Ashes to Crown

Chapter 140: Chapter 96: Safe and Sound

Ning Kun’s carriage emerged from the alley and onto the main street.

The streets were less crowded with people and carriages today, so the driver let the horses run at full speed. But as they passed an intersection, a child of about ten ran out into their path.

The driver yanked on the reins, caught completely off guard, but the child had already tumbled under the carriage.

"What’s going on?!" Ning Kun leaped straight out of the carriage and immediately scanned his surroundings.

’If the Princely Heir’s men cause trouble here, this won’t end well!’

’Is someone trying to frame us?’

’Who’s making a move? The Crown Prince? The Third Prince? Or the Emperor?’

Countless thoughts flashed through Ning Kun’s mind in an instant. The guards hidden all around began to converge on their position, but at that very moment, the child under the carriage shot out with a WHOOSH and dashed across the street—

as nimble as a rabbit.

He was clearly unharmed.

Ning Kun stood frozen in place, but the driver had already recovered.

"Whose child is that!" he yelled, raising his whip. "What are you doing running around in the middle of the street!"

No one answered. The child just glanced back, gave him a dismissive pout, then ducked into an alley and vanished.

Ning Kun looked around. The guards who had converged on his position shook their heads, signaling that everything was clear.

’So it was just an accident.’

It all happened so fast that few of the onlookers saw much. Those who did were so startled by the child running off unharmed that they didn’t even have time to be properly shocked. Now, they just joined the driver in his complaints.

"Whose child is that?!" "Simply outrageous!" "Don’t his parents watch him at all?!"

Ning Kun sighed in relief and shook his head. "As long as no one was hurt."

With that, he climbed back into the carriage and signaled for the driver to continue. Still, he couldn’t help but glance back at the alley.

’That kid was way too agile, wasn’t he?’

’I definitely felt the carriage hit something—a solid THUD—but the kid was completely fine.’

The carriage rumbled away with a CREAK. The child poked his head out of the alley and stuck his tongue out after it. "You got lucky. If not, this young master would’ve—"

Before he could finish, a hand from behind grabbed him by the ear. "Little Rabbit, what do you think you’re doing, running around like that?"

The boy, Little Rabbit, turned around with a placating smile. "Sister Xiao Man, I wasn’t just running around. I was helping everyone scout the area and get familiar with our surroundings."

The girl behind him was dressed in beautiful clothes and adorned with jewelry, looking just like any other young lady from a wealthy family in the Capital City. Her tone, however, was fierce. "This place is crawling with soldiers. If your sneaking around gets us into trouble, I won’t let you off easy."

Little Rabbit retorted, a bit indignant, "I’m amazing! That carriage couldn’t even hit me."

That was the wrong thing to say. Xiao Man flicked him on the forehead. "What normal kid *wouldn’t* get hit?!"

’Would they?’ Little Rabbit blinked. "Even Ah Bao from our family, who just learned to walk, wouldn’t get hit, right?"

Xiao Man couldn’t be bothered to argue. She grabbed him and dragged him deeper into the alley. "There’s no need to scout. We only need to watch one person. The house is already rented—it’s right across from the Chu Family residence. We don’t need to go anywhere else."

Little Rabbit’s expression grew excited again. "Sister Xiao Man, has Chu Zhao gone to that... that garden place to fight yet? Can we go watch?"

Xiao Man rolled her eyes. "No. The place is swarming with soldiers and completely sealed off. Stay out of trouble."

Little Rabbit was very disappointed. "I wonder when we’ll get to see Chu Zhao fight."

.....

.....

Ning Kun put the incident on the street out of his mind and returned to the post house to see Xiao Xun.

Xiao Xun was looking over various written works from the literary gathering at Wangchun Garden, which Tie Ying had just brought him. He was, of course, only interested in those concerning Chu Zhao.

Unfortunately, there were very few from her—next to none, in fact.

"The Princely Heir should have gone to see it in person," Tie Ying said with a cold sneer. "Miss Chu is a completely different person at Wangchun Garden. As meek and docile as a little lamb. You wouldn’t even recognize her, Your Highness."

Xiao Xun smiled. "I doubt that. The moment she sees me, she becomes fierce again. I’m not avoiding the event to avoid a conflict with her—it’s not that I’m afraid of her—but to avoid being used by others."

The Third Prince, for instance, or Xie Yanfang.

’Especially Xie Yanfang. His deliberate trip to Chu Garden was a trap laid for me.’

Ning Kun, who had just entered, nodded in agreement. "The Princely Heir is right. If Xie Yanfang were to clash with Your Highness, it would confirm the rumors that you are allied with the Third Prince."

He frowned as he spoke.

"I wonder if Xie Yanfang has told the Crown Prince that you were the one who started that rumor about the Xie family."

"He won’t," Xiao Xun said. "He knows that even if he did tell the Crown Prince, I have a perfectly good explanation."

He added with a slight smile.

"I’ll just say that I fell for Miss Chu at first sight when I rescued her from the water. Her image was seared into my mind, and my love turned to bitter jealousy—"

"What, is the Xie family the only one allowed to care for the girl? Am I not allowed to have feelings and desires of my own?"

Romantic squabbles blown out of proportion are never flattering, and gossip between men and women spreads like wildfire. The Xie family is determined to grow its power discreetly, hiding in the shadow of the Yang Family’s prestige. They certainly don’t want to be thrust into the public eye.

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