Chapter 88 Entering a New Life (Part 2)

The car bumped and swayed all the way. I was so tired from the journey that I dozed off for a while, but the hard seat was very uncomfortable.

I casually touched my side, and it felt empty. I suddenly opened my eyes. Where's my bag? Where's my crossbody bag?

"Turn around, turn around!" I immediately snapped to attention and yelled.

"What's wrong, sister?"

"My bag! I forgot my bag!" I was frantic, running around in circles. My Swiss Army knife, my copy of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*...

We turned the carriage around and headed back the way we came.

Upon reaching the edge of the maple forest, I hurriedly tried to jump off the carriage, my belly protruding. Seeing this, Zhao'er quickly helped me up, saying, "Sister, I'll go back and get it. You wait for me in the carriage."

I looked helplessly at my stomach and could only sit obediently in the car.

Zhao'er jumped off the carriage, turned around and carefully closed the curtain, then instructed the driver, "I'll be right back. Please take care of my sister."

The coachman responded, and Zhao'er left with peace of mind.

Not long after Zhao'er left, a series of rapid hoofbeats came from afar. Judging from the sound, there was more than one horse. This village rarely had contact with outsiders, so how could there be so many hoofbeats?

Curious, I lifted the curtain, and with just one glance, I was so frightened that I immediately pulled the curtain tighter, huddled inside the carriage, and didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

Under the sunlight, that bright purple dress stung my eyes.

It's him! He actually came looking for us!

"Whoa!" A soft whistle rang out, and the sound of hooves stopped outside the carriage.

He...he found me?

Feeling a little guilty, I clutched my stomach and bit my lip.

That night, he stood outside my car like this again, and then easily caught me...

"Have you seen a woman with a boy?" It was Dian Wei's voice.

I breathed a slight sigh of relief; he hadn't noticed me.

"A woman with a boy?" the driver interjected. "What did they look like?"

My scalp immediately started to tingle again. Oh no...

"The woman wore a rather peculiar bracelet on her left wrist." A soft voice said; it was Cao Cao.

I held my breath, closed my eyes in a state of resignation, and thought, "What do you call this? This is like catching a turtle in a jar..."

"Excuse me... are you looking for Pei Xiao, Miss Pei?" A timid voice suddenly rang out from the roadside; it was Xiao Ying.

I suddenly widened my eyes. Why is Xiaoying joining in the fun too?

I let out a wail in my heart, thinking, "I'm doomed this time!" I quietly pulled open a crack in the car window and cautiously peeked out.

Two or three villagers seemed to have just returned from the fields, and Xiao Ying was among them.

Cao Cao suddenly leaped off his horse, walked a few steps to Xiao Ying, and narrowed his long, narrow eyes with a dangerous glint in them. "Where is she?"

The sunlight cast that slender figure onto the car curtain, and through the curtain, my palms were sweating.

"Ah, you mean that shameless woman?" a villager blurted out.

"Shameless?" Cao Cao slightly raised his lips, but did not laugh. His eyes were cold and somewhat frightening. "I hope the person you are talking about is not the same person I am talking about."

The poor villager was so frightened that he fell to the ground, and retorted somewhat unwillingly, "That woman is carrying a bastard child..."

"What did you say?" Cao Cao was taken aback, his voice so gentle it sent chills down one's spine.

I noticed a throbbing vein on his forehead. Good heavens, I'm driving him crazy...

Slowly crouching down, Cao Cao looked the villager in the eye and asked with a kind expression, "What...did you just say?"

The villager instinctively shuddered, "That... bastard..."

"If nothing unexpected happens, I think that bastard is mine." Cao Cao flicked his robe, stood up, and grinned through his teeth.

I instinctively flinched.

“By the way, the word ‘bastard’ is really impolite to a child with a father,” Cao Cao said, bowing his head. “How about I cut out your tongue?” He raised his hand to touch his chin and smiled.

He was indeed furious...

Upon hearing this, the villager stared wide-eyed in horror.

"That child... is it yours?" Xiao Ying took a step back and asked softly.

Cao Cao looked down and touched the sword at his waist, ignoring it.

Seeing this, the villager trembled even more violently.

"Let them go, and I'll take you to her," Xiaoying said, biting her lip.

Cao Cao glanced at Xiao Ying indifferently and smiled, "I don't like negotiating terms."

Xiao Ying's face turned somewhat pale.

“…However, this time is an exception,” Cao Cao laughed, “Take me to my wife.”

The word "Madam" was pronounced with particular emphasis, as if she wanted to devour me whole.

I started to feel nauseous.

Just as he was feeling a chill, he saw the driver's eyes light up. He seemed to have finally realized that the pregnant woman the wealthy man was looking for was in his rickshaw, and he began to get restless.

Is he planning to betray me to claim a reward?

I started grinding my teeth, and with a pained expression, I pulled a pearl bracelet from my bundle and carefully slipped it under his buttocks through the gap in the carriage curtain. That pearl bracelet was the dowry item I had taken from the Prime Minister's residence that day.

The driver paused for a moment, then turned around and smiled at me, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, looking like a sly old man who knew everything about me.

"Take her to the horse," Cao Cao said, turning around and leaping onto his horse.

Dian Wei, that rough and uncouth man, pulled Xiao Ying onto the horse.

Watching them, without a second thought, speed away towards Kongming's courtyard, I finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned into a puddle of mud inside the carriage...

Suddenly, I felt a movement in my stomach. I took a deep breath and placed my hands on my abdomen. Was Baozi excited to see his father? Is he kicking me because he's excited?

The carriage curtain was lifted, and sunlight streamed in, revealing a mouthful of bright yellow teeth.

"Madam, you haven't eloped with that young man, have you..." The coachman grinned, his shifty eyes fixed on my bulging bundle.

I lowered my eyes, not wanting to pay attention to him.

"They haven't gone far yet..." Seeing that I didn't react, the driver continued, "That boy is handsome, but he's still very young..."

Ignoring his foul language, I impatiently picked up my bag and threw it into his arms without even looking up. "Stop nagging, this is all for you."

The coachman immediately grinned from ear to ear.

“Take us to our destination, and this is for you too.” I lifted my sleeve to show him the jade bracelet on my wrist. “This jade bracelet is priceless.”

The coachman looked at me with a greedy expression.

"What are you doing?" Zhao'er's voice suddenly came from outside the car.

The coachman turned around and clutched the bundle in his arms tightly.

Zhao'er saw the bundle, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes. "Give it back to me."

The coachman was startled and gripped his bundle tightly.

"Zhao'er, get in the car," I said calmly.

Zhao'er glanced at the coachman, said nothing more, and got into the carriage.

"Sister, I saw Cao on my way back..." Zhao'er said, handing me the retrieved shoulder bag.

"I know." I nodded, interrupting him, and pointed outside the carriage. The driver was still greedy; if he knew Cao Cao was the current prime minister, he would definitely sell me out.

Zhao'er remained silent.

"Madam, which way are we going?" the coachman asked obsequiously.

"Turn around and keep going forward."

As the tension subsided, drowsiness immediately washed over me. I yawned and dozed off against the carriage.

In a daze, I leaned against the soft cushion, which was warm and comfortable.

"Crack! Bang...smack."

After driving for an unknown amount of time, the car shook violently and stopped.

I rubbed my eyes, and when I looked up, I met Zhao'er's dark, deep eyes.

"Sister is awake." Zhao'er smiled.

I then realized that I was sleeping soundly against his shoulder, having squeezed his poor little body to the side.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked without a hint of guilt, yawning and rubbing my eyes.

"You've slept for a whole day and night," Zhao'er said, raising her hand to brush a strand of hair from my cheek.

"A whole day and night?" I was dumbfounded.

"Yes, my sister didn't wake up yesterday, so I had the driver travel overnight," Zhao'er said with a smile.

"By the way, what's wrong with the car?" I asked, puzzled, seeing that the car hadn't moved for a while.

"The axle is broken." The coachman looked dejected as he pulled back the curtain.

"Oh, let's get off then." The sun was shining brightly outside; it was midday. I stood up.

Zhao'er quickly stepped forward to help me out of the car.

"But..." The driver stared at my wrist, still eyeing my bracelet.

Zhao'er gave him a cold glance, and the coachman immediately fell silent.

I glanced at Zhao'er with some surprise. When did this child's eyes become so sharp?

After getting off the bus, I found myself in the middle of the street.

On the street, the crowds coming and going, the vendors hawking their wares, and the dazzling array of goods made me feel a little dizzy for a moment.

"Where is this?" I turned around and looked at the dejected-looking driver.

"Danyang".

"Mmm," I smiled. Danyang, here I come!

My stomach growled, and my son said he was hungry...

I spotted the nearest restaurant and grinned from ear to ear. My bright new life was about to begin!

"Sister, let's go inside," Zhao'er said with a smile.