RWNEFE -Chapter 78 With a Favorable Wind to Lend Its Strength, Helping You Soar to the Clouds!

At midnight, a figure appeared at the county yamen like a ghost, heading straight for the treasury.

Who would have thought that such a small county office would have no fewer than four storehouses—two packed full of grain, and the other two filled with gold and silver jewels seized from local gentry and wealthy households.

Collect them!

Under the governance of the Third Princess, the magistrate of Wanshou Town had been corrupt and heartless. Using the occasion of celebrating her birthday as a pretext, he had ruthlessly squeezed the people dry. Following the example set above, he was even worse than the Third Princess herself.

Next to the county yamen was the magistrate’s residence. Shen Lanxi slipped in quietly and went straight to the ancestral hall.

“Master, beneath the floor tiles—it’s all gold bricks!”

“Behind the spirit tablets, there are several white jade Guanyin statues and golden idols made of solid gold!”

Collect them!

These were the blood and sweat of the common people—there was no way she would let these parasites keep them!

Tables, chairs, bedding, silk fabrics—all were taken. Everything in the small kitchen was cleared out. Anything useful was left behind not even a single piece. Even the potted plants in the courtyard were not spared.

Wherever Shen Lanxi passed, emptiness remained. She worked with true carpet-style efficiency.

After clearing everything else, only the magistrate’s quarters remained.

The magistrate was fast asleep, holding his concubine in his arms. Shen Lanxi slipped in without a sound. A quarter of an hour later, she came out with a cold smile and headed straight for the guest quarters.

She despised traitors most of all. Since that yamen runner was one of the Third Princess’s people, he could go underground early to pledge his loyalty.

~

Early the next morning, as soon as the city gates opened, food vendors were already shouting at the top of their lungs to attract customers.

“Sir, buy some fried cakes! I can tell you’re traveling—these don’t spoil easily. I’ve added scallions and salted meat, plenty of flavor!”

“Buy!”

“Sir, how about some meat buns? Fresh pork slaughtered today—one bite and your mouth will be full of juice…”

“Buy!”

“Young Master, should we send some to Master Hu and the others?” Chunxue asked.

Shen Lanxi said, “Look behind you.”

They were buying in front, while Wei Dongzhuo and his men were buying behind them. No one knew when their next meal would be—so whenever there was food, everyone cherished it.

“I thought they had no money?” Chunxue muttered.

Shen Lanxi smiled but said nothing. What she had left them earlier was enough for Wei Dongzhuo’s group to eat for ten lifetimes.

Buying and stopping along the way, they soon reached the city gate.

No sooner had they paid and exited the city than a squad of soldiers arrived and shut the gate behind them.

“Have you heard? Something happened at the county yamen last night?”

“What thief? I heard it was haunted. My uncle’s neighbor’s second aunt’s little granddaughter serves as a maid to the magistrate’s concubine. She said that by morning, both the yamen and the magistrate’s residence had been completely emptied. The magistrate and his concubine lay naked on the floor all night…”

That wasn’t all—what this person knew was only part of it. For the rest of his life, that magistrate would be bedridden, needing others to feed him, dress him, and handle all his bodily needs.

Death would have been too easy. Lying in bed, watching his life slowly drain away and his body rot day by day—that was the cruelest punishment of all.

After leaving the city, the group headed straight toward Jinmen.

Wei Dongzhuo ordered the soldiers to speed up the mule carts so they could ride alongside Shen Lanxi.

“Young Master Lan, if we chase them directly all the way, and the Third Princess’s people set an ambush, we’ll still fall into their trap.”

Shen Lanxi replied, “That’s why I plan to hijack the tribute convoy.”

Wei Dongzhuo was shaken to the core, his eyes lighting up. “We can disguise ourselves as soldiers escorting the birthday tributes!”

Shen Lanxi’s brows relaxed. “A hundred li southeast of Wanshou Town, there’s a large town. Whether it’s soldiers escorting prisoners or troops delivering birthday tributes, they all rest and resupply there.”

Wei Dongzhuo’s eyes gleamed. “Then we should hurry—so we can pick a suitable target among the many tribute escorts!”

Shen Lanxi took out a map and tossed it to him. “See for yourself.”

“Chunxue, speed up!”

“Yes!”

The moment the map was thrown over, Wei Dongzhuo scrambled up and caught it with both hands.

He had seen this map before and knew its value well. Even if he fell off the cart, he could not let the map touch the dirt.

Ahead lay Beiheng Town. At their current pace, even with day-and-night travel, they would arrive within two days.

Now he finally understood why Shen Lanxi was so certain that all troops would stop at Beiheng—it was the only route to Jinmen.

And if his guess was correct, Liu Laohu’s group would also pass through Beiheng.

They had to seize the initiative before encountering the escorting soldiers!

Watching the mules struggle to match the speed of horses even at full gallop, Wei Dongzhuo once again regretted not switching to horse-drawn carriages when leaving the city.

At this moment, he truly understood the saying: you can’t have both fish and bear’s paw.

At the hottest part of the day, they rested briefly to prevent the mules from suffering heatstroke.

A sharp eagle cry rang out—Xiaoxue had arrived with a message.

Shen Lanxi tossed it a strip of dried fish first, then raised her left arm for Xiaoxue to land on.

Inside the message tube was a slip of paper bearing the words:

“With a favorable wind to lend its strength, helping you soar to the clouds!”

She folded the note away and replaced it with another.

Low murmurs arose from the Wei family troops.

“What a magnificent eagle. Just who is this Young Master Lan?”

“He must be connected to the Shen family.”

“Nonsense. If we’re being honest, the Shen family are just a bunch of useless sacks—he’s the eagle in hand. Can an eagle and a sack be compared?”

“Could he be hired by the Shen family?”

“If that were the case, how much would it cost?”

It was now the peak of summer. The ground was scorching hot—even bare feet would burn. The hotter it grew, the worse the drought became. When Liu Laohu’s group rested, they constantly looked up at the blazing sun.

“Good thing we ran fast!”

Even though they no longer lacked water, they still drank sparingly.

“At least we have water now. If it doesn’t rain in the north, people there won’t survive.”

Looking north, Liu Yanhui sighed. “Empty villages everywhere—it’s no exaggeration. I hope the court sends disaster relief soon, or Great Zhou will surely fall into chaos.”

An eagle’s cry rang out again. Liu Yanhui immediately stood up.

Among everyone he knew, only one person raised such a ferocious bird.

Xiaoxue circled twice in the air before landing on a withered wooden stump at a distance.

Liu Laohu hurried over to Liu Yanhui. “That’s Young Master Lan’s eagle, right?”

Thinking of a possibility, Liu Yanhui quickly asked Nanny Li for a strip of dried meat and walked over.

When Xiaoxue saw Liu Yanhui approach, it screeched once, folded its wings, and restrained some of its ferocity.

Seeing this, Liu Yanhui let out a breath and strode forward.

“Does Young Master have a letter for me?”

Xiaoxue screeched again, turned its head, and ignored the dried meat held out to it.

Liu Yanhui scratched his head awkwardly. Why did he feel like he was being disliked?

“Honored Eagle, may I take the letter?”

Just as Liu Yanhui was about to stuff the meat into his own mouth so he could free both hands to open the message tube, Xiaoxue smacked him on the head with a wing.

“Skree—”

Liu Yanhui’s legs nearly gave out. Had he done something wrong to offend the mighty eagle?

Recalling what he had done just before being struck, he carefully offered the dried meat with both hands.

Xiaoxue opened its beak and took it.

Liu Yanhui was amazed. An eagle that even knew courtesy—truly a divine bird!