Xu Qinghuan's finger traced across the sheepskin map, finally stopping at a narrow strip of land marked with dense contour lines.
Xu Wuyou followed her fair finger with his eyes, his brows knitting into a tight knot.
"Little sister, this path is impassable." Xu Wuyou's rough finger tapped on the location of the Yanshan Trail. "The Yanshan Trail is flanked by steep, sheer cliffs on both sides, with a narrow passage in the middle that is less than two zhang wide."
"In this place, let alone four hundred death squad assassins, even if just forty men ambushed us from above by throwing rocks and rolling logs down, our thirty large carriages would be completely wiped out in there, without even the room to turn around and retreat."
Xu Wuyou's voice grew more urgent as he spoke. He was a straightforward man, and in his eyes, such an obviously suicidal terrain should not even be considered.
Xu Qinghuan did not reply. She simply rolled up the map and casually tossed it into a wooden box in the corner of the carriage.
She silently criticized in her heart: The minds of these ancient military generals were simply too straightforward. Since those old foxes of the Wang family had spent a fortune to hire assassins, how could they not have thoroughly investigated the terrain from the capital to the northern border? If they wanted to kill someone, they would naturally choose a foolproof location.
She pulled her bright red cloak closer around herself and turned to look at Li Sheng, who was standing by the carriage shafts.
"Li Sheng."
"Your subordinate is here."
"Take two clever brothers and the tally of the Earl Chengyi estate, and go to the Changting post station outside the north gate, as well as the horse fodder yard at Shilibao." Xu Qinghuan spoke very quickly. "Tell the shopkeepers that our convoy will be taking the official road through the Juyong Pass. The journey is long, so buy up all the forage and black beans at three times the market price."
"You must make a big commotion. It would be best to let all the merchants in the northern suburbs know that Commandery Princess Ci'an of the Earl Chengyi estate is making grand preparations to travel to the northern border via the main official road."
Li Sheng paused for a moment, not daring to ask too many questions, and cupped his fists in compliance.
"Also," Xu Qinghuan called him back, pulling out a customs clearance document stamped with the bright red seal of the Ministry of Revenue from her sleeve pocket and handing it out through the carriage window. "Take this and go to the City Gate Office to process the travel documents for crossing the Juyong Pass. If you encounter any questioning, say that we are carrying valuable military supplies and must take the official road."
"If anyone dares to stop you, bring up the name of the Emperor's Sword to intimidate them."
Li Sheng received the document with both hands, mounted his horse, and rode off with two men, cracking his whip. The sound of horse hooves gradually faded away on the early morning street.
Standing outside the carriage window, Xu Wuyou watched Li Sheng's departing figure, the confusion on his face growing heavier.
He gripped the window frame with both hands and lowered his voice. "Little sister, what kind of play are you putting on? Those four hundred assassins of the Wang family are already worried about not being able to find our whereabouts, yet here you are, directly sending someone to beat gongs and drums to tell them we are taking the official road. Isn't this leading the wolf into the sheepfold?"
Xu Wuyou rubbed his hands together anxiously. "Although the official road is spacious, if we truly clash head-on with four hundred suicidal assassins, they could drown us with just one spit each. You just said the Yanshan Trail is impassable, and now you have leaked all our movements to the official road. Which path are we actually taking?"
Xu Qinghuan leaned against the soft cushions of the carriage, playing with a copper coin in her hand. The coin flipped between her fingers, emitting a faint metallic clinking sound.
"Big brother, do you really think those remnants of the Wang family are brainless brutes?" She slapped the copper coin onto the small table. "The Wang family has been entrenched in Jiangning for a century, with deep roots. They know better than anyone how our Xu family forced them into a dead end step by step in Jiangning."
"In their eyes, your sister is a deeply scheming, venomous woman who would use any means necessary to achieve her goals."
When Xu Qinghuan said the words "venomous woman," there was not a hint of anger in her tone, but rather a sense of natural acceptance.
This was exactly the reputation she wanted. The worse her reputation, the easier it was for those self-proclaimed clever political enemies to outsmart themselves.
"Since they believe my actions are treacherous, sinister, and cunning," Xu Qinghuan looked up at Xu Wuyou, "then do you think a sinister and cunning person would make a big show of telling the whole world that I am taking the official road?"
Xu Wuyou was stunned. His mind turned a couple of corners before he spoke somewhat hesitantly, "You mean... they will think you are making a feint to the east while attacking in the west?"
"Exactly." Xu Qinghuan picked up the teacup beside her, which had already gone completely cold, and took a sip. "The more high-profile I am in purchasing supplies for the official road, and the more I make it known to everyone that I am processing the travel documents, the more the leading assassin of the Wang family will think this is a decoy."
"He will probably think that I am deliberately drawing their attention to the official road, while in reality, it is to cover the convoy slipping away through a small path."
Xu Qinghuan set down the teacup, the porcelain striking the wooden table with a crisp sound.
"Within a hundred miles before the Juyong Pass, there is only one small path that can bypass the official road."
Xu Wuyou gasped and blurted out, "The Yanshan Trail!"
"Yes." Xu Qinghuan adjusted her cuffs. "They will ambush their four hundred main forces on the cliffs on both sides of the Yanshan Trail, blowing in the cold wind, gnawing on dry rations, and eagerly waiting for our fat sheep to walk into the narrow gorge."
Xu Wuyou finally realized the truth, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on his back. If they had really listened to him just now and taken the small path to avoid the spies on the official road, they would have truly plunged headfirst into the deadly trap set by the Wang family.
"Then we..."
"We will openly and honorably take the official road," Xu Qinghuan interrupted him, her tone steady. "Even if there are spies on the official road, they will just be a few lookouts."
"By the time they realize we actually took the official road and try to call their main forces back from the Yanshan Trail, our convoy will have long passed the Juyong Pass."
"However, brother, you need to go to the trail and..."
Xu Qinghuan whispered some instructions into Xu Wuyou's ear.
After listening, Xu Wuyou swallowed hard. Looking at his little sister's calm and unruffled face, he only felt that her mind worked in a way that was even more cutting than the winds of the northern border.
"Little sister, you are truly venomous!"
...
Fifty miles outside the northern suburbs of the capital, there was a mountain god temple that had been abandoned for many years.
Most of the roof tiles had long since fallen off, and a few thick wooden beams were exposed to the elements, creaking in the wind.
The statue of the mountain god enshrined in the temple was missing half of its head, and the painted colors on the clay body had peeled off, revealing the withered yellow wheat straw inside.
In the open space outside the temple, hundreds of men sat scattered about. These people were all dressed in dusty gray short clothes, holding sharply honed swords and blades in their hands. No one spoke; there was only the raspy sound of whetstones grinding against blades, and the occasional muffled cough.
Right in the center of the temple hall, a fire was burning. The dry wood crackled as it burned, the firelight reflecting on the face of a scarred man.
This man was named Wang Meng, a ruthless character from a branch family of the Wang clan, and also the leader of these four hundred assassins. He held a branch in his hand, casually tracing lines in the ashes next to the fire.
A flurry of hurried footsteps came from outside the temple.
A small, thin man ran quickly into the temple hall and knelt on one knee in front of Wang Meng, not even having caught his breath.
"Boss, there is movement in the capital." The scout lowered his voice, speaking at a rapid clip. "The Xu family's convoy has already left the North Gate. That head guard, Li Sheng, took his men to the Changting Relay Station and Shilibao to buy up massive amounts of forage and black beans, paying three times the market price."
"He also took a permit from the Ministry of Revenue to the City Gate Office to secure travel passes for taking the official road through Juyong Pass. Now all the merchants in the northern suburbs are spreading the word that the Xu family girl is taking the main highway to the northern border."
The branch in Wang Meng's hand paused in mid-air.
He stared at the bonfire. The flames licked the dry wood, letting out faint crackling sounds.
"Taking the official road?" Wang Meng sneered, tossing the branch into the fire. "That Xu family girl completely uprooted our master's household down in Jiangning. She is rotten to the core and full of wicked schemes."
"Would she really be so honest as to take the official road?"
The scout kept his head down, not daring to reply.
Wang Meng stood up, walked over to the dilapidated statue of the mountain god, and patted the crumbling clay figure.
"Making a huge show of buying forage and securing travel passes, terrified that people might not know she is taking the official road. What is this? This is a textbook diversion." Wang Meng turned around, looking at the assassins outside the temple who were quietly polishing their weapons. "She deliberately made such a big fuss just to draw all our attention to the main road."
"By the time we set up an ambush on the official road, she would have long since slipped away with her convoy down a hidden path."
The scout looked up. "Boss, what do we do now?"
"Before Juyong Pass, the only way to bypass the official road is the narrow Yanshan trail." Wang Meng walked back to the bonfire and kicked the burning wood apart, sending sparks flying into the night. "Pass down the order: everyone is to pack their rations and tripwires, and break camp immediately."
"Go set up an ambush on the cliffs on both sides of the Yanshan trail. As soon as the Xu family's convoy enters that gorge, rain down rocks and fire hidden arrows."
"I want that Xu family girl, along with her carriages, smashed into a bloody pulp to avenge the men, women, and children of our Wang family!"
Hearing this, his subordinates exchanged glances, all crying out in awe:
"Hahahahaha, Boss! What a brilliant plan!"
