In the shallows of the mountains, where the trees were sparse, Wei Shuwan was truly fed up with being sandwiched between four people. Moreover, judging from their current pace, they would lose to even a tortoise, let alone a deer.
Wei Shuwan seized the opportunity and suddenly spurred her horse's flanks, intending to break through the weakest point—between Pan Wenjun and Miaoxiang.
Almost the instant she had this thought, Sun Xingjian, who was behind, noticed it immediately. Without thinking, he blurted out, "Stop!"
However, Wei Shuwan still rushed out. She did manage to break out of the encirclement of the four people, but unfortunately, after running only a few steps, the horse suddenly twisted its rear end and violently jolted Wei Shuwan, who was not good at riding, off its back!
Fortunately, the soil here was soft, and with wild grass to cushion her back, Wei Shuwan rolled around in the lower part of the ground a few times before stopping.
"Ouch—" She reached out to touch her leg, feeling as if it were broken, and large beads of sweat appeared on her forehead from the pain.
At this moment, Sun Xingjian dismounted and caught up, helping her up and letting her sit on the ground. If she hadn't made a fool of herself in a moment of impulsiveness and overestimating her abilities, Wei Shuwan would definitely be crying right now.
She fought back the tears welling up in her eyes and said against her will, "I...I'm fine..."
"I just told you not to run, why wouldn't you listen?!"
“But you just said ‘stop,’ not ‘stop’,” Wei Shuwan countered, seizing on a single word.
Sun Xingjian was at a loss for what to do with her; he couldn't scold her, nor could he not scold her. Just then, Pan Wenjun and two maids caught up and surrounded Wei Shuwan in the center.
"Shuwan, how are you? Where are you hurt?"
"Girl, are you alright?!"
The three men's eagerness made Wei Shuwan feel even more ashamed. She had originally intended to show off her riding skills, but instead she had made an even bigger fool of herself.
To avoid worrying everyone, she kept shaking her head and explaining, "I'm fine, really fine. It's just that I think I twisted my ankle a little, and I'm afraid I can't continue riding."
“Then let’s go back together!” Pan Wenjun was loyal and intended to stand by her through thick and thin.
Wei Shuwan was originally going to help her and her uncle get together today. The only difference from the plan was that she originally wanted to pretend to have a stomachache and leave, but now she had to leave early because she fell off her horse.
Wei Shuwan touched her ankle: "Sister Pan, don't worry, I'm fine, it's just a sprained ankle. I'll put some medicine on it in my tent and lie down for a while, and I'll be fine. Don't come back with me, I want to eat roasted venison tonight! Venison is the best for promoting blood circulation and nourishing the body, one bite will make my ankle injury half better!"
Pan Wenjun looked at Sun Xingjian with some difficulty, and Sun Xingjian was also very conflicted. If they went back now, it would be a pity that the two young ladies had come all this way and couldn't even get a bite of wild game.
"How about this, let Ziqiao and Miaoxiang take you back first, and Wenjun and I will go hunt a pheasant or a rabbit and then go back."
Wei Shuwan hesitated for a moment, thinking that it didn't matter whether it was deer or pheasant, as long as it gave her and her sister some time alone. So she didn't object, nodded, and even obediently reminded them, "Then Uncle and Sister Pan, be careful on the road. I'll wait for you in the tent to bring back some game!"
Sun Xingjian originally wanted to see her walk out of the forest before he would feel at ease, but Wei Shuwan looked around at the lush green grass and revealed a longing smile: "Although we can't continue riding into the forest, it's nice to sit here for a while and enjoy the scenery. Uncle, do you know that I haven't seen such a vibrant scene since winter came to Shengjing?"
She grew up in the south, where even in winter the winters were not as desolate as in the north. But after coming to Shengjing, the winters were utterly bleak.
Sun Xingjian did not force her to return to her tent. Seeing that she liked the scenery, he tacitly allowed her to stay a little longer, only instructing the two maids not to let her linger for too long, and that she should return to apply the medicine at most after half an hour.
After giving the proper instructions, Sun Xingjian and Pan Wenjun returned to their horses and rode off into the woods.
Once the person was out of sight, Miaoxiang said with lingering fear, "Miss, you pretended to fall off the horse to please your uncle and Madam Pan. What if you had really gotten hurt?"
Wei Shuwan was taken aback. It turned out that Miaoxiang thought this was something she had done intentionally. However, Miaoxiang was always simple-minded, sometimes even a little silly, while Ziqiao might not have thought so.
Feeling a little guilty, Wei Shuwan turned to check Zi Qiao's expression and saw that Zi Qiao also looked unhappy, clearly having the same thought as Miao Xiang.
"Yes, didn't the young lady say yesterday that she was going to pretend to have a stomachache? How come she's suddenly resorting to such a dangerous trick again today?!"
With that, Wei Shuwan finally felt a little better and simply went along with their speculations: "It is a bit dangerous, but I know my limits and won't really hurt myself. If I want to keep it from Uncle and Sister Pan, I have to go to great lengths. If I just say that my stomach hurts, do you think they will believe me?"
After saying that, she glanced smugly between the two maids, as if she were very clever and that everything was under her control.
She would never lie to these two loyal maids about other matters, but this time it concerned her reputation, and she naturally didn't want to lose face.
"Alright, help me up. I'm not seriously injured, but I did sprain my ankle."
Zi Qiao and Miao Xiang agreed, and then each took one side of Wei Shuwan and carefully helped her up from the ground, supporting her as they walked back.
Fortunately, they hadn't gone far into the forest, so returning didn't take too much effort. Once inside the tent, they helped Wei Shuwan to the couch in the inner room. Ziqiao and Miaoxiang went to fetch water to help her wash up, and the other went to find medicine to apply to her.
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