Chapter 95: Carriage
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Mingzhu reached for Yuwen Xue’s hand. “What are you afraid of? I’ll take you.”
Yuwen Xue pulled her hand back as if she had been pinched, stepping back in alarm. “What are you going to do?”
The Wusun man frowned, ignoring the palace servants’ attempts to dissuade him, and walked over, silent, staring directly at Mingzhu.
Unafraid, Mingzhu stared back, knowing he couldn’t understand her. “What are you looking at? Haven’t seen a woman before? Mind your own business and go your own way!”
The man ignored her, turning to look at Yuwen Xue. Tears welled in her eyes, but she managed a fleeting smile. “I’m fine. You should go.”
Undeterred, Mingzhu shooed him away. “Didn’t you hear? She said she’s fine. I’m taking her to treat her foot. Do you understand?” She rudely grabbed Yuwen Xue’s leg, nearly causing her to faint.
The accompanying palace servant knew a little Wusun and stepped in to defuse the situation. The Wusun man frowned, then turned and left. Mingzhu looked at Yuwen Xue with a half-smile. “I’ve always wondered what it feels like to faint. Unfortunately, I’m too healthy to experience it. Could you describe it to me?” Her words weren’t entirely mocking. Even in her most painful moments in her past life, she remained conscious until her death.
Yuwen Xue felt deeply humiliated, her lips trembling. “You’ve gone too far!”
Mingzhu rolled her eyes, tired of her fragile appearance. “I was trying to help you, but you acted like I was going to eat you. It’s boring. I know about your situation at home. Let me ask you one last time. Are you really not coming with me to Changxin Palace?”
Yuwen Xue stared at her feet for a moment before whispering, “Although I don’t understand why you suddenly showed kindness, I don’t need it. I can’t afford to provoke Changxin Palace or Zhaoyang Palace.” With that, she turned and left.
Unable to provoke Changxin Palace, nor the Zhaoyang Palace, yet having such trust in Jiang Shanshan, being so bold, and ultimately causing so much trouble for her aunt and father. Truly, appearances can be deceiving.
Mingzhu watched as Yuwen Xue walked away, then turned and headed towards the palace gate from another path. In no time, palace attendants from Changxin Palace approached her, inquiring about her destination.
Mingzhu knew that the Great Empress Dowager was afraid she might suffer from Empress Dowager Min’s schemes, so she discreetly sent people to protect her. Without hesitation, she said, “I suddenly encountered an urgent matter. Have someone prepare a carriage for me at the palace gate immediately. It should be inconspicuous and discreet.”
The palace servant hesitated, “Where does the young lady want to go?”
Mingzhu squinted for a moment and said, “I’m not sure, probably to Shou Wang’s Mansion or the Honglu Temple?” fearing delay would cause trouble, she hurriedly left.
The palace servant, helpless, arranged for a carriage and personnel while reporting to the Great Empress Dowager.
Since it was not yet the end of the palace banquet, the carriage to pick up Yuwen Xue had not arrived yet. Yuwen Xue stood trembling in the shadow outside the palace gate, enduring the scorching sun, repeatedly looking into the distance with pity.
After nearly half an hour, a carriage finally arrived. The people inside didn’t show their faces, just lifted the curtain slightly to talk to Yuwen Xue. After hesitating for a moment, Yuwen Xue blushed and boarded the carriage. The curtain was lowered, and the carriage proceeded along the palace road.
Emerging from her hiding spot, Mingzhu jumped onto a pre-prepared carriage and instructed the coachman, “Follow that carriage!”
The carriage carrying Yuwen Xue left the imperial city, then turned onto a bustling street, not in the direction of Shou Wang’s Mansion but towards the Honglu Temple, where foreign guests were received.
Mingzhu was extremely excited.
The owner of this carriage must be the Wusun man from earlier! She had to find out his true identity and, incidentally, figure out what was going on with Yuwen Xue.
In her excitement, the carriage suddenly jolted, making a loud noise. Mingzhu, caught off guard, hit her head on the carriage and nearly fainted. Feeling a large bump on her head, she angrily opened the curtain and scolded, “What kind of carriage are you driving? Are you trying to get us killed?”
The coachman bowed in fear, pleading for forgiveness, “Miss, spare me! It’s not that I didn’t drive properly, but the carriage in front was driven by a stupid donkey and crashed into us!”
Sure enough, someone came to apologize, and both sides negotiated about the carriage damage. Mingzhu realized something was wrong and turned to see that the carriage carrying Yuwen Xue had disappeared. She couldn’t let her go alone! Mingzhu jumped off the carriage, lifted her skirt, and chased after her.
She vaguely heard someone calling her loudly from behind, “Miss, Miss, please wait!” She knew it was the people sent by the Great Empress Dowager to protect her, but she didn’t care and just kept running. According to her experience, they would catch up on their own.
There were many pedestrians on the street, various cries and smells of food mingled together, a lively scene she rarely experienced. Mingzhu ran forward bravely, her excitement showing on her face. Although she wasn’t very capable, she could still try to do something.
After running for a while, she finally saw the carriage not far from the Honglu Temple. The carriage was moving steadily, not toward the Honglu Temple but in another direction. Mingzhu was a little dumbfounded. Did she guess wrong? Wasn’t the person taking Yuwen Xue away the Wusun man? Should she continue to follow?
After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and stopped a passing carriage to follow. After all, this matter didn’t need to be done in secret. She just needed to disrupt Yuwen Xue’s plans.
Turning a corner, the carriage suddenly disappeared. Mingzhu panicked, jumped off the carriage, and stood at the intersection, looking around. She saw the carriage rushing from a nearby alley, stopping abruptly less than an inch from her. A high-nosed Wusun man leaned out of the carriage window, smiling slightly, his tone sharp, “Miss Mingzhu, are you looking for me?”
Mingzhu’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest from the shock of the carriage. Then she was startled by the face, but she managed to smile brightly, “So, you can speak Chinese.”
The Wusun man stared at her intently, with a slight smile, “Yes. You chased me from the palace outside, what do you want to do? Could it be, you’re interested in me?”
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