Chapter 241 Inviting the Enemy into the Trap

Chapter 241 Inviting the Enemy into the Trap

They had already found out that the reason Xie Wanniang went out of the city every few days was because she had set up a medicinal herb garden outside the city, which was used to grow some common medicinal herbs that were not valuable but easy to grow.

This is a good thing for them, because killing outside the city is undoubtedly easier to carry out and easier to escape than killing inside the city.

When they first followed Xie Wanniang, she quickly shook them off.

This time, because she was going fishing, Xie Wanniang didn't continue with the same routine as last time.

Under the protection of ten guards and Atai, who offered to drive her carriage, she and Haitang went to her medicinal garden not far outside the city.

After a busy day in the herb garden, Xie Wanniang led the group back to Yi County.

Of course, this was only on the surface. In secret, Xie Wanniang also arranged for more people to monitor the actions of Princess Nanyang's subordinates in all aspects.

To avoid a situation where both sides have their own version of the truth, Xie Wanniang even had someone secretly go to the county government office to speak with the county magistrate in advance.

When the magistrate of Yi County heard that someone had infiltrated the county with the intention of assassinating Jiang Yuan's wife, who had recently been promoted, he immediately linked those people with spies from the Northern Barbarians.

He took this matter very seriously and agreed with Xie Wanniang's statement about "catching the thief red-handed." However, for Xie Wanniang's personal safety, the magistrate of Yi County found it difficult to agree to her taking such a risk.

He suggested that Haitang impersonate Xie Wanniang and work with the county yamen runners and the hundred elite soldiers he had secretly invited to reinforce them, to lure the group out and catch them red-handed.

Haitang was quite willing to do so, but Xie Wanniang herself disagreed with the use of a substitute technique.

She herself was a high-level combatant, and Xie Wanniang wasn't afraid at all when the opponent only had swords and knives and no bows and crossbows.

She asked Old Hong, the guard in charge of liaising with the county government, to pass a message to the county magistrate: "If I am not here, the other party can easily turn around and say that they did not want to assassinate me, but wanted to rescue me after they were caught."

The magistrate was completely bewildered, but unfortunately, the bodyguard, Old Hong, was also clueless and unable to provide an explanation for the magistrate.

All he could say was, "Our boss said that once those people are caught, you'll be able to understand the whole situation clearly in the first trial."

The magistrate's curiosity was piqued. After a moment's thought, he said, "Then I'll send two unfamiliar constables to protect your employer."

Calling it "protection" is just a nice-sounding excuse. Any one of Xie Wanniang's guards could easily beat the two constables he sent to the ground.

The magistrate sent them there simply because he wanted to satisfy his own curiosity.

As the local official, he couldn't very well be on the front lines of gossip, but he could send someone over and have them recount the whole story to him.

Xie Wanniang was well aware of the magistrate's ulterior motives, but she still readily kept the two yamen runners who had changed out of their yamen uniforms and disguised themselves as her family's guards.

As for her background, it will soon become common knowledge in the county government after the capture of the Princess of Nanyang's subordinates. Giving the magistrate a few days earlier to prepare him is actually a good thing for her.

With everything prepared, Xie Wanniang didn't delay any longer. She took a carriage out of the city for the third time and, escorted by ten guards, headed to the herb garden outside the city.

She left the city only slightly later than the travelers and caravans who set off early in the morning, which was the time when there were the fewest carriages and pedestrians on the road.

Seizing the opportunity, the Nanyang Princess's trusted subordinates, who were worried that staying in Yi County for too long would attract the attention of the border troops or the county government due to their unusual behavior, hurriedly followed her after she left the city.

When they arrived at an open area with no other pedestrians or vehicles, only a large expanse of farmland that had been cultivated by farmers, the twenty men drew their swords without hesitation and surrounded Xie Wanniang and her group.

Having already heard the sound of horses' hooves and received several real-time reports from the guards, Xie Wanniang immediately got out of the carriage with Haitang after Atai solemnly exclaimed, "They're here!"

The two men leaped onto the horses that were originally ridden by the two constables, who, as Old Hong had instructed them, quickly jumped onto the carriage shaft.

Atai, who was originally in charge of driving the carriage, swiftly pulled out his spear and stood on top of the carriage.

At the same time, Xie Wanniang's other group of guards, who were following far behind the twenty men, also rode their horses and charged towards them.

The twenty men sent by the Princess of Nanyang, who originally intended to outnumber Xie Wanniang and her group and kill them, were quickly surrounded by Xie Wanniang's group and another group that had come from afar.

Those who wanted to make dumplings for others ended up being the unlucky ones who were made dumplings, and the other side had far more people than them.

The twenty men knew they were doomed to perish today, but they were unwilling to surrender so easily. So they used Xie Wanniang as their breakthrough point.

At the signal of the leader, the twenty of them spurred their horses and charged toward the only two women in the crowd—Xie Wanniang and Haitang.

The two constables turned pale with fright at the sight, but the others, including Xie Wanniang, showed no sign of panic.

Indeed, these people's modus operandi was exactly what Xie Wanniang had expected.

When she was formulating the action plan, she said that 99% of these people would see her and Haitang as easy targets and a breakthrough point after realizing they had fallen into a trap.

After all, firstly, as the head of the household, her presence in danger would easily cause the guards to panic; secondly, the Princess of Nanyang would most likely know nothing about her years of martial arts training, and her people would still regard her as a weak woman who couldn't even kill a chicken.

Xie Wanniang thought that they would probably curse her in their hearts for being stupid. She was obviously useless and would only drag them down, but she was still arrogant because she brought a maid who knew martial arts. She thought that she could face these martial arts masters with ease under the protection of the guards.

Since she had already guessed that as long as she showed up, the other party would most likely treat her as an easy target, Xie Wanniang would certainly not leave herself without any backup plan.

As they charged toward her, the men were quickly tripped by the sudden appearance of tripwires on the ground, and they and their horses tumbled to the ground, rolling around in all directions.

Several people were trampled by the horses behind them, some dead, some injured, and some rendered unable to move. But many others were very agile and managed to avoid being trampled by the horses from behind.