Lu Jinshuang felt that the sisters, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan, could never spend all their money even if they had several lifetimes to do so. Just the wealth from the estates in the capital that she knew about would be enough to let them squander for a long time. And there were surely plenty she didn’t know about. The sisters’ money had probably already piled up into a mountain, hadn’t it?
With a suspicious yet curious look, she studied Xi Qingyue. She really wanted to know how much money the sisters had seized. She wondered whether it was more than the imperial treasury.
Xi Qingyue looked at her with amusement. “Sister Jinshuang, we haven’t made much money. We only sold a little watermelon; it wasn’t worth much.”
At those words, Lu Jinshuang was so stunned by her shamelessness that she was left speechless. Was that what she meant by making money?
Seeing her speechless expression, Xi Qingyue stopped teasing her and slowly said, “Sister Jinshuang, I plan to leave for Xinzhou tomorrow morning. If you still want to have fun here, I’ll leave the yacht with you, and we can meet up later.”
Lu Jinshuang thought it over, then nodded. “All right. It’s not as if I can help with anything anyway. We’ll split up. I’ll look around elsewhere. Recently, a large number of refugees have been flooding in from all over the place, so I’ll check how they’re being settled in each area. If I run into any corrupt officials, I’ll chop down a few of them and do my part for Great Jing.”
Xi Qingyue naturally had no objections. She planned to leave with Mu Jin, Nan Yun, and a dozen or so others. As for the more than one hundred guards from the commandery princess’s residence, she decided to leave them with Lu Jinshuang, just in case anything unexpected happened.
Xi Weilan sat down beside Lu Jinshuang, put her arms around her neck, and urged her worriedly, “Sister Jinshuang, you have to take good care of yourself.”
Lu Jinshuang smiled. “Weilan, do you want to come with me? Your sister is so busy. Follow me, and I guarantee I’ll take you out to eat, drink, and have fun.”
“No. I’m going with Sister,” Xi Weilan said, shaking her head without the slightest hesitation.
Xi Qingyue smiled faintly. There was no way she would hand her three-year-old sister over to someone else. No matter how much she trusted that person, she would never do it.
After making their arrangements, the two of them summoned Mu Jin and the others to give them their instructions.
Lu Jinshuang had already learned how to operate the yacht, and even Dongxue knew how to do it now. Xi Qingyue was quite reassured by that.
In addition, she left Lu Jinshuang several useful items to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.
Meanwhile, at the Zheng residence—
Zheng Xinran and the others had also heard that the Lu family had sent their wounded to Xi Qingyue’s ship for treatment.
Zheng Xing was puzzled. “That doesn’t make sense. According to what you told me before, the commandery princess is very vengeful. That was why, when the assassins attacked, she protected you but left out those few boys from the Lu family. So why is she having them treated now? It doesn’t add up.”
He paced back and forth across the room, unable to suppress his curiosity.
Zheng Xinran smiled faintly. “Father, although the commandery princess holds grudges, she didn’t allow the Lu family members to be killed at the critical moment. That shows she doesn’t consider it a serious matter. Uncle Lu personally boarded her ship to thank her and sent a gift as well. The matter was settled long ago. If you’re really curious, why not pay the Lu family a visit?”
Taking his daughter’s advice, Zheng Xing immediately went to the Lu residence to find out what had happened.
The news that the Zheng and Lu families had gone aboard the ship to thank Xi Qingyue spread throughout the docks, and soon throughout all of Liucheng.
What had happened at the theater and the county government office spread even more quickly among the people. Many cursed the Governor of Xinzhou for his inhuman behavior, while others were filled with lingering fear.
Those who had lost children hated the Governor of Xinzhou to the bone. Those whose children were safe were grateful that Xi Qingyue had wiped out all the assassins at the theater. Their hearts filled with gratitude toward her.
Liu Zhu, the Liucheng County Magistrate, was likewise terrified. He feared that if things dragged on much longer, he would be in trouble. He might even be made the scapegoat by the Governor of Xinzhou.
After all, so many children had gone missing, and there had to be an outcome. Fortunately, the commandery princess had caught the culprits and allowed him to hold a public trial. Now, no one could pin the blame on him.
In his memorial, he not only reported the Governor of Xinzhou’s crimes, but also praised the sisters, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan, to the heavens and beyond. More than half of the memorial was devoted to describing the sisters’ good deeds.
The following morning, just as everyone was discussing the sisters, they had already boarded another yacht and left the docks.
On the yacht, Xi Qingyue was holding a Gatling gun and teaching Mu Jin how to use it.
The Governor’s residence was not the county government office. It had plenty of soldiers. At the residence of the governor she had killed before, there had been no fewer than two or three thousand people.
The Governor of Xinzhou was no pushover either. He was even more likely to be one of Prince Kang’s people, and he might have some private troops hidden away. It would be more convenient to use the Gatling gun directly.
Mu Jin held the heavy weapon in her hands, her face filled with astonishment. A pistol was already powerful enough, but this thing was practically a weapon of mass destruction.
“Commandery princess, with this, we wouldn’t be afraid even if the governor’s residence had ten thousand soldiers.”
As she spoke, Mu Jin’s face was full of excitement. She absolutely adored this new hidden weapon.
Nan Yun also excitedly chimed in from the side. “Exactly, Commandery Princess. This thing is incredibly useful. If we used it in battle, we could shoot our way straight to the enemy’s stronghold.”
Hearing her mention battle, Xi Qingyue sighed inwardly. If her supernatural ability hadn’t been so weak before, she would definitely have taken a trip to the northern border.
Then, as if she had thought of something, she suddenly smiled. Well, sooner or later, she would have to go there anyway. Everyone who had destroyed her peaceful life deserved to die.
She gave Mu Jin and the others a faint nod. “You’re right. This thing is excellent for warfare. When I get the chance, I’ll go have some fun in the north.”
For now, she was too lazy to go. No matter which route she took, bringing Xi Weilan along would be a burden. More importantly, the roads were crowded and difficult to travel. Once her supernatural ability advanced another level—or her space upgraded and unlocked more functions—travel would become much more convenient.
Mu Jin and the others were delighted to hear her words. When she said she would “have some fun,” she clearly didn’t mean playing in the mud. She was probably going north to collect heads, which would be a great benefit to Great Jing.
The dozen or so people happily handled the Gatling gun on the yacht, unable to put it down. Xi Weilan watched them with her hands clasped behind her back and shook her head.
She walked up to Xi Qingyue and asked, “Sister, when we reach the docks, are they going to carry all this stuff off directly?”
Xi Qingyue smiled and nodded. “Yes. They can carry it down. We’ll only take it out when we need it.”
She was going to Xinzhou to kill the governor. They would undoubtedly have to fight their way into the governor’s residence, so naturally they would carry the weapons in and kill their way through.
Xinzhou was not far from Liucheng. An ordinary boat would have needed two days to make the journey, but Xi Qingyue’s yacht arrived in only an hour.
To their surprise, before they had even drawn near the docks, they saw them packed densely with soldiers.
These soldiers held bows and arrows aimed in the direction of their yacht. Another group stood in orderly ranks with broadswords in hand, likewise watching the yacht as though they were on guard against something.
When Xi Qingyue saw this display, she suddenly smiled, her expression as radiant as a peach blossom in full bloom.
“Mu Jin, have someone call out and announce my commandery princess title. Tell them to put away their bows and arrows. Otherwise, it will be attempted assassination of a commandery princess of the imperial court, and they will be executed!”
Mu Jin smiled as well. “Yes, Commandery Princess. Excellent. Now, even if we kill them all, no one will dare say a word against us.”
She immediately called out toward the docks, channeling her inner power into her voice:
“Listen up, all of you! Commandery Princess Cenyue and Commandery Princess Suwei are here! Put down your weapons at once, or you will be guilty of attempting to assassinate commandery princesses and will be executed!”
