The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)

Chapter 67 - Startling Horse

On March 30th, Song Chuyi led her people to the Zhiyuan Escort Agency located on Eight Lantern Alley, successfully using Jiang Er to lure out the second head of the escort, Qi Shengyuan.

Qi Shengyuan had been a bodyguard for several decades, and his skills were well-honed, making it quite a challenge to deal with him. Fortunately, the group accompanying Song Chuyi had all been specially chosen by the old master Song for their martial skills; with seven or eight of them against him, they finally subdued him and pressed him to the ground.

Jiang Er, who had been kicked down by Qi Shengyuan, struggled to stand, his face filled with despair as he leaned against a tree for support.

The other members of the escort were easier to handle. Lin Hai stepped forward and spoke with them, quickly persuading the group who had come armed and ready to act aggressively to return.

Song Chuyi watched them for a moment from beneath her veil before turning to lead her group outside.

"Manager Lin," as soon as they exited, Song Chuyi called out to him, frowning. "Send a few people to rent a carriage to take Jiang Er and Qi Shengyuan back via Zhuque Street."

Lin Hai was momentarily taken aback, hesitating as he asked, "And what about you?"

"I'll naturally follow the original route," Song Chuyi glanced at the marked carriage with the red tassel canopy, then turned to Lin Hai and said, "But these skilled fighters must follow me."

Since the Zhiyuan Escort Agency served as a contact point, how could Qi Shengyuan be the only person working for Prince Duan? The fact that they allowed Qi Shengyuan to be taken away so easily meant they must have other plans in place.

Given Prince Duan's nature, once he heard of this, he would certainly go all out, willing to sacrifice everything. In the end, Qi Shengyuan would likely become the scapegoat, accused of having an illicit affair with the Fifth Lady... At that point, the Changning Marquis' household would undoubtedly suffer, and the court censors would swarm in, uncovering even more charges.

Lin Hai had already been instructed by Song Chengru to follow the Sixth Miss's orders, so he had no objections now. He nodded, leaving six guards to escort Song Chuyi while he led three or four men, along with Jiang Er and Qi Shengyuan, down a side alley into a small lane.

Qingtao helped Song Chuyi onto the carriage, sensing something was off. "Miss, are we expecting something to happen later...?" She was perceptive, realizing that Song Chuyi wouldn't have had Lin Hai take a different route without reason, and now, instead of riding in the luxurious canopy carriage ahead, they had chosen this smaller, plainer one.

Song Chuyi slightly lifted the curtain, peeking through a small gap. As the carriage passed Li's Candy Shop and the Inlaid Jewel Pavilion, she began calculating the time in her head.

Soon, Song Chuyi noticed the surrounding crowd starting to scatter in panic. Street vendors abandoned their stalls and ran without even packing up their goods.

Terrified screams erupted all around, and faintly, people could be heard shouting about a mad horse...

As expected, Prince Duan still hadn't given up his bad habit from the previous life—using mad horses to crash into other people's carriages.

Song Chuyi let out a cold smile just as the sound of a huge collision rang out. Fortunately, the coachman of the plain green-curtained carriage they were in was skilled enough to yank the reins hard, narrowly avoiding crashing into the front carriage, the red-tassel canopy now almost completely shattered.

Qingtao clung tightly to the handles, but even so, her nose still got bumped, bringing tears to her eyes. "Miss, are you alright?" The guards around the carriage, all skilled in martial arts, quickly gathered by her side to check on her.

Thanks to their preparation, the walls of the carriage had been padded with thick felt. Song Chuyi straightened her slightly tousled hair and calmly shook her head, "I'm fine. Uncle Qin, go ahead and check what's happened up front."

The sturdy man she called Uncle Qin indeed went ahead to inspect the scene. When he returned, his face was grim. "A mad horse came charging, and our carriage couldn't avoid the collision..."

"Check if the coachman is injured. If he's hurt badly, take him to the nearest medical clinic for treatment." Feeling somewhat guilty, Song Chuyi's tone suddenly turned cold. "Send someone back home to report the incident. We'll wait here for the city patrol guards."

Qin Chuan found her calm demeanor unusually composed but couldn't fault her handling of the situation. He respectfully agreed, sending someone to escort the injured coachman to the clinic and another to deliver the message back home. He stayed by her side with one other guard to protect the carriage.

The crowd that had initially fled in terror now began to gather, curious to witness the commotion.

The city patrol guards arrived surprisingly quickly this time, insisting on taking both the person and the horse back to the government office for investigation.

Qin Chuan stepped forward to reveal his identity, but the guards wouldn't budge. They said that since an accident had occurred, both sides needed to be questioned, which meant both the people and the horse had to be taken back.

Though they mentioned "both sides," the only "other side" was the mad horse.

The patrol guards' unusually diligent and heavy-handed approach made Qin Chuan suspicious. Sensing something was off, he refused to back down, staying by Song Chuyi's carriage until reinforcements from the Marquis' household arrived.

The guards' forceful attitude clearly suggested ulterior motives. Even though they knew Song Chuyi was the Sixth Miss of the Marquis' household and related to their superior, they were acting with reckless abandon.

As expected, the city guards, growing impatient with Qin Chuan, brazenly moved in to take action. The reinforcements from the Marquis' household had yet to arrive...

Qingtao, pale with fear, rushed in front of Song Chuyi, trembling as she stared at the curtain hanging over the front of the carriage.

"Who dares?!"

"Outrageous! The city patrol guards are acting on official orders. Who dares obstruct us?!"

A commotion was clearly brewing outside. Song Chuyi thought that someone from the Marquis' household had arrived, so she lifted a corner of the curtain to look. However, all she saw was a faint glimpse of a frosty-colored robe in the distance.

Qin Chuan, still struggling against the city patrol guards, stayed in front of Song Chuyi's carriage, scratching his head in confusion. "Miss, it seems... a Taoist priest with some influence has arrived..."

A Taoist priest?!

Song Chuyi's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but laugh. Where in the capital could you find a Taoist bold enough to obstruct the city patrol guards?

This heir apparent was truly amusing, even dressing up as a Taoist priest.

A moment later, voices from outside rang in unison, greeting him, "Greetings to the Heir Apparent."

Zhou Weizhao, frowning, sat on his horse, staring at the deputy commander of the city patrol for a long time. He then glanced at the modest green-curtained carriage and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Didn't you say that the person inside is a young lady from the Marquis' household? Do you think it's appropriate to take her to the city patrol office?"

The deputy commander looked visibly uncomfortable.

Qingtao let out a sigh of relief and, smiling, turned to Song Chuyi. "Miss, the Heir Apparent seems to be a reasonable person."

But they couldn't be sure whether this was a fortunate coincidence or if he had already been prepared for this.

Song Chuyi's smile faded, and she nodded thoughtfully.