Chapter 304 Mudslide!
For several days in a row, the mission's itinerary went smoothly.
That morning, the sky was terribly overcast, with leaden-gray clouds hanging low, making it hard to breathe.
Sure enough, less than an hour into the journey, large raindrops began to pelt down, quickly forming a curtain of rain that blurred the view.
The official road was quickly soaked by the rain, and the originally solid road surface became muddy and difficult to navigate, with deep ruts and horses' hooves slipping.
The team had to slow down, and everyone put on raincoats or tarpaulins and struggled forward in the rain.
"Everyone stay close! Watch your step and the wheels!" Zhao Shuo's deep voice pierced through the rain as he directed the team.
He rode his horse back and forth in the procession, rainwater constantly streaming down the edge of his straw hat.
Jiang Ling's small carriage couldn't withstand such a strong wind and rain, so she had no choice but to get into Cheng Jiaojiao's carriage.
"Sister Jiang, it's raining so hard, will everything be alright?" Cheng Jiaojiao asked anxiously, looking at the blurry world outside the window.
Jiang Ling patted her shoulder and gently comforted her, "Summer downpours are always like this, they come and go quickly, don't worry."
Jiang Ling lifted the carriage curtain, and Xiao Ran, wearing the raincoat Jiang Ling had given her, stood guard beside the carriage.
The rain was too heavy. Although it kept him dry, it was still very uncomfortable to have such heavy rain hitting him.
Jiang Ling called out, "Xiao Ran, you don't need to stay here. Go find a carriage to take shelter."
As a man from outside the family, Xiao Ran was not allowed to ride in the carriage of the princess who was to be married off.
Xiao Ran shook her head, still insisting, "I'm fine, Sister Jiang."
For some reason, he always had a sense of unease.
However, an accident still occurred.
When we reached a low-lying section of the road, there was a lot of rainwater that had accumulated, and the soil was soaked and mushy.
The muddy water accumulated on the road, and no one could tell there was a big pothole!
The carriage that Cheng Jiaojiao was riding in was decorated in a luxurious manner, but it was also the heaviest. Suddenly, the wheels sank deep into the mud.
Jiang Ling and Cheng Jiaojiao, who were inside the carriage, were thrown backward by inertia.
Fortunately, the carriage was sturdy, otherwise they would have been thrown out.
"What's going on?" Cheng Jiaojiao lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and saw that it was pouring rain outside and the carriage was tilted to one side.
"Your Highness, the wheels are stuck in the mud," a palace maid beside the carriage reported anxiously.
Jiang Ling lifted the curtain and looked down.
really!
Most of the wheel was stuck in the deep pit.
Zhao Jingxing arrived immediately, jumped off his horse, and squatted down in the mud to check the situation.
The mud covered his boots, and his trousers were completely soaked.
"The wheels are stuck, so we need to push the cart by hand and put some hard objects under the wheels."
He immediately arranged for a few men to find the stone, and then called to the nearby guards: "Come here, a few men! Let's pull together!"
Several strong guards stepped forward and surrounded the carriage from the back and sides, shouting commands as they pushed it with all their might.
However, the ground was too slippery, and there was nowhere to put weight on it. The carriage only swayed slightly, splashing mud, but there was no sign of it getting out.
"Everyone, push together! One, two, three—push!"
The rain poured down, and the mud clung tightly to the carriage wheels, refusing to let go.
The guards, their veins bulging, shouted commands as they pushed the cart with all their might, mud splattering onto everyone's faces and bodies, mixing with the rain, creating a scene of utter chaos.
The carriage shook violently, but it just spun futilely in the mud pit, sinking deeper and deeper.
"One, two, three—push!"
Zhao Jingxing's voice sounded somewhat hoarse in the rain. He was personally supporting the back of the car, his boots sinking deep into the mud, and his whole body was already soaked.
In the midst of the chaos, a man suddenly emerged from the dilapidated temple nearby, seemingly fleeing in haste.
Zhao Jingxing, with his sharp eyes, spotted him. But at that moment, he couldn't afford to pay him any attention.
However, after running a dozen steps, the man suddenly stopped, turned around, and shouted at them at the top of his lungs.
"Who needs a carriage at a time like this! Are you out of your mind! Can't you see the mountain is about to collapse?!"
Zhao Jingxing looked up sharply, and in a flash of lightning, he saw that the mountain not far above was being ravaged by the torrential rain, with large swaths of mud and rocks rolling down, and it looked like it was about to collapse.
mudslide!
He made a snap decision, roaring, "Everyone! Evacuate immediately! Quickly!"
He rushed to the vermilion carriage, flung open the door, and shouted urgently to Jiang Ling and Cheng Jiaojiao inside, "Miss Jiang! Princess! Get out of the carriage quickly! The mountain is collapsing! It's dangerous!"
Jiang Ling and Cheng Jiaojiao realized the seriousness of the situation and jumped off the carriage without hesitation.
Xiao Ran immediately handed over a raincoat. Jiang Ling put it on Cheng Jiaojiao first, but she herself got soaked in the rain.
"Zhao Shuo!" Zhao Jingxing grabbed a guard. "Protect the princess and Miss Jiang, and immediately retreat to the higher ground over there! Quickly!"
He pointed to the relatively stable high ground on the other side of the official road.
Zhao Shuo accepted the order and, along with several other soldiers, escorted the two men, who stumbled and waded through the mud, to safety.
Zhao Jingxing and the remaining men were still making a last-ditch effort to save the carriage used for the marriage alliance.
The man had just reached the bottom of the mountain when he turned back and saw that they were still stubborn, so he spoke up to remind them:
"What's the use of pushing dry rocks? Go find some big stones!"
Zhao Jingxing knew perfectly well that he had already sent people to look for it, but there were no large rocks nearby.
The man shook his head, preparing to leave in the rain. After taking a few steps, he turned back.
"Get a few people over here, I know where there are big rocks!"
His shout pierced through the rain and reached Zhao Jingxing's ears.
Zhao Jingxing, disregarding any suspicion about the stranger's intentions, immediately pointed to six agile guards: "You six, follow his orders! Quickly!"
The six guards rushed toward the man without hesitation.
Without saying much, the man turned and led them towards the dense thicket.
The rain blurred his vision, and he soon disappeared from sight.
While organizing the remaining men to retreat, Zhao Jingxing kept a close eye on the widening cracks and falling rocks on the hillside.
"Found it! Move it over there quickly!" came the guards' shouts, a mixture of surprise and urgency, from behind the bushes.
Then, the six guards, in pairs, staggered out from behind the bushes, carrying three large stones together!
They used all their strength to quickly place stones in front of the carriage wheels in the mud.
"Push—!" Zhao Jingxing practically roared as he gave the order.
The last few guards unleashed all their strength and pushed hard!
The wheels finally rolled over the hard rocks, gaining leverage, and with a dull thud, the heavy carriage was suddenly freed from the mud!
"Retreat! Everyone evacuate!" Zhao Jingxing roared, personally covering the rear and urging everyone to rush to the safe area as quickly as possible.
Almost the very next second after they left that low-lying area,
"Boom—!"
A deep, thunderous roar came from behind.
Everyone turned around and saw that the spot where the carriage had fallen into the mud had been instantly swallowed up by the surging mudslide. The turbid mud waves rolled and swallowed everything.
That was close!
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