Xue Shen chuckled softly, covered her eyes with his hand, and whispered in her ear, "Don't look, don't hurt yourself. It will be over soon."
Shen Youying nestled in his arms, her ears gently covered by his hands, and the fighting and noise outside seemed to drift away from her.
After an unknown amount of time, the carriage gradually came to a stop, and the noise behind it disappeared without a trace.
The guard captain, dressed in black, knelt on one knee outside the carriage and reported in a deep voice, "Reporting to the master, the tailing has been cleared out, and the bandit leader has been captured."
Xue Shen glanced at Shen Youying, patted her back, and said softly, "I'll go down and take a look."
Shen Youying nodded, sat up straight, and stepped back a little.
Xue Shen gently squeezed her hand, then lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down. The instant the curtain was lifted, Shen Youying saw the guards commander forcing two people to kneel outside, both covered in blood.
She wasn't afraid of these things, but after thinking about Xue Shen's instructions, she didn't look at them much.
Two bandit leaders were captured. Their tendons had been severed, and they were forced to kneel and wait for Xue Shen's interrogation.
"Take the people away a bit, so as not to disturb the lady," Xue Shen instructed, and then walked forward first.
The guard captain followed Xue Shen's instructions, dragging the two men behind him. Once they were far enough away that no one could hear them from inside the carriage, he threw them to the ground.
Xue Shen stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the two men. Although they were in a sorry state, their appearance and spirit did not resemble ordinary bandits.
Ordinary bandits who were only after money would have been begging for mercy in terror by now. But these two, despite having their jaws dislocated and their tendons severed, showed remarkable resilience, displaying a fearless spirit.
They don't seem like bandits seeking wealth; they seem more like assassins sent by someone.
Xue Shen raised an eyebrow and immediately understood why the guard commander had deliberately kept the two of them behind.
"Who sent you?" Xue Shen asked condescendingly.
Both of them remained silent, appearing ready to kill at any moment.
Xue Shen chuckled and said slowly, "Even if you don't tell me, I can guess who's behind this." His gaze pierced through the two like a hawk's: "Exceptional skills, fearless and ruthless. And the fact that he could ambush me in the Nameless Village disguised as a bandit to assassinate me. After thinking it over, there can only be one person who would be so wary of me and wish me dead outside."
There was no one else besides Emperor Cheng'an.
Xue Shen smiled knowingly: "This time, Emperor Cheng'an's information network is quite impressive. I wonder who sold you this information?"
Although he had made thorough preparations, Xizhou was not as well-defended as the capital's Prince's Mansion. In addition, given the fates of the Xu family and Cai Wenxuan, it was not uncommon for some officials whom he had not yet had time to deal with to want to surrender to Emperor Cheng'an.
The two remained silent. Xue Shen then ordered, "Take the man away for questioning. Make sure you find out who leaked the information."
The guard commander accepted the order, and after Xue Shen gave his instructions, he returned to his carriage.
When Shen Youying saw him return, she asked curiously, "Did you find out anything?"
Xue Shen shook his head and said, "He's stubborn, though. I've ordered someone to take him away for questioning."
*
After this assassination attempt, the rest of the journey proceeded smoothly. When night fell, Xue Shen ordered his men to find a sheltered spot facing the water to set up camp.
After a day in the carriage, Shen Youying was finally able to get off and walk around. She and Xue Shen were strolling along the riverbank, stretching their stiff limbs.
As they were walking, the long-lost commander of the guards rode up to catch up.
The two stopped in their tracks. The captain of the guards turned and dismounted, kneeling on one knee to report: "Your Highness, the interrogation has been completed."
Xue Shen nodded: "Speak."
The guard commander glanced at Shen Youying beside him and said, "The other side revealed that they have five more companions, who are hiding in Huangfeng Cave not far away. Huangfeng Cave is a relatively large bandit stronghold in this area, and the bandit leader, relying on his own skills, likes to rob merchants from Wuming Village."
Because Shen Youying was present, the commander of the guards did not mention Emperor Cheng'an. But Xue Shen understood what was going on.
The men sent by Emperor Cheng'an were hidden in Huangfeng Cave. Under the cover of Huangfeng Cave, they disguised the assassination attempt as a robbery by bandits. However, their skills were too upright, far inferior to those of unorthodox bandits, and they were recognized by the commander of the guards.
After a period of severe torture, the commander of the guards finally managed to get the information out of him.
Emperor Cheng'an did indeed arrange for people to monitor Xizhou. When Xue Shen and Shen Youying left Xizhou, they ostensibly went to a Taoist temple to pray for their unborn child, but in reality, they disguised themselves and crossed the border, heading towards Wuming Village.
After Emperor Cheng'an's men bribed the city gate guards to find out Xue Shen's whereabouts, they secretly followed him and deduced his next route, which is why they arrived at Wuming Village ahead of time to set up an ambush.
After all, Xue Shen was traveling by carriage with Shen Youying, so their journey wasn't fast. Emperor Cheng'an's men, on horseback, arrived a day and a night earlier. They then occupied the bandit stronghold in Huangfeng Cave, disguising themselves as bandits to carry out the assassination.
Xue Shen pondered for a moment and said, "These bandits are vengeful by nature. If the first group doesn't return soon, there's no guarantee that a second group won't follow their scent and come looking for us. It's better to wipe them out once and for all, to prevent future troubles. How far is this place from Huangfeng Cave?"
The captain of the guards replied, "About five or six li."
Xue Shen nodded: "Take enough men to wipe out the bandits."
The commander of the guards understood his meaning and immediately mustered his men to set off to "suppress the bandits".
After the guard commander left, Liu Yun had already prepared dinner, with all the ingredients purchased from Wuming Village. The guards had even hunted two birds in the forest to add to the meal.
Fu Cui took a small table and a cushion from the carriage, laid them out on the flat grass, and arranged the dinner dishes one by one on the small table, trying to make Shen Youying as comfortable as possible.
The two sat down on the cushions. Shen Youying looked at the campfire on the small table, then at the starry sky, and said with a smile, "If it weren't for the fact that Father and Big Brother are missing, this trip would be quite interesting."
Xue Shen said, "If Zhaozhao likes it, we can play around with him slowly after we find his father-in-law and elder brother."
Shen Youying's eyes brightened, and she smiled with her eyebrows arched, giving a heavy "hmm".
Perhaps because she had found out the whereabouts of Shen Mingjiang and Shen Xiuyi, Shen Youying's worries eased, and her appetite improved a lot. She ate a bowl of rice and half a bowl of soup by herself without Xue Shen having to coax her much.
After eating, as is customary, we took a few laps around the camp to digest our food. Then, feeling sleepy, we got into the carriage to rest.
Fu Cui had already made the bed, and after Xue Shen waited for her to fall asleep, he tucked the blankets in for her.
Shen Youying looked at him sleepily: "Aren't you going to sleep?"
Xue Shen said he still needed to arrange tomorrow's schedule: "I'll come as soon as I've made the arrangements. You go to sleep first, don't wait for me."
Shen Youying knew he was busy, so she didn't ask him to stay with her. She obediently closed her eyes and fell asleep soon after.
Xue Shen stayed by her side until she was sound asleep before getting up and leaving.
Outside, guards were already waiting with horses at all times. Xue Shen took the reins, mounted the horse, and instructed, "Protect the princess well, and there must be no mishaps."
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