Chapter 70 Encountered robbers
The carriage was carried by wind and rain all the way.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, they suddenly felt the ground shaking and heard a rapid and fierce sound of horse hooves coming from afar.
The guards realized that something was wrong and quickly surrounded the carriage.
Hongju lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. Suddenly, more than twenty ferocious-looking bandits rushed out from the hazy rain, each holding a long knife. Their shouts resounded through the sky.
The enemy came with great force, so the guards immediately drew their swords and prepared for battle.
Hong Qi quickly lowered the curtains of the carriage, looking terrified: "Oh no...it seems we've been robbed."
Hearing this, Song Lingyi frowned, "Your Highness the Crown Prince just wiped out the bandits in Jiuhua Mountain a few months ago. Could it be that these people slipped through the net?"
She only brought ten guards with her on this trip. The other side was outnumbered and powerful, so if a fight broke out, she might not gain any advantage.
Pei Ling's face turned pale. "Sister, let's change our route and go back to Jueshui County. There are many people in the county, and these bandits will be cautious and won't be able to hurt us."
"It's too late." Song Lingyi frowned and said in a deep voice.
The rain was so heavy that the wheels of the car got stuck in the mud twice on the way here. If we want to go back to Jueshui County, we might get stuck again on the way.
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the sound of metal clashing could be heard outside the carriage.
This group of bandits was very ferocious. Seeing the huge disparity in numbers, they swung their knives and chopped them. Blood splattered on the carriage curtains, frightening Pei Ling and the two maids so much that they screamed and huddled back.
Song Lingyi had lived a life of a beggar for a period of time, sleeping in the open air, and experienced many things on the way back to Beijing. Even when facing the attacks of bandits, she was able to remain basically calm.
She lifted a corner of the curtain to check the situation - this group of bandits were extremely agile in their actions. The guards employed by the Duke's Mansion were quite powerful, so even with the huge disparity in numbers, it shouldn't have been so difficult to defeat them. In less than half an hour, most of them fell.
Moreover, the moves of these gangsters looked very familiar.
When she was in Hutouzhai, the bandits practiced every morning, and she knew every move by heart.
"Not good." Song Lingyi's heart sank, cold sweat broke out on her back. "They are not bandits, they are soldiers."
"Soldiers?" Hong Qi was surprised. "But why would soldiers rob our carriage?"
Song Lingyi stared out the window, her thoughts in a mess.
This group of people had probably escaped from the military camp. Desertion was a capital offense. The carriage was flying the flag of the Duke's Mansion, so they must be trying to take hostages and escape. The guards couldn't resist for long and couldn't just sit there and wait for death.
"Hurry, follow me."
While the bandits were still fighting with the guards, Song Lingyi pulled the other three people out of the carriage.
The four of them rushed into the dense forest beside the road.
In early autumn, a thick layer of fallen leaves accumulates in the forest, covering up the hidden dangers. The deeper you run into the forest, the more likely you are to encounter hunting traps set by hunters.
The bandits split into two groups, one half dealt with the remaining guards, and the other half went into the woods to capture Song Lingyi and others, still shouting "Don't let them run away, catch them quickly" and so on.
The loud shouts of the gangsters lingered in their ears, causing their adrenaline to surge, and they distanced themselves from the gangsters.
But Pei Ling had been raised in seclusion since childhood and lacked exercise. It was not easy for her to run for such a long time. Her physical strength was about to be exhausted, but the bandits behind her were still chasing her relentlessly. The little girl was extremely panicked, stumbled and fell to the ground.
"girl!"
Pei Ling's maidservant was extremely upset and rushed to help.
"Don't worry about me, just go away." Pei Ling cried softly. She knew she couldn't escape, and she didn't want to implicate them.
Song Lingyi didn't hesitate, ordering two maids to help the man onto her back. While she wasn't skilled in martial arts, she was quite strong; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to wander around for so long without suffering any harm. Meeting Xiao Mingyi at the Guanyin Temple was purely accidental; if it had been an ordinary person, she would have been out of sight long ago.
Pei Ling was only fourteen. If she were left in the hands of those evil people, who knows what kind of torture she would suffer. Song Lingyi had no heroic complex. She just felt that the little girl called her "sister" and she would never abandon her friend at such a critical moment.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. In less than half a minute, the men's strength gradually declined, and the shouts of the bandits were heard again from behind.
"ah--"
A scream rang in my ears.
Song Lingyi tilted her head and saw a feather arrow pierced into Cui Xin's ankle, with blood spreading out, which was shocking.
Hongqi wanted to help someone.
"careful!"
Song Lingyi stretched out her hand and pulled Hongju apart. Another feather arrow passed half an inch from the tip of Hongju's nose and went straight into the tree trunk.
But in a moment, the bandits caught up.
Song Lingyi felt a chill in her heart. She took a deep breath and protected Pei Ling and Hong Ju behind her, silently thinking about what to say.
"Let's make a deal." Not only was her voice trembling, but her hands under her sleeves were also shaking violently.
The gangsters in front of him smiled, their expressions ferocious and bloodthirsty, their tone filled with contempt for ants: "You are about to die, and you still want to make a deal with us? Tell me the bargaining chips."
"I recognize the moves you use. You are deserters."
Song Lingyi took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. "Being a deserter is a serious crime, but I am the daughter of the Duke of Jin. If you release us, I can ask my father to forgive you."
In this situation, if she directly said that she was a cousin of the Duke of Jin, these people would definitely think that the Duke's Mansion would not care about the life or death of a cousin, so it would be better to take a chance.
The leader's expression changed slightly, and he said sarcastically, "Miss Lu has good eyesight. It's just our crime, so there's no need for the Duke to worry about it. We robbed you, and we have other purposes."
The situation was critical today, and the Crown Prince personally led a team to Jueshui County to hunt them down. They finally managed to shake them off. They thought they were doomed, but they encountered the Duke's carriage. It was truly a blessing from heaven.
As long as the people from the Duke's Mansion were kidnapped, how could the prince dare to act rashly?
Moreover, these girls are young and beautiful, and they can enjoy themselves after escaping this disaster.
Seeing the evil and greedy looks on the bandits' faces, the four of them were filled with fear. Cui Xin hugged her girl tightly and cried softly.
Song Lingyi suppressed her nausea and began to bluff and stall for time. "My grandmother is in Jueshui County. She has nearly a hundred guards around her. If you dare to bully me, you will be tortured to death sooner or later. But if you want money, you can write a letter and have them send it back. Once my grandmother sees the letter, she will satisfy you no matter how much you want."
Time was running out, and the leader didn't have the patience to waste time talking to a little girl, so he directly ordered her to be kidnapped and taken away.
A burly man with thick eyebrows tied Song Lingyi's hands with a rope. Seeing the girl's beauty and elegance, he felt itchy and reached out to touch her watery little face.
Song Lingyi's dark eyes narrowed and she turned her head away.
The strong man failed to succeed and became angry. He pinched the girl's jaw and reached out his other hand towards her face.
"ah--"
The next moment, screams like those of a pig being slaughtered resounded throughout the dense forest.
Everyone was startled and looked closely, only to see a feather arrow stuck in the hand of the thick-browed burly man.
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