Before leaving, Qingying went back inside and put on a cloak.
Upon seeing this, Lu Xingli couldn't help but be a little surprised: "It's already June, isn't Sister Liu afraid of getting too hot wearing so much?"
Qingying smiled and said, "I'm frail, and I'm afraid I'll fall ill again if I go out and get chilled in the wind."
She couldn't say anything more.
The two walked side by side, chatting occasionally without feeling awkward, while four maids followed slowly behind.
"It's still quite a distance from here to the back mountain. We need to go around these halls, exit through the back door, and follow the mountain path up. We'll arrive in no time."
"It's alright, let's take a walk to digest our food."
Although she knew the other party might scheme against her, Qingying still came. Some things can't be avoided, and going along with it might allow her to use their strength against them and punish them.
In short, Lu Xingli wasn't bold enough to take her life.
Before long, they arrived at the place Lu Xingli had mentioned.
After exiting the back gate and walking along a narrow mountain path, you'll find a large, open meadow covered with many unidentified flowers. In the distance, there's only a tall tree that looks quite old.
Although there was no moon tonight, the sky was full of stars. The two found a large rock and sat down together. Lu Xingli hadn't lied to her; the scenery here was indeed beautiful. Fireflies danced among the flowers, and from a distance, it looked as if the stars in the sky had fallen into the sky.
"Does Sister Liu like it here?"
"like."
She had no reason to lie.
Lu Xingli was smiling, but when he turned his head and saw the woman's face next to him, he suddenly froze, and his smile gradually faded.
Qingying's skin appeared even whiter and more delicate than fine white jade against the backdrop of the darkness.
Lu Xingli slowly shifted his gaze, lowering his eyes to her wrist, and asked, "Where did you get the red string on Sister Liu's wrist?"
Qingying smiled faintly and said, "I got it from Chongfu Temple. I heard it can bring peace and safety."
She knew Lu Xingli liked Wei Huaixu, and naturally wouldn't easily reveal it to her before everything was settled. Women in love are often blinded by jealousy, leading them to do irrational things; she wouldn't be foolish enough to put herself in danger.
Upon hearing this, Lu Xingli visibly relaxed. "After spending time with her several times, I feel that Sister Liu is much more interesting than the daughters of ordinary wealthy families."
"Oh? How do you know?" Qingying looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"When I first met you, I felt that your temperament was different from other noble ladies. On the surface, you seemed to blend in with us, but in reality, you were clearly detached from it all."
Qingying leaned back, supporting herself on the rocks with both hands, and laughed, "Sister Lu really thinks highly of me. I'm no different from anyone else."
"Is that so?" She smiled back. "Let's say so for now."
She thought that as long as Liu Qingying didn't compete with her, they might be able to become good friends.
Neither of them spoke. A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling Qingying's waist-length hair. She raised her hand to smooth it, but at that moment she happened to notice some movement in the grass not far away.
She frowned slightly, glanced at Lu Xingli beside her without making a sound, then slowly straightened up and pulled her cloak tighter around herself.
"Sister Lu, we've rested enough. Shall we walk a little further?"
Seeing that she had already stood up, Lu Xingli also stood up. "Okay, the flowers in front are quite pretty. I was thinking of picking a few to take back and decorate."
Qingying did not refuse, and the two walked forward hand in hand.
Just as Yu Yue and Tong Xia were about to follow, someone suddenly covered their mouths and noses with a handkerchief from behind, inhaled a strange fragrance, and then they both lost consciousness.
They were knocked down and hidden behind the rocks.
Qingying had only taken a few steps when she noticed something was wrong. When she turned around, she found that several men had followed her. They were all dressed in coarse linen clothes and looked like villagers from the nearby town.
Startled, she stepped back, coldly staring at the men before her and demanding, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Lu Xingli was also terrified and clung to Qingying's side, her voice trembling as she said, "What do you want to do? Do you know who we are!"
The men were unimpressed. The leader chuckled maliciously, "Don't worry about who we are, and I don't care who you are either. Just know that we are the ones who can bring you pleasure."
Qingying was still young and didn't understand what they meant: "What exactly do you want to do? My father is General Liu Yu, and the lady next to me is the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Lu's mansion. If you dare to harm us in the slightest, aren't you afraid of bringing disaster upon yourselves?"
A tall, thin, one-eyed man sneered, "We're already criminals; if the authorities catch us, we'll die anyway, so why would we care about adding a few more charges?"
Another man chimed in, “Now that you’ve fallen into the hands of us brothers, you won’t be able to escape even if you had wings. Look how beautiful you are. If you can serve us brothers well, maybe we can leave you with a whole corpse.”
Lu Xingli tugged at Qingying's sleeve, asking fearfully, "Sister Liu, what should we do now?"
Qingying glanced at her sideways and said in a calm tone, "Sister, don't be afraid, someone will come to save us."
Several men had already surrounded them and, upon hearing this, arrogantly laughed, "Your maids have already been drugged. This is the middle of nowhere; do you think anyone will come to rescue you?"
"Even if a celestial being were to come today, you would still have to become our brothers' slaves first."
Qingying's eyebrows furrowed as she listened to these vulgar words.
She twirled her hand, hidden beneath her cloak, and a delicate, small crossbow bolt landed in her grasp.
As she watched the group approach, she raised her hand and activated a mechanism. Two short, thin arrows shot swiftly toward the two closest individuals, piercing their hearts and causing them to fall to the ground.
With a breach in the encirclement, Qingying grabbed Lu Xingli and quickly ran forward.
The group only hesitated for a moment before chasing after them, shouting angrily.
Two frail women were no match for these men, who were clearly skilled in martial arts. Someone threw a stone that hit their legs, and the two women fell to the ground, quickly surrounded by them again.
Seeing one of them reach out to touch her, Qingying raised her hand to block him, and coldly rebuked, "How long are you going to hide! If anything happens to me, he will definitely not let you off the hook!"
Before the group could even process what she meant, several darts flew from an unknown direction, slicing across their necks. Blood splattered, and they stared wide-eyed as they passed away in an instant.
Lu Xingli stared at the corpses lying beside her, screaming in terror. Her face drained of color, and she remained stunned for a long time.
Just then, Lu Jingyan arrived with his men, only to find a pile of corpses on the ground. The shock in his eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by concern: "Miss Liu, are you alright?"
Qingying stood up on her own, casually took off the blood-stained cloak, and said softly, "I'm fine, Young Master Lu, but Sister Lu seems to have been quite frightened."
What just happened here?
"Sister Lu and I came here to enjoy the night, but we didn't know how we attracted these thugs. Fortunately, someone secretly rescued us and we escaped unharmed. We would like to trouble you, Young Master Lu, to report this to the authorities on our behalf."
"It's good that you're alright, Miss Liu. I'll have someone send you back first, and I'll handle the rest."
"My maids seem to have been drugged by them, please help me send them back."
"It's no trouble at all, it's what I should do."
Qingying curtsied and said, "Thank you for your trouble."
She then turned and left without waiting for anyone else. Lu Jingyan immediately assigned two of his men to escort her back.
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