Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

Dongping Prefecture.

Prefect Cai fled by boat. So many officials died, and there was some chaos. Only a few minor officials maintained order in the yamen and the city.

Prefect Cai traveled by boat for three days before reaching a dock to rest and replenish supplies. As the boat left the dock and sailed to a river between two mountains, suddenly more than a dozen small boats appeared on the river and rushed towards them, surrounding them.

The people on the large ship immediately shouted to the small boat, "Who are you? Do you know who's on board?"

The bandits laughed loudly, "Who are we? Good question. Listen carefully, we are the overlords of this water. No matter who is on your boat today, you all have to act like grandsons here. If I'm in a good mood, I might spare your lives. Otherwise, you'll all be fed to turtles in the river."

"Sir, what do you think?"

"Tell them who I am. If they can do me a favor today, I will repay them handsomely in the future!"

"Heroes and valiant men, aboard this boat is Lord Cai, the Prefect of Dongping Prefecture. He is on his way back to the capital to report on his duties and is passing through this area. Lord Cai has asked that you kind men grant him a favor, promising a great reward in the future!"

"Hahaha, so it's a fat sheep! Brothers, let's go!"

Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, the people on the large ship had no choice but to resort to force. They immediately drew their bows and fired arrows, and the bandits jumped into the water to fight back. A thumping sound came from the bottom of the ship. "Sir, this is bad! They are dredging the bottom of the ship. It won't be long before it sinks."

Cai Mingqi panicked. "What are we waiting for? Let the boat go faster and get out of here as soon as possible."

The bandits had already thrown grappling hooks onto the large ship and climbed aboard. The two sides immediately engaged in a fierce battle. More and more bandits boarded the ship, and the guards on board were either dead or wounded, completely losing their fighting ability. Cai Mingqi and his wife were so frightened that they huddled together and kept begging for mercy, "Good sir, please spare my life. When I return to the capital, I will definitely send you a great gift to show my respect."

"You corrupt officials, not one of you is any good. You're giving me a big gift, which means you're leading your troops to wipe me out."

"No, no, how about this, I'll leave the lady here, and I'll bring money to ransom her another day."

Madam Cai slapped him in anger, "You coward! You actually want to keep me here as a hostage, why don't you keep yourself here?"

The bandits burst into laughter again, "I hate spineless men like you more than anything else in my life. You'd be better off with some women. Throw him into the river and feed him to the turtles."

Cai Mingqi was dragged out of the cabin by two river bandits and thrown into the river with a splash. He floated up and down in the river and disappeared from sight after a while.

"Boss, what do we do with this woman?"

"I'm a man of the underworld, and I never want to make things difficult for women."

Hey! Want to come up the mountain with us? We guarantee you'll eat and drink your fill.

"I refuse! Either kill me or let me go."

"You've got personality, you're quite fierce. Since you're unwilling, then we'll send you away." Madam Cai turned her head to one side, refusing to look at them.

The bandits searched the boat thoroughly. "The boss is a penniless wretch; he doesn't have much."

"Load the stuff onto our ship, sink this big ship, and what about her?"

Madam Cai listened intently, wanting to see how they would deal with her.

"Find a brother to take him to town."

Madam Cai was taken to the nearest town, Shangtang. He said to the river bandit, "Being a river bandit is not a long-term solution. You are not very old and have a long road ahead of you. Why don't you come with me to the capital and live an upright life?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Madam. I was taken in by the chief since I was a child. The chief is like a brother and a father to me, and I will not leave."

Take care on your journey, Madam!

Madam Cai took off one of her pieces of jewelry and pawned it. She then asked around for directions to catch a bus to the county town, as it was best for a woman like her to be careful.

Upon arriving in the county town, she dared not hire a carriage alone. She inquired about the presence of any security escort agencies in the town, thinking that it would be safer and more reliable to travel to the capital with one.

There really was a security escort agency in the county town. They would be setting off for the capital in three days. If she wanted to come along, she would have to pay 10 taels of silver. Madam Cai readily agreed and paid a deposit of 5 taels of silver. She then found an inn to stay in and could only wait until they set off in three days.

The Second Prince and the Third Prince arrived in Dongping Prefecture and quickly took over all affairs. Upon learning that Cai Mingqi had escaped, the Second Prince flew into a rage, shouting, "Damn it! He actually got away! I wonder how the gold mine is doing?"

He summoned an official and asked him, who replied, "Your Highness, we have also heard about the gold mine. These matters were personally handled by Lord Cai and his advisor, Mr. Wu."

"Where is Mr. Wu?"

"I don't know. After Lord Cai left, which Mr. Wu disappeared?"

The day after the Second Prince arrived in Dongping Prefecture, Wu Lin came to visit him. "Who are you, and what brings you here?"

"Please inform the Second Prince that Wu Lin requests an audience with him to report important matters."

"Just wait!"

The guard came out shortly after. "Come with me."

Upon seeing the Second Prince, Wu Lin immediately knelt down, saying, "This humble subject, Wu Lin, pays his respects to Your Highness the Second Prince."

"You're Cai Mingqi's aide?"

"It is indeed I, a commoner."

"What business do you have with me?"

"Your Highness didn't come to Dongping Prefecture just for fun, did you? There are things Your Highness wants here, and I can assist Your Highness in governing Dongping Prefecture."

"Then tell me, what does this prince want?"

"gold."

"Very well, as long as you help me mine gold, I will grant you the position of Prefect of Dongping Prefecture, allowing you to rise to the top in one step."

You've followed Cai Mingqi for so long, you must know the situation in the court. I am the legitimate heir to the throne.

Xia Yuxuan, what right does he, a mere illegitimate son, have to compete with me, Your Highness? How can a beast like him, who is disloyal, unfilial, inhumane, unjust, and a patricide and mother-humiliation, possibly win the hearts and minds of the people?

"The Imperial Concubine's faction, along with the Duke of Zhenguo's relatives, are wielding power with blatant malice. Their wolfish ambitions are obvious. This Prince is determined to march back to the capital, reclaim the throne, and eliminate these treacherous officials."

"Wu Lin is willing to assist Your Highness in ascending to the throne!"

"Alright, you'll get a share of the credit for helping the dragon rise to power then."

Let's talk about the gold mine first.

"Your Highness, before Cai Mingqi left, he told me to destroy the gold mine and kill all the miners. If we want to reopen the mine, we must first recruit miners."

"As you say, Dongping Prefecture is currently without a leader. You will take office tomorrow and be in full charge of the mining affairs."

"Thank you for your trust and guidance, Your Highness. I will never fail to live up to your expectations."

"Your Highness, recruiting miners will likely require conscripting laborers, which will inevitably incite public resentment!"

"Those unruly people are nothing but ants. This world belongs to me, let alone a few laborers. I, Your Highness, will send 200 soldiers to serve you. If anyone dares to resist, just suppress them. This will serve as a warning to others."

"Thank you for your support, Your Highness!"

Prefect Cai ordered Wu Lin to destroy the gold mine and get rid of all the miners. Unexpectedly, some miners escaped during the disposal process, and Yu Feng was one of them.

He and a few others ran away, but they had nowhere to go and nowhere to go. They heard that there was a band of bandits in Jinniuling who were famous in the area. After discussing it, they decided to go and seek refuge in Jinniuling.

Upon reaching Jinniuling, they were captured. The men did not resist, saying, "We want to see your leader; we've come to join your gang."

One of the henchmen immediately went up the mountain to report, and soon they saw the signal coming from the mountain. The leader blindfolded them and took them up the mountain.