N-M Chapter 135 I'm reluctant to part with you, but I don't want you to be bored.
Chapter 135 I'm reluctant to part with you, but I don't want you to be bored.
Deep in the forest.
"Are you telling the truth?!"
"Your Highness, it is absolutely true," came He Cong's hoarse voice.
He took out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve and handed it to Xiao Qiming, "Su Yaoyao was poisoned by a secret medicine from our Liang Kingdom. This medicine... will take effect three times."
Xiao Qiming's pupils contracted.
"Three times?" His voice tightened. "Then she has already..."
"This has already happened twice." He Cong smiled, a sinister smile.
"Your Highness, what do you think will happen between her and the Crown Prince?"
Xiao Qiming's mind went blank.
She and the Crown Prince had only been engaged for a short time...
That is to say, even before the engagement...
Perhaps, these two had already done it even earlier!
He recalled Su Yaoyao's radiant appearance today, her alluring demeanor as she leaned against Xiao Chenyuan's chest, and the faint marks on her neck, hidden by her collar—
"That bitch!!"
Xiao Qiming punched the tree trunk, shaking off the accumulated snow.
His eyes were bloodshot, as if he wanted to devour someone.
He Cong looked at him with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
"There will be a third time," he said slowly. "The third attack... the drug is the most potent."
He handed the porcelain bottle forward: "The medicine inside can bring forward the third time."
Xiao Qiming stared at the small porcelain bottle, his breathing gradually becoming heavy.
"Today," he gritted his teeth, "Xiao Chenyuan must die!!"
"With the forest deep and the horses fast, it's not surprising that something unexpected might happen." He Cong twitched the corner of his mouth. "Your Highness, just wait for good news."
Xiao Qiming tucked the porcelain bottle into his sleeve, then mounted his horse.
The sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance.
He Cong stood there, watching the crazed figure disappear into the forest.
He looked down at his hands.
"Brother..." he murmured, "I'll do what you can't do."
------
the other side,
The wind blows, and the fallen leaves rustle.
Ling Feng suddenly appeared at the end of the forest path and nodded slightly to Xiao Chenyuan.
Xiao Chenyuan lowered his eyes, concealing the coldness that flashed across them.
"Yaoyao," he said.
Su Yaoyao was nestled in his arms, looking around curiously. Hearing this, she looked up and asked, "Hmm?"
"I ran into someone I know."
Su Yaoyao followed his gaze—Anar was galloping towards them on horseback, followed by Su Qingrun, who looked helpless.
"Sister!" Anar's voice arrived before she did, "Look how many I hit!"
She reined in her horse and stopped in front of Su Yaoyao. The horse's back was laden with prey—rabbits, pheasants, and even a small roe deer.
"This rabbit has beautiful fur; I'll make you a scarf." This is so delicious roasted tonight! And let me tell you, our Northern Desert roasted meat recipe is guaranteed to leave you wanting more—"
She chattered on and on, making Su Yaoyao swallow hard.
Xiao Chenyuan looked down at her greedy expression and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"Want to go?" he asked.
Su Yaoyao looked up, her eyes sparkling: "Your Highness wants me to go?" She blinked, "Are you willing to?"
Xiao Chenyuan's lips curled up slightly.
"I'll miss you," he said, "but I don't want you to be bored."
Su Yaoyao looked at him, then suddenly leaned in and pecked him on the lips.
"Good girl." She smiled. "I'll reward you when we get back."
Xiao Chenyuan's eyes darkened slightly. "Have fun."
He helped her down from her horse and handed her a delicate little crossbow.
"Don't go too far," he instructed. "Call for help if you encounter any trouble."
"Okay."
Su Yaoyao took the crossbow and turned to run towards Anar.
He looked at Su Qingrun.
"Brother," he said, "please take good care of him."
Su Qingrun nodded: "Your Highness, please rest assured."
Su Yaoyao turned to look at him: "And what about His Highness?"
"I'm going to take care of some small things," he said. "I'll come back tonight and have a barbecue with you."
Little things?
Su Yaoyao looked at his calm expression, and a strange feeling flashed through her mind.
But Anar had already pulled her hand and was walking towards the horse, chattering about taking her to see the real way of roasting on the grasslands. She didn't have time to think much, and only glanced back.
Xiao Chenyuan remained standing, watching her go.
Ling Feng stood silently beside him.
His black horse, which had been with him for several years, was stamping its hooves in place, seemingly a little impatient.
"Your Highness." Su Yaoyao suddenly turned around.
Xiao Chenyuan raised his eyes.
"Come back soon," she said. "I'll be waiting for you."
Xiao Chenyuan looked at her.
"Okay," he said.
Xiao Chenyuan handed the reins to Su Qingrun: "This horse has been with me for many years and has a gentle temperament. Unlike some people's horses, which are prone to accidents."
As he said this, his gaze swept lightly over the Second Prince's camp in the distance.
Su Qingrun took the reins and nodded.
Su Yaoyao was pulled onto the horse by Anar, and with a flick of the whip, the chestnut horse galloped off.
"Sister, hold on tight—" she called back, "I'll take you to a great place!"
Then he mounted the other horse that Ling Feng had brought and ordered, "Send guards to protect the Crown Princess."
After saying that, he sped off in the opposite direction.
---
Su Yaoyao went wild with fun.
She had participated in many outdoor activities in her previous life, but this was her first time hunting.
The small crossbow that Xiao Chenyuan had given her was exquisite and easy to use. She held it in her hand, aimed at a snow-white rabbit, and "whoosh," fired—
It's off-center.
The arrow grazed the rabbit's ear and embedded itself in the snow.
Startled, the rabbit leaped three feet high and disappeared into the bushes.
Anar laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight: "Little sister, your aim is worse than my grandma's!"
Unconvinced, Su Yaoyao loaded another arrow: "Again!"
Su Qingrun stood not far away, watching her younger sister and the Northern Desert Princess chasing rabbits in the snow like two children, and the corners of her lips unconsciously turned up.
Anar was talking to Su Yaoyao with her head down. Sunlight fell on her profile, and her smile was more dazzling than the winter sun.
Su Qingrun: "…………"
He suddenly understood the Crown Prince's feelings a little better.
"Whoosh—"
An arrow pierced the air and struck the tree stump next to the snow rabbit.
"We got it! We got it!" Anar cheered. "Little sister, you've improved!"
Su Yaoyao proudly raised her chin: "That's right."
"Isn't Your Excellency coming along?" Jiang Jingchen rode up on horseback at some point and asked with a smile.
Su Qingrun's smile faded, her face expressionless: "Childish."
Jiang Jingchen glanced at him, then at Anar's smug smile in the distance, and gave a meaningful "Oh".
Su Qingrun: "…………"
He ignored Jiang Jingchen and rode his horse towards Su Yaoyao.
"Yaoyao," he called, "don't run too far—"
Before he finished speaking, a strange noise suddenly came from the forest.
Su Qingrun's expression changed, and just as he was about to spur his horse forward, a huge wild boar suddenly rushed out of the bushes!
The wild boar had bloodshot eyes and tusks like knives, and charged straight at Su Yaoyao and Anar!
"Yaoyao!" Su Qingrun shouted sharply, spurring her horse into a gallop.
Anar shielded Su Yaoyao behind her and drew her curved sword from her waist—
A figure was faster than them all.
Xie Yu charged out from the side on horseback, his bow drawn to its fullest extent, and an arrow struck the wild boar squarely in the left eye!
The wild boar let out a miserable howl, but its momentum did not diminish.
Xie Yu didn't have time to fire a second arrow.
He dismounted and stood in front of the two women—
He thrust his sword into the boar's neck. The boar, in pain, shook its head wildly, its tusks slashing across his arm.
Blood splattered.
But he gripped the sword tightly, pressed his entire body against the wild boar, and forced it to the ground.
Just then, Su Qingrun arrived and swung his knife down, causing the wild boar to fall to the ground with a thud.
"Xie Yu!" Su Yaoyao exclaimed and rushed forward.
Xie Yu knelt in the snow, a deep wound on his left arm, blood staining half of his sleeve. He looked up, saw Su Yaoyao's concerned eyes, and grinned.
"It's nothing," he said, "just a superficial wound."
Su Yaoyao felt a pang of anxiety as she looked at his bleeding wound.
"Don't move," she pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and frantically pressed it against his wound. "Press it! Stop the bleeding!"
Xie Yu looked down at the hand she was pressing on his arm.
Her hands were very white and soft, which seemed out of place in this bloody scene.
He suddenly thought, "If only things could stay like this forever."
But he knew he couldn't.
"Sister Su," he said softly, "don't worry, everything's really alright."
"Does it still hurt?" Su Yaoyao asked.
Xie Yu shook his head.
"Don't lie to me, you lost so much blood."
"It doesn't really hurt." Xie Yu looked at her, paused, "I've had injuries much worse than this before."
Su Yaoyao didn't speak, but lowered her head and tightened his handkerchief even more.
Xie Yu looked at her drooping eyelashes, wanted to say something, but swallowed his words back.
Some things are better left unsaid.
It's better not to say anything.
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar.
A guard galloped up on horseback.
He dismounted and knelt on one knee before Su Yaoyao, his voice trembling:
"Crown Princess – His Highness the Crown Prince has been assassinated!"