The people inside hadn't been on high alert towards the young girl, so they hadn't expected her to suddenly use this move. The candlelight went straight for Li Qingchen's face, and the others immediately tensed up, rushing forward to protect him, giving Wei Shuwan a chance to escape.

To avoid being injured by the stray swords, she crawled under the table and ran straight to the door from the other end. Then, she ran towards the entrance of the manor in the darkness! The people behind her, who had reacted, chased after her to the door, but dared not pursue her any further.

They had been hiding in this village for years, hoping to help the young prince achieve great things. The time was not yet ripe, and it was not advisable to reveal themselves. Once they went after him with swords and spears, their identities would naturally be exposed.

So one of the hunters, dressed as a hunter, drew his bow and aimed at Wei Shuwan's back.

This arrow will surely kill her, and it won't cause much of a commotion. She can be silenced without anyone noticing.

However, at the critical moment, the hunter's left knee suddenly buckled, and the arrow he fired went astray...

The arrowhead embedded itself straight into the trunk of an elm tree that Wei Shuwan had run past, emitting a lingering buzzing sound, which made her tremble a few times as well. But she didn't dare stop moving her feet, her legs twitching as if numb.

"Brother Yang, what's wrong with you? You can shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away, how come you can't hit it at such close range?"

"Yes, if she escapes today, the consequences will be dire!"

...

A group of people began to complain about the hunter's crucial mistake, but Li Qingchen, with a stern face, stopped them, saying, "That's enough!"

"I will handle this matter. No one else needs to interfere. You may all leave."

Everyone had no choice but to fall silent and disperse through the secret passage as ordered. As the "hunter" left, he glanced back at his young master, wondering why the young master had kicked him in the back of the knee when he shot that arrow.

Wei Shuwan didn't dare to stop all the way and went straight to the carriage at the entrance of the village. Just as she was about to ask the coachman to meet Miaoxiang, she found that Miaoxiang had also caught up with her.

"Miss..." Miaoxiang was also out of breath, panting as she supported herself on her legs, "What happened just now? I saw you suddenly run out of the main gate and couldn't catch up, so I had to take the shortcut in the back courtyard to catch up with you..."

Finally, Miaoxiang caught up with them. Wei Shuwan was overjoyed and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the car: "Don't say anything yet, get in the car!"

Urged on by her, the coachman drove the carriage away from the manor. After traveling some distance and confirming that no one was chasing them, Wei Shuwan told the coachman to change course: "To the pond!"

Wei Shuwan had already told Miaoxiang about the situation earlier. At this moment, Miaoxiang was both worried for her master and concerned about Ziqiao, but she was puzzled as to why they suddenly changed their route to the pond.

"Girl, if they're determined to kill, wouldn't it be too dangerous to go to the pond? Besides, we don't know where Ziqiao has gone..."

“They stopped chasing me when I ran away, which shows they still have reservations and don’t want to be exposed too early. Besides, we went to the pond precisely to find Zi Qiao.”

Miao Xiang stared in astonishment, her eyes wide: "Why are you so sure that Zi Qiao is over by the pond, young lady?"

“They would occasionally sink those huge boxes into the pond without anyone noticing, so there must be a secret passage leading to the pond. I confirmed this when I was in the farmhouse; the sound of the bluestone floor was off, it must have been hollowed out underneath. Zi Qiao disappeared as soon as she entered the house, she most likely fell into a trap and accidentally entered that secret passage.”

"I understand!" Miao Xiang was excited, thinking that she would be able to rescue Zi Qiao soon.

As Wei Shuwan had predicted, when the carriage had circled the pond for more than half its length and reached the spot where she had seen Li Qingchen row out in a boat last time, she indeed found a secret passage exit hidden among the rocks and vines.

The groom, carrying a lantern, went into the secret passage and soon met Zi Qiao, who was wandering off in an unknown direction.

With everyone gathered, they naturally sped back to Beijing without stopping.

Inside the carriage, the three of them, master and servants, began to plan their return to the capital:

“Miss, now that you’ve stumbled upon such a huge secret of the Prince of Qiaochuan, I’m afraid he won’t let it go easily! When you return to the manor, you should tell your master and mistress the truth and recruit more guards to ensure everything goes smoothly,” Miaoxiang suggested.

Zi Qiao nodded in agreement: "Yes, Miss, we should not keep this from Master and Madam any longer. My meager skills are only good enough to deal with a petty thief, let alone the people around Prince Qiao Chuan."

“Mother has just returned from Pingyang, and she must be feeling terrible. I didn’t want to add to her worries.” Wei Shuwan let out a soft sigh, but she knew that the two maids were right. “However, for the sake of the safety of the whole household, we have no other choice.”

What she feared most was that this young Prince Qiaochuan, in order to keep the secret, would consider exterminating her entire family, which would bring disaster upon them...

By the time the carriage returned to the capital, daylight had completely faded, and they rushed through the city gates just before the gates were about to close.

Upon returning to the manor, Wei Shuwan went straight to Fukang Garden, and upon entering the courtyard, she heard her mother crying.

Even on the day she received her maternal grandfather's letter, her mother hadn't cried so loudly, so Wei Shuwan already had a guess in her mind before entering the door.

Sure enough, after she entered the room, her mother looked up at her and said the first thing: "News just came from Pingyang that your maternal grandfather passed away this morning..."

Although this result was expected, hearing it with her own ears still made Wei Shuwan unable to hold back for a moment. A bitter feeling overwhelmed her heart, and she covered her lips with her hand to suppress her emotions.

After a moment's pause, she said, "Mother, although Grandfather has left us, he can finally go and be with Grandmother."

Tears streaming down her face, Sun Lurong forced a smile: "Yes, your grandmother will finally no longer be alone..."

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