Chapter 839 Finally Arrival at the Northern Frontier Garrison

Amidst the smoke, the sounds of pursuers could still be heard.

Ruan Mingzhu dared not waste any time. She quickly switched places with Zhao Sanniu, sitting behind him and bracing against his exhausted body. Holding the reins, she kicked the horse's belly hard, and the horse galloped wildly.

Instead of going in a straight line, she turned and entered a grove of trees in the distance. With the trees as cover, the sounds of her pursuers behind her gradually faded into the distance.

But she still dared not stop, continuing to kick the horse's belly and gallop until she could no longer hear any sound, only then did she finally stop.

She dismounted first, then helped Zhao Sanniu down.

Zhao San Niu's back was covered in blood. Although he hadn't fainted, he didn't even have the strength to open his eyes and was panting heavily.

"Ruan... Ruan Cheng, listen to me..." he began with difficulty, "There's a compass my mother prepared in this bundle. Take this and find your way north, and go to the garrison in the northern frontier as soon as possible to ask General Yunhui for help..."

"Shut up!" Ruan Mingzhu said irritably. "You're injured and you still talk so much. Do you want to die sooner? Turn over, I'll treat your wounds!"

She remembered that Aunt Wanwan had prepared some first-aid medicines in her bundle, including medicinal wine, scissors, and some small pills.

She poured out two white pills and forced them into Zhao Sanniu's mouth. Then she used scissors to cut open the charred clothes. When she saw the arrowhead embedded in the flesh, even she, with her great courage, couldn't help but gasp.

“You’re a young lady, don’t take off a man’s clothes…” Zhao San Niu struggled weakly, “I’m fine, I’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep.”

“You’ve always called me Ruan Cheng, so I’m Ruan Cheng, we’re brothers.” Ruan Mingzhu grasped one end of the arrow, wanting to pull it out, but hesitated. Her expression was grave, but her tone was light. “There’s an arrow in your arm, I’ll pull it out first, just bear with it. I don’t know if the other one has pierced your internal organs, I’ll cut it short first, then I’ll go find a doctor to treat you…”

As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her hand and pulled out the arrow, and Zhao Sanniu couldn't help but let out a scream.

Fortunately, the arrow in his arm wasn't too deep, and the arrow didn't have barbs, so the wound wasn't too gruesome.

Ruan Mingzhu didn't dare to delay for a moment. Following the steps Cheng Wanwan taught her, she carefully bandaged the wound step by step, and then fed the medicine. By the time she finished doing all this, Zhao Sanniu had already fallen asleep.

Looking at the sky, I could see faint light in the east; it was almost dawn.

She was utterly exhausted, but she knew she couldn't sleep; she had many important things to do.

She took out some dry rations, ate some, drank some water, then carried Zhao Sanniu onto the horse, and sat on it herself, slowly riding along.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go fast, but the horse was tired. It was already a miracle that it hadn't gone on strike, let alone kick its belly wildly. Besides, if they went too fast, Zhao San Niu's body couldn't handle it...

They walked from dawn until daybreak, and from daybreak until sunset, until finally they saw a farmer deep in the mountains. The farmer spoke the language of Dayu Kingdom and was a Dayu Kingdom person. Only then did Ruan Mingzhu feel relieved and let the farmer prepare hot water and food, and then go to invite the village's folk doctor to come and treat Zhao San Niu.

The quack doctor didn't dare to pull out the arrow, fearing he might send the person away.

Ruan Mingzhu handed over the silver from her bundle: "Would you please prepare a carriage for us, auntie..."

"Oh dear, we don't have any horse-drawn carriages in these deep mountains, only oxcarts, but we don't need that much silver..."

“Then let’s use the oxcart,” Nguyen Minh Chu said without hesitation. “We can use the remaining silver to buy some soft bedding for the oxcart, and also prepare some water and food.”

The local people were very kind and honest. She even gave them money, and in less than half an hour, everything was ready.

At this time, the sky gradually darkened.

The farmers meant that the mountain road was difficult to travel in the dark, and suggested that they go to the city the next day.

Ruan Mingzhu glanced at the slow-moving oxcart, then at the unconscious Zhao Sanniu, and thought of all the people imprisoned in the Western Rong Kingdom. She had no intention of waiting until the next morning.

She had the farmers light four or five torches and stick them on the oxcart, both for lighting and to scare away wild animals, and then she set off.

Zhao Sanniu lay on the soft cushion, covered with a thick quilt, and started talking nonsense halfway through the journey, which frightened Ruan Mingzhu quite a bit. She had no choice but to give him the medicine again and pray that the old man would walk faster, much faster...

She was tired herself and slept for a while against the oxcart.

When I woke up, I had already left the deep mountains and forests. Cows were grazing by the roadside, and I could vaguely see the city walls in the distance.

This should be the border town in northern Xinjiang. To the northwest of the town, 100,000 soldiers from northern Xinjiang are stationed.

It has been three days since they escaped from the palace of the Western Rong Kingdom.

Three days had passed, and too many things could change. She didn't even dare to think about Aunt Wanwan's situation in detail.

Fortunately, we have seen hope.

She patted the old ox on the back, and the ox let out a bellow and slowly walked towards the northwest.

It took about an hour to finally arrive.

The troops stationed in the northern frontier are extremely strict in their guard; they were stopped before they even reached the gate.

Ruan Mingzhu got off the oxcart, took out a sandalwood box from her bundle, and took out a golden identity token with the words "Second Rank Lady, Sui" written on it in large, glittering gold characters.

All her identification tokens, such as her waist tag, had been confiscated by the Western Rong Kingdom. It's unclear why Aunt Wanwan was still able to keep them.

But without this, it would be incredibly difficult for her to enter the garrison in the northern border region.

Not long ago, King Qin and Lady Sui represented the Great Yu Kingdom on their way to the Asab Kingdom. They passed through the garrison in the northern border region, and the people there naturally knew who Lady Sui was.

Their general received word early on that Lady Sui and her entourage would return at the end of September. After waiting for so long, they still hadn't seen a trace of the group. The general figured they might have changed their route, so he stopped waiting.

Why are Lady Sui's people here now?

The guard at the gate asked Nguyen Minh Chau to wait a moment while he went in with the token to report.

The general stationed here was a second-rank Yunhui General, around forty years old, who personally came out to greet them.

"Greetings, General Yunhui." Nguyen Minh Chau said quickly, "We are men under General Zhao Yong, who is stationed in the capital. We were responsible for escorting the Assab royal family back to the capital. On the way back, we encountered the Xi Rong cavalry. The prince, Lady Sui, and all the ministers were captured by the Xi Rong. We escaped to deliver the message and requested General Yunhui to send someone to rescue them... I will explain the details later. Please ask General Yunhui to quickly send a military doctor to treat him."

General Yunhui's expression immediately turned serious. He glanced at Zhao Sanniu lying on the oxcart and ordered someone to take him inside for treatment immediately.

Then he brought Nguyen Minh Chau into the camp, summoned more than a dozen of his military advisors and subordinates, and listened carefully to what Nguyen Minh Chau had to say about serious matters.

Ruan Mingzhu didn't even bother to drink water, as she carefully explained the situation of Xirong.

"The Western Rong Kingdom is utterly audacious!" General Yunhui exclaimed in disbelief. "If you two hadn't escaped, we would have thought that the Prince and Lady Sui had changed course and returned to the Great Yu Kingdom. Who would have thought they would be kidnapped! Young man, go and rest for a while. I will write a memorial and send it back to the capital as fast as I can, so that His Majesty can make a decision!"

"Even if we ride at full speed back to the capital, it will take at least ten days round trip. There's no time!" Ruan Mingzhu knelt down with a thud. "I beg General Yunhui to send troops immediately to rescue Prince Sui and the others!"