Su Qinghe became suspicious and turned around to call out, "Wait."
The woman in the black robe paused for a moment, but did not turn around. She withdrew her hand, hiding her wrist in the wide black robe, and left without looking back.
Unable to stop the woman, Su Qinghe frowned. Seeing that the mysterious woman had come from Qin Yunyun's room, he pushed the door open and went inside.
Who was the person who left your house?
Upon seeing that Su Qinghe had bumped into Fu Ruo, Qin Yunyun panicked for a moment, but pretended to be calm and replied, "Why is Your Highness here? She is just a friend of mine."
Actually, Su Qinghe should have been happy to see Su Xiaoning's mark stolen, but his actions made it seem as if he had truly fallen for her, and he even warned Qin Yunyun not to waste her time. Just in case, Qin Yunyun decided not to reveal her intentions so soon.
"Your friend? Doesn't she even bow to me?" Su Qinghe narrowed his eyes and moved closer to Qin Yunyun. "I noticed she's wearing a bracelet. Is it related to her?"
"What bracelet? How come I don't know anything about it?" Qin Yunyun pretended to be stupid.
She smiled and put her arm around Su Qinghe's neck, saying sweetly, "Your Highness, you've finally come to my room, why are you asking so many questions? This is such a beautiful time, you should be doing something else..."
A delicate fragrance wafted over, enveloping Qin Yunyun. Su Qinghe took a deep breath, feeling a little dizzy.
He initially wanted to push Qin Yunyun away, but his body seemed to defy his will, and he involuntarily embraced her, falling onto the bed with her...
The next day.
The day of the emperor's hunt has arrived, and all the civil and military officials are in attendance.
Su Qinghe and Su Qingcai served the emperor on his left and right respectively. Behind Su Qinghe was Qin Yunyun, while Su Qingcai accompanied Su Xiaoning.
Nothing went wrong along the way, but halfway there, the leading dragon guards suddenly stopped.
The emperor lifted the carriage curtain and asked with displeasure, "What happened?"
Shen Jun rushed to the front and, after asking around for a while, reported: "Your Majesty, there are strange phenomena on the road ahead. Dead birds are scattered all over the ground, and the flowers and plants are withered, blocking the way."
The emperor frowned, then waved his hand dismissively: "That's all. Clean it up and then we're on our way."
"Yes." Shen Jun responded and ordered people to clear away the dead flowers, plants, and birds along the road ahead.
After the road was cleared, the convoy slowly moved forward again. Not long after, the same strange phenomenon appeared again: the roadside was full of withered flowers and plants, dead birds were scattered all over the ground, and the smell of blood was slightly strong, making it look particularly eerie.
Although Shen Jun felt uneasy, he still followed the emperor's orders, cleared the road, and resumed his journey. After that, this scene would appear every so often.
After repeated attempts, some members of the convoy began to complain.
Some ministers were discussing among themselves, all their eyes fixed on Su Xiaoning.
"I've heard that Su Xiaoning is a witch. Could all these strange phenomena on the road be caused by her? Nothing like this has ever happened before. This time, we brought her along and things turned out like this. It seems that there must be something wrong with her!"
The ministers became increasingly convinced that the problem lay with Su Xiaoning, and some even went so far as to advise the emperor: "Your Majesty, Su Xiaoning is a jinx. This woman is ominous. If you continue to bring her along, Your Majesty may also be affected! We beg Your Majesty to issue an edict to have this woman leave immediately!"
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoning's eyes widened, and she was about to defend herself when Su Qingcai stopped her.
"Your Majesty, this matter has not yet been investigated. How can you draw such a conclusion? Let me go and investigate. Do not listen to the nonsense of others."
Su Qingcai said calmly, and immediately ordered Ding Yi and Bing Er to go ahead and investigate.
Ding Yi and Bing Er carefully examined the withered flowers, grass, and dead bird. Before long, they returned, one carrying a dead bird and the other picking a few withered grasses.
"Your Highness, I have investigated and found that these birds all have hidden injuries, which could only be caused by a human."
"My subordinates found traces of chemicals on these withered flowers and plants. The withering was caused by chemicals, which is also a human-caused issue."
Ding Yi and Bing Er were very organized, and they even showed the dead bird and flowers to the surrounding ministers.
Everyone looked and found that it was indeed as they had said, and then they fell silent.
Su Qingcai chuckled and glanced intentionally or unintentionally in Su Qinghe's direction: "This was all man-made. I wonder how someone could be so scheming to set up such a situation, just to slander Su Xiaoning as a jinx?"
Su Qinghe naturally sensed Su Qingcai's gaze, but his expression remained unchanged as he calmly said, "Whether she is a jinx or not, who can say for sure? Since these matters have nothing to do with Su Xiaoning, let's just let them go. Your Majesty still has to go hunting, so don't let these trivial matters delay you."
With just a few words, the matter was glossed over.
The emperor remained silent, and Su Xiaoning stayed safely in the procession, which continued its journey as usual.
After traveling for a while, Su Qinghe squinted slightly and looked at the woods not far away.
He had already deployed assassins in the woods, waiting for the emperor to walk in so they could catch him like a turtle in a jar.
Su Qingcai had been observing Su Qinghe's actions the whole way. He keenly sensed something was amiss and frowned, feeling that something was wrong.
Following Su Qingcai's gaze, Su Xiaoning saw Su Qinghe. She glanced thoughtfully at the woods ahead, then quietly approached Su Qingcai and whispered, "My intuition tells me we can't go any further."
Su Qingcai narrowed his eyes slightly. He looked at Su Xiaoning, then at the forest in front of him that exuded an unusual aura. Trusting Su Xiaoning, he directly reached out and called for a stop.
"Halt! There seems to be something amiss ahead. For the Emperor's safety, do not advance any further!"
Seeing that they were only a step away from the woods, but Su Qingcai ruined it, a ruthless glint flashed in Su Qinghe's eyes. He said unhappily, "You think there's something wrong just because you say so? That woods ahead is a hunting ground. Who knows how many prey are hiding in there? You've spoiled His Majesty's enjoyment. Can you take responsibility for that?"
“If it really caused a delay, then it should be the Emperor who punishes me, not someone else who has the right to lecture me,” Su Qingcai said calmly, showing no weakness.
"Ninth Prince, you really dare to speak your mind." Su Qinghe raised an eyebrow and suddenly picked up a bow and arrow.
He slowly drew back the bowstring, seemingly aiming at prey in the woods, but suddenly the arrow changed direction and was aimed at Su Qingcai.
"Seventh Prince, you flatter me." Su Qingcai smiled slightly, gripping his longsword tightly, showing no fear whatsoever.
The two men faced off with swords and arrows, creating a tense atmosphere.
Just as they were facing off, Su Xiaoning suddenly cried out, breaking the tense atmosphere.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
