Ji Yeliu waited and waited for Lin Qingge but she didn't come. They had clearly agreed to meet at the East City Gate. Why? After midnight, Ji Yeliu intuitively felt that Lin Qingge was unreliable, so he went to the West City Gate.
He inquired and learned that carriages had left the city one after another after noon.
No good! He'd been tricked... Ji Yeliu whipped his horse and chased forward in a hurry! He feared that Lin Qingge never intended to hand over the person to him at all. She had just been lulling him on. If Xiao Xueyi investigated, she could simply shift all the blame onto him.
Lin Qingge!
If anything happened to her, you wouldn't get off lightly!
Ning Yue listened carefully to the voices of the villains and quickly schemed in her mind. She gently picked up another gold hairpin on her head and opened the mechanism inside. Immediately, a sweet fragrance wafted over.
Before long, the people outside the carriage seemed to notice something. "What's that smell? It's so fragrant!"
The villain leered and said, "Could it be the body fragrance of that extremely beautiful young lady? Come to think of it, this woman is truly beautiful. Instead of selling her to a madam for the pleasure of customers, why not let us two brothers have some fun first?"
However, the villain suddenly felt weak in his hands and feet and hurriedly stopped the carriage. "Damn... Why do my arms suddenly have no strength?"
Ning Yue seized the opportunity and quietly jumped out of the carriage. She ran desperately backward, but the two villains noticed.
They turned the carriage around and were about to chase after her. Unfortunately, although the drug had made their hands and feet temporarily weak, the cold night wind had reduced the effectiveness of the drug to a certain extent.
Therefore, before long, they almost caught up with her.
Ji Yeliu didn't dare to stop for a moment. He regretted it deeply. If Ning Yue was in Xiao Xueyi's hands, she might still be alive and intact. Now that he finally had some news, it seemed that she was about to fall into the hands of the villains again.
Xiao Xueyi returned to Tingran Pavilion but didn't see Ning Yue's figure. Jingran found a note in her room and only then knew that Yingran had taken Ning Yue away.
After several hours, there was still no news. Xiao Xueyi's face darkened. "Search!"
Lin Qingge looked at Xiao Xueyi hatefully. By the time you found her, she might already be a ruined woman!
But before she could gloat enough, Xiao Xueyi sent someone to invite her.
With his back to Lin Qingge, Xiao Xueyi said in a deep voice, "Where is she?"
"Who? Master, I don't understand what you mean?" Lin Qingge's heart skipped a beat and she hurriedly denied it. But Xiao Xueyi waved her over.
"I... hate it most when others act on their own initiative..." One hand caressed Lin Qingge's neck. This was the closest he had ever been to her.
Although Lin Qingge liked Xiao Xueyi, she was extremely afraid of him now. Because in those ice-cold eyes, she couldn't see a trace of warmth. "Mas... Master!" She couldn't believe that it was Xiao Xueyi who had rescued her from the refugees back then and personally trained her over the years to become the Lin Qingge she was today. She didn't expect that for Ning Yue's sake, he would really kill her with his own hands.
A tear from the corner of her eye fell on Xiao Xueyi's hand. "I can make you, and I can also destroy you."
Suddenly remembering something, "Do you know who Ning Yue is?"
"She... is... the current Crown Princess!" This sentence made Lin Qingge's pupils dilate. How could she be? If the master knew Ning Yue's identity, why did he still want to marry her?
Xiao Xueyi sneered and whispered softly in Lin Qingge's ear, "I... just like to do challenging things!" So, Lin Qingge couldn't believe until her death that Xiao Xueyi would really kill her!
"Master, the deputy master had contacts with Ji Yeliu earlier!"
"Bang!"
Damn it. This was completely ignoring his threat.
Ji Yeliu followed the wagon tracks all the way and didn't dare to stop on the way. Until he heard a sound and saw a thin figure running desperately.
He spurred his horse forward and found that it was Ning Yue! He immediately ran to her side and grabbed her. But the two villains didn't take this gentle and jade-like young master seriously at all.
Ji Yeliu was extremely angry. He whipped them and drew his sword. After a few moves, the two villains were immediately killed!
Ning Yue was frightened and had run really tired. Her legs were a little weak. Ji Yeliu looked at her carefully and saw that she wasn't injured, so he felt relieved. "Come, let's go to a place first." Ning Yue looked at Ji Yeliu and inexplicably trusted him. "Thank you, young master!"
In any case, she didn't want to go back to Tingran Pavilion tonight. She vaguely felt that Xiao Xueyi was hiding something from her. The truth might be more cruel than she thought.
Ning Yue obeyed Ji Yeliu's arrangement and the two of them went to the Ji family's mountain villa outside Gusu City. Fortunately, after the autumn harvest, there was still a steward here.
A comfortable guest room was prepared for Ning Yue.
The steward then served a table of dishes. Ji Yeliu invited Ning Yue over. He looked at her carefully. Sure enough, it was still the same person, but... she didn't recognize him.
After much commotion, Ning Yue finally got to eat delicious food. "Thanks to Young Master Ji, otherwise..." Who knew what bad things might happen.
However, Ning Yue wanted to ask him even more, "Did we know each other before?" When she met Ji Yeliu, she felt warm in her heart, as if... she felt more at ease.
Ji Yeliu asked her back, "Are you happy now?"
If she returned to Zhongli Mingye's side, she might become the Crown Princess and the future Queen of the Daxia Dynasty. However, along with it would be endless responsibilities. Since ancient times, there had been very few harmonious imperial couples. Now, if she stayed by Xiao Xueyi's side and could have a peaceful life, it might not be a bad choice.
Ning Yue lowered her eyes. The candlelight shone on her fair face and her eyelashes trembled slightly. After a long time, she said in a trembling voice, "Happy, but also not happy."
She was happy because the people in Tingran Pavilion were really kind to her. Xiao Xueyi really doted on her. She could feel it. But she just... felt sorry for Xiao Xueyi. She seemed to only think that Xiao Xueyi was a very good person and had no other feelings.
She was not happy because recently, Ning Yue had gradually discovered that her identity might not be as simple as Xiao Xueyi had said.
Just the daughter of an old friend? But she clearly hadn't heard about the so-called daughter of an old friend from Ling Feng, Jingran, or Yunran.
She had also inquired and learned that Xiao Xueyi had never been engaged.
So she began to suspect... Although her daily life was fulfilling and she didn't have to worry about food and drink. Her status was noble. Whatever she wanted, Xiao Xueyi could give it to her.
But she felt uneasy, not at all at ease. She always felt that she seemed to have lost something very important. Xiao Xueyi said that she had lost her memory and forgotten the Jiang family and him.
Ning Yue felt that it must not be so. Otherwise, why would she feel so familiar with Ji Yeliu whom she had only met once, but not at all familiar with Xiao Xueyi?
Ji Yeliu felt a little comforted when he heard these words.
Then he asked again, "Do you like Xiao Xueyi?" Ning Yue was silent for a while and then said, "He is a very good person, but I'm not very familiar with my feelings for him."