Chapter 185 Luring the Wolf into the Trap

Chapter 185 Luring the Wolf into the Trap

As the two were about to reach the street corner of the shop, they suddenly heard a rapid sound of horses' hooves and exclamations.

A carriage, seemingly startled, sped wildly down the street, charging straight towards them!

"careful!"

Cheng Dai'er reacted quickly, pulling Jiang Yutang aside.

But the wooden box in her hand was knocked away by a passerby who was trying to avoid it. It fell to the ground with a "thud," and the speeding carriage ran right over it.

Both of them were stunned. Only after the carriage had passed did they rush forward to check.

The pearls on the wedding dress were crushed to pieces, the phoenix embroidered with gold thread was torn beyond recognition, and the kingfisher feathers on the phoenix crown were scattered all over the ground, completely ruined.

Jiang Yutang felt as if her heart had fallen into an ice cave, and her whole body was trembling.

Just then, Gu Wenxiao slowly walked out from the crowd, waving a fan and offering a hypocritical apology.

"I'm so sorry, gentlemen. My horse was suddenly startled. I'm truly sorry. Oh dear, this wedding dress and phoenix coronet..."

He sighed with feigned regret, "How about I have someone make a new set for Miss Cheng? I guarantee it will be even more exquisite than this one."

This hypocritical demeanor completely ignited Jiang Yutang's anger.

Just as she was about to lash out, Cheng Daier grabbed her and held her down.

Cheng Dai'er's face was icy, her tone calm yet full of intimidation: "No need. I'm not worthy of what you've made. If there's anything unclean mixed in, then no one will be able to get away with it."

A hint of malice flashed in Gu Wenxiao's eyes, but she still smiled and said, "Oh? Miss Cheng, I meant well."

"I think you're just being malicious!"

Jiang Yutang bent down to pick up the wooden box from the ground, then pulled Cheng Daier and turned to leave.

Once they reached a secluded spot, Jiang Yutang gritted her teeth and said, "He definitely did this on purpose!"

Cheng Dai'er nodded and calmly reassured him, "The more he tries to provoke us, the less we should panic."

Looking at Cheng Daier's calm profile, Jiang Yutang felt a pang of sadness and pain in her heart.

That wedding dress took three months of painstaking work from the embroidery workshop. The gold thread was top-quality, transported from Jiangnan, and the pearls were carefully selected, round beads. Now, however, it has become so tattered and broken that anyone who sees it would feel heartbroken.

"It's such a pity that such good material has been wasted, and the embroiderer's skills have been completely wasted," she couldn't help but mutter.

Cheng Dai'er gently took the tattered wedding dress, casually sat on the stone steps at the alley entrance, her fingers tracing the torn threads as she carefully folded the scattered fabric back together.

Her eyelids drooped, and her voice was as soft as a feather: "It doesn't matter. We can't get married now anyway. We can just make another set when Huaiyu comes back."

But Jiang Yutang could clearly see heartache in her lowered eyelashes.

Instead, she had to rely on the other person to comfort her, which made her feel bad.

When the two returned to the shop with the cold food, Yun was sitting behind the counter wearing her reading glasses, helping with the accounts. When she saw them come back, she quickly got up to greet them.

"Why did it take so long? The food must be cold by now."

Lin's gaze inadvertently swept over the wooden box in Cheng Dai'er's hand. The edge of the lid was chipped and covered in dirt. She asked in surprise, "How did this box get damaged?"

Jiang Yutang secretly glanced at Cheng Daier.

Cheng Dai'er took a sip of soda before slowly explaining, "We encountered a runaway horse and it got run over by the carriage."

"Crushed?"

Madam Lin quickly took the wooden box, opened it, and gasped when she saw the tattered wedding dress inside. Her voice even changed.

"What... what's going on? How did we suddenly encounter a runaway horse?"

Seeing that Wei Cheng Dai'er was unwilling to speak, Jiang Yutang recounted his experiences of the day.

"This is outrageous! This is absolutely outrageous!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shengan was instantly enraged. He slammed his hand on the table, causing the abacus on it to jump.

"He did this on purpose! He doesn't dare to lay a hand on us openly, so he resorts to these underhanded tactics!"

Yun sighed softly, her brows furrowed, her face full of sorrow: "Now that Lanzhou and Huaiyu are both gone, he is so blatantly bullying us. There are still many days ahead, what should we do?"

Jiang Yutang joked, "Mother, if my eldest brother, second brother, and fourth brother heard you say that, they'd argue with you. But we're still here, aren't we?"

She took a deep breath and comforted him, "Don't panic. The more excited he is, the easier it is for him to slip up. We should be more careful in the future and not let him find any fault with us."

Changing the subject, Jiang Yutang smiled and shifted the topic.

"By the way, the smell of the new house should have dissipated most of the time. Shall we move in tomorrow?"

"Can we move now?"

Yun's eyes lit up. She had been looking forward to moving into her new home, but had been hesitant because of the smell. Now that she heard this, most of her worries disappeared.

Jiang Yutang smiled and nodded, then looked at Lin Shi and Cheng Daier and sincerely extended an invitation.

"Mother, Aunt, why don't you move in with us? The new house is very big, it will be more lively with two more people living there."

Madam Lin quickly shook her head: "That's not good. You built that house, and my daughter and I didn't contribute a single bit. If we just move in like this, people will laugh at us."

"Who dares to laugh at us?"

Jiang Yutang raised an eyebrow, her tone firm: "You are Lanzhou's mother, so you are my second mother. My aunt is my third brother's betrothed, so she is both my aunt and my third sister-in-law. We are all family, and family doesn't need to speak like strangers."

"Besides..."

Her tone turned serious: "If we move away and leave the two of you alone in the camp, Gu Wenxiao might take advantage of you being alone."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Daier hesitated and said, "But if we move out of the military camp, won't that give him an opportunity? After all, there are many people and eyes in the camp, so he will have some reservations."

Jiang Yutang shook her head in disagreement, her eyes clear and sharp.

“We can’t keep playing defensively. He’s in the shadows while we’re in the open. This is too disadvantageous for us. Rather than waiting to die, we should take the initiative and expose his true colors.”

Cheng Dai'er looked at her in surprise and asked incredulously, "Could it be that you intend to...?"

“Yes.” Jiang Yutang nodded. “After moving into the new house, we can use the layout of the house to set a trap and lure him in. Doesn’t he want to cause us trouble? Let’s give him this opportunity and let him walk into our trap.”

Lin was still somewhat worried and asked doubtfully, "Are you absolutely sure? After all, he is a prefect appointed by the imperial court and has real power."

Jiang Yutang pursed her lips, glanced at her family members present, nodded emphatically, and said in a resolute tone: "Yes! As long as he dares to come, I have a way to ruin his reputation."

The technology of the 21st century cannot be explained in a few words. She is not short of money now. After returning to the modern world the day after tomorrow, she will buy some things to bring back.

The voice recorder is just the tip of the iceberg. If Gu Wenxiao dares to make a move, his good days will be over.

Back in the tent at dusk, Jiang Yutang told her three older brothers about her decision to move the next day and gave them special instructions.

“My aunt and her family also need some help. Now that Lanzhou is not here, it is really not safe to leave them, mother and daughter, at the camp.”

Jiang Songzhi immediately nodded: "Yes, the private school is closed tomorrow, I will go and help them pack their things."

Jiang Jiuzhe chimed in, "I'll go borrow two carriages."

Jiang Sumin quickly checked the abacus: "Then I'll help my elder brother organize the things."

Holding Xiaoxiao in her arms, Yun said with a smile, "Then your father and I will take care of the three children."

"Then my sister-in-law and I will tidy up the things in the tent so that it will be easier to move them later," Zhu said with a smile.

After settling into her new place, she suddenly remembered her promise to Liu the Glasses: to find a beautifully crafted dressing table.