Chu Yan was already furious and had nowhere to vent his anger, so he raised his hand and slapped Wang Da: "You servant, when did it become your place to decide the master's affairs?"

Yes, Chu Jinjin did make the entire Chu family the laughing stock of the capital, but she was, after all, the third young lady of the Chu family, and he could still tell the difference.

Close the door, and even if you break bones, the tendons will still connect.

Chu Jinjin stopped him, frowning as she asked, "Are you referring to what Third Aunt's family said?"

Chu Yan didn't hold back in that slap; most of Wang's face was swollen, and he spoke somewhat indistinctly: "That's right, it has nothing to do with Madam."

Realizing something after saying that, she said urgently, "If I'm lying, my family is at the mercy of the young master and young lady."

Chu Jinjin shook her head.

Something's not right.

According to the plan she told her grandfather, this trip was to save her father and also to expose the traitor within the family.

The traitor colluded with bandits to kidnap the father; the purpose was self-evident.

The only ones capable of taking over the family business are Chu Yan and his two younger brothers.

If Chu Yan comes along and the journey is uneventful, then Chu Yan and Wang Shi are highly suspicious. Conversely, if it's not the two of them, they will definitely try to harm Chu Yan on the way.

Now it's her?

And it was the third concubine's family?

That makes absolutely no sense.

“Madam knows nothing about this matter. I heard her sighing this morning, worried about what would happen to the Third Miss. There was no one else with her at the time, so she wouldn’t lie.” Wang Da understood their doubts. After exonerating his master, he gritted his teeth and said, “Madam went to the Madam’s family home.”

Marriage alliances bind not only the families but also the destinies of each household.

The third wife's family was also in business, though not as well-off as the Chu family. However, one of their daughters became a concubine of the deputy commander, Ma Si, and was said to be very much loved by him.

Unable to get help from Chu Jinjin, Wang, the eldest daughter-in-law, turned to her in-laws.

Chu Yan objected: "What do you mean?"

Wang Da, with his neck stiff, said, "Young Master, think about this reason. The Chu family's affairs are none of the Madam's family's business. It must have been the Madam who made the decision."

Actually, he was a little confused when he heard it, and couldn't help but ask a question.

The messenger nodded vaguely.

Chu Yan flew into a rage: "You're talking nonsense! My mother has always been kind and benevolent. How could she treat my third sister like this?"

After saying that, he hurriedly explained to Chu Jinjin, "Third sister, don't listen to his nonsense, there's definitely something fishy going on here."

His mother was indeed biased, but that was understandable. A child born out of wedlock was a child born out of wedlock, and it didn't matter which family it was. But he absolutely did not believe that his mother had someone harm Chu Jinjin.

"Stop arguing." Chu Jinjin couldn't figure it out for a moment either, but after thinking for a while, she finally grasped the key point that had been overlooked, "Wang Da, what's going on with the horse?"

Wang shook his head: "I don't know, but it's likely that someone tampered with the feed."

Chu Jinjin reached out and untied him.

Chu Yan became anxious again: "Third Sister, what are you doing?"

Chu Jinjin quickly took out a packet of wound medicine and gestured for Wang Da to bandage the wound on her thigh before whispering, "It wasn't him."

The third concubine, planning for her son's future, even bribed the nanny serving her mother yesterday. Her rival is the eldest son's wife.

She wants to win over herself and her mother, and this stance is unlikely to change in the short term.

As for who instructed Wang Da...

Anyway, it's not a three-bedroom house.

An unknown hidden weapon grazed past Wang Da's ear and struck a tree behind him.

Wang Da, still bandaging his thigh, turned around blankly. The hidden weapon was almost completely embedded in the ground, with only a small, eerie point remaining on the outside.

Is this really the Third Miss?

Wang Da certainly knew how to use hidden weapons, but to achieve this, he only had one method—to smash something hard into the hole.

Chu Jinjin's voice was icy, and she looked at him as if he were a dead man: "From now on, don't have any other crooked thoughts. As for how to deal with you, we'll talk about it when we get back."

The real culprit hasn't appeared yet; we can't alert them.

Wang Da shuddered.

Chu Yan also shuddered.

Chu Jinjin was very satisfied with the reactions of the two, especially Chu Yan, because she would need his cooperation next.

As if transformed, Chu Jinjin's fierce killing intent from the piles of corpses in the apocalypse suddenly disappeared, and she asked softly with a smile, "Big brother, given the current situation, where will we stay tonight?"

Jinzhou is about two days' journey from the capital.

Now that Chu Jinjin's horse has encountered a problem, the original plan will definitely have to be changed.

Chu Yan felt even more frightened and thought it would be better not to laugh. He muttered, "Qingshan Town."

On the long road of business, one is bound to encounter various unexpected events, but no matter how the route changes, the places where one ends up are always the same few.

These places to settle down were all chosen by my father.

......

As you can tell from the name Qingshan Town, it is surrounded by endless mountains. The next place to settle down is dozens of miles away, and wild animals often roam there.

Unless they were in a particularly urgent situation, traveling merchants and travelers would usually stop here.

There are several guesthouses in Qingshan Town, but only one is the largest and most comfortable, which is called Qingshan Guesthouse.

The waiter at the entrance, seeing the group, smiled broadly and said, "Please come in, everyone."

Chu Jinjin didn't go inside. She jumped off the carriage, looked around excitedly, and grabbed Chu Yan's arm, pleading, "Big brother, this is my first time going out. Take me around to see the sights!"

Chu Yan got goosebumps, and he struggled to act along: "What's there to see in this remote and impoverished place?"

Chu Jinjin is gambling.

In the current situation, they are in the open, while the enemy is in the shadows.

They didn't even know who the enemy was.

Well then, let nature take its course.

Something is likely to happen in Qingshan Town tonight.

The brother and sister stood at the shop entrance, one wanting to play and the other not letting her. After shouting for a long time, loud enough for anyone except a deaf person to hear, Chu Jinjin deliberately stomped her foot in anger and ran away alone.

Wang Da followed Chu Yan amidst her furious shouts.

Qingshan Town has a large population, with various accents from all over the country, but it's actually quite small.

There are only three main roads.

Chu Jinjin seemed to have never seen anything like it before, finding everything fascinating. When she came out of a general store, she paused slightly.

It was worth all the journey she took.

Finally, someone took the bait.