Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 396 - 394

Seeing Liang Yanli’s expression, Xiao’er assumed that her words had an effect.

She didn’t want to stay here any longer, so she took out two wooden hairpins she had bought on her way and handed them over.

"I personally carved these using the wooden hairpins I saw for sale. They look quite alike, right? As the saying goes: the gift is light, but the goodwill is significant. Don’t reject them because you find them too simple. I have matters to attend to at the academy, so I’ll take my leave."

Originally, she wanted to spend a few copper coins on wooden hairpins to see a play, but now she felt that the wooden hairpins were too expensive! She should have bought a steamed bun to shut Liang Yanli up!

Lan Yue thought: Considering her relationship with Lady Rui’an, how could she give away such a worthless wooden hairpin? The contents of her purse alone would allow her to buy several of these hairpins! She really got the short end of the stick!

Liang Yanli thought: Clearly Lady Rui’an is shameless, not embarrassed about offering such junk. The Sixth Prince must be blind to hold such a person in such high regard!

Fu Ranhui saw their expressions and had a maid present them with a purse the maids had embroidered, then stood up. "I also have matters at the academy, so I’ll leave now! Xiao’er, shall we go together?"

Di Junya, Lai Ruoqing... and others also started to say their goodbyes.

Most people had come to see Fu Ranhui, the daughter of the eldest princess. When they saw her leaving, others also started their goodbyes.

...

Half a month had passed since the marriage of the First Prince, yet people still discussed it enthusiastically.

Firstly, the size of the dowry of the First Prince’s bride, was embarrassing with only thirty-two porters carrying it.

Yet the dowry of the First Prince’s concubine was carried by seventy-six people.

Secondly, on their wedding night, the bride waited until dawn in the bridal chamber, but the First Prince never showed up. Instead, he was with the concubine. Enraged, the bride stormed into the concubine’s courtyard, dragged her naked body out of bed, and gave her a beating.

The concubine’s dowry was greater than the wife’s, and the First Prince neglected his bride on their wedding night to be with the concubine. These instances led to accusations by officials of the First Prince of favoring his concubine over his wife.

These weren’t the largest transgressions! The wedding of the First Prince was too simple; the weddings of other princely heirs were more grand than his. After this event, officials finally understood the emperor’s attitude towards the First Prince.

Many officials originally allied with the First Prince but began to withdraw their support.

Finally, the First Prince retreated entirely from politics, citing ill health, and began to lead a reclusive life.

He was attempting to keep a low profile.

The Imperial Examination had begun. Jingrui had decided not to take the rural examination this year after much deliberation.

"Rui’er is still young. It wouldn’t matter if he delayed his second-tier scholar examination for three years." Shen Chengyao somewhat agreed with Shen Jingrui’s decision to take the rural examination in three years.

It was not that he didn’t believe in his son, but he was certain his son would pass!

But, as the saying goes, the tree that sticks out gets hammered down!

"Why won’t Rui’er take the exam if he is confident?" Mrs. Liu did not agree this time.

She wanted her son to pass the exam as soon as possible, to have additional leverage when arranging his marriage!

"Mother, I want to be the top scorer! I wish for my mother to have a son who became the top scorer!" Jingrui was certain of passing the exam, but he desired more. He wanted to be the top scorer, not just once but thrice.

This ambition was beyond him at the moment.

He had no experience in dealing with people. He wanted to use the next three years to learn how to handle his family’s business, and also to learn from Brother Shangguan on how to handle political affairs.

Understanding the world equates to knowledge, mastering human relations equals literature! What he lacked was insight into affairs of the world and the ability to handle human relations.

Shangguan Xuanyi also suggested him to not rush the second-tier scholar exam. When he did give the exams, he should aim for the best! Only then would it truly add value to their family.

Hearing this, Mrs. Liu felt both pride and emotion. If her son could be the top scorer three years from now, he would have a pick of many women. So she gladly agreed.

On this day, on their way back from a neighboring county after running an errand, Jingrui, Di Shaowei, and Shangguan Xuanyi ran into a storm with dark clouds covering the sky and the wind blowing ferociously.

The three of them were riding their horses at breakneck speed towards the nearest populated area.

Soon, large raindrops began to fall in the summer downpour like spilled water. In the blink of an eye, it soaked the clothes of the three of them completely.

"The rain is too heavy. Let’s find somewhere to take shelter!" Di Shaowei wiped the water off his face with his hand and shouted loudly.

"I remember there’s a ruined field ahead. Let’s take shelter there!" Shangguan Xuanyi suggested upon hearing this.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky, with bolts striking down in the distance from time to time.

Soon, they saw a carriage jolting along the road ahead.

Di Shaowei leading on his horse, wanted to overtake the carriage quickly.

A flash of lightning struck a tree ahead, and a large branch fell down, hitting the coachman of the carriage!

The horse, spooked, started running wild.

"Whoa!" Di Shaowei quickly pulled the reins tight.

Damnit! He had nearly been hit! Di Shaowei patted his chest, unable to help himself.

Jingrui and Shangguan Xuanyi also promptly slowed down their horses.

"That seems to be the carriage from Ming Mansion," Jingrui said, not entirely certain.

The heavy rain blurred their vision, making it difficult to see clearly.

"Let’s go, catch up and see," Shangguan Xuanyi suggested, squinting to see more clearly.

Hearing this, Di Shaowei spurred his horse to run again.

From a distance, they saw the horse pulling the carriage frantically, running as if mad.

In the carriage

Ming Jingya was sitting inside, dizzy from the jolting of the carriage.

She finally grasped the wall of the carriage to stabilize her body.

The maid had also managed to get up at this point. She lifted the carriage curtain and saw Uncle Qian, the coachman, knocked unconscious by a tree branch. The horse, frightened, was running wild.

"Miss, Uncle Qian has been hit by a tree branch on the head! The horse is scared and running wild." The maid turned back and told Ming Jingya.

"You try to get the horse to stop. I’ll pull Uncle Qian in, so he doesn’t fall off the carriage."

"Alright!" The maid agreed and peeked out of the curtain again.

"Ah! Miss, Uncle Qian fell off the carriage!"

"Quick, find a way to stop the horse!" Ming Jingya became anxious upon hearing this news.

"Okay!" The maid lifted the curtain again and leaned out.

But the scene ahead frightened her out of her wits!

"Miss, quickly jump off the carriage, there’s a cliff ahead!"

Hearing this, Ming Jingya quickly crawled to the back of the carriage and jumped out.

Di Shaowei, who was chasing, saw a figure jump out of the carriage. He immediately leapt from his horse and caught the person, and both of them tumbled to the ground, rolling several times.

When they finally stopped, Di Shaowei was laying on top of Ming Jingya, and his lips were pressed against hers.

Just as Di Shaowei leapt off his horse using his Qinggong skills to catch the person, Shangguan Xuanyi also used his Qinggong to leap out, landing on the driver’s seat of the carriage. He pulled the reins tightly, and the horse skidded to a halt right at the edge of the cliff.

Jingrui stopped beside Uncle Qian, the coachman. He dismounted and went to check Uncle Qian’s condition.