Chapter 45 (First published on Jinjiang) (Updated) Your Highness, please get in the car...
The autumn hunt was already nearing its end when an unexpected incident occurred. The next morning, the Khan ordered that they return to the tribe immediately.
Ruan Yu had rested in her tent for a whole day and had recovered most of her strength. The weather outside was quite nice early in the morning, and everyone was busy preparing for the return journey.
Madam Qiu sent someone early in the morning to ask Ruan Yu to travel with her in a carriage on her way back, which made Chao Lu somewhat unhappy. Because of his health condition, Madam Qiu also arranged a carriage for him, forbidding him from riding a horse and forcing him to sit in the cramped carriage the whole time. He grumbled about it all morning.
Ruan Yu ignored him and went straight to her mother-in-law's place when it was time to leave.
Hela was there too, and Ruan Yu got into the car with a smile.
"Come, sit down." Madam Qiu said kindly.
Ruan Yu nodded and moved a few steps closer to sit down.
“Good child, I know everything, thank you so much…” Madam Qiu said, taking her hand.
Ruan Yu knew she was referring to that night, but she didn't want to say much in front of her elders, feeling a bit awkward, so she just smiled.
Madam Qiu knew this, so she didn't say anything more.
“Your father Khan sent three teams out to search for people, including Turing, but I’m still very uneasy.”
Although the first danger had passed, the matter was not over yet. Detoxification was one aspect, but something even more important was that she would not let go of the person who harmed her son behind the scenes.
Hela: "Mother, what did you mean when you said that my fifth brother's serious illness was also caused by witchcraft...?"
Ruan Yu also looked at her mother-in-law, clearly wanting to know as well.
Lady Qiu's expression turned serious: "Back then, the birth of your fifth and sixth brothers caused a sensation on the grasslands. Some people predicted that they were twin stars in the sky, descending together to the Chaha tribe. Your father was very happy and doted on them. You should remember all of this."
Hela: "I know that Auntie's status has also been elevated."
"Yes, it's a pity she passed away not long after. I actually went to see her then, but the epidemic was fierce and I couldn't get close, but I spoke to her through the window. Her biggest worry was her two sons, and she entrusted me to take good care of them. At the time, I didn't suspect anything, but later..."
Lady Qiu's memories drifted back to those days, when everyone on the grasslands was terrified, and people were dying every day, being carried out wave after wave by people covered with white sheets.
After visiting Hena, she was about to leave when she happened to see the people in the next room being carried out... She was so frightened that she stood in the corridor and waited for a while.
But unexpectedly, in that short time, she learned a shocking secret.
A scream came from Hena's room—
She seemed to be in great pain, and Madam Qiu was terrified. She instinctively tried to rush in, but unexpectedly, she heard another woman's voice.
"Don't blame me. Blame your bad luck. What a pair of beautiful grassland stars, how did they have to crawl out of your lowly belly..."
Hena wailed, "I've already come here as you wished... Please, let me go..."
Saren gave a strange smile: "Let you go? Who's going to let me go? You're lucky you didn't catch the plague after coming here. In the end, it's your own fault for not being able to handle it... Well, then I'll have to help you..."
"Ah—no..."
"I was terrified and was about to rush in, but suddenly I smelled a strange odor. Then, my legs went weak and I collapsed. When I woke up again, I had been taken to a tent. Qinggu said that a servant saw me and immediately went back to fetch her, and then took me back. When I regained my strength, I heard that He Na was no longer there..."
After Madam Qiu finished speaking, a long silence fell inside the carriage.
Hela's voice trembled: "Is...is it Big Hatton?"
Madam Qiu didn't speak. "I didn't hear it very clearly, but that voice... and there was a motive."
If it wasn't Saren, she couldn't think of anyone else.
Lady Qiu originally wanted to find an opportunity to tell the Great Khan about this matter, but at that time her relationship with the Great Khan was not good, and they quarreled every day. In addition, Chaolu was sent to another tribe not long after. It was then that she realized that the grassland was not as peaceful as she had imagined.
"I have no evidence to prove that what I said is true. Hena is gone, and the only thing I can do is help her take care of Turing and the others."
Ruan Yu suddenly asked, "My mother-in-law said she smelled a strange odor in her breath and then lost consciousness?"
"right."
"Could someone have drugged him?" Only a drug could do that.
Madam Qiu: "I've thought about it, but I don't know if it could be her. Why didn't she punish me after she drugged me? When I woke up, I was in the tent. When I saw her later, she didn't act strangely at all."
Hela trembled with anger: "Maybe she wants to leave Mother there and let her get infected with the plague! She has already harmed Aunt Hena, so naturally she wouldn't dare to do it openly."
"What you suspect... is also possible."
Madam Qiu continued.
“After that, I learned that things are not as simple as they seem on the surface. For the sake of Chaolu and Haila, I tried to avoid direct conflict with them... I thought that after Hena died, at least these two poor children would survive, but I never expected that they would still not let them go…”
Turu's illness was so strange, it came on so suddenly. Your father was also sick at the time, and everyone's attention was on your father. No one noticed this poor child. But I stayed by Turu's side the whole time. Later, I had nightmares for a year. I always felt that he had been taken away by the devil..."
As Madam Qiu spoke, her face paled again, clearly indicating that the events of that year had left a significant shadow on her.
"Mother, what happened next..."
Lady Qiu paused for a moment and said, "When I told your father about this, I was accused of being frightened and mentally unstable, and I even took medicine for half a year... Later, I even doubted myself, wondering if I had really seen wrong... Then Turing was sent away, and the child grew up safely. Later, many things were left unresolved."
Ruan Yu could sense the regret in her mother-in-law's tone as she reminisced about the past. But back then, the situation on the grasslands was probably much more severe than these few words lightly described. Her mother-in-law herself had two children, Haila and Chaolu. Under such circumstances, it was already extremely remarkable that her children were able to grow up safely...
So Ruan Yu gently comforted her, and Madam Qiu smiled.
Hela: "So... Aunt Hena's death back then wasn't an accidental infection; she was clearly murdered. Killing her wasn't enough; she was also jealous of Tulu and Turing, so she harmed Tulu!"
Lady Qiu sighed, "The Twin Stars of the Grasslands, perhaps some people are truly too afraid..."
Hela was so angry that she was trembling all over.
In this light, it seems that sending Chaolu away back then was perhaps a way to avoid trouble...
"So much time has passed since then, and the past cannot be investigated. But I never expected that they would still target Chao Lu." As Madam Qiu said this, a ruthless glint flashed in her eyes.
Hela was furious: "Could it be Imin! She's originally from the Haryan people; I've heard Chasu brag about it countless times!"
Madam Qiu: "She was the first person I suspected."
Yimin and Saren are close, so if Saren really wants to harm Chaolu, it would be fastest to do so through Yimin.
Her expression suddenly turned serious again: "Hela, An'an, the reason I'm telling you this today is so that you will be extremely vigilant from now on, understand?"
Ruan Yu nodded: "Understood."
Hela nodded angrily.
Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves and voices came from outside the carriage—
"Your Highness, you haven't fully recovered yet, so please don't ride a horse..."
"Get out of the way, I know my own body best."
The three women inside the carriage were silent for a moment before Hela opened the window first: "Chaolu, what brings you here?"
Chao Lu rode his steed Xiangwu up to them, his gaze fixed on Ruan Yu through the window.
"It's stuffy inside the car, so I came out to get some fresh air."
Madam Qiu shook her head: "Giving you a carriage ride is like torturing you."
Chaolu: "Mother, it's just my nature... You know how anxious I am there, I don't want to sit there."
Madam Qiu: "..."
"Okay, you said it yourself. An'an, you've been with me all morning, you must be tired. Go back to your car and rest for a while."
Hela couldn't help but burst out laughing. Ruan Yu glanced awkwardly at Chao Lu, "Yes..."
Chaolu looked at his mother with a very complicated expression.
Madam Qiu laughed too: "Why are you looking at me like that? If you like riding horses, fine, but stay close to me and ride with me for half an hour."
Ruan Yu had already gotten off the carriage and returned to the carriage behind, while Chao Lu watched helplessly as the person walked past him.
He glanced awkwardly at his mother, who was still smiling.
"Chao Lu, what are you standing there for? Let's go."
Left with no other choice, Chao Lu rode his horse Xiangwu and accompanied his mother on her journey.
Hela had been holding back her laughter, and after about fifteen minutes, she whispered, "Let it go, Mother... I can't bear to watch anymore."
Madam Qiu smiled and then opened the window: "Go back and keep your wife company."
Chao Lu's eyes lit up, and he coughed lightly.
Madam Qiu: "Don't you want to go? Then you should—"
"Mother, please rest early. Your son takes his leave."
Chaolu stopped, but the carriage continued on its way. Only after she could no longer see her son's profile did she close the window again, shaking her head helplessly...
Hela laughed and said, "I was actually a little worried when An'an married into the family, but now it seems that the two of them have a very good relationship..."
Madam Qiu laughed: "I know my son. Right now, he's just clinging to her."
As the carriage in front moved away, the carriage behind naturally moved forward slowly. Chao Lu waited in place for a moment, and finally got to her side as he wished.
Ruan Yu leaned against the car window and knew it was him without even opening it.
She was already familiar with the sound of Xiangwu's hooves.
A hint of helplessness flashed in Ruan Yu's eyes, and Chao Lu's voice came in low: "I just asked Has to catch a few pheasants. How do you want to eat them later?"
Ruan Yu didn't want to eat pheasant; she was still thinking about her mother-in-law's words—
Thinking of this, she suddenly opened the window and looked over at Lu. Their eyes met, and Ruan Yu suddenly smiled at him.
"Let's not talk about what to eat, Your Highness. Please get in the carriage and keep me company."
Chao Lu's heart pounded wildly.
He stopped almost immediately, mounted his horse, and then strode onto the carriage.
It was as if the person who had just said he didn't want to ride in a carriage wasn't himself at all.
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Author's Note: [Eating melon seeds][Eating melon seeds][Eating melon seeds][Eating melon seeds][Eating melon seeds]
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