Chapter 237 Pit
Today wasn't a holiday, so there weren't many tourists. On the way to Zhuangshan, we passed a field of rapeseed flowers, a vast expanse of golden yellow, and two little girls were gazing at it intently from the window.
Suddenly, the carriage wheels thudded, causing the entire carriage to tilt and the people inside to be jolted.
"What's wrong?"
Lanxin lifted the curtain to look outside. The coachman, of course, immediately got down to check. After looking around the carriage, he replied with a bitter face:
"Oh no, Miss Lanxin, there's a pothole on the road that broke the spoke of the right rear wheel of the carriage."
Lanxin got out of the car and saw that it was indeed the case.
It's about ten miles from here to Zhengjiazhuang. They don't only have this one carriage; there's another one behind them, loaded with luggage and carrying servants. However, the carriage is broken down and must be sent back to the city for repairs, which might delay their return journey.
The guards examined the dent and confirmed that it did not appear to be man-made, which reassured Qi Yuxuan somewhat.
"Since things have come to this, let's go to your estate first. I happen to have a lot of things with me, so I'll stay for three to five days before going back. I think the car will be repaired by then."
So what was originally planned as a one-day stay was changed to three to five days.
Zheng Yanling had no objections. Although the estate was called a manor, it was built in a grand and spacious manner. The wealth accumulated by the Zheng family over generations was there for all to see, and no matter what, they would not mistreat Qi Yuxuan.
"Send two people to take the carriage back for repairs first. Untie the two horses, and we'll ride over."
As for Lanxin and the others, they would have to make do for the time being and squeeze into the carriage at the back with the servants.
The two girls were not dressed in riding attire, nor were they racing horses. They rode slowly along the official road to Zhuangshan, with twenty mounted guards and a carriage following them at a distance.
Upon arriving at the estate, they indeed saw Zhao Mei, who had arrived earlier, and Zhao Yinchen was also there. They said they were preparing to go out of the city to check the shop accounts in the neighboring county and would drop off their younger sister to meet them.
Hearing that Qi Yuxuan's carriage had broken down on the way, he said:
"The official road is smooth and is repaired by soldiers every now and then to prevent such things from happening. How could there be such a big pothole?"
The Zhao family used to be traveling merchants all over the country, so they knew the most about the news on these official roads. When they asked out of curiosity, Qi Yuxuan and the others realized that something was wrong.
"But the guards checked it and it didn't look like it was done by someone."
Zhao Yinchen didn't ask any further questions. After a moment's thought, he decided to check the so-called dent after he finished checking the accounts the next day. If it was true, he would report it to the government as soon as possible, lest it damage the wagons used by the caravan to transport goods and delay the merchants' business.
Thinking about the convenience of transporting goods for his own family, he kept it in mind, and on his way back the next day, he specially led his horse to walk the section of road with potholes.
The servant accompanying them was puzzled, but he obediently followed along.
Ten miles from Zhengjiatian Village lies this section of the Wuguan Road official road.
He looked around and saw that the official road was flat and wide, with large fields of rapeseed flowers planted by villagers from nearby villages on both sides, stretching as far as the eye could see.
As he walked along, looking at the scenery, he suddenly realized something was wrong with his feet.
The soil here is much softer than the area we just stepped on. If you were sitting in a carriage or on horseback, you wouldn't notice it if you just walked over it for a while. But if you stepped on it yourself, you would find that something was wrong.
"Come and look, isn't this freshly filled soil?"
Zhao Yinchen frowned as he looked at the soil beneath his feet. Its color was slightly darker than the white soil next to it, but it was not noticeable unless you looked closely.
Immediately, a servant came forward, squatted down, and scooped up a handful of soil in his hand.
"It feels wetter to the touch, unlike the looser soil next to it..."
The servant dug with his bare hands, and sure enough, this patch of soil, about a foot square, was softer and easier to dig than the surrounding soil.
If another day or two passes by, with more pedestrians and vehicles, the traces of these new and old soils will probably disappear completely.
Zhao Yinchen's gaze swept across the official road, then turned to the nearby rapeseed fields, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Let's see if there's anything else ahead."
The group walked for another fifteen minutes, measuring almost every foot of the pipe with their feet, but found no other unusual spot.
Zhao Yinchen finally confirmed that there was a problem there, but that didn't mean anything. Perhaps the pedestrians in the past two days had discovered the dent and immediately reported it to the government for repair.
He suppressed the doubts that had arisen in his mind for the time being and rode back to the capital.
Zhao Mei only stayed at the Zheng family estate for two days. On the third day, because it was her mother's birthday, she went home early in the morning, leaving only the two masters, Qi Yuxuan and Zheng Yanling, at the estate.
After having breakfast, Zheng Yanling suggested:
"The weather's nice today, shall we go hunting in the mountains?"
Both girls were quite skilled on horseback. In the past two days, because Zhao Mei was not good at riding and archery, they only strolled around on horseback and did not really run around to their hearts' content.
Hearing Zheng Yanling say this, Qi Yuxuan was also somewhat tempted.
"It's a bit chilly in the mountains this morning. Princess and Miss might as well have lunch before heading into the mountains. The weather will be warmer then, and there will be more game."
The woman in charge of Zhengjiazhuang Village suggested with a smile.
"I see the sun is shining brightly today, so I'll take advantage of the spring sunshine to go boating on the lake. When I'm tired, I can go to the lakeside to fly some kites. Wouldn't that be even more beautiful?"
Zheng Yanling thought about the scene and felt it suited her taste, so she agreed as the steward lady had said.
The stewardess immediately replied, "Yes, then I will go and prepare your luggage first, so that it will be convenient for you and the princess to travel... However, the large pleasure boat on the estate was found to have a hole a few days ago, so I'm afraid we can only use the smaller one for now, which can seat about five or six people."
Qi Yuxuan suddenly felt a strange sensation.
"Wait a minute." She looked at the steward's long, narrow, upturned eyes and slowly said, "We're not going on the boat trip. We're a bit tired from playing the past two days, so let's rest at the estate for half a day."
The stewardess was taken aback, then flattered with a smile, "Your Highness is right, it was my oversight."
After the stewardess left, Zheng Yanling realized something was wrong when she looked at Qi Yuxuan.
Why do you look so pale?
Qi Yuxuan gripped her hand tightly: "Sister Zheng, are you familiar with this manager? I'm a little uneasy..."
Zheng Yanling was startled and hurriedly squeezed her hand back: "She was my mother's dowry maid. When she reached marriageable age, she was betrothed to her husband's family and was granted permission to work as a manager on the estate. Logically speaking, we shouldn't distrust her."
"But I haven't seen her for almost ten years, so I wonder how she's been lately, you mean?"
Qi Yuxuan nodded and explained, "When Mei Niang was here the other day, she did her job obediently and didn't say a word unless we gave her instructions. But today she took the initiative three times. First, she asked us to change the time at the mountain, then she recommended that we go boating on the lake, and then she said that there were only small boats... Those small boats can only hold five or six people. Besides you and me, there are at most three of us. If something happens on the boat, wouldn't our lives be in danger?"
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