Chapter 58 Dark Night
Qian Deng was robbing and running around in the middle of the night, and he was shaking and trembling on the horse's back, and his head was dizzy.
Just when she was about to lose consciousness, her captors saw that there was no sign of pursuers behind them, and they panted angrily and slowed down their extremely tired horses.
The bushes were in disarray, and in front was a steep slope of a mountain stream, which was a safe place to rest.
He pulled her off the horse, without untying her bound hands, and simply pushed her to the edge of the mountain stream, letting her sit by the water and catch her breath.
Qiandeng's hair was disheveled, her face pale. The moonlight shone on the stream, and the ripples reflected the scattered light back onto her face, casting a hazy, trance-like shadow over her pale face, making her look as fragile as mist.
The man, his heart filled with anger and resentment, lost himself for a moment and felt the rapid beating of his chest.
He subconsciously raised his hand and brushed away the messy hair tangled in her face. When he touched her broken eyebrow, his fingertips couldn't help but soften their touch and stroked her old wound.
But she turned her head away and avoided his hand.
Anger welled up in his heart again, and he grabbed her hair, trying to force her to face him, but when he raised his hand, he felt a mask on his face. He gritted his teeth, pushed her away, stood up and looked behind him, as if waiting for his accomplices.
Unfortunately, there was only the sound of wind in the dark forest behind, and no other movement.
He was listening to the sound of horse hooves when he suddenly heard a rapid gasp beside him. Turning around, he saw Qiandeng leaning against the mountain stream with a frown on his face, gasping for breath with his mouth open. His face was as pale as paper and he was obviously having trouble breathing.
He was horrified and leaned over to pinch her face and check her condition: "What are you doing?"
"You...you are not from Chang'an?" Qian Deng panted quickly, but did not forget to ask him back.
He pinched his nose and said in a strange tone: "Of course not!"
"No... you're not. If you were from Chang'an, you should... you should know that I've had asthma since I was a child... that's why I rarely go out..." Qian Deng panted unsteadily, leaning against a stone with a vacant look in his eyes. "Help me... loosen up, I... am having an attack, I can't breathe..."
Seeing her pale face, he thought of how many girls in the Tang Dynasty had to gasp for air after walking two steps. It would be strange if she, a pampered noble lady, did not suffer a relapse when she was suddenly robbed and jolted on horseback for half the night.
Although this thought came to his mind, he also thought that this woman was the best at deceiving and deceiving, and had brought him to this state. He was filled with resentment and ignored her.
Qiandeng's breathing became increasingly short, and eventually he ran out of strength. He slowly slid down the stone behind him and was about to fall into the mountain stream.
He grabbed her body to prevent her from falling into the water. He raised his hand to pat her cheek, but her face was cold, her head lowered and she showed no reaction. Even her breath was extremely weak, like a withered, drooping branch, weighing heavily on his arm.
Is she really going to die? What she said before about the frailty of Tang women has come true.
He was anxious and quickly tore off the shawl wrapped around her hands to free her hands from being tied behind her back so that she could breathe a sigh of relief.
He helped Qiandeng sit up straight, stroked her back to help her calm down: "I worked so hard to get you, please don't die..."
Before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt a chill on his neck. A short, thin, and sharp weapon was already against his neck.
It was the birthday gift Ling Tianshui gave her, the fine blade that had been tempered hundreds of times and hidden in the armlet.
He couldn't believe it, staring at her intently from behind the mask. This woman, who was so weak just a moment ago, was now almost dead, even though her face was still pale.
"Prince Yaoluo Gemingjiu, be careful." Qiandeng's blade tightened imperceptibly on his neck. "This is the main meridian. If I accidentally poke it... I'm afraid the bleeding won't stop."
His body stiffened slightly, firstly because he was afraid of the sharp blade in her hand, and secondly because he didn't expect Qian Deng had already seen through his identity.
He blew the mask off his face in frustration, and stopped pinching his nose and talking in a weird tone. He just asked, "How do you know me?"
Qiandeng held the sharp blade in his hand without any slack. "Otherwise, why would I let Daimao go find Ling Tianshui? I think he's the only one who can control you."
Mingjiu was furious. She had been pretending all along, but she had actually known it was him the moment she was robbed.
"Xianzhu, you're the one who's sorry for me! You put the flower on me and accused me of killing the Slap Princess. If I go back like this, people will laugh at me for a hundred years! If I don't take you back, how can I have any dignity in the future?!"
He was so angry that he ignored the sharp blade on his neck and let it be cut. The blood flowed along the blade into her palm.
Qiandeng sighed, retracted the thin blade, and inserted the flexible weapon back into her armlet. She then lifted the mask from his face, looked him straight in the eyes, and said solemnly, "I have discovered other details about Princess Gao's death. It was my fault for not defending you at Qinghui Pavilion. I apologize."
Ming Jiu grabbed her wrist and stared at her, still furious.
"But I definitely didn't place that gold-foiled pearl flower on you. I was the last one to arrive at Qujiang Lake that day, and I never even met Princess Gao. How could I possibly have taken her pearl flower? And when we were arguing in the backyard the night before, the others had the opportunity to frame you. So I can be certain that the person who framed you must be one of the gentlemen in my backyard."
After hearing her say this, Mingjiu's expression brightened a little: "Then why are you helping others to defile me?"
"I didn't frame you, Prince. I just hadn't figured out the whole story at the time." Qian Deng knew she was wrong, so she could only coax him patiently. "Later, Cui Shaoqing and Ling Sijie both pointed out my mistakes, and I realized I had wronged you. I'm desperately searching for clues to make amends. So, Prince Mingjiu, if you kidnap me now, and no one comes to your rescue, the truth will remain buried. You'll be ridiculed for a hundred years, and even history books will record your wrongful murder of Princess Gao!"
Mingjiu stared at her and asked, "Are you really going to find out the truth for me and restore justice?"
"Yes, I have already identified the murderer. As soon as I return, it won't take long to clear the prince's name."
"For my sake, you're going to check on other people, all the fiancés who came before me?"
His tone was a little strange, but Qiandeng had already started investigating, so he nodded naturally and said, "Yes, except for Cui Shaoqing and Ling Sijie, I am thoroughly investigating everyone."
Ming Jiu didn't ask any more questions and just stared at her. The moonlight was not bright, but the burning light in his eyes was as excited as a wolf. Although it was not as resentful as when he robbed her before, it made her feel uneasy. She didn't know why he was so weird.
"So how are you going to fix me?"
"I will find the real culprit and apologize to you in public as compensation."
"That's not enough." Mingjiu reached out and touched the wound on his neck, wiping away the blood that had not yet coagulated. His eyes, full of light and dancing, squinted at her. "You must come back with me and be my princess. Otherwise, I won't be healed."
Qian Deng was speechless and stood up and said, "Things have their priorities. The injustice against you has not yet been resolved. I have to go back and help you catch the murderer first."
However, Mingjiu had learned his lesson this time and grabbed her hand: "How do I know if you are lying to me again? No, you have to protect me first!"
Qian Deng naturally couldn't give him any guarantees, so he retracted his hands and tried to break free from his restraints.
But he pulled her into his arms with force and stared at her: "I don't believe you unless you pay the deposit!"
"What deposit?" Qiandeng struggled, raising her hand and trying to push him away.
In fact, she knew that Mingjiu was very strong and sturdy, and she would definitely not be able to break free. Her mind was racing, thinking only about how to escape, or how to delay time as much as possible to let Ling Tianshui and Ji Linyou arrive.
Who would have thought that after the push, Mingjiu actually let out a low cry, fell down, and landed heavily on the rocky beach below.
Qian Deng was stunned to see him curled up on the ground, clutching his shoulder tightly. In the moonlight and water reflection, a sharp light flashed between his fingers, and it turned out to be a bloody arrow.
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