Volume 2, Step by Step to Victory, Chapter 21: A First Encounter
After a moment of silence, the stranger said, "I'm sorry, young lady, Xiaobai and I both love horses dearly. Once we started talking about horses, we forgot that we came here to rescue people. Are you alright, young lady?"
The sound of horses' hooves approached the carriage; it was probably those two old men, who were talking loudly, riding over.
"Nothing serious, just a hard fall and being squeezed by the carriage, so I can't move for a while." Ruan Bi strained to turn her head to look outside the carriage curtain. Her view was limited, and she could only see two horses slowly approaching, but she couldn't see the people on the horses clearly. The person on one of the horses seemed to be bending down to check, and the whip even touched the curtain.
The stranger suddenly said, "Wait, Xiaobai, this is a trap."
Gu Xiaobai asked, puzzled, "What?"
"An ordinary woman would probably have fainted long ago after such a shocking turn of events. Even if she hadn't, she would have been so frightened that she would have been crying and sobbing. But this woman not only spoke clearly, but also spoke with a teasing tone, which was clearly a trick."
"Damn it," Ruan Bi cursed inwardly. "Is staying calm in the face of trouble a mistake?"
She knew, in truth, that the man wasn't wrong. Women of this era were fragile; the slightest mishap would cause them to weep and wail, threatening life and death. Few wouldn't faint from fright in such an incident. The main blame lay with herself; she habitually forgot that she was now a delicate thirteen-year-old princess, not only physically weak but also emotionally fragile…
Gu Xiaobai said dismissively, "She's just a weak woman, Shunmei is overthinking it."
Another man with a hoarse voice, still going through puberty, said anxiously, “Young master, Master Pan is right, this is strange. You remember, last time you saved a woman in the Wuzhang River, but she turned around and said you had seen her body and defiled her, and insisted that you take her as a concubine. She even went to the yamen, and later the princess ordered the yamen to give her thirty lashes, and only then did it stop…”
Pan Shunmei also said, "Yes, Xiaobai, people's hearts are unpredictable..."
Ruan Bi sighed and said, "Gentlemen, you are overthinking this. If I had any ulterior motives, wouldn't it have been easier for me to get close to you if I had fainted? I am fine. Please help me turn the carriage over, and I will get out by myself."
Pan Shunmei hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright, young lady, be careful. If you feel unwell, speak up as soon as possible."
"Okay, thank you all."
After Ruan Bi finished speaking, she focused her mind and slowly regulated her breathing. She had been in this position since the carriage overturned, and she didn't know whether she had broken any bones. She heard Pan Shunmei outside instructing the guards to be quiet, and then about six or seven guards came over, lifted the carriage, and righted it little by little.
One of the carriage wheels had fallen off, so they had to remove the other one as well before they could lay it flat on the ground.
Pan Shunmei then asked, "How are you, young lady?"
Ruan Bi carefully moved her joints. Although there was a slight soreness, it wasn't serious, so she figured she hadn't broken any bones. She let out a long breath and said, "I'm fine..."
The man with the hoarse voice said impatiently, "Miss, if you have nothing else to do, hurry up. It's getting late. If our young master goes home late, he'll get scolded by his elders..."
Gu Xiaobai scolded in a low voice, "Anping, your mouth is getting noisier and noisier."
Anping said exaggeratedly, "Oh my god, don't you see the sky? The Princess must have finished talking with Master Ziying and is looking for you everywhere. When we get back, my bottom will be in for a beating again."
Ruan Bi said softly, "Young man, please don't rush. After the bumpy ride, I'm disheveled and my clothes are in disarray. Let me tidy myself up a bit."
Anping muttered to himself, "Does it really take this long to tidy up? Are they going to create a celestial being...?"
Before the words were finished, the carriage curtain parted, and a graceful young woman stepped out. Her long, black hair was tied back with a silk scarf, and she wore a plain white, high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), embroidered only with intricate lotus blossoms on the collar and cuffs. It was dusk, and a hazy twilight enveloped the surroundings. Standing on the carriage shaft, she seemed to radiate all the remaining light of the day, as if her body itself were a source of light, endlessly emanating radiance. The evening breeze ruffled her long hair and the hem of her white dress, making it seem as if she might drift away in the blink of an eye.
The surrounding area was quiet, except for the birds returning to their nests in the sky, cawing incessantly.
"Thank you all for saving my life."
Ruan Bi stood on the carriage shaft and bowed deeply.
Pan Shunmei involuntarily took a step forward and asked in a low voice, "Whose daughter are you?"
Ruan Bi glanced at him and saw that he was eighteen or nineteen years old, dressed in a blue outfit, with a square face and a prominent nose. He seemed familiar. After searching her memory, she remembered that she had actually seen him before. He was the young man who had described the moon as elegant and refined, and said that she was just an ordinary girl on the day of the Shangsi Festival.
Pan Shunmei asked again, "Why aren't you saying anything? Is there something you can't tell us? Why were you kidnapped by bandits? Don't be afraid, tell us everything, and I will help you."
Gu Xiaobai, standing to the side, frowned and said, "Shunmei."
Pan Shunmei then realized that she had lost her composure and felt slightly embarrassed, but she still stared intently at Ruan Bi.
Ruan Bi lowered her eyes and said softly, "I have no secrets to hide, nor do I know why I was abducted by bandits. I should have told you everything I knew when you asked, but although I am safe and sound, it is not a good thing. If word gets out, it will damage my reputation. Please allow me to keep my name confidential."
Suddenly, Gu Xiaobai gave a cold snort.
Ruan Bi was taken aback and turned to look at him.
He was dressed in a dark purple outfit today, still with an air of nonchalance, but his expression was a little colder than on the Shangsi Festival. When his gaze met Ruan Bi's, he casually looked away, then looked up at the birds flying overhead and said, "Shunmei, these birds, they were chirping so happily a moment ago, why are they so reserved now?"
This was clearly a veiled meaning, Ruan Bi thought to herself. Could it be that he still remembered her? That seemed unlikely. They had only met once, and it was just a few months ago. Back then, she had just arrived in this world, feeling lost and disoriented, with a head full of wild radishes, looking like a country bumpkin.
Pan Shunmei was also taken aback and asked, "Xiaobai, what are you talking about?"
"It's nothing, it's getting dark, we have to go back, otherwise my grandma will get angry again." Gu Xiaobai mounted his horse and turned to look at Ruan Bi, "Can you ride a horse?"
Ruan Bi shook her head.
Gu Xiaobai was silent for a moment, then said, "Anping, you, Liu Cheng, and Han Tao stay here with her. I'll go back to Yuxu Temple first and then send a carriage to pick her up."
Anping said with a bitter face, "Young Master, why do you want me to stay? What if the Princess..."
Just then, a flock of birds returning to their nests flew overhead, chirping as they flew.
"Stop nagging." Gu Xiaobai shouted, took the bow and arrows hanging on his horse, and fired three arrows into the sky. With three fluttering sounds, three birds fell down.
Anping said with a droopy face, "Young master, Anping will stay."
Pan Shunmei said, "Why don't I stay?"
Before he could finish speaking, a whip cracked, and Gu Xiaobai rode his steed, Salu Zi, galloping away like lightning. Several guards mounted their horses and gave chase.
Anping stuck out his tongue at his retreating figure and said to Pan Shunmei, "Uncle Pan, Anping can stay. If the Princess finds you're not here, she'll surely send someone to look for you again."
Pan Shunmei glanced back at Ruan Bi and said with a hint of reluctance, "Miss, until we meet again."
Ruan Bi replied politely, "Until we meet again."
As if encouraged, Pan Shunmei smiled slightly, nodded to Ruan Bi, then mounted her horse and followed Gu Xiaobai with her entourage.
A group of people quickly disappeared into the distance.
Anping was still looking on with his head held high, unwilling to give up.
Ruan Bi said apologetically, "Brother Anping, and the two guards, thank you for your hard work."
Anping waved his hand and continued rambling, "Oh, it's not hard work, I'm just afraid that the Princess will blame the young master for meddling and give him another beating, and then the beating will fall on my shoulders... Miss, you don't know, Anping's bottom has been most intimate with the beating ever since I can remember. My young master is a lawless fellow, and I, Anping, am the one who suffers the most..."
He was about fifteen years old, and his voice hadn't improved yet. It sounded like he was scraping a pot, and coupled with his long sighs, it was quite incongruous. Ruan Bi was amused and smiled.
Anping was speechless for a moment, swallowing the rest of his words. After thinking for a while, he said, "Miss, you can wait in the carriage. I'll call you when the carriage arrives."
Ruan Bi nodded and said, "Okay." She turned around and went back to sit in the carriage.
A moment later, the rumbling of car wheels could be heard approaching from afar.
Anping shouted from outside the carriage, "Girl, come out! The carriage is here."
Ruan Bi peeked out of the carriage and saw that it was a very ordinary covered carriage, probably ordered by Gu Xiaobai. The carriage curtain was half lifted, and Xiuzhi peeked out. When she saw Ruan Bi, her eyes lit up and she shouted, "Miss, Miss..." As soon as the carriage stopped, she jumped down, rushed to Ruan Bi, grabbed her sleeve, and said with tears in her eyes, "Miss, you scared me to death."
“I’m fine now, you don’t need to be afraid.” Ruan Bi glanced at Anping, who was anxiously squirming, and said, “Come on, Xiuzhi, let’s get in the car and talk.”
Once inside the carriage, it turned around and headed towards Yuxu Temple.
Xiuzhi repeated, her eyes brimming with tears, "Girl, you scared me to death."
This was the normal reaction of a young girl in ancient times. Ruan Bi recalled her own reaction just now, and realized she had indeed been too calm. No wonder Pan Shunmei had become suspicious. There was a saying in her past work—details determine success or failure. She couldn't be careless again and had to always remember that she was a delicate thirteen-year-old noblewoman.
"It's alright, Xiuzhi, I'm perfectly fine now, aren't I?"
Xiuzhi wiped away her tears, looked Ruan Bi up and down to make sure she was indeed unharmed, and then breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Amitabha. Does the young lady know who that thug is?"
Although Ruan Bi didn't know who that person was, she vaguely guessed who was behind it, but it was a sensitive matter, and she didn't want Xiuzhi to ask any more questions. "I don't know, maybe they were planning to rob and plunder, it's quite frightening, let's not talk about it."
Xiuzhi thought to herself, if they were robbers, how would they know so much about the Ruan family? But seeing that Ruan Bi was unwilling to talk about it, she assumed that Ruan Bi was still shaken and didn't ask any more questions.
Back at Yuxu Temple, the three magnificent carriages were long gone, as were Gu Xiaobai and the others. Ruan Bi thanked Anping repeatedly before taking Xiuzhi back to Yuxu Temple. She told the temple magistrate that the carriages had broken down on the road and they would need to stay at the temple for the night.
The Ruan family was one of the major benefactors of Yuxu Temple, so the magistrate dared not neglect her and still arranged for her to return to Xichen Mountain Residence.
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