Wu Xuanyi didn't lie about sending letters to her father. Ever since she stayed in the military, she didn't forget about her father and continued contacting him. And a few days ago, she sent her father a request to get food supplies. As for why she did this, only Wu Xuanyi knows why exactly.
Qu Xing Xu spared her a glance, just as everyone else did as soon as she said she got a reply from her father.
"Really?" Qi Yandi was quick to beam in joy as he gazed at her.
Wu Xuanyi blushed when she felt Qu Xing Xu's eyes on her and meekly nodded. She softened her tone and said, "Y-yes. They should arrive by tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
"Alright. Let us wait for it then," said Qu Xing Xu.
Wu Xuanyi blushed profusely and took a quick glance at him. But the moment she looked at him, Qu Xing Xu was already discussing something else with Jiang Sheng and Gu Yan, seemingly not interested in raining her praises and compliments.
On the other hand, the foodie Qi Yandi was the only one speaking to her and telling her how awesome she was for being quick-witted and thoughtful to think of getting more supplies ahead of time. Others might act like Qi Yandi, but some would think over the line and assume Wu Xuanyi knew something.
Of course, Wu Xuanyi didn't let anyone see through her, and she faintly refused the compliments that Qi Yandi threw at her.
The fire incident in the warehouse might not have anything to do with her, but that doesn't mean that the people around her didn't do anything to it.
Just a few days before the warehouse was burned, her father ordered her loyal servant to take action and burn the warehouse. When Wu Xuanyi heard what they planned to do, she was fearful and wanted to stop them. However, when she realized the benefits she would get from this incident, she decided to turn a blind eye to their actions.
At that time, she was thinking of letting Qu Xing Xu feel indebted to her and expecting their relationship to grow closer.
But she really didn't think that the wind would be so powerful that night and the fire almost swallowed the whole warehouse, leaving only half of it to be saved!
If she knew about it, she would probably let the servant burn only a small part of it. Now, she could only pray and hope that the supply her father was trying to send to the city would be enough to compensate the other half that was burned.
Unfortunately, Wu Xuanyi's wish wasn't heard by God, and she was filled with regrets when she saw the cart that rolled into the city.
The small back-gate of the city was open, and several carts rolled in. Standing before these carts were several commanders and vice generals in the army, Qu Xing Xu, Jiang Sheng, Ni Zixuan, and Qi Yandi.
"Huh? Am I blind or what? Brother Xuan, can you check if I'm blind or not." Qi Yandi scratched his head as he looked at his older brother.
Ni Zixuan furrowed his brows and sighed, "No, you're not."
"Then, why am I seeing carts with nothing but empty boxes?"
Wu Xuanyi heard her heart thud loudly and stepped forward. Seeing the man pulling the cart and servants from her family, she fiercely glared at them, but it vanished as soon as it appeared.
She gave these servants an awkward smile and asked, "What happened? I thought father sent you here to bring food?"
The man pulling the cart was wearing a grey cloak with dirt stains on it and lowered his head in embarrassment and fear.
"Well? Aren't you going to give me an answer?"
The grey cloaked servant knelt before her and cried. His face was filled with tears and snots as he explained what had happened.
"Y-young miss! Please have mercy! We met some bandits on our way here."
Bandits?
The vice generals that were standing there looked at each other. They saw the confusion in each other's eyes and tacitly looked away in shame.
There was a war between two empires; where did these bandits find some courage to rob others?
For a long time, robbers and bandits tried to stay away from any battlefield that was near them for fear of being swept along the battle between two empires. And even if they swallowed a tiger's guts, they knew when they should advance and retreat.
Especially now that the bandits around here are getting smarter, it was impossible for them to believe the grey cloaked servant's words.
If these vice generals and Qu Xing Xu and the three brothers could think of this, how could Wu Xuanyi not think of it as well?
Anger swirled inside her as an acidic feeling was clawing to her throat. She wanted to hurl a chair at the servant and kill them with a barbed whip, but because she kept a kind and compassionate image in front of everyone else for years, she couldn't even curse at the servant.
The servants also sensed that no one believed them and cried even more. They shouted about getting justice and that they were not telling lies. But the more they screamed and cried, the more they appeared guilty.
"What exactly happened?" Ni Zixuan stepped forward and asked the servants.
Although he believed that these servants were itching for a beating because of the stolen goods, he still wanted to hear their side...
Feeling hopeful, the servant wearing a grey cloak opened his lips to say, "Young Master, please believe us. There really was a group of bandits when we were passing through a forked path. Because we were afraid of being captured by the enemy's army, we took a shortcut and found the forked path. We took the right path since we heard from our guide that the left path was filled with monstrous beasts, so we decided not to take risks."
Ni Zixuan and everyone else listened to the servant as he continued to tell his story.
"But when we were in the middle of the path we took, we heard a whistle, and in just a few minutes, we were surrounded by twenty men in black cloaks and masks. They all carried a weapon in their hands. The guards who were with us were all slain by them, and they took the goods in our carts!"
After hearing his story, everyone was silent.
Wu Xuanyi looked at her father's servant, who was standing on her right, but the latter bowed her head and slightly shook her head, telling her that they weren't lying.
The forked path that he was talking about was something everyone knew if you came from the Zheng empire. The left path was indeed a place roamed by beasts, and as for the right path, it was the safest route to take.
However, the strange thing was that the path that everyone believed to be the safest became the grave of the guards who were with them.
What was even more baffling was that these bandits were wearing black cloaks and masks...
Since when did bandits become so organized and respectable?
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