Chapter 175 Luo'er uses a clever plan to trap the fake heiress!
Outside the window, there was a continuous snow scene.
Everywhere was a vast expanse of white.
Even when the sun is out, the area where you reach out is still bitterly cold.
A large procession of carriages, under the escort of a massive guard, made a calm and slow journey toward Jinling City.
Li Qingluo held the hand warmer in her hands, listening to Nanping's incessant chatter.
"Sister Luo'er, it seems we'll have to wait until spring to ride horses."
"Although I don't feel cold today, the young ladies in Jinling are all like birds raised in a greenhouse, which is really disappointing."
"Look, today only you, me, and four other girls have ridden horses. The rest of us have come to play chess, read books, chat and laugh."
"I really don't understand, if they don't even go to the horse farm, what are they doing here?"
"It was all for nothing, and it even caused us to have to give up so hastily."
Li Qingluo spoke very bluntly: "They naturally couldn't not come because of your status, could they?"
Princess Nanping chuckled and nestled into Li Qingluo's arms: "Then this is all thanks to my mother. Originally, I only wanted to invite you and Sister Nanjia, but my mother said that if we're going to do it, we should do it on a big scale."
"Anyway, the last winter banquet at the Princess's residence was ruined by that Liu Qingzhu. This time, she asked me to take full responsibility for organizing it from beginning to end."
“But my mother would never have imagined that Liu Qingzhu would shamelessly come again today.”
"It's just that she caused the Fourth Prince's uncle to lose his heir back then, and now she's become his favored concubine. It's truly absurd and laughable."
"My mother was furious about my fourth uncle losing his heir, but he's the one who forgot all about it and married a beauty. Just thinking about my mother's expression when I get back, I can't help but laugh..."
Nanping clutched her stomach and laughed nonstop. Li Qingluo would occasionally tickle her and poke her ticklish spots, making her laugh so hard she couldn't stop.
Suddenly, the carriage braked sharply and lurched. If Li Qingluo hadn't grabbed Nanping, she would have tumbled off the seat.
"What's wrong? What happened?! You worthless servants, how dare you not drive properly! When we get back, I, the princess, will punish you severely!"
The coachman replied hastily, "Your Highness, this servant dares not, it's just that everything suddenly stopped ahead."
Nanping angrily got up, cursing as he tried to crawl out to see what was going on.
Granny Deng and Que'er rushed over and pushed the double doors of the carriage shut.
"Girls, there's a fight going on up ahead, don't come out."
"Please let this old servant go ahead and scout ahead first. Que'er and His Highness's guards are waiting here. This old servant will be right back!"
Nanping and Li Qingluo exchanged a glance and immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.
Li Qingluo quickly lifted the curtain of the carriage window to look out. Granny Deng had already left in a hurry. Que'er came over and said, "Miss, don't worry."
Nanping poked her head out from behind: "You maid, at a time like this, why do you say 'don't panic' instead of 'don't be afraid'? I know Sister Luo'er can shoot arrows, but if there is real danger, she needs you to risk your lives to protect her, you know?"
Que'er lowered her head: "Yes, Your Highness is right, this servant understands."
Li Qinglu shook her head: "No, in a critical moment, you just need to protect yourself first. I can save my own life. Nanping, listen—"
The faint sounds of fighting could indeed be heard coming from ahead.
Nanping's expression changed: "If something happens today, how can I explain it to my mother and the powerful families of Jinling City?"
Seventeen or eighteen girls, from at least ten prominent families.
Nanping immediately realized the gravity of the situation and called out to all the guards around him: "Go ahead and see what's going on. If you need to take action, don't bother reporting back. Protect the young ladies of each family with your lives!"
Because Li Qingluo and her entourage were the last carriage to arrive, and Nanping was a princess, there were more than twenty guards and soldiers following behind.
Each of the carriages in front was guarded by four guards and the servants of each household, but if anything happened, those few people would probably only be enough to offer up heads.
The more Nanping heard the sounds of fighting, the more anxious he became.
Li Qingluo couldn't calm her down, but fortunately, Granny Deng returned soon.
She was panting and quickly reported, "Miss, it seems like the imperial court is arresting some traitors ahead. We're just unlucky to have run into them today."
Nanping exclaimed in surprise, "What?! Was there any girl who was frightened and implicated?"
Granny Deng: "There was some fright, but because Princess Qinyu was there to keep things in order, our group is safe for the time being."
Just then, Princess Qinyu's guards returned on horseback, shouting, "All caravans, turn around and return to camp! Return to camp—"
Li Qingluo: "Right now, the only thing to do is hurry back to the horse farm camp and get through this crisis first!"
Nanping: "Then what are we waiting for? We were the last one, and now we're the first one too. Hurry up, coachman—turn the carriage around and go back, hurry back!"
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Qinglu called Que'er over: "Our carriage..."
Li Qingluo whispered some instructions to Que'er, who then turned and disappeared from sight.
Nanping paid no attention to Que'er. She was like an ant on a hot pan. Still worried, she sent more than a dozen guards to protect the team in front.
"Amitabha Buddha, please protect this believer from being implicated today, and may we all be safe and sound—"
However, at that moment, Princess Qinyu's people came from behind and said, "Your Highness, our princess says she thinks she saw Prince Su. She would like to ask if you can lend her twenty guards from the princess's residence to help Prince Su capture the traitor. Would you be willing?"
Nanping was greatly surprised: "Is this my fifth uncle?"
However, the guards have all been dispersed, and Nanping only has a few left by his side.
Upon hearing this, Li Qingluo's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.
What a coincidence, it's Prince Su again?
Thinking of that face and that person, she thought to herself: If it really is Prince Su, with his abilities, he would probably only be feared by those rebels, and there would be no need for the guards of the princess's mansion, right?
But Nanping was very anxious and quickly had someone take her token to the front.
"Go, send twenty guards from the Princess's residence to support my Fifth Uncle!"
Li Qingluo: "Your Highness, actually..."
Before she could finish speaking, the carriage procession suddenly erupted into chaos.
Outside, there was a chorus of neighing horses. Some horses seemed to have suddenly gone mad, charging wildly through the caravan.
Li Qingluo quickly pushed open the door and went out, only to see that it was indeed her empty carriage, which was crashing wildly behind her like a madman.
"Whose horse is this? What's going on? Someone come quick and subdue this beast!"
"ah--"
The servants and maids were so frightened that they screamed. Those who reacted quickly pulled their carriages aside to avoid the danger.
Strangely enough, the crazed carriage kept crashing wildly in one place.
The girl sitting inside the carriage screamed in terror, "Ah—help, help me—"
Sparrow wasn't in a hurry to go forward; instead, she covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
Princess Nanping immediately saw through the trick.
"What happened? Sister Luo'er, isn't that your carriage? Ah—! Was Liu Qingzhu in the carriage that was hit?"
Li Qingluo gave a cold laugh: "It's her. She wants to harm me, so let her suffer the consequences first."
Nanping was incredibly curious: "What on earth happened?! What did she do?"
Li Qingluo raised her hand and gently tapped Princess Nanping's head: "Silly girl. She went to the horse farm before. Cui Jiuniang's horse may not have been killed by her, but she must have tampered with my horse."
Nanping blinked: "How did you know?"
Li Qingluo: "Never mind that. Anyway, she had ill intentions towards me, so I was wary of her and didn't ride in my own carriage."
Otherwise, I would be the one getting hurt right now, being jostled around in the carriage and completely disoriented.
After receiving a look from Green Firefly, Li Qingluo immediately sent Sparrow to check on the horse's condition.
Que'er grew up by the side of Old Madam Pei and was personally taught by her grandmother, Granny Deng, so she was already well-versed in these harmful tricks.
I also have a slight understanding of pharmacology.
She found some medicinal powder in the grass that Li Qing had taken off his black horse.
The sparrow remained silent and quietly approached Li Qingluo.
"Young lady, shall we switch to grass feed?"
Li Qingluo replied, "They've already eaten it, and there's no time to switch to grass feed now. Do you know how effective this medicine really is?"
Que'er: "I happened to see this medicine powder when I was a child. If a horse eats it, it will go crazy. I just asked Grandma, and she said that although this medicine will not kill the horse, it will be dangerous if a person is riding on it."
"At best, one could be injured; at worst, one could fall and die."
"And even if it's a horse-drawn carriage, the people sitting in it are still in danger of dying."
Li Qinglu sneered upon hearing this: "She wants to drive my horse crazy, so let it go crazy."
Que'er asked, puzzled, "We can change to another carriage, but what if it goes berserk and hurts the other girls? Should we just kill the horse?"
Li Qingluo: "My grandmother picked this horse for me, and I can't bear to part with it."
Li Qingluo: "Is there an antidote for this medicine? Or is there something that triggers or inhibits it?"
Sparrow: "Yes! There are herbs nearby that are both compatible and incompatible with it."
"Does mutual generation also mean mutual restraint?"
Sparrow: "Yes, girl. If a horse eats it on its own, it's just a mouthful of hay. But if you crush it and mix in a little vinegar, the smell will drive the horse crazy immediately."
"But if you add a little angelica, the horses will avoid you like the plague and won't come any closer."
Li Qinglu smiled and said, "That would be wonderful."
Nanping brought a cook with him today, so it's easy to find some angelica root and vinegar.
Granny Deng personally went to collect the herbs and brought them back, then crushed them and made several sachets.
After Li Qingluo deliberately got into Princess Nanping's carriage, Liu Qingzhu also chose the position of her own carriage.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Granny Deng led their general's mansion's empty carriage to the front of Liu Qingzhu's carriage.
Then, they quietly hung several sachets containing angelica root on the carriages in front and behind, except for Liu Qingzhu's carriage.
Then, the only herbal sachet containing vinegar was hung on Liu Qingzhu's carriage.
Granny Deng was very quick in her work.
She smiled and went up to chat with the people, as if deliberately mentioning Li Qingluo's soon-to-open delicacies hot pot restaurant, and invited the girls in the carriages to come and support the opening.
But in reality, they took the opportunity to place the sachets in inconspicuous locations.
The girls were all disdainful and cursed inwardly: Sending an old maid to invite us? Who gave her the honor? So what if she is the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion? Their General's Mansion has no prestige these days.
Little did they know, this old woman had come to rescue them.
After the carriage turned around, Liu Qingzhu's carriage was in front of the general's carriage.
The horse smelled the pungent odor getting closer and closer, and the effects of the medicine, which were supposed to take about an hour to take hold, were immediately triggered prematurely...
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