Chapter 21: (Twenty-One) Sitting in the Same Carriage

"Aren't you already in the middle of robbing us?" Zimei's voice rang out slowly. She then lifted the carriage curtain and stepped out. With a beauty even more stunning than Fei Linglong's and dressed in an enchanting purple peony gown, she stood atop the carriage, bewitching and charming. Everyone who saw her was instantly mesmerized.

The leader of the men swallowed repeatedly, his eyes fixed on Zimei with undisguised obsession.

"Big brother, this woman is even prettier! We can just snatch her back to be the mistress of our stronghold," someone remarked. The leader snapped out of his daze and waved his hand, preparing to seize them. Zimei merely smiled brilliantly, causing the men to fall into a trance once more.

But before they could recover from their lecherous expressions, they collapsed limply to the ground, blood flowing from their necks.

Seeing their leader die just like that—without even seeing how Zimei had made her move—the rest of the men felt their hearts turn cold. Fear welled up from the depths of their souls. Looking at Zimei’s vibrant, poppy-like appearance, they swallowed hard, and in their terror, they scrambled to pull the Prime Minister’s carriage away and fled in a hurry.

"Ah..." Looking at the leader who still wore a smile but had lost all signs of life, Ling'er couldn't help but scream. She hugged Fei Linglong tightly, her body trembling uncontrollably. When had she ever seen such a blood-soaked scene? Even Fei Linglong’s face had turned deathly pale.

"Miss," Ling'er called out in fear. At this moment, Zimei, having received Leng Lingxue's orders, turned her gaze toward Fei Linglong and Ling'er. This immediately made Ling'er’s skin crawl; after all, the fierce bandit leader had been killed by Zimei in a single strike—it was impossible not to be afraid.

Zimei stepped down from the carriage and walked over to Fei Linglong.

Fei Linglong looked at Zimei, observing her attire, which was in no way inferior to her own—perhaps even more exquisite. It seemed she was also from an official’s household. But why was she traveling alone? And in such an ordinary-looking carriage? After looking Zimei up and down, Fei Linglong reached this conclusion, while Zimei merely glanced at her slightly.

"There is still a long way to go before we reach the capital. My Miss invites the daughter of the Prime Minister to travel with us to the capital." As soon as Zimei said this, not only was Ling'er stunned, but Fei Linglong was also taken aback. They had assumed Zimei was a young lady of noble birth, but they never expected her to be merely a maid.

If a maid was like this, then what about her mistress? Fei Linglong could hardly believe it, but she still curtsied and took Ling'er with her onto the carriage. As she lifted the curtain and stepped inside, she was stunned by the sight before her. This carriage...

Leng Lingxue, who was lazily leaning against a soft couch, wore a smile as she watched Fei Linglong and her maid Ling'er, whose eyes were wide with undisguised shock. Zimei walked in, and the carriage began to gallop forward. Zimei moved to Leng Lingxue’s side and picked up an exquisite feather fan from the side to gently fan her.

This feather fan, which felt cool to the touch, was a gift to Leng Lingxue from Ye Luoxuan.

"Thank you, Miss, for allowing Linglong to hitch a ride," Fei Linglong said, curtsying slightly and speaking with great politeness toward Leng Lingxue.

"There is no need for such formalities, Miss. Please, sit," Leng Lingxue said with a smile. Fei Linglong curtsied once more and sat down opposite Leng Lingxue. She took a slight look around the carriage and was shocked to discover that everything inside was worth a fortune, with some items being rare treasures seldom seen in the world.

And that bookshelf—the books on it were the very ones people dreamed of obtaining, rare volumes that were hard to come by even under normal circumstances. Yet, here before her was an entire shelf of them. It was simply incredible.