novelden Chapter 134 Making a fortune through staged accidents
Chapter 134 Making a fortune through staged accidents
Xue Tong skipped away with the money, and soon it got dark outside.
Xue Lan put away the blueprints on the table and slowly walked to the door.
"Plop!" A raindrop landed at Xue Lan's feet, blooming into a small water splash.
Then came the continuous sound of rain. The rainwater on the roof slowly gathered down, forming a curtain of rain in front of Xue Lan.
Xue Lan, dressed in a light pink dress, leaned against the door frame, listening to the rain.
The sound of rain was continuous, and to Xue Lan, it felt like a huge canopy covering her.
Xue Lan looked up towards the center of the imperial city, where the imperial palace of the Great Shun Dynasty stood, the pinnacle of power.
A light purple cloud hung over the palace, but the cloud was not solid and seemed to be about to dissipate.
The pedestrians running on the street and the hurried vendors created a chaotic scene, making all sorts of noises.
However, this view was obscured by a veil over Xue Lan's eyes, and her voice was blocked by the rain in front of her.
Xue Lan transmitted her voice to Xue Tong: "Where are you? Can't come back?"
Xue Tong was just coming out of a restaurant on the street behind, followed by a waiter holding an umbrella.
"They can come back. It's not like there aren't umbrellas in the restaurant. It's just that in this weather, do we even need the waiters shouting?"
"Yes, I need it." Xue Lan raised her hand to catch the rain.
"This rain won't last long, hurry back, our business is here."
Upon hearing Xue Lan's words, Xue Tong quickened her pace, while the waiter behind her held an umbrella for her, calling out, "Miss, slow down..."
On the outskirts of the capital, a troop of imperial guards was escorting an extremely luxurious carriage toward the city gate, ignoring the guards and rushing directly into the capital.
Once inside the city, a young girl lifted the carriage curtain: "Commander Jin, now that we're in the city, should we slow down?"
The imperial guard beside the carriage replied, "Don't worry, Miss Ruyue, and Your Highness the Princess, there are no civilians on this long street as it is currently raining heavily in the capital."
A steady female voice came from inside the carriage: "Ruyue, then do as Commander Jin says."
The carriage continued to speed through the streets, the spirited horses neighing as it raced at breakneck speed.
The rain grew heavier, and the sky in front of the carriage seemed to be veiled in a grayish-white gauze.
Commander Kim looked at the deserted street in front of him and signaled the coachman to speed up.
The coachman understood immediately and cracked his whip on the horse's rump: "Giddy up!"
As the carriage drew closer to the center of the capital, Commander Kim's face showed a look of satisfaction.
Just then, a girl dressed in a light pink dress suddenly walked out of a shop on the side of the road.
She hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked to the middle of the long street, looking at the rain.
"Get out of the way!" Just as the carriage was about to hit the girl, Commander Jin leaped off his horse and lightly touched the ground a few times, trying to take the girl away from the danger zone.
But the girl seemed to be frightened by Commander Jin's loud shout, and hurriedly retreated. As she staggered, she was like a butterfly flitting between Commander Jin's fingertips, so close yet always out of reach.
The moment the carriage approached, the girl slipped and fell to the ground.
The horse neighed and raised its front hooves high, preparing to trample the girl in front of it.
Commander Jin steeled his heart and was about to rush forward to protect the girl, but changes often happen in an instant.
The coachman noticed the curtain behind him being lifted, and a gentle breeze carrying a delicate fragrance wafted out. The reins were taken from his hands by a pair of beautiful hands.
"Princess……"
Commander Jin saw a woman in a magnificent black dress standing on the carriage, her hands tightly gripping the reins, preventing the spirited horse from putting its hooves down. She abruptly changed direction, causing the horse and carriage to crash into a roadside shop.
"Your Highness!" Commander Jin shouted and ran towards the small shop.
Xue Tong arrived in a hurry, followed by a waiter. The little girl looked at the carriage.
Then look at Xue Lan, who is lying on the ground, looking frail and delicate.
This is Xue Lan's big business: staging accidents by stopping the carriages of important people.
She's really crazy.
The young girl disregarded whether she would get wet in the rain and rushed over to Xue Lan to help her up.
[You're so smart! You've found a great way to make money!]
Xue Lan straightened her skirt, her gray-white eyes appearing somewhat dazed, but this was clearly more in line with her previous behavior.
Xue Tong watched as Commander Jin pulled the carriage out of the shop. A woman dressed in black came out, and the hairpin on her head was bent from the impact, the gold flowers on it had long since turned into a clump.
Xue Lan heard Xue Tong's voice: [Good news, the person you're trying to scam this time is indeed a wealthy individual.]
Xue Lan asked her, "What's the bad news?"
Xue Tong looked at the completely destroyed shop and felt heartbroken.
The bad news is, the carriage just crashed into our shop.
Xue Lan's faint smile vanished instantly, her voice filled with boundless regret: "It's a losing proposition, a losing proposition!"
The elegantly dressed woman not far away looked over, her gaze first sweeping over Xue Tong before turning to Xue Lan.
Seeing his master's probing gaze, Commander Jin stepped forward and sternly rebuked, "Why did you not make way for the princess's carriage?"
Before Xue Tong could react, the waiter behind her knelt down, his knees hitting the ground with a dull thud.
The little girl looked at Xue Lan, somewhat hesitantly, and asked, "Should we both kneel down too?"
Xue Lan spoke softly: "I won't kneel."
The girl took two cautious steps forward, then looked up at the crowd with her greyish-white eyes. She gave a slight bow.
"This humble woman greets Your Highness. I did not mean to offend you, but I suffer from an eye ailment and am unable to see. I beg Your Highness to forgive me."
Commander Jin took a few steps forward. The girl had kept her eyes closed because of fear, and it was only now that he saw her gray eyes.
It was blurry, like it was covered by two layers of mist; it really made me blind.
"Alright, Commander Jin, it's just a minor setback." A gentle and steady voice came from behind Commander Jin. The woman dressed in black slowly walked over.
Xue Tong looked at her. The woman was dressed in a black, wide-sleeved, ornate robe, the hem of which trailed on the ground and was already soaked with muddy rainwater. Her hair was styled in a mature woman's manner, and her figure was graceful. She didn't look like someone who could lift a raging wild horse with her bare hands at all.
What an extraordinary woman! Xue Tong sighed inwardly.
Xue Lan looked at the girl beside her with a fascination on the sword tip on her face. Just as she was about to remind Xue Tong to be careful, she saw the girl's expression suddenly change.
It was an expression of utter terror. It looked like they'd seen a ghost.
At this moment, the Princess had already walked up to the two of them. The woman looked at Xue Tong's expression and slowly said, "What's wrong? Am I scary?"
Xue Lan patted Xue Tong on the back: "Your Highness, please don't be offended. My younger sister is still young and this is the first time she has seen such an important person. She is afraid."
The princess looked at the two people in front of her and suddenly felt bored. She said to Commander Jin behind her, "The carriage has broken down. You stay here and watch over Ruyue and the horses until the shopkeeper returns to compensate them. I will go to the palace first."
After speaking, the woman mounted her horse and prepared to leave.
"Your Highness!" Xue Tong suddenly called out. The little girl ran into the shop whose door was half blocked and took out the lifelike silver butterfly hairpin.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my sister. Your hairpin is broken, so I'm giving this hairpin to you."
The princess's expression changed, then she looked at Xue Lan: "Aren't you going to ask your elder sister what she thinks?"
Following the sound, Xue Lan bowed in the direction of the princess: "Xue Lan thanks Your Highness for saving me. This hairpin is just my humble work and cannot compare to that of a master craftsman. I hope Your Highness will not find it offensive."
The princess put the hairpin in her palm, then whipped her horse and rode away.
The Imperial Guards who remained behind began to salvage the dilapidated carriage. Only then did Xue Lan communicate with Xue Tong telepathically:
"What just happened to you?"
Xue Tong's voice trembled slightly: "Do you know who that was just now?"
Xue Lan had a bad feeling: "If it's not Lu Feng, then he's a married woman..."
[It's not her, it's her daughter! Her daughter was one of Lu Feng's confidantes, whom the Great Shun Dynasty surrendered to. She is Princess Xie Lingchao of the Great Shun Dynasty, one of the major villains the male protagonist encountered in the mortal world!]