West and South Districts were going there to enjoy themselves.

Ling Daquan asked in great confusion, "What Sun and Moon Hall?"

Li Si hurriedly explained, "Sir, have you forgotten? It's the Sun and Moon Hall that you oversaw the construction of to help the poor."

Ling Daquan finally realized that it was that mountain villa that specialized in posing as beggars.

He felt a wave of disdain. Wasn't it called Shantang before? Why is it called Riyuetang now? He just doesn't understand. Why would Li Si want to flock into a dilapidated beggar's den with nothing to eat or drink?

Moreover, he would definitely have to get rid of those useless people later, so since Li Si didn't want to live, he wouldn't try to stop him.

It's like trying to help a piece of rotten wood.

"Are you sure you want to go in?"

He had already promised that the villa to Young Master Wang, so naturally they could manage it themselves. He wouldn't interfere, and he wouldn't take responsibility if anything went wrong.

But inserting a nobody into the system is no big deal for him.

Li Si nodded vigorously, "Yes!"

Ling Daquan waved his hand in agreement, "Alright, once things are settled here, I will arrange for you to go in. You may leave now!"

As soon as they left, Ling Daquan slammed his fist on the table in anger, "So that's what they were up to! How despicable!"

Ling Erping gritted his teeth and said, "Brother, we can't let this go. We must take revenge!"

“That’s right!” A ruthless glint flashed in Ling Daquan’s eyes. “Send someone to the capital immediately and tell the Marquis about this.”

Ling Erping was a little worried, "But we don't have any real evidence, only witnesses. Will anyone believe us?"

"If the Marquis finds out that we failed to defend the formation and that the bandits destroyed it, we're doomed!" he said anxiously.

“Yes, the Marquis is always strict and will never let us off easily,” Ling Daquan echoed.

"How about... we keep the truth to ourselves? Anyway, the bandits have already escaped, and as long as we don't say anything, the Marquis may not know the truth," Ling Erping suggested.

“No, this is too risky. If the Marquis finds out, our punishment will only be more severe,” Ling Daquan shook his head in opposition.

The two fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to do.

At this moment, Ling Erping suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Why don't I catch the bandits first, and then use torture to extract evidence? With such a big target as the Prime Minister's Mansion protecting us, even if we report the truth to the Marquis, perhaps he won't punish us and can even save our lives?"

After listening, Ling Daquan nodded in agreement, but at the same time he was worried about whether they could successfully capture the bandits and obtain evidence.

He also knew that if they simply shirked responsibility, the Marquis probably wouldn't believe them, and even if he did, there was no way to undo this enormous loss.

Besides, catching a thief requires catching him red-handed; they currently have no evidence whatsoever of collusion between the Prime Minister's office and the bandits.

If the eldest son of the Prime Minister's mansion turns around and bites back, they will have no way to defend themselves.

We can't openly break ties with the Prime Minister's office now, otherwise we might alert them.

Given this situation, considering all factors, it would be safer to attack the mountain stronghold first. In fact, they had no other choice but to execute this only feasible strategy.

Ling Daquan made a quick decision to join his brother and lead a hundred elite soldiers and the remaining troops to attack the bandits once again.

After he had traveled a long way, full of confidence, and climbed the farthest mountain he had ever climbed in his life, and was drenched in sweat, he finally saw the gate of the mountain stronghold.