Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 163 Acting on Behalf of Heaven

That night.

The Hall of Righteous Gathering at Black Wind Village was brightly lit.

The bandits were drinking from large bowls and eating large chunks of meat, celebrating that they had robbed another heist that day.

Black-faced Tiger sat on a tiger-skin chair, with two kidnapped girls on his left and right, his face trembling with laughter.

"Brothers, drink! Tomorrow we'll go to Zhang Village again; I hear the village head's daughter is incredibly beautiful!"

"Big Brother is awesome!"

"Following the big brother means you'll live a life of luxury!"

The bandits laughed and joked, creating a chaotic and foul atmosphere.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by.

The torches in the hall all flickered.

Once the firelight subsided, the bandits discovered...

The black-faced tiger was still sitting there, but now there was a thin red line around its neck.

Immediately afterwards, the head slowly slid off and fell to the ground with a "thud".

At that moment, he hadn't even had time to wipe the smile off his face.

"Big...Big Brother?!"

The second-in-command jumped up in fright, and just as his hand touched the hilt of the knife, he felt a chill on his neck.

Then he saw his own body—headless.

The third leader reacted the fastest, turning around and running towards the door.

But as soon as he took a step, he was split in two, and blood splattered all over the ground.

The whole process was so fast that no one could see what happened.

By the time the bandits realized what was happening, the three leaders' bodies were already cold.

"A ghost...a ghost!!!"

Someone shouted first, and the entire mountain stronghold was thrown into chaos.

The bandits knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Great Immortal, have mercy! Great Immortal, have mercy! We'll never dare to do it again!"

A cold voice came from the air:

"By dawn tomorrow, disband the stronghold and surrender to the government. If you commit evil again, you will suffer the same fate as this table."

As soon as he finished speaking, the heavy solid wood table silently turned into dust.

The bandits were terrified and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Yes, ma'am! Yes, ma'am!"

……

At the same time, in the back residence of the county government office.

County Magistrate Li Dequan was fast asleep, embracing his newly acquired fifth concubine, and dreaming of counting silver.

Suddenly I felt a chill on my neck.

He opened his eyes groggily and saw a man in black standing by the bed.

The man in black held a long sword, the tip of which was pressed against his throat.

Li Dequan was so terrified that he begged for mercy repeatedly.

"Have mercy, sir! The silver is...it's in the box under the bed, take it all!"

The man in black—Jing Ke—spoke calmly: "Li Dequan, you colluded with bandits and harmed the people. What is your punishment?"

"I...I..." Li Dequan sneezed, cold sweat pouring down his face.

"My lord, you've misunderstood! I am an official appointed by the imperial court, how could I possibly..."

Jing Ke said calmly, "On the third day of each month, County Lieutenant Wang Biao sends someone to deliver a message, promising five hundred taels of silver for each bandit suppression, right?"

Li De was completely ashen-faced.

"The Prince of Zhenbei passed through this place and, having heard of your wicked deeds, specially ordered me to cleanse your house."

"The King of Zhenbei?!" Li Dequan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

That was the god of death who annihilated the Northern Shu army!

"Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me!"

Li Dequan rolled off the bed, kowtowing loudly with his head hitting the ground.

"This humble official knows his mistake! This humble official is willing to give away all his wealth, begging Your Highness to grant him a way out!"

Jing Ke sneered: "Too late."

A flash of sword light.

Li Dequan's head fell to the ground, his eyes still wide open.

The concubine had already fainted from fright.

Jing Ke picked up the severed head, turned around, and went out.

County Lieutenant Wang Biao lived not far away, and the same procedure was repeated again.

……

The next day, just as dawn broke, Qingshan County was in an uproar.

At the entrance of the county government office, two human heads were hung high, with a notice posted below them:

"County Magistrate Li Dequan and County Commandant Wang Biao colluded with mountain bandits to harm the people. Now, by order of the Prince of Zhenbei, they are to be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public."

His family property was confiscated and distributed to the victims.

Before the new official takes office, the county affairs will be temporarily handled by the registrar – an edict from Prince Lin Chen of Zhenbei.

The crowd gathered in layers, initially astonished, then bursting into cheers.

"The Prince of Zhenbei! It was the Prince of Zhenbei who rid the people of this scourge!"

"Heaven has eyes!"

"Long live the Prince!"

Meanwhile, at Black Wind Stronghold, the bandits obediently dispersed and surrendered.

Some who didn't believe in the superstition tried to abscond with the money, but as soon as they stepped out of the county monument, their heads were severed by sword energy.

The bandits were so frightened that they scrambled to turn themselves in, afraid of being too late.

……

At that time, the convoy had already traveled thirty miles away from Qingshan County.

Lin Chen sat in the carriage, listening to Jing Ke's report, and nodded in satisfaction:

"Well done."

Wen Tianli and the other two looked at each other in the carriage behind.

"How... how do we report this to His Majesty?" Wen Tianli said with a wry smile.

Hong Lie said nonchalantly, "Just tell the truth! The prince traveled around enjoying the scenery, and along the way, he wiped out a bandit and killed two corrupt officials."

Wen Bu'er was meditating with his eyes closed, and without even opening them, he spoke:

"His Majesty ordered us to monitor the Prince, but there were no other orders. Besides, the Prince has only done good things."

"Go ahead and write," Wen Tianli sighed. "We can't stop you anyway."

After that, several similar incidents occurred along the way.

Which county has corrupt officials? Which city has bullies who oppress the people?

As soon as Lin Chen heard about it, he would simply have Jing Ke or the Heavenly Guards handle it.

In his words, "Since I'm idle anyway, I might as well clean up the mess for the imperial court."

Wen Tianli and the other two went from feeling helpless at first, to becoming numb, and finally simply cheering along.

After all, those corrupt officials and tyrants make them angry too.

The Empress's secret reports kept arriving, all with similar contents:

"On a certain day of a certain month, the prince passed through a certain county and heard that the county magistrate was oppressing the people. He then ordered his guards to kill the magistrate, and the people praised him."

"On a certain day of a certain month, the prince passed through a certain city and encountered a powerful man who had forcibly seized the people's farmland. He ordered his men to behead the people and display their heads to the public, and the land was returned to the people."

On a certain day of a certain month…

The Empress, upon reading these secret reports in the capital, was both amused and exasperated.

She asked Wen Tianli and the others to monitor Lin Chen for any unusual movements, but this guy acted like a righteous official the whole way.

"This Lin Chen..." The Empress rubbed her temples. "What exactly is he trying to do?"

……

A month later, the convoy was still three days away from the capital.

That evening, Lin Chen planned to rest at the post station beside the official road.

As soon as Ye Qingying got off the carriage, she suddenly covered her mouth and ran to the roadside to dry heave.

Lin Chen quickly went over and gently patted her back:

"What's wrong? Did you eat something bad?"

Ye Qingying shook her head, her face somewhat pale:

"I don't know, I just suddenly felt nauseous."

Qin Shuyan and Xiao Yulou exchanged a glance, both seeing the same guess in each other's eyes.

After all, the two of them had been quite frequent and absurd lately.

"Quickly, call Doctor Sun to take a look!" Qin Shuyan said hurriedly.

Sun Bu'er appeared instantly and took Ye Qingying's pulse.

After a moment, Sun Bu'er smiled, cupped his hands, and said:

"Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations! Your Highness, the Sixth Madam is pregnant!"

Ye Qingying was stunned.

Lin Chen was also stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter:

"Great! Great! That's wonderful!"

He grabbed Ye Qingying in his arms, spun her around twice, and then carefully put her down.

"Sixth Sister-in-law, you're going to be a mother!"

Ye Qingying then realized what was happening, and tears streamed down her face: "R-really?"

"What Dr. Sun said could be false, right?" Lin Chen wiped away her tears. "Why are you crying? This is a joyous occasion."

"I...I'm just happy..." Ye Qingying choked out.

Qin Shuyan and Xiao Yulou also gathered around, taking Ye Qingying's hands: "Congratulations, Sixth Sister!"

"That's great! All of us sisters are pregnant now, so the children can keep each other company."

Lin Chen was calculating in his mind:

"My eldest sister-in-law is almost five months pregnant, my third and fourth sisters-in-law are almost two months pregnant, and my sixth sister-in-law just got pregnant... Once we get back to Beijing, we'll work harder, and things will get really lively."

He became increasingly pleased with himself and exclaimed loudly:

"We're having a banquet tonight to celebrate the Sixth Madam's pregnancy!"