As soon as these words were spoken, Pei Shu’er stood up.
"Why is there such a commotion all of a sudden?"
But at this moment, there was no one who could answer her; no one knew the truth.
Pei Shu’er called Zhang Chao and the other three, as well as the Lin brothers, and rode the horses they brought along to the back mountain along the newly opened path.
Then she found that the people at the back mountain were agitated, whispering to two women. These two women were none other than Tang Qingrou and Aunt Lin.
Aunt Lin looked like skin and bones, extremely frail.
Tang Qingrou’s right hand was bandaged in gauze, her cheeks still swollen like a pig’s, but her eyes shone as if she’d discovered some great secret.
After returning, she was forced to entertain other soldiers, and in the morning, she coaxed the soldier to drop her off at the camp gate, then ran to the deserted mountain early.
Halfway there, she encountered a clearly unfamiliar face named Zhao Lin. He was a refugee wanting to see the environment of the deserted mountain. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel{f}ire.net
After a bit of probing on her part, she learned three good pieces of news.
First, this man wasn’t the only one; about five hundred people had come here as refugees from various places.
Second, the one who brought these people was someone named Miss Pei, whom she suspected was Pei Shu’er.
No wonder she always felt Pei Shu’er seemed weak whenever she dealt with her; it turned out she wasn’t the real one at all.
And suddenly, Pei Shu’er’s aura had strengthened, even driving her and Commander Qian out of the third house.
The third good news was that these people didn’t know this was an exile place.
Therefore, she could use this point to stir these people up, hoping the government officer would come, giving her a chance to deal harshly with Pei Shu’er.
Pei Shu’er’s sentence wasn’t over yet, and she left the exile place without permission, even going to the capital. Maybe she was planning to break into the War King’s prison.
Sadly, it seemed Pei Shu’er had failed.
But regardless, Pei Shu’er must die.
Tang Qingrou’s voice was gentle and weak, yet filled with a sense of pity for all mankind.
"I said, how did you end up at the exile place? It turns out you were coaxed into coming here?"
Upon hearing this, the refugees were initially stunned, then looked at Tang Qingrou with eyes wide in disbelief.
Then everyone started to argue, clamoring for Miss Pei to give an explanation.
When Pei Shu’er disguised as Miss Pei arrived at the back mountain, she was met with a scene of agitated people.
The refugees walked toward Pei Shu’er, their eyes full of deceit and resentment.
Their trust in Miss Pei had turned to hatred upon seeing her now.
This woman, if not for her, they wouldn’t have come this far.
Pei Shu’er smiled and said, "Everyone, please wait a moment. You’re feeling deceived because you think this is an exile place, correct?"
A woman cried, "Miss Pei, isn’t it? This is an exile place and you tricked us here. How will my child survive? You’re truly malicious."
Pei Shu’er said, "Although this is an exile place, the government officers are only in charge of the exiles."
"You’re just refugees, they definitely won’t bother with you."
"Let me ask you, if you went elsewhere, which city would accept you? You would have starved to death outside the city gates long ago. Not to mention buying that exorbitantly priced grain, you couldn’t even get through the city gates."
With these words, everyone fell into a strange silence.
Tang Qingrou sighed, looking very sympathetic to everyone.
"Don’t forget, this is an exile place, and outside there are Dazi. When the time comes, those Dazi will do all sorts of things like burn, kill, loot."
"Coming here, you would be no more than spirits under the iron hooves of Dazi."
With these words, many people openly claimed they’d been tricked and started to pack up to leave.
Some were already so enraged, they intended to confront Pei Shu’er.
Pei Shu’er said, "If you want to leave, I definitely won’t stop you, but you must think it through—there’s a Gulan Military Camp stationed here, and the people in the camp will protect us!"
"Moreover, we’re currently building walls. Once those walls are completed, Dazi’s horses won’t be able to get over."
Hearing this, some who had initially intended to leave abruptly stopped, their eyes roving until they settled on Pei Shu’er.
Pei Shu’er slightly curved her lips.
"Rest assured, everyone. As I said, so long as you listen and diligently cultivate, you won’t starve."
Saying this, she waved to everyone; only when they gathered beside her did she raise her hand and point to the deserted mountain ahead.
"Do you see that? Those crops were cultivated by my cousin. I had no choice but to come to rely on her."
Tang Qingrou couldn’t help but sneer repeatedly at Pei Shu’er’s act.
Still acting, there’s no cousin, it’s just her.
Watch her expose Pei Shu’er’s true face!
Send the people of the third house to their deaths.
Tang Qingrou gestured to Aunt Lin with her eyes.
Aunt Lin understood and ran towards the hidden government officers.
Tang Qingrou approached Pei Shu’er with ill intentions written all over her face.
Pei Shu’er smiled and said, "Oh, young lady, may I ask what you intend to do?"
Tang Qingrou stopped in front of Pei Shu’er, then suddenly reached out to grab Pei Shu’er’s face.
Pei Shu’er glanced at the people behind her, her face bearing a relaxed smile.
"Don’t forget, I don’t keep idle people around."
So, before Tang Qingrou could touch Pei Shu’er, she was restrained by those people.
After being pinned to the ground, her face rubbed against the surface until it broke again.
Aunt Lin didn’t fare any better, being restrained as well. But with injuries all over her body, any movement caused piercing pain until she fainted from it.
Tang Qingrou hated Pei Shu’er to death; how was it almost every time, she was so close!
Tang Qingrou yelled to the government officers, "Quick, quick, quick, Lord, quickly tear off this woman’s human skin mask; she’s the real Pei Shu’er."
The serious-faced government officer approached Pei Shu’er. If Pei Shu’er’s identity was confirmed, they would also be at fault.
How dare Pei Shu’er do something so audacious?
Tang Zan and Yinxing, disguised as "Pei Shu’er," appeared at the back mountain; both looked unsettled.
Yinxing, disguised as "Pei Shu’er," angrily said, "They don’t regard us one bit, thinking we’re weak and bullying us endlessly."
"Don’t forget, we have Commander Zhang on our side."
With these words, those government officers felt troubled as well.
Pei Shu’er smiled as she approached Yinxing, taking hold of her hand.
"Cousin, I’ve really missed you."
Yinxing patted Pei Shu’er’s hand, taking cues from Pei Shu’er.
"Enough, this trip was hard on you. In a few days, I’ll trouble you to make another trip to gather more manpower; the deserted mountain is under construction and badly needs people."
Pei Shu’er nodded, "Alright, cousin."
Now, who could still doubt it? Since both Pei Shu’er and Miss Pei appeared, it clearly indicated they weren’t the same person.