Seeing this, An Ke immediately spurred her horse and galloped away, extremely anxious. Little Swallow was carefree, but her carelessness often caused trouble for those around her. This was something that annoyed An Ke. Besides, even if Qing'er could ride a horse, so what? One lash of her whip would make even the most docile horse become agitated.
An Ke didn't care about anything else; she silently prayed that Qing'er would be alright.
Fu Erkang and Benjamin, who were on the left rear of the carriage, didn't see it, but Fu Ertai and Yongqi, who were on the right front of the carriage, did. However, they exchanged a glance and assumed that Qing'er's horse had gone mad.
Then he saw An Ke chase after her, while Xiao Yanzi remained frozen on her horse. Yongqi sensed something was wrong and spurred his horse forward. "What's wrong? Has Qing'er's horse gone mad? I just saw An An chase after her too." Yongqi was very worried.
Fu Ertai also quietly appeared behind the two. After hearing Yongqi's question, Fu Ertai was also worried about the princess. He didn't care about the outcome and went straight to the direction where they had just disappeared.
"I...I just saw them riding horses slowly, and thinking they could too, I whipped the horse Qing'er was riding." Xiao Yanzi was now filled with remorse and regret. "But I really didn't expect the horse to get startled and run away with Qing'er. What should I do?" Xiao Yanzi was truly panicked; fine beads of sweat were already forming on her forehead, and her eyes were gradually becoming moist.
Seeing Xiao Yanzi like this, Yongqi didn't lose his temper as usual, but he did think Xiao Yanzi was indeed reckless. And what did she mean by not knowing which horse would be startled? How could a horse not be startled when a whip is lashed on its rump? He really didn't know what to say about Xiao Yanzi.
The commotion was quite loud. Although the master in the carriage was unaware of what had happened, Emin, who was driving ahead, noticed it immediately. He decisively dispatched guards to search for Princess Qing and Princess Yong'an.
He rode up to the master's carriage and knocked on the window.
Seeing that they had all gone out, the master was quite pleased. After all, they were a group of young people who had been sitting in the carriage with him. It was really unfair to them; the scenery outside was so beautiful, and the air was so fresh. It was only natural for them to go out for a ride and relax.
The master initially intended to keep Ziwei at arm's length, but she relentlessly pleaded with him, discussing poetry and brewing tea for him. Gradually, the master's cold demeanor softened. However, his attitude remained lukewarm, a departure from his previous coldness.
It wasn't until Emin knocked on the car window that the old man finally leaned out. It was the first time he'd seen Emin with such a panicked expression. "What's wrong? What happened?" His intuition told him something serious must have occurred.
E Min lowered his head. "Little Swallow just whipped Qing'er's horse, and it has gone out of control towards the dense forest. The princess has also given chase. I have already arranged for guards to search for it. I came here specifically to report to you, sir. Should we continue on our way, or wait here for a while?" The main concern was the sky, which was gradually darkening.
The next stop isn't far, but it's best to plan ahead. After all, even when we're away, the master has his requirements. But the princess is the master's darling, so we should at least inform him.
After hearing Emin's report, the master's face darkened considerably. "Send out all the guards to search. Bring them both back before nightfall. Send Xiaoyanzi too. We'll deal with the rest when An'an returns." The master angrily slammed the curtain shut. Ziwei stood by, barely daring to breathe. She truly hadn't expected Xiaoyanzi to cause such a mess. She was still pondering how to plead for her.
The master thought for a while, then stopped the carriage, lifted the curtain, and stood on it, gazing into the distance. Looking at the darkening sky, he said in a deep voice, "How long until the next stop?"
"Master, we'll reach the next town in about 10 li." Fu Heng had already sent someone to scout the area, and this was just in time to help E Min out of her predicament.
"Alright, set off quickly. Once everything is settled, all of you come out and search." After giving these instructions, the master returned to the carriage and ordered them to speed up their journey towards the town.
The carriage fell silent again. Ziwei dared not make any rash moves and sat stiffly in place, not daring to move at all.
The main force quickly headed towards the town. Fortunately, the advance team sent by Fu Heng had already scouted the area and rented an inn. The carriage went directly to the backyard of the inn. After the master got off the carriage, he told them to hurry up and find Qing'er and An'an, saying that it was so late and the two girls were probably very scared deep in the forest.
After receiving their orders, Fu Heng and E Min led several guards towards the dense forest. Fortunately, they knew where the inn was.
Watching their departing figures, the emperor angrily flung his sleeves and went straight into his room to await news. It wasn't that he didn't want to go, but as the emperor, he could only remain in the rear to oversee things. With Fuheng and Emin gone, he could feel more at ease. However, the emperor still couldn't calm down and paced anxiously back and forth in his room.
——
"Qing'er, Qing'er!" An Ke rode halfway when she saw Qing'er's horse return on its own. But she couldn't see Qing'er on the horse. An Ke was secretly worried. This forest was big; anything could happen. What if there were wild beasts? What if there were poisonous snakes? An Ke didn't dare to think about it, and the more she thought about it, the faster she quickened her pace.
Upon seeing the princess, Ertai silently walked to her side. Anke noticed, but she had no mind to speak. She was simply calling out Qing'er's name loudly. Ertai didn't hold Anke back either, and also called out Qing'er's name loudly.
——
Qing'er had just been carried by the horse through the dense forest, crashing and lurching, until a very long tree trunk struck her, knocking her off the horse. Before she could recover from the impact of falling off the horse, Qing'er fell into a trap set nearby to catch prey.
The trap was extremely deep, and Qing'er had also sprained her ankle when she fell off the horse. Now her ankle was in excruciating pain, and she couldn't even stand up. It must have rained a few days ago, as the trap was incredibly slippery, and there was nowhere to grab onto.
The trap was also full of pebbles, which cut Qing'er's hands in several places. Qing'er was also shouting for help. She knew that An'an would come. What she needed to do now was to stay calm.
As darkness fell, the trap grew cold and dark. Qing'er endured the pain for a long time, but finally couldn't hold back and sobbed. When had she ever suffered such injustice? She had already pushed herself to the limit. The area around the trap was eerily quiet, save for the occasional cry of an eagle echoing from the woods. Qing'er hugged herself tightly and slowly leaned against the side of the trap. She silently prayed for An Ke, hoping she wouldn't fall asleep there.
As darkness fell, An Ke, determined not to miss Qing'er's cries for help, dismounted early and began searching on foot through the woods. Her hands tirelessly brushed through the grass, leaving fine scratches on her delicate hands. An Ke's eyes were now red with anxiety; if she didn't find Qing'er soon, she would go mad, she would go back and beat that little swallow to death.
Ertai knew he couldn't persuade the princess, so he could only silently clear away the grass in front of her. He picked up a stick from the roadside and watched the princess walk away. Without hesitation, Ertai tore off strips of cloth from his own body and wrapped them around the stick.
Fortunately, she had a tinderbox with her, which lit up with a gentle blow. She then brought the cloth strips on the stick closer and gradually illuminated the path ahead for the princess.
Anke felt a pang of gratitude, but now was not the time to say such things. She simply glanced silently at the shadow beside her, then shouted loudly again.
Fuheng and Emin, along with their guards, carried torches and searched the dense forest, while also keeping an eye out for other wild animals.
Little Swallow, holding a torch, followed closely beside Yongqi, searching step by step. Yongqi wanted to suggest that they split up, as it might help them find the target faster. But Little Swallow insisted on staying close to him. Yongqi sighed helplessly and could only lead the way, scouting ahead as he searched.
As the saying goes, perseverance pays off. Just when An Ke was on the verge of a mental breakdown, she heard Qing'er's weak cry for help. An Ke's eyes lit up with an unprecedented light, and she strode directly toward the trap.
The trap was dug extremely deep; from above, it was impossible to see what was below. "Qing'er, are you here?"
Qing'er had only been mechanically calling for help, but unexpectedly, she actually got to see An Ke. Qing'er slowly stood up, supporting herself on the slippery mud, and excitedly called upwards, "An'an, I'm here!"
Anke heard Qing'er's voice and couldn't wait to go down and rescue her. Ertai stopped the anxious Anke. "Miss, please think it over. The ground here is very soft, which means there was a heavy rain a few days ago. The traps below are bottomless, probably set up by the villagers to keep out large wild animals. They must be very slippery down there."
An Ke gradually calmed down. Yes, if she had impulsively gone down, not only would Qing'er be trapped below, but she would be too. "Then what's your brilliant idea?"
Ertai looked around and found nothing he could use. He couldn't help but feel quite disappointed.
After seeing Ertai looking around, Anke instantly realized what was going on. Luckily, Yingfeng had been following behind her while she was searching for Qing'er.
Yingfeng is a spirited horse, and Anke wasn't afraid it would run away, so he took the reins off its neck. This rein was specially made for Yingfeng by Anke; it had the right length, the right resilience, and the right style.
Slowly wrapping the reins around her waist, An Ke decided to go down herself and bring Qing'er up. After all, it was still uncertain where Qing'er was injured.
However, the reins were still of limited length, and the trap was still quite deep. But Tai didn't care about that now; she simply took off her outer robe and tied it to one end of the reins. "Don't worry, Miss, I'll pull you up."
An Ke took a deep look at the boy standing before her; the boy's figure was like an unyielding pine tree. An Ke trusted him, nodded, and then leaped into the trap. Deep within the trap, she saw Qing'er, disheveled, her hair in disarray, her eyes bloodshot.
Seeing this, An felt somewhat guilty, but still stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Qing'er's waist, and tugged at the rope. The trap was indeed very slippery, but it wasn't entirely useless.
To avoid putting all the pressure on Ertai, Anke picked up a few pebbles from below. She tossed them onto the slippery earthen wall, using the pebbles as a springboard for her light-footed skills, and with Ertai pulling her from above, they quickly escaped the trap.
There was no light at all deep inside the trap. An Ke hadn't seen Qing'er clearly before, but now that she did, she really wanted to slap Xiao Yanzi.
Before Qing'er could say anything, An Ke wrapped her arms around Qing'er's waist and leaped onto Yingfeng's horse. She then looped the reins around Yingfeng's neck. "Thank you for today's events. I'll take Qing'er back first, and you should come back soon too." With that, she turned her horse around and headed towards the exit of the woods.
Ertai was very happy to be able to help Anke. Holding his muddy outer robe, he gently wrapped it around his waist, then leaped onto his horse. He followed closely behind the princess and left the dense forest.
Fu Heng didn't see An Ke and the others, but he did see Ertai. After learning that An Ke had found Qing'er, he told Ying to notify the others to return quickly.
Fu Heng didn't see it, but E Min did. It was E Min who led them to the inn.
The inn was brightly lit, and faint sobbing could be heard from inside.
It turned out that Xiao Yanzi had accidentally fallen while searching. Yongqi was afraid that Xiao Yanzi would be a burden to everyone in the search for Qing'er, so he handed her over to Benjamin, who would bring her back first.
The master sat upstairs with a somber expression, looking at the disheveled Xiao Yanzi and the sobbing Ziwei beside her. He felt utterly overwhelmed.
But Xiao Yanzi insisted that she would go out to look for Qing'er after the bandage was done. Ziwei comforted Xiao Yanzi, "Xiao Yanzi, you're also scratched, so just wait here. I believe Yongqi and the others will bring Qing'er back safely. There's no use in being anxious now."
"But it was my fault after all." Little Swallow lowered her head guiltily, then stood up to go out and look for her.
Ziwei then pulled Xiaoyanzi back, saying, "I believe Qing'er will be alright. Miss also went with her to look for her. This isn't your fault. Don't put all the blame on yourself. I believe Qing'er won't blame you."
Upon hearing this, An Ke immediately flew into a rage. What green tea? What white lotus? The injury wasn't on her, and she thinks it's okay just because she says so? She pushed the door open and stormed in.
Before anyone could react, An Ke strode forward and slapped Ziwei across the face. Her gaze was cold as she watched the two women put on their act of sisterly affection, her voice icy. "You weren't hurt, yet you're putting on this act of magnanimity? And by what right do you speak on Qing'er's behalf, saying you forgive Xiao Yanzi?"
"Imperial Physician Hu, please take a look at Qing'er's injuries." An Ke glanced at Imperial Physician Hu.
He then turned and looked coldly at Xiao Yanzi, slowly approaching her step by step.
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