Chapter 66 Slander
"Waaah—" The pain of being dragged made Qiu Xuan struggle unconsciously.
The girl's resistance was so powerless against the adult man that it only fueled his murderous intent.
Qiu Xuan was quickly dragged into the bamboo forest.
The tall, dense bamboo blocked out most of the sunlight, making the forest as dark as dusk.
The man with a ferocious expression pulled out a pre-prepared silk rope and put it around Qiu Xuan's neck, then began to pull hard.
Hu Si, who was guarding the bamboo forest at Qiu Heng's request, was about to go over when he saw this scene, but was stopped by a hand.
"My lord—" Hu Si had just opened his mouth when a figure rushed over.
Qiu Heng bit the man's wrist, and when he released the rope in pain, she grabbed his hair and used it as a rope to pull him out.
A bloodcurdling scream, like a pig being slaughtered, rang out.
"Cough cough cough—" Qiu Xuan fell to the ground, coughing as she looked at the person being dragged away by Qiu Heng by the hair.
As expected, he is the fourth young master of the Marquis of Xiping's mansion!
Hu Si stared in disbelief, instinctively raising his hand to protect his head.
"Murder! A villain is trying to kill our Second Young Lady!" Fangzhou shouted with a powerful voice.
Pilgrims flocked in from all directions, only to find Qiu Xuan coughing awkwardly while clutching her neck, and Zhao Si Gongzi looking even more disheveled as Qiu Heng pulled his hair.
"Help! He's trying to strangle my second sister!" The girl cried out, her voice choked with sobs as she struggled to pull her hair.
When people looked at Qiu Xuan again, they saw that she was indeed still wearing a silk rope.
It really was a murder scene, and they just happened to stumble upon it!
Realizing this, everyone became excited, and those with a strong sense of justice immediately rushed to help. The young man running in front was at a loss for what to do when he saw the scene. In his nervousness, he quickly took the hair from Qiu Heng's hand and pulled it away.
"Ah—" An even louder scream rang out, startling the young man so much that he loosened his grip, and Zhao Si stumbled and fell to the ground.
"Hold him down, hold him down!" people shouted.
Amidst the chaos, Xue Han led Hu Si over.
Qiu Heng and Xue Han's eyes met, somewhat surprised.
She and Qiu Xuan had agreed to come to Ganquan Temple for three consecutive days. If they didn't attract the murderer, they would temporarily put aside their plan to lure the snake out of its hole. Just to be on the safe side, she asked Hu Si to keep watch in the bamboo forest this morning and tomorrow morning as a witness. Unexpectedly, Xue Han also came.
"Hey, isn't that Young Master Zhao?!" After the villains were subdued, someone recognized him.
"Young Master Zhao the Fourth?"
"It's the fourth young master of the Marquis of Xiping's mansion!"
"Hiss—why would a noble young master kill someone? And whose daughter was that?"
Most of the people who frequent Ganquan Temple are wealthy families, and Qiu Heng and Qiu Xuan were quickly recognized: "They are the Qiu sisters!"
"The fourth young master of the Xiping Marquis's mansion wants to kill the second young lady of the Yongqing Earl's mansion?"
After learning each other's identities, many people's expressions became subtle, and the people holding Zhao Si even quietly let go.
Tsk tsk, could it be some kind of romantic entanglement?
Once Zhao Si was free, he turned and ran.
"Still trying to run away?" Hu Si grabbed the disheveled Zhao Si with one hand and said coldly, "Imperial City Guard. You committed a crime in broad daylight, and my superiors and I saw it with our own eyes."
Imperial City Guard?
As the frenzy of the attack subsided, Zhao Si finally came to his senses. His bloodshot eyes slowly swept over the crowd, and he completely gave up on trying to argue.
Because he had given up hope, the evil thoughts in his heart grew stronger. He suddenly looked at Qiu Xuan, who was being helped up by Qiu Heng and Fang Zhou, his eyes filled with hatred.
It's all that bitch's fault!
If this bitch's mother hadn't approached his mother and refused the marriage proposal on the grounds of his cousin, his mother wouldn't have forced his cousin to have an abortion, and his cousin wouldn't have died!
If his cousin hadn't been hurt, he wouldn't have impulsively pushed her into the river when he accidentally discovered her standing by the river on Qixi Festival, and he wouldn't have been caught in the act today.
If he gets into trouble, that bitch won't get away with it either!
A surge of malice arose within Zhao Si, who pointed at Qiu Xuan and said, "I'm like this because of that bitch. She and I were supposed to be together forever, but she changed her mind!"
These words sparked a buzz of discussion, and the people who were already speculating looked at Qiu Xuan with even more subtle expressions.
Without even listening, Qiu Heng knew what these people were going to say.
Qiu Xuan knew as well.
She had considered this possibility when she made the decision to use herself as bait.
Once a young woman gets involved in this kind of thing, she's already at a disadvantage. The most common approach is to keep quiet and avoid trouble, which is why she didn't even tell her mother.
"Miss!" The sound of cups and plates falling to the ground rang out. A-Fang, the maid who had gone to get the snacks, ran over and stood in front of Qiu-Xuan, glaring at Zhao Si. "What nonsense are you talking about? Our young lady has never had anything to do with you!"
"No contact?" Zhao Si laughed maniacally. "If she hadn't betrayed me, why would I have killed her?"
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.
Yes, there are countless young ladies in the capital. If it weren't for the affair between Miss Qiu and Young Master Zhao, why would Young Master Zhao choose to kill her instead of someone else?
"Tsk, if that's the case, then Miss Qiu has only herself to blame."
"Indeed, so young and yet so lacking in self-respect, no wonder he brought about his own demise—"
Qiu Heng suddenly rushed up to the two people who were talking the most enthusiastically, grabbed one of them by the wrist: "Hand over my money bag!"
The woman whose hand was being grabbed immediately became angry upon hearing this: "What purse? How can you talk nonsense like that, little girl!"
"My purse contained ninety taels of silver notes and some loose silver. You stole it, so hand it over now!"
The woman was furious: "Are you Miss Qiu Liu? How dare you slander people like that? You have no manners at all!"
Qiu Heng sneered: "Auntie, you have good manners, why are you slandering my second sister?"
"Who slandered her? She claims she has nothing to do with the fourth young master of the Xiping Marquis's mansion. Why would the fourth young master of the Xiping Marquis's mansion kill her?"
"That's right, if you hadn't stolen my purse, why would I be targeting you out of all these people?"
“You—” The woman couldn’t think of a rebuttal.
Qiu Heng glanced at everyone and said coldly, "So, did the aunt steal my money, or do you admit that what my second sister said was unreasonable?"
"Anyway, I didn't steal your money!" the woman said, her face flushed.
Qiu Heng raised an eyebrow: "So it's the latter?"
The woman hesitated, which could be considered an admission.
You have to agree, this crazy girl is terrifying.
Qiu Heng then released the woman's wrist, looked around at the onlookers, and those who met her gaze quickly looked away, fearing they might get into trouble.
They came to watch the spectacle, not to become part of the spectacle like that woman.
"As you all see, if you listen to Zhao Si's lies, he can slander anyone. As for why he killed my second sister—"
"Because his family came to propose marriage, but my mother refused," Qiu Xuan said loudly, stepping out from behind the maid who was protecting her.
This is her own business, her own tribulation; she can't keep hiding behind the scenes forever.
"What? The Marquis of Xiping's family is asking for the hand of the second daughter of the Earl of Yongqing's family?"
"Isn't this a case of humbly accepting a marriage proposal? How could the Qiu family refuse such a good offer?"
Amidst the various whispers, Qiu Xuan looked at Zhao Si and smiled coldly: "As for why I refused? Because my mother secretly inquired and discovered that Young Master Zhao Si had already secretly pledged his life to my cousin, and they are not a good match!"
(End of this chapter)
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