Chapter 243: She Asked for It]

After Xiao Yunshuo left, Yuan Xu immediately knelt down and apologized, "Your Highness, I was incompetent and neglected to protect the Empress. The Empress must have been abducted when we were chasing Wang Lang..."

A cold light flashed in Xiao Yunshuo's dark eyes.

A trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain? Or just coincidence?

If it is the former, has the existence of him and Yuan Xu been exposed?

Who did it?

"I will chase after you immediately..."

Xiao Yunshuo shook his head and said, "You and I are too conspicuous, and we are likely already being targeted. Send a message to the leader of the Dark Pavilion's branch in Dingzhou City and have them investigate. After they find out, first protect the Queen Mother in secret and do not act rashly. At the same time, send a message here immediately."

Yuan Xu replied, "Yes!" and immediately went to do the work.

Although Xiao Yunshuo was anxious, just in case, he tried to remain calm and went downstairs with the others to check the commotion left behind.

Downstairs in the inn, Chen Wu, Yuan Xun and others had been woken up long ago and went to the dormitory room to check. The exiled prisoners sleeping in the dormitory were naturally woken up as well, and they looked at Qian Qiuyun with sleepy eyes.

Qian Qiuyun was complaining vividly, "Master Chen, I really didn't lie! I just got up to go to the bathroom and saw Chen Fenghe and Qin Mengyue sneaking out of the back door of the inn with their bags and two men! Master Chen, if you don't believe me, you can go to their room right away and take a look!"

Chen Wu and Yuan Xun became a little impatient after hearing what she said.

Qian Qiuyun was the most troublesome person on the whole trip! She was always looking for trouble with Madam Qin and Madam Shen. How abominable!

Qian Qiuyun hadn't finished her words and continued, adding fuel to the fire, "I told you before, they're prisoners too, they should sleep in the same bunk beds as the rest of us, but now they're being given private rooms. Isn't that what's going on? It seems to me that a lot of men have been staying at the inn these past few days, and these two widows must have fallen in love with them, so they ran away and eloped!"

Xiao Yunshuo glanced at Qian Qiuyun with cold eyes.

Yuan Xun felt her words were truly harsh and began to rebuke her, "Qin Qianshi, don't make such unfounded claims and tarnish other people's reputations. If something goes wrong and harms someone, are you willing to take the consequences?"

Qian Qiuyun smiled at Yuan Xun and said, "Master Yuan, you are a master, you should treat everyone equally. How can I see it with my own eyes, and yet you still make up lies and slander people? This is too much for my elder sister and that little bitch, isn't it? I'm afraid Master Yuan also has a crush on that little bitch, so he protects her so much and doesn't want anyone to say a word against her?"

Yuan Xun's face flushed with anger as he shouted, "Qin Qianshi! If you say another word, don't blame me for being rude to you!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Qiuyun became even more irritable. She took a few steps towards Yuan Xun and sneered, "Oh! Master Yuan is so arrogant! If you dare to hit me, it means you have something to hide! I'm going to put my face here today, so you can hit me! Go ahead! Let's see who dares to hit me..."

Before he finished speaking, there were two crisp "pa pa" sounds, and Qian Qiuyun's cheeks suddenly swelled up with obvious five finger marks, and blood flowed from the corners of her nose and mouth.

She was stunned and looked at Yuan Xun in a daze.

However, Yuan Xun's expression was even more surprised than hers.

Because he wasn't the one who hit the guy.

Everyone looked at the culprit who beat someone up, not knowing how to react.

It turned out that the person who beat people was Yuan Xu who came back after delivering the message.

Yuan Xu looked at everyone innocently and said, "You all heard it just now. She was the one who said she wanted to be beaten up. I'm just fulfilling her request."

Qian Qiuyun came back to her senses, her face turning green with anger: "You...you...why did you hit me!"

Yuan Xu looked at her with a smile and said calmly, "Because I'm a good person and I always respond to requests. Besides, Mr. Yuan wouldn't blame me for doing it for you, right?"

Yuan Xun looked at Yuan Xu with a complicated expression. He was so angry that he wanted to hit someone, but he was afraid that if he hit someone, it would really implicate Miss Shen and cause people to misunderstand him. So Yuan Xu's attack was a way for him to vent his anger.

Qian Qiuyun said angrily, "You...you're not an official! How dare you hit me? Master Chen, you saw it all! An unrelated person dared to hit me. I beg Master Chen to seek justice for me!"

Chen Wu sneered, "What kind of justice are you talking about? Just like what Mr. Yun said, you asked for a beating, and now you're regretting it? It's over!"

He had never had a good impression of the Qin family. Just now, Qian Qiuyun used sweet words but veiled sarcasm to bring their officials along. Would he be crazy to seek justice for her?

Qian Qiuyun heard that Chen Wu was deliberately biased and immediately started crying:

"Everyone, listen up! We're all exiled prisoners. Why can those two widows, Qin Mengyue and Chen Fenghe, live in a single room in the upper room, stew pig's trotters and drink chicken soup, while we can only sleep on a large bunk bed and eat dry steamed buns?

Isn't it because the officials are always partial to and indulgent towards that little bitch? Now I just spoke a few truths about Qin Mengyue and Chen Fenghe, and I got slapped twice for nothing. The officials are still partial to others and won't seek justice for me! Everyone, please give us your judgment! How can you bully people like this? Today I will risk my life. If you don't give me justice, I... I will go to the Dingzhou Prefecture Qingtian Dazhan's government office tomorrow and file a complaint!"

Zhang Zhou, who had always been on good terms with Shen Fenghe, could no longer bear it and spoke up:

"I think Madam Qian should just keep quiet. We've all walked all the way here, and finally found a few days' rest in Dingzhou City. You can't even get a good night's sleep, and you woke us up! Ask everyone who doesn't want to beat you up?

As for the matter of Miss Shen, they are two widowed women with three little kids. It's only because Miss Shen knows medicine and hunting that they live a comfortable life. Why are you jealous of her and always make things difficult for her and hurt her?

"You say Miss Shen lives in a room and drinks chicken soup? But she paid real money. You envy her, but you kill wolves and hunt wild boars like Miss Shen and make money? You don't have a penny, and you're still fussing about these things. Why don't you just go to heaven?!"

"That's right! Madam Qian, you are such a scoundrel. Apart from anything else, how much have we benefited from following Madam Shen along the way? Even the cost of accommodation and food at this inn was paid for by Madam Shen with the money she earned from killing and selling wolves. Otherwise, who would have had even a single copper coin on them after all this journey?"

"Who says it isn't? Even though it's just a big bunk bed, it's enough to shelter us from the wind and rain. If it weren't for Miss Shen, we would have to sleep in the straw pile in the barn in the middle of winter! Miss Qian, you're so poor, how can you have the nerve to pick up a bowl to eat meat and put it down to curse your mother? I think you don't like this big bunk bed, and you want to live in the barn with the animals!"

The others also expressed their opinions: "You are repaying kindness with enmity, don't involve us!"

Qian Qiuyun originally wanted to mobilize everyone to attack Chen Fenghe and the others, but no one paid any attention to her, and she was a little at a loss for a moment.

Chen Wu couldn't help but sneered: "Hehe! Madam Qian, what you said is strange! We officials are partial to Miss Shen, so tell me, how are we partial? If you want to go to the prefectural government to file a complaint, we won't stop you. When the time comes, we will go to court. I want to see whether the great judge will listen to you, an exiled criminal, or to me!"

Qian Qiuyun was a reckless person. He was angry just now and said something wrong. Now after hearing what Chen Wu said, he couldn't help but feel scared.

As an exile, she dared to challenge the officials. If she lost, she would be beaten. Even if she won, wouldn't she be given trouble on the way to exile?

However, thinking that she did see Qin Mengyue kidnapped by two men, and she would never be in the room again, she stiffened her neck and said, "Let me tell you how the official can favor those two bitches? Then I'll tell you! I just said that they eloped with a wild man and are definitely not in the room now! The exiled criminals escaped, and the officials didn't track them down first. Instead, they insisted that I was lying and deliberately ruining the reputation of those two bitches. Isn't this partiality? If the official still doesn't believe me, let's go upstairs and knock on the door now to see if the two of them can show up. Then we'll know if I'm lying or not!"

Chen Wu didn't believe a word Qian Qiuyun said.

After all, Chen Fenghe had the chance to escape before, but she still took the initiative to come back. She hadn't shown any intention of running away all the way. It was Qian Qiuyun who had been slandering Chen Fenghe openly and secretly. Therefore, she sneered and said, "Knock on the door if you want! If Miss Shen and Miss Qin are in the room, don't blame me for being rude!"

Immediately, Chen Wu, Qian Qiuyun and other onlookers went to the door of Chen Fenghe's room on the third floor.

Xiao Yunshuo couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

Chen Fenghe was still in his room, but she was always smart and must have found a chance to return to her room, so it was fine. But the Queen Mother was indeed missing.

If they are discovered and the imperial criminal escapes, with so many people watching, it will be a perfect excuse for the Emperor to sentence his mother, the Crown Princess and his ninth brother to death!

Everyone has reached the door.

Xiao Yunshuo's hand secretly pressed on the hilt of the knife in his sleeve.

Qian Qiuyun went over and knocked on the door loudly: "Open the door!"

After a long moment, with no movement from inside, Qian Qiuyun couldn't help but smirk and said, "I knew that bitch had escaped long ago! If she were still there, how could there be no movement from inside despite the loud knocks?!"