CHAPTER 121: CHAPTER 121: MENG YAO POISONED

Yesterday, Wen Nuan had already heard from Meng Yao about the mess of the Meng Family. The young girl, with clear distinctions between love and hate, cursed the whole family of the Mengs for a full half-hour.

Now, hearing Apu’s words, she was quite surprised.

"Can the fine silver be paid halfway?"

"Yes, but you have to pay double. The fine for Madam Lin was initially not much, just five taels. Double that would be ten taels," Apu explained.

It wasn’t impossible that Madam Lin had private savings of ten taels.

But if Meng Ruyu had silver to redeem Madam Lin, why bother to make a trip here?

This was something Meng Yao couldn’t quite understand.

Meng Yao couldn’t possibly go to Meng Ruyu now to ask for clarification, so the matter had to be put on hold for the time being.

"Alright, Apu, you should hurry back. Doesn’t Father have tasks for you to handle?" Ren Zi’an urged.

"Madam, I’ll leave the young master in your care today. I’ll come to pick him up in the evening," Apu said.

Then, Apu left.

Meng Yao asked Ren Zi’an what he wanted to do.

"I heard from Xiaobao that his mother took him to a temple outside the city. The vegetarian food there is particularly delicious, and I’ve never had it before," Ren Zi’an said, clearly having made up his mind.

Since Meng Yao also hadn’t decided what to do, she agreed to take Wen Nuan along with Ren Zi’an to eat vegetarian food.

Ren Zi’an hugged Meng Yao happily, "Auntie is the best."

Wen Nuan was also delighted. Going to the temple, she could wish upon Buddha and Bodhisattva for her brother’s exam success and for his name to be listed on the ranking board.

After asking Li Chang’an and Qin Zheng, who also had no plans, they decided to go together.

Li Chang’an drove the carriage, sitting up front with Qin Zheng. Meng Yao sat inside with Wen Nuan and Ren Zi’an, closing her eyes to rest, while Wen Nuan taught Ren Zi’an how to play with string figures.

Very suddenly, the carriage jolted.

Then, it came to a halt.

Li Chang’an lifted the curtain, "Auntie, the wheel hub is broken."

Meng Yao got off to inspect, finding the break was neat on one side.

So, this wasn’t a simple accident.

Someone had deliberately weakened the wheel hub, so when jolted, it broke clean off.

Meng Yao asked Ren Zi’an, "Why did you suddenly want to eat vegetarian food?"

"Yesterday, while playing with Xiaobao, he boasted again about the temple’s vegetarian food. They make tofu look like ribs and fish, and it tastes similar. I’m very curious," Ren Zi’an whispered.

Xiaobao was the son of Arrest Officer Xu, who was someone Ren Zhong trusted.

It was hard to believe that Arrest Officer Xu intended harm towards Ren Zi’an.

So, it was very likely that Ren Zi’an was being used to lure her out of the city.

In the distance, a carriage approached, driven by a sturdy man.

"Why have you all stopped?" The man reined in his carriage and stepped down to inquire.

Li Chang’an explained to the man that the wheel hub of their carriage was broken, making it immobile.

The man took a look at the hub, "If I had the tools, I could fix it."

Li Chang’an shook his head, as they hadn’t prepared tools in their carriage.

The man said there were no tools on their carriage either.

"Blocking the road like this isn’t a solution. Unhitch the horse, and I’ll give you a hand. We can lift the carriage to the roadside, so it doesn’t obstruct the way," suggested the man, "My wife and young miss need to visit the temple to worship Buddha and can’t be delayed."

Meng Yao remained calm because this man wasn’t a driver.

Although he drove the carriage, his hands were well-maintained.

His right thumb and index finger had a thin callus layer.

Moreover, his eyes were sharp and lively, as if he had practiced Inner Family Skills.

The man promptly helped move the carriage to the roadside, then jumped back on his carriage, bypassing Meng Yao and the others, and stopped again.

"Judging by your direction, you’re also heading to the temple, right? Our Madam said if you’re willing, you can ride with us. Once at the temple, you can ask the monks to bring tools to repair your carriage," the driver said.

The ruts were deep, indicating the carriage held more than just the lady and young miss as described by the driver.

"Alright, but can your carriage fit all of us?" Meng Yao asked.

"Our carriage holds our Madam and Miss, so it’s inconvenient for outside men. Only Madam and the young master can join," the driver replied.

"Forget it," Meng Yao said.

She observed the driver’s demeanor closely.

As expected, when she said "forget it," the driver’s eyes flickered momentarily.

"It’s not convenient bringing kids to the temple. How about this, Chang’an, you stay here with the carriage. I’ll go to the temple and request tools from the monks. Once the carriage is fixed, you can come," Meng Yao continued.

If she didn’t go, these people wouldn’t easily forfeit their plan.

Not knowing the opponents’ strength, she dared not take risks.

"Should Wen Nuan and An Ge’er go with you?" Li Chang’an asked.

"They’re like playful monkeys. What if they disturb Buddha?" Meng Yao’s tone was somewhat impatient, "Alright, if only you had checked the wheel hub before leaving, would we have been stranded here? You can’t even handle this small matter. No wonder your mother always says you’re thorough."

Li Chang’an instinctively felt something was off; Auntie had never spoken to anyone so harshly.

However, Meng Yao didn’t give him time for further thought and directly got into the other carriage.

Ren Zi’an now looked pitifully aggrieved. He wasn’t playful at all; he was quite obedient.

Indeed, the inside of the carriage was more than meets the eye.

There was indeed a middle-aged woman and a teenage girl.

Yet, besides them, there were four strong men.

Clearly, they were skilled fighters.

"You’ve gone through so much trouble to capture me, for what purpose?" Meng Yao asked.

"You’re not as dumb as you look," the middle-aged woman sneered.

"It was your people who tampered with the wheel hub, wasn’t it? As for the young master of the County Magistrate’s sudden craving for vegetarian food today, it surely wasn’t a coincidence. I thought you would bring him along too!" Meng Yao remained unhurried.

"You think we’re stupid?" The woman’s expression turned vicious, "If we kidnapped the young master of the County Magistrate, the entire County Government would be after us."

So, the initial target was her.

She just didn’t know when and where she had offended this group of people.

"Then can you tell me why you’re capturing me?" Meng Yao asked.

"You’re quite daring, even now not knowing to be afraid. You don’t think we’re actually taking you to worship Buddha, do you?" The young girl spoke up.

"If I wasn’t bold, you wouldn’t let me go. So why should I be afraid?" Meng Yao responded calmly, "I might as well ask your intentions. At least let me die knowing why, right?"

"No harm in telling you," the young girl said.

"Qingping!" The woman scolded.

"Mother, she can’t escape anyway, so why not tell her? What’s there to fear?" The young girl was indifferent, "She’s quite capable, but with so many of us here, and she’s poisoned, isn’t she just meat on our chopping board?"

Meng Yao was somewhat shocked; she was poisoned? When did it happen? She hadn’t noticed any discomfort at all.