Facing Jingrong, though the young woman was somewhat bashful, she still gazed at him with those almond-shaped eyes of hers.

Quite boldly!

She felt that the man before her was different from others.

But as to exactly how he was different, she couldn’t quite articulate it.

At this moment, she felt as if there were a butterfly in her chest about to fly out from her mouth. Gently, slowly, she herself seemed to have also become a light, floating butterfly, losing her center of gravity.

Being stared at by her strange gaze made Jingrong feel somewhat uncomfortable. His cold brows furrowed slightly. “As long as the young lady is all right.”

“Thank you,” the young woman said.

“It was nothing.”

“My name is Zhao’er.” The young woman’s voice was brushed by the gentle breeze, entering the ear with threads of warmth.

Standing there, she was like a tender sprout just emerging from the soil, untainted by any worldly splendor. Beneath her innocence, she also carried an aura of spirit.

Anyone who saw her couldn’t help but want to dote on this petite young woman.

Of course, Jingrong was an exception.

He merely nodded slightly, then turned with Bai Yin to pull the now-docile horse up from the ground.

The horse snorted once and no longer struggled.

Bai Yin patted the horse’s back, saying, “This horse must have been startled.”

Jingrong hummed in acknowledgment.

At this moment, the driver who had fallen from the carriage earlier had already climbed up from the ground. His body was covered in injuries from the impact, but fortunately nothing serious. As soon as he got up, he immediately ran anxiously to Zhao’er’s side, asking with concern, “Miss, are you all right?”

Only then did Zhao’er pull her gaze away from Jingrong.

She shook her head at the driver. “I’m fine.”

“That’s good. I was really scared to death.”

“How are you? Did you hurt yourself in the fall?”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. As long as Miss didn’t get hurt, that’s what matters.”

“It’s all thanks to that young master,” Zhao’er said.

The driver hastily bowed toward Jingrong and Bai Yin. “Thank you, both young masters. If it weren’t for you, my young lady would certainly have been injured.”

Jingrong said, “Be more careful next time. Don’t let the horse get startled again, or the consequences could be very serious.”

“Yes, yes, yes. We’ll definitely be careful.”

Bai Yin then urged Jingrong, “Let’s go. Yunshu is still waiting for us.”

“Mm.”

The two men then turned to leave.

Zhao’er took a few small steps to follow, but was suddenly surrounded by a group of people who rushed up from behind.

Making it difficult for her to move!

In an instant, she froze in place.

That group of people pointed fingers angrily, saying, “Your carriage hit people and overturned so many of our things, and you think you can just leave like this?”

Immediately other voices rang out. “Don’t think you can leave! Look at what condition we’ve been knocked into. If you don’t give us a satisfactory explanation, no one is going anywhere!”

“You’re not allowed to leave!”

“Otherwise we’ll report you to the authorities.”

…

That group of common people, one after another, demanded answers.

They surrounded Zhao’er and the driver in a tight circle.

They wouldn’t be allowed to leave without an explanation.

Zhao’er had always been raised in her boudoir and was a young lady from a prestigious family. How could she have ever witnessed such a scene?

Her face immediately turned pale with fright.

She didn’t dare even breathe heavily.

Last month, she had gone alone to a temple outside the city to pray for her mother’s blessings. Today happened to be the time to return home. How could she have known she would encounter such a thing on the road?

She immediately retreated several steps, moving behind the driver, clutching his clothing tightly.

“What should we do?”

Her tone was full of panic.

The driver kept her protected behind him. “Don’t be afraid, Miss.”

“But…” She didn’t dare speak further.

Behind the carriage at this moment was complete chaos. Things on both sides had been knocked about in disarray, scattered everywhere. Most of those villagers had also been injured, each one full of fury. Naturally they wouldn’t let them go.

The driver quickly said to the people around them, “Everyone, please don’t worry. We will definitely take responsibility. For the damaged goods, we’ll compensate you. For your injuries, we’ll also take responsibility.”

“How will you take responsibility?”

“Calculate how much money it comes to. After I return to the estate and report to my master, I’ll compensate you all at once.”

Return to report?

What if they ran away?

So someone immediately said, “No way! You have to compensate us right now.”

The driver replied, “This… but we don’t have that much money on us!”

“Then we’ll drag you to see the magistrate. Once we’re before the magistrate, we’ll see if you still compensate us or not!”

“Please don’t! Everyone, please show mercy. Whatever you do, don’t take this matter before the magistrate. We will definitely compensate you for this money, absolutely won’t shortchange you. After we return, we’ll definitely compensate you.”

Extremely sincere.

But the crowd still had reservations.

They all looked at each other.

Suddenly someone said, “No good. We don’t trust you. How about this—you leave that young lady behind, and you go fetch the money. That way we won’t be afraid you won’t come back.”

“What?” The driver was startled and quickly waved his hands. “That won’t do, that won’t do. My young lady is timid. We can’t leave her, we can’t.”

“Then we’ll go see the magistrate.”

“We can’t see the magistrate! My master is actually…” Just as the driver was about to speak, Zhao’er tugged at the corner of his clothing.

Zhao’er leaned close to his ear and said in a low voice, “Father said that if we cause trouble outside, we mustn’t invoke his name.”

She had now caused such a huge disaster. Who knows if she would get a scolding when she returned home? How could she dare bring up her father!

The driver fell silent, not knowing what to do.

Zhao’er lowered her gaze, extremely frightened.

Originally, Jingrong and Bai Yin had already turned to leave, but after walking only a few steps, they stopped.

Looking through the crowd, they saw that young woman and the driver surrounded. In the end, they still felt some reluctance to ignore it.

Jingrong was about to go over when Bai Yin held him back. “We’d better not get involved. Let’s go.”

“Help people to the end.”

Bai Yin had no response to that.

Previously, Jingrong had told him and Ji Yinshu not to meddle in others’ affairs. Now it was wonderful—he himself was meddling in others’ affairs.

But seeing that young woman’s current predicament, he felt some sympathy. He could only silently follow Jingrong as they pushed through the crowd and walked in.

When Zhao’er saw Jingrong return, the tension and fear in her heart immediately dissipated.

She didn’t know why, but whenever she saw that man, she felt very happy.

And very relaxed.

Jingrong spoke directly to the driver. “You go back. Leave this young lady to me. I can ensure her safety until you return.”

“What?” The driver was stunned for a moment.

Although, just now if this young master hadn’t come to their aid, who knows how big this incident might have become, and the young lady might well have been thrown from the carriage and injured.

But still, they were strangers after all.

So the driver was still somewhat wary.

Jingrong saw the concern in his heart and directly turned instead to speak to Zhao’er. “Young lady, you can trust me.”

You can trust me!

These five words immediately pressed upon Zhao’er’s heart.

She lifted those dewy eyes of hers to look at him, bit her lip, and nodded heavily.

“I trust you!”

The driver said, “Miss?”

Zhao’er told the driver, “You don’t need to worry about me. Return to the estate. I trust him.”

Her gaze looked at Jingrong once more.

As she spoke these words, a smile involuntarily spilled from the corners of her mouth. She had completely forgotten her earlier timidity.