Transmigrated Little Farm Girl Bringing Great Fortune

Chapter 259 Thick Smoke

Twilight Quadruple.

The sun is gradually setting.

A sliver of afterglow lingered on the horizon.

The reflection made people's faces turn rosy.

After Jiang Miaomiao told her second brother about the dream, her fear lessened a bit.

Thinking about my current situation, it's very different from the isolation and helplessness my mother felt in my dream.

Now they have Aunt Xiuxiu and Xier by their side.

The sword manual that his godfather gave to his elder brother wasn't given for nothing; his martial arts skills improved considerably.

And those guards arranged by my godfather are no pushovers either.

If all else fails, there's always Jiang Xiaobai.

Not afraid, not afraid...

She placed her hand on her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.

She leaned against the car window, looking around.

Then I saw my mother and eldest brother, one carrying a gun and the other holding a sword, stride over to the fire and sit down.

After riding her horse around the edge of the woods, Aunt Xiuxiu returned and sat down next to her mother.

Jiang Miaomiao looked at her second brother with a puzzled expression.

Seeing this, Jiang Ziyan jumped off the carriage and reached out to catch her, saying, "Miaomiao, come with your brother to get something to eat."

Little Miaomiao immediately threw herself into her second brother's arms.

Although her second brother was a frail scholar, his calm demeanor and resolute gaze made her feel at ease.

Xi'er followed behind, carrying a fluffy little cloak in one arm and touching the hilt of the knife at her waist with the other.

He scanned his surroundings with great vigilance.

The light had completely dimmed by then, and all that could be seen were the dark forests surrounding the grassland.

Somewhat scary.

I heard there's an ambush inside, and quite a few people there.

Although she had followed Miss Mu in the past, she had encountered many dangerous moments.

For example, when Miss Mu went to offer incense, she was harassed by a worshipper, so she went up and broke his finger.

There were also noble ladies who were jealous of Miss Mu and secretly tried to push her into the water, but instead, Miss Mu pushed them in instead.

But this is the first time we've been surrounded like this.

She quickened her pace to catch up with her young master.

I felt a little nervous, and a little excited.

"Miaomiao, come here, see what your auntie cooked for you?" Xiuxiu took an iron pot off the fire.

Lifting the lid, a rich aroma wafts out.

It turned out to be a huge pot of chicken stew with rice.

My aunt is pretty awesome; she even hunted a pheasant.

"Wow! I love chicken rice!" Little Jiang Miaomiao's mouth was watering, and she had completely forgotten about the danger behind her.

With a shout from her mother, "Dinner's ready!"

Everyone gathered around.

Like Xiao Miaomiao, the only ones who care about eating are Jiang Zifeng and the Xu sisters.

Having traveled for days, they had long since abandoned any pretense of being young ladies and sat by the fire in their fine clothes, eating chicken rice and gnawing on lamb legs.

The sight was absolutely hilarious.

Little Jiang Miaomiao covered her mouth and giggled several times, only to be glared at by her mother and shut up.

In contrast, Sister-in-law Sun gave off a much more comfortable feeling.

Dressed simply and plainly, she shared the same thoughts as her mother and seemed to have sensed something was wrong, her attention no longer on the food in her hands.

Instead, he kept glancing at his mother.

Then I heard her say to her mother, "Auntie, you go and discuss a solution. I'll look after things here."

"Good work."

The group quickly moved to the side.

Sun Ersao was curious and wanted to follow her husband, but was glared at by Sun Dasao and turned back.

Only then did Jiang Miaomiao understand why her mother had been so eager to befriend Sister-in-law Sun.

It turns out that the second sister-in-law of the Sun family was most afraid of none other than her eldest sister-in-law.

Jiang Miaomiao was munching on a lamb leg, but her eyes were drifting towards her mother.

Then Chirp set out.

It landed squarely on its older brother's shoulder.

Over there, Lu Qingyao and her two children, along with Xiuxiu and the Sun brothers, were discussing countermeasures.

Xiuxiu said, "I just went to investigate. There are a lot of them, more than three times the number of us. It seems like they want to make their move while we're asleep."

Sun Erlang glanced at the guards and caravan he had brought, then looked at the women and children by the fire, and said worriedly, "With fewer people against more, our chances of winning are not very high, especially since there are women among us."

Lu Qingyao nodded in agreement.

Their goal was to retreat unscathed without losing a single soldier.

But assassins often disregard life and death, and when they take action, they are always fighting for their lives. The mother and son had experienced countless assassinations like this, so they had some experience.

"Even if we can't win, we have to give it a shot. We can't just wait to die. Instead of waiting for them to make their move, we should strike first." Xiuxiu hates it when people dawdle.

Look at the worried look in Captain Sun's eyes as she looks at Xiao Miaomiao. She really wants to say, "You should worry about your wife and sister-in-law instead."

Those two are the ones who are dragging us down.

Her little Miaomiao has Xi'er protecting her, and also has a little white wolf as a mount.

If they really started running, even ten of them might not be able to catch up.

"Mother, I also think we should strike first, split into several groups and leave to distract them, using a feint attack." Jiang Zifeng hadn't yet figured out exactly how to use the feint attack.

It seems that some of the military books he had read in the past are no longer useful, and he can't remember them.

My mind went blank.

Sun Erlang sneered, "If the strength is evenly matched, we might be able to give it a try, but with so many of us, including women and children, if we are separated, wouldn't we be like lambs to the slaughter?"

He was still a greenhorn, too inexperienced to join the army.

Now he regrets not bringing more men with him.

He also regretted why he had brought his wife and brother and sister-in-law to their deaths.

The Duke told him to secretly escort Madam Lu and her son back to the capital, without mentioning how dangerous the journey would be.

Who could have predicted that a few women and children would attract so many killers?

It's obvious they don't want to leave any survivors.

Who could possibly harbor such deep hatred towards them to commit such a cruel act?

Jiang Ziyan glanced at Sun Erlang and caught a glimpse of his disdainful expression.

It seems there's a reason why Captain Sun is still serving as a captain at his age.

He nudged his older brother with his elbow, "Brother, have you forgotten how you subdued those kidnappers in Taoxi Village?"

kidnapper!

Yes, this kid in front of me was kidnapped by human traffickers before.

Sun Erlang almost burst out laughing.

But he saw the square-faced woman opposite him glaring at him, and Madam Jiang's expression was serious.

He forcefully suppressed his laughter.

Jiang Zifeng blushed slightly, somewhat embarrassed to speak.

But he knew his younger brother; if his brother said that, there must be a solution hidden within.

He scratched his head and thought for a moment.

"Poison, use poison gas..."

Jiang Zifeng remembered that it was thanks to those mysteriously appearing weasels that the kidnappers were poisoned.

My mother said it was because the weasel's farts were poisonous that they had knocked those people unconscious.

That's how he had the opportunity to make his move.

But the appearance of the weasel that time was all a coincidence.

Lu Qingyao glanced at Sun Erlang, then looked at the two brothers, and said with a smile, "Feng'er, Yan'er, tell me, how do you use poison?"

Her son Feng'er is a bit slow-witted, but not stupid.

If he were to study military books diligently and join the army, he might achieve even greater success than this Captain Sun in a few years.

Jiang Zifeng looked at her younger brother, who always had a lot of ideas.

Jiang Ziyan stood up. "Brother, carry the torch and come with me."

The two brothers carried a torch.

It was rummaging through the bushes, seemingly searching for something.

I searched for a while.

The two brothers returned, with smiles on their faces.

"What did you guys go to do?" Xiuxiu asked curiously.

Sun Erlang's eyes were filled with helplessness.

At such a critical moment, instead of quickly discussing countermeasures, they were playing with the two children.

They really think they have too much time on their hands.

Jiang Ziyan walked over, took out the handkerchief in her hand, and opened it.

The flower in the palm is trumpet-shaped, and it glows with a pale yellow light in the firelight.

"Brother Yan, at a time like this, you still have the mood to admire flowers?" Sun Erlang said helplessly, reaching out to take them.

Sun Dalang slapped his hand away, "It's poisonous, don't touch it!"

Sun Erlang quickly withdrew his hand, looking embarrassed.

Is this kid crazy? He's been searching for ages just to find a poisonous flower. Who is he trying to poison?

Sun Dalang explained, "Second brother, you may not know this, but this flower is called Datura. It blooms in May and June, and the whole plant is poisonous. Every year, our family's pharmacy needs a large amount of Datura seeds to make Mafeisan (a type of anesthetic).

After he finished speaking, he looked at the Jiang brothers and asked, "How do you plan to use this poison? I just discovered that although there are many datura flowers on this grassland, it is currently May and there are no seeds, so it will be difficult to extract the toxin."

Jiang Ziyan asked, "If the entire flower branch is burned, will the smoke become poisonous?"

"Maybe." Sun Dalang wasn't sure, after all, he had never done it before.

However, since it can be used in anesthetic powder, it must be toxic.

But Sun Erlang still felt it was a bit unreliable and asked, "Yan-ge'er, we can't just take the flower branches to the edge of the woods to burn, can we? Not only will it alert the enemy, but the effect might not be very good either."

It felt like going to my death.

“No, we’re not going to burn the flowers. We’re going to lure them here, burn them here, and then surround and kill them after they’re poisoned, trapping them like turtles in a jar,” Jiang Ziyan said.

Before Sun Erlang could even ask how to evacuate or whether they would be discovered,

Jiang Zifeng continued his brother's words, saying, "Burn wet grass to create smoke to confuse the enemy, then use straw men to replace real people, and take advantage of the smoke to quickly evacuate some people to a safe place. Lure them with roasted lamb, then set off poisonous branches, and wipe them all out while they are dizzy and disoriented."

“Okay, I’ll go slaughter the sheep. My roasted sheep is the most delicious.” Xiuxiu raised both hands in agreement.

But Sun Erlang had another question: "If they are poisoned, won't our men also be poisoned when they attack them?"

Sun Dalang asked the same question.

Jiang Ziyan said, “You can take the antidote in advance. Medical books record that datura is poisonous, and if accidentally ingested, it can be boiled with licorice to decoct it.”[1]

Xiuxiu looked at Lu Qingyao: "Sister, did you bring licorice?"

She remembered that her older sister would teach a few children about herbs whenever she had free time, and it was she who taught the two children about datura.

It is said that everything in the universe has its counterpart, so there should naturally be an antidote.

Before leaving, she saw her older sister packing some miscellaneous herbs into the box.

They probably brought licorice and other similar items.

Lu Qingyao pursed her lips. "I brought it. I'll go brew the medicine."

I brought it, but I don't know if it will work.

After all, I've never tried it before.

If all else fails, try every possible detoxification method.

Jiang Ziyan and his brother exchanged a glance. If their mother said it was okay, then it was okay. There were many things to do next.

Xiuxiu excitedly called a few servants from the caravan to go with her to slaughter a sheep.

Sun Dalang believed his two brothers' words without a doubt. After all, he was a scholar who had passed the imperial examination and had read more books and knew more than others.

Sun Erlang:......

Are you just going to listen to two brats like that?

What if you don't manage to recruit anyone, but end up poisoning yourself?

I'm still a little worried.

……

The moon is bright and the stars are few; a gentle breeze caresses the face.

Jiang Miaomiao wrapped herself in a fluffy little cloak.

Originally it was white, but then Xi'er was asked to go back to the carriage to get a thick black cloak, and Xi'er listened to her and put on a black one.

The little girl sat obediently by the fire, waiting for her mother's instructions.

Then I saw everyone get busy.

Aunt Xiuxiu went to slaughter the sheep, rubbed it with spices, and set it over the fire to roast the whole sheep.

I rubbed it with so many spices that I could smell the aroma even before it was baked.

Sun Dalang came over and whispered a few words to his wife before leading his men to find datura branches.

Sister-in-law Sun glanced at the two little figures by the fire and called the Xu sisters back to change their clothes, to something either black or dark, to replace their gorgeous dresses.

The two sisters looked reluctant, but they still went with Sister-in-law Sun.

Sun Erlang led his guards to pull weeds and make straw figures. When they were almost done, they started to burn the straw, throwing the wet straw into the fire.

Thick smoke immediately billowed up.

The grass in this field is plentiful, deep, and lush; it's perfect for making scarecrows.

It's also great for burning grass, producing a lot of smoke.

Taking advantage of the thick smoke, the guards put the straw man back on the clothes that everyone had changed out of.

Mr. and Mrs. Sun quickly fled the scene.

As for Sun Erlang, he naturally couldn't leave so quickly; he still had a mission to complete.

The Xu sisters had no choice but to be handed over to the Jiang brothers, Zifeng and Zifeng.

The two sisters were extremely unwilling to see their fine clothes being put on the straw doll.

Sun Ersao was confused and wanted to argue with her husband, but Jiang Zifeng stopped her.

"I won't leave, I want to leave with my husband."

"That's not up to you." Xiuxiu walked over quickly and patted each of them on the back of the neck.

The two sisters were about to collapse with their eyes closed when Xiuxiu picked them up and placed them on the horse's back, then tied them up.

He said to Jiang Zifeng and his brother, "Stay close to your mother and sister."

The two brothers were dumbfounded. They quickly mounted their horses and followed their mother, leading the horses of Sun Ersao and her sister.

I admire Aunt Xiuxiu immensely.

It turns out that the best way to deal with an unreasonable woman is to simply knock her unconscious.

It's that simple, why waste words?

Jiang Zifeng felt like she had learned another trick.

Sun Erlang was furious when he saw his wife being knocked unconscious and taken away. He really wanted to challenge the square-faced woman to a duel, but considering that he had important business to attend to, he forced himself to suppress his anger.

While Jiang Miaomiao was still in a daze, her mother covered her mouth and nose with a wet handkerchief, picked her up, and jumped onto the horse's back.

With a pull from her mother, Xi'er sat down behind her.

Jiang Miaomiao looked back and saw smoke rising from the grassland, the tents shrouded in mist, appearing and disappearing in the firelight.

The aroma of roasted lamb traveled far and wide, reaching even the woods.

The once quiet field was thrown into chaos, filled with coughs and howls of wolves.

With a howl from the little white wolf, it seemed as if many more wolves had suddenly appeared in the forest.

The assassins, lying in ambush in the woods, watched the firelight and billowing smoke in the middle of the grassland.

Confused.

What is this for?

Is this a case of setting the grass on fire and burning oneself?

A pungent smell of smoke wafted from the grassland.

Then they smelled the rich aroma of mutton and licked their dry lips.

Only then did he react.

These idiots, they made a huge fuss over roasting lamb.

The more you smell it, the more fragrant it becomes, making your mouth water.

"Awoo~~ Awoo~~"

Oh no! This is... the wolves have been summoned too?

idiots, a bunch of idiots...

……

Note [1] is taken from Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica".