Although Chu Jinyu is young and easy to fool, Xiao Haitang and Xie Yumin are both quick-witted, especially Xiao Haitang, who is probably cunning and shrewd, having been trained to be wary of Old Madam Xiao and her ilk.
To avoid arousing suspicion from Xiao Haitang and Xie Yumin, Chen Da, upon arriving, specifically mentioned that he noticed they liked firecrackers and picked up a handful for them, then played with them for a while longer.
Seeing that the two fake guards were gone, the real guards began to get suspicious, and two of them had already started walking this way.
Chen Da secretly gestured to the people on the donkey cart. The donkey brayed twice, ran wildly, and then broke free of its reins, charging towards Xiao Jinyu.
The children had never experienced anything like this before. Xie Yumin was so frightened that she stood there dumbfounded and screamed. Chu Jinyu's servants, Laifu and Laishun, ran in front of Chu Jinyu and waved the small wooden swords they were practicing with, trying to scare the donkey away.
But they were just kids, and they couldn't scare the crazy donkey. Xiao Haitang reacted quickly, picked up Chu Jinyu, and told Xi'er to drag Xie Yumin away while reminding Lai Fu and Lai Shun to get out of the way.
They had only taken two steps when the donkey's owner, who had been thrown off balance earlier, came running over, crying and shouting.
"My goodness, stop right now! Those are important people, we can't afford to mess with them!"
"Ouch, this is going to kill me!"
However, his hand movements were completely opposite. The man, who seemed to have been thrown off by the donkey, secretly gave the reins a hard flick, and the donkey rushed straight towards Xiao Haitang and Chu Jinyu.
Just as he was about to trample the two of them, Chen Da did a somersault, grabbed Xiao Haitang and Chu Jinyu in mid-air, and used the momentum to flip them over and carry them away. The donkey was startled and suddenly turned its head, causing the donkey cart it was pulling to swing sideways due to inertia.
General Chen pushed the two men in his arms forward, and he himself was hit by the donkey cart, thrown into the air, rolled several times before stopping, and immediately lost consciousness.
In a short while, the two guards who had just arrived also came forward. One of them subdued the mad donkey, while the other checked on Xiao Haitang and the others.
Although the children were still shaken, they remembered that Chen Da had saved them, and they all ran over to see him.
The coachman, who had been thrown off his feet by the donkey, was also covered in dust and scrambled over. When he got there, he kowtowed to Xiao Haitang and the others, admitting his mistake and crying that he really didn't mean it. He said that the donkey had been frightened by the whip and suddenly went crazy, and he couldn't hold it back no matter how hard he tried.
Xiao Haitang was at a loss for what to do. His donkey nearly trampled them to death and knocked Chen Da unconscious.
Forgive him, she thought, unwilling to accept it, but he was kneeling there, weeping and apologizing, and to hold it against him would seem petty.
Xiao Haitang thought for a moment and said to the guard
"Have someone take a look at him first, and see how badly Chen Da's injuries are before making any further decisions."
At this moment, the guards by the roadside also noticed the situation. A small team of people had already arrived. Seeing that the children were alright, they carried Chen Da to the hospital.
The lion dance and the Yangko dance were in full swing over there, so the commotion here didn't attract much attention. A few people saw it but didn't care much. Normally, people would have gathered around to watch, but now that there were lion dances and Yangko dances, it wasn't so appealing that someone being hit by a donkey was a big deal.
After Chen Da was taken to the hospital, Liu Zhuoyuan asked about his condition and took his pulse. He said that he had hit his head, but it wasn't serious. He would be fine after taking medicine for three to five days, but he would feel a little dizzy for the next couple of days.
Then he pricked her a few times with a needle, and she woke up.
When Xiao Haitang and Chu Jinyu saw that the person had woken up, they first thanked him and then said that they would go back and tell Qu Xiaodie to reward him.
Chen Da, looking weak, said that this was all he should do and he didn't need any reward; he was just glad that they were alright.
His actions immediately convinced the children that he was a good person, so they went back to Qu Xiaodie to ask for credit and rewards on his behalf.
Today is the opening day, and Hongmei, Chunyu, and Xiahe were all assigned to entertain the female relatives of officials. Upon hearing that Chen Da was injured, Hongmei immediately found a young maid to replace her and went to visit Chen Da herself.
Seeing the dirt stains on Chen's coat and his pale face, my eyes welled up with tears of heartache.
"How could you be so careless? How are you feeling now? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Chen Da pretended to be nonchalant and said
"I'm fine, don't worry. Since I intend to be loyal to the princess, I should do my best to protect the young masters. As long as they are safe, it's worth it for me to get hurt."
Besides, didn't you also tell me to perform well and try to pass the assessment on the first try? Since I've protected the young masters, doesn't that count as showing my loyalty?"
Hongmei nodded repeatedly, tears welling in her eyes.
"Yes, of course. I'll talk to my master and see if we can make an exception and transfer you in ahead of schedule."
Chen Da looked at her sincerely and said...
"You're so kind. Meeting you is my blessing. Please stop crying. I don't want to see you shed tears for me."
If someone else had said these words, they might have sounded cloying and hypocritical. But Fu Guang, with his bright and cheerful demeanor and deliberately feigned frankness and sincerity, made these words sound like an awkward expression of deep love, which moved Hong Mei to tears even more.
Seeing this, Chen Da comforted him.
"Today is a great day for the resort, stop crying, it's bad luck. Look, I'm fine! Doctor Liu has already given me acupuncture and said I'll be better after drinking medicine for another three to five days."
"Go on with your work, there are a lot of people today, you must have something to do too, don't let me hold you up."
Hongmei couldn't leave for too long, so after listening to her words, she nodded, told him to rest well, and said she would come to see him again after she finished her work, before going back.
When Qu Xiaodie heard about this from Xiao Haitang, she followed them out to see what was going on. First, she asked Doctor Liu about the situation, and then she went to check on Chen Da's injuries. Because Chen Da had saved several children, she rewarded him with fifty taels of silver.
But Chen Da refused, saying that he truly admired the princess, wanted to be loyal to her, and wanted to protect the manor. He said it was his good fortune to save the young masters.
He expressed his loyalty but never mentioned his desire to enter the manor. This was his shrewdness; if his intentions were too obvious, they would arouse suspicion. It was most appropriate for Hongmei to speak up for him.
Although he said that saving people was voluntary and he did not expect any reward, Qu Xiaodie still left the money with her. With the money left, the matter of saving people today was settled. Things that can be solved with money should not involve favors, after all, the debts of affection are the hardest to repay.
However, ever since leaving Chen Da's place, Qu Xiaodie has always felt that Chen Da is far too outstanding.
He's only been here for a month and a half? Almost everyone outside the manor knows him, he's the one Hongmei likes, and now he's saved these children. It feels like he's everywhere!
But despite her thoughts, she was too busy to deal with his matter right now, so she had to put it aside for the time being. There were hundreds of people around, and everyone needed help. As the head manager, she was extremely busy, and she could deal with everything else after dealing with today's affairs.
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