He remarried after his mother's death, seized power over the world, and slept on the emperor�

The carriage bumped and jolted along the potholed official road.

Liu gripped the handrail inside the carriage tightly.

"Bingning, you..."

She wanted to ask her daughter why she had given up her father's luxurious carriage for this simple one, but the words caught in her throat.

What's the point of asking?

In this family, her words never carried any weight.

Jiang Bingning didn't speak, but simply took her mother's cold hand in return.

The hand was covered with thin calluses, a mark left by years of housework.

In her previous life, she had never paid attention to these things.

Just then—

"Whoa—"

A sharp sound of horses being reined in came from ahead.

Immediately afterwards, a scout tumbled and fell off his horse, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"General! Something terrible has happened!"

"A large contingent of Northern Di cavalry has been spotted three miles ahead!"

"A dark mass, at least a thousand people! They seem to be trying to surround us!"

"What?!"

Jiang Chengxuan's face turned pale instantly.

His hand holding the reins began to tremble uncontrollably.

How did the Northern Barbarians end up here?

This place is a hundred miles from the border, making it an absolutely safe zone!

"What's the panic!"

Jiang Chengxuan shouted sternly, it was unclear whether he was speaking to the scout or to himself.

He tried to remain calm, his eyes quickly scanning his surroundings.

More than a hundred personal guards, two main vehicles, and a long line of family members and servants following behind.

There's no escaping it!

A direct confrontation would only lead to certain death!

What should I do?

What to do!

His adjutant beside him cried out urgently, "General! Give the order quickly! Break out to the east! Before their encirclement closes, we still have a chance to escape!"

East!

Yes! The east is the direction back to the capital!

Once you get out there, you'll be safe!

A glint of survival flashed in Jiang Chengxuan's eyes.

"Pass on my orders!"

He drew the sword from his waist, his voice sharp with fear.

"All guards, assemble! Form a wedge formation with my carriage as the center!"

"Let's charge east!"

Jiang Bingning listened coldly in the car, her heart completely unmoved.

This is her father; when disaster strikes, he always thinks of himself first.

Later, when she took command of the military, she simulated the battle situation of that day hundreds of times on a sand table.

She had long ago discovered that the Northern Di people's seemingly flawless trap actually had a fatal flaw.

"Hurry! Hurry!"

More than a hundred guards sprang into action, the sound of swords being drawn jarringly loud on the quiet official road.

They surrounded Jiang Chengxuan's carriage in the center, with the horses' heads all pointing east.

An atmosphere of impending doom instantly filled the air.

The lieutenant took one last look at the lone family carriage behind him, a hint of reluctance flashing across his face.

He rode closer to Jiang Chengxuan and asked in a low voice, "General, what about... what about the lady?"

Jiang Chengxuan froze.

He turned around, glanced at the simple carriage, and a struggle flashed in his eyes.

He gritted his teeth and practically squeezed out a few words.

"Ignore them!"

"With our families with us, none of us can escape!"

"Let them fend for themselves!"

This ugly face was exactly the same as the expression on her father's face when she broke through the enemy lines in her previous life.

This is his father, who always abandons his wife and daughters first when disaster strikes.

"General!"

The lieutenant wanted to persuade him further.

"Get out of here!"

Jiang Chengxuan roared, like a wild dog whose tail had been stepped on.

"Anyone who speaks again will be court-martialed!"

He spurred his horse and roared at the top of his lungs, "Charge! Charge out of here!!"

"drive!"

More than a hundred cavalrymen, like a black arrow, escorted the magnificent carriage as it sped off eastward.

The carriage carrying Jiang Yuerong and her brothers was under tight security.

Jiang Bingning was instantly abandoned and used as a pawn to attract the attention of the Northern Di cavalry.

The remaining servants and maids, watching the smoke and dust recede into the distance, collapsed to the ground, weeping and wailing.

An atmosphere of despair spread like a plague.

Only Jiang Bingning remained eerily calm.

She lifted the carriage curtain, watching the fleeing group in panic, a cold smile curving her lips.

In her past life, she was on that car.

She watched as her father's personal guards fell one by one, and saw her deputy general have his arm cut off, before she managed to protect them and help them escape to the city.

To the east lies both a path to life and a path to death.

It's risking over a hundred lives for a slim chance of survival.

"Stop crying, everyone!"

A clear shout silenced everyone.

They stared in astonishment as the young lady stepped down from the carriage.

She was still that quiet and reserved girl, but standing there now, she exuded an aura of power that made people afraid to look directly at her.

Jiang Bingning pointed to the mountains and forests to the south.

"All of you, now, immediately head south."

An old servant asked tremblingly, "Young Miss... to the south... to the south are barren mountains!"

"Yes, it's a barren mountain."

Jiang Bingning's eyes were calm and serene.

"Father led the main force to break through to the east, and the main force of the Northern Di people will definitely pursue them."

"The mountains to the south are high and the forests are dense. At most, they can only send a few cavalry squads to harass them. They have no time to thoroughly search the mountains."

"Your targets are small. Just find a secluded cave or canyon to hide in for a day, and once things calm down, you can return to the city at your leisure."

"This is your only way to survive."

Her tone left no room for argument, carrying the decisiveness of someone long accustomed to a position of power.

The group looked at each other in bewilderment. Finally, they bowed deeply to Jiang Bingning and, supporting each other, rushed into the southern mountains.

Soon, only one lone carriage remained on the official road.

Liu got out of the car, her face pale as she looked at her daughter.

"Bingning, what about us?"

"We're heading north."

As Jiang Bingning spoke, she walked to the carriage and picked up the whip and reins.

"North?!"

Lady Liu was greatly alarmed.

"Isn't that closer to the territory of the Northern Di people? Isn't that just walking into a trap?"

"Mother."

Jiang Bingning turned around and looked at her panicked mother, her eyes filled with an unprecedented determination.

"The more dangerous a place is, the safer it is."

"The Northern Barbarians would never have imagined that we would do the opposite and flee north."

"Their encirclement must be weakest in the north."

"There might not even be anyone there."

"Believe me."

She helped her mother into the car, and then sat steadily in the driver's seat herself.

"Hurry up!"

She gave a low shout and suddenly cracked her whip!

"drive!"

The carriage groaned under its own weight and sped off toward the north.

The wind whistled past my ears, and the wheels bounced violently on the ground.

Jiang Bingning quickly calculated in her mind.

According to the intelligence she obtained in her previous life, the Northern Di army that launched this surprise attack was only a vanguard of a thousand men.

Their mission was to harass and probe, not to launch a full-scale attack.

The father's more than one hundred personal guards were enough to draw away their main force of at least eight hundred men.

The remaining two hundred men are to blockade the south, west, and north directions, which will inevitably lead to a dispersal of their forces.

To the north lies the direction leading to the heart of the Northern Di territory, a route of escape that no one would ever choose, in their view.

Therefore, the northern pass is most likely just a feint!

The carriage sped along, and a narrow pass appeared before them.

Once you get through, the road ahead will be wide open!

She gritted her teeth and lashed the horse's back hard with the whip!

The horse, in pain, let out a long neigh and pulled the carriage across the pass!

Beyond the pass lies a completely different scene.

Silence, emptiness.

There wasn't even a single bird.

There were no ambushes at all.

You made the right bet!

Jiang Bingning suddenly pulled on the reins, and the carriage slowly came to a stop.

She looked as if she had been pulled out of the water, her clothes soaked with sweat.

She let out a long sigh of relief, her tense body instantly relaxing.

She wanted to look back at her mother's condition.

"Mother, you..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

A mocking and lazy man's chuckle suddenly came from behind the nearby rocks.

"Yo ho!"

"Are there really some fearless people who dare to run right into me?"