Under the scorching sun, He Yao lay unconscious on the ground. Princess Jiaxin rushed over with the crowd, helping her daughter up and sobbing uncontrollably. The Princess of Rui, who followed behind, looked panicked and anxious. If anything were to happen to County Mistress Rong'an on the racecourse of the Prince Rui's Mansion, how could they possibly explain it?
Mu Rongxuan noticed his mother's anxiety. Seeing Wei Dongling taking a breather and her complexion gradually regaining some color, he quickly bowed to Ruan Niang and said, "Dear sister, would you be kind enough to go and check on the injured? If something goes wrong, it would be quite difficult for our Prince Rui's Mansion to account for it."
The way he addressed her as "sister" flattered Ruan Niang greatly. With a beaming smile, she replied, "I'm not very talented, but I'll go and take a look with the young prince right away."
He Yao was carried by the servants to a shady spot. When she was hit, she did feel a bit dizzy. Looking up, she saw Wei Dongling speeding towards the finish line. The outcome was already set.
He Yao originally intended to use this race to completely dispel Wei Dongling's feelings for Yu Zixi. If Wei Dongling promised never to see Yu Zixi again, she might let her off.
However, to everyone's surprise, she miscalculated. Wei Dongling actually won!
He Yao seethed with hatred inwardly and decided to play dead. If she pretended to be unconscious, Wei Dongling would surely be held responsible for harming her. The crime of harming a county mistress was too heavy for Wei Dongling to bear!
The more He Yao thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Her face turned deathly pale as she lay motionless in Princess Jiaxin's arms, trying her best to look like a victim persecuted by Wei Dongling. Princess Jiaxin was heartbroken to see her daughter like this and burst into tears.
Not long after, Mu Rongxuan brought Ruan Niang over. He stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Princess Jiaxin, please don't worry. I've brought a sister with excellent medical skills. How about we ask her to feel the county mistress's pulse and take a look?"
Hearing this, Princess Jiaxin didn't even bother to wipe away the tears on her face. She nodded at Ruan Niang and choked out, "Please save my daughter!"
Cui Huan supported Wei Dongling and came over to take a look. If He Yao ended up with a broken limb or something, they might be held accountable, and that would be a huge loss.
Ruan Niang bowed and stepped forward to feel He Yao's pulse. After carefully sensing it, a look of confusion flashed across her face. The pulse was perfectly normal.
Seeing the astonishment on Ruan Niang's face, Princess Jiaxin quickly asked, "How is my daughter?"
Ruan Niang lowered her eyes and said, "Wait a moment." With that, she reached out to pull open He Yao's eyelids to check the color of her pupils.
Just then, He Yao heard Ruan Niang's somewhat familiar voice and was wondering who this doctor was. She squinted her eyes to peek and was shocked to see that it was Ruan Niang. She didn't even dare to breathe, afraid of being exposed. She closed her eyes and pretended to be unconscious even more thoroughly.
Ruan Niang instantly saw through He Yao's little trick. She found it both funny and ridiculous but didn't expose her. She pretended to check He Yao's eyelids and then bowed to Princess Jiaxin and said, "County Mistress Rong'an has just been frightened. There's no major problem."
Princess Jiaxin had no idea that her daughter was just pretending to be unconscious. Hearing what Ruan Niang said, she was extremely worried and asked, "Then why is Yaoyao still unconscious? What should we do?"
Ruan Niang secretly laughed but said calmly, "I have a way to wake the county mistress up immediately, but... it might be a bit offensive. I'm afraid it's not appropriate."
Hearing this, Princess Jiaxin anxiously said, "Doctors are here to save lives. How can there be any talk of offense? Just do it. I won't blame you! Do you need someone to bring a screen?"
Princess Jiaxin thought that the so - called offense meant that Ruan Niang needed to take off He Yao's clothes for a detailed examination. She had no idea that Ruan Niang shook her head, took He Yao into her arms, and whispered, "In that case, I'll have to be rude!" As soon as the words were out, Ruan Niang slapped He Yao several times in a row, making her face burn with pain.
Everyone was stunned by Ruan Niang's actions. Wei Dongling beside her had a hard time holding back her laughter.
Ruan Niang's slaps landed firmly. She slapped He Yao five or six times without stopping. He Yao's face was covered with handprints and instantly swelled up and turned red.
Unable to bear the pain, He Yao pretended to wake up slowly. She let out a muffled groan, opened her eyes tearfully, and cried out, "Mother..." She looked as if she had suffered a great insult.
Seeing Ruan Niang's harsh actions, Princess Jiaxin felt annoyed but held back her anger when she saw that her daughter had indeed woken up. She hugged He Yao and asked, "Yaoyao, how are you?"
He Yao looked around and saw Wei Dongling standing not far away, trying hard not to laugh. Her anger flared up even more. She pointed at Wei Dongling and cried to Princess Jiaxin, "Mother! She did it on purpose! This race doesn't count!"
Wei Dongling put on an innocent look and said tremblingly, "How can you blame me, sister? Someone used a hidden weapon to startle the horse, and that's why I bumped into you, County Mistress! Look, I'm also a victim!" With that, she rolled up her sleeve to show the needle hole where the medicine had been applied.
Everyone had different expressions on their faces. He Yao's face was a riot of colors, red, blue, and purple. She secretly regretted not killing Wei Dongling with that hidden weapon.
Mu Rongxuan stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Princess, we've caught the person behind this. It was indeed him who used the hidden weapon to injure Miss Wei and the horse. The horse was startled and that's why it rammed into the county mistress."
Wei Dongling clearly rammed into He Yao on purpose, but the people watching from afar couldn't tell the details. They really thought it was because the horse was startled. However, Wei Dongling's little trick couldn't escape Mu Rongxuan's eyes. She knew that Mu Rongxuan was deliberately protecting her and couldn't help but feel grateful.
Hearing this, He Yao's face turned pale. She was so panicked that her whole body trembled. The expert with the hidden weapon she had arranged was caught? What should she do? Would he betray her?
The Princess of Rui felt extremely aggrieved. Fortunately, He Yao was okay. If something had happened to this royal daughter on the racecourse of the Prince Rui's Mansion, their whole family would be implicated! The Princess of Rui angrily said, "Xuan'er, this matter is of great importance. Drag that person over and torture him severely! I'd like to see who on earth is trying to harm this noble royal lady here?"
He Yao's face, swollen like a pig's head, turned deathly white. She couldn't help but tremble.
Princess Jiaxin sensed her daughter's fear and quickly comforted her, "Yaoyao, don't be afraid. Auntie, the princess, will surely seek justice for you!" This only made He Yao tremble even more.
The middle - aged man with the hidden weapon was brought over. He knelt down and begged for mercy, "Please spare my life, Young Prince! I'll never do it again!"
Mu Rongxuan snorted and said, "Who instructed you? Confess honestly, and I might spare your life."
The man kowtowed like a pounding garlic. He looked at He Yao with pleading eyes, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something but held back.
"Humph! You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, right?" Mu Rongxuan gave a look, and several guards holding the man stepped forward and punched and kicked him.
The man let out muffled groans and couldn't bear the pain. He wailed, "Stop hitting me! I'll confess! I'll confess, okay?"
He Yao's face turned pale, and her heart was pounding like a drum. She glared at the man on the ground and gritted her teeth angrily, "Why don't you confess quickly! Do you want your parents, wife, and children to be tortured like you?"