Hearing Yi Qing say this, everyone was so frightened that they immediately knelt down.
"Madam Xiao, please calm down. I just thought that it has been rather unstable in southern Fujian recently, so we should be more cautious," said the captain of the soldiers, with sweat starting to bead on his forehead.
Wu Min flung her sleeve, and a spider landed on the captain's face. "Speak," she ordered.
The captain gasped when he saw it was a venomous spider and immediately fainted from fright.
Wu Min didn't expect the people of the Great Jin to be so afraid of spiders. Disappointedly, she retrieved the spider.
Yi Qing felt that they would surely have to force their way through today. Qiao Ye had arranged for people here to humiliate them just to provoke them into doing so. Then, he could use this as an excuse to shirk responsibility for whatever happened later.
This Qiao Ye was really beneath contempt, only capable of doing such underhanded things.
Yi Qing, with the title of a first - rank imperial - conferred noblewoman, wasn't afraid of these people.
"I won't make things difficult for you. Step aside!" Yi Qing shouted.
Everyone looked at each other and then had no choice but to give way.
Wu Min didn't expect Yi Qing to be so overbearing. Yet, she had endured so much for Xiao Jinghan for such a long time.
After everyone passed the checkpoint, Lu Tianxun spurred his horse and caught up with Yi Qing's carriage. "If you force your way through the checkpoint like this, once Qiao Ye impeaches you, you'll be unable to defend yourself."
"It depends on the emperor's attitude," Yi Qing said indifferently. What she was really worried about now was how to pass through southern Fujian safely.
After passing the border checkpoint, there was no one to stop them. They had been traveling for two days but still hadn't left the mountains of southern Fujian.
At dusk, they set up camp. Yi Qing kept looking at the forest ahead.
"What are you looking at?" Wu Min looked but saw nothing.
"An ambush," Yi Qing sighed. What was bound to come had finally come.
"You can even tell that?" Wu Min saw nothing at all.
"At this time, tired birds should be returning to their nests, but those birds are circling without landing. It seems there are quite a few people."
Only then did Wu Min notice the circling birds. "Then what should we do?"
Yi Qing was also thinking about this question. They didn't know if they could defeat the enemy. The key was Xiao Jinghan. "Lure the enemy into a trap and catch them all," she said and then went to discuss it with Lu Tianxun.
She felt that this was just the beginning. Under predictable circumstances, they must preserve their strength. Even if they asked the imperial court's people to come and pick them up, they still had to pass through southern Fujian. So, they had to rely on themselves.
At night, the campfire was lit. The soldiers from the southern border took turns keeping watch. Suddenly, there was a whistling sound in the air, and countless arrows shot over, followed by the sound of fighting.
"Japanese pirates," Yi Qing hid behind a rock on one side.
Taking advantage of the night, she had already transferred Xiao Jinghan out of the tent. There were also the gu worms set up by Wu Min there. Once the enemy appeared, they would never return.
"Japanese pirates?" Wu Min was surprised. "Did you offend them?"
Yi Qing looked at Wu Min like she was an idiot. "The Japanese pirates in the Great Jin and the southern border either rob or steal. Do we need to offend them?"
Wu Min had only heard of the Japanese pirates and knew their nature. "You've just arrived in the Great Jin. Those Japanese pirates couldn't have been waiting for you here. Besides, you said they only rob and steal. What do we have worth robbing?"
"You're right. Unless it's beneficial for them," Yi Qing snorted.
Before they arrived in southern Fujian, Marquis of Chu Nan had mentioned the matter of the Japanese pirates roaming around. When they arrived in southern Fujian, something sudden happened and they went directly to the southern border. They didn't expect to encounter the Japanese pirates on their way back.
Yi Qing and the others knew very little about southern Fujian. It was adjacent to the sea and full of mountains. The terrain was very complex. There were very few suitable places for people to live, but it was very suitable for these bandits to hide.
The Japanese pirates there also realized they had walked into an ambush and were struggling to resist.
"Can your gu worms track?" Yi Qing looked at those people.
"A piece of cake," Wu Min said, indicating that Yi Qing was insulting her ability.
"Let three people go later and track them."
Lu Tianxun led the guards from the southern border and quickly killed the Japanese pirates. According to Yi Qing's instructions, they let three people go, and then sent the secret guards to follow them.
"How about it?" Wu Min looked at Yi Qing proudly.
"Not bad," Yi Qing looked around at the corpses of those people. They were able to win so quickly thanks to Wu Min's gu worms.
Yi Qing went to check on the injured people herself. After all, the road ahead wouldn't be peaceful either. She could only rely on these people.
Lu Tianxun sat by the campfire and analyzed this matter.
He had heard a little about Qiao Ye. He was from the Qiao family in southern Fujian, and his influence in the local area was intricate. The fact that he dared to send the King of Zhen to the capital back then showed how fearless he was in southern Fujian. Even the emperor was a bit wary of him.
But he just couldn't figure out why Qiao Ye wanted to attack Xiao Jinghan.
Xiao Jinghan had no intersection with Qiao Ye, and there was no conflict of interest between them. Xiao Jinghan just passed through southern Fujian on his way to the southern border. There couldn't have been any contradictions after they met.
Moreover, once the attempt to kill Xiao Jinghan failed, whether there was evidence or not, the emperor would never let Qiao Ye off. Why did he do this?
Over there, Yi Qing had finished treating the wounded. She washed her hands and came over to sit opposite Lu Tianxun.
"What do you think of the Japanese pirates' martial arts after fighting them today?" Yi Qing asked.
"Their movements were a bit strange. Their martial arts were just average," Lu Tianxun stirred the fire to make it burn more vigorously. "If Qiao Ye is really the mastermind behind this, why does he want to kill you?"
"This matter is rather complicated," Yi Qing had thought of this possibility before she came back. "Do you know about the matter of the Ruyi Cake being sold in the capital?"
Lu Tianxun nodded slightly. "I've heard a little. Could this Ruyi Cake be related to Qiao Ye?"
"If I'm not wrong, the Ruyi Cake is planted and brewed by Xiang Beizheng in the southern border, then transported to the capital by the Ping family's merchant team. Along the way, the Qiao family and the Chen family of Marquis of Chu Nan are also involved. Finally, it's led by the Grand Princess in the capital."
"What?" Lu Tianxun was a bit shocked. "If that's really the case, then..."
"Previously, I didn't expect it to be so serious. Moreover, there has been a feud between the General's Mansion and Ping Xinian. We were assassinated on our way here. After we arrived in southern Fujian and Qiao Ye arranged accommodation for us, Ping Xinian visited us immediately."
Lu Tianxun understood what was going on. "How about we split up? We'll go on the main road as a cover, and you and General Xiao will be secretly escorted back by the secret guards."
Yi Qing shook her head. "Xiao Jinghan and I have to use a carriage now and can only take the official road. Ping Xinian is a very meticulous person. This method won't work at all. Otherwise, we'll be defeated due to the dispersion of our strength."
Lu Tianxun thought for a while and nodded. "It seems they've been prepared for a long time."
"So you have to be prepared. Since they dared to make a move like this, they're ready to fight to the death. Maybe Qiao Ye doesn't have this intention, but Ping Xinian can't wait any longer," Yi Qing said with a deep look in her eyes.
Ping Xinian was dressed in tight - fitting clothes and looking at the map in front of him. This was the only way out of southern Fujian from the southern border. Xiao Jinghan was in a coma now. No matter what method they used, they would surely take this road.
If he didn't take this road, he would be trapped in southern Fujian. If he took this road, it would be a dead end. Ping Xinian was already prepared to die with them.