Chapter 140, Chapter 140, Car Accident
As Minister Meng was the Minister of Rites, Wang Liuniang could understand his strict rules, so she stopped asking why Meng Yueniang was so unfamiliar with Meng Guanqi.
But she still had something very important to confirm: "Does your cousin have an engagement? You know that, right?"
Meng Yueniang covered her mouth with a smile and said, "See if you still won't admit that you like my cousin? Oh my, this is not a question a young lady should ask. It should be Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang's concern..."
Wang Liuniang blushed with embarrassment and tickled her, saying, "You dare to say that again! Say it again!"
Two young girls were laughing and joking around on the tatami mat.
When the two of them were exhausted and lying on the couch, panting, Wang Liuniang said, "The moment I saw him, I felt that if I couldn't marry him in this life, my life would have been wasted. Tell me quickly, is he engaged?"
Meng Yueniang actually knew about this: "It shouldn't be true. I once heard my mother mention that my cousin had lofty ambitions and would only get married after passing the imperial examination. Originally, the clan wanted to arrange a marriage for him, but my grandfather stopped it."
Wang Liuniang was overjoyed. It was good that he hadn't been engaged yet. It was even better that he could become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) before marriage. It was a double blessing. Moreover, he was such a young, promising, handsome, and well-bred Jinshi. He could probably choose whomever he wanted.
Although he was born into a branch of the Meng family, which was not as prosperous as the main branch, there were advantages to having fewer people. He did not have to balance the relationships between the different branches, and there were not as many elders to serve.
Wang Liuniang thought such a simple family was best. Right now, Madam Meng had taken her young son back to the capital with him, but Magistrate Meng was still serving in Biyang County. Madam Meng couldn't possibly stay in the capital with her young son forever, could she? She was afraid that after Young Master Meng passed the imperial examination and finished arranging his wedding, he would take his young son to reunite with Magistrate Meng. At that time, only the young couple would be left at home, directly in charge of the household, without any elders to suppress them or brothers and sisters-in-law to make things difficult for them. Even the gods couldn't ask for such a life, could they?
Wang Liuniang became more and more satisfied, her heart already set on Meng Guanqi, and she suddenly became worried about his illness.
She pulled Meng Yueniang up: "Let's go, let's go now."
Go now? Meng Liniang was dumbfounded. She looked at the strong wind and heavy snow outside. How could she go? There was no way Madam Wang would let Wang Liuniang go out. Even if she asked to go back now, she would probably stop her.
Although Meng Yueniang also wanted to accompany Wang Liuniang, she thought about how she had been blown around in a terrible state by the wind when she first arrived, before it even snowed. Now that it was snowing heavily, the weather was really not suitable for going out. So she gently advised, "The weather is not good now. Why don't we wait until the snow stops the next day before we go together?"
If they go to their fourth uncle's house in this weather, people will probably think something serious has happened to them!
But Wang Liuniang was used to being willful, and when she got anxious, she didn't care about anything else: "But I want to go now. I don't know how Brother Meng's illness is, or if there's any good medicine at home for him to take..."
Meng Yueniang couldn't help but think to herself, "Our Meng family is a large family, after all. How could we not afford a doctor or medicine if our young master is sick?"
But she was mostly trying to please Wang Liuniang and didn't dare to refuse her too much, so she said, "Then let's go find Madam Wang first. As long as she agrees, we'll go out."
Wang Liuniang said, "Oh dear, how could my mother possibly agree to let me go out at this time? How about this, I'll see you out, then hide in your carriage and go with you. After we've seen Young Master Meng, you can bring me back."
Meng Yueniang was caught in a dilemma and had no choice but to agree.
Wang Liuniang immediately ordered Chunli to fetch a century-old ginseng from the storeroom, along with two boxes of astragalus and angelica. Under the pretext of escorting Meng Yueniang to the gate, she refused the help of the maids and servants, taking only Chunli with her. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, she secretly slipped onto Meng Yueniang's carriage.
Meng Yueniang was also afraid that the other maids and servants who had come with her would find out that she had taken Wang Liuniang to find Meng Guanqi. If they told her family, that wouldn't do. Since she still had to send Wang Liuniang back anyway, she decided to let them stay at the Wang Mansion and wait for them to return.
So only she, Wang Liuniang, and their personal maids Chunli and Jinse were in the carriage, a total of four people.
The coachman glanced at the sky with some worry. He was about to suggest that his master not go out at this time, but Wang Liuniang, who was afraid of being discovered, immediately said, "Quickly, let's go out and talk about it."
The coachman was startled and dared not say anything more. He quickly drove the carriage out of the palace gate and onto the main street.
There wasn't a single pedestrian or vehicle on the road, only the howling of the wind and snow. The banners of the taverns on both sides of the road fluttered in the cold wind. Inside the carriage, Meng Yueniang, Wang Liuniang, Chunli, and Jinse shivered from the cold. Because they didn't know that Meng Yueniang was leaving the palace so soon, the servants hadn't had time to light the stove in the carriage, making it just as cold inside as outside.
The carriage struggled forward through the wind and snow, then turned onto a main road connecting the north and south. The north wind blew even more fiercely, and to make matters worse, the horses wouldn't move in the freezing wind and even tried to kneel down.
The coachman was terrified and whipped the horse relentlessly, but with only one horse pulling such a heavy cart with five people on board, it simply couldn't move against the wind. No matter how much the coachman whipped it until it bled, it couldn't budge an inch.
The coachman's face was frozen stiff, and he had no choice but to say to the passengers, "Miss, the snowstorm is too heavy, and the horses refuse to move. What should we do? Should we turn back and wait for the snow to stop?"
They had only walked a mile or two by then, so going back to the Prince's Mansion was still quite close.
Wang Liuniang said angrily, "What kind of job are you? You can't even drive a cart properly. The horse won't move, so whip it!"
The driver said in a trembling voice, "We've drawn blood, but the cart is too heavy, the wind is too strong, and the horses can't move. If we don't find a place to shelter from the wind and snow, the horses will freeze to death."
Wang Liuniang suddenly stood up, flung open the carriage door, sat on the carriage frame, and snatched the driver's whip: "Get out of the way, let me handle this!"
The coachman was pushed by her and fell off the carriage, rolling twice on the ground.
Luckily, I was wearing thick clothes and didn't get hurt, but I was almost frozen solid.
Wang Liuniang became furious and lashed the horse's rump with a whip, leaving a deep, bloody welt.
Suddenly, the horse was in excruciating pain. Startled, it neighed and abruptly raised its forelegs. The reins around its neck, which were about to break, tightened around its neck, making it almost impossible for it to maintain its balance. Driven by its survival instinct, it struggled even more violently. Wang Liuniang, sitting on the rafters, was caught off guard and her body was lifted high with the carriage, involuntarily crashing back into the carriage and breaking the door. But that wasn't the end of it. The frightened horse began to struggle violently again, trying to break free of the reins. The four people inside the carriage were thrown about, screaming in unison.
The coachman was terrified and desperately tried to hold down the horse's head, but the horse had already gone mad, and how could he possibly hold it down?
The coachman was an experienced old man and knew that in this situation, it was impossible to calm the horse down. He had to immediately untie the reins around its neck, otherwise he couldn't imagine what danger the ladies inside the carriage might face.
He used almost all his strength to untie the reins, but his fingers were almost frozen in the cold wind, and the reins were tangled with the horse's mane, making it impossible to untie. Hearing the increasingly shrill screams from inside the carriage, the coachman became even more anxious and pulled on the horse's mane with all his might, trying to break it off.
With another violent struggle from the horse, the reins finally broke. Unfortunately, the carriage hanging around its neck did not fall forward directly with the broken reins. Instead, it was suddenly pushed off the ground by the horse's shoulder, and the entire carriage fell upside down. The coachman tried to stop it but it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as the carriage crashed heavily to the ground, and the windows shattered into several pieces.
The injured and frightened horse finally broke free of its restraints and immediately reared up and galloped away.
The coachman didn't even have time to chase after them. When the carriage hit the ground, screams erupted from inside, followed by cries of relief and a maidservant asking in a trembling, tearful voice if her mistress was alright...
The coachman's palms were covered in blood from being forcibly pulled on the reins, and when he heard the crying inside the carriage, his legs went weak. The young lady inside was precious and delicate, and she had fallen and hurt herself while riding in his carriage. If he went back, his master would beat him to death.
Even if the Meng family's master didn't beat him to death, after witnessing the cruelty of the Wang family's young lady, he felt that he couldn't possibly go back alive.
The driver was frightened. He took two shaky steps toward the carriage, then suddenly turned and ran away.
The entire carriage was hoisted high into the air and then slammed to the ground. The young ladies and maids inside would suffer broken arms and legs at best, and their lives at worst. He, the coachman, would likely have to bear the consequences of all of this.
But it was the young lady who braved the heavy snow to go out, and it was also the young lady who ignored his advice and insisted on whipping the horse to death. It can be said that the young lady was the one who caused this tragedy, but in the end, the only one who could be held responsible was the unfortunate coachman.
Why should he? It wasn't his fault; he was just following orders. What crime did he commit? He was a servant, but should his life be so cheap?
Before the people in the carriage could be rescued, and before the people in the manor knew, he had to leave the capital immediately, go to the estate to pick up his wife and children, and become refugees together.
It's better to live a miserable life than to die. Being a refugee might offer a chance to survive, but staying here means certain death.
He ran back to the mansion, secretly packed his belongings, and then secretly drove off in one of the mansion's carriages.
The screams from the overturned vehicle finally alerted a roadside innkeeper. The innkeeper and waiter rushed to the front of the carriage with umbrellas. Upon hearing the crying and groans inside, they were immediately alarmed and called for more people. Together, they lifted the carriage right and discovered that there were four girls inside, all of whom appeared to be injured.
The innkeeper's inn was not far from the Prince's mansion. He immediately recognized one of the girls as a young lady from the Wang family. He was so shocked that he immediately told the waiter to report to the Prince's mansion. When he returned, he was followed by a group of servants from the Prince's mansion.
Lady Wang only learned of the accident when her maidservant rushed in with a panic: her daughter and Meng Yueniang had been in trouble; the carriage had overturned, the horse had run away, and the coachman was nowhere to be found.
Madam Wang nearly fainted, and demanded sharply, "Where is he? How is he?"
The steward who went to rescue them said, "They were all injured and were taken to the clinic."
Madam Wang hurriedly ordered a sedan chair to be prepared and carried out to the clinic.
Upon arriving at the clinic, before even entering, they heard a chorus of weeping inside. Madam Wang nearly tripped as she stepped out of her sedan chair, but was helped up by the maid accompanying her. Once she was steady, she hurriedly entered the clinic.
The clinic was usually quiet during the heavy snow and strong winds, but it immediately became lively when four injured young women were brought in, accompanied by many other people.
The doctor in charge of the clinic only took one look and knew that one of the young women had a broken hand, one had a broken leg, one had a head injury, and the other was probably lucky, only having some bruises and no broken bones.
When Madam Wang entered the clinic, she heard Wang Liu Niangzi angrily cursing the doctor: "You quack! Do you even know how to diagnose? I just bumped into something, how could my leg be broken! I don't want to see a doctor here, I want to call the imperial physician! Someone, I need to call the imperial physician!"
Madam Wang felt a throbbing sensation in her forehead: "Sixth Sister!"
Wang Liuniang was in a sorry state, her hair a mess, her clothes disheveled, wet and cold. Suddenly seeing her mother approach, she burst into tears, sobbing, "Mother! Mother, my leg hurts so much, I can't move it! This quack doctor said my leg is broken! I don't want to be seen here, I want to find the imperial physician! It must just be a sprain..."
Lady Wang was heartbroken and had to step forward to comfort her daughter. Just as Wang Liu Niang's crying subsided a little, she noticed Meng Yue Niang's arm dangling to the side, and her expression changed: "Doctor, how is this young lady's hand?"
The doctor said, "This young lady has a broken arm. We need to set it quickly and fix it with a splint."
He then spoke of the injuries of their personal maids, Chunli and Jinse. Chunli was the only one of the four who was completely unharmed, suffering only minor bruises. Jinse had broken her forehead and bled a lot, but the doctor had already treated her wound, and now her head was wrapped in a cloth.
Meng Yueniang and her maid looked much more disheveled than Wang Liuniang and her maid. She also cried uncontrollably, but she didn't have as big a temper as Wang Liuniang.
An hour ago, the two young ladies were perfectly fine at home, but an hour later they were both injured like this. It was snowing heavily outside, so Madam Wang was bound to want to know what had happened.
But the clinic wasn't the place to talk, and Wang Liuniang was right; her daughter had injured her leg, and Meng Yueniang had injured her hand, both needing bone setting, and Madam Wang didn't trust the doctors here to do it.
She ordered people to bring a sedan chair to take the two young ladies back to the mansion, and then sent someone to fetch the imperial physician. Finally, she also had to inform the Meng family that Meng Yueniang was injured.
In such terrible weather, wouldn't the young ladies of normal wealthy families be sitting around the stove, brewing tea and chatting idly? But Wang Liu Niang sent out an invitation to Meng Yue Niang, who had already arrived at the Wang Mansion before the heavy snow. So why did she appear on the street an hour later and have her carriage overturned?
There must be a reason for this. It seems unlikely that Meng Yueniang would cause such a big trouble, so the cause of this matter is very likely Wang Liuniang.
She broke the hand of someone else's young lady; she has to give the Meng family an explanation.
The servants of the Prince's Mansion quickly brought over a sedan chair and brought Wang Liuniang and Meng Yueniang into the mansion. Meng Yueniang was alright; she had only injured her hand and could still walk upright. But Wang Liuniang was not so lucky; she had injured her leg and had to be carried up.
Before the imperial physician and the Meng family arrived, Madam Wang's face was ashen: "Why did you go out in this strong wind and snow? How did the carriage reverse? Where is the coachman? Where did he go?"
Meng Yueniang's arm ached terribly, and her face was still wet with tears. Although she didn't say anything harsh, she was inwardly furious with Wang Liuniang. If Wang Liuniang hadn't insisted on seeing Meng Guanqi today and hadn't ignored all advice to leave, she wouldn't have been dragged into this mess and broken her arm.
What will happen if her hand becomes disabled?
Thinking of this, Meng Yueniang's tears flowed even more uncontrollably.
So when Madam Wang asked, she didn't say a word.
But sometimes silence can be deafening. Although she didn't say a word, the resentment emanating from her was so strong that even Madam Wang could feel it.
Wang Liuniang's broken leg was more serious than Meng Yueniang's hand injury, and she was in a worse mood. The coachman was sent by the Meng family, and not only did he not ask for help after the accident, he also ran away. She hated such cowards the most. Seeing that Meng Yueniang refused to speak, she couldn't help but get angry: "What's wrong with your Meng family's coachman? Does he even know how to drive? He ran away after the accident and I broke my leg. Find him and beat him to death!"
Meng Yueniang was furious. She hadn't expected that instead of reflecting on her mistake of grabbing the coachman's whip and startling the horse, the woman would push all the blame for the accident onto her family.
In terms of prestige, is she any less noble than Wang Liuniang?
She was also the youngest daughter of the Vice Minister of Works, and was no less than Wang Liuniang. Why should she try to hide the problem from her elders and pin the blame on her when it was clearly her fault?
Her face was still wet with tears, and she couldn't stand it anymore. She coldly replied, "If you hadn't insisted on whipping the horse, it wouldn't have been startled, and we wouldn't be injured like this."
Wang Liuniang gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief: "You, you're blaming me?"
Who else is to blame but you? You insisted on going out, you insisted on dragging me to my cousin's house to see him. The coachman clearly said that the snowstorm was too heavy and the horses couldn't go any further, and suggested that we go back to the Prince's Mansion to take shelter temporarily. You couldn't wait and insisted on seeing my cousin today. Although you broke your leg, I broke my arm too. When your mother asked, instead of quickly thinking of a way to cover it up, you actually pushed the blame onto the coachman? How stupid!
Madam Wang knew how strong her daughter could be, as she was skilled with a whip. When Meng Yueniang told her that it was Meng Yueniang who had whipped the horse and startled it, Madam Wang gasped, "You, a young lady of high birth, why are you fighting with a coachman for the carriage? Where are you going? Why did you go out in this heavy snow without asking for permission from the adults?"
Madam Wang did not doubt the driving skills of the Meng family's coachman. After all, he was a servant of a noble family, and Meng Yueniang was a legitimate daughter. If his driving skills were not good, how could Madam Nie have sent him to drive for Meng Yueniang? Seeing her daughter glaring fiercely at Meng Yueniang with murderous eyes, but only blaming her without denying it, Madam Wang knew perfectly well that the root cause of the overturning was that Wang Liuniang had startled the horse.
The horse was startled, the cart overturned, and the driver, frightened, fled. It was only thanks to the innkeeper and waiter from the roadside inn who came to help right the cart and rescue the four women.
It was her daughter who insisted on calling Meng Yueniang over on such a snowy day, and it was her daughter who caused the carriage accident. So it's obvious that it was also her idea to go out at this time. Madam Wang rarely got angry, and she slammed her hand hard on the table: "Why don't you tell me honestly, Sixth Sister, where exactly did you persuade Yueniang to go?"
Wang Liuniang retorted, "I'm uncomfortable being cooped up at home. I want to go out to Zhenbaoge for a stroll. What's wrong with that? I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd object. If you knew, would you still let me go out?"
Madam Wang was furious: "The Treasure Pavilion isn't going anywhere, so why did you have to choose this time to go out?"
Wang Liuniang was about to argue when an old woman hurried in: "Madam, the imperial physician has arrived."
Lady Wang, no longer able to scold her, quickly calmed herself down and, after a long while, said, "Please invite the imperial physician in."
The doctor who arrived was Liu, a physician from the Imperial Hospital. He was skilled in treating external injuries and fractures, and his half-gray hair, beard, and wrinkled face were very convincing.
Madam Wang briefly described how they were injured, omitting the truth of the matter, only saying that the carriage was blown by the wind and they fell and were injured.
Doctor Liu didn't ask any more questions. He simply pinched her, and Wang Liuniang screamed, tears streaming down her face from the pain.
Doctor Liu didn't even frown. On the contrary, Madam Wang called several rough maids to hold Wang Liu Niang down and prevent her from moving. Doctor Liu's withered hands massaged her left leg and quickly came to a conclusion: "Ankle fracture. Fortunately, the displacement is not too serious. After it is set, a splint will be put on. She will have to stay in bed for three months and cannot get out of bed. The young lady is young. After these few months, she will be able to walk normally without any problems."
Madam Wang breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she could endure three months, she would be able to walk normally again. This was already a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune. Her injury was to her leg, which was much more serious than Meng Yueniang's. What if she was left with a disability?
After examining Wang Liuniang, Physician Liu went to check on Meng Yueniang's injuries. She had a forearm fracture, but her injury was slightly less severe than Wang Liuniang's. She only needed to have her arm in a sling for a month to fully recover.
Of the four, Jinse, who had hit her head, was the most seriously injured. Doctor Liu opened the gauze, glanced at her wound, checked the medication, and nodded: "The doctor at Yongning Hall is very skilled, and the medication is correct. There's no need to change the prescription. You should go to Yongning Hall and ask the doctor who applied the medicine to prescribe more. Take it internally and apply it externally. You should not get it wet for a month and should not do any heavy work until you recover."
A clinic that can be located in the west of the city must have doctors with excellent medical skills; these common minor injuries and illnesses are no problem for them at all.
As for Chunli, she was the luckiest, only having some bruises. Doctor Liu took her pulse, prescribed her a bottle of medicinal wine, and told her to rub the bruises on her body, and they would be fine in a few days.
Wang Liuniang thought that after examining her injuries, Physician Liu would set her bones, but Physician Liu said, "Your leg was just injured and is still bleeding inside. It will swell up soon. The bones can only be set after the swelling goes down. You need to apply medicine to reduce the swelling for the next two days, and we will set the bones after the swelling stops."
Wang Liuniang felt as if the sky had fallen. The imperial physician had already caused her unbearable pain just from examining her, and now she had to wait three more days before her bones could be set again. Wouldn't that mean she would have to go through the pain all over again?
Just as she was about to make a scene demanding that Physician Liu set her bones immediately, a maid came in and said, "Madam, Madam Meng has arrived."
Madam Wang's heart skipped a beat, and a bitter smile appeared on her face. She hurriedly went out to greet him personally.
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