The head镖师 (镖师 is a term used in martial arts to refer to someone who has been smugly confronted with danger)
"How dare you disturb Her Highness the Princess! What is your punishment?"
"Our hometown has been ravaged by disaster, and we've lost our household registration. Without it, we can't move an inch, so we've been forced to become bandits. But we live hand to mouth, and we can't even rob any travelers. We've been starving for three days and three nights; we really have no way to survive!"
The leader, with tears streaming down his face, recounted his bitter history.
The henchmen behind them echoed the sentiment, and with the empty stomachs of more than twenty burly men, it was indeed quite a pitiful sight.
"Princess, should we tie him up and hand him over to the authorities, or..."
The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) signaled the others to keep an eye on the bandits, while he went to ask the princess how to deal with them.
Killing him at least saves his life.
And judging from their appearance, these people are incredibly stupid; they don't seem to have blood on their hands.
But it seems they can't be driven away, so they either have to tie them up and hand them over to the authorities?
Jiang Yue was also thinking about this problem. After a moment's thought, she asked the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) to carry two bags of grain to the group of people so that they could save their lives first.
In addition, she gave them two other options: one was to go to Ping'an County on their own initiative, whereby she could write a letter to the local magistrate to rewrite the place of origin for these people, so that they would have a legitimate identity.
Secondly, he could join their convoy to travel to Yunshui County, which was her territory, where she could settle her household registration, choose her occupation, and contribute to the development of Yunshui County.
The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) accepted the order, carried two sacks of grain to the bandits, and told them that the princess had shown mercy and given them two paths. They were to choose one and come back here the next morning.
The head of the household was moved to tears, his arms trembling as he held the grain.
He immediately kowtowed in the direction of the princess to express his gratitude, and promised to return the next morning!
There was no other way. Their relatives, the elderly, women, and children, were still in the village, or rather, in the cave. He couldn't make a decision for them with just a few words. He needed to go back and discuss it with them.
These two bags of rice will save their lives!
He's too kind to thank me, he'll come again tomorrow morning!
Even after the "crisis" was over, the bodyguards did not relax and continued to take turns standing guard and keeping watch at night.
The students looked at the principal with admiration, then at the teacher, and then at each other...
"The rabbit meat is cooked; let's share it with the students."
Jiang Yue smelled the aroma of meat, so ignoring Xiao Bai's craving, she gestured to Aunt Ge to distribute it to the students.
As for the elders, they can eat pastries brought from home.
Elders, it's best to avoid rich, meaty foods in the evening; it's good for your health.
As for Xiaobai, it's almost old now, and its fur isn't as white as it used to be. We can't be greedy and feed it salty food anymore.
"Waaaaah~"
Little White was feeling wronged. This was the rabbit it had caught, and it wasn't even given a bone.
The dog is angry; it won't wag its tail anymore.
Jiang Yuecai wasn't buying it. She fed Xiaobai two steamed buns and told it to hold back. Tomorrow, when they went to a place with an inn, she would have someone prepare roast chicken and ribs for it without any seasoning!
"Woof woof woof~"
Would its owner lie to it?
"I'm not lying to you, when have I ever lied to anyone?"
Jiang Yue rubbed Xiaobai's head, thinking to herself, she had only ever fooled dogs.
"Woof woof woof~"
Little White was chewing on a tasteless steamed bun; its brain couldn't keep up, so it made a racket.
After a simple dinner, everyone rested briefly, some sleeping in the carriages and others in the tents.
I'll make do for the night; I have to keep traveling tomorrow.
Before going to sleep, Jiang Yue stuffed cotton into her ears and told Aunt Ge that no matter what happened, she didn't need to consult her and should let the head镖头 (bodyguard) make the decision himself.
After saying that, he went to the carriage, lay down, and went to sleep.
Little White found a comfortable spot outside the car and lay down, its ears perked up, listening to the chirping of insects all around...
Once she was no longer sleepy, Aunt Ge relayed the princess's words to the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort).
The head镖师 was startled. Did the princess mean that there might be an enemy attack at night?
Are they the bandits we released not long ago?
If that's true, then they're utterly heartless!
With this unease in mind, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) personally kept watch at night and had two镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) stand guard in the trees!
Unbeknownst to them, the bodyguards had surrounded the carriages and tents in the center...
Then, what I feared most came to pass.
Half past midnight, the chirping of insects suddenly stopped.
The bodyguards on night patrol concealed themselves in various positions, silently gripping the hilts of their swords at their waists.
The sound of rustling footsteps slowly rose, and then about a dozen figures slowly approached the camp.
"Second-in-command, this is the place."
"Are you sure it's a fat sheep?"
"Confirmed, the boss is a coward. Not only did he run away, but he also led his men to kneel down and beg for alms. Bah!"
"Alright, enough talk, give me the sleeping powder."
"Okay~"
......
The bodyguards were all young men, in the prime of their lives.
They had hoped that the princess would show mercy and give these people food and two paths to choose from, but alas, greed knows no bounds, and these bandits repaid kindness with enmity!
"Second Master, the sleeping powder has disappeared!"
"What~"
Just when this group thought victory was assured, their equipment was gone, and then, thump thump thump~
The brothers I brought fell one after another, each time with a single, fatal blow to the throat.
"Pfft~"
Hot blood splattered on the second-in-command's face. As the nearest man fell, he roared in pain—
Ah~
"Murder!"
"Murder!"
"Murder!"
Then the dart thrower hit the bullseye with a single dart!
The man fell down with his eyes wide open, dying with his eyes still open.
Meanwhile, at the camp, apart from the students gradually waking up, the older students were mostly fast asleep.
It turned out that Jiang Yue's grandfather saw her stuffing cotton and asked for some.
It's obvious where all this cotton went!
These inexperienced students, knowing nothing and unprepared, woke up one by one like startled birds.
However, the bodyguards were already cleaning up the battlefield and didn't even glance at them.
Only Aunt Ge, being kind-hearted, didn't stuff cotton into her ears. When the incident occurred, she calmly watched as the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) instructed the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) to take action.
The students huddled together in fear, and she gently comforted them until they calmed down.
As for the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), he retrieved the dart, casually wiped the blood off it, and gestured to the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) to drag the corpses away so as not to frighten the students.
In fact, he thought that it would be better to see more blood, otherwise how could he grow?
The female student was indeed terrified, but she was also very sleepy. After a short while, she lay down again and went to sleep.
The male students, however, perked up and whispered among themselves:
"Hey, Wu Xiaohu, did you see clearly how the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) made that move just now?"
"Look carefully, don't rush. When we get there, I'll find a blacksmith to buy some materials and have a few pieces of sheet metal made. I can also make a slingshot, and the effect won't be too bad."
"Really?"
"Really, you should contribute some money too, and Er Mao as well. Let's have the three of us take the lead, and then get the rest of the group members involved..."
"Hehehe, good buddy, let's do it this way!"
......
The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) had exceptional hearing; upon hearing this, a smile appeared on his face in the darkness.
Being young is wonderful!
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