After leaving the capital, the Third Princess Jinghe went straight to Tai'an Prefecture. She had never been so embarrassed in her life. In the past, she felt that being less favored than her elder sister was the saddest thing for her.
Until the arranged engagement was broken off, she mustered up the courage to confess her love to the person she had long loved, only to be ruthlessly rejected. She even lost a tooth while strolling in the Imperial Garden. The dignified princess became the laughing stock of the capital. Feelings of grievance, sadness, and embarrassment all surged up, tormenting her heart day and night.
Whenever the Third Princess saw herself in the mirror, with her gap-toothed, lisp-like face, she couldn't help but feel a surge of hatred rising within her.
Han Zhongyu, since you like Xie Yushu so much, you'd rather be her son-in-law than me, the princess, and even hurt me like this, you're so ungrateful! I'll make you both pay!
Whenever she thought of these things, she wished she could rush up to Xie Yushu and pull out all her teeth, so that Han Zhongyu could see what an ugly woman he liked would look like without teeth!
If it weren't for Consort Hui's heartache at seeing her go crazy day and night, tormenting herself, beating servants, crying and making a scene, and thinking of carving an ivory tooth as an ornament, she wouldn't know how she would face people.
Even with these dentures as a cover, it was still very troublesome, and she couldn't bite anything hard at all. Every time she ate, her hatred for Han Zhongyu and Xie Yushu deepened.
The Third Princess was filled with boundless hatred and kept urging the guards to hurry up along the way.
However, the imagined journey was completely different from the actual travel. She wanted to fly there in one go, but unfortunately, she had never ridden in a carriage for more than an hour before. After traveling for half a day outside the city, she was so jolted that she vomited several times.
Despite the resentment in my heart, I forced myself to run all day. As a result, after staying at an inn for one night, I couldn't get up the next day. My whole body ached, and I developed a high fever.
Unfortunately, they could only rest for three days. After three days, they felt a little better and continued on their journey.
Fortunately, her head maids Jinzhu and Yingluo advised her to slow down, saying that if she exhausted herself, how could she find someone to take revenge? So she slowed down and continued walking as usual.
This incident delayed their journey by three days, giving Lanting and Zhao Hu three days to catch up, since being so close to Tai'an Prefecture wasn't ideal.
This delay was just in time. The place where Lanting and the others met the Third Princess was a small town in Qingyan County. The area was mountainous and densely forested. A long stretch of road outside the town passed through the mountains. This section of the road was sparsely populated and occupied by a band of bandits, who often robbed merchants.
The local government sent people to suppress the bandits several times, but the area was mountainous and densely forested, and whenever the government took action, the people would disappear into the mountains, so the suppression of the bandits was never successful.
When they arrived, Lanting and his group decided that this was the best place to take action, not only because of its good location, but also because they had a scapegoat.
Of course, we also chose two other locations. At the time, we were thinking that if we couldn't make it here, we would choose one of the next two locations, but now we don't need them anymore.
As a result, not only did we make it, but we also had plenty of time.
The messenger who brought the news returned and said that the Third Princess was resting at an inn in the town, and was definitely going to check in.
After traveling for two or three days, Lanting and Zhao Hu took a break and disguised themselves before setting off again that night.
Having determined the time for the operation, Zhao Hu sent a few unfamiliar men to the town to buy some food. After traveling for several days, they had only been eating dry rations. He estimated that after the operation was over, they would have to rush back, and they wouldn't be able to hold on without a good meal.
Anyway, there are always pedestrians coming and going in the town, so two or three people won't attract much attention.
In less than an hour, the men Zhao Hu had sent out returned with the goods.
Fearing that buying too much would attract attention, the three of them bought meat buns, fried dough sticks, and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) from three different places, and each of them also carried two jars of local yellow wine.
Having gotten used to the food and drinks at Yuquan Villa, it's really hard to swallow this. The food is passable, but the drinks are terrible. They don't even know why they used to love drinking this stuff.
After eating and drinking their fill, those on duty remained on guard while the rest of the group took a nap.
Little did they know that the three people who entered the town, despite their low profile, still attracted the attention of those who were interested.
So, the bandits in the mountains had just received news that a magnificent horse-drawn carriage had arrived in town and were overjoyed at the prospect of finding a fat sheep. But less than an hour later, they heard that suspicious people had appeared, and judging from the food they had bought, it was enough for thirty or forty people.
Moreover, the three men looked like they were trained martial artists, so the person keeping watch didn't dare to follow them. They didn't know if they were passing merchants or people trying to steal their business.
These bandits dared not rob anyone except those at official post stations and officials in official robes; they dared not rob anyone else.
In order to travel faster, the Third Princess did not carry any princess regalia. Even the guards accompanying her were dressed in ordinary guard uniforms. They traveled light and simply. The person keeping an eye on her thought she was a rich young lady and immediately regarded her as a top-notch customer.
Now, hearing about another group of people of unknown origin, a sense of crisis arose. However, such a lucrative deal was too good to pass up, and letting it slip by would be a great pity. So, the bandit leader steeled his heart and said...
"Damn it! Who cares where they come from? If they dare to delay our chance to make money, we'll take them all down!"
So the group set off as planned.
Most of the bandits in this group were actually local people. A few of them were highly skilled in martial arts, but they had committed crimes elsewhere and ended up becoming outlaws here.
This group of people farmed during the day and robbed people at night. They targeted beggars in the city. When the imperial court suppressed the bandits, they would go into the mountains, find another way to go home and farm. After squandering their money, they would come out and rob again. They were always slippery and difficult to catch, which gave the imperial court a lot of headaches.
Lanting and his companions had only heard that the bandits here were cunning, but they didn't know this was the reason. After resting for a while, they were all full of energy. After nightfall, they quietly entered the town.
Now, Lanting and his companions are all dressed in black and masked, and they are agile. They have even changed their usual weapons to the large knives commonly used by bandits. Their goal is to deal with those unidentified people. The princess suspects that they are the lackeys of the Third Princess, who can do whatever she wants. Once they are dealt with, the Third Princess will be unable to use any of her methods.
At that time, she will be like a venomous snake with its fangs removed; it will be disgusting, but not much of a threat.
The Fifth Prince's bodyguards and the two assassins didn't expect that they would be watched before they even arrived at their destination.
Even the palace guards didn't expect anyone to attack a few servants. They just kept a tight watch on the second floor where the Third Princess lived, while the guards and the Fifth Prince's men slept like logs on the first floor.
Lanting and his group quietly sneaked into several large communal sleeping areas on the first floor. Based on their clothing and weapons, they determined which group was their target and then made their move.
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