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

Xiao Chun smiled and said, "Actually, the first few days don't count."

The previous few days were spent announcing the existence of his cavalry force and giving a warning to the various garrisons, preventing them from sending troops, or at least delaying the process and causing the garrisons to protest over pay, thus making it difficult for the court to make a decision.

In the following days, things started to get a bit like what the other party had said.

There was nothing he could do. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was making such a big fuss, shouting for him to jump, but he only found it strange and funny, and didn't care about it at all.

It was that inexplicably appearing "Demon Ning" that he found somewhat interesting.

This man seems to have some fighting skills because he's a local bully. He plotted to kill Li Liang and the other two. Oh, and it seems he also married the young lady's maid... This piece of information is a bit vague, but not very important.

Most importantly, this person was clever and cooked a few delicious meals for the young lady, which made her valued and taken on as a close associate... This is not surprising, nobles are just that strange.

After the other party treated Wang Fu to a meal, he asked Wang Fu, "Is the food really that delicious?"

Wang Fu nodded and described it.

Hmm, that made him want to try it too...

In short, the other party fulfilled the young lady's wishes and could greatly influence the decisions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, thus playing the role of an advisor.

This man adopted a tortoise tactic. These days, he has been building a tortoise shell in the back mountain, waiting for him to infiltrate Li Family Village and then fight to the death with the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Beijing Garrison. He took the young lady and the villagers to hide in that tortoise shell... Ha, this is really... terrifyingly naive.

However, should we say it was a twist of fate, or an unexpected success?

The construction of that tortoise shell delayed Qin Yuanyao's plans to bring the young lady back to the capital.

"According to my plan, Commander Qin should have made a decision to return to the capital in three to five days at the shortest, but I never expected that Commander Qin would hold out for a few more days... He is truly remarkable, and I admire him." Xiao Chun cupped his hands and smiled.

Qin Yuanyao remained expressionless.

Ah, he caught the sarcasm... Xiao Chun chuckled and said, "I truly believe that your esteemed Commandant's Mansion at least has very good opera performances."

A slight smile played on his lips as he glanced at the three carriages.

That cook… um… uh… that staff member?

He might secretly take the young lady and hide her in that turtle shell out of resentment.

But none of that matters; he always has a backup plan.

Half of the manpower has already been sent to slaughter Li Family Village.

The entire Li family village will be wiped out. Without the Imperial Guards, the Li family village will be easy to slaughter.

That turtle shell will be smashed... Oh, maybe the young lady is inside, there's some defense there.

But the other side dug their own way out, building their village in a valley... So just burn down that valley.

If the young lady were in the carriage, that would be even better; it would save a lot of trouble.

At this moment, a hoarse female voice came from the previously calm second carriage: "Mr. Xiao, if I am willing to go with you... would you be willing to let everyone here leave?" The woman's voice was dry, hoarse, and trembling weakly, as if she was frightened or still injured.

Brush brush!

Before Xiao Chun could reply, the Imperial Guards drew their side-mounted swords, their blades gleaming and reflecting streaks of white light in the canyon.

"Miss, please don't make such a plan!" a man growled through gritted teeth, his eyes bloodshot.

Xiao Chun didn't mind and smiled, saying, "Don't worry, Miss. Last time, it was that servant who acted recklessly and hurt you. Fortunately, good people are always blessed, and you are unharmed. This time, I, Xiao, am here in person, and I can assure you that this will never happen again. As long as you are willing to visit my humble abode, I will definitely spare the lives of everyone present."

Strong winds swept across the long canyon road, squeezing against the cliffs on both sides and emitting mournful howls.

After a long silence of dozens of breaths, a voice came again from the second carriage: "In that case, I will trust Mr. Xiao this once... Guards, put down your knives."

"Miss!"

"Miss!!"

A series of exclamations rang out as everyone looked anxiously at the carriage.

"Put it down!" the woman inside the carriage shouted.

A hundred riders, their long spears like a forest; flesh and blood are meaningless before such iron cavalry.

Xiao Chun understood, Qin Yuanyao understood, and the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) understood even more.

After struggling for a long time, Qin Yuanyao glared at Qi Qiao with hatred, then waved her hand and said, "Discard your swords!" The commander also spoke, so everyone had no choice but to discard their swords and throw their last weapon... their waist knives on the ground.

"Mr. Xiao," the woman's voice continued from the second carriage, "I would be grateful if you could come and help me get off the carriage."

Xiao Chun stared at the second carriage, chin raised, his eyes shifting slightly, but in the end, they turned into a mixture of admiration and amusement... Interesting.

"It's only natural."

Despite saying that, Xiao Chun simply waved his hand.

Two riders stepped out from the crowd beside him, brandishing long spears and approaching the carriage.

The two men had upturned eyes and arrogant expressions.

The Imperial Guards gritted their teeth, but being unarmed, they could only turn their horses to make way for the two riders.

The two chuckled.

A cornered beast will fight back, which is a joke; a cornered beast will not fight back, which is an even bigger joke.

They were initially a little nervous, worried that some Imperial Guards might be unwilling to give up and would rush up to strangle them, trading one life for another.

But as they got closer to the second carriage...

The two of them became more and more relaxed... The Embroidered Uniform Guard? Ha, a bunch of bird eggs.

The spear approached the carriage, and when it was less than two zhang away, some low voices suddenly came from inside the carriage, which was covered by curtains.

"No... Xiao Chun... is cool..."

The two men frowned. What was going on? Did the young lady throw a tantrum and refuse to get out of the car because it wasn't Xiao Er Dangjia (Second Master Xiao) who came to greet her, but the old man?

And... there was someone else inside the car. Who? A man? A eunuch?

Just a few feet from the carriage curtains, a voice came clearly from inside, "You're getting all cool, aren't you? What about me?"

"Heh...you've been a leading lady for so many days now..."

"Grass."

The two riders frowned, somewhat puzzled by what they were saying.

"Those inside, get off the bus!"

The rough man had no concept of tenderness or chivalry. He shouted something impolitely into the carriage, and the rider on the left stretched out his spear, intending to use the tip of the spear to lift the carriage curtain and drive all the ladies, eunuchs, and whatever else was inside off the carriage.

The left rider extended the tip of his spear, and as the gleaming blade touched the curtain, a whistling sound filled the air, and a point of white light suddenly pierced out from the carriage!

In Zuo Qi's vision, the white light was first a point, and then, in an instant, it suddenly turned into a spinning spear tip!

His pupils suddenly contracted.

Realizing what it was, he strained his arm, intending to parry with his gun, but it was too late. His throat tightened, and the tip of the gun was already deeply embedded in his throat.

As the stench of blood filled the air, another rider reacted. Driven by the instinct of years of killing, he thrust out his spear and placed the tip against the neck of the figure who had suddenly emerged from inside the carriage.

"Move or die!" The right cavalryman showed no panic at the thought of his fallen comrade on the left; his spear stood straight, and his voice was calm.

He stared at the figure that was trying to break out of the carriage.

Her hair was styled in a cloud-like bun, she wore a light purple dress, her face was covered by a veil, and her figure was slender and graceful; she appeared to be a delicate woman.

But the eyes that swept towards him were like those of a tiger!

The opponent's large hands were now gripping a spear like tiger claws, with blood dripping from his companion's throat onto the spear tip.

"Hmph." The Right Cavalryman sneered, "So it was someone else entirely..."

Before the word "eunuch" could be uttered, another sigh came from inside the carriage.

The rider on the right paused, "Hmm? There are still people inside?"

At that moment, a long, black, tube-like object emerged from the carriage and rested on the man dressed as a woman's shoulder...

Ning Nan, who originally wanted to make a grand entrance, couldn't even show his face at this moment... so he sighed.

With a snap, he lit the fuse.

The hissing sound of burning filled the air, and the smell of gunpowder wafted out of the carriage.

He turned sideways and saw the cavalryman in front of him through the gap in the curtain... Xiao Chun, you really aren't that stupid, you didn't come over... Hmm, great job, I give you a thumbs up.

Using the broad shoulders of the woman's clothing as a cover, the gun barrel rested on his shoulder, aiming along the gap in the gun barrel.

The cavalryman's spear tip was pressed against Xiuxiu's neck... Hmm, it's alright, there's still about an inch left. When someone is shot, they fall backward, it's fine, it won't kill Xiuxiu.

The fuse burned, and I silently counted a few times. The smell of gunpowder filled my nostrils, making them itch.

Bang!

The gunpowder was ignited.

Before the rider on the right outside could even change his expression, a few words might have flashed through his mind: musket, firearm, and the like.

But at the very moment the gun fired.

The right rider's head had already exploded into pieces like watermelon slices, with juice splattered all over the ground.