Before Lady Lu could say a word, He Chan spoke up first. "How could Sister Lu be in your carriage? It must be you who made her fall out. You vicious woman!"
Zhen Yan frowned upon hearing this and was about to retort when Lu Wanning grabbed her. Lu Wanning stared coldly at He Chan and sneered.
"Miss He's ability to make a hasty judgment without knowing the truth is truly outstanding. It's such a pity that a talent like you doesn't work in the Ministry of Justice."
He Chan's face flushed red with anger. She shouted, "Lu Wanning, don't spout nonsense!"
Lu Wanning's gaze was fixed on Shi Aohan behind He Chan. In the book, He Chan was a straightforward and generous girl. Maybe it was because of the contrast with the previous her, but He Chan didn't seem so reckless before. But more likely, it was Shi Aohan who was trying her best to provoke Lu Wanning.
He Chan was just a puppet.
Lu Wanning withdrew her gaze and pointed at a guard. "You, go and find out what's going on. Miss Lu was in my carriage, and our carriages were supposed to be with the Lu family. How could she fall out for no reason?"
He Chan was about to say something else when the ladies and young misses around them all cast sidelong glances at her. It was such a critical moment, and even the princess knew it was important to find out the truth first. How could this girl from the He family be so ignorant?
Since Lady He was not around, Shi Aohan quickly grabbed He Chan to stop her from talking nonsense.
Before the guard could leave, a rider came galloping over. It was Lu Hanchi.
Lu Wanning stepped forward to greet him. "Brother, what happened?"
Lu Hanchi patted Lu Wanning's shoulder reassuringly. He bowed to Lady Lu and said, "Madam, Miss Lu has had an accident. Please come with me first."
After he left, his personal guard told them what had happened.
"On the way, Miss Lu saw that Miss Cen's carriage had broken down and she had sprained her ankle. So Miss Lu stopped to take her to the clinic. The princess wanted to accompany them, but since the queen's messenger urged her, the princess left the heir and his wife behind and took the second young master and the second lady with her. But somehow, the princess's horse suddenly went out of control, and the carriage overturned. If it weren't for the coachman's desperate efforts to hold on, the carriage would have fallen off the cliff."
Shi Aohan gasped and asked impatiently, "So... is Sister Lu okay?"
The guard bowed and said, "Miss Lu rolled out of the carriage while it was moving at a high speed. She was seriously injured."
Lu Wanning had been keeping an eye on Shi Aohan and He Chan. She saw He Chan looking surprised, while there was a brief flash of joy in Shi Aohan's eyes before she pretended to look heartbroken.
It was indeed their scheme. But it seemed that Shi Aohan still had more tricks up her sleeve. Maybe Lu Yingshuang didn't expect it to be this serious.
He Chan couldn't hold back anymore and jumped up. "Lu Wanning, why did your carriage have an accident? Why did your horse get startled? Did you do it on purpose?"
Zhen Yan said angrily, "He Chan, what's wrong with you? You've been targeting Wanning from the very beginning. We haven't found out the truth yet, but you insist that it was Wanning who did it. The carriage belongs to Wanning. If there really was something wrong, wouldn't it be Wanning who got hurt?"
He Chan sneered. "She's standing here safe and sound, but Sister Lu is injured. Why did Sister Lu suddenly get into her carriage? Even if Sister Lu asked to borrow the carriage, why didn't she sit in the carriage with Sister Lu? She must have had some ulterior motives. I don't believe she didn't."
"That's because," Lu Wanning said with a smile, "I, Lu Wanning, being a daughter of the Lu family, have always disliked you and Shi Aohan. Naturally, I also dislike your friends. I lent her the carriage just because we're all women. I'm not that stingy. But sitting in the same carriage with her would only make me feel sick."
He Chan didn't expect Lu Wanning to be so straightforward and say it in front of everyone. For a moment, she was speechless and couldn't think of a way to refute.
Shi Aohan frowned and glanced at He Chan. She whispered, "Is it because you dislike us that you did something to Miss Lu..."
He Chan's eyes lit up, and she immediately shouted, "Yes, that's it. You dislike us, so you deliberately didn't sit in the carriage with Sister Lu. You secretly did something to startle the horse when you left."
Since the previous her had a vengeful personality, most of the ladies and noble girls present agreed with this view.
He Chan continued to shout, "Humph, you clearly did it on purpose, but you still pretend it has nothing to do with you? It was your carriage, and your horse got startled, which caused Sister Lu to get injured. You're the one who deserves to die!"
Lu Wanning stared coldly at He Chan, scaring her to take a step back.
"What do you want to do? There are so many people here. Do you want to hit me?"
Lu Wanning sneered. "I, Lu Wanning, being a daughter of the Lu family, act in an open and aboveboard manner. If I dislike someone, I'll either slap her in the face or stab her with a knife. I won't be like a useless person like you who only plays dirty tricks in the dark."
He Chan's eyes widened in anger. After stuttering for a while, she said, "Humph, it's useless for you to say anything now. Everyone knows about this. I'd like to see how you can deny it. If you weren't guilty, why did you ride away on your own?"
Lu Wanning didn't even think about denying it. At this time, a young girl walked over. Her eyes looked a bit dull, but mostly cold.
Princess Qin?
Princess Qin walked over and looked at Lu Wanning. "Zhaoyang, we made an appointment yesterday to go horseback riding today. I waited for you for so long. Why didn't you come?"
Lu Wanning was slightly surprised but quickly recovered. She nodded slightly. "Princess Qin, I'm sorry. Something happened today. There were too many people in the city, so I changed to a horse after I left the suburbs. But I got injured because I was being naughty, which delayed me."
Princess Qin always had a poker face and spoke in a cold voice. "I see. Next time, don't break your promise."
So Lu Wanning had an appointment with Princess Qin?
He Chan was confused. When did they get so familiar? But Princess Qin rarely left the palace and didn't get along well with anyone. She wasn't the kind of person who would lie for others.
She paused for a moment and finally didn't say anything.
Not long after, Lu Hannian rode over on his horse and said that everyone should go ahead first. Since Miss Lu was injured today, they might not be able to continue the journey.
As soon as he saw Lu Wanning's bandaged hand, he immediately came over and picked up her hand. "What happened to you? How did you get hurt like this?"
Zhen Yan said embarrassedly, "I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I was playing with Wanning, and the whip accidentally hit her hand."
When Lu Hannian heard this, his eyes widened in anger. He shouted anxiously, "How could you do this? My sister has delicate skin. How could you whip her?"
Seeing that her brother was rambling on, Lu Wanning pushed him. "I was the one who started it. I'm just not as good as her. You're not allowed to talk nonsense."
Lu Hannian was dissatisfied but didn't dare to say anything. He just thought that he would go and have a good fight with Zhen Yan's brother later to avenge his sister.