Chapter 43
She had never expected Que Ming to appear here at this time. While she was surprised, the fear of him suddenly climbed into her mind, telling her not to trust the man in front of her who was deliberately showing ignorance and smiling.
How did he know that she would be killed? It was obvious that he had been prepared and was waiting for her here!
He was in great turmoil and refused to believe him no matter what. The group of people on the mountain also slid down. At this moment, Prince Shou went around behind a tree and saw the intimate posture of the two people. He couldn't help coughing, and used this cough to separate the two people.
Yue Qingning came back to his senses and looked at him, "Is Your Highness injured?"
Prince Shou unconsciously tightened his brows, glanced at her dark cheek, and said in a deep voice.
"I'm fine, but you should check if you're hurt."
He spoke very softly, as if it was just a polite greeting, but as soon as he finished speaking, the servant on the opposite side who had not looked up suddenly raised his eyes and squinted at him.
The look disappeared very quickly among the falling hair, but Prince Shou still felt the fleeting hostility.
A horse slave actually dared to look up and glare at him. Looking at his face, he still had the delicate and delicate appearance of Guanyin. This made things even more strange. Could it be that Qingning had some kind of affair with this horse slave?
This was truly shocking. Although Qingning was not supposed to be such a vulgar person, a dancer raised by a noble family must have a close relationship with the host family.
Seeing how he seems to be extremely close to Qingning, he might want to cling to Qingning, a young lady from an official family, to take charge. I wonder if Qingning is aware of the treacherous thoughts of this servant.
He looked between the two of them inconspicuously and saw that the servant kept his eyes on his mistress, while Qingning didn't seem to care about him being around her, and drove him behind her indifferently like a stranger.
"Your Highness, this place is not safe yet. Those people might have ambushed us in the back mountain. We'd better leave first."
What she said was exactly what the guards wanted to say. As the master finally nodded in agreement, the group hurriedly walked through the forest and down the mountain along the path.
Finally they got down the mountain. The carriage was waiting at the foot of the mountain gate. A group of people surrounded Prince Shou and pushed him into the carriage. In the end, he could only say a few words of comfort to her through the curtain.
"I can't say for sure if these people are here for me, so it's better to separate them now! I've already asked half of the guards to follow the carriage and take you back. Don't be afraid. Once we enter the city, no matter how bold he is, he won't dare to act recklessly under the emperor's feet."
This is wrong. Yue Qingning has clearly experienced the evil deeds done by that madman. What is he at the feet of the emperor? His position is stable in the later period. I am afraid he would dare to take action in front of the saint.
But it was not convenient to say this, so Yue Qingning bowed politely and said goodbye to Prince Shou, watching the carriage quickly move away from behind.
After the man left, she felt relieved. After all, the prince's status was much more noble than hers as a girl. If something went wrong here, the emperor would be furious, and the entire Yue family would probably suffer.
At this moment, she had no time to think about what happened today. Que Ming helped her to the front of the carriage and she was about to get on the riding stool.
The wind in the forest blew for a while, and then suddenly calmed down slowly, as if it was a premonition, and there was an unusual silence all around.
Yue Qingning rubbed his arms, and as if he had sensed something, he did not get on the carriage. Instead, he turned around and looked at Que Ming who was so close to him.
They both had black faces, disheveled hair, and were covered in dust, like two mice that had crawled out of a stove. But behind his unclear face, his black and white pupils stared at her steadily, shining crystal clear in the sunlight.
There was no malice in that look, instead, it was filled with a rich and deep meaning that she could not distinguish.
It is overwhelming and seems to have no end.
"Queming, why on earth are you here?"
She was really curious about why he came this time, but Que Ming seemed to be as confused as she was. He frowned deeply and was about to speak.
There was a sudden whooshing sound of wind in the silence. The guards were unable to react in time and were about to pounce on her to pull her away. Yue Qingning widened her eyes and saw Que Ming, who was closest to her, suddenly hugged her and turned around in panic.
The sound of the wind passed by my ears, and then I was surrounded by a wall of people, making it impossible to get through.
It was the second time that Yue Qingning was protected under someone. Screams were heard all around her. Before she could even utter a word of fear, she subconsciously grabbed the clothes on his back, but felt something warm under her hand.
When he turned over his palm, he saw blood everywhere.
——
After all, what connection could there be between this royal family and a girl like her? It was simply because he was a troublemaker in the middle that so much unhappiness had arisen.
Yue Qingning always regarded Que Ming as the inducement. If it weren't for him, he would not have died.
So they schemed in every possible way to stop him and not let him get the chance to meet the prince.
But now, even a heart of stone would be moved by him. Xiao Yan, who had clearly never seen anyone extraordinary, wanted to kill her again and again, while Que Ming, who had harmed her all her life, risked his life to protect her from trouble in the critical moment.
At times like this, she really didn't understand.
He had hated her for so long, hated her to the point of wanting to use the most cruel means to grind her to dust, so why didn't he want to harm her now?
She sat in the carriage in panic. Que Ming was lying on his stomach on her legs, with an arrow stuck in his left shoulder. Blood had soaked his thin shirt and half of his back. He had lost consciousness and was only making barely audible gasps.
Fortunately, his blocking action was slightly off, and the arrow failed to penetrate his chest, but hit his shoulder blade diagonally, leaving a long bloody mark.
Yue Qingning's hands were shaking uncontrollably, and she no longer had the strength to hold down the bleeding wound. Scarlet blood filled the space between her two bare hands, soaking half of her sleeve.
She slowly lowered her head, her body trembling uncontrollably, but she still tried hard not to let him see her vulnerability.
She thought, even if this is the case, she can't lose. Even if he dies, it's a foregone conclusion that he harmed her in her past life. Even if he saved her once with his own life, can it really make up for...
Thinking of this, she really couldn't argue anymore. Yue Qingning shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head awkwardly, trying to hold back the tears that were about to overflow from her eyes, but the sadness and regret in her head almost drove her crazy.
She was distracted for a moment, and tears fell on his dusty clothes. She tried her best to stop the rain, but the rain inside the shed was getting heavier and heavier.
She lost her life, but Que Ming gave it to her again.
Are they even now?
The carriage drove into the city gate and sped towards Jiyuantang Pharmacy. Yue Qingning watched a group of people carry him off the carriage and into the backyard. He stood in front of the carriage, his hands stained with gradually drying scarlet blood, and he had completely forgotten where to go.
She stood at the door at a loss, the bustling crowd looking at her with their eyes, but the noise was like a layer of membrane between her and the crowd, so she couldn't hear a word.
Seeing her like this, Qingzhu grabbed a handkerchief and wiped it for her. The bloodstains had dried and were tightly stretched on her hand, and it felt burning hot when the silk cloth rubbed against them.
"Shall we go back home first?"
She was called twice before she came back to her senses. She looked up in a daze and saw Qingzhu looking at her worriedly.
"The girl must have been frightened! Go back to the mansion and calm down first. Qingzhu is watching here."
She asked him to send her back first twice in a row. Only then did Yue Qingning finally come to her senses. She had no time to look at Qingzhu in the chaos just now. Now when she looked at her, she could see two tear marks on her pale face.
"I'm fine. Wait a little longer. It won't be too late for me to leave until the doctor comes out."
As they were talking, a hoarse low cry suddenly came from behind the half-open door curtain. Yue Qingning could no longer sit still. He didn't know how he took the few steps. In a daze, he had already fallen on the narrow couch, staring at the arrow exposed on his back.
"Why don't you pull it out?" she asked, and there was a tremor in her voice that she was not even aware of.
Three or two doctors were already heating their blades over the lamp, cutting into the wound on his coat that revealed the bloody and abscessed area.
"You can't pull it out with brute force. The arrow tip is deep in the flesh. The only way to remove it is to cut open the skin and dig out the arrowhead."
When Yue Qingning heard this, he felt his vision suddenly go dark, the veins on his forehead buzzed and hit his brain, and he even stuttered when speaking.
"So... is there any danger for your life?"
The doctor glanced at her and didn't answer the question. Instead, he called a little medicine boy to bring over a bowl of water, and quickly gave it to Que Ming to drink.
He was still somewhat conscious and coughed twice due to choking. When he opened his eyes, he suddenly saw the eldest lady squatting beside him.
He was being pressed down on the couch by a group of people. Seeing the doctor holding the wound-opening knife and about to cut open his flesh, Yue Qingning quickly grabbed his hand and drew all his consciousness to his side.
"Queming, look at me!"
"Is there anything you want? I'll grant you a wish, anything."
She was a little nervous and a little scared, but still opened her mouth.
"Even if it means leaving the Yue family and leaving here, as long as you ask me, I will agree to it today."
Maybe it was because she had been suppressed for too long, but she was reborn carrying all the secrets. No one could understand why she couldn't sleep at night, and she couldn't tell anyone.
And he alone is the one who is at stake, and all the unspoken worries are related to him.
At this moment, the depression that had been pent up in her heart erupted like a volcano. It was the first time she was so impulsive that she even dared to make him a promise.
As long as he doesn't make things difficult for the Yue family in the future, even if he sides with the prince, she can let him go. From then on, the two of them will go their separate ways and have no connection with each other. She doesn't want to be entangled with everything in her past life anymore. Let things be, and she will no longer block his way.
However, Que Ming was bound to disappoint her in the end. His unfocused eyes stubbornly stared at her haggard face for a long time before he came back from his near-fainting stupor.
The drug was taking effect on him, but he still stared at her cheek, struggling not to close his eyes.
"I want you to..."
Yue Qingning leaned over and felt him holding her hand, sometimes tighter and sometimes looser, and stammering.
"I want you to stop forcing yourself to marry someone you don't like."
She froze in place, not knowing what to say. She had long ago compared herself to a bargaining chip, even prepared to sacrifice herself. In the face of fate, what did her obsession amount to? It was just a fleeting shadow of a bird flying on water, nothing more than nothing.
What did he know! He actually asked her not to go against her heart.
Little did he know that if it weren't for him, Yue Qingning might not have to make things so difficult for herself.
She was speechless and couldn't answer him. Que Ming seemed to see the deep meaning behind her silence. He held her two fingers with a little force, pinching her fingertips gently and slowly, comforting her in a special way.
It was also at this moment that the blade penetrated into the flesh, cutting open blood. Yue Qingning could only see that his face was distorted with pain, but he was holding her hand but still had room for maneuver even in such a painful situation.
She could leave him by just pulling her hand away, but she was also very tired and didn't want to break free at this moment.
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