A Beautiful Duchess with a Dark Heart – Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Afraid I Won’t Die

Wu Shi cried for a long time in her room.

She fiercely tore several handkerchiefs before she calmed down.

After a while, a servant girl came to relay Old Madam Wen’s instructions to pack their things and leave early tomorrow morning.

Originally, Old Madam Wen had arranged to play cards with several other madams, but now she could only have Wu Shi send someone to tell them that there was something urgent at home and they had to leave early.

Wu Shi suppressed her negative emotions, arranged these matters, and then instructed people to check the carriages in advance.

Suddenly, her eyes rolled… and a sinister smile appeared on her face. She asked the servant girl to call someone over.

✿✿✿

The guests’ carriages were all gathered in a large open space.

Li Jiang and Sun Ying lived nearby.

They had been very happy these past few days.

Although the mountain villa provided meals, Wen Yu had also given them silver, so the two of them strolled around the town every day, enjoying lamb soup one day, grilled fish the next, and sipping some wine. They were very relaxed.

When they were free, Sun Ying would tell Li Jiang some interesting stories from the Jianghu and even give him some pointers on martial arts.

Li Jiang was also diligent, cleaning the carriage and brushing the horse every day.

At this moment, Second Madam sent someone to inform them that they would be returning tomorrow.

Li Jiang was anxious upon hearing this and wanted to pack the carriage immediately.

However, the messenger said that Madam had bought some wine and asked for a few people to help carry it.

Moreover, she specifically requested Sun Ying and Li Jiang.

The two of them didn’t want to go at first. It wasn’t because of anything else, but they weren’t receiving silver from Second Madam! However, the messenger was very polite and pleaded with them for a long time. Only then did the two of them agree to go.

As soon as they left, a thin and small man quickly slipped under Wen Yu’s carriage.

✿✿✿

That evening, Madam Qi did not invite the Wen family over for dinner again.

Steward Wang directly brought over the food and said that the Wen family should eat in their own courtyard.

Old Madam Wen was so ashamed that she couldn’t eat.

Her gloomy eyes would dart towards Wen Yu when she wasn’t paying attention.

Wen Yu was a little surprised when she heard that they were leaving the next day, just like her younger sisters, but she didn’t say anything.

However, after returning to her room, she sneered. “You want to drive me away? Are you satisfied now?!”

……

The next day, just as dawn broke, the Wen family prepared to depart.

Madam Qi didn’t send anyone to see them off.

Old Madam Wen felt a chill in her heart.

In half a year, she would be going to the capital. Originally, she could have become a respected guest of this prominent family, but she had ruined it all by herself. For so many years, she had been too accustomed to getting her way, but Madam Qi’s slap had finally woken her up.

Even with her composure, she couldn’t help but feel apprehensive and remained silent the entire morning.

After everything was loaded onto the carriage, Wen Yu also boarded.

Suddenly, two servants from an unknown family, carrying things in their arms, passed by Wen Yu’s carriage. Somehow, they bumped into Li Jiang, who was organizing the carriage compartment.

Li Jiang was very protective of his things, so he immediately checked if the carriage compartment was damaged.

He didn’t even care that the two men had dropped their things all over the ground.

The two men quickly apologized. Li Jiang looked and saw that the carriage was fine, so he muttered for them to be careful next time.

Several people nearby, including Sun Ying, were also focused on this incident.

Therefore, no one noticed a person approaching the horse and feeding it something.

✿✿✿

Only when the carriages were about to start did Old Madam Wen come back to her senses and spoke politely to Steward Wang who was standing below.

She thanked her for her care over the past few days and said that she had left a gift for her in the room. She also asked her to convey her gratitude to Madam Qi.

Steward Wang replied indifferently with a smile. Her attitude was completely different from her initial enthusiasm.

Wen Jiao had shared a carriage with Old Madam Wen on their way here, but she was kicked out for the return trip. At this moment, Old Madam Wen was in no mood to act like a benevolent grandmother.

After the wheels started rolling, she let out a long sigh.

✿✿✿

The caravan left the town and went up the mountain road.

After a while, Li Jiang muttered in front, “Why are you so excited today? You haven’t run for days, do you want to let loose? Take it easy! We still have to cross the mountain ridge ahead! The road is dangerous, you know? Hey hey! Yes, slow down, walk steadily.”

Wen Yu and Sun Ying also heard him, but Li Jiang was always a bit panicky, so everyone just laughed it off and didn’t take it seriously.

After a while, the situation changed in an instant.

The horse suddenly started swaying left and right. Li Jiang exclaimed, “What are you doing? Behave yourself!”

But the horse didn’t listen and started to gallop wildly.

Li Jiang was shocked and quickly pulled the reins. “What are you doing?! Stop! Stop!” He pulled the reins desperately.

Inside the carriage, Wen Yu and the others were swaying left and right, their faces pale with fright. “What’s wrong?” they cried out.

Li Jiang shouted, “The horse is out of control, it’s running wild!”

“Miss, hold on tight to the carriage! I’ll go take a look!” Sun Ying, who was at the back of the carriage, saw this and whipped his donkey, trying to rush to the front.

Just as he reached the side of the carriage, the horse seemed unwilling to let him pass. With a jump and a dodge, Li Jiang was thrown off. Sun Ying’s donkey was pushed aside by the carriage, almost falling off the road and nearly trampling Li Jiang.

✿✿✿

Li Jiang ignored his pain and got up to chase after the carriage. “Hurry, chase it!” he yelled.

The carriage, with no one controlling it, rushed forward.

Ahead was Wu Shi’s carriage. Wen Yu’s carriage, close to the side of Wu Shi’s carriage, sped past…

Wu Shi’s face was full of excitement. This was even better than she had imagined!

Wen Jiao was nervous. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” she asked.

Wen Su shouted, “It’s Eldest Sister’s carriage! Oh my god!”

Someone immediately told Old Madam Wen. She lifted the curtain, and her mind started working. She probably knew what was going on. “Heh, Wu Shi, you really dared to make a move.”

Watching the dust cloud quickly moving forward, she calculated the gains and losses of this incident in her mind… and then concluded: “This isn’t bad either!” Madam Qi’s dissatisfaction could be greatly alleviated. She might even feel guilty because of this!

“Good!” she thought to herself.

As for what would happen to Wen Yu… “Ah! Is that Yu girl’s carriage? Quick quick! Send someone to save her!” she shouted anxiously.

The runaway carriage overtook another carriage and reached the front of the line.

Sun Ying whipped his donkey and chased after it with all his might…

At this moment, he thought despairingly, “If we get through this safely, I must ask Miss to buy me a horse. At a critical time like this, you really can’t rely on a donkey.”

Inside the carriage, Wen Yu remained calm. Someone was trying to harm her.

Yan Zhu held onto her tightly, not saying a word.

Xiao Ji, small in stature but heavy in weight, was the most stable one. Although she was also nervous, she remained calm.

Only Xiang Shu screamed all the way… She wasn’t stupid. Although she didn’t know what was going on, it was definitely aimed at Wen Yu!

“I’m so unlucky,” she thought.

“I’m going to die with her!”

……

The carriage was rushing towards the mountain ridge. This section of the road was very dangerous.

After reaching the ridge, it would either crash down the slope or fall off the cliff…

Sun Ying whipped his donkey hard, but he didn’t dare to use too much force. Donkeys were different from horses. If you pushed them too hard, they would just balk and refuse to move.

Although the horse was frantic, it was still pulling a carriage with several people and luggage. Especially, there was Xiao Ji.

When it encountered an uphill slope, its speed slowed down.

Sun Ying, with his rich experience, took advantage of this opportunity and, with great effort, managed to overtake the carriage. He ran a bit further ahead and then jumped off his donkey, injuring his knee in the process. Ignoring the pain, he…

…stood in the middle of the road, ready to stop the carriage.

The horse, snorting heavily, charged towards him. He stepped forward and pulled, but the horse kicked and slammed into him, sending him flying. However, he managed to grab the reins and held on tight. The carriage dragged him forward.

Because he was standing on the outside of the horse, the horse instinctively ran towards the inner side, scraping against the mountain. Fortunately, the risk of falling off the cliff on the outer side was reduced.

As they were about to reach the top of the ridge, there was a sudden “crack” ━ the axle broke.

The wheels hung on both sides of the carriage compartment, and the horse dragged the compartment, scraping it along the ground, continuing towards the highest point…

Sun Ying had been pulled down and dragged along the ground. Unable to find any leverage, he couldn’t stand up and his body ached from the friction. He used all his strength to pull on the reins again and again.

The horse was in great pain. If it were normal, it would have stopped long ago. But now it had gone mad, shaking its head and running.

Sun Ying felt a sense of despair. This was going to be bad…

But at this moment, a rider galloped over, slashing at the horse’s head with a knife and grabbing the reins with his other hand.

The horse fell with a thud, and the carriage compartment overturned, throwing the girls out.

Sun Ying, ignoring his bleeding wounds, rushed over. “Miss, are you alright?!” he asked anxiously.

The horse had slowed down significantly before it finally fell, so although the carriage compartment overturned, it wasn’t a hard fall. Wen Yu stumbled but didn’t feel any pain. She instinctively replied, “I’m fine. Zhu Zhu? Xiao Ji? Xiang Shu, are you alright?”

Only then did she realize that she had fallen on Xiao Ji again…

Xiao Ji grimaced but was otherwise unharmed.

Yan Zhu landed on her bottom, her waist and buttocks aching.

Xiang Shu suffered the worst injuries. She had landed on her face, scraping it against the ground, and her right arm was in excruciating pain. She wasn’t sure if it was broken and could only moan.

Sun Ying felt relieved. He saw that the newcomer was Fourth Young Master Qi.

Fourth Young Master Qi, hearing Wen Yu’s reply, didn’t come over to check on them. Instead, he went straight to examine the horse.

Sun Ying followed him.

The horse’s eyes were bloodshot, and its mouth was covered in white foam. “Poisoned?!” Sun Ying blurted out, and then his mind raced as he tried to recall where things went wrong.

This morning! Those two men bumped into Li Jiang, and their things were scattered all over the ground…

This didn’t seem like something the Wen family would do. If they wanted to harm her, they wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble, would they?!

“Yes,” Fourth Young Master Qi replied. He then started to check the carriage.

The carriage compartment had overturned, and the axle was broken. But if one looked closely, they could still see fresh chisel marks on the broken axle. Someone had tampered with it.

Fourth Young Master Qi and Sun Ying exchanged a look, neither of them saying a word.

As the rest of the caravan caught up, Sun Ying walked over and whispered a few words to Wen Yu.

Wen Yu smiled wryly. So, they were attacking from both sides?

They really were afraid she wouldn’t die!