Just as the carriage rushed out of the back gate, Bitao and Wang Cheng managed to rein in the horses together. Finally, the carriage came to a halt.
Seeing this, the people who had chased after them breathed a sigh of relief.
Bitao and Wang Cheng also looked terrified. Fortunately, they had stopped the carriage. Otherwise, if the panicked horses had run wild and injured someone, it would have been a disaster.
"Su Nansheng, do you want to kill me?"
The carriage window was jolted open. Su Hele lay with her forehead propped up against the window, her face deathly pale.
She had just been thrown back into the carriage, and the fall had made her whole body ache. She feared that some of her bones might even be broken.
Hearing this, Su Nansheng sneered:
"You're really crazy. I'll give you a chance to get out by yourself. Otherwise, I'll have to ask you to."
"How dare you! I'm going out, and I'd like to see who would dare to stop me!"
Su Nansheng looked at Bitao, who gritted her teeth, reached out and grabbed Su Hele's wrist, then yanked her out of the carriage.
The gatekeepers dared not lay a hand on her, but she did.
Su Hele had been causing trouble for her mistress all day long. She had long wanted to teach her a lesson.
"Bitao, how dare you!"
Having lost face in public, Su Hele's face flushed red. She tried to shake off Bitao's hand forcefully,
but Bitao's hand was like a rooted tree. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free.
"Su Nansheng, tell her to let me go right now!"
Su Hele glared at Su Nansheng, her face grim.
Su Nansheng took a step forward, her hands clenched tightly. She really wanted to hit her, but she couldn't.
Su Nansheng looked around. Although this was a back alley, the commotion just now had already attracted a lot of attention.
At this moment, they were all craning their necks to watch the show.
If she were to act violently now, it would surely make the Anshun Marquis's Mansion a laughingstock.
"Madam Su, Second Young Mistress, the Mistress invites you both to Qionghua Courtyard."
Nanny Zhao's voice sounded behind them, making both of them stop in their tracks.
Bitao pursed her lips, let go of Su Hele's hand and stepped back.
Su Hele lifted her head and looked at Su Nansheng coldly:
"You just admitted that you were acting out of personal grudges. Don't change your story when we get in front of the Mistress."
Su Nansheng glanced at her and turned away.
Seeing this, Su Hele quickened her steps to catch up with her, then overtook her and soon disappeared from Su Nansheng's sight.
...
"Mother, it was Su Nansheng who stopped me first. That's why I got into an argument with her."
Before Su Nansheng even entered the flower hall, she heard Su Hele's angry voice.
Su Nansheng walked in slowly, immediately catching Su Hele's attention.
She gritted her teeth and pointed at Bitao, saying fiercely:
"She even ordered the servants to humiliate me in public. Mother, you must avenge me."
"I'm asking why you were driving a four - horse carriage out of the mansion."
Chen Wanrong's face was calm, showing no sign of emotion, but the sudden pressure made Su Hele calm down instantly.
"Mother, Su Nansheng refused to assign more servants to my courtyard. As a result, there were not enough people in Bitaoyuan to carry my painting tools. That's why I wanted to use horses to carry them."
Su Hele's tone returned to normal, with a hint of grievance.
"Why a four - horse carriage!"
Not getting an answer repeatedly, Chen Wanrong gradually grew angry.
Was this Su Hele really unable to understand her question? Why was she always evading it?
"Because last time Lanxiang got exhausted. I was worried about the horses getting too tired, so I prepared a few more to take turns. After all, the mountain road is rough and difficult to walk on. Horses are living beings. They should be running freely in the mountains and fields, not being driven around without freedom."
Su Hele's tone was full of sorrow, and her face was filled with compassion.
Hearing this, Chen Wanrong closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly.
She considered herself a kind - hearted person who rarely got angry.
But for some reason, every time she heard Su Hele speak, an inexplicable anger would well up in her heart, and she couldn't suppress it.
"You've learned the rules, haven't you? You have no official rank. For a commoner to drive a four - horse carriage is a blatant act of overstepping one's bounds. Once you step out of the mansion gate and are seen by others, the consequences will be unimaginable. Su Hele, do you want to ruin our Anshun Marquis's Mansion?"
In her extreme anger, Chen Wanrong's face became calm again, but her tone was chilling.
Suddenly, it became deathly quiet all around, so quiet that it was suffocating.
A familiar and disturbing feeling slowly crept over Su Hele's heart.
She forced a smile and said, "Mother, this kind of thing has happened before. Everyone usually turns a blind eye. No one will really care."
"Ordinary people may not care, but doesn't our Marquis's Mansion have any enemies? Will they not care either?"
Chen Wanrong's voice became lower and lower, and Su Hele's fear grew stronger and stronger.
"Mother, I really didn't think this through, but Su Nansheng shouldn't have acted out of personal grudges and embarrassed me in public. Mother, she just admitted it herself. She was deliberately making things difficult for me!"
Knowing she was in the wrong, Su Hele could only shift the blame.
Chen Wanrong looked at Su Nansheng, who immediately bowed and said:
"Mother, I did have a quarrel with the Second Young Mistress just now, and it was also I who ordered Bitao to drag the Second Young Mistress out of the carriage."
Bitao immediately stepped out from behind her, knelt down and bowed:
"Please punish me, Mistress."
Su Hele lowered her eyes and let out a long breath. So many people had heard it at that time. She was sure they wouldn't deny it.
At this time, Nanny Zhao whispered what had just happened to Chen Wanrong.
Chen Wanrong felt her temples throbbing. She could no longer suppress the anger in her heart.
With a "snap", the teacup shattered in front of Su Hele.
"You even dared to force your way out of the mansion gate!"
Chen Wanrong had heard many absurd things and considered herself able to tolerate a lot, but after hearing this, she could no longer stay calm.
If it weren't for her status as the Mistress of the mansion, she really would have liked to teach Su Hele a lesson herself.
"The capital is full of noble people. If the horses hadn't been controlled and had run onto the main street and injured someone, Su Hele, could you bear the consequences?"
Chen Wanrong's anger was so palpable that it scared Su Hele, who had been harboring some hope, into a state of fear and dry - mouthed anxiety.
"Mother, I didn't mean to. It was..."
"Nanny Zhao, give her ten lashes first!"
Chen Wanrong didn't want to hear Su Hele's excuses and gave the order directly.
She was crazy to force her way out when she was not allowed to.
"Mother, I really didn't mean to."
Su Hele's teeth chattered, and she was shaking all over with fear.
"Stop annoying me. Drag her to the side hall and beat her."
Chen Wanrong didn't even want to hear her voice.
Immediately, some old nannies stepped forward to drag Su Hele to the side hall. The flower hall became much quieter.
With fewer people around, Bitao, who was still kneeling on the ground, was very conspicuous.
"Bitao, get up. If you hadn't stopped her, would you have just let her go out and cause trouble? And Wang Cheng. Each of you will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver."
Knowing that these two had risked their lives to stop the panicked horses, Chen Wanrong's anger subsided a little. Fortunately, there were still some sensible people in the mansion.
Facing such a generous reward, Bitao was stunned for a while before saying:
"Thank you, Mistress, for your reward."
At this time, faint screams from Su Hele came from the side hall, growing weaker and weaker. It was obvious that she had already started to be beaten.
Hearing these screams, Chen Wanrong gently rubbed her temples.
"Nansheng, you've been too lenient with her!"