Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 132

Chapter 132: A Serendipitous Encounter

Cui Mansion.

Finally, the sun was high in the sky. Having not slept all night, Cui Ziying heard her brother return and rushed out.

Just as she reached the door, Cui Ziying encountered Cui Zi Xuan and his entourage approaching. Before she could approach, she saw her brother’s expression and stopped in her tracks.

Cui Ziying watched her brother walk step by step towards the study.

A moment later, she beckoned Cui Zi Xuan’s guard and asked in a low voice, “Has Brother eaten anything?”

The guard shook his head.

Cui Ziying waved him away.

At this moment, Cui Ziying’s cousin, Cui Ziyue, ran over.

Seeing Cui Ziying lower her head to wipe away tears, Cui Ziyue asked hesitantly, “Ziying, what’s wrong?”

Cui Ziying turned around and, seeing it was Cui Ziyue, choked out, “Seeing my brother like that, my heart aches for him.”

Cui Ziyue had actually seen Cui Zi Xuan as well. She said, puzzled, “Brother Zi Xuan is fine. Even if he looks a little pale, it’s just because he did not sleep all night.”

Cui Ziying shook her head and said in a low, hoarse voice, “You do not understand. You do not know him.” Then she added, “He’s such a disciplined person. I’m a little scared…”

Cui Ziyue quickly asked a few more questions, but seeing that Cui Ziying did not want to continue, she stopped talking.

A short while later, Cui Ziyue arrived at her mother’s, Madam Cui Wu’s, courtyard.

Madam Cui Wu was deep in thought, her brow furrowed. Cui Ziyue sat down beside her, seemingly lost in thought.

After a while, Cui Ziyue softly asked, “Mother, everyone says Lady Jiang’s very fortunate. Is that really true?”

Madam Cui Wu snapped out of her reverie, looked at her daughter, and nodded, saying, “It’s certainly not unfounded!”

Cui Ziyue grew anxious, her voice rising. “I’d rather it were fake! Humph! She’s got some nerve, just shrugs and runs off!” Cui Ziyue said unhappily. Then, with a hint of malice, she added, “The world outside’s so chaotic, I really hope she runs into some bandits or refugees! Humph! I hope she’s crying out in vain right now!”

Madam Cui Wu’s face darkened. She stared at her daughter and said in a low voice, “What’s going on? Lady Jiang has not even spoken to you yet; how can you be so hostile towards her?” After a slight pause, Madam Cui Wu continued, “Last time you spread rumors everywhere that Cui Shi had no dowry. Now you’re trying to be foolish again? Do you really want to force your grandmother to lock you in the ancestral hall?”

Cui Ziyue lowered her head, stammering, “I was just indignant for Lu Li…”

Madam Cui Wu stood up, staring at her daughter. A pang of regret gripped her. Over the years, the Cui Clan of Boling’s situation had been precarious. Busy with social engagements, she had neglected to discipline her daughter. Only now, realizing her daughter had lost all the poise and discernment expected of a daughter of a prominent family, did she understand.

With a stern face, Madam Cui Wu warned in a low voice, “Your grandmother and cousin have repeatedly instructed you not to divulge the fact that Lady Jiang’s not in the mansion! The past’s one thing, but if you err again in this matter and leak it to others, you will live in the Taoist temple and never return!”

Live in the Taoist temple and never return? Cui Ziyue’s face turned deathly pale. She cried out in resentment, “Mother!”

“Do not call me Mother!” Madam Cui Wu snapped. “If you continue to be ungrateful, I will disown you!” With that, Madam Cui Wu turned and left.

…

As the sun shone brightly, the caravan members, who had been kept awake by Cui’s antics the previous night, finally awoke.

After a brief period of commotion, the caravan set off.

Shao Xiaozi was particularly energetic; despite having been up all night, he was now full of life again. Seeing Jiang Mi looking listless, he chattered on and on, “That’s strange. With all that commotion last night, everyone was awake except you. You slept the most, so why are you the most tired?”

Jiang Mi buried her face in her hands and said weakly, “I could not sleep.”

“What a pampered brat!” Shao Xiaozi grunted twice, then turned and, seeing something, suddenly said, “Hey, you did not see him last night, that handsome Young Master Cui who captivated all of Wuyue’s young ladies! Tsk tsk tsk, I wonder what happened to him. He looked so haggard and pitiful. Even now, thinking about it still makes me feel uneasy!”

Jiang Mi did not respond.

Shao Xiaozi was a chatterbox; even without Jiang Mi’s response, he continued talking. In the blink of an eye, he moved from talking about Cui Zi Xuan to his own brother, while Jiang Mi, standing to the side, kept her head down and remained silent.

Amidst the carriage’s commotion and the chatter of those around them, another day passed quickly.

By today, the caravan was quite a distance from Mingzhou City, meaning it was no longer safe.

Therefore, the caravan had sent several groups early on to find suitable and safe campsites. By the time they finally arrived at the chosen location, the sun was already setting.

Fortunately, the caravan members were all experienced; working together, they set up camp and prepared dinner in less than half an hour.

Just like the night before, Jiang Mi sat in a corner, silently munching on cold rice crackers, while Shao Xiaozi, who had talked to her all day, had gone to another campfire to chat idly with others after she remained unresponsive.

Jiang Mi remained listless. She ate a little something, quickly washed up, and then climbed into the carriage and lay down.

Actually, the carriage was damp, and Jiang Mi was dirty and itchy after a long day of travel; lying there, she could not fall asleep at all.

But Jiang Mi still tried to force herself to sleep. She knew there was no turning back now.

As Jiang Mi drifted off into a hazy, confused state, the night deepened, and gradually, fewer and fewer people spoke.

When everyone went to rest, Shao Xiaozi returned. Just like the night before, he did not climb into the carriage to squeeze in with Jiang Mi. Instead, with his natural ease, he borrowed the felt blanket from the night before, rolled it up, and placed it under the carriage. Shao Xiaozi rolled over and lay down, and within moments, he was snoring loudly!

The night grew deeper.

Perhaps utterly exhausted, Jiang Mi, quite unusually, dozed off for a while tonight. When she groggily sat up, there was no sound outside, only the flickering light of a torch stuck in an inconspicuous corner.

Jiang Mi rubbed her sleepy eyes, feeling a slight bloating in her lower abdomen, and groggily crawled off the carriage…

As soon as Jiang Mi slid down from the carriage, she stepped on a warm body. Before she could even process what was happening, Shao Xiaozi, whom she had just stepped on, let out a bloodcurdling scream, like a pig being slaughtered, “Ah—!”

The scream was incredibly loud! It was especially terrifying in the quiet night!

Having spent years traveling, even the deepest sleepers in the caravan were on high alert. Hearing such a horrifying scream, everyone scrambled to their feet in a chaotic frenzy. Amidst the commotion, people cried out urgently, “What happened?” “Could it be bandits?” “Who! Who’s screaming?”

In an instant, some were dressing, some were mounting their horses, some were grabbing weapons, and some were giving orders…

Jiang Mi and Shao Xiaozi were completely stunned by this sudden, unnerving panic. Especially Shao Xiaozi. He bent over, clutching his inner thigh, wincing and groaning in pain for a while, before being stunned by the scene before him, his mouth agape for a long time!

A moment later, the caravan members were fully armed and ready for battle!

A foreman stepped out from the ranks. He asked sternly, “What was that scream just now?”

In unison, the servants in the carriage next to Jiang Mi and Shao Xiaozi turned to look at them!

Seeing this, the foreman strode towards the two, staring at them, and asked in a deep voice, “What happened? Who was screaming just now?”

Shao Xiaozi’s face turned pale, and he stammered for a long time before finally managing to say a few “Yes, yes, yes.”

Jiang Mi’s face also paled. She hesitated for a moment, then said, “Yes… I needed to relieve myself, and I accidentally stepped on him…”

Upon hearing Jiang Mi’s excuse, the guards, swords in hand and armor on their bodies, all twitched in unison.

Several stewards were furious, especially the one who had strongly advocated for taking in Jiang Mi and her companion; his face was incredibly long. He glared at the two of them with exasperation, suppressing the urge to vomit blood, and roared, “You are utterly useless and more likely to cause trouble than anything else!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the chief steward.

He was about to apologize when the caravan’s head guard suddenly narrowed his eyes. He raised his hand and shouted, “Silence!”

Everyone was startled and turned to look at him.

At that moment, the head guard was already lying on the ground, listening intently.

As he listened, he leaped to his feet and shouted in a hoarse voice, “Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Everyone, form ranks! Everyone, form ranks!”

Fortunately, everyone was already in armor, so at his command, footsteps thundered in from all sides. In less than fifteen minutes, the well-trained caravan had set up their carriages, drawn their swords, laid traps, and formed a standard defensive formation!

Almost as soon as the caravan finished its formation, a hundred or two hundred soldiers swarmed down from the darkness of the Official Road. These soldiers were all masked with black veils, dressed in black, and their horses’ hooves were wrapped in cloth!

The soldiers emerged from the darkness like ghosts, never expecting their target to be already prepared!

For a moment, both sides were frozen in place!

In the silent stillness, a rough voice came from among the masked men: “Interesting! Interesting! I never thought I’d encounter such a well-trained force in my lifetime!”

They had come prepared! They had wrapped their horses’ hooves in cloth, making no sound as they landed. The entire force of two hundred men was composed of soldiers, capable of moving like the wind! Over the years, this very tactic had ensured that their night raids on merchant caravans had never failed!

But this merchant caravan looked ordinary, yet they had reacted in such a short time, and from the depths of sleep—this alone surpassed ninety nine percent of the armies in the world!

The masked men had all considered this.

Therefore, after that rough, hoarse voice fell, in the blink of an eye, a middle-aged masked man waved his hand and shouted, “Retreat!”

As soon as the voice fell, the two hundred riders retreated. After a while, they turned their horses around and disappeared from everyone’s sight like a whirlwind!

Only after those people had completely disappeared did the caravan’s managers and guards all exhale a long breath and collapse to the ground.

For a moment, only the sighs of relief echoed through the camp.

After a while, the caravan’s head guard approached the chief manager. In the torchlight, his face was deathly pale. He leaned close to the chief manager and whispered, “The situation’s bad! Those bandits were probably Mengshan bandits!”

Upon hearing the name Mengshan bandits, everyone, including the chief manager, turned deathly pale!

The earliest history of Mengshan bandits dated back to the end of the Tang Dynasty. They were notorious bandits, rampant for years throughout Wuyue. They trained their banditry like soldiers and acted with extreme caution, appearing and disappearing unpredictably for decades, killing without hesitation. However, Mengshan bandits had always operated south of Hangzhou; how could they be in Mingzhou this time?

If it really was Mengshan bandits, then, as they said, tonight might truly be the first time in their lives they’d failed!

For a moment, the caravan leaders fell silent again.

At this moment, the caravan members turned to Jiang Mi and Shao Xiaozi, laughing and teasing, “Did not expect you two to be such lucky charms!” “That’s right! That kid’s earth shattering scream saved everyone!” “Haha, you two were lucky to stumble upon this by accident, otherwise Old Chang would probably have kicked you out!”

Amidst the laughter and banter, the chief steward and other leaders also turned to look at Jiang Mi and Shao Xiaozi. After scrutinizing the two thin, small children for a moment, the head steward turned to the steward surnamed Chang, who had initially allowed them to join, and chuckled, “Old Chang, I’ve always thought you were too soft-hearted. I never expected that this accidental rescue of those two rascals would actually save us all.”

Old Chang, also surprised by this turn of events, grinned.

Then, the head steward continued, “In our Gao family caravan, merit’s rewarded and wrongdoing’s punished. These two lads were lucky, but I only care about the outcome. Here’s what we will do. Old Chang, have someone prepare an empty carriage for them, and treat them to the best food and drink along the way!”

Old Chang readily agreed, and when he went to announce the reward for Jiang Mi and Shao Xiaozi, the entire caravan burst into laughter.

Even after settling into the spacious carriage, Shao Xiaozi was still a little dizzy. He stared blankly at Jiang Mi for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “Ouch! I never thought I’d be so lucky! A random yell saved my own life and everyone else’s!”

Jiang Mi chuckled and could not help but say, “Yes, you’re lucky.”

Hearing her words, Shao Xiaozi grinned even wider, revealing a set of bright white teeth.

…

Cui Mansion.

Footsteps approached; a guard hurriedly entered the study.

The guard glanced at the tightly closed study, paused slightly, and then knelt on one knee on the steps, reporting, “Young Master! Later Zhou has sent a message by carrier pigeon. Chai Rong has become the ruler of Later Zhou State. To assist Young Master, he has sent several generals who will arrive in Hangzhou soon!”