Under the Bamboo Parasol

After driving the carriage nonstop for an hour, there was a crowd of people up in front blocking the road, so that no carriages could pass through. They had surrounded a person who was sprawled out on the ground, the person seemed to have fainted or died.

The carriage came to a slow stop.

"Ru An, what is the matter?" Madam Lin's serene voice came from inside the carriage.

"Nothing madam, there is some trouble up ahead." Ru An answered.

"Make a detour." Madam Lin ordered.

Ru An complied, with a tug on the reins, the horses moved swiftly on towards the southern gates, which were wide open and without a soldier guarding it at this time of day, because there were other carriages behind it, it could only move forward, and in front of it, there were people who seemed to be farmers, dragging their ox-drawn wagons that were filled with straw along.

Ru An's eyes glanced over the straw-covered wagons in weariness. As she went along with them, not because she wanted to, but because she had no choice, as one of the many carriages that were sandwiched within this hoard of merchants and farmers.

There was a feeling of uneasiness that rose from within her heart. After the many years of training, her deep-rooted instinct to survive had been activated once more, after it laid dormant within her for so long since she had been working in the manor.

Within the carriage, she could hear Madam Lin humming an eerie, yet beautiful tune.

"Hm hm hmm hm hmm…" It gave a feeling of a soft white dove flying above the mountain range all the scenery flying by at a gliding sight. This beautiful bird could feel the cool wind blow upon its pure white feathers, all of a sudden a stray arrow came out of nowhere and pierced through its body, dyeing its feathers a bloody crimson color.

Ru An heard the tune and felt as if the surrounding atmosphere had gotten colder by a lot. She wondered why madam would be humming this tune out of nowhere, but knew that it was not her place to ask.

Her grip tightened around the reins, as she urged the horses forward.

"I wonder who the target will be." The voice inside the carriage said. Madam Lin did not believe that anyone would notice her as she moved around the capital. She was certain that the road blockage in the city was staged, to make sure the carriages went out of the safety and protection of the city, and onto this rural and desolated road for a detour.

"Shall I find a way out?" Ru An quietly whispered.

"En." Madam lin said.

Ru An accepted the order, and quickly set her plan. The carriage was moving at a slow pace, along with the others around it. She secretly launched a pebble towards the hind legs of the horse.

The horse that was leading the carriage suddenly buckled under its weight and collapsed, neighing loudly and attracting the attention of everyone traveling.

Everyone turned around to see the horse had fallen in an awkward position and the young girl who was driving the carriage jumping off to tend to the fallen horse immediately.

The carriages behind her had no choice but go around her. There were a lot of stares with murderous intent directed towards her, yet she decided to ignore them, and tend to the horse that fell down in front of the carriage.

A person dressed in farmers clothes silently watched the girl, his hand was reaching under the straw to grab something, yet he was stopped by a person next to him. When he saw that person shake his head, he could only abandon that thought and retract his hand, as he urged the oxen foward.

It was only when Ru An felt the murderous intent stop that she silently let out a breath, and pull her hand away from her wrist.

"At least we weren't the target." Madam Lin said with a shrug as the caravan passed.

Ru An had already taken good care of the horses. They weren't hurt in any way, they had been long trained to do such a stunt when they were tapped in the right place. They would be able to easily get up once they were once again tapped in the correct place.

"Does madam want to head back?"

"No, I want to see what they intend to do with such a large group of people." Madam Lin and Ru An was wondering the same thing. A group of people that size surely wasn't sufficient enough to deal with them, yet based on the size, it was definitely to deal with a person with high status.

Ru An nodded and allowed the carriage to trail behind the hoard at a distance.