After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Xiao Chun was wearing Liang army black armor and riding a tall, dark horse.

With its head held high and eyes gleaming, the horse seemed to regard its master as someone who could rival the mighty Overlord or fight against Lu Bu.

With such a master, it can carve out a bloody path and a path to fame for the horse amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood!

The magnificent horse, with the proud demeanor of a world-renowned steed, proudly raised its hooves and strode forward.

Xiao Chun, on horseback, held a long spear, his posture as upright as a pine tree, his voice as gentle as jade. Compared to the bandits, he seemed more like a young, scholarly general skilled in both literature and martial arts.

Qin Yuanyao's breathing became rapid, her lips turned bloodless, and her eyes subconsciously looked towards the old captain named Qi Qiao beside her.

In my imagination, the other person's eyes should have been filled with confusion, shock, and lingering fear.

After all, the other party was in charge of Hangezhuang, but Chen Mu, who was stationed in Hangezhuang, rebelled right under their noses. Such a blunder was almost a capital offense within the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

But what startled her was that as her gaze shifted, the other person's gaze also turned towards her. What she met was not a look of confusion or pain, but a pair of scrutinizing eyes.

Qi Qiao, the old captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was examining himself with a pair of slightly gray, cloudy old eyes.

"Qi Qiao," Qin Yuanyao's eyes changed, she turned her horse around and demanded sharply, "What's going on with Chen Mu? Are these people actually from the Beijing Garrison?!"

The secret letter sent to Hangezhuang last night was first given to Qi Qiao by someone, and then Qi Qiao handed it over to Chen Mu.

The ill-fitting armor, the disappearance of the four sentries, the sudden and unexpected events at Hangezhuang... all these questions were answered at this moment.

The answer was so brutal, like a blow to the head, that Qin Yuanyao felt a sudden shock.

Qi Qiao's wrinkles seemed to have deepened at this moment.

He gave a soft "shh," kicked the horse's belly with his heel, and the yellow horse beneath him immediately spurred forward, galloping towards Xiao Chun.

After a dozen or so breaths of clattering hooves, Qi Qiao ran up behind Xiao Chun. The old man whispered to the young scholar-general, "There's something fishy going on, but not much."

Whether there's something fishy going on or not... it's all the same.

"Heh." Xiao Chun smiled nonchalantly.

On the long road of Shili Gorge, which resembles a canyon, the atmosphere suddenly changed in that instant, from the previous steady and serious demeanor to a menacing and murderous aura.

The Imperial Guards were originally positioned in the middle of the formation, with armored cavalry in front and behind them, a position that should have been very safe.

But when the dozens of cavalrymen in front suddenly turned their horses around and pointed their spears at themselves, everyone's faces turned ashen.

If the cavalry in front were like this, it goes without saying that the cavalry behind them were also aiming their spears at them.

The sense of security that had just been there turned around and revealed its true face: a terrifying, ferocious, and bloodied face suddenly appeared before my eyes.

The horses beneath the Imperial Guards, along with their masters, neighed and screamed in terror at the sight of that face. The riders looked at each other, tightening their reins, their eyes filled with confusion and doubt. But soon, this confusion and doubt turned into growing panic and even fear.

Qin Yuanyao raised her arm.

Years of training have not been in vain. After the female commander raised her hand, everyone gritted their teeth, controlled their bodies, and someone shouted, "Change formation!" The Imperial Guards turned their horses around, splitting up to face the cavalry in front and behind.

Seeing more than thirty plain-clothed Imperial Guards change formation and shout in a serious manner.

A hint of mockery appeared in General Chen Mu's eyes as he slashed his long spear across the ground with a sound that made one's teeth ache, sparks flying everywhere.

The cavalry on both sides let out a disdainful sneer.

Armored cavalry can easily slaughter infantry or unarmored cavalry.

On a plain, these thirty-odd people might have been able to escape by taking advantage of the terrain, since the weight of the armor could affect the speed of the horses. The other side could have carried the young lady on their horse and used her as cover to escape from the plain or mountain roads.

But this female commander, Qin Yuanyao, seemed to have lost her mind. She actually stopped the troops in a place like Shili Gorge and openly questioned General Chen's loyalty. She was truly courting death.

In such a terrain, even if you are disloyal, what can you do about it?!

"Xiao Chun—" Qin Yuanyao almost drew blood from between her teeth.

"Where did you get your armor and fine horse?!"

Despite a myriad of questions surging through her mind, Qin Yuanyao suppressed her emotions and asked the most crucial question.

Chen Mu's official document and gold talisman were genuine, but she didn't believe he had the ability to incite a hundred soldiers from the Beijing garrison to rebel!

Among these hundred men, there might be a few or a dozen of Chen Mu's confidants, but they certainly wouldn't all be soldiers from the Beijing garrison.

When Xiao Chun reappeared, it confirmed that most of the hundred people were indeed bandits from Black Tiger Mountain.

The female commander narrowed her eyes. More than Xiao Chun and Chen Mu themselves, she was more concerned about where the other party had gotten these hundred sets of armor.

Under the Daliang Garrison system, the logistics of armor and armor were the responsibility of the Five Military Commands. It would have been impossible for more than a hundred sets of elite armor to be lost without the cooperation of an official at the level of Vice Commander-in-Chief.

If officials at this level were to have problems… Qin Yuanyao's heart sank to the bottom. Which nobleman in the capital dared to plot a rebellion at this critical juncture?!

Faced with a barrage of questions from the female commander.

Xiao Chun did not answer, but looked at the carriage in the middle with some surprise.

Chen Mu raised his long spear, his face as stern as Guan Yu incarnate: "Commander Qin, I have no intention of wasting words with you. Please get out of the carriage, Miss, and I will spare your lives."

Qin Yuanyao sneered, "Chen Mu, how could you stoop so low as to be a dog for bandits?" She pointed at Xiao Chun.

Chen Mu snorted coldly, and upon hearing this, he stopped talking nonsense. He raised his hand, and instantly, all one hundred riders in front and behind him tucked their spears under their arms and prepared to charge.

A chill swept through the long canyon road.

Qin Yuanyao's pupils suddenly contracted.

Regardless of whether these hundred riders were from the Beijing garrison or mountain bandits, their armor, horses, and weapons were all genuine.

The old captain Qi Qiao frowned: "General Chen, don't be hasty. It's easy to draw a knife, but difficult to retract it. If the horse tramples it, the young lady will surely die, and then all our previous efforts will have been in vain."

Chen Mu snorted.

Xiao Chun waved his hand and made a gesture, and the hundred riders finally stopped and put down their spears.

Xiao Chun smiled at Qin Yuanyao and said, "Commander Qin, these armors are all made of paper, just for show. You don't need to worry about them, Commander."

He stroked the head of the black horse beneath him: "Horses are domesticated, not warhorses. They go berserk at the sight of blood."

At this point, their lives were in his hands, yet the other party remained tight-lipped... Qin Yuanyao gripped the reins tightly, ignoring the nonsense spouted by the scholar-general before her.

A few days ago, Xiao Chun's troublesome nature was only mentioned in various fragmented pieces of information.

Using this intelligence, she pieced together the image of a powerful, failed bandit and decided to prioritize the safety of His Highness, halt all operations, and return to the capital immediately... But unexpectedly, returning to the capital led her into the enemy's trap.

He had been on high alert against the bandits, never underestimating them, but rather taking them very seriously.

But unexpectedly, it was through these actions that they fell into the other party's trap.

"Everything you've done these past few days has been aimed at forcing us to return to the capital?!" Qin Yuanyao said in an icy voice.

Massacre of Pangjiazhuang, plunder of merchants, harassment of villages, arson of mountains, attack on Hangezhuang... step by step, he created a tense atmosphere around him, with the aim of forcing him to bring Prince Xin out without attacking Lijiacun.

I initially thought it was bait, but the other party had no choice but to fall for it.

But to her surprise, the other party's methods were so sophisticated... Qin Yuanyao's breathing became somewhat labored.