It wasn't solely due to Baili Ziyun digging up the Zhen family's tomb, but also because Baili Ziyun never treated anyone well, including her own parents, Grand Princess Zande and Baili Hao.
Grand Princess Zande didn't speak this time. She stood up, walked to Baili Ziyun's side, and without looking at her, simply said, "Let's go," then strode towards the group who were working furiously.
Baili Ziyun glared hatefully at Shen Xiaoyan, still hesitating and unwilling to leave.
Shen Xiaoyan sneered, walked over to Zheng Wei, drew his sword, and pointed the tip at Baili Ziyun.
Before Shen Xiaoyan could speak, Baili Ziyun turned away dejectedly, walked away quickly, and followed Grand Princess Zande.
The two of them walked all the way to the construction site, to the guards. The guards saw them too, but not a single one paid them any attention.
Seeing this, Grand Princess Zande became even more convinced that these people were controlled by Shen Xiaoyan through some unknown means, otherwise, they would never act so strangely.
As Grand Princess Zande was deep in thought, a guard walked up, handed each of them a shovel and a dirt basket, and said in a stiff tone, "Hurry up and dig. No work, no food."
Looking at the people who had once bowed and scraped before her, whom she hadn't bothered to look at, now standing tall and giving orders, Baili Ziyun was furious.
She wanted to scold the guard, but his chilling gaze scared her into silence.
Grand Princess Zande had completely lost hope in Baili Ziyun. This daughter, who bullied the weak and feared the strong, and was brainless, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't teach her properly.
Under the guards' urging, the two could only walk a few steps forward and begin digging with the others.
The excavated soil was directly shoveled into the dirt baskets. Once a basket was full, the two, like everyone else, each held a side and followed the people in front who were carrying the soil.
They passed through a very long bluestone path and finally arrived at the side of a dirt hill, where they dumped the soil.
If someone like Yue Qingxin were to do this kind of work, they would definitely be too exhausted to get up within an hour.
But Grand Princess Zande and Baili Ziyun were different; they both knew martial arts.
And to learn martial arts well, the first step was to build physical stamina.
Therefore, in terms of work, the two of them were as swift as the guards.
In fact, they didn't feel tired, but rather humiliated.
Shen Xiaoyan simply stood by and watched them carry soil back and forth twice, then left with Zheng Wei, Sima Han, and Shen Xiaoming.
Baili Hao and Jiang Hong were arranged by her near the fruit tree grove. Huo Fen found two old quilts and laid them directly on the ground. Baili Hao lay down on them, and another quilt was placed over him.
Seeing Shen Xiaoyan and the others leave like that, Grand Princess Zande and Baili Ziyun became restless.
They exchanged a look, put down their shovels, and strode towards Baili Hao.
However, before they could pass a guard who was working, the guard looked up at them.
"What are you looking at? Go to us," Baili Ziyun said to the guard, her eyes wide and her tone impatient.
The guard didn't react. He also put down his shovel and stood there blankly, watching the two of them.
"He's lost his mind, Mother. Let's ignore him and go see how Father is."
As Baili Ziyun spoke, she linked arms with Grand Princess Zande and was about to move forward.
Grand Princess Zande, however, did not move. Instead, she cautiously looked around.
Baili Ziyun also felt that something was wrong; she could no longer hear the sound of digging.
She looked to both sides and was startled. The guards who had been diligently working were now all gathering towards them.
Their faces were expressionless, but their eyes held a hidden killing intent.
"Mother, what… what do they want to do?" Baili Ziyun felt a sense of fear, clutching Grand Princess Zande's arm and asking in a trembling voice.
"I know why Shen Xiaoyan and the others left so confidently."
Grand Princess Zande, instead of answering, suddenly said this.
"Now, let's go back and pick up our shovels."
As Grand Princess Zande spoke, she pulled Baili Ziyun back to their original spot, picked up two shovels, and handed one to Baili Ziyun.
Indeed, as soon as they picked up the shovels, the people who were slowly closing in began to retreat.
"Mother, then we can just carry the shovels and go, right?" Baili Ziyun felt like she had discovered a secret and said excitedly.
Grand Princess Zande didn't speak. She held her shovel and walked again towards Baili Hao's location.
At first, the guards didn't react, but as soon as her foot stepped off the construction site, which was lower than the surrounding ground, the guards quickly converged again, faster than before.
Fine sweat broke out on Grand Princess Zande's forehead, but she was unwilling to give up. She took another step.
As a result, just as her feet left the construction site, the guards behind her swarmed forward, their faces contorted as they attacked her.
Although she knew martial arts, she doubted she could fight so many people.
Moreover, each of these people had achieved some level of martial arts proficiency.
After resisting for a while, Grand Princess Zande was kicked to the ground by a guard. The other guards also converged and continued to beat her.
She dodged while trying to move towards the construction site.
Finally, when she felt like her whole body was falling apart, she finally returned to the construction site.
The guards stopped attacking her and stood there, but they did not go back to work.
From the moment Baili Ziyun saw the guards attack Grand Princess Zande, she had been tightly clutching her shovel, squatting on the ground, trembling, and didn't even dare to look at Grand Princess Zande.
Seeing that the guards had dispersed, she still didn't dare to move. She only slightly lifted her head and observed the guards.
Grand Princess Zande lay on the ground for a while, feeling her breath return, then staggered to her feet.
She did not go to Baili Ziyun but threw the shovel she had been holding onto the ground.
As the shovel touched the ground, the guards quickly dispersed and picked up their tools, resuming their work.
Baili Ziyun cautiously observed for a while longer before finally daring to stand up and slowly walk to Grand Princess Zande's side.
Due to the pain all over her body, Grand Princess Zande shoveled soil very slowly.
But she did not stop.
"Mother, I… I was so scared just now. These people are so terrifying. Are you okay, Mother?" Baili Ziyun said, reaching out to check Grand Princess Zande's injuries.
"I'm fine. You should hurry up and dig, otherwise…"
Grand Princess Zande didn't finish her sentence, but Baili Ziyun understood its meaning. She shivered and immediately began shoveling soil, her speed significantly increased.
Jiang Hong, who had been staring blankly beside Baili Hao, naturally took in everything that had happened.
His face was filled with fear, and he nervously looked at the group of people digging.
Although it was a bright morning and the warm August sun shone on him, he felt a chill down his neck.
It was as if the gentle breeze from all directions was a cold, eerie wind, constantly blowing at him, making him tremble with fear.
"What kind of a hellhole is this? What kind of a place is this? What's wrong with these people? Could they be possessed by ghosts?"
Jiang Hong muttered to himself, feeling extremely stifled and wanting to shout out loud.
But he dared not. He was afraid of alerting the guards, who might beat him as they had Grand Princess Zande, which was too terrifying.
"Rustle…"
Suddenly, the sound of leaves rubbing together reached Jiang Hong's ears.