Chapter 312: Zhi Wan Is Lifted onto Horseback by Her Cousin
Chapter 312: Chapter 312: Zhi Wan Is Lifted onto Horseback by Her Cousin
Shuang’er stared at her, stunned, but her face gradually turned red. "I... I don’t know what you’re talking about, Miss?"
"You really don’t know?" Zhi Wan deliberately teased her. "I was just thinking, if you fancy Jiang Shi, I could have Nanny Chen sound him out. If he feels the same way, I could arrange a marriage for you two. But since you don’t fancy him, then never mind. I’ve noticed several other maids in the mansion seem quite interested in him."
Upon hearing this, Shuang’er grew anxious. "Which maids are they?"
"What, are you planning to go warn them off? But didn’t you just say you don’t fancy Jiang Shi?" Zhi Wan raised an eyebrow.
Shuang’er’s face flushed with embarrassment.
After a long moment, she whispered, so softly it was barely audible, "I never said I *didn’t* fancy him..."
"So you *do* fancy him, then?" Zhi Wan watched her with a grin.
Shuang’er’s face was so red it looked like it might burst. "Please stop teasing me, Miss."
"Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing you," Zhi Wan smiled. "But I was serious about what I said earlier. If you’re interested in Jiang Shi, I’ll have Nanny Chen sound him out."
"Let’s wait until his injuries have healed," Shuang’er said, her face still red.
"Silly girl, once his injuries are healed, he’ll be gone. We have to ask him while he’s still recovering here in our mansion," Zhi Wan said.
Shuang’er thought for a moment, then said, "Then I’ll leave it to you, Miss." After speaking, perhaps overcome with shyness, she made an excuse and quickly ran off.
Zhi Wan chuckled for a while. Her previously heavy mood was lightened considerably by Shuang’er’s little affair.
Unable to sleep, she decided to get up and paint.
She painted until noon, ate a few bites of her meal, and was about to rest for a bit when Ouyang Zhenzhu suddenly arrived.
"Wanwan, Qingyin Pavilion is performing the opera *White Snake* today. Come with me to see it."
Zhi Wan didn’t really want to go.
She was mostly worried about her cousin and wasn’t in the mood.
"Come on, come on! I haven’t seen an opera in ages. Just come with me this once," Ouyang Zhenzhu pleaded, tugging on her hand.
In the end, worn down by her friend’s incessant pleading, Zhi Wan finally agreed.
The two of them got ready and took a carriage to Qingyin Pavilion.
They arrived outside Qingyin Pavilion. Just as they stepped out of the carriage and were about to enter, a voice called out to them.
"Zhi Wan? Ouyang Zhenzhu?"
Hearing the voice, they turned to see Xuanyuan Jing walking toward them, a horsewhip in her hand.
Seeing her, both of them felt a sense of foreboding.
"Why are we so unlucky to run into her?" Ouyang Zhenzhu whispered. "If I’d known we’d see her, I wouldn’t have come, no matter how good *White Snake* is."
Zhi Wan felt the same way.
’Besides, Xuanyuan Jing is clearly up to no good. She probably knows that my cousin and Princess Chang Le are both out of the Capital City, so she’s deliberately come to pick a fight with me.’
"Why do you not bow upon seeing me, the Commandery Princess?" Xuanyuan Jing stopped in front of them, her eyes narrowed and her tone hostile.
"Greetings, Commandery Princess." The two had no choice but to curtsy.
Xuanyuan Jing snorted coldly. She circled the two of them before stopping in front of Zhi Wan and using the horsewhip in her hand to lift her chin.
Looking at Zhi Wan’s beautiful face, a flash of jealous hatred crossed Xuanyuan Jing’s eyes.
"You’re about to marry Mr. Lu. You must be very pleased with yourself, aren’t you?" Xuanyuan Jing said through gritted teeth.
Zhi Wan glanced at her and pushed her hand away. "Does the Commandery Princess wish to hear the truth or a lie?"
"What’s the difference?" Xuanyuan Jing asked, displeased.
"The lie would likely please you, Commandery Princess. The truth, I fear, would make you angry," Zhi Wan said lightly.
"Insolent!" Xuanyuan Jing flew into a rage. She raised her horsewhip to strike, but the tip of the whip was caught by a guard standing behind Zhi Wan.
Xuanyuan Jing tugged but couldn’t pull it back. She became furious. "What do you think you are? How dare you obstruct me?"
"I am under orders from my master, the Princely Heir, to ensure the Miss’s safety. If the Commandery Princess insists on being discourteous to the Miss, then I can only offend," the guard said.
"This is outrageous! A mere guard dares to oppose me? Men, seize him!" Xuanyuan Jing waved her hand, and the guards behind her immediately swarmed forward.
Seeing this, the guards on Zhi Wan’s side also surged forward at once.
Ouyang Zhenzhu had been a little worried, but seeing this, she felt somewhat relieved.
Xuanyuan Jing had people, but they had quite a few on their side as well.
She had teased Zhi Wan for bringing so many guards when they left, but she never expected them to actually come in handy.
How could she have known? Zhi Wan had just been through a kidnapping. The guards Chen Jiu had assigned her were all still at the Zhi Mansion, so when she went out, Zhi Wan had naturally brought them along.
Even so, Ouyang Zhenzhu was still uneasy. She quickly whispered an order to her maid, "Hurry to the Supreme Court and find my brother!"
The maid nodded and slipped away quietly.
When Xuanyuan Jing saw so many guards rush out on Zhi Wan’s side, her arrogant demeanor deflated a little.
But when she saw that her own men still outnumbered the opposition by several, her confidence returned. She raised her horsewhip and commanded, "Seize every last one of them for me!"
However, just as her guards were about to make a move, they were viciously thrown to the ground by Zhi Wan’s men.
In a matter of moments, her guards were all lying on the ground.
Xuanyuan Jing’s face turned livid with rage. She could hardly believe her eyes.
’The guards from the Prince Mansion are all well-fed and strong, aren’t they? To think they’d be so useless when it counts.’
"You useless gluttons!" Xuanyuan Jing cursed angrily.
"Does the Commandery Princess wish for her men to continue sparring with mine?" Zhi Wan asked, watching her with composure.
"Zhi Wan, don’t get cocky!" Xuanyuan Jing said coldly. "It would be a simple matter for me to deal with you."
"Then you’d better act quickly, Commandery Princess. Otherwise, once Princess Chang Le returns to the Capital City, you’ll have to be as meek as a kitten," Zhi Wan said meaningfully.
"You bitch!" Xuanyuan Jing was so enraged she lunged, raising her hand to grab Zhi Wan’s hair. But Zhi Wan was prepared. She ducked to avoid the grab and, taking advantage of the opening, stuck out her leg and tripped her.
THUD!
Xuanyuan Jing fell flat on her face.
"Haha!" Ouyang Zhenzhu couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
A nearby child, not knowing any better, clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Haha, she did a face-plant, a face-plant!"
Zhi Wan couldn’t help but smile, covering her mouth with her handkerchief.
"Wanwan, look! Who’s that?" Just then, Ouyang Zhenzhu suddenly poked her in the side, grinning.
Zhi Wan looked up and was surprised to see a young man on horseback not far away, watching her. His handsome face held the faint hint of a smile.
Seeing him, Zhi Wan froze for a moment, then snapped to her senses. She gathered her skirts and ran toward him. "Cousin!"
She had just reached the front of the horse when the man leaned down and lifted her onto its back.
"Giddy-up!"
And with his cousin, Lu Zhan galloped away.