With a miserable scream, the leader was kicked and fell in front of Shen Xihe. Before he could get up, Zhenzhu had already stepped on his back: “Speak! Who are you? Why did you come to attack us?”

She and Hong Yu hadn’t been affected by the sleeping incense – they had only pretended to be, wanting to draw out those who had thrown it.

“Spare me, noble lady, spare me!” The man struggled to lift his head, his face tearful as he begged, “We’re hunters from the mountain. A few months ago, a group of mysterious people took over our homes, forcing us to act as lookouts and runners for them…”

They were just displaced bandits, and not even formidable ones at that, who spent their days terrorizing nearby villages. Upon hearing that wealthy people had brought several maids to gather flowers, they had conceived their evil plan.

“Hunters?” Shen Xihe sneered. “More like bandits.”

The man dared not argue.

“You must have committed many crimes.” A cold light flashed in Shen Xihe’s eyes. “Moyu, kill him.”

“Noble lady… spare… spare me, I… I…” The man trembled in fear. “Noble lady, though we aren’t good people, we only stole food from commoners. We’ve never killed anyone or violated any young women. Those on the mountain are truly vicious – they even dig up people’s graves…”

“What did you say?” Shen Xihe raised her hand to stop Moyu’s descending sword.

The sword flashed past his eyes, already piercing flesh. The bandit was so frightened he wet himself. Zhenzhu, disgusted by his filth, signaled to Moyu and dragged him away. “Princess, this servant will question him.”

A keen sense of smell had its drawbacks – unpleasant odors were even more offensive. Shen Xihe entered the house expressionlessly while Mo Yuan and Hong Yu began cleaning and burning incense outside.

“Princess, this servant has learned everything. There is indeed a hideout on the mountain. They saw these people digging up graves and carrying out boxes of gold, silver, and jewels. These people haven’t left yet, which is why they’re still wandering outside,” Zhenzhu reported after her questioning. “There’s a hidden shortcut into the bandit stronghold. They weren’t driven out – they’re escapees who slipped through.”

Those people were utterly ruthless and engaged in such secretive activities – how could they possibly let witnesses escape alive?

“Where is he?” Shen Xihe asked.

“Disposed of,” Zhenzhu answered evenly.

Just for the way he had looked at their princess with those lustful eyes, he deserved no chance to live.

“Mo Yuan,” Shen Xihe called out.

Mo Yuan immediately entered and bowed: “Princess, please give your orders.”

“Go find Guard Commander Teng Jing. The two of you follow the route he revealed to investigate, but be careful not to expose yourselves,” Shen Xihe commanded.

“Yes.”

Now fully awake, Shen Xihe waited two hours before Mo Yuan and Teng Jing returned.

“Princess, there is indeed a path to the stronghold, and there are still people guarding it. Some have received the face-tattooing punishment,” Mo Yuan reported gravely.

Face tattooing!

The current dynasty rarely humiliated prisoners. Apart from imperial orders, only two types of criminals received face tattooing: deserters and the most heinous criminals.

Deserters were tattooed to maintain military discipline. For regular murderers, face tattooing wasn’t used – it was reserved only for mass murderers or those who had committed utterly inhuman, brutal acts. This was done out of fear these people might escape before their execution.

“How many are there?” Shen Xihe asked. “With such a group, even if they weren’t involved in grave robbery, I couldn’t possibly let them escape. Every day they roam free, who knows how many innocent people might die.”

“About twenty or thirty,” Teng Jing replied.

“Princess, though these men are fierce and brutal, and have some fighting skills, they’re not truly formidable,” Mo Yuan was confident about eliminating them.

“I want them alive,” Shen Xihe’s gaze grew cold. “They’re desperate men with nothing to lose. If we try to take them alive, you’ll be at a disadvantage.”

“One or two alive?” Mo Yuan and Teng Jing exchanged glances.

With so many men, keeping them all alive would be difficult – they weren’t confident they could manage it.

“As many alive as possible.” She wasn’t sure how much they knew. This kind of operation likely had skilled grave robbers leading it, but these men might not know everything. To follow this vine to find the melon, they needed to capture as many as possible alive.

“This…” Mo Yuan hesitated, falling into deep thought, considering what military tactics might be useful.

Shen Xihe walked outside and turned to look at the mountains where no houses or cooking smoke could be seen. “Where is the stronghold?”

“Over there.” Teng Jing, with his keen sense of direction, pointed immediately.

Shen Xihe grabbed a handful of withered yellow leaves, opened her palm, and let the wind carry them away: “These past nights have had north winds. Teng Jing, find a hidden position with the stronghold to the north.”

“Yes.” Teng Jing departed with his orders.

Shen Xihe retrieved two packets of incense from a compartment in her carriage and handed them to Zhenzhu: “This is drunken flower incense. Its sweet fragrance is very different from sleeping incense. Zhenzhu takes two people to meet with Teng Jing, and at the third watch, lights the incense. Pay attention to the wind direction – if it changes, be especially careful.”

“Yes.” Zhenzhu accepted the incense packets.

“Mo Yuan, go deploy the men in ambush along the small path. Make sure they wear these plugs well – don’t let them be affected by the drunken flower incense.” Shen Xihe handed over a small silk bag, bulging with cotton mixed with awakening herbs for nose plugs. “Moyu will take five people to block the stronghold’s main entrance. Hong Yu will stay with me to guard the jade flower.”

She had arranged everything she could. For the rest, she couldn’t help. If the jade flower happened to bloom tonight and she wasn’t there, wouldn’t that be a waste? She trusted her subordinates.

Shen Xihe hadn’t used many of the men sent by the Youning Emperor, but given that the enemy was numerous and ruthless, she had Teng Jing select several trustworthy men to help them raid the bandit nest, leaving over thirty men with her.

The thirty-plus men were divided into three shifts, taking turns standing guard; otherwise, there would be no one to protect her during the day.

Shen Xihe held a warm incense burner, sitting before the fine-leafed jade flower. Tonight’s dusk was particularly heavy, with the sky somewhat reddish, and the howling cold wind seemed even louder than the previous two nights.

Shen Xihe watched the direction of the swaying grass and trees in the wind – still northerly, and it had continued for nearly half an hour. This would make their task half done already.

Just then, a cold flash caught the corner of Shen Xihe’s eye. Before she could react, Hong Yu pulled her to one side as a long blade, gleaming cold and desolate in the night, struck where she had been.

Hong Yu held Shen Xihe and quickly rolled away as three shadows flew from the darkness to stand before them, engaging with her five guard escorts.

She glanced over – while blade light and sword shadows flashed here, the nearby camp remained silent. Sure enough, these people had taken advantage of Teng Jing and Mo Yuan’s deployment during the day to drug them with knockout powder!