Chapter 395 A Close Call

Chapter 395 A Close Call

An'an and her friends were engulfed by the crowd, and those with ulterior motives immediately took the opportunity to approach An'an.

When Xiao Yang saw the crowd surging towards them, he immediately called on An An to climb the tree.

Although her martial arts skills were only average, her tree-climbing ability was top-notch in the Princess's Mansion. An'an had been urged to practice martial arts by Xie Wan'niang and Jiang Yuan since she was a child. Her long-term hard work and diligent practice gave her agility far beyond that of her peers.

It was easy for the two of them to climb the tree, but the real challenge was how to pull up the three daughters of Duke Du.

These three girls not only couldn't climb trees, but they were also so scared that their hands and feet went limp. Xiao Yang and An An could only work together and pull them up with all their strength.

Fortunately, because the peach trees here have been artificially intervened, the main trunks are not very tall. The thick side branches extend horizontally, reaching about waist height. It is not difficult to pull people up to hold onto the branches and sit down to avoid the rushing crowd.

In addition, the maids and servants of the Duke of Du's mansion were quite good. Before their young mistresses were pulled up into the tree, they worked together to surround them in the inner circle and shield them with their bodies to prevent them from being bumped into.

Several women were busy working when those ill-intentioned men slowly approached.

Their original intention was to push An'an into the water, and then have someone who had been arranged in advance jump out to stage a cliché but effective hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress scene.

But now... looking at An'an hanging in the tree, gently comforting the three young ladies of the Duke of Du's mansion along with Xiao Yang, the group was dumbfounded.

If the target had already climbed the tree, how could they "accidentally" push the person to the lakeside and into the water?

They can't possibly uproot the peach trees, can they? Even if they had the will, they wouldn't have the strength! Not to mention, if they made things so obvious, how Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan would deal with them and the people behind them.

The group exchanged glances, unsure of what to do. Meanwhile, the wild boar had been successfully subdued by An'an's two maids and was no longer a threat.

The panicked people gradually calmed down. Because the chaos lasted only a short time, everyone was unharmed except for a few people who suffered minor injuries during their escape.

Even so, people lost interest in continuing to have fun, and soon the once bustling peach orchard became deserted.

Only a small group of people, including Xie Wanniang and Lady Du, remained there because something seemed amiss, intending to find as many useful clues as possible while the incident had just begun.

Persistence pays off, and Xie Wanniang actually uncovered some clues.

The pig that was knocked down by the two maids had indeed been drugged beforehand. The reason it was "particularly fond" of An'an and the others was because the pale-faced scholar had something on him that could induce wild boars to go mad after taking the drug.

The pale-faced scholar was, of course, unaware of this; he had simply been paid to approach An'an on orders.

The other party not only did not ask him to do anything impolite to An An, but also did not require him to successfully strike up a conversation or leave a deep impression on An An. They only asked him to at least say one sentence to An An.

The pale-faced scholar accepted the job without a second thought, finding it simple yet lucrative.

Naturally, he didn't know when his clothes had been tampered with.

As for the wild boar, according to the recollections of a few people who had calmed down, the creature actually came out of an abandoned handcart.

As for why there are handcarts here.

When the peach blossoms are in full bloom, not only do tourists flock here to enjoy the scenery, but vendors also take the opportunity to set up stalls and sell their goods. As a result, one or even several different types of handcarts can be seen here from time to time.

The cart that hid the wild boar was the most common four-wheeled handcart with a large cabinet. The large cabinet on this type of handcart can hold a lot of goods, and the upper shelf of the cabinet can be used to display the goods. It is the most popular type of cart among many vendors.

Because they are numerous and common, even if someone pushes them around, others will generally not pay much attention, making it difficult to trace them.

But it doesn't matter, Xie Wanniang has plenty of time.

Since the scholar came for her daughter An'an, it means that the person behind him was plotting against her An'an. The other young ladies of the Duke of Du's mansion were just implicated by her An'an and suffered an undeserved disaster.

She told the three ladies of the Du family the whole truth. Of course, the Du family lady would not blame Xie Wan Niang or An An, but she was only a stepmother after all, and it was really not appropriate for her to express her opinion on her own.

Fortunately, her two daughters-in-law were both reasonable people. They did not hold a grudge against Xie Wanniang's family because An'an had implicated their own children. On the contrary, they had a good impression of An'an and Xiaoyang because An'an and Xiaoyang had always protected their three daughters.

In the words of the Du family's heir's wife, "An'an didn't choose to be schemed against by others. If we have to blame someone, we should blame the bad people who played tricks behind the scenes."

Although the only person they wanted to harm was An An, they didn't seem to care about the reputation or safety of anyone else present.

Putting aside everything else, weren't those people who were injured during the escape also victims of an undeserved misfortune?

For their own selfish reasons, they actually brought a poisoned wild boar to the peach orchard, which was full of tourists. The person behind this clearly didn't care about the lives of the people present.

If it weren't for An'an's two maids' skillful handling, which quickly subdued the raging wild boar, and Xie Wanniang's ability to provide timely treatment to the injured with her medicine kit, countless people in Peach Grove would have lost their lives or been left disabled today because of the selfishness of the person behind it all.

Considering that she was a princess of such noble status, she was able to personally treat someone's wounds after they were injured, and she didn't care at all that her gorgeous robes were splattered with blood and smeared with mud. The two daughters-in-law of the Du family could not help but admire her even more.

Xie Wanniang felt their sincerity and enthusiasm, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, immediately settled back into her stomach.

She certainly didn't think her daughter had any problems, but it was undeniable that her daughter had implicated three young ladies from the Duke's mansion. Therefore, her apology was sincere and genuine, without any forced or perfunctory attitude.

She could understand if the other party took their anger out on her, and she was willing to make compensation. However, she would definitely not have any further contact with them in the future. After all, as they said, her daughter did not choose to be schemed against; she was also a victim.

Now that the other party is acting reasonably, Xie Wanniang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn't care what others thought, but she still wanted to continue her friendship with the Duchess of Du's wife.

However, if she falls out with the daughter-in-law of the Duchess of Du's family, the Duchess of Du's family will obviously be caught in the middle and it will be difficult for her.

The two families calmly discussed their thoughts, then got into their carriages and horses together and returned to the city.

The wild boar and the pale-faced scholar were sent to the Jingzhao Prefecture by Xie Wanniang, along with the pale-faced scholar's confession.

When the Prefect of Jingzhao heard that someone was plotting against An'an, his face immediately turned very ugly.

Not to mention that Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan are both staunch confidants of their new emperor, and if something happens to their daughter, a bloody storm will inevitably break out in the court. Just consider An'an, a little girl who is only ten years old. How heartless and insane must the person behind this be to be so cruel as to ruin the reputation of a half-grown child?

Such a person is utterly corrupt; he would certainly not be a good or honest official who stands up for the people.

Thinking this, the Prefect of Jingzhao immediately ordered someone to summon the coroner and the doctor usually used by the yamen, and instructed them to examine the wild boar and the pale-faced scholar who looked as if he had lost his parents.

The coroner and the two doctors who were temporarily summoned by the yamen runners quickly discovered that both the wild boar and the scholar had indeed been poisoned by someone. However, the poison had been put in the wild boar's food, while it had been put in the scholar's clothes.

With the evidence irrefutable, the Prefect of Jingzhao immediately mobilized troops and began to investigate who was behind it all.

Of course, he did the action, but he had no hope of finding out anything.

After all, anyone who dares to target An'an is no ordinary person. Given Jiang Yuan and Xie Wan'niang's capabilities, the other party would surely be prepared to cut off the clues in time if things were exposed, or simply shift the blame to others.

He understood this, and so did Xie Wanniang, which is why she didn't rely entirely on the officials and yamen runners of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

When she got home, she immediately told Jiang Yuan about the fact that someone was after An'an.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan was even more furious than Xie Wanniang. He immediately summoned his attendants and guards, ordering them to investigate who had the audacity to try and ruin his daughter's reputation.

The guards of the princess's residence, who had been quite idle lately, not only took the initiative to approach Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang after hearing about this matter, asking to participate in the investigation, but also volunteered to join the children's guards.

Especially the female guards who usually pretend to be maids, they were all eager and very proactive.

After a brief consideration, Xie Wanniang agreed to send more people to participate in the investigation.

As for adding more guards around An'an and Linlin, considering that An'an and Linlin are indeed getting older every year and can't always stay under her and Jiang Yuan's noses, Xie Wanniang thought about it and nodded in agreement.

However, she did not immediately designate a candidate, but instead asked everyone to help Jiang Yuan investigate who was trying to scheme against her An'an.

To her surprise, before her people could find out the truth, the Emperor Emeritus sent over a written account of the entire incident.

It turned out that the Emperor Emeritus had several informants in his inner circle who had reported information about the matter to him.

By piecing together this intelligence, the retired emperor could easily deduce the specific development of events.

But at first, he didn't actually intend to get involved in this matter, because he felt that with Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan's abilities, they shouldn't be unable to handle this kind of scheme.

His covert operations were all painstakingly laid out by him; under normal circumstances, the retired emperor was unwilling to increase the risk of their exposure.

The reason he changed his mind at the last minute and decided to tell Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang the truth directly was because his undercover agents suddenly discovered that Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang's reaction to this matter was very different from that of most people in the court.

Other nobles, officials, and even members of the royal family in the court would not frantically pursue the suspicious individuals just because their own children were being plotted against. Instead, they would keep a close watch on them and choose to play the long game.

Enraged, Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang did not hesitate to send out all the idle guards in the mansion, and Jiang Yuan even transferred a group of trusted and capable servants.

Once these people were deployed, all those suspected were immediately placed under close surveillance.

Don't assume that all these people are honest and upright, with no shady dealings or secrets behind their backs. Even if they are all capable of withstanding investigation, it doesn't mean they would willingly allow themselves to be under such close scrutiny.

In just one day, many people in the court had already developed a lot of resentment towards the couple because of Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang's mad dog-like search methods.

Honest ministers are rare, and honest ministers with great abilities are even rarer. The Emperor Emeritus doesn't want Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan to offend too many nobles, officials, and members of the royal family of Wei due to a moment of impulsiveness. He still hopes that this couple can contribute to Wei for a long time to come.

When Xie Wanniang received the paper sent by the Emperor Emeritus, she was initially surprised and puzzled, but after reading it, all that remained in her heart was anger and murderous intent.

The first time, she didn't patiently wait for Jiang Yuan to leave the office, but instead had someone invite him back directly.

When Jiang Yuan saw that she wasn't even willing to wait for him to finish his work, he knew that something serious must have happened at home.

He asked the guard Xie Wanniang had sent to fetch him home, "Has something happened at the manor? Or is it An'an and Linlin...?"

The guard hurriedly replied, "No, it's not that. The princess has something important to discuss with you."

After hearing this, Jiang Yuan felt a little relieved, but the other half of his heart was still hanging in the air, uncertain and unsettled.

It wasn't until he returned to the princess's residence, still distraught, and saw Xie Wanniang, who was still furious, and saw the piece of paper she had handed him, that Jiang Yuan finally understood why Xie Wanniang didn't even have the patience to wait for him to finish his official duties.

He took several deep breaths to suppress his surging violent emotions. "What do you plan to do?"

Xie Wanniang pursed her red lips slightly, "I will not let them get away with this."

Jiang Yuan nodded. "That's natural."

He wasn't asking whether Xie Wanniang wanted to swallow her anger or retaliate; he was asking to what extent Xie Wanniang wanted to retaliate.

Seeing his attitude, Xie Wanniang's anger subsided a little. She said, "I will not let any of these people get away with it, as long as they have made a move."