Chapter 263 - 263: The Army Finally Arrived

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Every time the mountain bandit leader was caught in a desperate situation, she would give him hope. She wanted him to choose to cooperate with her.

As a result, the mountain bandit leader chose to cooperate with her again.

Not only did he admit that he was working together with her to get rid of the second mountain bandit leader, but he also agreed to help her get money and stabilize the situation.

On the other side, the third and fourth mountain bandit leaders exchanged looks with each other.

“Yes!” In the end, they all bowed to the mountain bandit leader. After instructing the rest of the people to guard the place well, they turned and left.

Qin Xiaoyao was pleased when she saw that the mountain bandits were all so cooperative. In fact, no one even dared to look at her.

Then, she escorted the mountain bandit leader back to the dungeon.

When she passed by the corpse of the second mountain bandit leader, Qin Xiaoyao stopped for a moment.

“This corpse is mine. I’ll come back to get it later. You guys, don’t touch it,” she said to the mountain bandits outside.

When they heard this, the mountain bandits’ faces turned ashen. No one dared to reply.

Qin Xiaoyao assumed that they had heard her and didn’t say anything else.

She brought the mountain bandit leader back to the dungeon.

When Song Que saw that Qin Xiaoyao had returned with the mountain bandit leader, he was extremely surprised.

Qin Xiaoyao locked the mountain bandit leader back on the torture rack while updating Song Que on her earlier heroic deeds.

Song Que was dumbfounded. He had not expected his wife to be so brave and astute.

After Qin Xiaoyao had dislocated the mountain bandit leader’s jaw and stuffed a piece of cloth into his mouth again, Song Que began to explain his analysis.

“With the death of the second leader, the mountain bandits outside probably won’t dare to act rashly. They would have learned the lesson from their leader’s mistake.

“However, I don’t think you’ll be able to get the second cache of ten thousand taels of silver notes.”

“Why?” Qin Xiaoyao was puzzled and plonked herself down beside Song Que.

Without the threat of the second leader, she was not in a hurry to collect the second leader’s corpse and set up new obstacles.

Song Que turned his head and glanced at his wife.

“The Imperial Court’s army outside the town is about to attack. Right now, the mountain bandits are in a state of panic and turmoil.

“At this point, they can’t even take care of themselves. Who would risk everything to save a person who dared to kill his subordinate?” As he said this, Song Que shot a glance at the mountain bandit leader.

If it were in the past, there might still be people among the mountain bandit leader’s subordinates who really wanted to save him.

However, after the second mountain bandit leader was killed, the remaining people should have given up on that idea.

It was very likely that they would lose their lives if they came to rescue him. They might as well leave the mountain bandit leader behind and escape with their loot quickly.

“Oof, oof… oof, oof…” When the mountain bandit leader heard these words, he immediately started to struggle.

However, Qin Xiaoyao had tied him up tightly, and he was also seriously injured. How could he possibly struggle free?

Qin Xiaoyao followed Song Que’s gaze and looked at the mountain bandit leader too.

As the noise coming from the other party wasn’t loud, she didn’t pay attention to him.

“In that case, the mountain bandits outside might not care about us anymore?”

This was good.

This way, she wouldn’t have to take the risk of fighting with the mountain bandits.

Song Que looked at Qin Xiaoyao.

“It’s only a possibility.

“We still have to put up the defenses that should be put up. We have to at least hold on until the Imperial Court’s army attacks the town.

“At that point, the town and the government office will be in chaos. We can take advantage of the chaos to leave.”

Qin Xiaoyao nodded in agreement.

Then, she took out the silver notes from her pocket and gave them to Song Que.

“You keep these silver notes. Count them as well to see if there are ten thousand taels.

“I’ll go drag the body of the second leader in and set up the obstacles,” Qin Xiaoyao said.

If the Imperial Court’s army attacked and the corpses of the mountain bandit leader and second leader were lying around, they could conveniently claim credit and prove that they were not in cahoots with the mountain bandits.

“Mm-hmm!” Song Que agreed.

Only then did Qin Xiaoyao leave.

When she arrived at the entrance of the dungeon, she realized that the third and fourth mountain bandit leaders, who had been instructed by the mountain bandit leader earlier, had not returned.

She was even more convinced by her husband’s analysis.

Qin Xiaoyao wasn’t too bothered by the mountain bandits that were guarding the place. She dragged the corpse of the second mountain bandit leader directly into the dungeon.

After this, she started to set up obstacles at a spot very near the entrance of the dungeon.

The reason she did this was to make it convenient for her to come out later to investigate the situation.

After she was done, Qin Xiaoyao returned to the dungeon and continued to take care of Song Que.

Once again, the dungeon regained its peace.

Occasionally, Song Que’s coughing could be heard.

Time passed slowly. Qin Xiaoyao went out to check on the situation a few times. Night finally fell.

At this moment, the number of mountain bandits who were guarding the dungeon outside was less than one-third of the number they had during the day.

Qin Xiaoyao knew that her husband’s analysis had probably become a reality.

When she returned to the dungeon, Qin Xiaoyao informed Song Que of the situation outside.

“It’s already dark, and the Imperial Court’s army will charge into the town at any time. Furthermore, they might have already barged their way in. Shall we… leave now?” Qin Xiaoyao said.

The remaining ten or so mountain bandits outside were nothing to be afraid of. If she dashed out straightaway, she would be able to get rid of them within a short time.

Then, she would take her husband out of the government office under the cover of darkness. It should not be a big problem.

Song Que was silent.

There was a flash of hesitation in his eyes before he said, “There’s no hurry.”

Qin Xiaoyao was a little puzzled.

“Let’s wait for the Imperial Court’s army to break into the government office before we go out,” Song Que continued.

“We have the second leader and the bandit leader. The Imperial Court’s army will not make things difficult for us.”

He looked at Qin Xiaoyao and continued, “Not only will they not make things difficult for us, but there may also be rewards.”

However, in this case, he would have to come face to face with the Second Prince again.

He felt somewhat conflicting emotions towards the Second Prince.

Most of the emotions were gratitude, but there was also a lot of sorrow.

In this life, his original intention was to avoid meeting him.

He only wanted to lead a stable life with his wife and family, but he didn’t realize that many things still couldn’t be changed.

Qin Xiaoyao was stunned for a moment, but her face lit up with joy the next moment.

“That’s true. We still have two protective amulets in our hands!” she said happily.

With that, she even deliberately glanced at the mountain bandit leader who had already fainted from the cold.

“Since it’s safer to stay here, there’s no need to take the risk of going out.”

After all, the streets would be filled with the Imperial Court’s troops and mountain bandits. It would be a chaotic mess. If she and her husband were not careful, they might be injured by mistake.

Hence, the two of them chose to continue to wait.

During this period, Qin Xiaoyao still strolled to the entrance of the dungeon from time to time to check out the situation outside.

In the end, when she went to take a look for the third time after dark, she realized that the mountain bandits outside had all run away.

At the same time, she also heard the sounds of fierce fighting outside.

She knew then that the Imperial Court’s army had arrived.

Qin Xiaoyao’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly turned back and told Song Que the news.

“What do we do now? Do we continue to wait?” She was a little excited inwardly. At the same time, she couldn’t quite hold back since she was used to taking the initiative to attack.

“Just wait,” Song Que said in a low voice. In fact, he was equally nervous.

“Alright,” Qin Xiaoyao answered.

Then, she sat down beside Song Que..