Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 469: Encountering Bandits (1)
Just like that, five days passed by. Dugu Chen entrusted the affairs of the court to the Prime Minister and a few chief Ministers, while he himself led his wife and the four personal guards, along with five Palace Maids, out of the palace. When they arrived at the gate of Capital City, they saw Xuefei waiting on horseback.
"Greetings to my lord and lady," Xuefei said as he saw the Emperor and Empress’s carriage approaching. He dismounted quickly, rushed to the side of the carriage, and greeted them.
Dugu Chen sat in the carriage, softly uttering a "Hmm" in acknowledgement. Xuan Yue in front was momentarily surprised, but then recalled Baihe in the carriage behind them and no longer showed any astonishment. Flicking the horsewhip, he swiftly led the carriage out of the city.
Qiqi and Yueyue, in the five days, had only passed through one Prefecture Government. Their previous need to hide was replaced by an undisguised openness. Though there were small hardships on the road, it was still a pleasant journey.
"Brother, where will we go next?" Yueyue asked, standing on the street, having exhausted all amusing venues in Zhangzhou Prefecture over two days. She frowned slightly in curiosity.
"We’ve been heading south all along; the next stop is Zhangzhou Prefecture," Qiqi promptly pulled up the map in his head and chose the nearest location to head towards their fief in the south.
"Why are we always heading south?" Yueyue asked, her tiny mind puzzled, looking up at her brother.
"Because our mother’s hometown is in the south, and our uncle’s family is also there," Qiqi explained, as he held his sister’s tender hand and quickened their pace towards the city gate.
Yueyue had an epiphany. Although they had never been back and could only receive their uncle’s gifts, she had never met him. Hearing her brother’s explanation, she nodded vigorously, "Okay, let’s go find uncle."
The two little buns decided on their route and hurried to the city gate, where they hired a horse carriage after haggling over the fare with the carriage owner, then set off for Zhangzhou Prefecture.
As dusk fell, the carriage slowly passed through an area flanked by woods, with Qiqi and Yueyue sticking out a head each to look outside. Yueyue soon grew bored of the view and lay down on her brother’s lap, her eyes fluttering shut as she drifted off to sleep.
Qiqi furrowed his brows tightly, feeling something was amiss. Before he could figure it out, a group of men burst from the woods and surrounded the carriage.
"Heh heh heh, I say Old Li Tou, what kind of lambs have you brought us this time?" said a man of average build with a full beard and a long, prominent scar on his face, speaking in a husky voice.
The carriage driver, Old Li, bowed obsequiously, his face all smiles, "Heh heh, Fire Chieftain, this time I have brought you two plump lambs," with his eyes constantly darting to the back of the carriage.
Even if Qiqi were naive, he now understood that he and his sister had been betrayed by the old man. He woke Yueyue, whispering that they had been spotted by bandits.
Yueyue, still half-asleep, fully awoke upon hearing "bandits", her eyes sharpening as she asked softly, "Really?"
Qiqi nodded, pointing outside. But before Yueyue had time to listen, they saw the carriage curtain poked open with the tip of a knife.
"Wah!" Yueyue’s cry startled the Fire Chieftain who had lifted the curtain.
"Stop screaming, behave yourself," the Fire Chieftain scornfully said as he saw the two children, his frustration evident as he glared at Old Li: "These are the plump lambs you spoke of?" his voice rising sharply.
Old Li glanced at the two kids in the carriage and reassured the Fire Chieftain, "Yes... yes."
"Yes my ass, these little brats, what silver could they carry? Not even worth the time," retorted the Fire Chieftain discontentedly.
"Chieftain, look at the fine silk they’re wearing. They come from rich or noble families. Why don’t we kidnap them and have their families send us silver?" Old Li rolled his eyes suggestively, advising the chieftain.
