“Young Madam, the mud on this cliff was newly dug, and there’s something wrong with these tree branches!” Just as Bai Nuo was asking how Mudan fell down, Xia Donglai quietly began to examine the surroundings, and soon made a new discovery.

Bai Nuo turned around and followed Xia Donglai's gaze. Xia Donglai pointed to the broken branch and said to Bai Nuo, "Look, it's right here. The branch broke off right here. And the soil underfoot is very firm. A large part of it is missing here. There hasn't been any rain in the past few days. It's impossible for a large chunk to be missing just by stepping on it. There's only one possibility: someone dug up the soil and then put it back in."

Bai Nuo nodded, but Mudan didn't understand. She looked at the spot where Xia Donglai was holding and asked in confusion, "I just grabbed this spot. Did I break it?"

Xia Donglai shook his head. Seeing that Mudan still had doubts, he simply took the broken branch to Bai Nuo and Mudan, pointed to the cut, and said, "Look here. This cut is smooth and clean. It was obviously cut open by someone. It wasn't completely severed, but it will break if you apply force!"

"The servants in this Prince's mansion are so careless!" Peony looked at the branch and the cut on it, and understood what had happened. Her face was pale. "Young Madam, thank goodness I had you, otherwise I would really be dead!"

Fortunately, the young mistress saved her.

Bai Nuo's gaze was deep and unfathomable, with a meaningful smile as he said calmly, "I'm afraid someone wanted my life, and you just took the blame for me."

**

"Cousin, we need to hurry!" Huang Ziyao said to Zheng Qing'er, who was following behind her, while carrying the things in her hands. "My sister-in-law is still waiting for us!"

"I understand!" Zheng Qing'er nodded absentmindedly, her lowered eyes revealing a disdainful glint.

Hearing these distracted words, Huang Ziyao became very irritated. Turning around, she saw Zheng Qing'er walking very slowly, and Huang Ziyao couldn't help but call out again, "Cousin!"

Zheng Qing'er suddenly raised her head and looked at Huang Ziyao blankly, "What's wrong?"

Huang Ziyao was furious at Zheng Qing'er's appearance, but she knew this wasn't the time to make a scene. "Does your wound hurt? If it doesn't hurt too much, let's walk faster!" Before today, she had never done any heavy work, but now she had to carry a basket of fruit for such a long distance. She felt incredibly heavy and wanted Zheng Qing'er to walk faster, not only for Bai Nuo's sake but also for her own.

Because if they don't get there soon, she really can't take it anymore, let alone think about going back to save Bai Nuo.

"Little sister!" Zheng Qing'er said with difficulty, "It's not that I don't want to walk faster and waste time, but I really can't walk fast anymore, my legs hurt a lot!"

Seeing her like that, Huang Ziyao was furious, but she didn't think of anything else. She just felt that she was wasting time by being so slow.

"Then you should walk slowly, we're leaving first!" Huang Ziyao didn't press her, picked up the basket in her hand and said to Hongxing, "Come on, Hongxing, we're going out first, otherwise we'll be late."

Hongxing wanted to tell her cousin that her young lady didn't care much about such things as good luck; she just wanted to see Bai Nuo. However, Hongxing didn't dare to say this to Huang Ziyao directly, for fear that Huang Ziyao would overthink it.

When Zheng Qing'er saw Hongxing turn around to look at her, she nodded slightly. With Zheng Qing'er's permission, Hongxing followed Huang Ziyao.

Zheng Qing'er, who was complaining about leg pain just a second ago, suddenly became as if nothing had happened, and quickly headed towards another exit of the forest. Her familiar manner made it seem as if she had been to this forest many times before.

Huang Ziyao, along with Hongxing, quickly returned to the entrance via the same route they had come from. The Prime Minister's wife and the others hadn't left yet. Seeing the two of them appear before them, they hurried to greet them, saying, "You're finally back! Hurry up, there's not much time left!"

However, upon closer inspection, the Prime Minister's wife did not see Zheng Qing'er, so she asked Huang Ziyao curiously, "Miss Hu, where did Miss Zheng go?"

Huang Ziyao let out a soft breath. Even though she was sweating profusely, she wasn't in a bad state. This made the Prime Minister's wife feel even more favorably toward her. Although she was the daughter of a merchant, she was very composed in every gesture. Moreover, the Prime Minister treated all people equally. As his wife, the Prime Minister's wife was naturally willing to talk to Huang Ziyao a little more.

After wiping her sweat with a handkerchief, Huang Ziyao answered the Prime Minister's wife's question, "My cousin is still behind us, but Madam, my sister-in-law has run into trouble in the woods. Please inform the Princess Consort and ask her to send people to rescue my sister-in-law and her maid."

"What?!" The Prime Minister's wife exclaimed in shock, and all the ladies present looked over as well. Huang Ziyao tried her best to compose herself and make her voice sound natural. "My sister-in-law has fallen off a cliff!"

"Oh my god, when did this happen? Quick, quick, Qiuju, immediately inform the Princess Consort and have her lead people to search. Ladies, come with me and take a look. Search as much as you can!" The Prime Minister's wife was shocked, but she quickly regained her composure and began directing the work at the scene.

In this forest, the Prime Minister's wife held the highest status. Since she spoke, everyone naturally followed her and Huang Ziyao back to find Bai Nuo.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!