Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Lin Zifeng and Zheng Luoqi were locked in the mountain stronghold's dungeon, sitting facing each other. Not long after, someone brought paper and a pen and placed them in front of Zheng Luoqi.

"Our mighty general said he wants 100,000 taels of silver. Once you have it, we'll let you go. You'd better write a letter and send it home. You have five days at most. If you don't raise 100,000 taels within five days, we'll send you to meet the King of Hell!" the rebel soldier who came to deliver the letter said viciously.

Zheng Luoqi took the paper handed to her by the soldier and started writing, pretending to be scared.

Lin Zifeng sat to the side watching Zheng Luoqi write a letter, thinking to himself: How can this person be such a good actor? Anyone who didn't know better would really think you were scared.

Suddenly, Zheng Luoqi's eyes flashed as she inadvertently noticed the weapon in the soldier's hand.

A hint of doubt arose in Zheng Luoqi's mind: "This weapon doesn't look like something a typical rebel army would use."

Generally speaking, normal rebel armies are composed of ordinary people or people who cannot survive. Their weapons and equipment are usually rudimentary, and the Great Xia Kingdom has very strict control over ironware. Not just anyone can possess iron tools.

Salt and iron were state-run monopolies; individuals were not allowed to forge weapons privately. They could only purchase or rent items such as armor, bows and crossbows, spears, and other armored vehicles. Crossbows had a long range and great power, and weapons like spears, which were extremely lethal, could not be forged at will. Just look at the weapons of those lowly soldiers.

The common people could only possess five kinds of short weapons: bows, arrows, knives, guns, and spears, which they could use to protect themselves.

The soldier seemed to be carrying a long sword. If even a soldier could possess a long sword, it meant there was a large amount of iron here. The fact that so much iron could be found suggested that there was likely an iron mine nearby.

Zheng Luoqi planned to sneak out at night to check out the situation here.

As Zheng Luoqi pondered, he wrote a letter home. After finishing, he looked at the soldier with a fawning smile and said, "Brother, my letter home is finished. Could you please arrange a more comfortable cell for me? My brother and I are finding it difficult to adapt to this environment, as we haven't suffered much hardship since childhood."

After Zheng Luoqi finished speaking, she handed a jade pendant to the soldier. The soldier's eyes lit up when he saw the jade pendant Zheng Luoqi handed over.

The soldier took Zheng Luoqi's jade pendant and smiled, saying, "Since you're so sensible, I'll ask our boss. Behave yourselves and don't let me find out what you're up to. You can't escape, or you'll be in big trouble."

After the soldier left, Lin Zifeng looked at Zheng Luoqi and asked curiously, "How did you do that?"

"What? How do you do that?" Zheng Luoqi asked, puzzled.

"That's how it is!" Lin Zifeng said awkwardly.

"What?" Zheng Luoqi asked in confusion, then seemed to suddenly understand something. Lin Zifeng grew up in a prestigious family and couldn't do what Zheng Luoqi did—put down her status to flatter someone. Even if she was just pretending, it would be hard for her to pull it off. She had an inherent pride in her bones.

"Pfft, hahahahahahaha!" Zheng Luoqi let out a merciless laugh. "How did that old man Lin Changsheng raise a son like you? How old are you this year?"

"Nineteen, what's wrong? What's so funny? If you don't want to talk about it, then don't." Lin Zifeng said, forcing himself to save face.

"Nineteen? Then I'm four years older than you. Call me 'brother' and I'll tell you how I did it," Zheng Luoqi teased, smiling as she looked at Lin Zifeng.

Lin Zifeng frowned slightly after hearing Zheng Luoqi's words, a flash of anger crossing his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. In a fit of rage, Lin Zifeng...

"Hmph!" Lin Zifeng snorted coldly, turning his head away and ignoring Zheng Luoqi. Lin Zifeng's fists clenched involuntarily, making a cracking sound, as if he would rush forward if Zheng Luoqi said a few more words.

"Oh dear! Young Master Lin, let me ask you, you've been here for so long, have you found anything?" Zheng Luoqi asked Lin Zifeng with amusement.

Lin Zifeng's heart skipped a beat when he heard Zheng Luoqi's question.

He slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings before finally settling on Zheng Luoqi. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his tone, and said coldly, "The rebels here are not ordinary rebels. Their clothing and weapons are not what ordinary rebels would have."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Moreover, in the cell we were sent to, I found that there were more elderly people, women and children than young people, and then there were some wealthy businessmen."

“I wondered if the elderly, women, and children might have been kidnapped, but they didn’t look sad on their faces, which was strange.” Lin Zifeng frowned, thought for a moment, and then added.

Hearing this, Zheng Luoqi nodded, a hint of appreciation flashing in her eyes: "Well, you're not stupid, but you still need to improve your interpersonal skills."

Lin Zifeng felt somewhat unconvinced. He looked up at Zheng Luoqi and asked, "And what about you? What did you discover?"

Zheng Luoqi looked at Lin Zifeng with a smile, her eyes scrutinizing him. Lin Zifeng hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to look at Zheng Luoqi.

A lot of things flashed through Zheng Luoqi's mind in an instant. Zheng Luoqi did not answer Lin Zifeng's question, but just looked at Lin Zifeng.

To ease the awkwardness, Lin Zifeng said again, somewhat annoyed, "I've told you everything I know, what about you?"

"Someone's here." Zheng Luoqi said coldly, and the cell door was opened.

"Our boss said he can let you two brothers switch cells," the soldier who took the jade pendant said upon returning.

The soldier then led Zheng Luoqi and Lin Zifeng out. As they left, Zheng Luoqi couldn't help but say, "Thank you, big brother, thank you, big brother."

Then the soldier led Zheng Luoqi and Lin Zifeng to a well-ventilated and relatively clean cell.

There were two clean straw mat beds in the cell, and Zheng Luoqi casually found a spot to sit down.

Before leaving, the soldier added menacingly, "Behave yourselves, don't even think about running away. You can't escape from here."

Zheng Luoqi smiled obsequiously, nodding as she said, "Okay, okay, thank you, big brother, thank you, big brother."

After the soldier left, Zheng Luoqi immediately stopped smiling, turned to look at Lin Zifeng, and said seriously, "Don't rush to sleep these next two days."

"First, find out the routines of these low-ranking soldiers. I'll find some time to go out and explore this place, look for clues. You stay in the cell and keep watch, don't let anyone find out I'm gone."