Can't a girl be a traitor like Cao Cao?

After entering through the main gate, the group was led into the main hall, where they were greeted by the entire Hui family.

The first to arrive were the two main members of the Hui clan.

Hui Zhilan's younger sister, Hui Zhipeng, and her younger brother, Hui Minxue.

Chi Junlin stood on the outer side of the main hall. As soon as he saw Hui Zhipeng walking over, he knew that she was the famous "Third Sister Hui" that Hui Ziheng had mentioned.

This woman looked very similar to Hui Zhilan, but appeared to be younger.

One could see the authority and shrewdness of someone who had long held a high position in her eyes.

However, this kind of temperament is still far inferior to that of Consort Lou Xiangfei; she can only be described as a smaller version of Consort Lou Xiangfei.

But as she walked gracefully towards him, a delicate, musky fragrance wafted over, which greatly enhanced Chi Junlin's impression of her.

Upon seeing Hui Zhilan, Hui Sanmei tightly grasped her hands, tears welling in their eyes, a truly touching sight.

It seems that the two indeed have a very deep relationship, just as Hui Zhilan said, since childhood.

Behind Hui Sanmei was a cute little girl, about ten years old. She was clearly her daughter.

Compared to Di Shanshan, she seemed much more delicate, blinking her eyes without greeting anyone.

Hui Sanmei then introduced Hui Zhilan to Hui Zhilan, and then had her younger brother come forward to meet Hui Zhilan.

This fourth brother wasn't much older than Di Shanshan. Hui Zhilan was just a baby when she got married, so they weren't very familiar with each other.

At this point, he seemed a little shy and didn't dare to speak much.

However, it seems that the young man has received a good education from the Hui family school over the years, and he exudes a scholarly air from the inside out.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Hui family's first branch will be inherited by Hui Zhilan, the fourth brother.

These are the only people currently in the Hui family's main branch.

In comparison, the Hui family's second branch had a much larger and more prosperous population.

The person in charge of the second branch of the family now is Hui Zhilan's second uncle, whom outsiders respectfully call Second Master Hui. He is currently in his prime and has many children and grandchildren.

Not only did he have four or five sons and daughters, but his three generations of descendants filled the house in a lively and bustling manner.

Hui Ziheng, who brought Hui Zhilan and her entourage back to the Hui family mansion, is now the leader of the third generation of the second branch of the family.

According to Hui Sanmei's introduction, the descendants of the second branch now hold important positions in various parts of Xiangshui County.

However, judging from the respectful expressions of the other Hui family descendants towards Hui Sanmei, it is clear that within the Hui family, Hui Sanmei's status is comparable to that of the Second Master.

After exchanging greetings with her second uncle, Hui Zhilan respectfully addressed him as "Second Uncle".

Master Hui was also in tears, nodding repeatedly as he looked at Hui Zhilan and said, "Second Miss, you haven't been home for many years. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye... I saw that you sent a letter saying that your husband had met with a terrible fate in the martial arts world. I don't know if it's true or not..."

Hui Zhilan responded, seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic further.

He then turned and pushed his daughter forward, saying, "This is my daughter, Di Shanshan. Shanshan, this is your second grandfather. Quickly greet him."

Di Shanshan then timidly greeted the middle-aged man, "Hello, Second Grandfather."

"well."

Upon seeing this, Master Hui's face lit up with a smile, and he ordered someone to bring a gift to the daughter of the Second Miss, whom he had never met before.

As for the others in the hall, apart from Master Hui, they were all Hui Zhilan's juniors, so there was no need for her to greet them one by one; she only needed to nod and say hello.

After meeting her family, Hui Zhilan turned her head away.

She began by introducing the important guests who had come with her, including Chi Junlin.

Chapter 241 The banditry was so powerful that it naturally became a disaster.

Besides Liuli and a group of young girls, the only elder who came to the Hui family with Hui Zhilan was Wei Ziqing.

However, the Hui family did not expect that Hui Zhilan would focus on introducing two young girls, Chi Junlin and Wenren Tianxia.

However, after learning the true identities of Chi Junlin and Wenren Tianxia, ​​everyone showed expressions of respect.

After all, the Hui family had been in the shipping business for generations and had been involved in the martial arts world for many years, so they naturally knew the value of the titles "Martial Arts Alliance Leader" and "Sword Master".

It is said that the Hui family was able to rise to prominence and gain a foothold in the fiercely competitive Dongting waterway, partly due to the prestige of Di Cangshan, the second son-in-law of the Hui family.

Therefore, Hui Shi and his party did not look down on Chi Junlin and Wenren Tianxia at all because of their youth.

On the contrary, just like Hui Ziheng just now, they treated the two of them with the utmost courtesy.

At this moment, a servant came over to announce that the banquet was ready and that everyone could take their seats.

So, Hui Zhilan and Chi Junlin, at the warm invitation of Hui Sanmei, entered the banquet hall and took their seats at the head of the table.

At this moment, Chi Junlin noticed that Hui Sanmei had left an empty seat in the banquet hall, right next to her.

After the Hui family members had taken their seats, the person in the empty seat had not yet come over.

He frowned and asked his servant, "Where is Lai Yuanwei? Why hasn't he come over yet? Has no one invited him?"

The servant then reported to Hui Sanmei, "Madam, Young Master Lai went out early this morning and has not returned yet."

Upon hearing the reply, Hui Sanmei's expression immediately turned somewhat awkward.

The daughters-in-law of Master Hui whispered, "They've probably gone to that awful place to gamble again."

"This son-in-law is truly unbecoming!"

The women's chattering annoyed Master Hui.

He coughed lightly, signaling the younger generation not to say these things in front of the guests.

So they immediately stopped talking and toasted Chi Junlin and the others with smiles on their faces.

At this moment, Chi Junlin glanced at Hui Sanmei.

Then one could see that the beautiful woman had a slightly worried look on her face, and seemed to be disappointed in him.

It seems this son-in-law of the Hui family is incompetent; not only can he not help the Hui family, but he also has a gambling addiction in private.

Chi Junlin suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu and couldn't help but laugh.

She seems like a character born for soul-swapping.

However, the matter of the Hui family's son-in-law was just a minor episode. As the group chatted at the table, they soon got to the events that had occurred outside the city.

Master Hui then asked Hui Ziheng, "I just heard from the Third Miss that the Second Miss returned today and encountered a dangerous situation with several guests outside the city, which was related to the Water Gang. Is this true?"

Hui Ziheng nodded, glanced at Wenren Tianxia and Chi Junlin, and then recounted in detail how the two had eliminated evil on the road.

When the women at the table heard that Wenren Tianxia had casually wiped out more than a dozen bandits, killing them all with a single sword stroke, they couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

The younger members of the clan looked at them with expressions of reverence.

However, Hui Sanmei soon showed a worried expression, clearly having also considered the Water Gang's revenge.

He then said to Chi Junlin and the other woman, “It is certainly a good thing that you two heroines have acted swiftly and decisively, eliminating a few villains for my Xiangshui County. However, you may not know that the Dongting Water Gang is very powerful, and even the local prefect has to avoid their sharp edge.”

Now that they've suffered such a great loss, they certainly won't let it go easily. You all should be careful these days and try to avoid shipping lanes to avoid their secret retaliation.”

Upon hearing Hui Sanmei's words, Wenren Tianxia revealed a curious expression and said, "Isn't the Dongting Water Gang just a group of bandits who robbed people in the lake? Why does even the prefect have to avoid them?"

Are they really that scary?

Hui Sanmei then explained, “You are all new here and may not know this. The Dongting Water Gang originally came from the Southern Kingdom’s navy. After the Southern Kingdom’s court was destroyed by our Great Zheng Dynasty decades ago, this navy was scattered.”

After its largest naval force fled to the Dongting Lake area, they became outlaws and formed a local waterborne gang.

This group of people came from the navy and were exceptionally skilled in combat. In a short time, they defeated and incorporated small local bandits, eventually forming the largest water gang to date.

This group not only smuggled salt but also engaged in various illicit businesses, profiting from the spoils. They built a fortified city on a large island in the lake, effectively establishing their own kingdom.

The Shui Gang was present in many casinos, brothels and restaurants around Dongting Lake.

With such abundant wealth, the Water Gang could naturally support thousands of brave men for their use.

Relying on their military strength, they set up checkpoints around Xiangshui County. Merchants and fishermen who entered or left the waters would have to pay customs duties to the imperial court, and the checkpoints would take a cut of 10% of their goods.

My Xiangshui County has indeed suffered for a long time, but the Water Gang has many members and is very powerful.

There's nothing we can do about it.

After Hui Sanmei finished speaking, everyone nodded, their faces showing seriousness.

Wenren Tianxia then asked, "Has the imperial court simply sat idly by and watched the Dongting Lake gangs grow stronger all these years without ever intervening?"

At this moment, Master Hui continued, "In recent years, the imperial court has gathered naval forces to crack down on the water gangs. However, the Dongting Lake area is complex. Even if some of the main forces of the water gangs are wiped out, the other small groups of bandits can be found by hiding in the large lakes and small islands, and in the reeds and waters everywhere."

The imperial navy could not be stationed here year-round. Once they left, the remnants of the fishing gangs would return and immediately carry out cruel revenge against the local fishermen.

Therefore, these river gangs could not be eradicated despite repeated efforts, forcing local fishermen and merchants to compromise and pay a portion of their annual commissions as tribute in exchange for peace.

Upon hearing this, Wenren Tianxia was already burning with rage, wishing he could immediately go to Dongting Lake and wipe out the group of water bandits.

However, Chi Junlin told her to calm down.

Then he asked Master Hui, "Even so, these water gangs at most operate in the Dongting Lake area. How come they can go ashore and collect tolls around the city gates? Such an arrogant attitude, and the prefect turns a blind eye?"

Master Hui sighed and said, "When that prefect first came to my Xiangshui Prefecture, he was not as dejected and decadent as he is now. He seemed to be a person who wanted to make a difference."

Previously, they had recruited strong and brave fishermen to form a new garrison to fight against the river gangs.

However, before they could achieve anything, the Water Gang retaliated against them.

Not only were many fishermen killed, but the county government was also attacked by bandits. Even his concubine was kidnapped and forced to become a prostitute in a brothel on the island.

Therefore, as things stand, no one in Xiangshui County dares to take the lead in resisting the Dongting River Gang anymore.

"It's already a struggle to defend the prefectural city; how can we possibly control the Water Gang members setting up checkpoints outside the city and collecting tolls?"

The group fell silent upon hearing this, never expecting that this bandit had become so ruthless, daring to attack even the imperial court and local authorities.

The local prefect was also in a miserable state; not only could he not protect the people, but even his own concubine was taken away by bandits and forced into prostitution.

At first, Chi Junlin thought it was a local official who was just sitting in his position without doing his job.

In retrospect, we were wrong about him.

Chapter 242 They still dare to come knocking on our door?

After a moment's thought, Chi Junlin asked Master Hui, "How many troops are left in Xiangshui County now?"

Master Hui did not answer at this moment, but turned to Hui Ziheng and said, "My eldest grandson, Ziheng, works in the prefectural office, so he knows more about this matter."

Chi Junlin looked at Hui Ziheng and knew that he had previously led a group of local militiamen, and was obviously the instructor of the local militia.

He nodded and said, "The garrison doesn't have many troops, only fifty regular archers and three hundred local militia. That's barely enough to guard the garrison town, but it's really not enough to deal with the water gangs..."

Chi Junlin knew that Hui Ziheng was telling the truth.

If what the Hui family said is true, then the several thousand members of the Dongting Water Gang are clearly no match for the current strength of the prefecture.

Before Chi Junlin could reply, Hui Zhilan, who was standing to the side, already showed a worried expression.

He then turned to his younger sister and asked, "The Dongting Water Gang is so powerful, what can we do? Surely we can't expect Miss Lin Jun and the others to give an explanation to these villains?"

Hui Sanmei could tell that her older sister cared a great deal about Chi Junlin and the others, especially about Lin Jun, the disciple of the martial arts alliance leader. Hui Zhilan seemed to be completely preoccupied with her.

Hui Sanmei thought it must be because of the incident at Cangjian Manor. She had heard that Hui Zhilan was able to escape unharmed thanks to Lin Jun's protection.

After thinking for a moment, she smiled at Hui Zhilan and said, "Since Miss Lin Jun protected my second sister, she is a benefactor of the Hui family. How could we repay kindness with enmity and push our benefactor out to take the blame?"

The Water Gang only lost a few insignificant members; at most, they would come to extort some money from them.

"At worst, I'll just pay them some money; it's better to lose money than suffer a greater disaster."

It's hard to tell how sincere Hui Sanmei was when she said this, but it still felt pleasant to hear.

Wenren Tianxia laughed and said, "If the Water Gang comes looking for us, you don't need to worry about them. I'll kill one if they come, and I'll kill two if they come!"

If they all come, I won't have to go looking for them; I can just take them all down!

Upon hearing Wenren Tianxia's words, the Hui clan members all showed expressions of surprise.

Clearly, no one expected that such a quiet-looking girl could speak with such murderous intent.

At this time, Wenren Tianxia was clearly very confident.

Although she's not good at things that require brainpower, she's a professional when it comes to fighting evil and suppressing wickedness!

Hui Sanmei smiled upon hearing this and was about to reply to Wenren Tianxia.

Suddenly, a servant hurriedly entered the banquet hall.

Then he loudly reported to Master Hui, "Disaster! Master Hui! A gang of thugs from the Water Gang has come to our door, demanding that we hand over the person who killed their gang members!"