Chapter 359
~ SET OFF, HEAD TO THE HUNTING GROUND ~
After settling the matters in Jiyue Pavillion, Mu Yunyao headed over to the Imperial Palace to meet up with the crowd.
Although the Emperor had arranged for officials to bring their ladies to attend the Autumn Hunt, there were no compulsory requirements about it. For example, Second Madam couldn’t leave the estate, and her daughter didn’t want to attract the attention of Grand Princess Yi De, so she didn’t need to participate.
Mu Yunyao had just walked out of the residence when she saw another carriage in front of the gate.
Jin Lan whispered, “Miss, that seems to be the Eldest Miss’s carriage.” Could it be that Yuyi, who was injured to such an extent, still insisted on going to the hunting grounds?
Mu Yunyao turned around and saw the unfriendly Eldest Madam walking out, followed by Su Yaxian and the other two illegitimate daughters, who stood still in silence. With a quick thought, she realized that this must have been arranged by the Old Madam.
“Greetings, Eldest Aunt and three cousin.”
The Eldest Madam glanced at Mu Yunyao with a stiff expression. She didn’t even bother to put on an act and directly headed towards her carriage. Su Yajing and Su Yaling held their breath as they followed behind the Eldest Madam, not daring to make a sound. However, it was Su Yaxian who turned around and looked at her apologetically.
Mu Yunyao stood up with a smile at the corner of her mouth. “Let’s go.”
The Autumn Hunt this time was exceptionally grand because of Grand Princess Yi De. Originally, twenty thousand imperial guards had been prepared to escort them along the way. However, with so many female members, the Second Prince, Yu Wang, had dispatched twenty thousand guards to coordinate with them to ensure that the guests were safe.
The horse carriage stopped. Just as Mu Yunyao wanted to get off, she heard the sound of horses hissing outside, then the carriage violently shook. Fortunately, Si Shu saw that the situation wasn’t good and did her best to support her, which did not let her fall out of the carriage. However, the back of her hand knocked badly on the door and suddenly became red and swollen.
Killing intent flashed in Mu Yunyao’s eyes. This experience suddenly reminded her of her previous life, when she tumbled out from the carriage and fell in front of Yue Wang.
“What’s going on?”
Right after she said those words, the sorrowful cry of a horse could be heard. Following this, the horse carriage swayed once more, and a strong stench of blood spread.
The originally lively and relaxed atmosphere froze into silence. Everyone began to drive the carriage away, and for a time, only the carriage that Mu Yunyao was stopped in the middle.
Hearing the commotion, the imperial guards rushed to gather around, and the Second Prince, Yu Wang, came on horseback. When he saw the situation, he frowned, “What happened?”
A young man came forward and bowed towards Yu Wang, “Report back to His Royal Highness, the Meng family’s carriage accidentally collided with this carriage, to the point that the horses were startled. Seeing that they were going to collide with the noble, they had no choice but to kill the horses. Unexpectedly, I did not expect that it will alarm Your Highness. Please forgive me, His Royal Highness.”
“You are … Meng Handong?”
“Reporting to Yu Wang, it really is me.”
Yu Wang’s eyebrows were still tightly furrowed as he looked at the carriage trapped in the blood, “Who owns this carriage? What about the people in the carriage?”
Mu Yunyao’s gaze was cold as she signaled for Si Shu to lift the carriage’s curtain. The horse had already fallen to the ground, and no sound could be heard. Blood flowed everywhere, trapping the horse carriage she was riding in into a pool of blood.
Mu Yunyao walked out of the carriage and stood at the shaft of the carriage. Her gaze was calm as she looked at Yu Wang. “This humble daughter, Mu Yunyao, greets His Royal Highness Yu Wang.”
Yu Wang looked over with a hint of surprise in his eyes, “It’s you. I can see that you can’t sit on the carriage anymore. I just saw that there seems to be another lady in the Su family. Go make do with it.”
“Thank you, His Royal Highness, I will think of a way. However, I never would have thought that this Young Master would dare draw his sword and kill a horse in front of so many noble people. It is really a rare courage.” Mu Yunyao looked at Meng Handong, who was standing in the side. Earlier, Yue Wang had warned her to be careful of the Meng family. She thought that she would meet them after arriving at the hunting grounds. Unexpectedly, Meng Handong dares to trouble her in front of the palace gates.
Meng Handong glanced at Mu Yunyao, his eyes slightly narrowed, “So it’s Little Sister Yunyao. It is truly a big water rush to the Dragon King’s Temple, and the whole family doesn’t recognize each other. I didn’t expect that the person inside the carriage would be you. It’s all my fault. I was surprised when I saw the horse startled and was afraid that something would happen to the surrounding people. That’s why I killed the horse that pulled the carriage. I hope Little Sister Yunyao won’t mind. After all, no matter how precious this horse is, it can’t compare to the people around us, right?”
Mu Yunyao sneered in her heart. Meng Handong only wanted to avoid bumping into the surrounding nobles, but he didn’t care that she was still in the carriage. If they were to compare notes, wouldn’t it mean that she was inferior to the surrounding nobles?
“Young Master Meng is right. Sometimes a person can’t reason with animals.”
“It was originally....” Meng Haodong was just about to nod his head when he heard a burst of light laughter from the surroundings. Thinking carefully about Mu Yunyao’s words, he couldn’t help but have a face of anger. What does she mean by people who can’t reason with animals? Does Mu Yunyao dare to imply that he is an animal?
The corner of Yu Wang’s mouth curled up slightly, and curiosity was added within the gaze he shot at Mu Yunyao. “Miss Mu, you might get off the carriage?”
Meng Handong dared not vent his anger in front of Yu Wang, so he just stood aside with his hands folded around his chest, waiting to see the joke of Mu Yunyao.
Blood from the horses was all over the ground. If Mu Yunyao wanted to get off the car, her shoes and skirt would definitely be stained with dirt. But now that they were about to depart, there wouldn’t be time for her to change her dress, so there would be a good show.
Mu Yunyao turned her head to look at Si Shu and slightly nodded at her.
Si Shu stepped forward and placed the horse stool upright on the ground. She then supported Mu Yunyao’s waist and directly brought her down from the carriage.
Mu Yunyao’s footsteps became lighter. Borrowing the strength of Si Shu, she stepped on the horse stool and lightly landed on the clean ground as if nothing had happened.
She was wearing a light apricot-colored silk dress. Her dress looked extremely elegant. With the strength of Si Shu and her slender figure, her dress skirt swayed as she landed, which made people unable to shift their eyes away from her.
Yu Wang’s eyes flashed with amazement. When he looked at Meng Handong again, he could not help but feel that this person’s appearance was repulsive. Wasn’t this the same person who had previously taught a lesson to the arrogant and despotic Meng Yanran? He killed this girl’s horse in public and made it bloody. It’s really narrow-minded.
“Meng Handong, this is the enterace of Palace. You dare to use your weapon here and even caused such a bloody scene. If you didn’t want to go to the hunting grounds today, you shouldn’t wasted time the people around. You must have clean up the ground yourself. Now, hurry up and tidy up the scene. If it’s because of you that people delayed their time, you must be arrested and charged.”
Meng Handong was shocked. He could not maintain his wild and untamed expression and quickly clasped his hands together to plead to Yu Wang, “I was reckless. Please forgive me, His Royal Highness. I’ll clean this up now.”
“En!” Yu Wang looked towards Mu Yunyao and nodded his head. “Does Miss Mu need someone’s help?” Earlier, he didn’t think Mu Yunyao was anything special, so he couldn’t be bothered to care about how she went on her way to the hunting grounds. Now that I’ve discovered that this person suits my interests, he couldn’t help but be a bit more concerned.
“Thank you, His Royal Highness Yu Wang. I’ve already sent someone down to make arrangements.”