Both Shang and Sun were noblewomen from secluded households, and they were both terrified when they heard that they had encountered bandits.
Only Jiang Wan remained calm and summoned a guard to go ahead and inquire about the situation.
"These bandits are too outrageous! Right under the emperor's nose, in broad daylight, they dare to rob people on the way!" Shang Shi, who was usually quite capable, was cautiously peeking out from behind the carriage curtain when her face turned slightly pale with fright.
At this time, there were many horse-drawn carriages coming down the mountain, but the mountain road was narrow and there was no room to turn around.
The only way to avoid what's ahead is to abandon the vehicle and flee.
It seemed that some people ahead had already heard the news, and they jumped off the carriage and scattered in all directions.
Sun was shy by nature, and was even more terrified in this situation. Her lips trembled as she said, "What should we do? Should we... should we run away?"
No rush.
Jiang Wan comforted her.
“The bandits have been causing a lot of trouble lately, but no one has been killed yet, which shows that they are only after money and won’t easily kidnap people. Besides, we are not familiar with the mountain roads here. If we get out of the car rashly and get lost, wouldn’t that be even more dangerous?”
Sun bit her lip.
"Don't be afraid. We're not far from the city gate. Once the news gets out, the Prefect of the Capital will immediately send troops, and we'll be saved then," Jiang Wan said softly.
She remained calm and composed, her gentle voice like a clear spring, soothing their anxious and fearful emotions.
When faced with sudden chaos, people tend to instinctively listen to the calmest person.
Madam Shang realized, "I almost forgot, my sister has been through the banditry, she must be more experienced than us. Do you have any ideas on what to do now?"
When Jiang Wan encountered bandits, she fell off a cliff while trying to save her young son. She didn't return to the capital until several years later, a story known to everyone.
Remembering this, Madam Sun also looked at her anxiously.
Jiang Wan glanced outside and said, "Tell the servants to take down the sign for the Minister's residence, and have the servants disperse. If the bandits come to check this place, we'll pretend to be ordinary wealthy merchants. If they're after money, they might not bother us."
"My two elder sisters, please put on your veils and give me some hairpins, jewelry, and silver."
Upon hearing this, the two men from the Shang family immediately did as instructed.
Just then, a woman's scream suddenly rang out from outside, abrupt and piercing, accompanied by the rough, furious shouts of the bandits.
Judging from the sound, we're already very close to them.
Sun's heart pounded, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably.
The Minister's mansion is a prestigious family. If she were to be captured by bandits today, she would be destined to be divorced, and her life would be over.
She hastily pulled out a few silver coins from her sleeve and stuffed them into Jiang Wan's hand.
Soon, the three of them had filled a purse to the brim.
Just as Jiang Wan grasped the purse in her hand, the shouts of bandits rang out from outside the carriage.
"Don't make a sound, I'll handle them."
Jiang Wan gave them a look, then lifted the curtain and got off the carriage.
Sun was anxious: "How can she manage on her own?" She instinctively reached out to stop her, but Shang pulled her back and shook her head at her in a low voice: "Don't make things worse."
The two held their breath as they heard a sound.
Jiang Wan's voice came from outside the carriage. Just as she said, she introduced herself as the daughter of a merchant and readily handed a purse of silver and hairpins to the bandits.
The bandits weighed the item in their hands, seemed satisfied, and didn't make things difficult for her. They even told their men to let her pass.
The two of them breathed a sigh of relief.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and Jiang Wan had just stepped inside when a voice suddenly came from behind her: "Wait!"
"You bitch, you dare to fool me!"
The bandit shook the contents of his purse, clutching one of the silver coins in his hand, and roared, "What merchant's daughter? Do you think I'm a fool? This is clearly government silver!"
When Madam Sun saw the silver, her face turned deathly pale, and her heart leaped into her throat.
That's what she just gave to Jiang Wan!
She was terrified and in her haste, she didn't notice anything amiss. Little did she know that these bandits had sharp eyes and spotted her on the spot.
"You two in the car, stop hiding!"
The bandit drew his long knife and viciously slashed at the carriage, instantly splitting the carriage open with a long gash.
"Whose government silver is this? If you don't explain it clearly, none of the three of you will live!"
Sun screamed in fright, her body went limp, and if Shang hadn't been there to support her, she probably would have fainted immediately.
"be mine."
Jiang Wan suddenly said.
“Those two people in the car are my cousins. It’s no use making things difficult for them. If you want to kidnap people, I’ll go with you.”
The bandit laughed and grabbed her, pulling her back with one hand: "Haha, I didn't expect to catch such a big fish today!"
He raised his hand to signal the carriage to proceed, and then shouted loudly into the carriage.
"Tell her husband's family to bring two thousand taels of silver to ransom her, or they can expect to collect her corpse!"
The coachman was terrified and lashed out with his whip.
Having survived the ordeal, the Shang and Sun women in the car covered their mouths, their eyes already red with tears.
“Sister Jiang, she… she did it all for me…” Madam Sun wiped away her tears: “Stop the car, stop the car! We can’t leave her like this!”
Madam Shang gritted her teeth and said, "What's the use of going back? It would just be a waste of her kindness! We should hurry back to the capital and report to the authorities; perhaps we can still save her."
Just as the two were arguing, the coachman suddenly shouted, "Madam! The Prefect of the Capital has come to rescue people!"
A troop of soldiers galloped past, raising dust as they went. Leading them was none other than He Xingyun, the Prefect of the Capital.
Both of them were overjoyed, but because they were worried about Jiang Wan, they simply stopped the carriage and waited by the roadside.
Sure enough, the bandits saw the government officials coming from afar and scattered and fled.
About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Prefect of the Capital withdrew his troops and returned. Sun, with her sharp eyes, spotted Jiang Wan among them.
"That's wonderful, Sister Jiang!" She ran over, tears of joy streaming down her face. "Thank goodness you're safe and sound, otherwise I would have been heartbroken."
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