Chapter 134 Trying to trap me like this? Too naive.
After everyone dispersed with their own thoughts, Xiao Lingxi straightened her slightly disheveled clothes and thanked Chu Yu:
“Your Highness,” she curtsied, her tone sincere, “thank you for speaking up for me and upholding justice earlier.”
Chu Yu paused, then slowly turned around. His handsome face remained expressionless, but when his deep eyes fell on her, they lost some of the coldness they had shown earlier.
"I did nothing, I merely stated the facts and quelled the incident."
Then, as if casually, he asked, "After this incident, Miss Xiao... have you completely let go of your resentment towards that Scholar Shen?"
The question was so direct that Xiao Lingxi's pretty face flushed, feeling embarrassed as if her secret had been exposed.
"Your Highness is too kind. I was blind and foolish before, mistaking a fish eye for a pearl, which is why I looked at someone like Shen Moyan differently. Now that my eyes have recovered, I can naturally distinguish between the superior and the inferior."
Her eagerness to draw a line, coupled with a touch of girlish embarrassment, unintentionally pleased Chu Yu, who smiled faintly.
Seeing that Chu Yu didn't press the matter further, Xiao Lingxi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then, as if suddenly remembering something, she smiled again:
"By the way, Your Highness, the autumn hunt is in three days. You must be very busy. I wish you all the best in advance..."
She thought for a moment and then said, "With the bow drawn as full as the moon and the arrow flying like a shooting star, we will surely win first place and set an example for the sons of our Great Chu."
Upon hearing this, Chu Yu's eyes flickered slightly.
The girl in front of me smiled gently. Although she had just gone through a storm, she was able to adjust her emotions in the blink of an eye and even compose a poem.
He smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words."
-
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
The night before the autumn hunt was to begin, Su Xiaoyu received a last-minute assignment. It was brought back by her mother, Zhao Yueru.
“Xiaoyu, the madam instructed that a batch of silk and porcelain that were bestowed by the palace a few days ago needs to be counted, registered, and put into storage as soon as possible. There can be no delay. Fortunately, you don’t have to go to the hunting grounds with me, so you can register them with me tomorrow.”
Su Xiaoyu's heart skipped a beat.
My mother never used to ask her for help with inventory and storage, and she never came early or late, but only the night before the autumn hunt.
Su Xiaoyu's mind immediately conjured up Xiao Jingheng's face.
She always felt that this matter must be related to Xiao Jingheng.
Although she thought this in her heart, she remained incredibly obedient on the surface, taking Zhao Yueru's arm and saying, "Mom, I know. Don't worry, I will definitely do the work beautifully for you."
"Isn't it a bit naive of you, Prince, to try and trap me like this?"
The next morning, the Marquis's mansion was bustling with carriages and horses as the masters set off in a grand procession to the hunting grounds.
Before leaving, Xiao Jingheng made a special detour to visit Su Xiaoyu's courtyard and told her to stay in the mansion these few days and not to go anywhere.
Su Xiaoyu nodded vigorously and replied with a smile, "This servant understands, Your Highness. There are many people and suspicious eyes at the hunting grounds, so please be careful."
Seeing how obedient she was, Xiao Jingheng felt something was off, but he thought that he had left some guards for her in the shadows, so keeping an eye on a little girl shouldn't be a problem.
Perhaps I'm overthinking it.
Only after the Marquis's carriage disappeared around the street corner did Su Xiaoyu's smile slowly fade.
At this moment, Zhao Yueru immediately turned around and decisively instructed Su Xiaoyu: "Let's go, we should go to the warehouse too."
Su Xiaoyu was dragged to do hard labor for half a day. After noon, she looked up at the sky and suddenly slapped her forehead.
"oops!"
Zhao Yueru was startled. "What's wrong?"
Su Xiaoyu looked like she had just realized something: "Mother, I almost forgot. Yuejiao sent someone to tell me yesterday that she wants to go to Ciyun Temple outside the city for a few days to calm her mind. She insists that I go with her. I was worried that something might happen to her if she went alone, so I already agreed. You see... could I help you with this inventory work after I come back from the temple? Just three, no, two days!"
Zhao Yueru frowned, "But it's not safe for two girls like you to go to a temple for no reason, so..."
"Oh, Mom!" Su Xiaoyu hugged Zhao Yueru's arm and said sweetly, "Ciyun Temple is very popular and safe! Yuejiao is going back to Qinghe County soon. She's my best friend. I don't know when we'll see each other again. It's only for two days. I promise I'll be back on time. Please promise me, Mom~"
Zhao Yueru's heart softened when she saw her daughter's teary eyes.
"You!" She finally couldn't bring herself to refuse, and took out a bag of silver from her bosom, handing it to Su Xiaoyu: "Go, when you get to the temple, please donate some money for incense and pray to the Bodhisattva for blessings..."
She paused, looking at her daughter's increasingly beautiful face, her tone softening with maternal tenderness:
"...May our little fish find a loving and caring partner soon, and live a peaceful and prosperous life."
Holding the bag of silver that was still warm from her body, Su Xiaoyu felt a lump in her throat and a strong sense of guilt welled up in her heart.
She sniffed hard, suppressing the tears welling up in her eyes, took a step forward, hugged Zhao Yueru tightly, and said in a muffled voice, "Mother, you are so good... You must take good care of yourself and wait for me to come back."
Fearing that staying any longer would expose her, she took the silver, let go of his hand, picked up the small bundle she had prepared beforehand, turned around, and quickly walked out.
But just as she left the Marquis's residence and passed through only two alleys, she suddenly heard someone calling her from behind.
"Miss Su."
Su Xiaoyu paused, instinctively turning her head to look, but before she could turn halfway, a sharp pain shot through the back of her neck, followed by a blackout, and she lost consciousness completely…
...
After an unknown amount of time, Su Xiaoyu slowly woke up amidst a series of jolts.
Her neck was still throbbing slightly. She suddenly opened her eyes and looked around warily. She found herself lying in a carriage. The carriage wasn't luxurious, but it was quite clean and comfortable.
She quickly checked herself over and found nothing wrong, and her baggage was neatly placed aside.
Alarm bells rang in Su Xiaoyu's mind. She sat up abruptly, moved silently to the side of the carriage curtain, and peered out.
The driver was a slender man dressed in gray cloth, with a straw hat on his head, obscuring his face. However, the distinct knuckles of his hands holding the reins suggested he was a skilled martial artist.
Su Xiaoyu's heart pounded wildly.
[Oh no! Have we been kidnapped by bad guys?]
But who would risk kidnapping a mere maid like her?
Thinking of her mission, Su Xiaoyu mustered her courage, pulled out the silver hairpin from her hair, and with one burst of energy, stabbed it towards the man's back—
Just as the silver hairpin was about to touch the other person's skin, the person seemed to have eyes in the back of their head, suddenly turned to the side, grabbed Su Xiaoyu's wrist with their other hand, and pulled and lifted it!
"clang!"
Su Xiaoyu's wrist went numb, and the silver hairpin slipped from her hand instantly.
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