She quickly sat up, put on her clothes, and Yi Shuihan did the same.

The two men stepped out of the tent and found a group of cavalry, about fifty or sixty men, approaching the camp.

The leader was a young man of similar build to Yi Shuihan. At his command, the cavalrymen dispersed and surrounded the camp.

The leaders of the other caravans also came out of their tents, and their faces showed a hint of fear upon seeing the scene.

"Sir, what brings you here so late at night?"

Because he was the oldest, the caravan leader, whom everyone called Old Man Huang, asked respectfully.

The cavalry leader said expressionlessly, "Find someone. If you're harboring anyone, hand them over now, or everyone will die."

Old Huang looked terrified: "Who are you looking for, sir? We are a caravan from Da Xi, and we have never taken in anyone."

The cavalry leader said arrogantly, "Whether you took them in or not, we'll know after we search you."

After saying this, he made a gesture, and the cavalrymen surrounding the camp either rode their horses toward the tents or pushed over the wagons loaded with goods and began to rummage through them haphazardly.

The merchants watched as their carefully transported goods were overturned on the ground, and they dared not utter a word of anger.

After searching every corner of the camp, the cavalrymen each took one or two items before leaving.

The merchants suffered heavy losses, yet dared not stop the cavalry.

Even if their combined manpower far exceeds that of the others.

Xiao Qingyin watched the cavalrymen's figures disappear into the night and chuckled.

Her things aren't so easy to take.

The goods they prepared this time were similar to those of other caravans, consisting mainly of hard currencies such as salt, sugar, and tea.

She had drugged the packaging of the goods beforehand.

That's enough to give those cavalrymen a hard time.

After tidying up their goods, the merchants put their tents back up and went back to sleep.

After all, it was still far from dawn, and they needed to travel during the day.

Xiao Qingyin and Yi Shuihan also went to sleep again.

She had barely closed her eyes when she heard a soft sob.

Yi Shuihan heard it too.

After exchanging a glance, the two got up and quietly left the tent.

After walking several dozen meters in the direction of the sound, I came to a clump of bushes.

"Come out."

Xiao Qingyin looked at the bushes and said.

"Otherwise, I'll have someone find those cavalrymen right now; they shouldn't have gone far."

A tense gasp came from the bushes.

She didn't urge them, but waited quietly.

After waiting for about ten seconds, I turned around and walked back.

A faint plea came from behind: "Please don't tell them."

Xiao Qingyin turned around.

The bushes parted, and a girl of about sixteen or seventeen emerged, crouching low. Her eyes, illuminated by the moonlight, were simple and clear.

You can still vaguely see someone behind her.

Who are you?

Xiao Qingyin asked.

The girl sized up Xiao Qingyin and said cautiously, "I am Aman from the Agu tribe, and the one behind me is my sun."

"Sun" is what people here call their lovers.

The male is called the sun, and the female is called the moon.

Xiao Qingyin had done her research before coming.

She raised an eyebrow: "Are they looking for you, or for your sun?"

Aman was silent for a while before replying, "They're looking for me. I was selected as a candidate for the imperial concubine and was to be sent to the capital to participate in the selection process. I didn't want to go, so I ran away with my beloved Sun, and they sent people to capture me."

"Who wants to choose a concubine?"

"His Majesty."

Xiao Qingyin: "..."

She thought it was Crown Prince Yelü Sui, but it turned out to be that old fellow Yelü Zheng.

That old guy must be almost sixty, which is considered an elderly person here. At such an advanced age, instead of taking good care of his health, he's actually choosing concubines.

Seeing that Xiao Qingyin remained silent, Aman became increasingly nervous.

She had just heard from the old man that they were a merchant caravan from Da Xi, and that the pursuers had robbed them of their goods. They shouldn't have any good feelings towards those people, so logically they shouldn't have reported her.

But as Grandpa said, there are always exceptions.

They might hand her over to curry favor with those people.

Thinking of this, she pleaded, "Please don't hand me over, okay? We'll leave right now and won't cause you any trouble."

Xiao Qingyin smiled.

"Are you sure you can leave now? He's badly injured; if he doesn't get treatment soon, he might not make it through the night."

Ah Man's face immediately turned pale.

Xiao Qingyin gave Yi Shuihan a look, and Yi Shuihan immediately had someone bring her medical kit over.

“I can help you save him,” Xiao Qingyin said to Aman, who was terrified and at a loss. “But you have to promise me one thing.”

Aman nodded hurriedly.

"I'll agree to whatever the conditions are."

"You'd even agree to give me all the cattle and sheep from your tribe?"

Aman: "..."

With a pale face, she said weakly, "Almost all the cattle and sheep in our tribe have frozen to death, only a few are left."

"I was just teasing you," Xiao Qingyin said with a smile. "But you'd better be more careful in the future and not agree to every request."

Ah Man nodded obediently.

The "sun" was hit by an arrow, and Xiao Qingyin helped him pull out the arrow, clean the wound, and stitch it up.

Ah Man stared intently, as if watching a magic trick, her eyes filled with amazement.

After giving the man the medicine, Xiao Qingyin asked Aman, "Would you like to go to Daxi? If so, I can have someone take you there."

A hint of surprise flashed across Aman's eyes, but then a touch of unease appeared.

"I'd like to go, but I don't know how I can help you?"

Xiao Qingyin chuckled: "You just need to lend me your identity for a moment."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!