The carriage, which had been moving steadily along the road, suddenly shot off like an arrow, charging down a small path.
The two guards from Prince Yan’s household who were following behind changed color and started running in pursuit.
Aman was stunned for a moment, then lifted her skirts and chased after the carriage, screaming, “Oh no, the horses are spooked!”
It was truly damnable. The last time her mistress returned from Baiyun Temple, the horses were spooked, and now on the way back from Baiyun Temple, the horses were spooked again.
What did the Buddha and Bodhisattvas at Baiyun Temple want? They hadn’t skimped on donation money either.
Watching the carriage get further and further away, Aman’s face turned pale with anxiety, and she ran even faster.
Inside the carriage, the Princess Consort of Prince Qi was eyeing Jiang Si with an enigmatic expression. She asked softly, “Seventh Sister-in-law, what’s wrong?”
Jiang Si replied nervously, “Fourth Sister-in-law, are the horses spooked?”
“Yes, they are,” the Princess Consort replied.
“What should we do… Should we jump out?”
The Princess Consort looked at Jiang Si, her tone full of meaning: “Can Seventh Sister-in-law still jump?”
Jiang Si frowned in confusion, “I… I seem to have no strength in my body…”
The Princess Consort suddenly smiled, “Then Seventh Sister-in-law is truly unfortunate.”
“What do you mean by that, Fourth Sister-in-law?”
The Princess Consort steadied herself against the carriage wall, smiling like spring flowers, “What do I mean? Didn’t Seventh Sister-in-law say before that seeing me made you feel sick? Well, I feel the same way about you. But I’m more virtuous and sensible than my Seventh Sister-in-law, so I naturally wouldn’t show it so blatantly. Fortunately, after today, this will all be over. After all, one can’t hold a grudge against a dead person. Don’t you agree, Seventh Sister-in-law?”
Jiang Si’s face grew paler, “So you’re saying, the horses being spooked today was intentional on Fourth Sister-in-law’s part?”
The Princess Consort laughed heartily, “Let me make it clear so Seventh Sister-in-law can die with understanding. Indeed, I did this intentionally. How else could I take your life? But when you become a ghost, don’t come seeking revenge on me. If you must, go find Mother Consort. She’s the one who instructed me to do this, hehe…”
Jiang Si’s eyes grew increasingly cold.
She hadn’t expected the Princess Consort to be so talkative this time. In her previous life, she hadn’t said any of this.
Perhaps she had been hurt too deeply and wouldn’t feel satisfied without explaining everything.
Jiang Si pursed her lips and, watching the Princess Consort about to jump from the carriage, asked, “Fourth Sister-in-law, with the carriage out of control, aren’t you afraid of breaking your legs if you jump?”
The Princess Consort curved her lips slightly, her face fierce, “What does it matter if I break my legs? If I were unharmed, how could I distance myself from Seventh Sister-in-law’s death?”
Jiang Si wasn’t an ordinary person, but a royal princess consort, the daughter-in-law favored by the Emperor. If things weren’t handled properly, how could she extricate herself afterward?
Feeling the carriage’s breakneck speed, the Princess Consort struggled to suppress her nervousness.
She wouldn’t break her limbs, but some minor injuries were inevitable. This was all within her expectations.
Jiang Si leaned against the carriage wall and sighed, “At this point, I admire Fourth Sister-in-law a bit. You’re not only cruel to others but even more so to yourself. Aren’t you afraid of hitting your face on a rock and ruining your looks when you jump?”
The Princess Consort’s heart tightened, and she said fiercely, “Seventh Sister-in-law needn’t try to scare me. I’ll protect my face when I jump. My looks won’t be ruined. As for Seventh Sister-in-law, let this carriage be your final resting place.”
As she finished speaking, one hand on the carriage wall, the other lifting the door curtain, she was about to leap out when a strong force from behind made her unable to move.
The Princess Consort suddenly turned her head, her expression shocked, “You—”
Jiang Si, no longer appearing weak and powerless, gazed at her intensely, “Why is Fourth Sister-in-law in such a hurry?”
The color drained from the Princess Consort’s face, and she exclaimed in disbelief, “You… you’re fine?”
Jiang Si leaned closer, chuckling softly, “I’m not fine. How could I be fine in this out-of-control carriage?”
Outside, the coachman was still trying to control the direction of the speeding carriage.
Jiang Si had already realized that this was the road leading to the cliff.
In her previous life, the Princess Consort had jumped out of the carriage first, and the coachman had jumped just before reaching the cliff’s edge, leaving her alone in the carriage, hurtling towards that hopeless abyss.
Perhaps heaven had shown mercy; when the carriage reached the cliff’s edge, it had been caught on a rock. The jolt had thrown her out, and a small tree jutting out from the cliff had stopped her fall. She had instinctively clung to the cliff edge, unwilling to fall, but with the Princess Consort’s appearance, even that last lifeline had been lost.
“Fourth Sister-in-law, where is the coachman taking us?” Jiang Si’s voice was soft, her expression showing a girlish innocence, but to the Princess Consort, she looked like a demon.
The coachman, intensely focused on controlling the runaway carriage, hadn’t heard the conversation inside.
“Coachman—” the Princess Consort tried to call out, but was shocked to find she couldn’t make a sound, her entire body immobile.
Jiang Si played with a needle coated with a paralyzing poison, her expression caught between a smile and not, “It looks like the carriage is heading towards the cliff.”
The Princess Consort moved her lips, her eyes filled with terror.
What was happening? She had taken the antidote, so why couldn’t she move or even speak, while Jiang Si, who should have been incapacitated, was perfectly fine?
Under the Princess Consort’s terrified gaze, Jiang Si smiled, “I’m still young, with many good days ahead. I don’t want to be smashed to pieces, so I won’t be accompanying Fourth Sister-in-law.”
With those words and a final deep look at the Princess Consort, Jiang Si protected her head and face and leaped from the carriage.
Watching Jiang Si’s clothes disappear through the carriage door, the Princess Consort’s eyes were filled with despair.
No, she didn’t want to die!
It shouldn’t be like this, it really shouldn’t be like this.
Unable to move or speak, the Princess Consort stared fixedly at the coachman’s back. Her only hope now was that he would realize she was still in the carriage and find a way to stop it, rather than following the plan and letting it rush towards the cliff.
But the Princess Consort was destined for disappointment.
The coachman, hearing the sound of something heavy falling, quickly glanced back. In that brief moment, he saw a woman’s figure and assumed the Princess Consort had escaped as planned. Not only did he stop trying to control the horses, but he let the out-of-control carriage speed even faster towards the cliff’s edge.
Seeing the cliff approaching, the coachman hurriedly jumped off.
“No—” the Princess Consort screamed, but no sound came out. She finally fell into complete despair.
Jiang Si, protecting her head and face, hit the ground and rolled several times before stopping. Feeling slightly dizzy, she heard Aman urgently calling near her ear, “Mistress, are you alright?”
“Help me up.”
Aman quickly helped Jiang Si to her feet.
Jiang Si focused her gaze and saw that besides Aman, four guards had caught up – two from Prince Yan’s household and two from Prince Qi’s. The Princess Consort’s maid and the four older women were still nowhere to be seen.
“Princess Consort, where is our Princess Consort?” one of Prince Qi’s guards asked urgently.
Jiang Si composed herself, as if just recovering from the shock, and pointed with a pale face, “I was thrown out, but I think the Princess Consort of Prince Qi is still in the carriage…”