Chapter 18 Autumn Hunt

Gu Qingyu burst out laughing first, lowering her voice: "What's wrong? Did you go thieving last night? You're so sleepy!"

Shen Qinglan scratched her head, feeling a little guilty: "It's my fault. Yesterday, when some store opened, I dragged Weiwei to queue up early. I guess we were too tired."

Qin Wan also whispered, "The other day she even went with me to the orphanage to move things for an entire afternoon..."

The three looked at each other, and their competitive spirit suddenly dissipated.

Gu Qingyu got up, quietly found a thin blanket, and carefully covered Ling Wei with it.

"Let her take a nap," she said softly.

Strangely, no one suggested leaving.

The three of them tacitly sat down around the round table next to them, quietly eating their snacks, and the atmosphere became slightly awkward.

Gu Qingyu didn't want the conversation to fall flat, so she asked Qin Wan how she knew Ling Wei.

Once this was mentioned, Qin Wan started talking non-stop.

She immediately recounted in vivid detail how Ling Wei had miraculously rescued her from the predicament at the teahouse that day, and how she had silenced Du Qianqian and left the Second Prince speechless.

"...and then Du Qianqian..." Qin Wan imitated Du Qianqian's furious yet forced composure at the time.

New gossip! Gu Qingyu's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she concluded with a precise comment: "Hmph, this person just loves to step on others to show off, as if she's the most insightful person in the world!"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes! That's it! Absolutely right!" Qin Wan was so excited that she almost slammed her hand on the table, as if she had found a long-lost friend.

At the same time, he also highly praised Shen Qinglan's appearance.

"With two swift movements, she shielded Weiwei and utterly routed the masked man..."

"Wow!" Gu Qingyu clapped her hands in a show of respect.

Shen Qinglan was a little embarrassed by the praise and waved her hand: "...I just stopped him, we didn't really fight."

"Do you practice martial arts regularly?" Gu Qingyu asked curiously.

"Yes, I learned it from my master when I was at the border." Shen Qinglan nodded.

He then frowned slightly, as if he had thought of something: "That person last time was ruthless and cunning in his attacks, and his methods were very unorthodox, like those of a martial arts master. He was definitely not an ordinary guard kept by a high-ranking family."

"The ways of the martial arts world?" Gu Qingyu and Qin Wan were both surprised.

Qin Wan immediately thought, "I seem to have heard someone mention that a young lady 'picked up' a person covered in blood on her way to a temple outside the city to offer incense... Could it be Du Qianqian?"

"She picked up a bloody person? And didn't she report it to the authorities?" Gu Qingyu said incredulously. "Isn't she afraid of letting a wolf into her house? Isn't she afraid that he's a notorious bandit and a wanted criminal by the imperial court?"

"Who can understand Du Qianqian's thought process?" Qin Wan pouted, giving her a knowing look.

She lowered her voice, speaking mysteriously: "Let me tell you, I later found out..."

She loves gossip and has her own circle of friends.

Now that people know she's at odds with Du Qianqian, coupled with Du Qianqian's anything but discreet actions, a barrage of news is being sent her way.

Qin Wan spoke vividly about Du Qianqian's gossip, while the other two listened intently.

Girls have different standards for forming friendships, but one thing is certain.

When you're cricketing together with someone, the awkwardness and barriers disappear. You become completely absorbed and lose yourself in the moment, oblivious to everything else.

When Ling Wei slowly woke up, she found herself still leaning against the couch. The three people who were initially quite unfamiliar with each other were sitting around a table, eating snacks, chatting amongst themselves, and finally letting out knowing chuckles.

Ling Wei: "..." What did I miss?

Gu Qingyu was the first to notice that she was awake, and smiled teasingly: "Oh, our great debater is awake."

Ling Wei: "......"

What kind of poop?

Shen Qinglan also suppressed a laugh, her lips still unable to be suppressed: "Stop talking, Weiwei will say that it's not gentlemanly for us to talk about people behind their backs."

Ling Wei: ? ? ?

I have a bad feeling about this, maybe I should just go back to sleep.

Gu Qingyu poured her a cup of warm tea and shook her, saying, "Still sleeping?! Then I'll continue telling you about you and Liu Yiyi, okay?"

"Hahaha, goose goose goose—" Qin Wan couldn't help but laugh out loud, completely unable to imagine that Ling Wei, who had stood up for her, was being played by that person named Liu Yiyi.

Ling Wei: !!!

Feeling utterly hopeless, she pulled the blanket up and said, "I'm going back to sleep!"

"Okay, okay, come on~" Gu Qingyu smiled and reached out to pull the blanket.

Seeing Ling Wei shrink back and not move, Qin Wan rubbed her hands together with a mischievous smile, breathed on her, and tickled her.

"Sister Qinglan, carry her over here! We've been left here to sleep for ages!"

"They're here!"

"No, no, no, I'm getting up, I'm getting up..."

For a moment, the courtyard was filled with crisp, cheerful laughter.

Xiaoyao and Li's mother exchanged a glance, both seeing a deep sense of relief and joy in each other's eyes.

Miss hasn't laughed like that in a long time. (crossed out)

Miss finally has a normal good friend.

As dusk approached, Qin Wan suddenly remembered something before parting and leaned over to ask, "Weiwei, are you going to the royal autumn hunt in a while?"

The royal autumn hunt was a major event. The emperor, accompanied by his close ministers and nobles, would hunt in the hunting grounds outside the capital to demonstrate his military prowess and to show his favor.

Families like the Gu, Qin, and Chen families were naturally among those invited, and they would usually bring their direct descendants.

Ling Wei thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I shouldn't go."

She, as a distant relative of the Gu family, was not suitable to be taken along.

"Ah." Qin Wan looked slightly disappointed.

However, Ling Wei, who thought she wouldn't be able to go, was invited by the princess to accompany her on the autumn hunt.

That day, Qin Wan saw that Ling Wei and Gu Qingyu were both there, and immediately ran over, happily taking their arms: "Great! Let's go fox hunting together later!"

"With Sister Shen included, her skills are so good she could easily take down a bear!"

Qin Wan rambled on, planning a wonderful team building activity.

However, an hour later—

A gleaming longsword was held against Ling Wei's neck, the chill of which made her skin tingle.

All eyes, big and small, whether horrified, sympathetic, or gloating, were focused on her.

"Fox hunting is no longer an option," Ling Wei thought helplessly.

Also held in her hand was a chubby little boy, struggling and crying, "Waaah, Mother, save me!"

The assassin, veiled in black, held a long sword across Ling Wei's neck with one hand and gripped Xiao Jin's nape with the other.

The voice was cold and emotionless: "Take one more step forward..."

With a slight exertion of force, the little chubby boy's wailing instantly turned into a violent coughing fit, his face turning red, unable to utter a single word.

Empress Xie, witnessing this scene, was filled with rage: "Jin'er!!"

She shouted for the guards surrounding them to retreat and not harm her son.

The assassin demanded a carriage and forbade pursuers.

Ling Wei's gaze swept across the crowd, landing on Lin Shi, who was pale and swaying at the front, before meeting Shen Qinglan's anxious eyes.

She forced a reassuring smile, her lips moving silently.