Chapter 846: Chapter 839: Not Troubling the Government

Lin Wanwan returned home and entered the side chamber, where Xiao Yixun and Baye Feng were already waiting.

"Already interrogated? So quickly?"

Lin Wanwan sat on a crescent-shaped stool, took some dried fruits, and handed them to the two. Baye Feng declined, while Xiao Yixun slowly took a piece and ate it.

"Yes, Lady Xiao had just extracted a scorpion, and he was so frightened that he confessed to everything."

"Then why are you only coming now?" Lin Wanwan wondered. The sun was almost setting.

"We feared he was lying, so we questioned him several more times."

"Oh." Lin Wanwan realized, "What did he confess?"

Baye Feng replied, "Three months ago, while Lady was treating someone, Xu Kai caught a glimpse of her and couldn’t forget. The incident at Wild Ridge was his attempt to abduct the Lady for his own pleasure."

Lin Wanwan: "..."

It seems it was still trouble caused by her appearance. She was truly amazed by such audacious second-generation playboys.

She herself held the noble title of Village Lady, how could this person be so bold? Indeed, the farther away from the Emperor, the more outrageous the countryside tycoons become.

"How did he know my whereabouts?"

"He bribed Lin Guofu’s younger daughter-in-law, Sun Shi, who leaked the information."

Lin Wanwan fell silent. Sun Shi’s husband Lin Mengxing had been killed and then burned because of a melon, leaving Sun Shi a widow with three children.

Afterwards Sun Shi repeatedly provoked Lin Wanwan; if not for the children, she would have been expelled from the clan long ago. She had even been grounded by the Clan Leader of the Lin Clan.

Unexpectedly, she did not repent and continued to harbor such hostility.

Lin Wanwan believed she hadn’t wronged their family, but Sun Shi seemed determined to pin her husband’s death on Lin Wanwan.

Whenever she had the chance, she threw stones at Lin Wanwan—she had been bought over so long ago.

Never thinking her three children’s future would depend on their education.

This kind of ungrateful wolf will probably never be tamed.

Failing this time means there will be a next.

The higher Lin Wanwan climbs, the stronger her enemies will become; such inconspicuous traitors within the family are difficult to guard against.

Sun Shi must be eliminated.

But as for Xu Kai, how dare he have such sinister thoughts towards her?

"Did he not consider the consequences at all?" Lin Wanwan murmured.

Baye Feng replied, "Once evil succeeds, it will happen countless times. Their courage grows and their methods mature."

Lin Wanwan imagined if she were without martial arts experts at her side, with only ordinary maids like Hong Yan. If she weren’t incredibly strong, what would the outcome be?

Seeking help from strangers is extremely difficult, especially in matters like this.

"Since he dared to target me, there must be significant deaths on his hands already? Did he confess?"

At that moment, Xiao Yixun spoke up, "He confessed about three people, saying they were kept in his mountain villa."

"Let’s go and take a look."

Baye Feng said, "We should bring a few more teams."

"Why? Haven’t their forces been mostly destroyed by the County Government? Is there still danger?"

"He said the villa has been turned into a gambling den." Baye Feng explained.

Lin Wanwan frowned, "Okay, go gather the troops. We’ll overpower them with numbers and try to avoid unexpected incidents."

"Okay."

Baye Feng left, and Lin Wanwan sat holding her face, deep in thought.

She pondered whether to inform the authorities, but ultimately decided against it.

If the scandal of a playboy coveting beauty were to become widespread, it would damage her reputation.

The public loves scandals involving nobles; she doesn’t want to become their gossip subject.

This incident could also test her armed department, trained for months using civilian military training manual methods.

Xiao Chong didn’t let the government intervene, giving full responsibility to her—was it because of the Xu family’s further involvement, wanting to borrow her sword, or was it because... it concerned her reputation?

No, it certainly wasn’t for borrowing the sword. If it were, the Xu family father and son wouldn’t have needed to flee, and Xu’s father wouldn’t have been captured.

Xiao Chong is not one to fear trouble; he acts very assertively.

Hence, it must be because this Xu Kai incident implicated her.

Such matters, once the mud is on, can easily stink.

Lin Wanwan mused for a long time, then suddenly had an idea and called Liu Rushi into the study to inquire.

Upon leaving the study, Lin Wanwan had made her decision—this matter would be handled privately.

Great Tang’s privileges haven’t been fully utilized yet.

Li Shimin sought to keep crime rates low; she ought not to trouble the government. Matters she can resolve herself should not burden the authorities.

Soon Baye Feng reported again, the team was ready.

Lin Wanwan changed into a set of sturdy clothes, took a veil that covered her entire body, armed with a handgun and sleeve crossbow, mounted a horse, and went to the scene with Baye Feng.

She wanted to see firsthand what was happening before deciding on the next steps.

The Xingluo members, except for the three protecting Qingyu, all followed.

Reaching the base of the mountain villa Xu Kai confessed about, they first entered a small village.

Under the big locust tree at the village entrance, several villagers were sitting on wooden stakes chatting in the sun.

Among them was one who stood out, like a well-bred Shiba Inu among a pack of starving, freezing stray dogs.

When Lin Wanwan’s group arrived at the village entrance, they immediately drew the attention of the dogs.

The outstanding Shiba Inu hesitantly stood up, weakly blocking the path of the horse team: "Who are you?"

Baye Feng, without a word, swiftly drew his sword and shaved off his head-covering hood.

The Shiba Inu froze for a moment, touched his unrestrained head, then screamed "Ah!" and tried to run away!

Baye Feng coldly pointed his sword blade: "One more step, and I’ll cut off a foot."

The man’s legs quaked immediately, and he dared not move.

It seemed to him that these were true tough people, not merely threats. Just looking at their orderly formation showed it.

Low-level hoodlums know best how to read the situation.

The others originally soaking in the sun had long scattered in panic, like dispersed streams hiding throughout the village.

"M-master, spare me! I’ll confess everything!"

Baye Feng sheathed his sword, sat atop the horse, looking down, "Where’s the Xu Family’s gambling den? Lead the way."

"Y-yes... yes." The Shiba Inu crawled away, leading them along the mountain path behind the village, "It’s... at the mountain villa in the back."

Once Lin Wanwan’s group disappeared, the small mountain village resonated with sound again.

"Was it government agents that just went in?"

"I think so; Er Gou’s in trouble now."

Er Gou was the lazy bum of their village, engaging in poultry theft and dog-knapping, hired this year to watch the village entrance.

The villagers tacitly acknowledged what was happening in the mountain beyond.

Wasn’t it just a wild gambling den? Many small landowners privately set them up.

Because Li Shimin, disgusted by the Sui Dynasty’s decay, strictly forbade gambling by scholars. Anyone caught setting up a gambling den was sent to military service; participants in mass gambling were flogged 100 times, and their property was confiscated.

Officially there were no casinos, but the gambling addiction couldn’t be banned, and profits were huge, so many private casinos blossomed in the countryside.