After declaring that they would talk to the jianghu, Bai Jingfei and Sun Mei went to sleep and first thing in the morning, set out to do what they said.
Sun Mei was slightly terrified of what would happen, but seeing Bai Jingfei's unwavering confidence, she felt as though her being scared wasn't justified.
After all, Sun Mei was the daughter of a general, and Bai Jingfei was a child who had been weak since birth. It made no sense for Bai Jingfei to be braver than her.
But what Sun Mei had forgotten was that someone with no experience of the world would obviously not be scared, until faced with something worth being afraid of. Bai Jingfei had always wiggled her way out of situations so she had no fear of consequences.
Sun Mei, on the other hand, had grown up being told of the fierce warriors of the jianghu and their fearsome leaders over the years. From poison masters to generals, to martial arts experts. Whatever the jianghu did, they did their best.
"Are you sure we should go talk to them?" asked Sun Mei for the seemingly 200th time in the carriage.
It felt odd for her to be moving up the valley, next to a flood region, to meet a group that could kill her, while sitting in a plush-filled carriage.
Bai Jingfei rubbed Sun Mei's hands with the tip of her fingers, relaxing her.
"Yeah. MeiMei? What can even go wrong?"
"What can even go wrong?! Are you seriously asking that right now!" said Sun Mei, making sure not to raise her voice at Bai Jingfei.
She shook her hands around frantically before dropping her face into her hands in despair.
She couldn't believe she had trusted Bai Jingfei and decided to go along with her shenanigans. Now she was going to see what happened to the both of them. There was no turning around at this point.
As they reached the valley Bai Jingfei pointed at a canyon in glee, from which the river squeezed through. The region wasn't flooded yet but was perfect for a dam.
Not only would it block out the flow, the area was like a natural dam. It was wide and deep. Even if the river was stopped for years on end, it was unlikely that the region would flood because of the dam.
Sun Mei patted Bai Jingfei's head.
"Yes, that looks like a good spot to build a blockade. What's left is asking the jianghu whether they will allow us to build it or not." she whispered.
"They will. Trust me." laughed Bai Jingfei.
Unbeknownst to Sun Mei, Bai Jingfei had a completely different reason why she wanted to build the dam in the region controlled by the Jianghu.
If the dam was built there, the water supply of at least half the kingdom could be cut off with just one word from the jianghu. And if Bai Jingfei managed to either befriend them or control them, that power would lie with her.
It wouldn't be too hard to scam anyone with her expertise but the problem lay in whether the Jianghu would let her build the dam to begin with.
Building it was a pretty good thing for them too. If they understood it's strategic importance it was unlikely they would pass up this opportunity.
"So how did you know those bandits?" asked Sun Mei, deciding to lighten the mood a bit. All the conversation about the dam was starting to make the atmosphere feel heavy. But it was only her feeling uncomfortable. Bai Jingfei was living a good life.
Bai Jingfei casually threw back her pretty little head on top of the pillows.
"Met them with heavenly doctor Ming. They're quite nice people if I say so myself." she smiled. Bai Jingfei turned to Sun Mei and leaned on her.
No one had quite pampered her like Sun Mei, ever. A female's pampering was somehow more loving and warm. It was probably the motherly aspect that Bai Jingfei had never experienced before.
Sun Mei laughed a bit and then continued patting her head.
"So they paid you for your services? That's quite unbelievable!" she exclaimed. Sun Mei stretched her other arm out to stabilize herself as the carriage bumped over a rather rocky patch.
"Yep. The whole amount. They were quite nice. We were their benefactors after all." Bai Jingfei grinned.
"Miss we're here", whispered the coachman, not wanting to disturb the conversation between the young ladies but needing to inform Bai Jingfei.
Bai Jingfei smiled and Sun Mei motioned for him to keep going.
At the gate they stopped at, Bai Jingfei laughed as she watched the guards stop the carriage. Sun Mei gulped nervously but Bai Jingfei knew better than to be scared.
She waved at the guards who pointed the coachman to move in a direction after giving him some instructions. The coachman stopped in front of a large building that was clearly the center of the entire region.
The large trees around the beautiful brick building gave the image of a painting to the entire location. Bai Jingfei was in awe of how pretty the place was. It was like her ideal home. Luxurious but somehow lowkey.
What she didn't know was that the house was her future home. Well at least one of the houses she would own and live in, in the future.
In front of the house stood a handsome man Bai Jingfei had seen before.
Hell, she had burnt down a prison with him before.
He was talking to another man, both of them handsome but dressed from head to toe like gangsters. Their taste in clothes was so pathetic, but luckily their faces made up for the ugly clothes.
"So the young ladies have come from the capital to talk to me? I can't let them go back without having the pleasure of meeting me." said Song Yongrui, his eyes lighting up with an evil gleam.