Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Ah, my dear Miss, you've suffered. I've come to take you back," said the voice that Ye Fuxun would never forget, the nursemaid who she once loved and trusted, but who betrayed her and caused her to miscarry, Madam Wei.

A woman in her fifties pushed the door open and approached Ye Fuxun, holding her hand affectionately. "My dear Miss, you've suffered."

"Madam, are you here to take me back to the mansion?" Ye Fuxun saw Madam Wei again and suppressed her hatred, withdrawing her hand calmly.

"Yes, General Tang is returning triumphantly and will be back in the capital soon. I hope you will come back with me quickly," Madam Wei replied.

In the swaying carriage, after a day of travel, Ye Fuxun leaned wearily against the window, closing her eyes to rest and carefully recalling the events of her past life on the way back.

The Ye family only thought of bringing her back to the mansion to avoid affecting the relationship between the two families when her uncle returned to the capital. Logically, they should have safely escorted her to the capital. So why, in her previous life, did she encounter bandits at the post station, nearly losing her life and missing the return date, causing Ye Hanliang to develop a new aversion towards her?

Ye Fuxun opened her eyes and looked through the fluttering curtain at the coachman, sitting steady and composed, with an indifferent expression. Despite his shabby coachman attire, he still exuded an air of hostility.

"Qingruo, you sit with Madam in the carriage. I need some fresh air outside," Ye Fuxun greeted Qingruo and ignored her attempts to dissuade her, stepping out of the carriage and sitting next to the coachman.

The coachman was surprised by her action and gave a forced smile. "Miss, why did you come out? It's windy outside. Please go back in."

"It's stuffy inside. I need some fresh air," Ye Fuxun leaned back against the carriage, her right hand slipping into her left sleeve, lightly gripping the concealed powdered medicine. "Uncle, it's hard for you to drive. The road to the post station is too far. Why don't we take a shortcut through Jiangling City and rest at an inn there tonight?"

"Miss, you don't know. The road to the post station is the official route, safe. The road through Jiangling City is closer, but there are bandits. It's not safe," the coachman replied, unaware of Ye Fuxun's suspicions. A frail fifteen-year-old girl didn't raise any guard, so the coachman urged the horses on with a few more lashes.

"Safe? I bet going to the post station is less safe than entering a bandit's den. Bandits only want money, but the people at the post station probably want both money and lives," Ye Fuxun said with a sardonic smile.

"How can you say that, Miss?" The coachman began to feel suspicious and turned to look at Ye Fuxun, his eyes flashing with a cold light, his previously expressionless face now contorted.

Ye Fuxun met his gaze, her fifteen-year-old demeanor matching the determination of a thirty-year-old man.

"I wonder if I can make it out alive if I go to the post station. It's uncertain."

The coachman tightened his grip on the reins. "Miss, you're just joking."

"Is it funny?" Ye Fuxun leaned back against the carriage. "Let me guess who sent you. Madam Xie? It doesn't matter. As long as I can reach the post station and then be silenced. Even if I manage to escape, it will delay my return to the capital, which will displease my father. But it's strange, the Ye family has always had no shortage of money to hire skilled people. Why would they hire someone so sloppy? It's a giveaway."

"How did you figure it out?" The coachman's ferocity was unexpected, but facing a frail girl, he thought she could only talk big. If she pushed him too far, he could just act early. He had already prepared his dagger. His mission was to deliver Ye Fuxun to the post station and then eliminate her without a trace.

He wasn't actually a hired assassin from Madam Xie, but a guard employed by the Xie family. Now, he only took orders from Madam Xie and her daughter. This time, he was under Madam Xie's orders and couldn't let Ye Fuxun return to the capital!

Ye Fuxun sneered. "A coachman wouldn't have such a strong hostility. If you had smiled more, I probably wouldn't have suspected you."

"Is that all?"

"I don't know if you've heard a saying: 'All is fair in war.'"

With that, Ye Fuxun swiftly sprinkled the powdered medicine at the coachman, who struggled briefly before collapsing.

Ye Fuxun quickly pulled out the hairpin from her hair and stabbed it into the man's neck, causing blood to spurt onto her sleeve and the carriage curtain. The people inside the carriage screamed in unison, and Madam Wei looked at Ye Fuxun in disbelief, while Qingruo hurried out of the carriage, looking at Ye Fuxun with concern and fear.

"Get in."

Ye Fuxun took the reins and kicked the body off the carriage. Then she shouted, "Drive!" and turned the carriage towards Jiangling City.