Chapter 16: Distress 1

"Hēr, no matter how you misunderstand Aunt, she won't blame you. She just hopes that you can take good care of yourself outside. It's getting late, so Aunt won't say much here and give you any more reasons to dislike her. You should go now and remember to take good care of yourself."

As Mrs. Min finished speaking, the other aunts and Misses immediately stepped forward and said to Heh in unison, "Take care, Miss."

"Elder sister, when you come back, remember to bring delicious food for Yuèr."

At this moment, a slightly abrupt child's voice sounded. Onlookers felt that the speaker was quite disrespectful. The young lady of the Prime Minister's residence was not going out for leisure or shopping, but to pray for their deceased mother, their stepmother. Yet the person thoughtlessly asked Heh for delicious food, eyes filled with a child's desire for snacks. But when everyone followed the sound to see, they saw a person with an innocent and lovely face, with big, watery eyes filled with longing for snacks. In this situation, it seemed that there was nothing inappropriate about saying such things.

"I wonder what kind of delicious food Little Sister Fourth wants me to bring for you," Heh smiled.

This statement once again made people feel that Heh had the grace expected of a young lady, and she didn't seem like the narrow-minded person Mrs. Min had described earlier. It seemed certain that the second miss must have done something intolerable. Otherwise, Su Wanyue wouldn't have made such an unreasonable request at this time. Heh should have been angry, but not only did Heh not immediately get angry, she kindly asked her little sister what she wanted.

"Wanyue, don't be naughty!" Aunt Xia seemed to have just realized at this moment and immediately stepped forward to hold Su Wanyue and said, "Wanyue is still young, doesn't understand manners. Please, Miss, punish her."

"Aunt Xia, you worry too much. Wanyue is my younger sister. I care for her. How could I blame her," Heh smiled and lightly pinched Su Wanyue's blushing face.

Looking into Heh's eyes, Su Wanyue couldn't help but shiver. Why did she feel that the word "care" in Heh's words always felt strange, especially making her heart tremble.

Due to the delay at the gate of the mansion, when Heh left the Prime Minister's residence in a carriage, it was already bright outside. There were already many pedestrians and carriages on the street, so Heh's carriage did not move quickly.

"Elder sister, you go to Xiangfu teahouse to buy some pastries." Watching the bustling carriages and pedestrians outside the carriage, Heh instructed the eldest maid.

"Yes." The eldest maid acknowledged and went off.

Two hours later, the carriage finally arrived at a small path behind the back of the Xiangfu Temple. Although it was called a small path, it was not exactly narrow. Although it was not as spacious as the official road, it was wide enough for a carriage to pass through.

The reason Heh didn't ask the carriage to follow the main road but took the small path behind the temple was because she remembered that there was a pear blossom forest on this hill behind the temple. The temperature on the mountain was lower than at the foot, and this was the time when the pear blossoms were in full bloom.

Since she could go out for a trip, she also needed to relax herself. She had just been reborn, and although she had accepted the fact of her rebirth, she still needed to relax and sort out her thoughts. This pear blossom grove was a perfect place for that.

Seeing the pear blossom grove getting closer and closer, Heh spoke to the carriage driver outside, "Stop at the pear blossom grove up ahead."

However, before Heh's words had completely fallen, the horse had already begun to gallop out of control.

This sudden turn of events caused the people in the carriage to sway heavily, bumping into the carriage wall with a dull thud.

"Chen San, what's going on?" The eldest maid, who grew up in the countryside, was the first to react and quickly asked the carriage driver, holding onto Heh.

"Something's wrong, Miss. The horse is out of control," Chen San said anxiously.

The horse's frenzy caused everyone in the carriage to be scared and sweating.

"What do we do?" Qiuhe looked at Heh helplessly. If it were on a spacious official road, it would be okay, but this was a small path behind the Xiangfu Temple, and the path was on the edge of a cliff. If they were not careful, falling off the cliff would mean a risk to life.

"Chen San, try your best to see if you can control the horse!" Heh's eyes grew even more solemn.

"Alright, Miss, I'll do my best to try," Chen San said. There was not much panic in his tone due to the horse being out of control.

After hearing this, Heh's gaze became even more solemn, and she said to the eldest maid, who was helping her, "I'll count to three, and we'll jump out of the carriage together."

After speaking, she also glanced at Qiuhe, who nodded quickly, indicating that she understood.

The horse continued to gallop out of control, causing the carriage to shake violently, and the carriage wheels seemed to be on the verge of falling off.

The eldest maid, holding onto Heh, struggling to walk to the carriage door, and Qiuhe, also not an exception, followed closely behind Heh, knowing that the only chance to survive if Chen San could not control the horse was to jump off the carriage.

Heh held onto the carriage wall with one hand, held onto the eldest maid with the other, and stood unsteadily at the carriage door, watching a pile of rocks of various sizes that suddenly appeared ahead, a cold light flashed in her eyes, and she sneered in her heart. As expected, someone had arranged this in advance, but now she wasn't sure who that person was.

"Eldest maid, are you ready?" Heh held the hand of the eldest maid tightly and counted, "One, two, three, jump!"

As the sound of the carriage came to a halt, Da Niu did not hesitate. She did not let go of Re He's hand, but instead embraced him and jumped off the carriage together with him, trying her best to shield Re He in her arms to lessen the impact on him.

Re He and Da Niu safely jumped out of the carriage, while Qiu He, who was following behind, trembled in fear and lacked the courage to jump down.

Just as Qiu He hesitated, the carriage had already reached the pile of rocks. Seeing this, Chen San immediately let go of the reins and leaped off the carriage from the shaft.

Chen San's actions seemed to stimulate Qiu He, who tightly closed her eyes and jumped off the carriage.

After jumping off the carriage, Qiu He had just opened her eyes and had not yet stood up when she saw the carriage wheels stumble over the uneven rocks, causing the carriage to overturn and fall off the cliff beside the path. The horse, unable to bear the sudden weight drop, also tumbled down the cliff.

Seeing this scene, Qiu He involuntarily gasped and patted her chest with lingering fear.

Re He and Da Niu were the first to jump off the carriage, choosing a relatively flat area. Chen San, being skilled, naturally protected himself in the best way when he jumped off the carriage, avoiding serious injuries. Therefore, Re He, Da Niu, and Chen San all suffered only minor scrapes on their arms.

Qiu He was not so lucky. Although she also jumped off the carriage and did not fall off the cliff with the carriage, she did not have the time to choose a relatively flat area like Re He and the others, nor did she have Chen San's skills. She was the last to jump off the carriage, and her landing spot happened to be on the pile of rocks.

Not only did she suffer bruises and scrapes, but she also broke a leg. In addition, she had previously been beaten with forty lashes and her wounds had not yet healed. Now, following Re He out of the mansion, her injuries had only worsened.