lcionline Chapter 298 The Assassination Attempt on His Highness the Prince of Chu
Chapter 298 The Assassination Attempt on His Highness the Prince of Chu
Mu Qingchen probably didn't realize that she had wet herself in fear.
He touched the arrow, and finding it didn't hurt, he reached out to pull it out.
Shangguan Qingqi, on horseback, quickly said in a very friendly tone, "Young Master Mu, slow down, be careful with your manhood."
"..."
Those who didn't get along with Mu Qingchen couldn't help but burst into gloating laughter.
Mu Qingchen, holding an arrow in one hand, glared at Shangguan Qingqi upon hearing his words and said, "I'm perfectly fine! No need for you to worry, Young Master Shangguan!"
After saying this, Mu Qingchen pulled the arrow out with a forceful pull.
Suddenly, a hole appeared in his pants. A gust of autumn wind blew in, letting in a few gusts of cool air, which made Mu Qingchen shiver.
Su Mowan couldn't help but chuckle softly and give Shangguan Qingqi a thumbs up.
Shangguan Qingqi gave him a smug look, a proud smile on his face.
Fu Changge, who was following Shangguan Qingqi, noticed their interaction. Fu Changge frowned, his eyes flashed, and he leaned close to Shangguan Qingqi's ear, whispering, "Are you doing this on purpose?"
Shangguan Qingqi didn't deny it, nodding directly and saying in a low voice, "You could say it was intentional. You know Mu Qingchen and I have never gotten along, we've disliked each other for a long time. This opportunity was hard-won, how could I not teach him a lesson?"
Shangguan Qingqi's words were tinged with resentment, but Fu Changge didn't believe him. He leaned closer and whispered, "He's provoked you more than once or twice. Why couldn't you hold back this time? You don't have some other reason, do you?"
Shangguan Qingqi was surprised that Fu Changge could see through her. Just as she was thinking about how to smooth things over, she heard Fu Changge say, "And why are you exchanging glances with the Prince of Qin's concubine?"
Provoked by these words, Shangguan Qingqi moved a little distance away and turned to look at his good brother Fu Changge. Fu Changge's expression clearly conveyed the question: Is there some shady affair going on?
Shangguan Qingqi coughed and said in a low voice, "I'll talk to you about this later. Let's leave first!"
Although Fu Changge had been getting closer to Mu Qingchen recently, Shangguan Qingqi was his childhood friend, and he knew very well which side he should stand on. He immediately nodded and shouted at Mu Qingchen, who was still kneeling on the ground.
"Qingchen, how come you shot something on the ground while hunting? We're so sorry about what happened earlier. We'll treat you to drinks another day to make it up to you. Goodbye for now!"
Shangguan Qingqi was very satisfied with Fu Changge's attitude, and immediately followed up on Fu Changge's words, saying, "Changge, you are short-sighted. Young Master Mu is probably digging for moles, right? Let's not disturb him. Let's hurry up and chase after them, lest those things get too far away!"
"That's right, that's right, let's hurry! If they disappear without a trace, where will we find them?" one of the young men following behind chimed in.
So the group of people bowed to the King of Qin, then to the King of Chu, and spurred their horses into a gallop, raising a cloud of dust, and soon disappeared from sight.
The few people kneeling on the ground moved to the side of the road with lingering fear, and then spat out the dust they had eaten.
Mu Qingchen was the most disheveled, his face covered in dust from the horse's hooves, now turning ashen. He hurled the arrow he had pulled out to the ground and gave Shangguan Qingqi and his group a sinister look as they disappeared into the distance.
Seeing that this person couldn't tell the difference between right and wrong, Su Mowan deliberately coughed and turned to Murong Jing, saying, "Your Highness, I think Young Master Mu is quite frightened. Let's just let it go this time. After all, there's not much time left. We're still making a bet with the Prince of Chu. If we delay any longer, we'll be working like laborers tonight."
Murong Jing glanced coldly at Mu Qingchen, who was still kneeling on the ground, and said in a cold voice, "For the sake of the King of Chu, I will spare you this time."
The King of Chu in the woods across the way was completely bewildered. How did it become a matter of "because of him"?
Mu Qingchen, lying on the ground, looked resentful, but dared not disobey. "Thank you, Your Highness, for not pursuing this matter."
Su Mowan couldn't bear to see Mu Qingchen in such a disheveled state, so she pulled the Seventh Princess along and said, "Let's go first. Hopefully, we won't run into any more spoilsport this time."
The Seventh Princess, lost in thought, was brought back to reality by Su Mowan's pull. As they walked, she whispered in Su Mowan's ear, "I never would have guessed that Shangguan Qingqi could be such a man!"
Su Mowan glanced at the Seventh Princess, "Do you think he used to be like a woman?"
"...No, that's not it."
As the people opposite them left, the King of Chu and Su Huayue turned their horses around to leave, but then they heard Mu Qingchen's voice behind them.
"Thank you very much, Your Highness, King Chu."
The King of Chu turned his head slightly, his expression indifferent. "No need to be so polite, Young Master Mu is still too young."
After saying this, he didn't care about Mu Qingchen's reaction behind him and spurred his horse into the depths of the forest.
Su Huayue followed behind the King of Chu somewhat absentmindedly when her hair got caught on a low branch. She cried out in surprise. The King of Chu turned around and saw that Su Huayue's hair was disheveled and she looked quite embarrassed.
Recalling the scene of Su Mowan and the King of Qin, the King of Chu clenched his fist, frowned and said to Su Huayue, "How old are you? Can't you watch where you're going?"
Su Huayue felt a little uneasy because of what she had just been thinking, and when the King of Chu said those words, she felt a little wronged.
After witnessing the interaction between the King of Qin and Su Mowan, and comparing it to her own relationship with the King of Chu, she immediately realized how blind she had been to choose such a man who didn't know how to cherish women!
Once the feeling of grievance arose, it surged uncontrollably. Su Huayue simply pulled out the pearl hairpin hanging from her half-disheveled hair and said to the Prince of Chu, "Your Highness, can't you—"
Su Huayue almost blurted out the accusation, but she swallowed it back when she remembered that there were several guards behind her, though tears welled up in her eyes.
The King of Chu's already unhappy expression turned even uglier. Although he was indifferent to Su Huayue, he had never been angry with her before, but this time, for the first time, he showed her a cold shoulder.
"You follow behind, I'll go first."
After saying this, the King of Chu ordered two guards to go with him first, while the rest stayed behind to protect Su Huayue.
In just a short while, the King of Chu had already ridden away and disappeared from Su Huayue's sight.
Su Huayue was filled with resentment and hatred, but considering the guards following behind her, she simply gathered her disheveled hair into a bun and rode off towards the direction of the King of Chu.
-
Compared to the quarrel between the King of Chu and his wife, things were much more harmonious on the King of Qin's side.
Although Su Mowan didn't speak to Murong Jing again, a few glances from her made His Highness the Prince of Qin extremely happy.
The Seventh Princess picked up the injured little rabbit again, and kept praising Su Mowan as she watched her hunt more and more prey along the way.
Su Mowan looked back and saw that almost every guard was carrying several prey. She glanced at the sky and discussed with Murong Jing, "I think it's about time. Shall we go back?"
Murong Jing was lost in thought when she suddenly said that. He asked Feng Yue something in a low voice, but Su Mowan was too far away to hear it clearly.
Feng Yue replied with a serious expression, and Murong Jing said, "Well, let's go back now, it's about time."
Su Mowan thought that those on horseback had probably already gone back, and since they were walking, it would probably be dark by the time they got back in half an hour.
They set off around 3 p.m., and it took them about two hours to get there. Now they're heading back, so they'll be a bit faster, but it'll still take at least an hour. So they'll probably get back to the palace around 6 p.m.
At this time of year, it's already dark by six o'clock.
Half an hour later.
The group returned to the vicinity of the main hunting grounds and saw several bonfires burning near the platform in the distance.
A warm feeling emanated from the gray sky.
Su Mowan glanced around and saw that the hunters had not returned. Only a hundred or so guards were standing nearby, and the civil officials were chatting and laughing in twos and threes around the campfire.
Su Mowan frowned, sensing something was amiss, and immediately looked at Murong Jing. Murong Jing seemed to know she had a question and had been waiting for her gaze.
"Something's not right. Why hasn't the Emperor returned yet? Wasn't it supposed to be an hour? His men on horseback should have been back by now."
The seventh princess looked equally bewildered and added, "Yes! Why haven't Father and the others returned yet? Could they have gotten lost?"
Murong Jing gestured for Su Mowan to come closer. Su Mowan sensed something was amiss, so she obediently approached. Murong Jing then said, "They probably won't be back for another hour."
Upon hearing this, Su Mowan knew something was wrong, so she lowered her voice and asked, "Will there be any danger?"
Although she didn't explicitly say so, Murong Jing knew she was referring to Emperor Mo Yao. He raised his chin, his expression arrogant. "With my men here, there will naturally be no danger."
Su Mowan's eyes flashed. Murong Jing had said before that someone would cause trouble during the autumn hunt. She didn't expect it to actually be true. Could it be that Murong Jing had already laid a trap, waiting for people to jump in?
She had initially thought that Murong Jing's talk of causing trouble was somewhat related to her, since he had said the autumn hunt was the best time to fake a miscarriage. Now it seemed that wasn't the case at all; it was actually aimed at Emperor Mo Yao!
When the ministers saw the group returning, the weather was bad and some of them were old and had poor eyesight, so they couldn't see who was coming back. But fortunately, Feng Yue was equipped with a wheelchair, something only His Highness Prince Qin had.
They all knelt down and bowed in respect.
Murong Jing coldly said, "No need for formalities," and the twenty or so civil officials slowly rose. Some of them, unable to contain themselves, asked, "May I ask, Your Highness, why have the Emperor and the others been gone for so long and not yet returned? Could it be that..."
The following words were somewhat ominous, so the minister dared not say them outright.
Murong Jing glanced around the room and, not seeing the King of Chu return, frowned slightly and said, "Father and the others were just delayed by something, there's no need to worry."
Just then, a man came galloping by on horseback. Before the horse had even come to a complete stop, the man had already fallen off.
"Your Highness, King of Qin, please send reinforcements! His Highness the King of Chu has been assassinated!"
Su Mowan turned her head and saw that the man had an arrow stuck in his chest. After saying those words, he vomited blood and fainted.