Chapter 453: Dare to stop the princess' carriage, you are seeking death!
Lan Xiyue lifted her skirt and boarded the green-curtained carriage waiting on the roadside.
Qian Duoduo also came in and sat next to her, still looking unsatisfied.
Looking at Qian Duoduo's innocent and excited expression, Lan Xiyue really couldn't understand what was so shocking about that illusion.
Seeing her silence, Qian Duoduo tilted his head in confusion: "Yueyue?"
Lan Xiyue sighed helplessly and raised her hand to tap Qian Duoduo's forehead. "Silly Duoduo, that human-transforming box must have hidden secrets and must have been rigged. It's just some tricks to fool people. What's so shocking about it?"
Qian Duoduo pouted unconvincedly and argued, "But when they opened the box, they had several people go up and carefully examine it inside and out! Yesterday, we specially sent three people to check it out, and they all said they couldn't figure out what was going on!"
Lan Xiyue's lips curled up into a knowing smile, and she shook her head slightly, saying no more. Some things should be said at the right time.
Outside the carriage curtain, An Yi's voice sounded at the right moment: "Princess, are we going back to the palace now? Or..."
The cool air rushed into the car as the curtains were opened.
Lan Xiyue leaned against the window, her eyes scanning the street scene aimlessly.
Suddenly, a stumbling figure caught her sight.
It was a little maid, wearing thin clothes and with tear marks on her face. She was looking around anxiously and finally staggered to the closed door of Baihua Theater.
"Two big brothers, please be kind!" Ling'er's voice was filled with tears, almost breaking in the cold wind. "Please let me in to look for our young lady! Something big happened at home!"
The burly man guarding the gate looked impatient and gruffly waved his hand to drive them away: "Go away! Are you deaf? I've told you so many times, without half a tael of silver, even the king of heaven can't get in!"
Ling'er's thin body was shaking violently, tears pouring out: "Brother, I... I really don't have any money on me! I'll just go in and look for the young lady, please! The aunt at home... the aunt is dying, if the young lady doesn't go back, then... you won't be able to see her for the last time!" She bent her waist humbly, her voice full of desperate pleading.
Inside the car, Lan Xiyue's delicate brows were silently furrowed, her eyes fixed on the helpless figure.
"Yueyue, what are you looking at?" Qian Duoduo came over curiously and looked in the direction she was looking.
At this moment, An Yi's voice came from the front of the carriage: "Princess, where are we going now?"
Lan Xiyue didn't answer. She lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage with swift movements.
Qian Duoduo called out puzzledly from behind her: "Yueyue? Where are you going?"
Lan Xiyue walked straight up to the little maid who was crying almost to the point of exhaustion, and uttered in a cold voice, "Is your young lady missing?"
Xiao Ling looked up when she heard the voice, and saw the person clearly through her tearful eyes. The woman in front of her had a beautiful face, was dressed in luxurious clothes, and had an extraordinary demeanor.
She was stunned for a moment, and then a strong light of hope burst out in her eyes, as if she had grabbed the last life-saving straw: "My dear! This dear lady! My lady...she said she wanted to come to Baihua Theater to watch the magic show of 'transforming living people', but...but my concubine at home suddenly became unwell, and is anxiously waiting for the lady to come back! If it's too late...if it's too late..." The rest of the words were blocked by sobs, and she could only shake her head in despair.
Qian Duoduo also followed at this time. When he heard Xiao Ling's words, he couldn't help but curl his lips, with a bit of confusion and ridicule: "Your aunt is critically ill, and your daughter still has the leisure to watch magic?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ling lowered her head even lower, her shoulders shrugged slightly, and she just sobbed silently without making any excuses.
Lan Xiyue looked at her silently, reached into her arms, took out a piece of silver worth about one or two taels, and handed it to her.
Xiao Ling stared blankly at the silver being handed to her, seemingly unable to believe it. Then, a huge surprise washed away her sorrow. She thumped down to her knees on the cold stone floor, nearly knocking her forehead against the ground. "Thank you, sir! Thank you for your kindness! Thank you! Thank you!"
Lan Xiyue stuffed the silver into her cold and trembling palm, turned around and walked towards the carriage without saying anything else.
"An Yi," she stepped onto the carriage, her voice returning to her usual calmness, "Let's go to the city gate."
"Yes, Princess." An Yi responded, shook the reins, and the carriage started slowly.
Qian Duoduo sat down next to Lan Xiyue, took her arm and shook it gently, saying with a smile: "Yueyue, you are too soft-hearted. You gave money to a little girl you don't even know for just a few words. Aren't you afraid that you are being cheated?"
Lan Xiyue shook her head slightly, her eyes fixed on the flowing street scene outside the car window. She said calmly, "It's just a tael of silver. To me, it's just quicksand on my fingertips, but to her, it's different. What if... it's true?"
Qian Duoduo leaned his head on her shoulder, his tone doting: "Yes, yes, our Yueyue is kind-hearted, like a bodhisattva."
Kind-hearted? Bodhisattva? Lan Xiyue's lips curled up in a barely perceptible arc, a curve devoid of warmth, only a desolate undertone.
In a previous life, I licked blood on the tip of a knife, and my hands were soaked in blood that could never be washed clean. How could I have ever known compassion? Perhaps it was because I had lived this life again and seen through life and death that my heart had inexplicably softened a little.
Before he could finish his thoughts, the speeding carriage suddenly came to a screeching halt! The carriage shook violently, and Qian Duoduo cried out in surprise, holding onto Lan Xiyue's arm tightly to steady himself.
Outside the car, an old, yet resentful and anxious, hoarse female voice pierced through the curtains:
"Lan Xiyue! Get off here!"
An Yi's face instantly turned pale, and he shouted sternly, "You dare to stop the princess' carriage? You're courting death!"
Lan Xiyue's eyes flashed, and she felt a sudden chill. She suddenly opened the curtain, stepped out of the carriage, and stood firmly on the shaft.
The cold wind blew up the loose hair at her temples, making her face look even colder than frost.
Blocking the carriage was none other than the haggard-looking Old Lady Lan, leaning on a cane! Her cloudy old eyes stared intently at Lan Xiyue in the carriage, her wrinkled fingers trembling violently with excitement as she pointed directly at her:
"Lan Xiyue! You...if you still have a shred of conscience left in you, release my son Zhenrong from the living hell of the Regent's Palace!" The old woman's voice was hoarse and filled with desperate cries.
Lan Xiyue looked down at the old lady, her gaze like an icicle piercing the old lady. A hint of cold sneer appeared at the corner of her lips: "Old lady? Oh, it's freezing cold, and you're so excited to come and stop my carriage? It seems that you are in good health!"
The old lady shuddered at the cold mockery, the pent-up grief and anger in her chest instantly erupting: "Lan Xiyue! You and your brother Lan Shenye, after all, grew up eating the rice and wearing the clothes of the Marquis' Mansion! No matter what the Marquis' Mansion has done, it has never deprived you of a single bit of fine clothes and delicious food! Ask yourselves, has the Marquis' Mansion ever truly treated you unfairly?!"
The more she spoke, the more excited she became. She slammed her cane on the ground, tears streaming down her face. "If anyone is to blame, it's your shameless mother Yun Shanshan! She was a married woman, but she didn't observe her husband's chastity and gave birth to you two... bastards! You've brought disgrace to our mansion!" She almost roared out the last sentence with all her strength gone.
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