The Emperor, with more men than women, made me his mistress.

One of the burly men said, "Let's report this to the authorities. It's getting dark soon, and if we waste any more time, who knows what might happen?"

A burly man chimed in, "Yes, how long has Yuecheng been gone? We must hope nothing happens to his daughter, otherwise Yuecheng won't be able to die in peace."

Another burly man said, "What unlucky talk are you spouting? We haven't found them yet!"

After a pause, he added, "No, I have to go to the village chief and ask him for a decision."

The dozen or so burly men nodded in agreement and headed toward the village chief's house together.

The village chief of Qingshan Village is a man in his fifties.

When the group arrived at the village chief's house and explained what had happened, the village chief was also taken aback. Seeing that it was getting dark, the village chief did not delay and immediately instructed his eldest son, "Go and hitch up our mule cart and hurry to the county town to report to the authorities. If we are any later, the city gates will be closed."

Upon hearing the village chief's words, the village chief's eldest son ran towards the backyard without stopping.

Upon reaching the backyard, he nimbly harnessed the mule to the cart, sat on the frame, and lashed the mule with a whip. The mule, in pain, pulled the cart out of the house.

The village chief also sent the dozen or so burly men who came to deliver the message home, saying, "You all need to go home and eat quickly. When the county officials arrive, they might need you to go up the mountain."

As more and more burly men returned home, more and more people learned that Yue Li and the three Shang brothers had gone missing on the mountain.

When the village chief's eldest son led the county magistrate and constables to Qingshan Village, all the villagers gathered at the village chief's door.

The county magistrate, dressed in a blue official robe, wearing an official hat and black official boots, stepped down from the carriage. At this moment, he had a serious expression, sharp eyes, and an imposing presence.

Twenty constables followed the carriage, each carrying a sword at his side.

The villagers of Qingshan Village had never seen anything like this before, and they all unconsciously took a few steps back.

At this moment, the village chief of Qingshan Village stepped forward, walked a step away from the magistrate, knelt down and kowtowed to the magistrate, and then explained the situation.

The magistrate's face grew increasingly grim as the village chief spoke, until the village chief finally finished.

The magistrate then inquired about the women who had seen Yue Li and the three monks on the mountain that day, and they all answered truthfully.

After hearing this, the magistrate waved his hand, and the 20 constables who had been following the carriage came out.

The magistrate first said to the village chief, "Have someone make some torches."

"Yes." Upon hearing this, the village chief immediately went to get it.

The village chief had already realized that torches would be needed to go up the mountain tonight, so he prepared the torches well in advance.

The magistrate divided the 20 constables into five teams, and then selected 20 strong men from Qingshan Village to be assigned to these five teams.

"You are a team of eight. Start from the foot of the mountain and spread out to search upwards. Remember, don't overlook hidden places like caves. Explore as deep into the mountains as possible. Go!"

Twenty constables and twenty strong men from Qingshan Village, carrying torches, hurried down the mountain.

In an instant, the foot of the mountain was brightly illuminated by torches, and then the torchlight could be faintly seen on the outskirts of the forest.

The villagers also arrived at the foot of the mountain, their hearts filled with anxiety. At this moment, they stopped worrying about anything else and began to whisper among themselves.

However, with Yue Li's prior arrangements, one can imagine what the constables would find on the mountain.

An hour later, the forty people who went up the mountain returned to the foot of the mountain, but the head constable was carrying a bundle of things in his hand.

When the magistrate saw what the constable was carrying, his expression darkened further. Just as the constable was about to open it, the magistrate stopped him. He turned to the village head behind him and said, "Have all the women in the village avoid this area."

The village chief already had some suspicions when he saw what the constables were carrying. Hearing the magistrate's words, he became even more certain of his suspicions.

The village chief didn't dare to delay and quickly called out to the villagers, "It's getting late now, all you men, take your wives home to sleep."

Everyone's smart enough to see that the constable was carrying a bag, and now that you've heard the village chief's words, you all know what's in that bag.

Most villagers listened to the village chief and went home. But there were also some bolder villagers who not only didn't leave, but gradually moved closer to the county magistrate.

However, the county magistrate didn't care. He had already given prior notice that if anyone was frightened, it was none of his business.

He gave the constable carrying the package a wink. The constable understood, put the package down, and opened it. Instantly, a pair of tattered, torn embroidered shoes, stained with blood, were revealed. Several pieces of pale blue embroidered fabric, also stained with blood, were also found; these were clearly from the young woman's dress.

There were also three men's shoes and several pieces of blue cloth, all soaked in blood.

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Seeing this, one could imagine what was happening to the person dressed like that.

After examining the body, the magistrate took a deep breath and said, "It was torn apart by wild beasts in the mountains, leaving no trace of its remains."

The matter was settled with just one sentence.

He said to the head constable, "Wrap it up."

The village chief, watching from the side, was also sweating profusely. Suppressing his fear, he stepped forward, bowed to the magistrate, and said, "I wonder if Your Excellency could take out the woman's clothes inside? I want to build a cenotaph for Yue'er next to her father's grave so that she and her father can be reunited in the afterlife."

The magistrate did not refuse; there was no use for him taking these things.

The magistrate returned to the county town in his carriage with the constables he had brought with him, and from then on, there was no one named Yueyue in Qingshan Village.

Less than a quarter of an hour after the magistrate returned to the county office, a team of ten constables came out of the county office and headed straight for the Shang family in Liupu Village.

The constables caught Shang Da, Shang Er, and Shang Liu, who were still sleeping at home, and tied them up and took them to the county government office.

Fifteen minutes later, the three corpses pulled out from the back gate of the county government office were thrown into a mass grave.

Yue Li is completely unaware of what is happening now.

She slept soundly at the inn until noon the next day. Yes, she was someone who loved to sleep in. Especially since coming here, with no one at home to supervise her, this habit had become even more pronounced.

After getting up and washing up, Yue Li dressed herself up as a young man again. Touching her chest, which was a little tight, Yue Li felt a bit annoyed.

There's no way around it, this body is just too well-developed. If those two mounds in her chest weren't bound by a chest binder, you wouldn't even need to look closely to tell that she's a woman disguised as a man.

After having lunch in the lobby downstairs, Yue Li checked out of the inn.

She's going to find out if Yuan Xinyi is in Pingchuan County. If she is, she'll make sure she gets a good life today.

Unfortunately, after making some inquiries, it turned out that Yuan Xinyi had been picked up by her husbands yesterday afternoon.

Without further hesitation, Yue Li went straight to the mule and horse market. Whether going to the prefectural city, the provincial city, or the capital, she needed a visible means of transportation.

She couldn't very well use her spiritual power to perform some kind of feat of leaping across rooftops in front of everyone, especially since she was only at the second level of Qi Refining and the spiritual energy in her dantian didn't allow her to squander it like that.