Conspiracy, Just Like Ninth Royal Uncle

You have to admit, Serena Feng's luck is absolutely explosive. The rebel remnants that Prince Colin had searched for in vain—they ran right into them.

"Up ahead are the remnants of the Jiangnan rebel army. Judging by their behavior, they have no idea who we are," Left Shore quickly returned and reported his findings to Serena.

"So you mean, they're just blocking the road here, and we happened to run into them by bad luck?" From high-class rebels to mere bandits—what a lightning-fast transformation.

Left Shore nodded, then silently looked up at the sky, waiting for Serena to give her orders.

Sweat... Serena felt a wave of frustration and said, "Have the people up front stop. Don't go any farther." These weren't ordinary bandits—they were organized, disciplined troops. If they clashed, her side would be the ones to suffer.

"You're just alerting them," Left Shore said coldly. Serena ignored him; alerting them was still better than getting killed.

"Send someone to Jiangnan with a message—notify Prince Colin to come suppress the bandits as soon as possible." Dealing with bandits was a job for professionals. With just a few dozen people, they weren't going to join the fray.

"We'll turn back and spend another night in the county town." Serena made it clear she had no intention of confronting them head-on.

With a child in tow, a few dozen people going up against thousands would be sheer madness. Only someone with a hole in their head would try to face them directly.

"But what if... they notice something's wrong and run off?" Left Shore was worried—these people were no longer soldiers but ruthless bandits, killing without batting an eye.

If these people escape, it's the ordinary citizens who will suffer.

"You can only take on as much responsibility as your abilities allow. We're no match for them—we'd just be throwing our lives away." Serena held Feng Jin in her arms, got into the carriage first, and told the driver to turn around and head back.

Left Shore hesitated for a moment, then followed: "Can you mobilize the county troops?"

"What do you think?" She was, after all, wearing the title of Prince Nolan's woman. If she couldn't even do this much, what was she still doing in Eastlyn?

"Aren't you worried those people are colluding with the authorities?" Left Shore thought about it and asked again.

"Of course I'm worried, which is why I don't plan to use the county troops. That's why I'm heading back to town to wait for Prince Colin and his soldiers." She wanted to play the hero, but now was clearly not the time for reckless bravery.

"Relax, those rebels have no idea who we are, so they don't know we know who they are. They'll just think we're timid and cowardly, and wait here for the next fat sheep to come by. Most importantly, Prince Colin's troops aren't far away—at most two days and one night, and they'll be here. These people won't escape." Compared to all these well-meaning people, she felt completely selfish.

But she didn't want to be like that—she had to be responsible for those around her. Little Feng Jin was far too young to be exposed to so much bloodshed.

Once Left Shore realized Serena had a plan, he stopped arguing and quietly stood guard nearby...

The rebels lying in ambush on the small mountain waited and waited, but Serena's group never showed. They sent someone to investigate, only to find the group had disappeared.

"Judging by the wagon tracks, they must have turned back."

"Turned back? Did they notice something?" A burly, shirtless man suddenly sprang out, his face brutish and his eyes vicious—clearly not a good person.

The scout nodded repeatedly. "They definitely spotted us. There are two forks ahead, and judging by the carriage tracks, they're headed toward town. Boss, do you think they'll go to the authorities?"

"The officials? Those softies couldn't even beat the last bunch of idiots. Like hell I'd be scared of them." The speaker wasn't the rebel leader, but a bald brute—clearly the real boss here. As for the rebel commander? Probably dead in the forest.

"Boss is right." The underlings all chimed in, praising the bald man for his smarts.

Turns out, they didn't just seize the mountain outright. There was an old bandit nest on this road, and when the rebels arrived, they wiped out the original bandits and took their place.

The authorities knew about the bandits on this road. They'd sent people to attack many times, but the defenses were too strong and losses were heavy. In the end, the officials gave up and just turned a blind eye.

So the officials have no idea the old bandits have been replaced, much less that these people are the rebel remnants Prince Colin has been hunting.

After returning to town, Serena checked back into the same inn as before. The proprietress was shocked to see her group return so soon and started probing for the reason. Smiling, Serena explained that the child was tired and had cried all the way, probably exhausted from traveling.

Once you leave this town, there's not another settlement for a hundred li—at least three or four nights camping outdoors. Worried about tiring out the child, Serena decided to turn back and let him rest before continuing.

"Check out this proprietress—see if she's colluding with the bandits." Serena showed nothing on her face, but as soon as she turned away, she told Mira Tang to investigate the innkeeper's background.

No choice—the proprietress seemed friendly enough, but she was definitely suspicious.

The proprietress was clever, but Mira Tang's skills were even sharper. In just a few moves, Mira uncovered the inn's secrets.

"Turns out the proprietress really is in cahoots with the mountain bandits. She runs this inn in town to pick out prey, figure out which guests are 'fat sheep,' and learn their departure times so the bandits can set up ambushes. But from what I overheard, those mountain bandits have been around for years. They only rob property, never kill, and since the mountain is easy to defend and hard to attack, the authorities have suffered heavy losses and just stopped bothering with them." Mira Tang finished her report and quietly stood aside.

Serena raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Looks like we've walked into a thieves' den. Since the rebels haven't colluded with the authorities, things are much simpler. Take my token to the county office and have the officials raid this inn tomorrow."

By tomorrow night at the latest, Prince Colin's troops would arrive. When they did, not a single rebel on the mountain would escape.

"How did you know the proprietress was suspicious?" Mira Tang had just left when Left Shore returned, clearly having overheard their conversation.

Serena didn't answer Left Shore's question. Instead, she said, "Back so soon?" Left Shore had gone to deliver the message to Prince Colin—he was the fastest, after all, so who else could she send?

"You still haven't answered me." Left Shore was stubborn, so Serena had to explain: "It's simple. The ambush location and timing were just too coincidental, like they knew we'd definitely pass that way. But there are two forked roads, and since the bandits didn't know who we were, how could they predict our route? Plus, the proprietress was way too enthusiastic and nosy."

"You're just making things up... Honestly, you're just like Prince Nolan now—turning everything into a conspiracy." Serena's reasoning was pure speculation, but since it turned out right, she could sound absolutely certain.

Serena spread her hands innocently. "If you ask me, I have to make it sound mysterious—how else can I show off my brilliance?"

In the end, Left Shore could never win an argument with Serena, and didn't bother trying. As he left, he pulled a letter from his chest and tossed it to her. "Here, a letter from Prince Nolan. I brought it for you while I was at it."