Chapter 194: Attack

Sun Wei saw that A'ru was having trouble coping, and said from the side, "That's not what you told me last time. I remember you said that you were a maid in General Longwu's house and met a woman from the Ning family who was convicted of being an official maid. She told you about it. The prince is one of us, and he won't embarrass the Ning family. You don't have to worry about it."

"Yes." A'ru quickly agreed, "I thought that others had gone through so much trouble to tell me what was going on, and I didn't want to hurt them."

Sima Jun glanced at Sun Wei but didn't say much.

"Did that woman tell you why Liu Ke betrayed General Ning?"

"What other reason could there be?" A'ru asked, "Isn't it simply that he's greedy and only wants the position of Governor of Guangzhou?"

"Does she have any evidence?"

Aju opened her mouth, then stopped and said nothing.

"If she has evidence, I might be able to help her," Sima Juan said calmly. "If not, there's no point in saying anything."

Ah Ru was startled for a moment, then suddenly raised her eyes: "Are you serious, my Lord?"

"Absolutely true." Sima Jun said.

There was a sparkle in Aju's eyes, but she was hesitant.

"The Crown Prince and General Ning are not related, are you planning to interfere in this matter?"

Sima Jun said, "It's not really meddling. You know I'm here to investigate Liu Ke's connection with the Three Immortals Sect. The more you know about this, the better."

Aju clenched her fists and her eyes became firm.

"In that case, when I get to Guangzhou, I will help the prince find evidence," she said.

That look was a passion that Sun Wei had never seen before.

Sima Jun hummed, then turned to Sun Wei and said, "I remember that last year, Madam asked Cao Song to buy A'ru from a human trafficker. I didn't expect A'ru to know some old news about the late Guangzhou governor and be able to help. It's truly a coincidence, what do you think, Madam?"

Sun smiled and said, "I feel the same way. It seems that God is helping the prince."

"God is truly far-sighted."

Sun Wei didn't argue with him and looked at the food in front of him: "How do you feel now, Prince? Are you still feeling nauseous?"

Sima Jun looked down at the food table and saw that the food was almost gone.

He was actually better.

——

Sima Jun recovered in just one day, and even the medical officer was amazed.

Sun Wei, however, thought that Sima Jun was most likely sick from being idle.

I had just spent ten days sailing on the Gan River, a tiring and boring journey. Sima Jun's past life was filled with few opportunities for a single day of leisure, let alone more than ten.

However, the leisure time soon came to an end, as Dayuling Mountain was approaching. Everyone disembarked and changed to carriages and horses to continue their journey.

In about ten days, we will arrive in Guangzhou.

Aju's expression was both excited and heavy.

"What the prince said that day was so mysterious. Did he guess that the princess brought me into the mansion as an arrangement in advance?" Aju asked.

Sun Wei sat in the rickety ox cart, eyes closed, resting, and said calmly, "It's just a guess. I didn't intend to hide it from him forever. We have never done anything against the will of heaven and earth, and the prince is not an unreasonable person. He can tell right from wrong."

Aju nodded.

"The prince said that day that he had no idea I knew about my father's past. In fact, I also didn't expect that he would go to Guangzhou one day and mention my father. I've been thinking these days, could it be that the princess had anticipated all this?"

Sun Wei opened his eyes and asked, "What are you expecting?"

"The princess deliberately bought me and placed me in the palace. Why? The princess must have long anticipated the feud between my family and Liu Ke, and thought I could be used by the prince, right?"

Sun Wei remained silent.

She looked at Aju: "If I say yes, will you hate me?"

"I don't hate you. On the contrary, I want to thank you. If you hadn't come up with this plan, I wouldn't even know how to enter Kyoto, let alone plead my case in front of the prince and speak up for my father."

"I'm glad you figured it out."

Sun Wei looked at Aju with relief, and couldn't help but think of his previous life.

She has met Aju.

At that time, Sun Wei was traveling with his parents from his hometown to Jiankang. Passing through Guangzhou, he happened to see a beheading at the market entrance. The person being beheaded was a young woman.

I heard that this woman attempted to assassinate the governor but failed and was sentenced to death.

Among the crowd, some people said that she was the daughter of the former governor Ning Xiu, who had rebelled and was executed.

The man's words reached Aju's ears, and even though she was on the execution platform, Aju did not give up on speaking up for her father.

Sun Wei remembered A Ru at that time.

It was not until many years later that one of Liu Ke's subordinates named Liang Wen exposed Liu Ke's evil deeds, and the unjust deaths of Ning Xiu and A Ru were vindicated. The general named Liang Wen became the governor of Guangzhou after Liu Ke's death.

"Do you know someone named Liang Wen?" Sun Wei asked.

Aju shook her head and asked, "Who is he?"

Sun Wei said it was nothing. "It's okay if you don't know. Don't act rashly. Everything must wait for the right time."

Aju said yes.

As they were talking, the convoy suddenly stopped.

There was a lot of noise coming from the front of the convoy.

"What happened?"

As soon as Aju finished speaking, Deng Lian appeared outside the car and said, "Madam, please get out of the car."

Sun Wei knew that something must have happened and did not dare to delay.

Deng Lian said, "The road is blocked. A group of bandits are coming to rob us. The prince is talking to them right in front of us."

Bandit?

Sun Wei was a little surprised. It wasn't surprising to see bandits on this road, but logically speaking, bandits wouldn't rob government vehicles.

Because of this, Sima Jun arranged a rather grand outfit, with more than 200 guards in front and behind. It could be said that they were parading in the city, and the bandits would not fail to recognize the government flag.

"What do they want?" Sun Wei asked.

"We were told to leave our valuables behind and then return home."

That's even weirder. Bandits have their own rules. Accepting bribes and doing a favor will avoid incurring too much resentment.

Guangzhou is such a big city and it is not anyone's backyard. What's the point of not allowing people to pass through?

"These people are not simple." Sun Wei said, "I wonder if the prince has any ideas?"

"Those bandits are numerous, at least a hundred. And from what I've observed, there must be more hiding in the mountains. The prince's intention is to delay as much as possible," Deng Lian said. "General Xie is coming from Guangzhou to meet them."

"Xie Xiao?"

"Exactly. General Xie was sent to Guangzhou by the Crown Prince a long time ago. He has about a hundred men under his command. We had originally agreed to meet the Crown Prince at Dayuling today, but for some reason, he was delayed."

Sun Wei had long suggested that Xie Xiao go to Guangzhou to investigate the connection between Wu Fen and Liu Ke, but he didn't expect that he actually went.

"I understand." Sun Wei said, "You don't need to delay here, get busy."

Deng Lian then handed a dagger to Sun Wei: "The prince said that the visitor has ill intentions and asked Madam to be careful. Madam, please keep this dagger safe and use it for self-defense in critical moments."

Then, he handed the sword in his hand to A'ru and asked, "You used this sword in Xunyang before. I saw that you used it quite well. I think it is very handy."

Ah Ru was startled and said, "I wanted it then, but you were unwilling to give it up. How come you are willing to do so now?"

Deng Lian didn't say much to her, but just put the sword in her hand. Then he called a few guards from the palace and quietly went up the hillsides on both sides of the mountain path.

Sun Wei hid the dagger in his arms and kept staring at Sima Jun in the distance.

In front of him lay a huge pine tree, which had obviously been deliberately cut down by the bandits to block the convoy's way.

Although I couldn't hear what he said, his tone was quite kind and he was obviously trying to maneuver.

"It's getting dark. This bandit really knows how to pick the right time." Aju said.

Sun Wei looked up and saw the setting sun shining obliquely.

If this drags on until night, it will be hard to say who will win.

"I'm afraid it's not just the prince who's taking care of things; these bandits are also waiting for nightfall..."

"Hush, listen carefully." Aju tilted her ear and said, "There seems to be the sound of horse hooves approaching."

Sun Wei listened carefully and it seemed to be true.

After a while, not only them, but also the guards around seemed to have heard it.

The bandits began to get restless, and the arguments became more intense.

Suddenly, Deng Lian, who had already climbed up the hillside, shouted, "Protect the prince and the princess!"

Sun Wei looked up and saw rocks of all sizes rolling down the mountain.

The guards were well prepared and immediately hid in the surrounding areas.

There were many large trees and boulders on both sides of the road, so it was not difficult to find a place to hide. However, the horses and livestock in the team were frightened and fled in all directions, and the scene was chaotic for a while.

A'ru and Sun Wei hid behind the ox cart and barely managed to keep their footing. Sima Jun came over at some point and grabbed Sun Wei and ran forward.

He had only run a few steps when the ox cart Sun Wei was riding in was smashed to pieces by a huge rock behind him.