Seeing this, she had a bad feeling and hurriedly said to Madam Xu, "Mother, the rain is too heavy, the horses can't see the road ahead, and all the carriages are stuck here. This is not a solution. Why don't we get off and walk?"
Xu looked at the heavy rain outside and was a little worried. "But with such heavy rain, the mountain road is not easy to walk on."
“But staying here won’t help either. None of the horses will move, and I’m worried that the hillside might collapse,” Wen Nongnong said.
Upon hearing what she said, Madam Xu couldn't help but look at the surroundings outside.
The narrow path they were on was flanked by mountains on both sides. If a landslide were to occur, they would all be doomed.
Thinking of this, she suppressed her shock and quickly said, "Then, let's get out of this narrow passage first."
"Mm." Wen Nongnong nodded and helped her out of the carriage.
Each of the two men had a maidservant with them, and with the coachman, there were five people in total.
When Lüqiao and another maid saw that the two were about to get off the carriage, they quickly brought out rain gear.
In this kind of rain, umbrellas are completely useless, but fortunately the carriage was equipped with raincoats and straw mats.
After putting on their clothes, Wen Nongnong and Madam Xu got off the carriage with the help of two maids.
Just as she was about to leave, Wen Nongnong looked at the carriage behind her and became worried. If the hillside collapsed, these people would hardly be able to escape. Thinking this, she said to another maid, Hongya, "You help Madam go first. Lüqiao and I will catch up with you in a while."
Upon hearing this, Madam Xu asked anxiously, "Why aren't you coming with us?"
“I want to tell them to leave as soon as possible and not stay here,” Wen Nongnong said. “Mother, you go first, I will come after you in a while.”
Mrs. Xu was still worried, "Then why don't I go with you..."
“No, I can walk faster than you. Mother, please go ahead. I’ll come after you as soon as I’ve notified them.” Wen Nongnong interrupted her and then pushed her forward.
Having no other choice, Madam Xu had to take Hongya's hand and walk ahead, while the coachman escorted them behind.
Seeing that she had finally left, Wen Nongnong felt relieved and quickly led Lü Qiao to the back.
The two split up and explained the seriousness of the matter to the ladies in the carriage.
But those ladies and young women were used to being pampered, and now that the rain was so heavy, they were unwilling to get off the carriage. In their view, it was better to be trapped in the carriage than to get off and get soaked in the rain.
“...It rained all day yesterday, and the soil is already soft. If it collapses, none of you will escape; you will all be buried here.” Wen Nongnong exaggerated the situation.
However, she wasn't speaking without reason. The narrow path was right next to the hillside. If the hillside really collapsed, the people waiting here would have nowhere to hide and would be buried.
Seeing that they remained unmoved, she had no choice but to say again, "If it hadn't collapsed, you would have only lost a dress. Compared to your lives, getting a little rain is nothing."
"And I've seen it myself; the soil has indeed collapsed in many places. So, judging by the intensity of the rain, there's a real possibility of a landslide. That's all I have to say. Whether you want to leave or not is up to you."
After speaking with them, Wen Nongnong didn't linger and ran forward with Lü Qiao. Staying here any longer would be too dangerous.
At the very least, we need to leave this narrow path and go to a wider area.
When they passed by the carriage belonging to her Wen family, Wen Nongnong was reluctant to leave the horse there, so she and Lü Qiao tried to pull the carriage away.
I hadn't had any hope, but to my surprise, it actually boosted the economy.
Master and servant were both delighted and quickly drove the carriage out of the narrow road.
Although the ladies and young women behind them were extremely reluctant to leave their relatively comfortable environment, Wen Nongnong's words still had some influence on them.
The more they thought about it, the more frightened they became, so after much hesitation, someone finally got off the carriage.
Once someone starts, others will naturally follow.
Soon, the ladies and young women who were still in the carriage got off.
Almost as soon as they stepped out of the narrow passage, they heard a "crack" behind them, which sounded like a tree root breaking.
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines and instinctively turned to look, only to turn pale with fright.
Sure enough, the hillside where they had been standing had collapsed.
With a loud "boom," the mountainside cascaded down like a flood.
The horses, which had initially refused to move, sensed the danger and dragged the carriage forward as fast as they could.
However, some horses that didn't have time to run were crushed under the collapsed rocks.
The ladies and young women had never seen such a scene before. They were so frightened that their legs went weak. They dared not linger any longer and, supporting each other, quickly ran to a more distant place.
At that moment, they forgot what elegance was and ran forward desperately.
The capital city.
After court, Gu Linchao went directly to the Wen residence to pick up Wen Nongnong and take her back.
However, when they arrived, they learned that Wen Nongnong had gone to the Guanyin Temple to offer incense with Madam Xu and had not yet returned.
He frowned as he watched the rain outside intensify.
Wen Shiqing and Wen Tingyun were also deeply worried.
"Why haven't they come back yet? That shouldn't be the case." Wen Shiqing's face was full of worry as he paced anxiously around the room.
At this moment, Gu Linchao suddenly said in a deep voice, "I'll go pick them up."
Upon hearing this, Wen Shiqing quickly replied, "I will go with the Prince."
"Father, you should stay in the manor. I'll go with the Prince." Wen Tingyun stopped him.
Gu Linchao also said, "Father-in-law, just wait for news at the mansion. Tingyun can come with me."
Wen Shiqing had no choice but to remain silent and instructed, "Then please be careful."
Gu Linchao and Wen Tingyun quickly led their men out of the city.
Upon reaching the city gate, the group unexpectedly bumped into Qian Hezhong, the Prefect of Jingzhao, who was on official business.
"This humble official greets Your Highness..." Qian Hezhong saw Gu Linchao and quickly rode forward to pay his respects.
"What are you all doing here..." Gu Linchao didn't have time to deal with anyone at the moment, but seeing so many officials following behind him, and everyone carrying tools, he had no choice but to ask.
Qian Hezhong sighed, "I received a report from villagers near the outskirts of the capital that the road leading to the Guanyin Temple has collapsed. Every day, many pilgrims go there to offer incense. With the road collapsed today, there must be some pilgrims trapped there. I..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Regent had already sped away, and the people with him quickly followed.
In a short while, it disappeared into the rain and mist.
Qian Hezhong was stunned for a moment, but thinking of the trapped pilgrims, he didn't dare to delay and quickly led his people towards the Guanyin Temple.
At this moment, Wen Nongnong, Xu Shi, and the pilgrims, although they had escaped the narrow path and survived the disaster, were blocked by the collapsed hillside and could not pass at all. This was the only road leading to the Guanyin Temple.
Both the roads in front and behind were blocked, and for a time, everyone was trapped here.
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