Song Chaoyu shook her head, "No! How can I let you impersonate me?!"
"Oh, Fourth Girl, stop the nonsense! Quickly swap clothes with Tiao Hong!"
The First Madam also heard the Old Madam's words and, without any explanation, held down Song Chaoyu. She then called out to Qiu Qing and the others for help, "All of you, come and help! Swap everything on these two! If the people outside are truly bandits, our Song family's daughters must not be harmed!"
No matter how Song Chaoyu struggled, she couldn't overcome the strength of the women inside the carriage.
Meanwhile, outside the carriage, the Old Madam had already stood before those people.
After alighting, by the last dim rays of the setting sun filtering through the forest, the Old Madam clearly saw the appearance of those people.
There were about ten of them, all holding weapons. They looked fierce and had surrounded the Song family's carriage.
Although they were all wearing clothes from the Great Yue Dynasty, the Old Madam could tell at a glance that they were likely not from Great Yue.
Especially the one leading them, on the back of his hand, he had tattooed a ray fish setting out to sea.
The habit of tattooing things from the sea onto one's body was unique to the people of the Southern Kingdom.
Seeing the Old Madam alight from the carriage, the leader also dismounted and slowly walked towards the Old Madam, then asked, "Where is Song Chaoyu?"
At this moment, inside the carriage, Song Chaoyu, who had been forcibly dressed in Tiao Hong's clothes, felt a shock in her heart: were these people really after her?! What was their purpose? Was it related to Mu Changxi?
However, even seeing the mace in the man's hand, the Old Madam did not show any fear.
She sneered, "Who are you, and why are you blocking my Song family's carriage?"
The man sneered, then waved his mace at the Old Madam, "Someone wants her life. We are just here to find her! If you don't want to die, hand her over, and I'll let all of you go."
A chill ran through Song Chaoyu's heart.
But how could the Old Madam hand over Song Chaoyu so easily?
She merely frowned, staring at the man, "Why do you want my granddaughter's life?"
"Don't know!"
Unexpectedly, the man seemed impatient. He signaled to the people around him to light torches and then pointed his mace at the Old Madam, "Move aside! Otherwise, you will all die!"
Just then, Song Chaoyu could no longer hold back and stepped down from the carriage.
The Old Madam turned her head and saw that Song Chaoyu had changed into Tiao Hong's clothes, which slightly eased her mind.
Song Chaoyu looked up at the person pointing the mace at the Old Madam, her brows furrowed, "Are you from the Southern Kingdom? Why are you here? Even if you want us to leave, you should at least give us a reason, right? You want to kill our Fourth Miss?"
Since things had come to this, and Song Chaoyu had even changed her clothes, she naturally had to see the matter through.
The man glanced at Song Chaoyu and, recognizing that Song Chaoyu was wearing a maid's clothes, let out a disdainful cold laugh, "She shouldn't have provoked His Highness Prince Chang!"
These words made Song Chaoyu feel a surge of anger: was this indeed trouble caused by Mu Changxi?
But she remained cautious, testing the man, "I heard that when Prince Chang was in the Southern Kingdom, you treated him with respect. I... my young lady is about to become Prince Chang's consort, yet you are doing something that harms the friendly relations between the two countries. If my young lady were to die, would Prince Chang let you off?"
Although Song Chaoyu tried her best to appear unafraid, she couldn't help but move closer to the Old Madam.
As if by standing closer, they could give each other strength.
The man's brows furrowed tightly, but he repeated his words to Song Chaoyu, "She shouldn't be Prince Chang's consort! She took Princess Tiya's place!"
His patience seemed to have run out: "All of you, move aside! Otherwise, I will take your lives!"
Move aside?
How could Song Chaoyu let these people barge in and kill Tiao Hong?
"I am here!"
But before Song Chaoyu could say anything else, Tiao Hong, wearing her clothes, walked out of the carriage!
"No!"
Song Chaoyu whispered to Tiao Hong, "Hurry back!"
But it was too late. Those people looked at Tiao Hong, and the leader's mace also pointed at Tiao Hong, "It's Song Chaoyu!"
They were indeed identifying people based on their attire!
"Yes, I am Song Chaoyu!"
Tiao Hong was terrified but still tried her best not to be nervous as she jumped off the carriage.
To everyone's surprise, after getting off the carriage, she suddenly ran in the opposite direction, "I am Song Chaoyu, come and catch me!"
Song Chaoyu hadn't even reacted, and neither had the people surrounding them!
Tiao Hong directly knocked over someone standing behind the carriage and then ran towards the official road.
"Tiao—"
Song Chaoyu stepped forward, wanting to follow Tiao Hong.
But she was pulled back by the Old Madam, who then covered her mouth, "Fourth Girl, don't be reckless! Don't let Tiao Hong's efforts be in vain! We must leave safely now, then report to the authorities. Only then can we help Tiao Hong!"
Song Chaoyu's eyes reddened at that moment.
The First Madam also walked towards Song Chaoyu, afraid she might make a sound, "Fourth Girl, don't act rashly! Don't provoke them, what if they really turn against us? Just let Tiao Hong run!"
Song Chaoyu's tears flowed as she watched Tiao Hong's figure stumble away and disappear.
Fortunately, Qiu Qing was quick-witted, and no one stopped her.
Seeing a few people chase after Tiao Hong, she also ran after them.
Song Chaoyu could only hope that both of them would be alright!
However, the leader from before had not left.
His mace was again pointed at the Old Madam and Song Chaoyu, "As for you—"
"What else do you want?!"
The First Madam was startled by his demeanor and quickly shouted at him, "The person has already run, why aren't you chasing?! And now you want to trouble us? How can you be so untrustworthy?"
"Hmph!"
The man paid no attention to the First Madam. He stepped forward and shoved her, then his gaze fell upon their carriage, "Search it! Take out everything valuable inside!"
They didn't just want Song Chaoyu, they also wanted money?
It was clear that these people were likely not regular army guards in the Southern Kingdom!
The carriage contained many items to be taken back to the capital, as well as the deeds and land certificates of the Song family's ancestral home.
A hint of panic appeared in the Old Madam's eyes, and Song Chaoyu stepped forward, trying to pull those people away.
However, what Song Chaoyu didn't expect was that as soon as those people lifted the carriage curtain, they didn't proceed into the carriage!
Song Chaoyu looked closely and realized it was Ti Le, who had been hiding in the carriage all along. Ti Le was staring at the person in front of him and said something to him in the Southern Kingdom's language.