kingnovel 123 A Chance Encounter
123 A Chance Encounter
Li Xiaonuan's words were agreed upon by Chu Xun'er. She jumped forward excitedly, then turned back and made a big funny face at Li Xiaonuan and the others, making them laugh uncontrollably.
Jingjing whispered in Li Xiaonuan's ear, "Sister Xiaonuan, this young lady is really funny, and she's completely different from the young lady from the Zhou landlord's family."
Li Xiaonuan nodded and said, "Yes, she really doesn't have the demeanor of a well-bred lady at all. She just has a bad temper and is quite domineering. Otherwise, I would actually like her."
Jingjing covered her mouth and giggled, "Sister Xiaonuan, I actually think she's a very nice person, really."
"What bad things are you saying about me? Huh? Don't let me find out, or I'll tear your mouths apart." Chu Xun'er, who was having a good time, turned around and saw Li Xiaonuan whispering to Jingjing, and said fiercely.
Hearing this, Jingjing quickly lowered her hand from her mouth and shook her head in denial: "No, no, we're not saying anything bad about you. Really, we're just saying that you're great, different from other rich girls." Fangfang reached out and tugged at Jingjing's sleeve, a smile on her face.
Chu Xun'er didn't believe it, but she didn't care: "No one would believe you. Forget it, I'm always generous, I won't stoop to the level of you commoners."
Because Chu Xun'er was turning around to talk to Li Xiaonuan and the others, she accidentally tripped over a dry tree branch. At that moment, she was standing on a slope, and from where she tripped, she tumbled down the slope.
The maids and servants who had been ordered by Chu Xun'er to follow behind Li Xiaonuan and the others were all terrified when they saw what was happening and ran in that direction. Li Xiaonuan was faster and had already reached the spot where Chu Xun'er had rolled down first.
Because they were previously on an uphill slope, they hadn't seen anyone on the other side. At this moment, Chu Xun'er was half-lying on Zhao Wangchuan in a strange position.
Indeed, the people at the bottom of the slope were Zhao Wangchuan, Prince Jing, and Wei Yu. Logically, these three wouldn't go out without their subordinates. Moreover, they were in an extremely disheveled state. It was clear they were exhausted. Most importantly, they had no followers with them—not a single one.
Ignoring the steep slope, Li Xiaonuan sprinted down the hill, stopping just before bumping into Chu Xun'er and Zhao Wangchuan. She quickly helped Chu Xun'er up and pulled her a few steps away from Zhao Wangchuan, lest the maids and servants see them and cause trouble.
Let Chu Xun'er sit down by herself, and Li Xiaonuan helped Zhao Wangchuan, who was slumped on the ground, to his feet. She asked him softly, "Brother Zhao, what are you doing here? What happened?"
Zhao Wangchuan let Li Xiaonuan help him up and lean him against a tree stump. Only then did he ask weakly, "Little sister Xiaonuan, did you bring any food or water? We've been running around in the mountains for two days, and we're starving."
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaonuan took the small basket off her shoulder. Then, she took out several scallion and egg pancakes, a jar of honeysuckle tea, and a few bowls. She first gave Zhao Wangchuan two pancakes and poured him a bowl of water. Only then did she deliver them to Prince Jing and Wei Yu.
When Prince Jing took the bread and water, he chuckled and said, "No wonder you're childhood sweethearts."
Wei Yu also took the things from Li Xiaonuan's hands. After listening to what Prince Jing said, he just looked at Li Xiaonuan deeply and said nothing.
After everyone started eating, Chu Xun'er burst into tears. The three maids and servants surrounded her, trying to comfort her. Li Xiaonuan, her head aching from the crying, stepped forward and scolded, "What are you crying about? Haven't I always reminded you to watch your step? Luckily, you didn't break anything, you should be thanking your lucky stars."
Chu Xun'er was startled by Li Xiaonuan's sudden reprimand and stopped crying, looking at Li Xiaonuan with sobs. Li Xiaonuan felt a pang of tenderness at Chu Xun'er's wet eyes and couldn't help but comfort her:
"Alright, everything's fine now. Can you walk? If you can, let's head down the mountain."
Chu Xun'er stood up, feeling wronged. She moved her hands and feet before choking out, "I'm fine, let's go back."
Li Xiaonuan nodded. She turned around and took out the remaining few pieces of flatbread and six or seven washed sweet melons from the basket, placing them on top of the water jug.
"I only brought this much food today, you guys eat first. Once you're done eating, head back as soon as possible." After saying that, he ignored the three men's reactions and told the others to return to the village.
The guards Chu Xun'er brought looked at Wei Yu warily, hesitant to speak, because they recognized Wei Yu and Prince Jing. But Li Xiaonuan didn't give them a chance, telling Chu Xun'er to leave with her people as soon as possible.
Because her clothes were torn and dirty when she rolled down the slope, Chu Xun'er asked to wash up at Li Xiaonuan's house before returning to the city so that she wouldn't look so disheveled.
Li Xiaonuan resignedly boiled water and brought it into the room for her. Inside, Chu Xun'er dismissed all the servants, leaving only Li Xiaonuan. Then Chu Xun'er took off her clothes, pointed to her right waist, and said:
“Li Xiaonuan, your brother Zhao is a devil. Look, when I fell, he actually choked me hard. And if you had come any later, he would have choked me.”
Seeing Chu Xun'er's eyes brimming with tears again, Li Xiaonuan carefully used a damp cloth to wipe away the bruises on her right side. Chu Xun'er endured the pain and stubbornly refused to cry out. But the tears fell like rain.
After Chu Xun'er finished tidying up, Li Xiaonuan said to her, "You saw your brother Yu there just now, right? So, the three of them must have encountered some trouble. I'm glad you could hold back and not tell your servants anything. It turns out that Miss Chu is a smart and sensible girl."
Chu Xun'er nodded in deep agreement and said, "I'm a good girl. Brother Yu just gave me a wink, so I didn't ask anything. Alright, I'm going home now. Otherwise, if my older brother finds out I almost got hurt when he gets back, all the servants outside will definitely suffer."
Li Xiaonuan feigned doubt and asked, "Is your older brother really that scary? He seems quite gentle and friendly to me."
Chu Xun'er pouted and muttered softly, "Big brother isn't a gentle and friendly person at all. He's the scariest. The year before last, I ran away to ride a horse without permission, and when I came back, big brother had someone beat the horse to death right in front of me."
Li Xiaonuan pretended not to hear and asked her, "Huh? What did you just say?"
Chu Xun'er waved her hands nervously, denying, "No, no, I didn't say anything. Okay, I have to go now. If I come to the city again in the future, I will definitely come to visit you."
After seeing Chu Xun'er and the others off at the courtyard gate, Li Xiaonuan asked, "Second Miss Chu, when are you going back to the capital?"
Chu Xun'er replied without any hesitation, "My brother said that if things go smoothly, he will go back the day after tomorrow. If things don't go smoothly, he will postpone it for two more days."
Chu Xun'er boarded the carriage and leaned out to say goodbye to Li Xiaonuan. Li Xiaonuan smiled and said, "Then I wish Miss Chu a safe journey. Next time you come to the prefectural city, remember to come and visit me!"
Chu Xun'er nodded and said playfully, "Yes, I'll definitely come next time. But if you get married, then I won't be able to do anything. I can't exactly go to your in-laws' house and make a scene, can I?"
Li Xiaonuan chuckled and replied, "I'm afraid that you, Miss Chu, will be the one to get married first."
Chu Xun'er smiled mischievously and said, "I thought so too. It's not easy for a country girl like you to get married."