spoiled brat

Chapter 28 27. Spring Harmony (7)

As she spoke, she pulled the thickest wooden stick from the pile of firewood behind her to defend herself.

"Young lady, have you forgotten the people you've offended?" the bandit leader sneered.

Zhao Zhao's mind went blank. Could these people be Zhao Si's men?

Another bandit pointed at her and said, "It's you who caused our boss to be exiled three thousand miles away!"

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. Zhao Zhao felt a chill in her heart. These people had been following her all the way here to take her life!

The next instant, the four bandits rushed towards Zhao Zhao almost simultaneously, as if to cut her into four pieces.

Zhao Zhao was lucky enough to dodge one knife, and then used the wooden stick in her hand to block another. She rolled on the ground, got up, and ran desperately towards the alley entrance.

The alley entrance was right in front of her... closer, very close... Zhao Zhao foolishly imagined that there must be a main road outside, and that a skilled night watchman would happen to appear and, out of kindness, save her life...

With a snap, Zhao Zhao's legs suddenly went weak. She struggled to get up, but found that her legs had been numbed and she could no longer move, like a fish waiting to be slaughtered on a chopping board.

Seeing Zhao Zhao fall, the four bandits didn't bother to chase after her anymore. They strolled along leisurely, each step mocking her wasted efforts.

Sizzle... sizzle... that's the sound of a blade cutting through the ground.

Give me a good time.

Zhao Zhao prayed silently.

She thought she was not afraid of death, but in the end, she couldn't stop trembling.

Give me a quick death!

She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and awaited death, but the sound of the blade slicing through the ground stopped.

A gust of wind came from behind, and Zhao Zhao smelled a faint, cool scent of sandalwood.

Zhao Zhao raised her head and saw a dozen or so fully armored soldiers walking in the darkness not far away, as silent as iron and as upright as pine trees. Among them was a carriage with a seven-jeweled roof. The luminous pearl on the carriage roof shone with a cold and eerie light under the moonlight, making the world seem cold and desolate.

With her legs numbed but her hands still mobile, Zhao Zhao saw a glimmer of hope and, disregarding her disheveled state, mustered all her strength to crawl towards the carriage, shouting:
"Help! Help me, benefactor!"

Before she could even get close, guards surrounded Zhao Zhao, held knives to her neck, and said in a cold voice, "Who dares to offend us?!"

At the same time, the four bandits chasing Zhao Zhao were also subdued, their knives and clubs confiscated, their arms tied, and they were thrown around Zhao Zhao like sacks.

A soldier said to the captain, "Sir, these four men were chasing and killing her just now."

The four bandits, who had been like ferocious tigers and wolves just moments before, were now as timid and cowardly as gentle rabbits, trembling as they said:
"Sir...I'm innocent...She owes us some money, we were just trying to scare her..."

This is a matter for the government, and in principle, it's not their responsibility.

The soldier frowned and shouted towards the direction of the carriage:

"Why bother? Come and take a look!"

Without any response, a magnificent horse with a gleaming coat emerged from behind the luxurious carriage, carrying a person on its back, and walked steadily to the crowd.

A drunken, handsome young man swayed off his horse. He was about seventeen or eighteen years old. The scalpel at his waist was thin and long, and with each step, the silver beads in the blade made a soft, clear sound.

He walked unsteadily to Zhaozhao and asked lazily:
"Little girl, were you the one who was calling for help just now?"

Zhao Zhao nodded: "Yes."

He raised a finger to rub the corner of his eye and said casually, "It's so jarring, it's disturbing my sleep."

After saying that, he glanced at the four bandits again and said casually, "This matter is not our concern. Let the government handle it."

Normally, Zhao Zhao wouldn't be afraid to go to the government office, but she had to go to Jishetang to get medicine after dawn, and then rush back to Qingyang County after getting the medicine, so she couldn't afford to waste any time.

Seeing that He Bi was about to leave, Zhao Zhao called out to him:

"I am from the Prince Ning's residence."

Why bother glancing back? A smile played in her peach blossom eyes: "Oh?"

Even before the old man with the oxcart reminded her, Zhao Zhao had already realized that Yunzhou City was the fiefdom of Prince Ning. Before setting off, she took the plain jade hairpin that Princess Xiu Ning had given her, just in case.

Zhao Zhao felt guilty that someone's good intentions had been taken advantage of several times, but reality didn't allow her to have any more concerns.

The soldiers holding her down removed their knives, and Zhao Zhao took out a plain jade hairpin that was wrapped in a cloth from her bosom and handed it to He Bi.

He only glanced at it, yet his expression changed drastically; his flushed face turned cold.
"Where did it come from?"

Zhao Zhao replied, "It was given to me by the princess."

He sneered, drew his sword from his waist, grabbed Zhao Zhao's arm, and tapped her slender wrist almost mockingly with the back of the blade.
"Little thief, did you steal it with your left hand or your right hand?"

Zhao Zhao felt a chill in her heart. She was truly unlucky. She had just escaped the bandits when she encountered a mad dog that tried to cut off her hand without saying a word.

Since they could recognize whose things these were at a glance, they must have some connection with the Prince Ning's mansion.

Zhao Zhao bet he wouldn't dare act rashly, and repeated calmly, "It was a gift from the princess."

He Bi's disdain deepened: "How could you, some nobody, possibly have the chance to get close to her?"

He verbally mocked Zhao Zhao, but he himself acted more like a loyal dog protecting its master. Zhao Zhao smiled defiantly.
"She didn't see you off, and you're getting anxious?"

He Bi's peach blossom eyes turned icy cold. He suddenly raised his hand, the knife hesitating as if to fall.

Zhao Zhao couldn't understand what he was angry about. He was such a clean-cut guy, and a casual remark from him had offended him.

The two remained locked in a stalemate when they heard two thuds coming from the carriage behind them.

The sound was extremely crisp, as if a hand wearing a jade thumb ring was gently tapping the edge of the wood.

Hearing this, He Bi sheathed his knife, stuffed the hairpin into Zhao Zhao's hand, and said somewhat impatiently to the soldier leader beside him:
"Throw it to the authorities."

The four bandits, who had been stunned and dared not utter a sound, suddenly cried out and rolled on the ground: "We're innocent... sir, we're innocent!"

Why bother arguing? He mounted his horse and returned to the carriage, but a man rushed up to his horse, shouting that he was innocent.

Why bother with a light laugh: "There are plenty of innocent people in the world."

Having said that, his horse trampled directly over the man, the blood spurting from the man's mouth staining the horse's hooves red, and the man's eyes rolled back as he fainted.

He was about to cut off Zhao Zhao's hand, and then he casually took people's lives. Even someone as audacious as Zhao Zhao felt a chill run down her spine.

Whose people are they, acting so arrogantly and domineeringly?
Several soldiers held ropes, ready to tie Zhao Zhao up with the bandits. Zhao Zhao thought of words to defend herself, but from the alley not far away, Xiao Duo's worried shouts rang out:

"Zhao Zhao'er! Zhao Zhao'er!"

This was followed by inquiries from officers and soldiers:

"Are you sure your sister ran this way? Yunzhou City is perfectly safe, how could there be bandits?"

(End of this chapter)