"Without war horses, bicycles will do just fine; they are not much slower than war horses. Grand Administrator Xu, I think we should buy more bicycles for the army."
Xu Zhan: ... You really are your mother's true son!
...
In He Wan village, Liu Yun waited for two days without seeing the Grand Minister of Agriculture show up, feeling something strange was going on. Just as he was about to ask Bai Song to go check it out, the Grand Minister of Agriculture and Prefect Hu showed up.
"Auntie Li, something bad happened!" Du Xiao Hui rushed into the yard in a panic and said, "Two high-ranking officials have come to the village entrance with lots of government troops. They said they're here to arrest rebels and have detained all the village patrol guards!"
"What?"
Li Yao knew Prefect Hu and the others were coming and that they would not let her easily take credit for this. But she did not expect they would even send troops to come straight into the village and arrest people.
Judging by this posture, they were clearly trying to pin some false charges on her and beat her to death with a single strike.
She looked towards Liu Yun, wanting to ask what exactly was going on.
Does your royal family really have to act so shamefully?
Seeing her look at him, Liu Yun hurriedly said, "Don't look at me, I don't know anything about this either."
That made sense too.
As a ninth prince, he would not know about the Grand Minister's actions in He Wan village. So this matter naturally had nothing to do with him.
"Mother," He Xiaoya came out from the room, "What's going on?"
Li Yao sighed inwardly.
Normally, no matter what happened, she would have taken her whole family into the mountains by now to avoid trouble.
But with He Xiaoya so heavily pregnant, how could she dare take her on the mountain paths?
With He Xiaoya unable to travel, she could not leave her here alone to face the troops either. After all, the Grand Minister and Prefect Hu were here for her.
Just then, Wang Er and Song Zhe ran back from the schoolhouse, while Da Zhuang also returned from the hills at the back after getting the news.
"Sister-in-law!" Wang Yuanbang rushed in anxiously, "Those government troops are all headed for your home! What on earth is happening?"
Seeing everyone looking nervous, Song Zhe thumped his chest and said, "Don't worry, I'll go find my dad!"
"Don't go," Li Yao said. Since Prefect Hu was using such methods, he must have already detained County Magistrate Song and the yamen runners so they could not leak any news.
"Listen to me, all of you," Li Yao continued, "No matter what happens to me later, you must not act rashly, understand?"
"Mother, why are they..."
"Did you hear me?" Li Yao suddenly raised her voice, "Nothing will happen as long as you don't cause trouble."
Seeing her flare up, everyone nodded hurriedly.
Li Yao sighed lightly inwardly. This was the only way when there was no other option.
As long as her family was not arrested, she would let Prefect Hu take her away and escape again that night.
They could decide how to handle things after that.
The world was a big place, there must still be a place for her family. It was just a pity they would have to abandon everything they built up in He Wan village.
"Don't move, all of you!"
Just as she was speaking, a large group of fully armed soldiers rushed into the yard and surrounded everyone.
Only when no one resisted did the Grand Minister and Prefect Hu slowly walk in.
Both had triumphant smiles on their faces as they went right up to the crowd. "Where is Li Yao?"
Li Yao took a step forward. "I am Li Yao."
"Audacious shrew!" Prefect Hu bellowed, "Still not kneeling before Grand Minister Zhou?"
Li Yao laughed coldly inwardly but did not move.
"I kneel to Heaven, I kneel to Earth, I kneel to my ancestors, but I will never kneel to someone like Grand Minister Zhou."
"You..."
Just as Prefect Hu was about to order his men to force her to kneel, Zhou Bo suddenly waved his hand. "It is just as my people reported, this brazen peasant woman does have a traitorous heart!"
Understanding his intent, Prefect Hu hurriedly added, "Li Yao, I have already investigated and found that you have illegally forged steel and weapons, selling them to Nanzhao Kingdom for your own profit! This is high treason!"
"Oh? Where is the evidence?" Li Yao replied calmly. "A prefect cannot simply make baseless accusations, no?"
"Evidence, you say?" Prefect Hu sneered coldly. "Fine, I'll give you evidence! Bring in the witness!"
Soon, the badly beaten and unconscious Liu Yuan was dragged into the yard by two soldiers.
Li Yao's brows twitched slightly as anger simmered within her.
"His name is Liu Yuan. You should recognize him, yes?" Prefect Hu said smugly. "He was supposedly transporting your soap south, but we caught him red-handed with 300 steel blades hidden inside to smuggle to Nanzhao!"
What a clever frame-up. Too bad Liu Yuan was implicated through his dealings with her.
"Well, Li Yao? Anything else to say?"
Seeing their determination to take her down, Li Yao knew further argument was futile. Better to let them take her away as soon as possible, rather than drag in more people.
"Seize this traitor!"
Just as several soldiers moved to apprehend her, a shadow suddenly dropped down from the roof. It was Bai Song, sword in hand, standing staunchly before Li Yao.
"Who dares touch her?"
Li Yao's mouth twitched. This boy's brain must have malfunctioned, disrupting her plan like this.
Just as everyone was still puzzled, Liu Yun stepped out from the crowd.
"Zhou Bo! Hu Shi! Quite the impressive might you're displaying here."
While Prefect Hu was still wondering who this young man was, the Grand Minister's expression drastically changed.
"The... the Ninth Prince! What brings you here, Your Highness?"
What? Liu Yun is the Ninth Prince?
Everyone present was stunned.
Especially the villagers who had come to watch. They would never have imagined Liu Yun to be a prince!
Those old women who had tried matchmaking them were frightened pale.
Would trying to match the prince incur decapitation?
Seeing their reactions, Liu Yun was quite satisfied inside. He had been waiting for this moment.
"Whether I'm here or not is none of your concern," Liu Yun said coldly.
"Your servant dares not question!"
"Then let me ask you," Liu Yun continued. "Just what are you doing here?"
"Replying to Your Highness," Zhou Bo said, "I was tasked with investigating Li Yao's achievements here in He Wan village. But unexpectedly, I discovered her hoarding grain, training private soldiers and illegally producing weapons to sell to Nanzhao. All these crimes have evidence."
"Oh? But what I've witnessed seems quite different," Liu Yun countered. "The so-called private army you speak of are just the village patrol guards protecting He Wan. And while here, I've seen no illegally forged weapons whatsoever, much less any sales to Nanzhao."
The Grand Minister knew if he did not persuade the Ninth Prince today, he would likely fail badly.
Once Li Yao's innocence was confirmed, the Emperor would certainly ask him to account for making such a huge clamor and even mobilizing the provincial troops.
Ultimately, he was now riding a tiger and could not dismount.
Since it had come to this, he could only insist on Li Yao's guilt.
"Your Highness, but we did find weapons in Liu Yuan's cargo, and he confessed they were given by Li Yao to transport."
"Hmph. With you having beaten him unconscious, naturally he would admit to anything you claimed," Liu Yun retorted. "And who's to say this isn't just a frame-up?"
The Grand Minister's brows knitted together. This Ninth Prince really was impossible to persuade. Was he dead set on protecting this peasant woman today?
He stole a quick glance at Prefect Hu and saw his slight nod, reassured.