Did He Yanxiu get into trouble?

Su Yujin’s face changed. “What happened?”

“When mining in the mountains, they used to flatten the mountaintop. This method is slow but safe. However, due to the recent low copper mining, a cave was blasted to investigate the distribution of the copper ore. When Lord He went in with others to investigate, the cave collapsed, and Lord He…”

Was buried in the cave!

When Qu Zhiwen heard the news, he should have immediately entered the mountains to rescue him. He notified Su Yujin because he was worried that if He Yanxiu really had an accident, Su Yujin, who was his beloved, should go and collect He Yanxiu’s body.

If He Yanxiu had survived, he would have been injured in the cave collapse. Su Yujin is a skilled doctor, so he asked her to go with him so that she could treat him.

Upon hearing this, Su Yujin’s expression darkened.

This was a mining disaster.

She wondered how He Yanxiu was doing right now…

“Master Qu, there’s no time to lose. Let’s set off now.” Su Yujin quickly put down the zongzi in her hand and returned to her house to retrieve her medicine box. She also brought some common healing powders and herbs, bandages, and a cloak.

It was the fifth lunar month, and while the weather outside was a bit hot, the mountains were chilly. A cloak was a practical tool for covering up.

At this time, it was best to take care of yourself and avoid causing trouble for others.

She left out the Qingkui and Ai Cao, instructing the two of them to wrap and cook the remaining zongzi in the courtyard. Then, Su Yujin set off with Qu Zhiwen.

The hastily prepared carriage traveled at a breakneck speed, making the journey extremely bumpy. At the foot of the mountain, it could no longer move forward, so Qu Zhiwen and the others drove on.

Su Yujin also tried to ride a horse, led by the yamen runners, and slowly made their way inside.

Having previously shared a horse with He Yanxiu, Su Yujin was no stranger to horses. Furthermore, these horses, having been used frequently, were quite docile, allowing her to ride them normally.

The group, anxious but also wary of the difficult mountain path, advanced slowly.

After about half an hour, the horse beneath Su Yujin’s crotch suddenly neighed and reared up. Startled, Su Yujin leaned forward to grab the reins, even clinging to the horse’s neck with all her might to prevent herself from being thrown.

The yamen runner, who was also riding a separate horse and holding Su Yujin’s reins, was also startled and quickly dismounted to try to calm Su Yujin’s horse.

However, the horse seemed frantic and unresponsive to the comforting attempts. Instead, it leaped wildly, tilted its head, and charged at the runner, who, startled, dodged, and the horse slammed headfirst into Qu Zhiwen’s horse.

The horse beneath Qu Zhiwen’s crotch, feeling the pain, also broke into a frenzy, throwing the unsuspecting Qu Zhiwen off its back.

The other horses, frightened or otherwise, also leaped and pranced, unable to stop, throwing the yamen runners one after another.

For a moment, there were wailing cries and shouts for help, warning others to get out of the way and avoid being trampled by the maddened horses.

Su Yujin still clung to the horse’s neck, not daring to let go despite its fury.

But as the horse raced toward the mountain stream, threatening to leap down, Su Yujin’s face darkened.

A jump was necessary!

Su Yujin gritted her teeth, arched her back, and, locating a nearby area of ​​​​low brush and weeds, leaped.

She rolled twice on the ground before finally coming to a stop.

This maneuver minimized the damage caused by landing.

However, due to her thin clothing, the crushed underbrush pierced her body, and even with the weeds covering her, the rocky, rubble-covered mountain still left Su Yujin in pain. Even the exposed backs of her hands and wrists were scratched and bleeding.

“Miss Su!” Qu Zhiwen, who had risen from the ground, saw Su Yujin jump off her horse and hurriedly led his men to her. “Are you hurt?”

“Nothing serious, just superficial.” Su Yujin noticed the bruises on Qu Zhiwen and the others’ faces and hands and examined them. They were all superficial, with no injuries to the bones.

Only one yamen runner, who had twisted his ankle while dodging, had a slight swelling and redness that made walking difficult.

These were minor injuries, and Qu Zhiwen and the others refused to allow Su Yujin to apply medicine.

The situation in the mountains remained unknown. They didn’t know how badly injured He Yanxiu and others were. Su Yujin had limited medicine, so she had to prioritize them.

Su Yujin understood their concerns, and since their wounds were merely scratches, and the coolness of the mountain meant they wouldn’t fester, she let them alone. She frowned and said, “What a pity for these horses…”

Aside from Su Yujin’s horse, which had gone mad and jumped off the mountain, now seemingly dead on a boulder, the rest had either crashed into or run wildly, either bleeding from head injuries or lying on the ground with serious injuries. It was almost impossible to ride any of them properly.

A single horse was priced at over 80 to 100 taels at the market price. The horses used by the government were mostly of slightly better quality, costing over a hundred taels each. These six or seven horses were considered severely damaged.

Qu Zhiwen sighed, “It’s a pity, but fortunately, no one was hurt. Otherwise, if one of the mad horses had trampled someone…”

Wait, these horses were perfectly fine. Why would they go mad?

The horses used by the government office were carefully selected when purchased and meticulously fed, and even their temperaments were kept very docile. When Su Yujin first rode them, the horses were quite normal, but how could they suddenly go berserk?

Even if one horse went berserk, the others would be startled and at most trot a few paces in panic. But now, crashing into rocks and trees…

Unheard of!

There was something fishy going on!

Qu Zhiwen looked up at the accompanying runners.

They were all familiar, quick-witted individuals, and judging by their expressions, nothing seemed amiss.

“Leave two people here to clean up, one to return with the message, and the rest will follow me and Su Yujin into the mountains on foot,” Qu Zhiwen said.

“Yes.” The runners automatically divided their tasks.

Qu Zhiwen glanced at the three remaining runners and led the others, following Su Yujin, into the mountains.

The path was steep and difficult to navigate, and the runners, all recently injured to varying degrees, walked very slowly, especially Su Yujin.

Even though the yamen runners had helped her carry her medicine box, she was traveling light. However, her cumbersome clothes and the rather useless embroidered shoes on her feet seriously hindered her movement.

Su Yujin glanced at her wide skirt and blinked. “Excuse me, everyone, but wait for me for a moment.”

(End of this chapter)