The Lucky Heiress

For some unknown reason, her feeling of unease kept growing, preventing her from sitting still.

Wei Ruo set out with Wei Yilin and the guards of the residence. Jing Hu, who normally stayed inside the mansion and seldom ventured out, also tagged along this time.

As Wei Ruo and the Wei family guards were about to leave the city, Chu Lan’s aides arrived to join them.

Wei Yilin was surprised to see the additional men joining their group.

“Big sister, who are they? And why are they coming with us?” asked Wei Yilin, riding next to Wei Ruo.

“These men were sent by the Seventh Prince to assist us,” answered Wei Ruo.

“Oh,” Wei Yilin nodded. Despite his young age, he knew the Seventh Prince and their father served together in the army. He had also heard that Wei Ruo had assisted the prince, so it made sense for the prince to return the favor.

Then Wei Yilin noticed that Wei Ruo seemed uncomfortable and asked, “Are you alright? You don’t look well.”

“I’m fine,” Wei Ruo replied, not wanting to admit that she was not used to horse riding.

She would’ve preferred a carriage, but the destination was not suitable for that, and so they had to ride horses.

We Yilin didn’t believe her, he squinted at her for a while then asked loudly in sudden realization, “Are you uncomfortable riding a horse?”

Several people turned their heads to look at Wei Ruo.

“Just ride your horse, why do you talk so much?” Wei Ruo shot Wei Yilin a glare.

“I knew it! You’re uncomfortable riding, and your butt is hurting, right? Like last time!” Wei Yilin declared confidently.

He repeated this claim so many times that all Wei Ruo wanted to do was to cover his mouth.

Wei Ruo pushed a water skin towards Wei Yilin. “Aren’t you thirsty? Drink!”

We Yilin took the water skin from Wei Ruo and after pondering for a moment, asked, “Big sister, you seem embarrassed?”

Wei Yilin stared at Wei Ruo as if he had discovered a new continent.

“You seem pretty lax for someone worried about our brother. Even have enough time to tease me,” Wei Ruo muttered.

“Of course, I care about big brother. I wish I could rush in to rescue him right now. But I also care about your… your health,” explained Wei Yilin.

For some reason, Wei Yilin blushed at this point and looked away.

But Wei Ruo could still see how red his ear was, like a boiled shrimp.

Somewhat bashfully, he added, “Also it’s not like we’re going any faster right now, it’s the horses doing the actual running, not me. Us talking doesn’t affect the speed at which we’ll save my big brother.”

“Drink more and talk less. Once we leave the city, we will need to increase pace. There might be a fight during the rescue mission so you should save your energy,” said Wei Ruo.

The city regulations forbade rapid horse-riding. However, once they were out of the city gates and could ride faster, they needed to hurry in hopes of finding Wei Yichen sooner.

Wei Yilin nodded, already prepared.

After leaving the city they rode fast for about an hour before reaching a deep forest.

In the middle of the forest was a narrow, long path lined with verdant trees on both sides.

As they ascended the altitude and due to the environmental influences of the forest, the temperature began to drop, significantly cooler than in the city.

Sometimes, the mountain breeze brought along a chill as well.

Then, they suddenly spotted a house hidden within the trees.

From a distance, there were seven or eight yellow mud houses.

In front of the house was a small yard surrounded by a fence, empty and deserted.

It seemed to be nothing more than a neglected, abandoned house.

Wei Ruo gave an order to the men Chu Lan sent and they stormed the house.

We Yilin hurriedly tried to stop her, “Wait! What if it’s an ambush?”

Wei Ruo looked at him, somewhat surprised. It seemed that Wei Yilin, who was usually impulsive, was unusually cautious this time.

She knew that Wei Yilin’s worry was valid, but today’s operation was a bit different.

“Don’t worry,” she assured. “The Seventh Prince’s men are all well-trained. We can trust them to handle it.”

Wei Ruo directed Chu Lan’s men to proceed as per the original plan.

She, along with the other Wei Residence guards, remained at their original location, ostensibly providing support and preventing ambush.

Suddenly, the sounds of clashing weapons echoed from the yellow mud house. Fugitive-looking men were tossed out of the windows and doorways.

Wei Yilin was growing increasingly anxious, though he held back, waiting for Wei Ruo’s command.

“Big sister, let’s help them!” Wei Yilin urged.

“Just wait a bit more,” Wei Ruo replied.

Wei Ruo had a reason for not letting the Wei Residence guards intervene. She could never fully trust Chu Lan.

Even though her intuition suggested that Chu Lan was most likely not trying to set her up this time, it never hurt to be cautious.

So she let only Chu Lan’s men enter the house. If anything went wrong, she could quickly retreat from her relatively safe position.

She also wanted to observe whether this was some kind of show put on by Chu Lan.

The fight inside the house seemed genuine, and she couldn’t quite tell if it was real or staged.

After a while, when the fight seemed close to an end and most of the “kidnappers” had been subdued, Wei Ruo finally ordered the Wei Residence guards into action.

Having been holding back for a while, Wei Yilin sprang into action like an arrow released from a bow the moment Wei Ruo gave the command.

Seeing this, Wei Ruo didn’t try to stop him. Wei Yilin had been training in martial arts for quite some time, and it was time to test his abilities.

Wei Ruo, on the other hand, leisurely followed behind. She lacked martial arts skills, so she hung back.

Xiumei stayed by Wei Ruo’s side, providing close protection.

Just like Xiumei, Jing Hu stayed behind with Wei Ruo instead of charging in like the others.

Once all the men had been taken down, Wei Ruo dismounted from her horse and walked into one of the houses, led by one of Chu Lan’s men.

The first room they entered looked like a regular living room with typical household furniture.

Behind the room was another door, leading to a small, dimly lit room.

The room was cold and damp due to its location deep within the mountain and up against a rock wall that oozed moisture.

Despite it being daytime, the room was dimly lit with only a small skylight allowing some light in. However, now that the door was open, the room was better lit.

Then, Wei Ruo saw Wei Yichen in the corner of the room….