My Three Kingdoms is not right

It is more than 20 li outside Xudu City.

A mountain road, not far from the official road, winds northward, flanked by rolling barren hills and scattered withered trees. The setting sun casts a dim yellow hue over the entire dirt road.

The sound of three horses' hooves approached from afar, urgent and muffled, shattering the afternoon silence.

The first man lay prone on his horse, his straw hat pulled low, obscuring his face. His indigo tunic was covered in dust, with glimpses of fine silk fabric peeking out from the collar—clearly, he had rushed too quickly to change properly. His warhorse, foaming at the mouth and panting heavily, had obviously reached its limit.

The two people behind him, one on the left and one on the right, looked nervous and kept looking back, as if they were worried about being chased by someone.

As we approached a fork in the road, there was a simple tea stall by the roadside. A caravan of about twenty people was taking a break, with several wagons parked nearby. The workers were either sitting or standing, drinking tea and chatting, seemingly quite ordinary.

The round-faced woman on the left finally couldn't help but speak up: "Boss, do you want to rest here? The horse can't go on much longer."

The man in front did not answer, but simply slowed his horse down.

The taller girl on the right said, "Xudu is not far away. Let's hang in there and talk about everything once we get into the city."

The leader nodded and urged his horse to speed up, when suddenly a whooshing sound rang out!

An arrow shot out from the direction of the tea stall, so fast that its trajectory was almost invisible.

The man in the lead suddenly stiffened, clutched his stomach, and fell off his horse.

A single arrow was embedded right in his waist and abdomen.

"There's an ambush!"

The two men behind them changed their expressions drastically. Forgetting about their companions, they kicked the horse's belly and tried to escape.

But before the horse could even take a step, the "caravans" on the roadside swarmed forward.

The peddler overturned his stall, revealing a knife hidden underneath; the coachman pulled a spear from under the shaft; and several others held crossbows already strung, arrows pointed directly at the two men.

Everything happened extremely quickly, and the coordination was so perfect that it was as if they had rehearsed it a thousand times.

One woman tried to charge forward, but was blocked by two swords, her horse unable to gain any speed before she was stopped. The other woman turned her horse around to flee, but a crossbow bolt whistled through the air and struck her squarely in the back. Her body stiffened abruptly, she fell from her horse, twitched a few times, and then lay still.

The remaining woman was dragged off the horse, pinned to the ground, and tied tightly with hemp rope. She struggled desperately, her mouth stuffed with rags, and could only make indistinct whimpering sounds.

From the moment the first arrow was fired to the moment the dust settled, the entire process was swift and efficient, taking only a dozen or so breaths.

At the table furthest inside the tea stall, a young girl sat taking a small sip of tea, seemingly oblivious to everything around her.

She wore a slightly worn blue blouse and hemp shoes, yet her beauty was still undeniable.

Her skin was as white as snow, her eyes were clear as water, and her long, rare deep purple hair was tied back with a simple wooden hairpin.

Despite being quite young, she possesses a calm and composed aura.

If Liu Xun were here, he would recognize her at a glance—this is Sun Ce's second sister, Sun Quan.

A young girl dressed in coarse cloth and short brown clothes, dressed as a merchant, quickly walked to the table and bowed respectfully: "Second Miss, thankfully they didn't escape. They schemed and plotted all along the way, detouring through Yingchuan and disguising themselves as silk merchants, but in the end they still fell into our hands."

Sun Quan nodded slightly: "It has been hard work to bestow this honor."

This girl was the daughter of Zhu Zhi, a former subordinate of Sun Yat-sen, and also her close confidant and playmate, Zhu Ran (courtesy name Yifeng).

She got up and slowly walked to the side of the road.

His gaze swept over the enemy, and he coldly gave the order:

"search."

Zhu Ran personally led her men forward, thoroughly searching the three people's bodies, luggage, and even the gaps in the saddles. After a moment, she returned to Sun Quan's side with a grim expression and whispered, "Second Miss, we found nothing."

Sun Quan's emerald eyes narrowed slightly as he walked up to the prisoner whose hands were tied behind her back and ripped the rag out of her mouth.

"Where is Xu Gong's secret letter?"

"Tell me and I'll spare your life."

The man raised his head, his mouth splitting open in a blood-foamy grin, and let out a hoarse laugh: "Scared?"

"You think you're clever, setting up an ambush here. Little do you know, we're just bait. Our leader has already sent a secret message to the Minister of Works' residence."

Sun Quan's face darkened.

"Your Sun family will be buried with us! Hahaha!" The man laughed louder and louder, his eyes wide open, then he suddenly collapsed to the ground, vomiting blood, but he had already bitten off his tongue.

The tea stall was eerily silent.

Zhu Ran's face was ashen. He strode over to the person who had been shot by an arrow and fallen from her horse, barely breathing, and yanked off her straw hat.

Beneath the straw hat was a pale and unfamiliar face.

He was not the leader of the three.

"We've fallen for their trap," Zhu Ran gritted her teeth. "They've found a body double."

She turned to Sun Quan, her eyes filled with anxiety: "Second Miss, I'll go after them right now, I'll risk my life to intercept the letter..."

"It's too late," Sun Quan interrupted her, his voice calm.

Zhu Ran panicked: "What should we do? Xu Gong hates our lord to the bone. The 'evidence' she's secretly collected is all deadly."

"If the court receives those things, even if they don't punish the lord, they will inevitably become suspicious and won't bestow any further titles."

Sun Quan sighed, a hint of weariness flashing in his azure eyes.

"My elder sister needs a title from the imperial court in order to rightfully rule Jiangdong and suppress those powerful clans."

"Even if there's only a sliver of a chance, we should still give it a try."

She patted Zhu Ran on the shoulder and looked around. "Get ready to go into the city. We're going to find Her Highness the Princess."

Zhu Ran's eyes lit up: "Is she that lord's sworn sister? Can she be of help?"

"I don't know." Sun Quan shook his head. "It's probably difficult for a man like him to have a say in such matters of state. But now that things have come to this, we can only give it a try."

……

After cleaning up the scene and erasing all traces of the fight, the group quickly changed back into their Han army uniforms and headed towards the gates of Xudu along the official road.

In the twilight, the towering South Gate Tower of Xudu resembled a silent behemoth, bathed in a golden glow by the setting sun.

The guards on the gate tower spotted them early on and went up to question them.

As envoys making a public audience in Luoyang, Sun Quan and his party had already presented their official documents along the way.

However, as the capital, Xuchang was not exempt from conducting a thorough inspection of this group of envoys from other prefectures.

"Second Miss," Zhu Ran lowered her voice, "the court received Xu Gong's secret letter; they won't arrest us, will they?"

Sun Quan pursed his lips and did not answer.

Just then, a general with almond-shaped eyes and a brisk walk, accompanied by several personal guards, approached.

"Which one is from the Sun family?" the girl asked loudly, her gaze sweeping over them.

Sun Quan and Zhu Ran exchanged a glance, then Sun Quan stepped forward and bowed slightly, saying, "I am Sun Quan, a subordinate of Sun Ce, the Prefect of Kuaiji. I have been ordered to come to court to pay my respects to Your Majesty."

"Sun Quan?" The general tilted his head and thought for a moment. "Do you know that little girl, Sun Shangxiang?"