Chapter 2 Games
Seeing Princess Mingyue being forcibly taken to the hunting ground by the Queen's men, Chunying became extremely anxious and whispered to another maid, Qiushi, "Quick! Go to Lingxiao Palace and invite His Majesty over!"
Qiushi was young, but she looked very smart. She nodded, deliberately slowed down her pace, and fell behind the team. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she turned around and walked quickly towards Lingxiao Palace.
Another person no one noticed was the groom lying on the ground, dying. He struggled to raise his head and looked in the direction where Chi Li and Princess Mingyue had left, his eyes filled with anger and resentment.
At the same time, Chi Lun had already changed into convenient and neat riding clothes and arrived at the hunting ground.
In the past, the guards would drive the birds and beasts in the hunting grounds into one place for the emperor and princes and ministers to hunt, but the palace ladies were not even qualified to enter this place.
However, the current emperor was old and in poor health. Empress Chi was in charge of government affairs and held power. Naturally, no one dared to disobey her orders.
A handsome black horse was led in front of Chi Li. She mounted the horse with light movements and reached out to take the bow and quiver handed to her by Dan Ying.
When she looked up, she saw Zhao Mingyue standing not far away, staring at her with humiliation and resentment.
Chi Qi rode over and circled Zhao Mingyue twice, her eyes sweeping from the exquisite brocade shoes on her feet to the gorgeous pearl hairpin on her head.
She curled the corners of her mouth slightly, but the smile did not reach her eyes. Her eyes were as cold as frost. "It seems that you are ready to be a prey--" She suddenly stretched out her hand, grabbed Zhao Mingyue, picked her up, laid her horizontally in front of her, and reined in her horse to rush forward.
Chi Lu's movements were so swift that everyone only heard a short scream from Princess Mingyue. By the time they reacted, the two were already ten feet away.
Chun Ying lost her composure and yelled, "Your Majesty, the princess is a delicate and precious person, you can't do that!"
Danying was also startled and immediately looked at the guards, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and follow him! If the master makes any mistake, you will have more heads than you can chop off!"
The guards then hurriedly jumped on their horses and galloped after Chi Lan.
In the vast hunting ground, horse hooves were flying like cups. Chi Lu was riding his horse wildly, and the guards were left far behind.
Zhao Mingyue was already so frightened that her hands and feet went limp.
She never thought that Chi Lun would do such a crazy thing. This person is not a queen, but a bandit!
She lay on the horse's back, her stomach shaking uncomfortably, her cheeks stinging from the strong wind. Seeing the grass and trees on the ground rapidly retreating, she couldn't help but scream in fear, "Queen, let me down!"
Chi Qi turned a deaf ear to him and instead whipped the horse to gallop faster.
After a while, they entered a grove of fine trees. The shadows of the trees swayed, and the hot wind in the air cooled a little.
Zhao Mingyue felt the horse was reined in and breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to stand up, she felt her arm tighten. Before she could react, Chi Li threw her off the horse.
Her legs were so weak that she could hardly stand. She held on to the tree next to her, looked up at Chi Li, and said angrily: "Even if the Queen doesn't like me, I am still a princess of the Darong Dynasty. You bully me like this, aren't you afraid--" Her voice suddenly stopped.
Chi Li drew the bow in his hand, pointed the arrow at her, and the smile on his face was brighter than ever. "Now, my poor daughter, kind princess, weak prey, you can escape."
Zhao Mingyue froze instantly, her hair standing on end when her gaze met Chi Lu's.
Did Queen Chi have such a terrifying look in her eyes before? Why couldn't she remember it? Her pupils were so dark, more white than black, just like a wolf's eyes, cold and cruel.
She didn't dare to look directly at him, and hurriedly lowered her eyes, forcing a smile, "Empress, are you kidding me?"
In response to her, there was a sharp arrow shot from the bow.
With a ding, the pearl hairpin on her head broke and her long hair fell down.
The smile on Zhao Mingyue's face disappeared instantly. She slowly turned her neck and saw a sharp arrow inserted into the tree behind her, and the tail of the arrow was still trembling.
Turning back, he saw Chi Qi pulling out two arrows from the quiver, nocking them on, and pulling the bowstring again.
Despite the scorching heat, Zhao Mingyue felt as if she had fallen into an icy cave, her entire body freezing cold. A terrifying thought instantly filled her mind—did Queen Chi really want to kill her?
She no longer cared about her dignity and chastity, turned around immediately and ran out of the woods.
"Help! Someone please save me! The Queen, the Queen is crazy, she wants to kill me!"
Tears of fear welled up in Zhao Mingyue's eyes. She ran forward desperately, dodging the sharp arrows shot from behind, not daring to stop for a moment.
But the forest was overgrown with weeds and thorns, and her long skirt was really a hindrance. She stepped on the hem of her skirt several times and almost fell.
Soon, she was so tired that she was panting and sweating profusely. She could only drag her heavy legs and walk forward pitifully.
At this moment, there were whistling sounds behind her, and two sharp arrows shot at her feet, as if the god of death was urging her to do so.
Zhao Mingyue looked back, her face turned pale with fear. She hurriedly quickened her pace and struggled to continue running forward.
Unfortunately, a wild deer suddenly jumped out from the grass in front of her, scaring her so much that she fell forward and hit the ground hard, even her shoes flew off.
And just as she fell to the ground, there was a whoosh sound and an arrow flew past her side and hit the wild deer's neck. The deer let out a cry and fell down.
Zhao Mingyue turned around and looked at the approaching Chi Li, her eyes filled with despair. She begged, "No, no, mother, I really can't run anymore. Please spare me."
Chi Lu sat on his horse, looking down at her from above, drew his bow, and said coldly, "It's no use calling me mother now. One last arrow, the game is over."
Hearing Chi Li's evil words that sounded like the ultimate villain, 006 almost went crazy and collapsed and shouted, "Host, stop it right now! What kind of evil stepmother are you acting like? You are even more evil than the original owner!"
However, Chi Li, who had long since blocked the system, could not hear its accusation at all. She released the string and shot the last sharp arrow.
"Bang! The prey dies and the hunter wins." Chi Li said with a smile.
In an instant, the forest was silent, the chirping of insects and birds disappeared, only the black horse was still panting.
Zhao Mingyue looked at the arrow stuck in the embroidered shoes and was completely stunned, with confusion on her face.
What does this mean?
Suddenly, the words Queen Chi had just said flashed through my mind:
"This hunting game will definitely be interesting", "The game is over", "The prey dies, the hunter wins"...
So, this was just a game? Then what about her desperate escape like a madman just now?
Zhao Mingyue felt her lost strength returning to her body. Anger burned fiercely in her heart. She stood up abruptly and shouted at Chi Yan, "Queen, stop it! You've gone too far. Why are you teasing me like this?"
Chi Li gave a wicked smile. "As the princess's stepmother, I certainly have the responsibility and obligation to play with her. Doesn't Mingyue like it? But this game is obviously very interesting, isn't it?"
Zhao Mingyue was in a complicated mood, her chest was heaving violently, and she always felt an indescribable depression.
She no longer felt that Chi Li was scary, but rather that she was childish. How could such a thing be used as a joke? This crappy game was not fun at all.
"You, you are simply unreasonable!" Zhao Mingyue gritted her teeth.
Chi Li was still smiling. "Is the princess angry? Then I will give the deer to the princess as a gift."
Zhao Mingyue became even more angry, "I don't want it! I will never forgive you!"
Looking down at himself, he saw that his clothes were torn by thorns, his hands and feet were covered in mud, and his hair was full of leaves.
She had never been so embarrassed before. She collapsed instantly and adjusted her hair and skirt with red eyes.
At this moment, a bow and arrow was handed to him. "Then, how about you be the hunter and I be the prey?"
Zhao Mingyue stopped what she was doing and looked at Chi Li in surprise.
Chi Li smiled gently, "Come on, take your bow and shoot an arrow at me, just like I did to you."
Under normal circumstances, Zhao Mingyue would never agree to such an absurd request, but at this moment, she was already overwhelmed by anger. She snatched the bow and arrow and said through gritted teeth, "This is the Queen's own request. If I accidentally hurt you, don't blame me!"
Chi Qi smiled slightly, "How disrespectful! Why don't you call me mother anymore?"
Zhao Mingyue glared at her and muttered softly, "You are not my mother!" She bent down to pick up her shoes and put them on, then pulled out the arrow and put it on the bow.
She pointed her bow at Chi Yan, recalling what she had said before, and said pretentiously: "Well, now, my prey, you can escape."
Chi Yan sat still on her horse, raising her long eyebrows. "Princess, you don't think you can shoot me, do you?"
Zhao Mingyue became even angrier. Sure enough, he was teasing her again. Did Queen Chi really think she wouldn't dare to do anything? She was wrong!
Zhao Mingyue pulled the bow hard, wanting to teach Chi Lan a lesson, but after pulling for a long time, the bowstring didn't move at all.
I couldn't help but frown. How could this happen?
Just as I was wondering, a chuckle came from above my head, "Mingyue, you can't do this. Let me teach you."
Chi Yan dismounted and grabbed Zhao Mingyue's hand from behind. He pushed his knee against her legs, "Spread your legs, stand up straight, hook your fingers around the bowstring, and then—"
The bow was raised suddenly, aimed at the sky, and then the hand was released. The arrow flew out of the string, and with a whoosh, a bird fell from the sky.
"Oh my god! He actually hit it?" Zhao Mingyue's eyes widened, even forgetting to be angry. She turned her head and looked at Chi Li, "How did you do it?"
Chi Qi narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Princess, do you want to know?"
Zhao Mingyue hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Yes!"
Chi Li reached out and tucked Zhao Mingyue's long hair behind her ear. She chuckled softly and said, "Princess, if you want to hit your prey, you don't need to learn how to groom the fur, but how to hunt."
Zhao Mingyue's cheeks flushed slightly. "What do you mean by taking care of the fur? Isn't it wrong for me to dress up a little better?"
Chi Qi grabbed her shoulders and straightened them, "Instead of thinking about refuting me, why not try to draw the bowstring first."
Zhao Mingyue gritted her teeth and strained, but the bowstring remained motionless. She asked suspiciously, "Mother, you're really not teasing me, are you?"
Chi Li smiled, "No, on the contrary, the princess is actually very talented."
"Really?"
"Really, it's a talent for being a hunter."
When the guards arrived, Queen Chi was patiently teaching Princess Mingyue how to shoot arrows. The two of them stood together, a loving mother and girlfriend, and it looked very heartwarming.
Of course, the premise is to ignore Princess Mingyue’s messy hair that looks like it has been in a chicken coop, and her tattered clothes that look like they have been rolled in the mud.
————
The hunt is over.
Chi Lan had all the prey sent to Princess Mingyue's palace, and this time, Princess Mingyue happily accepted it.
After all, she was only a fourteen-year-old child. Even though she knew she should be more wary of Queen Chi, she was still uncontrollably attracted to Chi Li.
Chi Li's superb whip skills, her never-missing archery skills, and the bizarre hunter game all made her feel extremely entertained.
However, Chunying and Qiushi don't think so.
Princess Mingyue was abducted and put on a horse by Chi Kuai. Chun Ying was extremely anxious. When she saw her coming back in a miserable state, her heart sank.
As soon as she returned to the palace, she hugged Zhao Mingyue and burst into tears. "The Queen is really too much. Not only does she treat the princess harshly on a daily basis, but this time she even humiliated her like this. Isn't she afraid of the emperor's blame?"
Qiu Shi also wiped her tears, "It's all my fault, I'm incompetent. I went to Lingxiao Palace but couldn't invite His Majesty here, and that eunuch Wang refused to even help pass on a message."
Chun Ying spat, "Bah! A bunch of eunuchs who flatter the weak and look down on the powerful. They're all afraid of offending the Queen!"
Zhao Mingyue blinked, "But the Queen didn't bully me. She was just playing a game with me. Besides, she even taught me archery."
She pondered, "Perhaps we all misunderstood the Queen before. She was a little harsh on my brother and me, but that doesn't mean she didn't like us. Suddenly, two strange children called her mother. She must be very troubled about how to get along with us."
Chunying and Qiushi looked at each other. It was over. It seemed that the princess had been bullied by the queen and had become stupid.
————
"Hunting games are a great idea for a quick icebreaker! Host, you've already gained the heroine's trust. Keep going! As long as you continue to care for her, you'll definitely be able to change the ending!"
As soon as Chi Li unmuted the system, it started shouting excitedly, obviously unable to hold it back any longer.
Hearing the system's words, Chi Li couldn't help but laugh. "Xiao Liu, should I call you stupid? You've known me for so long, and yet you don't even understand my true nature. I chose to kill the Lord God because I hate being controlled. How could I possibly degenerate to the point of surrendering to a worthless heroine?"
006 was stunned. "W-what? You think the heroine is useless? You just praised her for her talent."
Chi Li's eyes were icy. "Only a fool would believe such a clumsy lie, right? A piece of trash without even claws is not worth capturing even if you want to be prey."
"Could it be that the host taught the heroine archery in order to make her more valuable to be captured?"
"What else? Since I've become the heroine's wicked stepmother, of course I have to play my role diligently. I will personally train the heroine, I will give her the ambition and strength to compete for power, and then, I will reveal her true evil face and ruthlessly destroy her!"
006 was completely dumbfounded. Had the host been driven crazy by the Lord God? She used to be a very calm person!
However, contrary to her arrogant words, Chi Lu's expression was extremely calm.
She smiled faintly. "Sometimes, the best hunters often appear as prey, and the real villains are often kind and amiable. Don't worry, I will enjoy this role-playing game and will not disappoint the Lord God."
After saying that, she muted the system again, folded her hands on her lower abdomen, closed her eyes, and fell asleep quietly.
006 was about to speak: ...
Ahhhh! Let it commit suicide, it can't stand it!
“Rather than being eliminated by the Lord God in the end, it’s better for me to die now!”
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