As the morning dawned, a long line of carriages snaked its way north from the south.
The soldiers at the front, seemingly deprived of a good night's sleep, sat on their horses, yawning incessantly.
A soldier beside him couldn't help but tease:
“Liu Er, did you sneak off to meet some woman last night? You've been yawning nonstop!”
The soldier, Liu Er, glanced back with irritation at the middle-aged man in brocade and a carriage behind them, muttering under his breath:
“Damn it, that Steward Tian, just a servant, but he kept me up all night!”
“And that woman in the carriage, just a fancy courtesan from Yangzhou, even her maid bosses me around! I haven’t slept in half a night, I’m almost dead from exhaustion...”
The nearby soldier chuckled:
“Even if she’s ‘ridden’, she's not someone we can ride. Besides, she’s a special gift from the Emperor’s father-in-law, you’d better serve her well!”
A few other soldiers joined in:
“I heard they buy these Yangzhou courtesans from a young age, and then train them in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, dance, poetry, and literature. They’re supposedly proficient in all eighteen arts!”
“But they’re all sold to high-ranking officials, so before the gentlemen open their packages and inspect the goods, they’re all virgins, you know.”
“How can they be proficient in eighteen arts if they’re still virgins?”
“Well, you’ve never eaten pork, but you’ve heard of it, haven’t you?”
“Sigh… When will I finally get to taste some good pork...”
The soldiers continued their conversation, their voices lowering to a suggestive whisper as they leered at the back, giggling and exchanging knowing glances.
Just as they were in the midst of their banter, a loud boom echoed from ahead.
A plume of black smoke erupted from a hundred paces away.
Immediately after, a chorus of yells rang out:
“Kill!”
Everyone was startled, the Steward Tian behind almost fell off his horse in fright. He hurriedly rode to the front, shouting:
“Where’s the yelling coming from?”
They looked out towards the distance, and saw a surging tide of black figures appearing on the hillside. They roared as they charged towards them, quickly surrounding the convoy.
These people were all in tattered clothes, looking like ordinary peasants. Their weapons were a jumble of spears, cleavers, wooden clubs, and even some carrying farming tools like pitchforks!
Though their clothes and weapons were far from impressive, their numbers were staggering. They stretched as far as the eye could see, at least several thousand strong.
In the middle stood an old man in white linen robes, holding a goose-feather fan. He pointed the fan towards Steward Tian and his men, and bellowed:
“The little emperor Chongzhen, incompetent and foolish, has banned our Fragrant Incense Sect and slaughtered our followers! Today, we, the Fragrant Incense Sect of Baxian, rise up! We shall kill the father-in-law of the little emperor Chongzhen!”
Hearing his words, the multitude of Fragrant Incense Sect followers raised their weapons and roared in unison:
“Kill!”
The roar shook the ground!
Steward Tian and the soldiers were instantly pale with fear.
Their convoy had only a hundred or so escort soldiers, how could they possibly stand against this force of Fragrant Incense Sect followers!
At that moment, the curtains of the carriage at the back moved, and a pair of eyes, clear as autumn water and full of charm, appeared.
“Fuxiang, what’s happening up ahead?”
Beside the carriage, a graceful young woman with exquisite beauty was already pale with terror.
“M… Miss, it seems to be… the Fragrant Incense Sect rebels…”
“Ah…”
“Miss, don’t worry, Steward Tian has so many soldiers, he’s sure to protect…”
Before Fuxiang could finish her sentence, they heard the head priest Xu Daqiu, clad in white linen robes, roar loudly, and the thousands of Fragrant Incense Sect followers charged at the convoy.
Steward Tian and the soldiers cried out in shock and turned to run.
They were perfectly happy to bully and intimidate ordinary folks, swaggering through the streets.
But faced with enemies ten times their number, they couldn’t even bring themselves to fight, turning and fleeing in a panic, afraid that if they were a moment slower, they’d be surrounded and slaughtered by the Fragrant Incense Sect!
In the blink of an eye, the Fragrant Incense Sect followers had reached the convoy.
The carriage drivers and laborers were terrified, and fell to their knees begging for mercy.
These carriage drivers and laborers were actually recruited by Tian Hongyu from Jiangnan,
but the Fragrant Incense Sect followers didn’t care if they were Tian Hongyu’s people or not, they directly raised their weapons and began hacking at them.
In an instant, over a hundred carriage drivers and laborers were surrounded and brutally beaten to death with clubs and spears by the Fragrant Incense Sect followers, their desperate screams echoing in the air.
Fuxiang was so scared that she felt her legs giving way. She immediately ordered the driver to turn the carriage around and flee.
But when she looked closer, she saw that the driver had jumped from the carriage and was running away as fast as he could, abandoning the carriage altogether!
The carriage was instantly surrounded!
The Fragrant Incense Sect followers blocked the carriage, their eyes fixed on Fuxiang.
Fuxiang felt as though countless pairs of eyes were filled with raw desire, as if they were trying to strip her naked with their gaze!
She shrank back into the carriage, unable to move!
“Let me see what kind of beauty Tian Hongyu has sent to the little emperor Chongzhen!”
At that moment, Xu Daqiu, in his white linen robes, strode towards the carriage. He glanced at Fuxiang inside, trembling and unable to move, and nodded in approval:
“Even a maid is so beautiful, I wonder what this Chen Yuanyuan is like!”
He raised his hand and lifted the carriage curtain.
A face like a delicate peach blossom, bathed in tears, met Xu Daqiu’s gaze.