"Why does that sentence sound so familiar? She must've heard it from somewhere." The hidden bodyguard asked himself. Hold it. Isn't that what a man says to a woman when he forces himself on her? Can it be that the prince has once forced himself on the princess consort? He didn't continue watching; he was a professional hidden bodyguard, not a pervert. He covered his face with his hands and took some time to come to terms with this scene in front of him. Otherwise, he could never be able to keep up with his house's princess consort.
However, wouldn't the woman die if the princess consort kept holding her down and beating her like that? In the end, that woman was a pampered mistress of a household. That's not right. The princess consort is also a pampered mistress of a household! However, the princess consort continued to beat up the other woman for quite some time. The guard wasn't too worried that she might end up dead, but finding a good excuse for the black eye and bruised cheeks would be another matter!
Time soon proved that the guard was worried over nothing. When the princess consort climbed ashore, he noticed that there wasn't even one small scrape on the face of the now listless Noble Lady Qian. He breathed a sigh of relief. He could now answer to the prince. But what kind of report was he supposed to make?
Was he supposed to mention how the princess consort had suddenly turned into a fierce tiger and beat Noble Lady Qian to the point where she could not get up? Nobody would ever believe him if he said such a thing! Moreover, he had to consider helping the princess consort save some face. Thus, the hidden bodyguard was at loss on what to do.
As for Bai Xiangxiu, she was now straightening her clothes while gasping for air. The strenuous exercise had caused her little face to flush red, making her look like she was brimming with energy. She looked at Lin Qianzi crawling on the ground beside her and laughed, "Noble Lady Qian, please get some rest for now. I will go call for help."
Bai Xiangxiu immediately mounted her horse and left. Lin Qianzi knew that it wouldn't bode well for her if Bai Xiangxiu went back before she did. She immediately cried out, "Wait a minute..." However, the struggle she had put up to try and get out of the beating had drained her of all her energy and she fell onto the ground with a loud thump. It took her a long time before she could climb to her feet again. It was at this moment when a pair of shoes appeared in front of her. They were obviously worn by a man. Startled, she looked up and tears immediately flowed down her cheeks, "Yunzheng, it's you..."
Luo Yunzheng frowned when he saw her current state.
"Yunzheng, did you come to see me? I...I was too willful before and left you. But please, help me with something. Kill Bai Xiangxiu and avenge our child!"
"Huh? Wasn't that Duan Yunying's child? When did it become mine again?"
"I never said such a thing. It was you..."
"Me? Do you want me to repeat the conversation you had with Duan Yunying? As a rogue, I've never asked for you to be clean and pure. I'd never blame you if he forced himself onto you by drugging you. But you... you actually told him that the child was definitely not mine as you only felt disgusted when you were with me."
"You... heard us?"
"Yes. You and Duan Yunying met before his incident. You begged him to take you away, but he didn't, so you said that the child was his, but he still refused to take you away."
"No... I just... didn't want to leave home. I wanted him to bring me home. Life drifting around the jianghudoesn't suit me. You know that."
"That is true, which is why I prepared a place to live with you for the rest of my life. Unfortunately..."
"You found a place? I swear to you I didn't know that! Yunzheng, you must believe me! The child is definitely yours and Bai Xiangxiu killed him by dropping him! You must avenge him!"
"How funny. I used to trust you a lot. I treated everything you said as the truth. But I realized that you aren't worthy of my trust when I saw through you. How am I supposed to trust you when you aren't even sure of your feelings?" Luo Yunzheng yanked his leg away from her hands and slowly walked past her.
"Yunzheng. Didn't you come here to take me away? I can leave with you if you help me kill her." Lin Qianzi staggered onto her knees, as though she'd made up her mind.
Slap! Out of patience, Luo Yunzheng turned around and slapped her once, making her fall to the ground again.
"Lin Qianzi, you never cherish what you have, and you keep seeking things beyond your reach. Treat that slap as a wake-up call. I, Luo Yunzheng, am not your pet or here for you to order around. Meeting you here was nothing but a coincidence. I am only passing through." With that, he truly left. He didn't even spare her a second glance as he disappeared among the trees.
"No! Yunzheng! I do love you! I truly do!" Lin Qianzi genuinely had liked Luo Yunzheng once. However, the target of her affections soon shifted to Duan Yunying when Luo Yunzheng began to get rough with her. She'd never imagined that the both of them would leave her in the end. One left her as he no longer trusted her, while the other had only stayed to take advantage of her. She'd never have left Luo Yunzheng if she'd known that Duan Yunying had been such a bastard. At least Luo Yunzheng's feelings for her were genuine.
Unfortunately, he had already left her and she couldn't catch up even if she tried. After that, a crowd of people arrived and rushed to her side. A palace maid helped Lin Qianzi up, but soon realized that the noble lady was wet from head to toe. There was even an obvious handprint on her face. Bai Xiangxiu was also taken aback when she saw the print. Who the hell came and beat her up when I was fetching help? Does that person intend to make me a scapegoat?
Lin Qianzi broke into tears. She pointed a finger at Bai Xiangxiu and yelled, "You wicked woman! Why did you push me into the water and beat me up! When have I ever offended you?"
"Ehh... When did I ever hit you? Wasn't it me who pulled you up from the water when you fell in? Noble Lady Qian, why would you falsely accuse me of such a thing?"
"Fine! Then we shall reason in front of the emperor."
"Sure. Please, go ahead." If you want to kick up a storm then do so! I'm not afraid of a little bit of trouble.
After being helped onto her horse, Lin Qianzi followed the crowd and went straight to the emperor. Thump!She dropped to her knees and tears began to drip from her eyes like a spring rain.
The emperor was startled for a moment, "What's wrong? Didn't you just fall into the water? Why are you injured as well?"
"It was Princess Consort Li! She pushed this concubine into the water and even beat me up!"
"What? Princess Consort Li, is this true?" The emperor could feel his heart waver. Lin Qianzi was also a beauty by her own rights, but her hair was now incredibly messy and her clothes disheveled, with mud and dirt sprinkled all over her. There wasn't even an ounce of beauty in her form while she knelt in front of him. She just looked like a total mess.
Bai Xiangxiu on the other hand, looked like the other end of the spectrum. She'd gotten wet as well, but only up to her waist. There was not much change to her appearance as her riding attire wasn't the kind of dress that was wide and loose. In fact, it even highlighted the contours of her body as the water plastered her clothes against her form. Not even a single strand of hair was out of place. Her fringe was a little wet, but it only made her seem more alluring as water slowly dripped down from her hair. It was extremely pleasing to the eye when she knelt in front of the emperor.
Long Heng looked calm and composed. Not even one word of complaint came out from his mouth. However, he deeply hated the look on the emperor's face. That man's eye had lingered on Bai Xiangxiu's body for far too long. It was obvious that he'd begun to conjure up unscrupulous thoughts. Hidden by his sleeves, Long Heng clenched his fists tightly. He'd begun to regret bringing Bai Xiangxiu with him. Unfortunately, she was now Princess Consort Li. She'd have to face such things sooner or later.