Lifting the curtain, Han Yan asked the surrounding guards in surprise, “Why has the carriage stopped?”
A guard stepped forward steadily and cupped his hands toward Han Yan: “Young Miss, there’s an issue with the carriage horses.”
Han Yan turned pale with shock and hurriedly lifted the curtain to jump down. She saw the carriage had stopped in front of a cluster of large trees, with both carriage horses lying sideways on the ground, their bodies heaving violently, eyes seemingly about to close. A guard severely whipped one horse, but the whipped horse only kicked its legs twice, snorting heavily, completely unable to stand.
“How did these horses suddenly fall ill?” Zhuang Yu Shan also jumped down from the carriage, asking peculiarly.
Han Yan looked at her with difficulty, then at the guards: “What should we do? With the carriage stopped here, if we wait for new horses, it might be dark before they arrive.”
Hearing this, the guard broke into a sweat. Madam Zhou had previously instructed them to reach Sha He Beach before dusk. Now with the carriage broken down, they might not make it in time. Han Yan glanced at Zhuang Yu Shan and suddenly said, “Sister Yu Shan, why don’t I join your carriage? This way we won’t waste time and miss tonight’s fireworks banquet.”
Zhuang Yu Shan was about to refuse, but upon hearing Han Yan mention the fireworks banquet, she swallowed her words. The fireworks banquet would be attended by many distinguished officials and noble young masters she rarely saw—she didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
The lead guard’s eyes lit up at Han Yan’s words and added, “That would be good. The two Young Misses can share one carriage, and this servant will find someone to watch over this carriage.”
Zhuang Yu Shan finally nodded, and Han Yan smiled, saying warmly, “Thank you for your trouble, Sister.”
However, Zhuang Yu Shan said, “Fourth Sister may ride in the carriage, but your two servants cannot. They’ll have to follow from outside.”
Han Yan smiled and said, “Ji Lan, Shu Hong, you follow the carriage from outside.”
Ji Lan and Shu Hong quickly agreed. Surprised by Han Yan’s quick agreement, Zhuang Yu Shan was slightly taken aback and felt somewhat displeased.
Han Yan’s face was full of smiles, but if one looked carefully, there wasn’t a trace of joy in her eyes. The mountain path outside was treacherous, making the maids travel like the male guards—truly a cruel intention. At least the carriage couldn’t move quickly, which lessened the burden on Ji Lan and Shu Hong.
Han Yan withdrew her gaze, only because the staring beside her was too intense. If she didn’t know Zhuang Yu Shan was her mortal enemy, she might have thought Zhuang Yu Shan had fallen in love with her.
At this moment, Zhuang Yu Shan was staring intently at Han Yan’s sable cloak. Looking closer, she found the cloak even more precious, its fire-red color captivating her. The elegant appearance when worn made her eager to claim it as her own.
Han Yan turned back, seeing her examining the cloak, and asked, “Is Sister Yu Shan looking at Yan’er’s cloak?”
Zhuang Yu Shan started, deliberately averting her gaze, and only asked, “Where did you get this cloak?”
Han Yan stroked her cloak and smiled, “Grandfather gave it to me.”
When Grandfather was alive, he indeed doted on her greatly. That was perhaps the only warmth she received from a relative in the Zhuang manor besides her mother.
Hearing this, Zhuang Yu Shan felt both jealous and resentful. As Zhuang Shi Yang’s daughter was born to a concubine raised outside the manor, she had never met the grandfather Han Yan spoke of, but imagined he must have been very generous. If she had been raised in the Zhuang manor, she would surely have received more fine things.
Han Yan continued, “This was from when Grandfather won first place during a hunt, the most beautiful prey from the hunting grounds. Later, Grandfather found the capital’s best tailor to make it into this cloak. This sable cloak even shimmers in sunlight—it’s extremely precious.”
Zhuang Yu Shan couldn’t help but swallow, Han Yan’s words stirring huge waves in her heart. She stared fixedly at the fire-red cloak on Han Yan, wishing she could snatch it away the next moment.
Seeing Han Yan’s smiling expression, she thought to herself: Smile while you can, you won’t be smiling soon.
Though she didn’t know her mother’s exact plan, her mother had said that this time, they would destroy Han Yan. She was naturally overjoyed about this.
There was prepared tea on the small table in the carriage. Han Yan poured herself a cup, filling it almost to overflowing with scalding tea. The maid Yun’er beside them wanted to say something, but before she could speak, Han Yan’s hand “accidentally” shook, splashing the hot tea all over Zhuang Yu-Shan.
“Ah!” Zhuang Yu Shan immediately screamed, raising her hand high to slap Han Yan, but Han Yan cried out “Oh no!” and said in panic, “Sister’s cloak…”
Zhuang Yu Shan froze, quickly looking down. Today she wore a brand new white rabbit fur cape, which paired beautifully with her pink brocade jacket, looking soft and pretty. Now that snow-white cape was stained with dirty tea marks, spotted and extremely ugly.
Zhuang Yu Shan was furious and shouted at Han Yan, “Look what you’ve done to my clothes! What about tonight’s fireworks banquet? You did this on purpose!”
Han Yan lowered her head, appearing helpless: “I didn’t mean to… For the fireworks banquet, Sister Yu Shan could change clothes… I’ll compensate for that outfit.”
Zhuang Yu Shan insisted, “What do you mean change clothes! This cape was newly made for me by Father just days ago. How will you compensate? You make it sound so simple. Are you suggesting I wear old clothes to the fireworks banquet?”
Seeing Han Yan just lowering her head and fidgeting with her cloak’s hem, Zhuang Yu Shan’s eyes brightened: “How about this—give me your cloak, and I’ll make do with it. You can also compensate me with some silver.”
Han Yan’s heart turned cold. Zhuang Yu Shan had calculated well—not only did she want the precious cloak, but she also demanded silver compensation. Her appetite was indeed large. Thinking this, Han Yan still shook her head repeatedly: “No, this was given to me by Grandfather…”
Zhuang Yu Shan didn’t care about any of that. She only thought that with so many witnesses to Han Yan spilling tea on her, Han Yan was clearly in the wrong and that’s why she kept backing down. She might as well take this opportunity to get that cloak. With this in mind, Zhuang Yu Shan leaned forward to pull at Han Yan’s cloak, saying continuously, “Paying debts is heaven’s law. We’re sisters, so I won’t even ask for silver. The cloak isn’t new anyway, I’ll just make do with it. You ruined my cape! If Father learns you deliberately soiled my cape, see how he punishes you!”
Han Yan had been struggling with Zhuang Yu Shan, preventing her from taking off the cloak, but upon hearing Zhuang Shi Yang’s name, her movements slowed. She only stared at Zhuang Yu Shan with resentment and grievance. Zhuang Yu Shan pulled the cloak from Han Yan’s body and eagerly put it on herself. Feeling instantly warm, she immediately asked her maid Yun’er beside her: “Does it look good?”
Although Yun’er felt this was somewhat inappropriate, she still replied, “It looks good.”