Chapter 107.2 – Poisoned to Death
The two’s conversation was not loud, but in the silence of the night, everyone around them heard it. This included Qi Yang, who was not very close by, and she took a few steps towards Lu Qipei and whispered to her, “What are you looking for?”
Lu Qipei had already illuminated the nearby ground with the torch, and right now, she was sniffing at a bit of soil on the ground. When she heard Qi Yang’s words, she raised her head and was about to say something, only to see dozens of pairs of eyes nearby staring at her with burning gazes.
When the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back. Lu Qipei threw away the soil in her hand and stood up. She raised her hand and pointed forward, saying, “Let’s go, we’ll take a look in this direction.”
Qi Yang understood Lu Qipei well, and seeing her like this, she knew that there was something that was difficult to say in front of outsiders. Of course, she wouldn’t ask again. She just pretended like she hadn’t said anything before and took the reins handed by the attendant, then jumped onto the horse’s back.
Lu Qipei led the way, and the group of people followed closely, walking and stopping at intervals.
Some attendants saw Lu Qipei dismounting to investigate, walking for a while and picking up the soil to smell it, so they got off their horse in curiosity and secretly scooped a pinch of soil. Unfortunately, they could only smell some earthy smell and the aroma of rotting leaves, and couldn’t notice anything else.
The group of people were confused, and as Lu Qipei gradually drifted away, she soon exited the scope of the other’s search.
After riding for an unknown amount of time, when Lu Qipei stopped her horse again, a servant with excellent eyesight suddenly spoke out and said, “Is there something on the ground ahead?”
When they heard this, everyone was startled and moved their eyes to take a closer look. Sure enough, they saw an unusual black shadow under the big tree ahead.
In this hunting ground late at night, everyone’s mind was actually pretty tense. After all, encountering the tiger in the afternoon was a wake-up call. Who knew what kind of danger lurked in the mountain forest at night?
So when the black shadow was discovered, the attendants raised their bows, grasped their swords, and some even stepped forward to protect the Princess and the Prince Consort, forming a full defensive formation.
They waited for a while, but there was no movement. Lu Qipei took the initiative and threw the torch in her hand to the front.
The torch fell to the ground, and sparks splashed everywhere. Soon, some dead branches and fallen leaves were ignited. The black shadow also revealed its true form; it wasn’t a rock or tree roots, but a dead horse!
There was nothing to be afraid of from a dead horse, and since the area was already burning, if there was a beast there it would’ve been alarmed. When they saw the calmness in the distance, they attendants were relieved.
Soon, two of them separated from the group and dismounted their horses to stamp out the flames that hadn’t formed yet, and held their torch to thoroughly examine the dead horse. Finally, they reported back in a hurry, “The dead horse seems to be King Wei’s mount!”
News that King Wei rode an exotic breed from the grasslands and left his attendants behind had already spread. The difference between this exotic breed and ordinary horse was also quite obvious. Everything else aside, even just the head was almost a size bigger.
Qi Yang felt a chill in her heart when she heard this and immediately drove her horse forward. First, she looked at the dead exotic horse on the ground, then she looked around and said, “Let’s spread out and see if King Wei is nearby.”
The attendants acknowledged her order and quickly dispersed, and torch flames soon scattered, illuminating the dark mountain forest around them.
Lu Qipei also approached the dead horse. She got off her horse and picked up the torch on the ground. She examined the dead horse seriously, then finally looked up at Qi Yan and said firmly, “It was poisoned to death.”
The unexpected info made Qi Yang’s expression look worse. She looked around and saw that the attendants were far away, so she lowered her voice and asked Lu Qipei, “Do you know what’s going on?”
Lu Qipei also glanced around, then whispered, “I’ll tell you in detail when we return.”
Qi Yang was very curious, but she still suppressed it and didn’t ask more. Lu Qipei looked around for a little while longer, and all the attendants who had scattered returned. But unfortunately, the results weren’t as they expected, and they couldn’t find a trace of King Wei.
Lu Qipei got on her horse again, then pulled the reins and said, “Let’s trace back the path we came here.”
Lu Qipei had been able to find the dead horse earlier, and everyone was already convinced of her ability. Now, everyone followed without saying anything. This time, without needing her to remind them, everyone already knew to slow down and observe along the way.
Probably because they had a clear goal and the princess’s palace’s attendants had sharp eyes, after just fifteen minutes, they discovered something strange. The attendant immediately stopped everyone, and Qi Yang and Lu Qipei also dismounted to check things out.
They found a steep slope under the bushes by the roadside. The bushes had traces of being crushed, but they were not conspicuous in the darkness. But once illuminated by a torch, it soon became very noticeable.
Qi Yang took two steps forward and instinctively looked down at the steep slope.
Lu Qipei was startled and quickly reached out to grab her, saying, “Your Highness, be careful. Don’t fall off!”
Qi Yang was pulled back by Lu Qipei, but it didn’t make a difference whether she looked or not. It was pitch black below, and nothing could be seen at all. Qi Yang comforted Lu Qipei and turned her head to the attendant, saying, “Get two people to go down and take a look. Everyone, be careful.”
The attendants quickly pushed aside the bushes and descended towards the bottom of the slope.
Author notes:
Qi Yang (sighing): You are either at the bottom of a pit or at the bottom of a slope. Royal Brother’s hobbies really are unique.
King Wei (aggrieved): The whole world is trying to harm This King!!!
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