Chapter 20: The Mountain Collapsed

After returning from Luoyun Temple, Lu Yian finally calmed down. When he wasn’t at the academy, he stayed in Xilin Garden, seemingly developing a psychological shadow towards Bai Jinxi, the “bad luck charm.”

Bai Jinxi, on the other hand, acted out of character. The incident at Luoyun Temple made her realize that she was too weak. If something really happened, she wouldn’t even be able to run. So, she started to pay attention to exercise. The servants of the Bai Mansion often saw Bai Jinxi “running wild” around the mansion.

Banxia followed her everywhere. Over the past two months, both the mistress and her maid had tanned several shades darker.

Other young ladies of her age were all attending the clan school, learning poetry, calligraphy, music, and painting. Bai Jinxi’s “self-indulgent” behavior was naturally welcomed by Yun Moyi.

At first, Yun Moyi would often ask Tiandong to inquire about Bai Jinxi’s progress in learning medicine. Later, she learned from her that after Bai Jinxi got the book, she only had a three-minute burst of enthusiasm. After flipping through two pages, she put it aside. Yun Moyi sneered in disdain and never asked again.

Time flew by, and it was already June…

Bai Jinxi felt a bit stuffy in her room. She reached out and pushed open the window, staring at the rain curtain outside. Due to the continuous heavy rain for several days, the cicadas outside had become much quieter.

Bai Jinxi suddenly paused and looked up, asking, “Banxia, what date is it today?”

“Replying to Miss, it’s three days before the summer solstice.” Banxia thought for a moment and replied.

Time flew by so quickly. It had been almost four months since Yun Moyi moved into the Bai Mansion.

Fortunately, just like in her previous life, it had been raining heavily for the past few days before the summer solstice. It seemed that the incident would happen as she remembered.

All she had to do was wait for the summer solstice to arrive…

Although she said that, she still had to make some preparations. For example, right now, Bai Jinxi was in Xilin Garden, pestering Yun Moyi.

“Aunt Yun, it’s been so boring these past few days with all this rain. I’m going crazy at home!”

Yun Moyi sighed helplessly and gently stroked Bai Jinxi’s head, saying, “Sister Xi, Aunt Yun can’t control the weather either. Just be patient for a few more days. When the weather clears up, I’ll let you go out to play.”

On the surface, she seemed unable to do anything about Bai Jinxi. But in her heart, she was secretly laughing. Go ahead and play, the crazier the better!

Bai Jinxi’s eyes lit up when she heard this. “Really? That’s great! Please let the weather clear up quickly, dear heavens!”

Having received the answer she wanted, she didn’t stay any longer and ran away happily.

As for etiquette, that didn’t exist. Bai Jinxi was unwilling, and Yun Moyi was happy that she didn’t understand etiquette. She was afraid that she would be secretly pleased with herself. She didn’t even have to exert any effort, and this little girl had already ruined herself.

On the day of the summer solstice, the weather finally cleared. Early in the morning, Bai Jinxi said goodbye to Yun Moyi and went out.

She only knew that the incident happened on this day, in the southern part of Luoyun Mountain, where the mountain and the forest met, not far from the official road.

But she didn’t know the specific time or location.

So, as soon as she saw the sky clearing up that morning, she immediately had Zhang Ze prepare the carriage and drove towards the southern part of Luoyun Mountain…

Da da da…On the official road from the capital to Liangzhou City, a beautiful white steed galloped along. Its mane flew in the wind, its hooves thundered. The only thing that disrupted this powerful image was the brown-clothed young man on its back, doing his best to shrink himself.

“Zhuifeng, slow down! Oops! There’s a puddle! Don’t step in it!”

With a splash, mud splashed from the horse’s hooves onto the young man’s hem.

“Sigh… This robe is ruined. When I get to Liangzhou City, I’ll… I’ll throw it away and get all new ones!”

Taking a closer look, the young man was actually wearing a black robe. But due to the continuous heavy rain, the ground was covered in mud. When the horse ran, it splashed mud all over him, turning the black robe into a brown one…

The young man suddenly brightened up. Not far ahead, on the edge of the forest at the foot of the mountain, grew a patch of bright red poppy flowers. Many petals had been blown to the ground by the heavy rain.

From a distance, the green trees and red flowers complemented each other, creating a beautiful sight.

He touched his chin, thoughtfully saying, “If Third Brother were such a carefree person, he wouldn’t put traveling first. Hmm, encountering beautiful scenery deserves to be appreciated!”

He pulled on the reins, guiding the steed off the official road towards the poppy flowers…

“Sigh… Beautiful scenery before me, but unfortunately, only poppy flowers, no beautiful women.” The young man chatted idly. Unfortunately, he was alone, and no one was there to respond.

“Hey! Do you have any wine? This young master wants to drink!” He didn’t know who he was talking to. The surroundings were still silent. Only the steed snorted at him, perhaps expressing its disdain for its unreliable master.

“Zhuifeng, shut up. When we reach Liangzhou City, this young master will make you taste the taste of wine.”

Da da… Zhuifeng stamped its hooves, its eyes gradually showing fear, as if something bad was about to happen. It circled restlessly.

Seeing its master didn’t react, it gently bit the young man’s sleeve and pulled it, as if trying to tell him to leave.

“No need to rush. I’ve calculated the distance. We can reach Liangzhou City today. Let’s rest for a while before we go.” The young man said nonchalantly.

Zhuifeng pulled him back with more force, causing him to stumble. Then it released its mouth, leaped towards the official road, and let out a loud neigh, urging its master to leave quickly.

“Alright, alright, let’s go!” The young man turned and walked out.

But he hadn’t taken two steps when he suddenly felt the sky darken significantly. It became much darker in an instant.

He heard a huge roar coming from above. He looked up in terror and saw huge rocks rolling down from the mountain. The immense pressure caused him to freeze on the spot…

“Did you hear something?” Bai Jinxi seemed to hear a faint roar. The sound seemed not far away, a dull, rumbling sound that made people feel inexplicably uneasy.

“Miss, the sound seems to be coming from the west.” Zhang Ze heard Bai Jinxi’s shout and immediately replied.

“Go west!” Bai Jinxi made a decision. It must be a landslide. The opportunity she had been waiting for months had finally arrived!

Zhang Ze immediately drove the carriage westward along the official road…

Da da da…

The sound of hooves came from far away and grew closer.

Before Bai Jinxi could ask, Zhang Ze’s voice came from behind: “Miss, there’s a horse running towards us.”

“Follow it!” Bai Jinxi immediately ordered.

“Yes.”

The white horse saw the carriage leaving the official road and heading towards it. It quickly turned around, ran a few steps in the direction it had come from, and turned back again.

Making sure the carriage was following it, the white horse started to speed up.

“Miss, it seems like it wants to take us somewhere… Ssh, landslide! Miss, there’s a landslide ahead!”

Zhang Ze saw that the edge of the forest ahead had been knocked down by mud and rocks. He gasped and immediately stopped the carriage.

Hearing the word “landslide,” Banxia’s face turned pale. She grabbed her young mistress’s hand and said, “Miss, let’s go back quickly. Landslides are very dangerous.”

“Keep going! Go to the landslide site!” Bai Jinxi patted her hand reassuringly. She no longer hesitated. She had already guessed where the white horse wanted to take them.

They say that steeds are intelligent. It must be taking her to save its master, the Eighth Prince, the newly crowned king of Nanyue—Prince Yi. The legend says he is handsome and unparalleled, a notorious playboy in the capital!