Chapter 381 Prey? Liu Qingzhu's Tragic Fate!
Zhong Liulang's disgust was written all over his face.
Li Qingluo slowly lowered his bow, sneering, "So the rules of the Xia Miao hunting grounds are nothing to you, Commander Zhong."
It's time for all the female warriors to go hunting.
To avoid accidental injury, all hunters must immediately stop all hunting when the horn sounds.
Even if you see your prey standing right in front of you, you must never make a move.
Zhong Liulang clearly knew the rules, but he broke them just to cause trouble for Li Qingluo.
It's absolutely disgusting.
Hearing her mockery, Zhong Liulang didn't take it seriously at all.
"You, the daughter of a disgraced official, dare to criticize me here? Who do you think you are—"
Li Qingluo raised her hand, drew her bow, and released the arrow without blinking.
Zhong Liulang gave a low shout: "Your Highness, be careful—"
The fourth prince and his wife, who were standing to the side, both looked terrified and their faces changed color.
However, the arrow merely brushed past Zhong Liulang's ear like the wind.
A strand of hair was cut off.
With a 'whoosh' sound, Li Qing's arrow struck a deer squarely in the neck!
Que'er and Pan Li couldn't help but exclaim, "What a fine arrow!"
The servants of the Pan family and Granny Zheng quickly chased after them.
Zhong Liulang stiffened his neck and turned his head.
The Fourth Prince and his wife couldn't help but turn their heads to look.
They saw a deer suddenly appear not far behind them, and in the blink of an eye, the woman had caught it...
Zhong Liulang's face was extremely pale.
"You—you did this on purpose!"
He gritted his teeth and growled, "How dare you, Li Qingluo, fire an arrow at the Fourth Prince! This is blasphemy!"
"If His Highness is accidentally injured, what will your punishment be?"
Li Qingluo: "If anyone is to be accidentally injured, wouldn't it be Commander Zhong who is the one to be injured?"
She was so provocative; Zhong Liulang had never suffered such humiliation from any woman before.
However, Li Qingluo no longer wanted to pay attention to him. She quickly dismounted with Pan Li and then respectfully greeted the Fourth Prince Duan Rongxuan: "This humble woman greets the Fourth Prince and the Fourth Prince's Consort."
The Fourth Prince's wife raised her hand, about to tell them to get up.
The Fourth Prince, Duan Rongxuan, curled his lips and said, "So it's the two of you."
"If I had known it was you two young ladies, I wouldn't have taken what belongs to you."
"You lowly slave, get out!"
"Go and retrieve that rabbit, and give it to Miss Li and Miss Pan."
Ignoring Zhong Liulang's increasingly grim expression, the Fourth Prince pulled on the rope behind him.
A figure that Li Qingluo knew all too well was pulled out in a disheveled state from among the servants behind them.
Pan Li exclaimed softly, "Liu Qingzhu? What happened to her?"
That was indeed Liu Qingzhu.
At this moment, her wrists were bound, and a long hemp rope was held in the hand of the Fourth Prince, Duan Rongxuan.
However, she has completely lost her former glory and appearance.
Who could recognize that she was once the eldest daughter of Dongyin Lane, a woman of great beauty and talent?
He was so thin he was practically skin and bones, and his clothes were the lowest-class servant's attire.
His hair looked like a pile of dry weeds on his head.
His expression was blank and numb, but when he saw Li Qingluo's figure, a hint of fear and panic appeared in his eyes.
"I, the prince, sent you to gather prey. Are you deaf?"
Duan Rongxuan grabbed the long whip beside him and lashed it hard at Liu Qingzhu.
Liu Qingzhu screamed and fell to the ground, sobbing, "No... Your Highness, please don't hit this servant..."
Duan Rongxuan's expression turned ferocious: "Shut up, you bitch!"
"I've said it before, you are not worthy to call me Your Highness!"
"What are you going to shout...?"
Liu Qingzhu, terrified, prostrated herself on the ground and replied, "My lord, you are my lord!"
"If it weren't for the fact that you spared my worthless life, I would have died long ago..."
She choked back tears as she finished speaking, then quickly got up again, rushed towards the prey, picked up the bloodied rabbit, and ran to Li Qingluo, offering it to her with both hands.
"Miss Li, Miss Pan, please accept my benefactor's prey..."
Before he could finish speaking, Duan Rongxuan tugged the rope in his hand again, and Liu Qingzhu screamed as she was pulled several meters away.
But she didn't even dare to lie down. She immediately got up and quickly returned to the group of servants, obediently lowering her head.
Duan Rongxuan: "Miss Li, do you like this lowly servant of mine?"
Li Qinglu lowered her eyes: "This humble woman is terrified. This is His Highness's person. This humble woman dares not make any rash comments."
Duan Rongxuan: "What do I have to be afraid of? Didn't this bitch cause you so much trouble back then?"
"She stole the identity of the Li family's daughter for sixteen years and even coaxed me into acting out a play to deceive the entire General's Mansion."
"If it weren't for her, would you have suffered so much all these years?"
"And you won't be misunderstood by your father, brothers, or mother and suffer any injustice."
"I...I was once bewitched by her, but now I realize she's the one who's causing trouble. Shall I avenge you?"
The Fourth Prince's wife listened from the side, her face looking quite unpleasant.
Duan Rongxuan is now acting crazy regardless of the situation.
With so many people around, he openly showed goodwill towards Li Qingluo. He has no shame, but I do!
"Your Highness, let's go."
"I am not feeling well."
The Fourth Prince's wife spoke with a look of discomfort, but Duan Rongxuan was not angry.
He only said "disappointing" before taking Liu Qingzhu's hand, and the group finally left in a grand procession.
Zhong Liulang's sinister gaze remained fixed on Li Qingluo. Li Qingluo turned around and openly met his gaze, her eyes even colder than his.
Only after the group had completely disappeared from sight did Li Qingluo and Pan Li stand up, carrying the blood-soaked rabbit.
Pan Li: "That Duan Rongxuan is a complete madman!"
"After all, Liu Qingzhu was once his favorite concubine, yet he tormented her to this state!"
Although Liu Qingzhu was no good either, Pan Li was still filled with indignation at seeing a living person tortured to the point of being inhuman.
Li Qingluo: "Do you know what happened?"
Pan Li: "I heard it from Pan... from my second brother. He said that after Duan Rongxuan went blind and was stripped of his title as Prince Yun, he acted like a madman in his own residence, torturing others for his own amusement."
"Just then, Liu Qingzhu escaped from the General's Mansion and fled back to Prince Yun's Mansion."
“When Prince Yun heard from his servants that she might have lost her virginity, he demoted Liu Qingzhu to a third-class lowly maid.”
"Besides making her do rough and tidy work, she was either punished by being doused with cold water and made to stand in the corner all day long, or she was made to lie on the ground like a dog and beg for food with her mouth."
"Everyone in the Fourth Prince's residence, even the servants, was torturing her to death."
"If it weren't for the Fourth Prince's wife's inability to bear it and her secret rescues several times, she would probably be dead by now."
"To be honest, it was really tragic."
Upon hearing this, Li Qingluo couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart.
Liu Qingzhu's fate today is indeed the result I most wanted when I spared her life.
But her tenacious vitality also earned my admiration.
Li Qinglu thought of her previous life, in that general's mansion, and how she suffered exactly the same thing as Liu Qingzhu now.
The cycle of cause and effect has finally come, and it's time for Liu Qingzhu to experience the suffering she endured in her previous life.
After securing their prey, Li Qingluo quickly led Pan Li onward.
Soon, they arrived at the place they had agreed upon with the princess.
Three miles to the southeast, there is an open river area.
The maidservants of the Pan family came forward and led the horses down to drink water and graze, while Li Qingluo and Pan Li squatted by the river to wash their hands.
When Que'er saw fish in the river, she was overjoyed: "Girl, would you like to eat grilled fish?"
After saying that, he rolled up his trousers and prepared to go into the river.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the grass behind me.
"Hey, look who's here!"
"They actually hunted a deer?"
“Pan Li, your maids do have some real hunting skills. I underestimated them.”
As the voices were heard, Consort Jing, Pei Zixuan, followed by Cui Shiyi Niang, Cui Jiu Niang, Cui Qilang, Princess Nanping, and a group of others, appeared on horseback from the woods.
Li Qingluo and Pan Li bowed slightly in greeting.
Both Cui Jiuniang and Cui Qilang nodded to them in a friendly manner.
Pan Li stood up and said, "Who said it was my maid who hunted the deer?"
"It is clearly—"
Li Qingluo pulled Pan Li back and smiled slightly: "You guys are pretty lucky too, you hunted a white fox."
Nanping rushed out excitedly: "Sister Luo'er! Sister Pan Li!"
"Great! I've been looking for you for so long. I've finally found you!"
"However, the white fox wasn't hunted by us girls; it was killed by Cui Qilang to give to Jiu Niang."
Cui Jiuniang and Pei Jingzhe will get married next month.
Therefore, the Cui family and the Pei family are now very close.
Cui Shiyi Niang: "Princess, we don't want to go with them! Are you coming with us?"
As Cui Shiyi Niang spoke, she glared fiercely at Pan Li, "I wouldn't deign to travel with such a deceitful and cunning person!"
Pan Li: ...
She looked aggrieved: "Eleventh Sister, where did you go? I've been looking for you everywhere!"
"I clearly made an appointment to meet you, but when I arrived at the place where we agreed to meet, you were not there."
"I thought you stood me up."
Cui Shiyi Niang, who was falsely accused: ?
"you……"
Pan Li: "Oh right, when I arrived, I happened to see the noble lady leaving."
"Your Highness, did you see Eleventh Sister when you passed by there earlier?"
"Could it be that we've missed something? That's strange..."
Pei Zixuan was startled.
Were they in that area at the time?
Did they hear what they were saying to the nanny?
Pei Zixuan's heart pounded, and she became uneasy.
She stared coldly at Pan Li and Li Qingluo, as if trying to see some clue on their faces.
no!
Pan Li has too many secrets; we must not let her continue to be so smug!
"Go, bring their deer over here for me to see."
A dark glint flashed in Pei Zixuan's eyes; she wanted to make Pan Li make a mistake.
In this way, we can bring her to justice, and no one can find fault with her.
However, Pan Li was not like before, rushing to stop others from taking her things.
Once the servants had carried the deer to Pei Zixuan's feet, she smiled and said, "Your Highness, you wouldn't steal the deer that Luo'er hunted, would you?"
"If you just want to take a look, then go ahead and look."
"With so many eyes watching, there's no chance of any overt or covert robbery..."
Pei Zixuan was taken aback.
Even Cui Qilang was surprised.
Was this deer hunted by Miss Li?
Nanping exclaimed with admiration, "Sister Luo'er, I knew it was you!"
Li Qingluo: "It's just luck."
Pei Zixuan is in a difficult situation.
Of course, she wanted to just snatch the deer.
Given Pan Li's resentful nature, she would definitely make a huge scene.
Then he would take the opportunity to force her to commit a serious mistake, such as accidentally slapping himself...
Anyone who dares to be disrespectful and violent towards the emperor's concubines, regardless of whose prey it is, Pan Li is completely finished today.
On her side, no one would testify for her.
Li Qingluo is nothing but a nobody; how many people can believe what he says?
As long as it's a fact that Pan Li made a mistake.
And if Li Qingluo could be dragged into this mess, it would be an even better opportunity...
Pei Zixuan thought for a moment and immediately dismounted.
She pulled the arrow from the deer, ignoring the blood sprayed on her body, and threw the arrow aside.
Then she looked at Pan Li and the other two and said, "This deer is mine now."
Princess Nanping: "What did you say?"
"Pei Zixuan, do you think we're all blind?"
Pei Zixuan turned her head to look at Cui Qilang behind her.
After a moment of surprise, Cui Qilang still called out in silence, "Little Princess, didn't you also want a fox?"
"I happened to encounter a red fox before. Would you mind taking me to the forest to look for it?"
Before Princess Nanping could react, Li Qingluo and Pan Li knelt down together and bowed to Pei Zixuan and the others.
"Greetings to the Eldest Princess, greetings to the Crown Princess."
"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Su."
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