Chapter 626 Caught in a Dilemma
Qiao Yuanyao glanced at the newcomer; the person looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place who it was. However, this person addressed her as Miss Biao.
"You are..." Qiao Yuanyao looked at the person who came in with a puzzled expression.
The newcomer quickly introduced herself: "My name is Xiaofeng, and I am the personal maid of the fourth young lady of the Yongning Marquis's mansion. Xiaoyu and I used to be maids in the Qiao family, and later we followed the fourth young lady to the Yongning Marquis's mansion."
Qiao Yuanyao nodded in understanding. No wonder she was called Miss Qiao; she was a maid from the Qiao family.
"What happened to your young lady?"
Upon hearing Yu Huanzhen's name, Xiao Feng almost burst into tears and grabbed Qiao Yuanyao, trying to pull her away.
"Come with me and take a look."
Qiao Yuanyao frowned. She wanted Xiao Feng to explain herself, but seeing how anxious she was, she didn't dare to delay and quickly called Qiao Ning over, "Let's go take a look together. Stay close to me."
Qiao Ning nodded obediently, got up and followed Qiao Yuanyao out of the waterside pavilion.
Once outside, Xiao Feng led the two quickly across the wooden bridge, away from the waterside pavilion, and turned towards the other side of the garden.
"What exactly happened?" Qiao Yuanyao asked Yu Huanzhen again.
As Xiao Feng hurried along, he explained, "My young lady was invited by the young lady of the Beppu residence to come here to admire the bamboo."
"As a result, someone tried to sabotage my young lady halfway there, but she managed to evade it."
"Then those people ganged up on me and accused my young lady of bullying others..."
"I left Xiaoyu to protect my young lady and hurried to find someone to help."
"But I don't know any other ladies, so I can only ask you for help."
"My young lady is outnumbered and outmatched. How can she possibly handle several young ladies by herself?"
"Let's hurry over there!"
Hearing this, Qiao Yuanyao breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, it wasn't anything serious.
However, Yu Zhen was indeed her aunt's goddaughter, and the Yongning Marquis's mansion had a good relationship with her aunt. Moreover, their maid had come to her for help, so she really couldn't just sit idly by.
So they quickened their pace.
However, the garden of the Yongchang Marquis's mansion was truly enormous. After crossing the wooden bridge and walking along a smooth path, one would find stone steps leading upwards.
After climbing the stone steps, there was a winding pebble path, turning and twisting, and after walking for a quarter of an hour, we still hadn't arrived at our destination.
Ever since Xiao Feng started following Huan Zhen, he and Xiao Yu have been learning martial arts together.
Although you may not become a master, it is still very useful for improving your health.
So, Xiao Feng didn't feel anything despite walking such a long way back and forth.
Qiao Yuanyao had lived in a nunnery for several years, where life was tough and she had to do everything herself, which made her quite strong.
After arriving in the capital, Qiao Yuanyao was not one to stay at home; she went out frequently and was very agile.
Only Qiao Ning, who had been raised in seclusion since childhood, rarely left her home after arriving in the capital. At most, she would walk from her own courtyard to the main courtyard where Qiao Qinghe lived to pay her respects.
So, after walking such a distance, Qiao Ning was already panting heavily.
I tripped and fell because I wasn't careful with my footing.
By the time everyone realized what was happening, Qiao Ning was already sitting on the ground.
To make matters worse, the ground was wet, and Qiao Ning's dress got completely dirty from the fall, making it unwearable.
"What should we do?"
Xiao Feng glanced anxiously at Qiao Ning, then at the direction where Yu Zhenhuan was, and suggested, "Miss, why don't we let Miss Ning stay here and wait for us?"
"Let's go rescue my young lady first, and then come back to take Miss Ning to change her clothes."
"Perfect timing. Let's send someone to the car to get some clean clothes. That way we can have both done in one go."
What do you think?
Qiao Ning's dress was now dirty, and she could tell that Qiao Ning was truly unable to walk any further.
But she couldn't just leave Qiao Ning alone.
She knew perfectly well that the Yongchang Marquis's residence had dug a pit for her today, waiting for an opportunity to push Qiao Ning into it.
However, Yu Huanzhen's side couldn't be left unattended.
They came to us seeking our help. Besides, the relationship between the two families isn't something she can simply ignore.
If Yu really suffers a loss here, and she just sits by and does nothing...
If things aren't handled properly, the relationship between the two governments could become a major problem.
This is not something she can handle.
Caught in a dilemma, Qiao Ning took the initiative to speak up: "Aunt, why don't you go with Miss Xiao Feng to check on Miss Yu's condition?"
"I've sent two maids with me. I'm not going anywhere; I'll just wait here for you to come back. Everything will be alright. You can go without worry."
"This..." Qiao Yuanyao was still a little worried.
Qiao Ning quickly smiled and reassured her, "Auntie, this place is secluded and no one comes here. What could possibly happen? You can go without worry."
He then pointed to an old woman and said, "Please trouble you to go to the carriage and fetch my spare clothes."
Then she pointed to another old woman, "You go with my aunt to see what's going on. You two stay here with me."
The last sentence was spoken to the two maids.
The four servants who came with her were all clearly assigned tasks by Qiao Ning. Her attitude was also very clear.
Seeing this, Xiao Feng quickly bowed gratefully to Qiao Ning, saying, "Thank you for your consideration, Miss Ning."
As he spoke, he looked longingly at Qiao Yuanyao.
After hesitating for a long time, Qiao Yuanyao finally nodded, "Then let's go and come back quickly. Don't go away. Just wait for us to come back here."
"Okay. You guys go ahead." Qiao Ning urged.
Qiao Yuanyao then quickly left with Xiao Feng and the old woman.
***
Half an hour ago, several young ladies led Zhen Huan out of the waterside pavilion to admire the bamboo on this secluded green mountain.
As soon as they arrived at the bamboo grove, a Miss Zhao pointed to a protrusion at the bottom of the gentle slope and exclaimed in surprise, "Look, what's that?"
Everyone looked down in the direction she was pointing, but saw nothing. Just as they were wondering what was going on, they saw Miss Zhao suddenly lunge forward and tumble down the gentle slope.
Fortunately, the slope wasn't high or long, and there was a thick layer of bamboo leaves on the ground, so Miss Zhao wasn't injured. However, her clothes were dirty, her hair was disheveled, and her delicate makeup was ruined; she looked utterly disheveled.
Everyone was startled. Before they could react, the young lady was already lying at the bottom of the slope, wailing loudly.
"Waaaaah... Miss Yu, why did you push me? Waaaaah..."
The servants rushed down to help her up, and the other young ladies also gathered around, asking her with concern where she was injured.
After confirming that Miss Zhao was alright, the others belatedly asked, "How did you suddenly fall down?"
"Oh dear, didn't you hear what Miss Zhao just said? She said that Miss Yu pushed her!"
"Really or fake?"
While crying, Miss Zhao glared fiercely at Yu Zhenhuan, who remained uninvolved, and asked with a wronged expression, "Miss Yu, why did you push me?"
"I don't think I've done anything to offend you, so why are you treating me like this?"
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