99. Let's go separately.
She didn't want to stay and wait!
"Ah!!!" A terrified scream echoed through the mountains and forests, startling birds into scattering.
However, upon closer listening, the voice sounded somewhat childish.
This shout brought Qi Gu back to her senses from the abyss of despair. She pushed away the person in front of her, adjusted her collar which had been pulled down to her arms, her face flushed, and her eyes welled up with tears. "Sima Hong, you've gone so far as to bully me! Humph! I'll make you pay!"
Qi Gu hurriedly straightened her clothes, then haphazardly adjusted her hair, her eyes red-rimmed, and walked towards the direction where Zhuang'er was.
"What's wrong, Zhuang'er?" she asked, walking quickly to her cousin's side.
Zhuang'er, who had just screamed in terror, was now squatting beside the rock, curiously looking at a dark, thorny creature at his feet.
Atai stood aside and saw the princess return. Behind her, her husband carried the princess's basket and followed leisurely, looking like a ravenous snow wolf.
When Zhuang'er saw her return, he reached out and grabbed her hand, pointing to the little thing on the ground and said, "Sister, look, this is what Brother Atai caught for me. It ran out from behind the rock behind me and gave me quite a fright."
Qi Gu looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a trembling little hedgehog. It turned out that Zhuang'er was frightened by the hedgehog.
Now she's no longer afraid of the little thing; instead, she's filled with curiosity and affection.
Zhuang'er watched for a while, then stood up from the ground. Suddenly, he stared at Qi Gu's neck and exclaimed, "Huh?" He pointed at his cousin's neck and said, "Sister, your neck is red! Oh! There are so many spots. Sister, do you have hives?"
Qi Gu looked down at her neck, which was covered in bites. She quickly covered it with her hand and said awkwardly, "There are a lot of mosquitoes on the mountain. My sister got bitten."
Zhuang'er believed this, but Hongyan and Atai did not; however, they both pretended to believe it very much.
Hongyan considerately took out a cloak to put on her princess, but Sima Hong, who came from behind, took the cloak from her hand and said, "Let me do it."
Qi Gu was furious when she saw him. Thinking of what he had just done to her, if he weren't Sima Hong, she would have ordered Fu Lian to beat him to death!
She snatched the cloak from Sima Hong's hand, put it on cleanly and neatly, ignored Sima Hong, and pulled Zhuang'er, saying, "Zhuang'er, come on, your older sister will take you to find something fun."
Fu Lian stood beside Hong Yan: "It's only March, where did these mosquitoes come from?"
Hongyan glanced in the direction of Sima Langjun. There were mosquitoes everywhere, and one of them was huge. It seemed that her princess's marriage was about to be settled.
Just then, Xu Jin ran back from somewhere, holding two bunches of wildflowers in his hand.
"Your Highness, this is for you." Xu Jin handed a bunch of colorful flowers to Qi Gu, who accepted them and said, "Thank you, Xu Jin." She looked at the colorful flowers in her hand; they were quite pretty.
She lowered her head and sniffed. Actually, wildflowers don't have much fragrance, but they have a fresh scent of grass and trees that is refreshing and invigorating.
Xu Jin scratched the back of his head and said blankly, "It is I who should thank the princess."
"Huh?" Qi Gu asked, puzzled. "Why are you thanking me?"
"Because I found that when I'm with the princess, I don't seem to be so unlucky."
Qi Gu thought about it and realized it was true. The first time they met, Xu Jin was hit on the head by a flowerpot, but the next two meetings went very smoothly.
"In that case, I really am your benefactor."
The two chatted and laughed, but Qi Gu noticed a deep gaze fixed on her from behind, and ignored it.
Zhuang'er's big eyes looked at Xu Jin, then at her cousin, and then at Sima Langjun, before she covered her mouth and chuckled.
Xu Jin was a little embarrassed by her laughter, and then gave her a bouquet of small yellow wildflowers. "Zhuang'er, little girl, this is for you. By the way, are you alright?"
Zhuang'er took the flower, her eyes crinkling with joy. "It's alright, I've never seen a hedgehog make a fool of itself before. Thank you, Brother Xu Jin, I really like it." She glanced at her cousin and said to Xu Jin, "My cousin likes it too."
Sima Hong stepped forward, his expression completely different from when he was consumed by desire. He had returned to a state of indifference, aloofness, and composure.
He walked over to Qi Gu, his eyes glancing intentionally or unintentionally at the bunch of flowers that looked out of place. "It's getting late, we should go back."
Qi Gu thought to herself, who would have thought that such a pure and refined young man would be so shameless in the woods just now, actually doing that to her...
Qi Gu reached out, trying to snatch her basket from Sima Hong's hands, but he dodged her.
"Don't be angry. You can scold or beat me however you want when we get back, but we need to go home early today." Her tone was gentle, with a hint of pleading after doing something wrong.
Atai thought he might have something wrong with his ears. His husband wasn't exactly bad-tempered, but he had never heard him speak in such a tone before.
Qi Gu glared at Sima Hong, utterly disgusted and outrageous! From now on, she would make sure Fu Lian stayed by her side!
After the group descended the mountain, Xu Jin finally sensed the unusual atmosphere between the princess and Sima Langjun.
Seeing Sima Xiuyuan standing beside the princess, exuding an aura that forbade anyone else to approach, his gentle and modest demeanor was merely a facade. In reality, he possessed a sharp and unyielding spirit, and he was the one who truly stood above everyone else.
Yes, who could be more worthy of the princess than Sima Xiuyuan? Xu Jin thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile, deciding he should just put away those little thoughts.
The mischievous Zhuang'er poked his head out beside him and said, "Brother Xu Jin, don't be discouraged. At least you've successfully made Sima Langjun jealous."
"Strong young woman, do you think I still have a chance?"
Zhuang'er shook his head, "You have absolutely no chance." Zhuang'er's words disregarded Xu Jin's life or death: "However, the flowers you sent were very appropriate."
Xu Jin was disappointed once again. Zhuang'er patted his sleeve and comforted him, "It's okay, Brother Xu Jin. After all, your opponent is Sima Langjun, and he also has my cousin behind him."
Xu Jin smiled wryly, "Thank you for your comforting words, strong young man. I'm much better now." Even if I'm not feeling well, I have to be.
"You're welcome. Consider it a thank you gift for the flowers you gave me."
Qi Gu had already boarded the carriage and stood on it, saying to Zhuang'er, "Zhuang'er, come here quickly."
"Here you are, cousin!" She trotted up to the carriage.
Qi Gu let Zhuang'er go in first. She stood on the carriage, head held high, arms crossed, looking at Sima Hong with an attitude that she would never let him get close.
Sima Hong smiled as he looked at Qi Gu, as if he were looking at a treasure he had finally obtained. Even if Qi Gu was glaring at him, looking at her, he felt that she was the kind of person he liked.
"Okay, I won't come up. You go inside now," Sima Hong coaxed.
Qi Gu snorted and turned to get into the carriage.
Xu Jin walked over and invited, "Young Master Sima, why don't you ride in my carriage?"
"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Xu. I appreciate it." Behind him, Atai had already brought Sima Hong's mount over.
Sima Hong said to Xu Jin, "Brother Xu, hurry up and get in the carriage, or the city gate will close."
Xu Jin glanced at the sky. It was still early. It would take at most an hour to get from Guhuo Mountain into the city. He had plenty of time.
Before he could ask, Sima Hong flipped over and mounted the spirited, glossy steed.
Sima Xiuyuan was skilled in both literature and martial arts, and he once cut off the arm of a Xiongnu man at a banquet hosted by the Empress.
He was barely twenty years old when he gained the Emperor's trust and favor, and was also the head of the Sima family. His appearance was as handsome as Pan An, as radiant as the moon.
Xu Jin boarded the carriage, looked at the tall, handsome figure on horseback, lowered his head sadly, and turned to get into the carriage.
Halfway through the journey, Sima Hong dismounted and lifted the curtain of Qi Gu's carriage. "Qi Gu, there are assassins ahead. You and Miss Yuan stay in the carriage. We can set off again after we have dealt with these people."
His men had already scouted the area and found that the people were hiding on both sides of the road; there were quite a few of them. This time, King Yi had gone all out.
However, these were within his expectations, which is why he made these arrangements.
"What!" Qi Gu reacted strongly: "What's going on!" Qi Gu thought of the scene in her previous life when Hong Yan told her and Hong Hu to stay where they were and wait for her to go get reinforcements. She didn't want to stay and wait!
Sima Hong saw that his cousin beside him was very nervous. Zhuang'er held Qi Gu's hand and said, "Cousin, don't be afraid, I'm with you."
Qi Gu held Zhuang'er's hand, but her eyes were on Sima Hong. "Let's go together. I won't stay here and wait." In her past life, she had waited in the same place, but what she got was not help, but death.
Seeing that Qi Gu's face had turned pale, Sima Hong finally gave in and nodded.
Qi Gu asked again, "Are these people here for you or for me?"
Sima Hongdao: "It is me."
Qi Gu immediately said, "Then... let's split up."
"No!" Sima Hong wouldn't allow Qi Gu to leave his controllable area: "These people are all desperate criminals. You stay here, and I'll come get you after I've dealt with them."
“Sima Hong! They want to kill you, they won’t go out of their way to kill me. Besides, I’m too conspicuous traveling in a carriage with Zhuang’er and Xu Jin.”
"Qi Gu, don't be stubborn. Either wait here or come with me." Sima Hong offered two options.
“I’m not being willful, but I don’t want to just wait to die here.” Qi Gu’s attitude was firm: “Even if you make me wait here, after you leave, I will have Fu Lian and the others turn their horses around and enter the city from the south.”
"Aunt Qi, you... still won't believe me?"
"If you were in my shoes, and something like that happened to you, would you still believe in yourself?"
Qi Gu spoke frankly and directly, leaving Zhuang'er completely bewildered. She felt her older sister's tense body and her hands tightly embracing her.
"Are they from the Prince of Yi and the Guo family?" Qi Gu asked.
Sima Hong nodded, and Qi Gu continued, "They are already impatient to get rid of you because you chose the eldest prince?"
"The Guo family couldn't wait any longer because of my taking sides. As for Prince Yi, he probably hated me like a thorn in his side a long time ago, because the 'state monopoly on salt and iron' touched his interests."
Qi Gu thought that the reason why the Prince of Yi had the money to start a rebellion in his previous life was because his fiefdom was dedicated to the private salt trade. Half of the salt in the Great Jin Dynasty came from his fiefdom. How could such a huge profit not fuel his ambition?
It seems that those who plotted to assassinate Sima Hong were also connected to Prince Yi.
In that case, she couldn't just wait there any longer. At least, if she went into the city from the south, she could still get reinforcements.
Qi Gu's attitude was clear, and Sima Hong knew that she wouldn't change her mind. Rather than that, he would do his best to ensure her safety. He was glad that she was still willing to give him some trust and tell him her thoughts.
Sima Hong turned around and called Ah Feng over, "Ah Feng, escort the princess and Miss Yuan back to the city."
Ah Feng hesitated. "My lord, let Ah Tai escort the princess. I will stay by your side. The people sent by the Prince of Yi this time are extraordinary. I cannot allow anything to happen to you."
Sima Hong's dark eyes looked at A Feng with an air of authority, "This is an order, not a discussion. There's no time to lose, you must escort the princess away immediately."
Ah Feng could only lower his head and say, "Yes."
Qi Gu led Fu Lian, A Feng, and others, bypassing the official road to the north, and set off from the south.
Sima Hong watched her carriage disappear at the end of the road before mounting his horse again and leading Atai and the soldiers who were already prepared around him forward.
[Author's Note]
The last chapter was locked six times because of cooking. To preserve the original flavor and be able to release it openly, I revised it six times – I tried my best [crying emoji] – but there was no way around it, I still had to modify it a little [laughing and crying emoji]. I have to follow the platform's rules, I'm helpless. All I can say is I'll do better next time [sunglasses emoji].
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