My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 57 Critical moment!
On the post road.

A large convoy is on its way.

There were about two or three hundred people, with armed guards clearing the way for them in front, and another team of armed guards following behind to protect them.

The largest carriage, positioned in the middle of the caravan, was extremely luxurious just by its appearance. The decorations on its roof were made of jade and gold, and the ropes connecting the horses to the carriage were woven from five-colored silk.

Dozens of maids stood guard outside the carriage, ready to receive orders at any time.

The carriage is also called a 'yu'. This carriage, which requires six horses to pull side by side, has an expensive and exquisite decoration on its roof, as well as a thin gauze curtain hanging down.

This also reveals the gender of the carriage owner.

In ancient times, women would use gauze curtains to cover the entire carriage when riding in a horse-drawn carriage.

"parking."

Upon hearing this, a maidservant immediately shouted, "The Princess has ordered the carriage to stop!!"

The entire convoy immediately stopped. The person at the front of the convoy hurriedly rode up, dismounted, knelt on one knee, and asked, "What are your orders, Your Highness?"

A delicate, fair hand lifted the curtain of the carriage. The curtain was made of pearls strung together, and it made a crisp sound when it was moved and bumped. The maid then reached out and lifted one side of the gauze curtain that was covering the carriage.

The kneeling guard leader didn't dare to look up at the beautiful young woman inside the carriage; he kept his head down the whole time.

The girl looked to be quite young, around sixteen or seventeen. She had fair skin and a beautiful face, but what was most striking were her foxy eyes. Although her gaze was youthful, it was captivating and had a unique charm.

At this moment, the girl's face showed slight anger, but her voice was extremely sweet and melodious, like a nightingale in the forest.

Why is the carriage shaking so much?

"Your Highness, it must be because we traveled too fast. We are only a hundred miles from Luoyang. I was thinking of speeding up so that we could arrive in Luoyang by tomorrow. Your Highness is of noble birth, and the sooner we arrive in Luoyang, the less we will have to suffer from the hardships of the journey."

"I'm suffering from this bumpy ride. Can we slow it down? There's no rush."

"As ordered."

After giving his orders, the head of the guards immediately mounted his horse and returned to the front of the caravan, continuing to lead it slowly forward.

They were completely unaware that the sound of galloping hooves was gradually fading away in the distance.

On the route that the convoy must take.

There were about a hundred people, all of whom covered most of their faces with a black cloth, leaving only their eyes exposed. Their eyes revealed a murderous aura, and it was clear that they had been trained regularly, hunted wild animals, or even killed people to have such eyes!
A man rode swiftly to the front of the group.

"Report! Princess Guangping's carriage is about to arrive."

"Hmm... Proceed according to plan, and remember! Intercept and kill a few servants, guards, and maids. Be quick and decisive, and don't leave any evidence. Also, be careful not to harm the Princess Consort of Guangping."

"Hahaha, what kind of fighting power could a group of guards who usually watch over houses and farm the land have?"

"That's right, even without armor, we can easily defeat them."

"It's a pity... I heard that the Princess Consort of Guangping is very beautiful."

"Shut up! This is the Princess's carriage, not an ordinary merchant caravan. Remember the purpose of our mission! Don't have any other thoughts."

The group of about a hundred people immediately split into two teams, hiding in the woods on both sides of the post road.

Half an hour later.

You can already hear the sound of the wheels rolling and grinding against the road.

The person next to the leader began to signal the people lying in ambush in another grove of trees. The two sides communicated using the flags and agreed to attack from the left and right at the same time!
The convoy was completely unprepared and plunged headlong into the encirclement!

However, this group acted differently from ordinary robbers. They did not wait until the convoy was halfway through before attacking. Instead, they waited until the guards in front reached the middle before they heard a whistle!
After a volley of arrows.

"Kill!!"

The men lying in ambush on both sides immediately shouted for battle, their voices so powerful that they startled countless birds in the forest.

The first volley of arrows killed dozens of people. The guards of the caravan were all stunned in fear. Only a few reacted quickly, drawing their swords and shouting.

"Don't panic! Follow me to fight the bandits! Protect the Queen!!"

"Protect the princess!"

The two sides immediately clashed, and the sounds of fighting and screams mingled together.

Zheng Dache, who had been resting on a silk mat, was startled by the commotion ahead. She quickly rose and lifted the curtain, only to see a familiar-looking guard of the Prince's mansion being slain with a single blow. Her face paled, and she was utterly bewildered. Having been pampered since childhood, when had she ever witnessed such a scene?
Fortunately, at this moment, all the guards who were originally at the back of the caravan rushed over. One group of the guards were from the Prince of Guangping's mansion, and the other group were the private soldiers of the Zheng family.

Upon seeing that the guards in front had been completely routed, bandits were already rushing towards them.

The leader of Zheng's troops was named Yang Junxian. He was clearly a man who had seen many storms and remained completely calm.

He grabbed a maid who was also terrified and ordered, "You, get in the carriage and stay inside pretending to be a lady!"

He then clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zheng Dache and said, "My lady, the situation is dire, and we can't worry about anything else. Please get off the carriage now, and I will take men to escort you away on horseback!"

Zheng Dache was completely disoriented and had no time to think. He hurriedly got off the carriage and let the maid sit down.

With the help of Yang Junxian and others, they then mounted their horses and rode off!

The front line has been completely overrun!
The masked men were already charging towards the carriage, and the others could only continue to fight back, but none of them were a match for them.

After intercepting and killing most of the guards.

The group of masked men stopped in front of Zheng Dache's carriage. Several of them looked at the maids who dared not move with greedy eyes, but they also knew that what they were doing was a death sentence. They just looked at the pretty maids with greedy eyes.

Under normal circumstances, the fate of these maids would have been predictable; they would have been dragged to the woods and used for people's pleasure.

"Leave these maids behind. The carriage should contain the Princess of Guangping. Be careful not to disturb her."

After giving all the instructions, the leader asked, "Were there any casualties?"

"Only a few people were slightly injured. Take the wounded away, disarm the surviving guards and keep them under guard, and send a few more men to take away a few carts of goods. Be careful not to reveal your identities, we are bandits who are here to ambush and kill for money!"

What should we do if someone just ran away?

"Go, pursue them, intercept and kill some more, then retreat!"

"Here!"

Dozens of riders immediately spurred their horses and gave chase, quickly catching up with Yang Junxian and his men who had fled.

Upon seeing someone chasing after him, Yang Junxian gritted his teeth.

"My lady, escape first, and don't look back! We will protect you!"

He lashed Zheng Dache's horse's rump with his whip, and the horse, in pain, galloped forward. They all turned and stopped to prepare to meet the enemy!
The dozens of pursuing riders drew their weapons and charged forward.

And one person even broke away from the group and chased after Zheng Dache!
Zheng Dache wasn't very good at riding, so he could only listen to Yang Junxian and hold on tightly to the reins to avoid being thrown off the horse.

But the cavalry behind him were gradually closing in.

She turned around in horror and saw that the man had already raised his weapon, which reflected a chilling glint in the sunlight.

The fear of death is approaching.

Zheng Dache, his face pale with fright, closed his eyes and screamed in terror.

Then we heard a 'plop' sound!
It was the sound of an arrow piercing through a body.

She suddenly opened her eyes and found that the person chasing her had been pierced through the neck by an arrow, but he had already made a slashing motion and the blade still struck the horse.

The horse reared up in pain, and without warning, Zheng Dache lost his balance and was thrown off its back!

"what!!!"

Screams started.

Just the next second!
There was no pain as I had imagined after the fall; instead, I fell into a warm and broad embrace.

Zheng Dache then realized that he was being held in someone's arms.

She looked up.

Under the sunshine.

All I could see was a handsome profile.

When the boy looked down at her, his handsome face came into view, and their eyes met.

Zheng Dache's eyes widened.

(End of this chapter)