Chapter 689: Who Are You? (1)

Laiyue turned around and frowned upon seeing the mounted man. With a twitch of his reins, he went up to He Changdi’s side and leaned over to whisper, “Master, it’s Brother Zhang.”

Of course, He Changdi knew that Laiyue was referring to Zhang Mai.

His expression changed and he instructed the guards to look after the convoy. He then urged his horse up to the carriage to tell them what he was planning to do before turning back and heading in Zhang Mai’s direction to welcome him.

Chu Lian was in the middle of chatting with Countess Jing’an when He Changdi passed his message to them.

Countess Jing’an frowned, “Why is Sanlang so busy even at this time?”

Chu Lian wasn’t angry at all. Instead, she even smiled and reassured Countess Jing’an. “Mother, you might not know this, but there’s been some turmoil in the capital lately. Hubby has been very busy, so let him go and take a look. Since Brother Zhang has come personally, it must be something important.”

Countess Jing’an sighed. She thought back to the past and lamented, “We’re in the same boat then. When I was pregnant with Erlang and Sanlang, your father was also very busy and was rarely by my side.”

However, at least Sanlang’s wife had a little more fortune than she had. Back then, when she had been pregnant, Count Jing’an had already returned to Mingzhou to take his post. Nowadays, even though He Changdi was busy with his work, at least he was nearby and he could find time to spend with Chu Lian.

Chu Lian’s smile brightened up even more. Actually, she wasn’t as calm and confident as she appeared on the surface.

In a short moment, Laiyue spoke up from outside the carriage.

“Madam, Third Young Madam.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Third Young Madam, Third Young Master has been called away by Brother Zhang on urgent business. He told this servant to pass it on.”

Of course, Countess Jing’an could hear everything that Laiyue had said to Chu Lian.

“Sanlang’s wife, since Sanlang has left, why don’t we head back to the estate first and find another day to visit the temple?”

Without He Changdi here, Countess Jing’an couldn’t rest easy with her heavily pregnant daughter-in-law in tow. Furthermore, everyone held such great expectations for Chu Lian’s unborn child. They had to take as many precautions as they could.

Chu Lian shook her head and consoled her mother-in-law, “Mother, there’s no need for that. We’ve already picked out our guards early on and we even have two of our family soldiers following. It’s only Hubby who isn’t around, but we have so many people guarding us, it won’t be that easy for something bad to happen. Furthermore, we really can’t wait any longer. Look at the size of my belly. If we go back now, who knows when we’ll be able to go out again?”

Countess Jing’an was swayed by Chu Lian after all.

The party continued on their way to Da’an Temple as per their original plans.

After an hour, they finally arrived at the foot of Mount Lanxiang.

It wasn’t supposed to take that long, but since Chu Lian was pregnant, they had kept the carriages to a safe and slow speed. Thus, they had taken two times the normal duration to reach the temple.

There was a special road for the nobility at the foot of Mount Lanxiang, and He Changdi had already arranged for his subordinates to guide them from there.

Wenqing and Muxiang alighted from the carriage behind and went up to Chu Lian and Countess Jing’an’s carriage.

Once the curtains were lifted, Countess Jing’an stepped off the carriage first. Following that, Muxiang managed to beat Wenqing to the punch and helped Chu Lian off the carriage.

Wenqing could only stand at the side and watch.

Laiyue led two guards over.

“Madam, Third Young Madam, the palanquins are ready.”

While Mount Lanxiang wasn’t a very tall mountain, it still wasn’t as easy to walk on as the highway. Even on the special path for the nobles, it wasn’t as flat as a normal road.

It wasn’t possible to travel up the mountain on a horse or a carriage.

They could only depend on manpower to climb the mountain. Thus, there were plenty of porters and palanquins for hire at the foot of the mountain.

Chu Lian wouldn’t be able to climb with her huge belly, so Wenqing and Muxiang helped her over to a palanquin.

The palanquin was woven from rattan and made for two porters to carry at both ends. A rattan chair was set in the middle with a nice roof to keep the sun off the rider’s head. Although it was rather crude, it was very light. Since it was lighter than most sedan chairs, it was perfect for climbing mountains.

Once Chu Lian and Countess Jing’an were each seated in a palanquin, Laiyue called for the party to start the climb.

Muxiang followed alongside Chu Lian’s palanquin. She turned to Wenqing and said, “Wenqing, you should go and take care of Madam. I can take care of Third Young Madam alone.”

The handmaid Countess Jing’an had brought had sprained her ankle while getting off the carriage, so she had stayed at the foot of the mountain with the carriage. Right now, there was only an elderly senior servant taking care of Countess Jing’an.

Wenqing hesitated for a moment before nodding. She quickened her stride to catch up to Countess Jing’an’s palanquin.

It was hot out. After the party had been climbing for fifteen minutes, everyone was covered in sweat. Since they were in a mountain forest, there were trees all around, blocking the breeze from reaching them. However, the trees on either side of the road had been cleared away, so there was no shelter from the relentless sunlight beating down.

Chu Lian waved the fan in her hands and wiped at the sweat on her forehead with a handkerchief. She pulled out a white porcelain bottle from her waist pouch and poured out a single brown pill and swallowed it.

Muxiang had been observing her this whole time. When she noticed that Chu Lian had eaten a pill, her brows furrowed and she pretended to be concerned, “Third Young Madam, Great Doctor Miao said that pregnant women can’t take medicine carelessly.”

Chu Lian turned to look at Muxiang, and suddenly let out a cunning smile.

Under the sunlight, her smile was eye-piercingly bright to Muxiang’s eyes.

“Muxiang, thank you for your concern. This pill was made for me by Uncle Miao.”

Muxiang’s expression froze up a little. She suppressed the rage brewing within and managed to squeeze out a smile, “Since it was personally made by Great Doctor Miao, this servant doesn’t have to worry.”

After that little incident, Chu Lian simply sat peacefully on the palanquin without speaking to Muxiang.