Chapter 407: Held Hostage by a Beggar

Chapter 407: Held Hostage by a Beggar

Zheng Jinyu climbed into the carriage, and Cui Yongnian followed her out, saying he wanted to see her off.

Zheng Jinyu lifted the curtain and looked around. He was alone, and there was only one carriage. If he were to see her off, would he follow on foot?

Or perhaps he would send her back and she would have to send someone to fetch him later?

That would be quite inconvenient.

Zheng Jinyu said, "No need, Cousin. You should go back and have dinner."

Cui Yongnian smiled and replied, "Consider it a ride-share. I'm going to visit a friend, and his house isn't far from the princess's residence."

With that, he climbed onto the carriage and sat next to the driver.

Seeing this, Zheng Jinyu couldn't say anything more and instructed the driver to proceed.

As soon as the carriage entered the bustling market area, they heard shouts of "Thief!"

Zheng Jinyu lifted the curtain and saw a dirty person running at breakneck speed with a steamed bun in their mouth, chased by a man dressed like a cook.

The person running grabbed items from street vendors and threw them at the pursuer without caring what they were.

The vendors whose goods were stolen for use as weapons stomped their feet and cursed, some even following the cook in pursuit.

The scene was eerily similar to those she had seen in TV dramas where beggars were chased, and now it was happening in real life.

The crowd became chaotic, forcing the carriage driver to stop. He turned to Zheng Jinyu and said, "Your Highness, I'll park the carriage by the roadside for a while."

"Alright," she replied. The street was already in chaos, and it was impossible to pass through.

Chunmei cursed angrily, "All this fuss over a steamed bun? Half the street is ruined. The loss is so great that the bun seller could never make up for it in a lifetime."

Hearing this, Zheng Jinyu felt a sudden jolt in her heart.

Indeed, was it worth all this trouble just for a bun?

A person who steals buns wouldn't casually damage others' property.

Why not grab something else from the vendors instead of just a bun?

Zheng Jinyu recalled a funny scene from a TV drama but realized too late that this situation made no sense.

A bad feeling rose in her heart, and she immediately told the driver, "Quick, let's take another route."

Just as she finished speaking, the driver let out a scream.

Zheng Jinyu lifted the front curtain and saw the driver being kicked off the carriage by a dirty person who then seized the reins and turned the horses around, speeding away.

The carriage swayed violently, throwing Zheng Jinyu and Chunmei into a heap.

"Your Highness..." Chunmei tried to stand up and help her but was thrown against the carriage's frame, hitting her forehead with a loud thud and fainting.

"Chunmei!" The carriage swerved left and right, heading straight for the city gate.

As the curtain swayed, she saw the beggar trying to kick Cui Yongnian off the carriage.

Cui Yongnian was terrified, clinging tightly to the handle. The beggar kicked him several times but failed.

With a crowd chasing them, the beggar gave up on kicking Cui Yongnian and whipped the horses fiercely, driving the carriage through the guards at the city gate and speeding away.

The carriage no longer swayed as much, and Zheng Jinyu held Chunmei in one arm and clung to the handle with the other to maintain balance.

Looking down, she saw Chunmei's forehead swelling to the size of an egg, which was terrifying.

She didn't know where the beggar was taking them.

No, he couldn't be a beggar; this was just a staged act.

A starving beggar stole a bun and was chased.

In desperation, he hijacked a carriage to escape.

And the unlucky Consort Chen happened to be the victim of the hijacking.

If anything happened to her outside the city, people would merely sigh and consider her unlucky.

When they first left the city, the guards were still in pursuit.

After a while, the guards stopped chasing, and even the sound of hooves faded away.

Could horse riders not catch up to a carriage? That was unlikely.

They must have been intercepted.

The carriage sped madly, and jumping out was impossible.

Zheng Jinyu looked down at Chunmei and then at Cui Yongnian, who was holding the handle tightly with his eyes closed, looking terrified.

She knew she couldn't rely on him. He was a weak scholar who might not even be stronger than herself.

To survive, she had to rely solely on herself.

Perhaps the horse had run tired; no matter how much the beggar whipped it, its speed noticeably slowed down.

Zheng Jinyu put Chunmei down and shakily got up, crawling out of the carriage. She pulled out the hairpin from Chunmei's head and aimed it at the back of the driver.

However, the swaying made her attempt ineffective. The driver cried out in surprise, yanking on the reins, which sent her flying back into the carriage, causing Chunmei's hairpin to fall out.

The beggar turned his head to glance at her, revealing a menacing smile.

"Brother-in-law."

Cui Yongnian, who had been squeezing her eyes shut in fear, opened them and, in a daze, thought she saw Cui Yongnian smiling at her.

Before she could react, Cui Yongnian was kicked again.

"Damn bookworm, get lost."

It was because they had taken an extra person that the carriage couldn't gain speed.

The horse was foaming at the mouth from exhaustion.

Cui Yongnian screamed in terror, "No, don't kick me off, I'm scared, I don't want to die."

Instead of kicking him off, the beggar was grabbed by the leg, and both fell off the carriage during the struggle.

Zheng Jinyu's heart sank, "Brother-in-law..."

The carriage continued forward, and she lifted the curtain at the back of the carriage, seeing two figures seemingly fighting amidst the dust.

Dust filled the air, making it hard for her to see clearly who was fighting whom.

But thinking of Cui Yongnian's delicate and frail appearance, she guessed he was being beaten by the beggar.

However, she couldn't worry about him now; she needed to stop the carriage as soon as possible.

Zheng Jinyu struggled to crawl to the front, gripping the reins tightly and exerting all her strength to halt the carriage.

Her horse was foaming at the mouth, panting heavily, nearly exhausted to death.

Without worrying about the horse or Chunmei inside the carriage, Zheng Jinyu jumped off and hurried back.

In the dust, two dusty figures emerged, and Cui Yongnian slowly stood up, swaying unsteadily.

"Brother-in-law, you..."

Cui Yongnian smiled and brushed off the dust, "I'm fine."

"Did you fight with the beggar?"

"Yes, he was unlucky; he broke his leg when he fell."

Zheng Jinyu moved closer and saw the man lying on the ground, one leg twisted at an odd angle, revealing a bloody bone.

Could someone be injured like this?

The man was already dead, blood bubbling from his mouth, staring at them with unblinking eyes.

Full of doubts, Zheng Jinyu was about to say something when Cui Yongnian said, "Let's go quickly; if we're late, we won't be able to leave."

Zheng Jinyu nodded, and together they ran back to the carriage.