Chapter 201: The Bandits

Chapter 201: The Bandits

The carriage carrying Bei Jingchu's belongings rumbled noisily along the official road.

However, Bei Jingchu herself found the carriage too slow. She took a smaller horse and, accompanied by her guard detail, charged straight toward Dezhou.

Bei Hua, Haoyue, and others couldn't keep up and had to follow by carriage.

Only Lei Nian'er rode alongside Bei Jingchu.

Fortunately, the temple they departed from was already close to Dezhou.

For two hours, they rode through clouds of dust.

By the time they reached Dezhou, Bei Jingchu's legs were trembling, and her butt was killing her from the ride!

Despite this, she dared not stop for a moment.

She sent someone to deliver a message to the Dezhou local authorities, while she herself led her group toward the outskirts, continuing to ride toward the wilderness and mountains.

In the bandits' hideout, a dirty hand grabbed Xu Xinshu's chin.

"This woman is rough and ugly, I wouldn't even touch her."

"Let the brothers have some fun with her."

The lackeys cheered, "Thank you, boss!"

Xu Xinshu nervously clenched her fists, forcing herself to stay calm despite her fear.

It's okay, it's okay.

Survival is the most important thing right now.

The rough cloth gagging her mouth was torn away.

Xu Xinshu could finally speak and shouted anxiously, "Do you have any idea who I am? I am the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, a high-ranking government official!"

"If you disrespect me, when the law comes down, everyone in this entire bandit camp will die!"

Her words were firm and full of authority.

The people around her were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

The bandit leader, sitting on a makeshift grass chair, laughed heartily, "This is hilarious! If you're going to make up a lie to scare us, at least make it believable!"

"A government official, hahaha!"

"Since when can a woman be an official? Women can't even be clerks!"

The bandit leader clicked his tongue in disdain, shaking his head, "Not only is this woman ugly, but she's also crazy."

Xu Xinshu hadn't expected these bandits to be so ignorant.

Of course, if she could escape, she would surely make these bandits pay dearly.

But for now, she wanted to minimize her losses.

And if she were to fall into the clutches of these vicious bandits...

It's still uncertain whether she will survive in the end.

"I work in the Department of Agriculture and am not dressed in fine silks."

"But I still have a badge at my waist. You can check if you don't believe me."

The bandit felt around her waist for the badge and took the opportunity to grope her, which made Xu Xinshu feel utterly disgusted.

But she just gritted her teeth and endured.

Once she leaves here, she will definitely ask the Governor to send troops to eradicate this bandit den.

A small bandit noticed a shadow flicker outside the house.

But he didn't pay much attention, thinking it was just a small animal from the outskirts.

The bandit handed the badge to the bandit leader.

The badge was exquisite, with clear and detailed patterns, names, and official titles.

Although the bandit was illiterate, he could tell it was not an ordinary item.

He felt a sense of dread.

He carefully examined the woman in front of him.

Dressed in the most common coarse cloth, her face and skin were just like those of an ordinary peasant woman.

There was no trace of a pampered life.

She's probably lying, don't you think?

Feeling the patterns on the badge, the bandit leader hesitated, "Lock her up in the storage shed first."

Outside, Yan Zhong reported to Bei Jingchu what he had seen: "Xu Shaoqing is alone, without any guards."

"Tied up and locked in the storage shed, she's unharmed for now."

"It's just a small bandit camp with few people, just a ragtag group. The people we brought can easily handle them."

Bei Jingchu nodded, "Later, you lead the way. We'll go straight to the shed where Xu Shaoqing is being held."

"Once we rescue her, we won't have to worry about them using Xu Shaoqing as a hostage."

Yan Zhong rejoined the group, as it was difficult to ride horses in the mountains.

The horses were tied at the foot of the mountain, and the group proceeded on foot.

After the group left, many more people arrived at the trampled ground.

Their faces were tightly covered, only their shadowed eyes visible.

A strange voice emerged from one of them, and they followed the trail, closing in on the bandit camp.

On the way, Yanchao walked up to Yan Zhong with a grave expression.

"Yan Zhong, as a bodyguard, you must always stay by the princess's side."

"How could you just go off scouting when the princess told you to?"

"Have you forgotten the master's command?"

Yan Wei still wore a mask, his expression unreadable.

He simply said, "You're still here, aren't you?"

"Even when I rest, there are times when you alone guard the princess."

Yan Chao retorted, "How is that the same?"

"According to the rules, except when resting, we must not leave the princess's side for even a moment."

"Yan Zhong, you have a problem."

Yan Wei did not respond.

By the time they reached the front of the bandit camp, Yan Chao had no further chance to ask.

Bei Jingchu led her people straight in.

The well-trained soldiers dealt with the ragtag group as easily as slicing through melons and vegetables.

Inside the camp, the bandit leader was hesitating, clutching Xu Xinshu's official seal in his hand when, in the next moment, a soldier rushed in and captured him, tying him up.

In a distant storage shed, a short, fat man covered in fleas, with a lecherous expression, was slowly approaching Xu Xinshu.

"Little lady, I've never had a woman before."

Xu Xinshu warned him warily, "Your boss said you can't touch me!"

"Our boss only said to throw you into the shed, he didn't say we couldn't have our way with you."

"Sooner or later, you'll be ours, I'm just the first to come."

Xu Xinshu turned her head, still smelling his foul breath.

Her chastity was the least of her worries now; she just felt sick.

With a "bang," the not-so-sturdy wooden door was kicked open.

A whistling sound followed, and the bandit on her fell heavily to the ground.

At the door, sunlight slanted in, falling on the little girl.

She lowered her right hand, her left still gripping the bow, clearly having just fired an arrow.

Xu Xinshu turned her head sharply toward the direction of the arrow, which had pierced straight through the bandit's skull, with only the short fletching visible.

It had gone right through.

"Xu Xinshu!"

The little girl called out to her, lifting her skirt as she ran in.

She pulled a soldier's knife and cut through the rope binding her.

The rope unraveled.

Xu Xinshu quickly freed her hands and feet.

She asked, "How did you end up alone in the bandits' den?"

"Where are your guards?"

At this point, Xu Xinshu felt even more fearful, thinking she was really unlucky.

She thought she should go burn incense and pray for good luck someday.

"I was fine in the fields, heading to the post station, when I took a small path."

"Suddenly, a group of people rushed out."

"At first, I thought they were assassins, but turns out they wanted to kidnap me."

"Perhaps because they were well-prepared, the guards couldn't hold them off."

"I was almost dragged into their cart."

"A few guards managed to pull me back and then covered my escape."

"The last guard split off to distract the pursuers."

"Originally, I thought I was just a short distance from Dezhou and could seek help from the Governor."

"But fate wasn't on my side, and I ran into mountain bandits again."

Bei Jingchu listened, her heart pounding with fear.

"Kidnap?"

"To break through the guards' tight security and abduct Xu Xinshu directly."

"And kidnapping Xu Xinshu must be useful to them."

"Either it's Xu Xinshu's own talents, or it's to threaten the Xu family, or to threaten the Yue Dynasty."

As Bei Jingchu was thinking, Lei Nian'er said, "Your Highness, I think it's foreigners."

"Abducting Xu Shaoqing would surely offend Dayue."

"And now, those who are not afraid to offend Dayue and have the strength to compete..."

"I think it's Tunning."

Bei Jingchu: "Actually, the Yue Dynasty is already ahead in firearms. If Father's production speed doesn't fall behind, Tunning wouldn't have the strength to compete with the Yue Dynasty~"

"But we have to keep it under wraps."

Bei Jingchu pursed her lips, holding back from speaking.

Lei Nian'er: ...It's okay, I know.

Seeing Bei Jingchu, Xu Xinshu lowered her head in shame and said, "I have failed Your Highness's trust."

"I didn't get the chance to find the Nurse Yu you mentioned, and I even put myself in danger."

"Making Your Highness come..."

"How did Your Highness know I was in danger and found this village?"

Bei Jingchu: ...

"Wait, let me think of a way to come up with a story."

After a brief pause, Bei Jingchu puffed out her chest and declared confidently, "I heard that bandits are running wild in Dezhou, which has made the people really angry."

"So, out of the goodness of my heart, I came to take care of the bandits."

Xu Xinshu, without a second thought, said, "You are truly kind-hearted."