Chapter 8 The Carriage Approaches the Capital

Mo Xuetong set off early the next morning. The carriage was waiting outside when she woke. Old Madam Luo from the general manor had sent her own carriage to pick Mo Xuetong up. She was worried that Mo Xuetong might feel uncomfortable. There was a soft seat in the carriage piled with thick leather blankets. There were a few cushions on the side as well along with a small desk. There was a little bookshelf with a few leisurely reads by the window. Cloud City was not too far from the capital, but it was not considered near either. Mo Xuetong and the group of people accompanying her took two weeks to arrive at the capital. Nanny Li, having been taught a lesson by Mo Xuetong in Cloud City, became more obedient. She did not dare to create trouble and treated Mo Xuetong very respectfully on the surface. She asked Mo Xuetong for instructions on all matters and never disobeyed her, seeming to have surrendered. As such, the journey was considered smooth. That day they arrived, Nanny Li got the carriage to stop when she saw the capital in the distance. She went to Mo Xuetong's carriage with a smile. "Miss, how are you feeling?” she asked. “Do you want to rest? It’s still early, so we might as well prepare ourselves so that we won't return to the manor in a mess. We shouldn't embarrass you." "Miss, a maid of Nanny Li already rushed out early in the morning. She said she wanted to visit her mother before returning to the manor," Mo Lan reminded Mo Xuetong. Mo Xuetong understood. She closed her eyes and nodded. "Thank you, Nanny Li. Let's all rest," she said gently. "Miss, the maid that Nanny Li sent must have gone to do something. Why did you listen to her and stop for a rest? What if she’s gone to report to Auntie Fang to plot against you? We should return quickly and catch them off guard," Mo He said anxiously as she lifted the curtains and looked out. She saw that the two carriages of maids had already climbed out. "What are you so anxious about? If they wanted to make preparations, they would have done so long ago." Mo Xuetong opened her eyes and sat up with a faint smile. For the sake of her health, they had not traveled fast. After two weeks of rest, her complexion did not look as haggard. Her faint smile and bright eyes made people want to spoil her. Of course she knew that Auntie Fang and Mo Xuemin would try to embarrass her? In her last life, they’d taken her reputation at the city gates. She’d been seen as an arrogant girl and almost universally despised. Because of that, in the half a year after Mo Xuetong returned to the capital, not a single noble daughter in the capital wanted to befriend her. Her marriage was postponed again and again. If Auntie Fang and her daughter had not set her up at the city gate, she would not have been ostracized by all the noble daughters right after returning to the capital. After that, Auntie Fang had plotted against her without fear. When she thought of all that, Mo Xuetong's fists clenched on her sleeves. Her face grew pale and her eyes sharpened. "Miss..."Mo Lan could sense her emotional turmoil and reached out to hold her worriedly. Mo Xuetong breathed out deeply, and her expression relaxed. She relaxed her hands and accepted the tea that Mo He offered her. "Mo Lan, go and wash up as and see if there is an extra carriage behind us," she said softly. Their group only had three carriages and in her last life. Another carriage had appeared behind them out of the blue. It looked much like a Mo family carriage, and the incident outside the city gates was deliberately caused by the driver of that horse carriage. She looked up to see Mo He parting the carriage curtains. There was a cold light dancing in her Mo Xuetong’s eyes. This time, she would injure Mo Xuemin in one strike. Mo Lan returned quickly and put down the curtains. "Miss, there really is an extra carriage behind the third one,” she whispered anxiously. “They stopped when our carriage stopped but no one from the carriage got down. There’s just some burly teen driving the carriage and the style of the carriage looks like ours. I got somebody to go investigate and the driver drove her off. He was very nasty to her." "How could that be? Didn't the manor only send two carriages to pick up Miss?" Even Mo He, who was usually careless, could tell something was wrong. Her expression was uneasy, and she moved to lift the curtains and look. Mo Xuetong's reached out a hand to stop her. Before Mo Xuetong could respond, she heard Nanny Li’s laughing voice. "Miss, we've rested for a while and can set off now,” she called. “If we return to the city now, we can make it in time for lunch at the manor. Everyone has had a hard time on the road. We can have a full lunch and rest up. Master will be home then too. He'd be very happy to see you arriving." Mo Xuetong gave Mo Lan a look and mouthed, ‘Buy time!’ Mo Lan raised the carriage curtains and smiled apologetically at nanny Li. "Nanny Li, thank you for your concern. We have to wait a little longer. Miss is dizzy from the ride and we have to rest for a while more before we can go." "But it's getting late!" Nanny Li looked at the sky, flustered. There was a hint of anxiety in her eyes. She had sent the letter long ago and saw the horse carriage that had suddenly appeared them. Auntie Fang had planned everything and was waiting for Third Miss to fall into the trap. If they waited any longer, it might ruin Auntie Fang's plans. "Nanny, do you mean that we should ignore Miss and go to the capital immediately?" Mo Lan's expression was icy cold. It was not right for the servant to refuse her mistress rest when she was unwell. Nanny Li was speechless. It was still early, and even if they dawdled, it would not be much trouble. She was forced to agree. The lady in the car was so frail, and she could not afford to let anything happen to her on their journey. When nanny Li left, Mo Xuetong turned back to Mo Lan. "Mo Lan, go with Nanny Shen to the side of the road and see if there are any other horse carriages passing by. If there are, we will travel to the capital behind them. Mo Xuetong guessed correctly and Mo Lan could not hide her happiness when she got back to the carriage. "Miss, there is a horse carriage coming,” she told Mo Xuetong. “It is very long and looks like it's from a noble family. Are we going to follow them into the capital?" "What did Nanny Shen say?" Mo Xuetong asked. "Nanny Shen said she could not tell which family the carriages belong to. There aren't any signs on the carriage, but it’s definitely from a wealthy and powerful family in the capital. She also asked you to be careful. The horse carriage following us has the Mo crest on it. It looks like it was sent by the manor to pick you up. But Nanny Li did not mention it," Mo Lan said carefully. Mo Xuetong lifted a corner of the curtains and saw a luxurious horse carriage passing by. It was pulled by a pure white horse and from its strides, one could see that it was a fine horse. The wind caused the satin curtains to flutter, but the person behind them was hidden. It was natural for such a large horse carriage to have blinds though, so it was unsurprising not to see anyone. She scanned the curtains and saw a faint mark. Her pupils suddenly contracted and her hands, which were holding a teacup, tremored lightly. It was someone from the royal family. Only those from the imperial family could use the sign of the dragon. Thankfully, that was one of the best possible things for her current situation. "Miss, what are we going to do now?" Mo Lan asked by her side. Mo Xuetong looked down, her long lashes fluttering. When she looked up again, her eyes were cold and calm. It calmed her maids, seeing how confident their mistress looked. "Mo Lan, take this and ask to see the owner of the carriage. Say that someone is plotting against me and say that I'm willing to use this rare music sheet in exchange for their help as our witness." She took out name card of the general’s manor. The old madam had asked Nanny Shen to bring it to her. Before preparing for victory, one had to first prepare for failure. She had to keep the upper hand no matter what. "Yes." Mo Lan knew that the matter was urgent. She took the name card and hurried out of the carriage. Mo Xuetong then turned to Mo He. "Take Nanny Li to the side for a chat and tell her we are going to set off," she ordered. Mo He agreed and got off the carriage as well. The horse carriages set off again. In order to prevent any accidents, Nanny Shen and Mo He intentionally swapped carriages. Nanny Shen got onto Mo Xuetong's carriage and asked the driver to wait for seven or eight carriages to pass them before following at a sedate pace behind. They could see the capital gates from afar. There was a hanging bridge set on the far shore that could be lowered to ride across the moat that protected the capital. It was noon and many people entering and leaving the city. They would occasionally see a few fast horses running by with servants on their backs. They were members of the group following noble sons out to the countryside to play. The capital never lacked noble sons who took their horses out to have fun. Mo Xuetong's carriage followed the carriages in front closely, slowly entering the capital. Nanny Li sat on the carriage at the back and watched to see if the last carriage had caught up with them. She had not discovered that her own horse carriage had already joined another group. Because there were many people entering the capital, the horse carriage procession had lost its original formation. They were no longer following one behind another. Mo Xuetong's horse carriage followed stealthily behind and was in the middle of another procession. Nanny Shen went onto the first horse carriage. Nanny Li made an excuse of finding another woman at the back to speak about something and got onto the third horse carriage. They were about to enter the capital. Nanny Li pushed open the windows of the carriage at the back and took out a brightly colored handkerchief. She waved it outside the window and the carriage driver who’d infiltrated the group immediately understood. He pulled the reins forcefully. The horse neighed in pain and raised its forelegs into the air and charged into the crowd. They had just entered the capital gates and the crowd had begun to realize that the carriage procession was not your usual group and stepped aside to let them pass. It was not a narrow path and as long as a horse did not charge off the road, it would not knock into anyone. This rogue carriage charged directly into the crowd, scattering them. There were startled screams, then one shrill scream and a heavy thud. "Someone's dead. Someone's dead!” an elderly voice screamed. It had happened just like last time. Mo Xuetong's eyes grew cold as she sat up in the horse carriage. The groaning sound was accompanied by a loud shout of pain. It was louder than the fussing crowd and sounded a bit too exaggerated. People crowded around to see what had happened, crowding the path. The luxurious carriage with the dragon emblem was forced to roll to a stop.