The two walked side by side under the umbrella. After walking for a while, Wang Yue suddenly stopped. She looked at the young girl beside her, hesitated for a moment, and then summoned up the courage to say:
"Sister Yuan Bao, in this vast sea of people, for you and me to meet in Chenzhou City and accompany each other until now, it is truly an inseparable bond. Your name sounds exactly the same as Yuan'er. I think this is God's compensation for me. Although Yuan'er will never come back, there is still a Su Yuanyuan in this world. From now on, can I call you 'sister'?"
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Su Yuanyuan smiled and replied, "Of course you can, sister."
At noon, an extremely spacious carriage, escorted by Cang Xuan, set off towards Shengjing City. The people in this carriage were powerful enough to shake the entire Shengjing and stir up a bloody storm.
It had been a month since the last imperial examination's palace examination. The Princess Fubao had disappeared for a month since she was kidnapped by several killers disguised as refugees. Also missing was Prince Cang, Cang Xuan, who had gone desperately to find the whereabouts of the Princess Fubao.
During this month, although the capital garrison still searched the mountains with hounds as usual and set up checkpoints on the roads outside the city to question passers - by, gradually, people seemed to lose their patience.
Some people said that since she had been missing for so long, the Princess Fubao must have met with misfortune and been killed by those killers.
Others speculated that the killers were nearby bandits and that the Princess Fubao had been taken by them as the wife of the bandit leader.
Rumors unfavorable to the Princess Fubao's reputation were faintly spreading in the streets, and these rumors seemed to be intensifying.
Today, the capital garrison was still guarding the checkpoints outside the city under Su Qing's arrangement, interrogating passers - by.
One of the capital garrison soldiers couldn't help complaining, "How long do we have to stay here? We've been searching for almost a month and still haven't found anything. I think the Princess Fubao has already..."
He made a slashing motion across his neck, and everyone exchanged a knowing look.
Just then, a capital garrison soldier suddenly shouted, "Quick, look! Look over there!"
"What's the matter that makes you shout like this?"
Several capital garrison soldiers and passers - by couldn't help but look up in the direction the man was pointing. They saw a shiny black horse on the official road, carrying Cang Xuan, who was dressed in a star - patterned robe and wearing a fur - trimmed mink coat, walking slowly. Everyone clearly saw that there was a young girl in front of Cang Xuan.
That delicate and charming face like a hibiscus flower was exactly the long - missing Princess Fubao.
Suddenly coming to their senses, a capital garrison soldier excitedly shouted, "The Princess Fubao is back! Lord Cang is back! The Princess Fubao is back! Lord Cang is back!"
As he shouted, he ran backwards, spreading this astonishing and heartening news back into the city. Because of their extreme excitement, no one noticed that there was a spacious carriage following their horses.
Prince Cang had brought the Princess Fubao back to the capital safely!
The news spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, and from a hundred to a thousand. In no time, this shocking news had spread throughout Shengjing City.
Su Yuanyuan leaned in Cang Xuan's arms. After passing the checkpoint guarded by the capital garrison, they walked towards the city.
When they were approaching the city gate, they saw from afar that many commoners had poured out of the city gate and were standing on tiptoe looking in their direction.
"Daddy, Master, Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother! Sister Wanrong, Sister Yingxue, Sister Zhuo!" Su Yuanyuan's eyes lit up, and she waved her hand, shouting out in surprise.
Running towards them were Su Qing and the three brothers of the Su family, as well as Qin Wanrong, Bai Jun and others. They were deeply concerned about Su Yuanyuan's safety and patrolled the area every day. So as soon as they got the news, they immediately rushed over.
It could be said that except for Mo Shi and Wei Linlang, who were pregnant and not suitable for long - distance travel, all the people who cared about Su Yuanyuan had gathered at the west city gate.
During this nearly month - long journey, although Su Yuanyuan didn't say it, she missed her relatives and friends in this life very much in her heart.
Especially the fact that she couldn't reunite with her family on New Year's Eve left a faint regret in her heart. Fortunately, they returned to Shengjing before the Lantern Festival. The full moon on the fifteenth day was just suitable for a family reunion, so it could be regarded as a happy ending.
Cang Xuan knew that she had been forced to be separated from her family on this journey. Seeing Su Qing and others coming, he dismounted with Su Yuanyuan and let go of his hand to let her reunite with her family. The young girl immediately took a step and rushed towards Su Qing.
"Daddy, Yuan Bao misses you so much!"
Su Qing hugged the young girl in his arms, his eyes filled with tears. "Yuan Bao, you're back. It's good that you're safe, it's good that you're safe."
Su Yuanyuan buried her face in Su Qing's arms and cried loudly.
Behind Su Qing, the three brothers Su Huaichen, Su Huayuan, Su Huaisheng, as well as Qin Wanrong, Bai Jun and others were also very excited. Qin Wanrong and the others also shed tears and cried like tearful people.
The father and daughter hugged and cried for a while before separating. Su Yuanyuan raised her tear - stained face, then hugged Bai Jun tightly. After that, she reported her safety to her three elder brothers and three good friends.
At this time, many commoners had gathered outside the city, stretching all the way into the city. Su Yuanyuan also saw the figures of Su Zeqian, Tong Shi and the Marquis of Pingyang in the back. They weren't too far from her, but due to the presence of Su Qing and others, they didn't dare to get too close.
"Yuan Bao, what exactly happened to you on this journey, and how did Prince Cang find you?" Su Huaichen voiced the doubts of the commoners watching from behind.
Yes, what exactly had happened to the Princess Fubao? How did she meet Prince Cang? Why did they only return now?
Facing many inquisitive and speculative looks, Su Yuanyuan knew that if she didn't explain well, it would be related to her reputation.
She said clearly, "That day, after those people kidnapped me and a little boy, I fainted. When I woke up, I found myself in a speeding carriage, and those people who kidnapped me were already gone. The carriage rushed towards a cliff with me, as if it wanted to die with me. Fortunately, Brother Yunjian arrived in time and saved me. Otherwise, Yuan Bao would have fallen off the cliff and been smashed to pieces."
When the people behind heard about her experience, there was an uproar.
"I didn't expect that those people kidnapped the princess just to kill her. Their hearts are so vicious!"
"Yes, the Wang family even came to the Prince Qing's Mansion to propose marriage before. How could they turn against each other in the blink of an eye?"
"What's so strange about this? Lord Qin from the Supreme Court of Judicature has already found out that the Wang family secretly incited the refugees to come to Shengjing. They even poisoned the refugees. They are simply despicable! They proposed marriage to the Prince Qing's Mansion first, and then Prince Cang proposed. Although Prince Cang's proposal failed, it was equivalent to slapping their faces. Naturally, they were ashamed and angry."
"I think the Wang family's intention was to disrupt the imperial examination and prevent the new talents from entering the court. It's a pity that the Princess Fubao saw through their plot and they didn't succeed. So they wanted to kill the Princess Fubao."
"Fortunately, Prince Cang arrived in time and saved the princess. Otherwise, the Wang family would have succeeded."
At first, some people really doubted that what Su Yuanyuan said was not very reasonable. But under the deliberate guidance of Liuyun Pavilion, the topic gradually shifted to the Wang family. For a moment, the commoners were all criticizing the Wang family for their malicious intentions and vicious hearts, which was unworthy of the reputation of the number - one noble family.