Qingmei and Qingxing dared not trouble the seemingly powerful figures in front of them, so they jumped off the carriage themselves.
At this moment, the guards from the Marquis's residence had arrived, and several old women who had accompanied the carriage also came running over, panting.
"Thank you so much!" An Ran composed herself, took a step back, and curtsied. "If it weren't for your help, it's hard to say what would have happened to the three of us today!"
Lu Mingxiu might not have seen her in the carriage last time. An Ran thought resignedly, deciding she should just pretend she didn't know him for now. After all, someone else would handle the rest.
The girl's voice, though trying to remain calm, trembled slightly. Lu Mingxiu glanced at An Ran, nodded slightly, and strode away.
"Girl, who is this person?" Qingmei couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "He looks cold and a little scary!"
An Ran nodded in deep agreement.
“Marquis Pingyuan, Lu Mingxiu,” An Ran replied in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, Qingmei and Qingxing stared in astonishment, their eyes wide and mouths agape.
An Ran curled the corners of her lips. Good, as long as she wasn't the only one afraid of Lu Mingxiu.
Watching Lu Mingxiu leave, An Ran looked at the Marquis of Pingyuan in his dark brocade robe and suddenly thought that if he didn't wear such a dark-colored garment, perhaps he would look gentler? Judging from Lu Mingxiu's appearance, if he weren't the high-ranking Marquis of Pingyuan, there would definitely be many people who would want to marry him!
No wonder Liu Niang and the others fought tooth and nail to marry Lord Lu.
An Ran was lost in her own thoughts, still staring at his back, when unexpectedly, Lu Mingxiu turned around abruptly, just like last time.
This time, An Ran's gaze met his directly.
Could it be that this person has eyes in the back of their head?
An Ran thought to herself, while feeling her cheeks immediately burning.
That's so embarrassing!
Lu Mingxiu quickly turned and left.
Upon hearing the news, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture saw Lu Mingxiu walking out of the alley and hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects.
To his surprise, he noticed a faint smile lingering in Lord Lu's dark eyes. But when he looked again, it was gone, replaced by his usual coldness.
He must have seen wrong! (JustL)
Chapter 41 A Small Test
"Girl, thank goodness you're alright!" When Su's mother came over and saw her standing safely by the carriage, she finally felt relieved.
Just now, Ninth Miss's carriage was suddenly startled, and even the coachman couldn't hold the reins. The horse galloped wildly, and they were all terrified. If something had really happened to Ninth Miss, they would have been in trouble too! Fortunately, someone came to her aid and ensured that the young lady was safe and sound.
"Thanks to someone who helped us just now!" An Ran said with lingering fear, "Otherwise, Qingxing and I would definitely have fallen down."
Mother Su reassured her repeatedly, "Ninth Miss is a lucky person, and she will always be able to turn misfortune into good fortune."
An Ran was still somewhat frightened.
Madam Su and the others had met Marquis Pingyuan, but she wasn't sure if Anran had. So she tentatively asked, "I wonder which official saved the young lady? I'll go back and tell the Grand Madam and Madam so I can thank them."
To everyone's surprise, An Ran shook her head and said, "He looks like a scion of a prominent family, someone I've never seen before. We should thank him properly, but I don't know who he is."
Mrs. Su breathed a sigh of relief.
It would be best if Ninth Miss didn't recognize him. If Ninth Miss really recognized that he was Marquis Pingyuan, she probably wouldn't be so calm.
The four illegitimate daughters in the Marquis's mansion were all well aware of the situation. The Marquis of Nan'an's mansion and the Marquis of Pingyuan's mansion had a marriage agreement. Now that the Marquis's mansion no longer had any legitimate daughters, and provided that the Marquis of Pingyuan did not explicitly break the agreement, the illegitimate daughters had a good chance of marrying the Marquis of Pingyuan.
So whether it was the sixth young lady who had returned from outside, or the seventh and tenth young ladies who had grown up in the Marquis's mansion, they were all putting in their best effort to compete and stand out.
Only the Ninth Miss returned to the manor, and at most, she had only heard about it.
If it were any other girl, wouldn't she have seen being rescued by Marquis Pingyuan today as a great opportunity? If word got out, it could become a legendary tale of a hero saving a damsel in distress. Perhaps she would even have used this opportunity to solidify their engagement.
She glanced at An Ran, whose face was still pale. Her light blue dress made her appear even more delicate, yet it did nothing to diminish her beauty. Given time, if she were to grow up, which man wouldn't be moved? Even the notoriously "cold and hard" Marquis of Pingyuan would likely find it hard to resist!
Unfortunately, this person was the Ninth Miss, who had already decided to become the Third Son-in-Law's concubine.
Madam Su sighed inwardly, lamenting that they were destined to meet but not to be together, and then withdrew her thoughts, preparing to report to the Grand Madam before making a decision.
Since the horse was already injured and frightened, we dared not use it again.
The carriage that was originally carrying boxes and two mothers was temporarily made available for Anran's use.
"Please go up, young lady, we'll follow you." Madam Su brought over a small stool and asked Anran to step onto it and get into the carriage.
An Ran turned around and glanced at them.
Madam Su and Madam Zhou were both servants of the Grand Madam, along with two maids, Qingmei and Qingxing. Even though it wasn't far from the Prince Yi's residence, the two madams were of high status, and Qingxing and the others were still young. How could Anran be so embarrassed to ride in the carriage by herself?
"Unload the trunks from the cart, and all of you come and squeeze in with me. The trunks will bump into another carriage. Have them watch over them for me until the carriage is repaired before sending them to the Prince's residence." An Ran smiled and said, "There's no rush."
A sense of gratitude welled up in Zhou's mother's heart, but she still hesitated.
Seeing that everyone was still a little uncomfortable, An Ran curled her lips and said with a smile, "It'll be more lively with more people!"
If they refused again, it would be disrespectful to Ninth Miss, so both Madam Su and Madam Zhou readily agreed.
With everyone's help, they moved all the boxes and cages from the car to another vehicle.
Just as they were about to get into the carriage, Qingxing suddenly spoke up: "Miss, I'll wait here too! It would be bad if they clumsily messed things up."
An Ran was slightly taken aback.