Perfect Encounter - Chapter 1. 1
PROOFREAD BY AFREANA
Chapter 1.1
An Ruochen tightened her breasts with a cloth, took a few deep breaths to check her breathing, and proceeded to put on her belly band, her middle clothes, and the new plain dress she bought. Then she picked up her bag.
The bag was wrapped in a long flat shape, so it would not bulge too much. She tied the bag behind her back and put on a wide cloak to cover it.
An Ruochen looked carefully in the mirror and thought she looked pretty good. She was satisfied. She took a deep breath and turned around to go out.
Without calling a maid or a follower, she wandered alone towards the house’s side door. When she was near the side door, she stopped and pretended to look at the flowers. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the door was open while the gatekeeper was helping the delivery lady to carry some baskets.
It’s a good opportunity.
An Ruochen picked a flower and smelled it while walking out as if nothing had happened. When she went out, she saw the gatekeeper putting down the basket and looking at her. She smiled and walked out openly and graciously.
The gatekeeper didn’t realize for a moment, and didn’t ask questions or stop her.
An Ruochen’s heart was at her throat and she didn’t dare to turn around, quietly speeding up her steps. She heard the lady who delivered the vegetables urging the gatekeeper to ask for the accountant, and the gatekeeper answered “okay, okay.” An Ruochen secretly breathed a sigh of relief and took a few more steps but heard the gatekeeper running out and shouting, “Miss, where are you going?”
Oh no!
An Ruochen pretended not to hear, did not dare to run, and steadily continued to walk. She was calm and collected. Only she knows how much she wanted to go faster.
The gatekeeper did not shout at her again, but An Ruochen knew things had just begun.
Fortunately, there was a corner in front of her, and everything was going just as planned.
An Ruochen turned around the corner and suddenly began to run away wildly. She ran through another corner and hid in a dark alley.
Without time to catch her breath, she pressed herself against the wall and covered in the shadows. She heard the sounds of yelling and hurried footsteps coming from the street.
“Come on, come on, you two go over there and take a look. It’s strange how someone can disappear in the blink of an eye.”
“You are such a waste. When you saw the young miss go out by herself, you didn’t even know to stop her. When the master finds out, you’ll be punished!”
“I was busy at that time. I didn’t notice what was wrong. Only later did I remember. I called out a few times and called someone in a hurry.” This was the gatekeeper’s voice. He was trying to argue, “The young miss seemed to be in a good mood. She enjoyed the flowers leisurely. Perhaps she is out for a walk and will be back in a moment ……”
“Cut the fucking crap, find the person. If the young miss is missing, we will all have to suffer the whip.”
A few voices shouted and ran further away. An Ruochen closed her eyes and silently felt sorry for them.
She waited for a while, then guessing they were already far away, she stood at the alley’s entrance, still hiding to take a closer look. After making sure no one was there, she took off her cloak, held the bag in her arms, and walked out of the alley.
She walked briskly, carefully observing, without making any sound to avoid the attention of passers-by. Not long after, An Ruochen found what she thought was a suitable candidate. The person in front of her left was carefully and elegantly dressed, similar to her body shape and temperament, looking relaxed, seemingly just strolling around the street. The girl had a maid with her, but it didn’t matter. Everyone only remembers the one that stands out.
An Ruochen looked around, smiled, and walked toward the girl. Her father must have sent a lot of servants out to look for her. She had to hurry.
An Ruochen smiled and walked up to the girl, handing over a cloak with a golden red thread embroidered with a bird and lucky tree: “Miss, my family is going to have a wedding. The master has blessed this cloak and told me to that to receive a blessing, I have to spread the fortune. I see you have a good eye. Your forehead has a light, and your eyes and eyebrows are joyful. You must be a person of good fortune. This cloak is perfect for you. How about giving it to you?”
When the girl heard this, her heart rejoiced and she looked at the cloak. The texture, color, pattern, and embroidery were of the highest quality. She couldn’t hide her joy. The maid at the side looked surprised. An Ruochen took the initiative to put the cloak on the girl and tied it: “Thank you, Miss, you can take this blessing with you.”
The girl touched the cloak lovingly and thanked her. An Ruochen smiled, waved her goodbye, held her bag, crossed an alleyway, and rushed towards the south city gate.
As An Ruochen expected, the An family’s servants and guards were searching for her all over the city.
The servants asked around whether anyone had seen a girl passing by. They said she was wearing a light purple cloak with a conspicuous gold bird and a red tree embroidered on it.
In a short time, some servants found her. A merchant pointed out the way. The servants were happy and sent word to each other to run in that direction to chase her. They heard from passers-by that the girl got into a carriage. The servants asked the guards, who came out on horseback, to catch up with them.
At this time, An Ruochen runs to the South City Gate.
There was a farm cart An Ruochen had ordered in advance and loaded with bales of straw. She paid the money and got into the cart. She was about to hide when she heard two familiar voices passing by the cart. It was An Ping, the chief steward of the An House, and his servant.
An Ruochen’s heart was about to jump out of her throat, so nervous that her palms were sweating. Didn’t Steward An go out of town on business? How come he came back so soon?
This An Ping is loyal to her father, and her father is going to marry her to that lustful, vicious, and disgusting old man in Fu’an County.
An Ping’s voice seemed to be beside the cart. An Ruochen held her breath, not daring to breath.
She has planned this escape for a long time, took trouble to arrange every detail and now she has reached the city gate. The victory was within sight. She absolutely can not fail here.
But An Ping seemed to be standing by the cart and not leaving, chattering with his servant and talking endlessly. The cart has not moved, and no sound came from the old driver. An Ruochen got a cold sweat.
God bless, God bless.
She clenched her teeth and did not dare to move. Afraid that the straw bales would not cover her tightly, allowing An Ping to discover there’s a person hidden inside. Also afraid that the old driver would not be smart enough and greet her. If the old driver opened his mouth, she would be doomed.
The old driver didn’t say anything, and the cart finally moved. An Ruochen’s heart followed the cart bumping up and down.
The cart gradually pulled away from An Ping. An Ruochen quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She saw through the gap in the haystack. An Ping and his servant were still standing and talking. They hadn’t found her trail. Then another servant ran over and said something to An Ping. An Ping was suddenly shocked.
Perhaps he was reporting her escape. An Ruochen wondered if the cloaked girl delayed them for a while. But even if it didn’t work, it didn’t matter, her cart was about to leave the city gates, and the they wouldn’t be able to find her.
As she was thinking this, the cart violently jolted. The wheel seemed to hit a rock and An Ruochen was almost thrown off. She swayed and grabbed the cart to stabilize herself, but the bale of straw in front of her rolled down.
An Ruochen’s eyes opened up, and when she raised her eyes, she met An Ping’s eyes.
Both of them were shocked.
An Ruochen shouted: “Old driver, run!”
At the same time, An Ping was also shouting, “Young miss is there!”
The old driver raised his whip and the cart drove faster. An Ruochen stared at An Ping and the servant running towards her, chanting in her heart, “They can’t catch up, they can’t catch up, they can’t catch up.”
The farther the cart drove, the smaller An Ping’s figure became. Still, before An Ruochen could breathe a sigh of relief, she saw An Ping running towards a carriage by the city gate.
The cart turned around a corner. An Ruochen could no longer see An Ping’s figure. Her heart panicked. They must be chasing her. She can’t just sit here and wait for death.
An Ruochen tidied up the straw bales in the cart, then asked the old driver to stop at the forest in front of the corner. After getting off, she asked the old driver to continue the journey with all his might.
The old driver agreed. After the cart stopped, An Ruochen jumped and waved forcefully to let the old driver go quickly. She hid in the forest and waited. She saw An Ping with his servant driving a carriage to catch up. They chased after her cart and soon disappeared.
An Ruochen breathed a sigh of relief and ran towards the forest.