After being reborn with Sister Zha, I was stunned!

The servant glanced at the old woman and said, "Not for sale!"

"Then I'll add another ten cents? That's quite a bit!" the old woman said again.

"I said I won't sell it, didn't you hear me?" The servant refused again with an impatient look on his face.

"Don't be angry, little brother. We can talk it out. It's really because my grandson wants to eat fish, but there is none at the market today. If you think it's too little, I'll add another ten cents, a total of fifty cents, okay?"

The old woman had a big smile on her face. As she spoke, she took out fifty coins, pulled the boy's hand, and wanted to give it to him.

The young servant was so annoyed that he shook off the old woman's hand and shouted angrily, "You old woman, don't you understand what I'm saying? I'm not selling this fish, not even for fifty cents, not even for fifty taels!"

The old woman refused to give in and continued trying to stuff the money into the servant's pocket.

"Young man, please be kind and sell it to me. My eldest grandson has been sick for a few days and wants to eat fish..."

The boy lost his patience any longer and pushed the old woman who was in the way.

Unexpectedly, due to this push, the old woman fell to the ground and screamed, unable to get up.

A group of people gathered around and blamed the servant.

"What's wrong with you? How dare you attack such an old man?"

"That's right, don't you have any elderly people at home? If you don't want to sell it, then don't sell it. Why are you hitting people?"

"This is outrageous. He beat others in broad daylight, in front of everyone. Shouldn't he be sent to the authorities?!"

The more anxious the servant was to leave, the more he couldn't leave. He wanted to explain, but it seemed he couldn't make it clear...

In a teahouse near the city gate, Mu Beiyan and Shen Qingyin stood quietly behind the window and watched everything happening before their eyes.

"Sir, Madam, the fish are coming!"

Mu Xiaodao was carrying a bamboo basket covered with a piece of cloth. When he lifted the cloth, he saw two fish inside.

Mu Beiyan immediately took out a dagger and cut open the fish's belly.

Upon closer inspection, there was actually a piece of cloth in the fish's belly. When it was unfolded, there was a line of small words written on it:

"There are big fish these days, so we'll retreat as soon as we close the net."

Mu Beiyan and Shen Qingyin looked at the words on the cloth, looked at each other, and seemed to be thinking about something.

After a moment, Mu Beiyan grabbed the hem of Mu Xiaodao's clothes and tore off a piece of cloth with a "swish".

Mu Xiaodao was suddenly startled: "Master, what are you going to do?"

Mu Beiyan raised the corners of his lips slightly: "Of course your clothes are most similar to the piece of cloth in the fish's belly."

After saying that, he asked Mu Xiaodao to find a pen and ink, and imitated the handwriting on the cloth, and wrote the four words "Known, retreat" on the newly torn piece of cloth.

"Stuff this into the belly of the fish you prepared." Mu Beiyan ordered.

"Yes." Mu Xiaodao took the piece of cloth and went downstairs quickly.

"I didn't expect that their method of communication would be so covert." Shen Qingyin sighed.

Shen Qing felt frightened when he remembered that the Shen family used to have fish to eat every now and then.

I don't know how many of the fish she had eaten were used to convey information...

"Now it seems that Shen Zhinian must be related to the bandits in Changshan County. He heard me say that I would report to the emperor and send people to suppress the bandits, so he sent people to inform those bandits." Mu Beiyan analyzed.

Shen Qingyin nodded, but a hint of worry soon appeared between his brows.

"Yes, I think so. But this time the letter said there was a big fish, I'm afraid someone is going to be in trouble again..."

Mu Beiyan chuckled: "Don't worry, Madam. The big fish they thought was probably the bait I put out, waiting for them to take the bait."

Shen Qingyin looked at Mu Beiyan in surprise.

He continued, "What Shen Zhinian said is correct. Changshan County has a complex terrain. Those bandits hide in the deep mountains. It is not easy to catch them. Even if we mobilize a large number of troops to search the mountains, there will inevitably be omissions. It is difficult to achieve any results even if we mobilize a large number of troops."

"The reason why I told Shen Zhinian to send people to search the mountain is, first, to find out whether Shen Zhinian has any connection with those bandits, and second, to get those bandits to take action after hearing the news. Only when they take action and come out of the bandit's nest, it will be easier for us to achieve twice the result with half the effort..."

"Of course, we can't let them move around. We put out an attractive bait to gather them together so that we can catch them all in one fell swoop."

Shen Qingyin stared at Mu Beiyan in a daze, secretly admiring his strategy in his heart.

"Then did you just write the four words 'Know, retreat' to paralyze Shen Zhinian?"

Mu Beiyan nodded: "That's right, when we catch those bandits by surprise and ask them about Shen Miaomiao, I don't believe we can't get hold of Shen Zhinian's handle."

At the city gate, the Shen family servant had to talk for a long time and finally compensated the old woman with one or two taels of silver before he was able to get away.

Fortunately, the two fish were still hanging on the horse's back.

He jumped on his horse and rode all the way back to the Shen family. Butler Hu immediately went to see Shen Zhinian carrying the two fish.

Shen Zhinian took out the piece of cloth from the fish's belly and read it. He nodded with satisfaction and said, "It's good to know when to advance and when to retreat."

Butler Hu looked regretful: "But sir, if this happens, our losses will be huge..."

Shen Zhinian waved his hand and rolled his eyes at him: "What do you know? If you keep the green mountains, you will not be afraid of running out of firewood. A large number of officers and soldiers going up the mountain to encircle and suppress is no joke. Once they are caught, it will be difficult for us to escape unscathed. It is better to retreat to another place as soon as possible. Wait until the storm is over, and then come back. Isn't it safer?"

Butler Hu nodded and said, "Master is very thoughtful."

Shen Zhinian stood up, paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, thinking about his next plan.

Half a minute later, he said to Butler Hu, "The most urgent matter is the businessman surnamed Su. It is difficult to take action in the capital now, but as long as the businessman surnamed Su does not come to the capital, it will not be a problem for you and me."

Butler Hu nodded, agreeing with Shen Zhinian's words.

Shen Miaomiao now lives in Bixiyuan and is protected by a group of people.

Cai'er's previous attempt had failed and had already alerted the enemy.

It is indeed difficult to take action again.

But as long as the businessman surnamed Su doesn't come to Beijing, no one will know who Shen Miaomiao is...

"Don't worry, sir. It's not that easy to find a businessman named Su!"

Shen Zhinian was still a little worried.

"You'd better have someone keep a close eye on it, so that if there's any sign of trouble, you can respond in time."

"Yes, sir, I'll arrange it right away."

In prison.

When she woke up, Mrs. Du had disheveled hair and dark circles under her eyes as if they were covered with soot. She slumped behind the prison bars, waiting for the prison granny to send her food.

She seemed to have been drained of all her strength.

In the past, at the Shen family, the night was used for sleeping and resting.

Now in prison, the nights are spent in torture.

I can’t sleep—no, I can’t sleep at all!

It seems that none of the prisoners in this prison are normal, except for those fat rats...

In the middle of the night, it was either this person shouting or that person laughing like a madman. As long as she fell asleep, she would definitely be woken up...

And the food was really hard to swallow.

If she wasn't so hungry, she wouldn't even want to smell it...

"Ms. Du, someone is here to see you." The voice of the forbidden woman suddenly rang in her ears.