Consort Zhuang doesn't want palace intrigue; she just wants to raise her child and live a caref

Chapter 355 Encountering Robbers

Su Nuannuan was originally full of joy and looking forward to arriving in the western border town smoothly, but reality gave her a heavy blow - they actually encountered robbers!

"This road is mine, this tree is mine, if you want to pass, leave your toll!" A rough roar rang out, and a burly man with a full beard, carrying a gleaming broadsword, followed closely by a group of ragged bandits, stood menacingly blocking their path.

"Your Majesty, we've encountered bandits!" Jinse whispered.

However, at this moment, Tingxue showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, she was excited and eager to try, seemingly looking forward to this sudden turn of events, as if she was about to get out of the car and fight the robbers.

"Boss, I think we should get out of here quickly! These people are not to be trifled with. Look, they even have guards with them; they must be government officials," a bandit whispered tremblingly to their leader.

"What are you afraid of! I'm robbing government officials! None of these officials are good people. If we hadn't been forced into a corner by them, would we have become bandits?" The bandit leader was completely unconcerned, not taking the other party's identity seriously at all.

Just as the two sides were deadlocked, Commander Wu spurred his horse forward, his face stern, and shouted: "You audacious scoundrels, how dare you rob an official's carriage in broad daylight! Aren't you afraid of the law?"

"Pah! I robbed your government's carriage!" the bandit leader spat and shouted.

"Commander Wu, leave them alive." Su Nuannuan sat upright in the carriage, her face ashen, and slowly gave the order.

"Heh heh!" The bandit leader's interest was piqued. He laughed wildly, "There's a woman in this carriage! Heh heh, perfect, I've been looking for a wife to take as my own! Men, grab the woman from this carriage!"

His shout attracted the attention of the other bandits, but at that moment, no one dared to move.

Inside the carriage, Tingxue trembled with rage upon hearing the bandit leader's arrogant words and insults directed at their mistress. She angrily exclaimed to Su Nuannuan, "Your Majesty, this bandit is too arrogant! Send me to kill him!"

Su Nuannuan had initially intended to spare the bandits, perhaps assuming they had their own reasons. But hearing the bandit leader's outrageous behavior, her anger flared. So what if they were wronged? It wasn't her fault!

Su Nuannuan nodded slightly, indicating her agreement to Tingxue's request.

Upon seeing this, Tingxue immediately leaped from the carriage like a bird released from its cage, wielding her double maces, and landed steadily on the ground. Her eyebrows furrowed, her beautiful eyes widened, and she glared angrily at the bandit leader, shouting in a delicate voice, "You audacious scoundrel! How dare you be disrespectful to my lady! Today is your death day!"

With that, she swung her double maces sharply, creating a gust of wind, and rushed straight towards the bandit leader.

Seeing this, the other bandits dared not be negligent. They brandished their broadswords and charged towards Tingxue like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey.

However, just as they were about to reach Tingxue, they suddenly stopped as if frozen in place, staring at her in terror as if they had seen some horrible monster.

Tingxue had initially thought this bandit leader was incredibly powerful! After all, he dared to rob an official's carriage, so he must have some real skills. But who would have thought that this bandit leader would be so easily defeated? In just one exchange, his head was smashed to pieces like a watermelon.

"Tch, with this level of skill, you dare to rob my lady's carriage?" Tingxue looked at the bandit leader, who died with his eyes wide open, with disdain and said scornfully.

She swung her double maces a few times in the air, making a "whooshing" sound, and then shouted, "Who else is coming? Hurry up!"

When the other bandits saw their leader killed so easily by Tingxue, they were all terrified. They dropped their weapons, knelt down with a thud, and cried out, "Heroine, spare our lives!"

Looking at the cowardly bandits, Tingxue felt even more disdainful. After scoffing, she walked towards the carriage without looking back, intending to ask Su Nuannuan for instructions on how to deal with the bandits.

Commander Wu, standing to the side, was completely stunned by the scene before him. His eyes widened as he stared at Tingxue in disbelief. What was going on? How could the Noble Consort have such a capable maidservant by her side? What was the point of the Emperor sending them out to escort her?

The Dark Dragon Guards hiding in the shadows were also dumbfounded. Their previous group of Dark Dragon Guards had never mentioned that the Noble Consort had such a powerful maidservant by her side! What on earth was going on?

Although this bandit leader wasn't very strong, judging from the maid's weapon and posture, she was clearly a master. What was the point of them protecting her from the shadows?

"Your Majesty, what should we do with these bandits? Should we hand them over to the authorities, or should we execute them all?" Tingxue deliberately raised her voice and asked loudly.

Upon hearing that they were to be handed over to the authorities, the bandits became agitated like startled birds, their faces filled with fear as they cried out, "My lord, please do not hand us over to the authorities!"

One of the bandits even shouted at the top of his lungs, "Honorable sir, we really have no choice! If we weren't desperate, who would want to be a bandit despised by everyone?"

Upon hearing this, Tingxue turned around abruptly and said sharply, "Since that's the case, then I'll kill you all!"

Before she could finish speaking, another bandit turned pale with fright and trembled all over. He hurriedly explained, "No, no. We don't want to be bandits either. We've been forced into this situation. If we don't become bandits, our whole village will starve to death."

Upon hearing this, Tingxue was slightly surprised and asked, "Is your whole village bandits?"

The bandit quickly waved his hand and said, "No, no, no, you misunderstand, lady. Usually, only we men come out to rob. The old people, women and children in the village don't come out. They don't know we come out to rob; they think we go out to work and earn money."

After listening to his explanation, Tingxue nodded thoughtfully, then pointed to the bandit leader's corpse on the ground and asked, "What about him?"

"He used to be a notorious thug in our village. His parents were driven to their deaths by him! It was his idea for us to rob people," another bandit quickly chimed in.

Su Nuannuan sat upright in the carriage, her face ashen, and asked slowly, "How many times did you rob us in total?"