Chapter 367 Even Ajiu came along.
After traveling for a while, the group found a flat spot by the water to stop and rest.
Jiang Hongling was also brought to Min Qiaoshi by Min Pan'er.
"How did you get here?" Madam Min Qiao looked at Jiang Hongling in confusion. "Shouldn't you be sleeping at the Qiao residence? When did you get into the princess's carriage?"
Jiang Hongling shrank her neck, then said indignantly, "Madam, you promised my grandfather you would take me to Xixi, how can you suddenly go back on your word?"
"If it weren't for... if it weren't for my intelligence, I would have been drugged and missed the departure time."
After complaining, Jiang Hongling put on a smile again and said in a conciliatory tone, "Madam, I won't hold you accountable for breaking your promise, and please don't blame me for secretly following you. Let's call it even. How about this?"
Madam Min frowned slightly. "I didn't let you follow me because it's for your own good."
"But……"
Jiang Hongling was about to retort when she was glared at by Madam Min Qiao.
"Alright, hurry up and eat. After you finish eating, I'll send two people to take you home."
They've only been gone for half a day; there's still time to send them back before dark.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Hongling exploded, "I'm not going back! I finally managed to come all this way, why should I go back?"
"That's not up to you!" Madam Min Qiao replied without hesitation.
Jiang Hongling glared angrily at Madam Min, then looked around. After failing to find the person she was looking for, she finally shouted indignantly, "Madam, you're not being fair!"
Everyone looked at her strangely, not understanding what she meant.
Only Min Pan'er's heart was in her throat. Was this person going to use her as a pretext?
Just as Madam Min was filled with anxiety, she heard Jiang Hongling continue shouting, "If we're going back, then Miss Ajiu and my little master must come back with me! Otherwise, I won't accept it!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Min's expression changed.
Wen Xiu and Li Sanqi, disguised as her personal maids, also began to look around, but they couldn't find any trace of the two of them.
"You mean they came along too?" Madam Min asked with a gloomy face.
“Yes!” Jiang Hongling betrayed the two without hesitation. “They were the ones who told me I was drugged! If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to hide in the princess’s carriage beforehand.”
Min Qiao glared at Jiang Hongling with annoyance, then glanced around and shouted in a deep voice, "Ajiu, really, all of you come out here!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Ajiu, disguised as a maidservant accompanying her in her dowry, stepped out from the crowd.
Princess Xihe was sent to marry a foreign ruler, and she was accompanied by twelve palace maids. These maids rode in two carriages, following closely behind Lady Min Qiao's carriage.
They got out of the carriage and were preparing lunch for Princess Xihe.
Ah Jiu was mixed in with this group of people.
When Min Qiaoshi saw Ah Jiu following her, her face darkened even more.
"Really?"
Seeing that he still hadn't shown up, Madam Min's expression turned even uglier.
Wenxiu tugged at Min Qiao's sleeve and pointed behind her.
When Madam Min turned around, she saw the coachman who was driving her carriage, standing silently beside the carriage with his head down.
Good heavens, so it really was right under her nose from the very beginning?
Well, she actually forgot about that! When she's out and about, isn't what she does most often disguise herself as her coachman?
"Didn't you all promise me you'd stay in Huizhou? Why are you coming with me now?"
Madam Min Qiao was furious. "Are you not taking my words seriously? Or are you not respecting this old woman?"
Ajiu glanced at Jiang Hongling and said righteously, "Miss Jiang is determined to go to Xixi with the old lady. I'm afraid that if I drug her and leave her here, she will follow me even after she wakes up. That would be very dangerous."
"So, I had her hide in the princess's carriage beforehand."
"I followed because I was worried about Miss Jiang's safety."
"Since I released her, it is my responsibility to follow her and make sure she is safe and sound."
Hearing Ajiu's words, Madam Min Qiao almost laughed in anger. "I didn't expect that after following Wei Jia for a while, you've actually developed a brain? You've even learned to use Jiang Hongling as an excuse! You're really something!"
Ajiu gave an awkward smile, not daring to argue.
Madam Min Qiao then turned her questioning gaze to Zhen Huan.
He calmly walked up to Madam Min and stood there, bowing respectfully. Then, he said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, "Madam, I never agreed to let you stay in Huizhou."
"What do you mean, 'no'? That day I told you to stay in Huizhou, and you clearly..."
Min Qiao suddenly stopped. She remembered that she really hadn't said anything that day. She had presumptuously assumed that he had tacitly agreed to her arrangements.
Good heavens, so this girl was waiting for her here all along!
"Did you plan this all along?" Madam Min glared at Zhen Huan with annoyance.
He nodded calmly, "If I had said I wanted to go to Xixi, the old lady would have given me a long lecture to persuade me. It's better for me to say nothing."
"You, you're really something! You, you, you, you're all amazing!"
Madam Min pointed at the three people who had secretly followed them, her anger rising. "I kept you here for your own good, how can you be so ungrateful?"
The three of them stood there like bachelors, saying nothing, letting Madam Min vent her anger.
Seeing this, Madam Min Qiao was even more furious, but when she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say to them.
They had no choice but to back down and reluctantly called the person aside.
"Since you've come along, you must have already made up your mind."
Madam Min Qiao glanced at the three of them with a complex expression, and finally looked at Jiang Hongling, "Do you know that it was the Min family's idea to bring you to Xi'an in the first place?"
Jiang Hongling shook her head, then said nonchalantly, "No matter whose idea it was, I'm happy as long as I can go to Xixi."
Min Qiao rolled her eyes at Jiang Hongling speechlessly. She was just a little fool. Why was she arguing with her?
"The Min family intends for you to be Min Pan'er's personal maid, and your grandfather has agreed."
Jiang Hongling frowned subconsciously, then nodded and said, "Being a maid is fine. Min Pan'er is Princess Xihe now, so being her personal maid isn't an insult to me."
Madam Min sighed, "Do you know what it means for you to be Princess Xihe's maid?"
Jiang Hongling looked at Min Qiaoshi with a blank expression, "Does that mean I can openly go to Xi'an?"
He really is an idiot!
Madam Min Qiao said with exasperation, "This means that your fate is now tied to Princess Xihe's. Wherever she goes, you go. If she wants to stay in Xihe, you can't leave easily either."
"So, do you still think going to Xixi is a good thing?"
Jiang Hongling's lips twitched. Such a thing actually happened?
Madam Min softened her tone, "If you regret it now, it's not too late. I'll have someone send you back in a bit."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com