Mu Wan was also quite embarrassed. For a minute, she awkwardly scuffed the floor with her toe, but she was always quick to see the bright side and proceed to comfort the pitiful Yunling, “Don’t worry, they won’t know who we are. There are plenty of girls who dream of marrying Marquis Zhenbei.”
A hope arose in Yunling’s heart.
Mu Wan continued, “The Mingjing Division wouldn’t investigate us over such a small matter.”
Yunling finally felt a bit more spirited, “You are absolutely correct, Miss! Our carriage doesn’t have any markings, just an ordinary one, who would recognize us?”
Mu Wan nodded vigorously, “Exactly, exactly.” ‘That’s why, let’s pretend the gaffe just now never happened!’
“Mu family’s carriage!” a piercing voice suddenly called from behind, “My Lord, the carriage up ahead is the Mu family’s!”
Mu Wan & Yunling: “…”
“How did they recognize it? Our carriage doesn’t have any markings, right?!” Yunling panicked.
Mu Wan was also puzzled, but she had no time to ponder when the man shouted again, this time directly at them, “Eldest Miss Mu, stop the carriage!”
“Eldest Miss Mu?” Mu Wan repeated. She suddenly realized the situation and quickly instructed, “Yunling, clear the path!”
“Uncle Xu, speed up!”
Yunling didn’t ask why. She immediately pulled out a large purse from a hidden compartment and dashed out, throwing copper coins on both sides of the road.
The pedestrians, caught off guard by the sudden shower of coins, quickly scrambled to the sides to collect them, instantly clearing the middle of the road. Uncle Xu whipped the horses fiercely, and the carriage sped off.
Mu Wan peeked out to look at the group chasing them. Several servants surrounded a luxurious carriage, whose curtain was lifted to reveal a slick, wanton face—it was none other than the Empress Dowager’s brother Lord Wu, the man detested by all the girls in the capital.
Lord Wu appeared surprised to see Mu Wan’s carriage making a getaway. After a brief pause, he remarked with a bemused smile, “Oh, quite clever. Chase after them, there’s a reward for their capture!”
Yunling also noticed the situation, “What’s going on? Why is Lord Wu chasing us all of a sudden?”
Mu Wan narrowed her eyes, “It’s probably Mu Rou’s doing.”
If the pursuers had simply called for ‘Mu’s carriage’ or ‘Second Miss Mu,’ Mu Wan might have thought that Lord Wu, harboring a grudge from the previous incident, had confused her with Mu Rou. However, he had clearly called for the Eldest Miss Mu.
Why would Lord Wu chase after a girl he doesn’t know? It must be for her beauty.
But her current reputation in the capital was as someone arrogant and domineering, with an unremarkable appearance. Lord Wu had no reason to target her—unless someone had informed him that she was concealing her true beauty.
The only people who knew her true appearance were her close confidants, who had no reason to do such a thing. The remaining possibility pointed to her family members, and among them, only Mu Rou had both the motive and the knowledge of which carriage she was using.
Mu Rou was intent on ruining her.
Although Mu Wan was prepared for Mu Rou’s counterattack, she hadn’t expected that Lord Wu would be involved.
The name ‘Mu Rou’ was all Yunling needed to quickly piece together the situation. Both angry and concerned, she exclaimed, “Miss, what should we do now? If Lord Wu catches us under so many witnesses, your reputation will be destroyed.”
Mu Wan pulled a bottle of medicine from a hidden compartment in the carriage and tucked it into her chest, “First, let’s head out of the city and find a deserted place.”
Uncle Xu whipped the horses again, quickly leaving behind the chasing carriage.
Yunling sighed with relief, “Thank goodness you’re always overly cautious and well-prepared, Miss.”
The carriage they were in appeared ordinary on the outside, but it was actually equipped with numerous modifications. In her previous life, Mu Wan had pursued a double major, one of which was mechanical engineering related to her family’s core business. Shock absorption and speed improvement were her bread and butter, which transformed this carriage into both a comfortable mode of travel and an effective means of escape during emergencies. This setup perfectly matched her philosophy of enjoying life while prioritizing safety.
Mu Wan was also pleased with her foresight, “That should be enough to lead them to a secluded area.”
No sooner had she spoken than the sound of galloping hooves came from behind. Turning around, she saw that the pursuers had abandoned the carriage and switched to horses to continue the chase.
“…” Mu Wan wanted to curse: ‘This Lord Wu is too impatient!’
There was no way a carriage could outrun a horse, especially since the pursuers had switched from ordinary servants to guards.
“Miss, what do we do? Since the Second Miss dares to do this, she must be prepared. It would be a disaster if even one person saw you being captured.” Yunling was anxious.
“I remember there’s a barren mountain nearby.” Mu Wan made a quick decision,
“Funiu Mountain, right?” Uncle Xu replied, “It’s dense with thick forests and home to many wild animals.”
Mu Wan added, “There should also be quite a few bees.”
Yunling’s eyes lit up, and she quickly pulled out two bottles of unknown powder from the hidden compartment, “Are we using this?”
Mu Wan laughed, “You can’t identify herbs even if your life depended on it, but this one you remember perfectly.”
Yunling also chuckled.
Soon, the three were chased to Funiu Mountain. They had already applied insect-repellent medicine on themselves and divided the medicine powder that attracts bees, each taking a small pack and quickly diving into the forest. Their movements were so practiced—it was clear they had done this sort of thing before.”
At this point, Lord Wu’s initial amusement had turned to annoyance. He had thought it would be an easy capture, already anticipating enjoying the company of a new girl, but didn’t expect to lose his prey after such a long chase. He dismounted from the horse, rubbed his aching thighs, and angrily exclaimed, “Just wait, this lord will definitely catch you all today!”
“He’s not going up the mountain! What should we do now?” Yunling said. Releasing the bees on the guards might not be enough; Lord Wu would likely still command them to continue the chase.
Mu Wan thought for a moment, “Their target is me. Let’s split up; without me, you’ll find the hives faster. Once found, lead them down the mountain! We’ll meet up at Mother’s house later.”
“Right, if Lord Wu was stung, the guards would naturally have to retreat!” Yunling clapped her hands, “Just wait, Miss, this servant will find a big hive, enough to keep him indoors for a month!”
After the decision was made, the three split up to act separately.
Although Mu Wan possessed better physical strength than typical young ladies, she was still struggling a bit when faced with professionally trained guards and had to scatter a lot of powder to shake them off.
Two hours later, she finally got rid of the last of her pursuer. Utterly exhausted, Mu Wan spotted a wide cave with sunlight warming the entrance—a perfect spot to drink some water and rest.
But as soon as she dragged her tired body into the cave, she quickly realized that something was amiss. Turning around, she saw a group of people had already occupied a corner of the cave, perfectly out of her line of sight until now.
Mu Wan instinctively raised her hands. Well… anyone stumbling into a crime scene and then being aimed at by a group of armed men certainly would do the same!
As Mu Wan desperately tried to figure out how to extricate herself from this predicament, she heard one of the armed men, an athletic young guy, suddenly exclaim, “Isn’t this the Eldest Miss Mu who wants to marry our Marquis?”
Mu Wan: “…”
As if her situation weren’t awkward enough, another tall, robust man also exclaimed, “Isn’t this the woman who wants to exert her husband’s influence without the hassle of serving a man?” He paused, then added, “Oh, and planning to use a beauty trap to seduce our Marquis?”
Feeling the stares from across the cave, Mu Wan closed her eyes and thought despairingly—‘Will I return to the modern world once my life here’s over?’
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Author’s Note:
Mu Wan: “Just let me die, please—it’s too embarrassing!!”
Translator’s Note:
Changing 伯 translation of from Earl to Count
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