Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

"I...would you mind if I spoke with your chief镖头 (chief镖师, a kind of bodyguard/escort) for a few minutes?"

Yu Wanran hesitated before speaking.

The two bodyguards exchanged a glance. The slightly younger one, lost in thought, couldn't hide the disdain in his eyes.

"Our chief镖头 (chief镖师) has already gone to sleep, so we shouldn't disturb him! If there's anything you need, Miss Yu, you can just tell us directly."

Yu Wanran inwardly disliked the two people in front of her. While on night patrol, they kept yawning, covering their mouths with their hands. They walked with a swaying gait, looking like they hadn't slept properly.

In this state, it would be quite common for someone to sneak up from behind and slit their throat.

However, since the other party did not want her to approach the camp where the bodyguards slept, she could not force her way in and wake Wu Jian. She had no choice but to stop and tell him all about her suspicions about Zhang Tang.

The two bodyguards initially listened with furrowed brows. But the more they listened, the wider their barely suppressed smiles became. Before Yu Wanran could finish speaking, the younger one burst out laughing.

As Yu Wanran spoke, she sensed the two bodyguards' disapproval. But the words were already out and couldn't be taken back; hearing the young bodyguard's mockery, her face subconsciously turned ugly.

"Miss Yu, did you experience too many things like this in the Duke's mansion before? So, you like to find fault with people you don't like?"

The young bodyguard clearly harbored resentment towards the powerful and influential. Yu Wanran's current status made her unworthy of his fear. Therefore, ignoring the older bodyguard's repeated winks, he continued his sarcastic remarks.

Then, we got down to business.

“Miss Yu, don’t worry about things that aren’t your concern! Before we set off, didn’t our escort agency thoroughly investigate the identities of our accompanying clients? Not just Zhang Tang, but you, your father, and your elder brother—we know them all very well.”

He subtly changed the subject.

"Including you, this fake county princess, who was expelled from the Duke's mansion..."

"Cai Tao!"

The older bodyguard, unable to bear it any longer, slapped the rambling younger bodyguard hard across the back.

Before forcibly dragging his companion away, he didn't forget to bow and apologize to Yu Wanran: "Miss Yu, this guy has a habit of being sarcastic, please ignore him!"

However, Yu Wanran was already stunned with anger.

He kindly pointed out various suspicious points to the escort agency in order to raise their awareness. Unexpectedly, he was met with ridicule and sarcasm in return.

The false identity of a heiress seems to have become an indelible, tainted label on her. Whenever anything happens, people look at her with prejudice and nitpick.

Being looked down upon is secondary. If Zhang Tang finds out that he suspects him and that the other party does indeed have ulterior motives, then he will alert the enemy.

Conversely, if the other party is innocent, she will have offended a potentially promising scholar.

Yu Wanran returned to her small tent in a sullen mood and added a few dry branches to the still burning fire.

This trading trip was different from the previous ones.

In her past life, she was all alone, with no worries about her family, and she wasn't afraid of taking any risks. Now that she has her father and older brother, she is extremely afraid of burdening her family or encountering any danger.

Considering his own inability to act alone, he went to remind the bodyguard, only to be humiliated in return.

She stared irritably at the campfire, the firewood crackling and sparks flying. She glanced in the direction Zhang Tang had been; he had already returned.

The young apprentice at Ruicaotang felt bad that his family's food had expired and caused problems, realizing he had done more harm than good. He helped by lighting a bonfire so Zhang Tang could lie down and rest.

Yu Wanran was undecided.

Could it be that she's just being paranoid?

If the other party is a spy, tonight is the best opportunity to take action.

It's perfectly normal for her to use convenience as an excuse to escape a fight. But then she returned… and this seemingly carefree demeanor—is it truly just her prejudiced suspicion?

She hugged her blanket tightly and curled up inside the tent. Her eyes peered out through the tent's gaps; her ears perked up, carefully discerning any sounds coming from near or far.

Regardless, she was willing to trust her own eyes and judgment.

For over twenty years in my previous life, I was a merchant, always in danger, walking on thin ice.

It's better to be suspicious than to be overly cautious!

As the hour of Yin approached, Yu Wanran's eyelids began to droop, and she was about to doze off when she suddenly felt an unusual vibration in her ear, which was close to the ground.

The vibration was very slight. She wouldn't have felt it at all if she hadn't deliberately kept her ears pressed to the ground.

This is the sound of a person running fast, with thin-soled boots rubbing against the ground!

coming!

Yu Wanran was startled and immediately looked up, peering through the gap in the tent.

Zhang Tang was holding a gleaming dagger, pointing it at the sleeping young medicine boy beside him.

However, because the apprentice was a restless sleeper, he tossed and turned. He feinted twice with the dagger, but couldn't manage to stab him.

The situation was critical, and Yu Wanran had no time to think. She grabbed a thick piece of firewood that she had prepared and threw it hard at Zhang Tang while shouting.

"Beware of enemy attack—"

This shout not only startled the sleeping镖师 (bodyguards) and 车夫 (drivers) in the distance, but also woke up the medicine boy who had been on the verge of death several times.

What he saw was Zhang Tang stabbing down with a dagger right in front of him!

At close range, the wooden stick thrown by Yu Wanran struck him, causing him to stagger. This momentary pause gave the medicine boy a chance to escape death.

He let out a scream and kicked Zhang Tang aside!

Zhang Tang landed on his back, tumbling right into the fire. Flames shot up from his clothes and ignited. Startled, Zhang Tang screamed and rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the sparks on his body.

The young apprentice pounced on him and they began to wrestle fiercely.

The second young master of Naruicao Hall jumped down from the carriage, brandishing his sword, and tried several times to join the battle. However, the two were rolling around so fiercely that he couldn't get a hand in.

Seeing this sudden turn of events, everyone was still stunned. Could it be that Zhang Tang had been given diarrhea by the medicine boy and was taking revenge under the cover of night?

Yu Wanran grabbed the still-dazed Yu Man and his son, one in each arm, and shoved them under the nearest carriage. Just as the three of them crawled under the carriage, a volley of arrows shot out from the darkness, whistling past in an unknown direction!

After a series of chilling screams and the clanging of arrows piercing the carriage, seven or eight of the bewildered bodyguards and coachmen collapsed instantly.

Wu Jian was heartbroken and hid behind a caravan, shouting loudly.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Everyone, don't move rashly, find cover and hide!"

Of the survivors, the bodyguards, with their experience in being attacked, knew to find cover and lie down on the ground. But the coachmen were different; they scurried around like headless flies, and two of them were shot down by a hail of arrows flying from the shadows.

Yu Man and his son huddled close to Yu Wanran under the car, trembling all over, almost scared to death!

This is the first time in my life I've witnessed such a breathtaking scene.

The air was thick with the stench of blood. The wounded, not fatally injured, cried out and groaned in anguish. The despair was like death wielding its scythe; a dark gloom hung overhead, suffocating everyone.

If Yu Wanran hadn't reacted quickly and pushed them out of the carriage in time, they probably would have run away like the other drivers.

The enemy is in the shadows, while we are in the light.

How can two human legs outrun an enemy's hidden arrows? The outcome is self-evident.