Xia Houyin revealed a hint of anger in her eyes while watching Su Muge approaching slowly.
Only after getting close did Su Muge notice that her riding suit was much similar to Xia Houyinâs.
Except for the same color of bright red, their matching belts looked almost the same.
Such a coincidence!
Su Muge didnât care, but Xia Houyin was unhappy.
Especially when she saw the pattern of peacock tail on the corner of Su Mugeâs eyes, she couldnât help becoming jealous. âBesides your ugly face, youâre even scarier with that kind of disgusting thing on your eyes. Only you Su Muge can do this!â
Su Muge didnât want to argue with her. âI dare not to scare Your Royal Highness with my ugly face. Please excuse my departure.â
Seeing that Su Muge really wanted to leave, Xia Houyin was in a sulk.
âSu Muge, do you want to be driven out of the hunting field? Come back quickly!â
Only then did Su Muge stop.
Xia Houyin asked to lead a horse to Su Muge. Su Muge found the horse was not as strong as Xia Houyinâs but it was quite docile, so she pulled the rein and mounted the horse.
Su Muge followed them to the entrance of the Womenâs Hunting Field, where a group of people was already waiting there.
Xia Houyin stopped in front of the group and looked at the headed woman in a dark blue riding suit, âYun Shuyao, how would you like to compete with me this year?â
Yun Shuyao, the eldest daughter of Princess Linghua, was titled Infanta Jiaoyue.
Princess Linghua was the youngest daughter of the Emperorâs mother and was quite favored by her. After the Emperor ascended the throne, he was also very fond of this sister. Therefore, the status of Infanta Jiaoyue and that of Eighth Princess were evenly matched.
âThis year, there is a sika deer with horns in the hunting field. The sika deer is vigorous and nimble, so whoever can hunt the sika deer before dark will win.â
âOkay, thatâs it! Letâs go! The sika deer is ours!â Xia Houyin raised the horsewhip in her hand and rushed towards the hunting field.
Su Muge took her time and slowly entered the hunting field behind them.
Although the womenâs hunting field was no larger than that of the menâs, it still looked boundless with forest, in which most of the preys were hiding.
After entering the hunting field, the two groups dispersed. There were seven people on the side of Su Muge.
At this time, Xia Houyin, who was running at the front, suddenly stopped. âSu Muge, come to find the deer with me. And the rest of you, go to find it in groups. After you find it, find a way to drive it here.â
âOkay.â
Other people dispersed after hearing the order, leaving only Su Muge and Xia Houyin.
Su Muge wondered what Xia Houyin wanted to do.
Xia Houyin glanced at Su Muge silently and rode the horse directly into the forest.
Su Muge still followed behind her without any haste. Xia Houyin didnât stop until she entered deep in the forest.
Su Muge had kept a certain distance with Xia Houyin just in case. Suddenly, Xia Houyin paused for a while and then rode towards Su Muge.
âSu Muge, are you curious about why I ask you to follow me?â
Su Muge raised her eyebrows and didnât reply.
Xia Houyin didnât seem to want her answer and looked at Su Mugeâs face with a sneer. âBecause Iâm eager to see you so tortured that youâd rather die!â
After finishing her words, Xia Houyin suddenly reached out and pushed towards Su Muge.
Su Muge was unexpectedly pushed backward by Xia Houyin and almost fell off the horse.
But it was just the beginning; Xia Houyin drew the dagger on her waist and stabbed into the eyes of the horse that Su Muge was riding.
The horse didnât dodge the dagger and was directly stabbed by Xia Houyin. Then it stomped its hooves in pain and lifted its body high.
âAh!â
Even though Su Muge immediately held the horseback, she was thrown out fiercely.
Xia Houyin lifted her chin and looked at Su Muge complacently. âSu Muge, the show hasnât started yet! It wonât take long before you and your mother disappear completely in the capital, Haha...!â After she finished speaking, she hurriedly raised her whip and turned around to get out of the forest.
With a sullen face, Su Muge got up with one hand covering the other that had been hurt.
A gust of wind blew and the trees in the forest were rustling.
Su Muge frowned slightly to find that a black net suddenly fell from the sky and covered her.
âHaha, catch the turtle in the urn!â
Several black shadows jumped down from the trees and looked at Su Muge in the net with a wicked look.
Su Muge drew the dagger on her waist and wanted to cut the net, but no matter how she cut it, the net was not damaged at all.
The headed tall man said with a smile, âDonât waste your energy. This net was specially made by me. Even if your dagger is damaged, my net wonât be broken!â
Hearing his words, Su Muge clenched the dagger in her hand and reached for something on her waist but failed.
Damn it! The powder she brought had been lost!
âMy brothers, what are you waiting for? Come on!â
At the next moment, Su Muge only felt her sight dim and a pungent smell at the tip of her nose. She held her breath quickly, but she felt increasingly dizzy and soon lost her consciousness.
Outside the hunting field, Zhao sat on the chair in anxiety and looked at the entrance of the hunting field from time to time.
Seeing this, Madam Lin could only comfort her with patience.
âMadam Lin, what are you doing sitting there? Havenât you promised to go hunting?â A lady in an apricot riding suit stepped over and pulled Madam Lin away.
Madam Lin took a look at Zhao worriedly.
âI feel a little uncomfortable today, so Iâm not going.â
The lady glanced at Zhao and said with a smile, âMadam Lin is so kind-hearted. If so, let this lady go with us.â
Madam Lin patted the lady. âWhat are you talking about? Madam Su cannot hunt. Forget it, Iâll go with you.â After talking, Madam Lin turned to Zhao.
âMadam Su, if you feel tired, go back and have a rest.â
Zhao nodded gently. âThank you, Madam Lin. Enjoy yourself.â
Seeing that the people present were all talking with each other, Madam Lin felt that there should be no problem, so she left with the lady.
âOh, someone seems to have been lifted out of the hunting field. Would she be injured? There should be no beasts on the womenâs hunting fields, but who knows if there will be an omission?â
âWhatâs so strange? The hunting field is so big that itâs normal for a beast hiding in the dark.â
Zhao, who had already been anxious, suddenly stood up in fright and grabbed Taozhiâs hand with a pale face.
âTaozhi, letâs, letâs go and have a look. Come on.â
Taozhi was also worried. âDonât worry, Madam. It wonât be the eldest Miss ...â
Hearing her mentioning Su Muge, Zhao almost couldnât hold back her tears.
âHurry! Hurry up!â
An who was sitting behind Zhao seemed not to have seen Zhao leaving and continued chatting with the ladies around her with a smile.
...
Su Muge felt her head hurt so much as if it had been run over by a carriage.
Feeing the extreme coldness, she gradually woke up and recalled what had happened before.
She struggled to get up, but she was too weak to exert ant strength.
She looked around; it was dim all around, only with the faint light shining through the cracks in the old wooden door.
Su Muge opened her mouth and tried to yell, but her voice was so weak that she couldnât even hear herself clearly.
Suddenly, a series of footsteps came from outside and the wooden door was soon pushed open. The men who had caught her walked in with a wicked smile.
âOh, the beauty finally woke up.â
Su Muge stared at them coldly.
The headed man crouched down and raised her chin. âWell, the face is really pretty, and the painting on the face looks so vivid. I wonder what the beauty tastes like.â
âBoss, waste no time. Just go ahead. Weâll have to go back to report on our mission in a while!â A fat man said impatiently.
âYou are so boring.â
After the man finished his words, he held Su Muge up from the ground and threw her on the only wooden bed in the room.
âLittle Beauty, it is shabby here, so youâll have to endure it temporarily.â The man laughed evilly, reached out to grab Su Mugeâs hands, and stuffed a pill into her mouth.
Su Muge was proficient in pharmacology and knew exactly what it was as soon as she tasted the pill!
Damn it!
Su Muge took a deep breath and tried to spit out the pill, but was forced to swallow down by the man.
âDoes it taste good? Donât be afraid. There will be better things in a while.â
But for a moment, Su Muge felt a tingling pain in her body, as if thousands of daggers had been stabbed into her body at the same time.
âUh...â She curled up, gritting her teeth tightly to prevent herself from making a sound.
âItâs weird. Is there anything wrong?â Seeing Su Mugeâs uncomfortable and pale complexion, the man turned to look at his men in confusion.
âBoss, did, did you feed her the wrong pill?â
The headed man shook his head; how could he have any other pill?
âThen, what shall we do? Shall, shall we continue?â
The headed man was also puzzled; they were told to torture this little beauty, but the people behind didnât ask them to kill her.
âUh!â
Su Muge felt muscle cramp all over her body, which was so painful that she wished to pass out. But the more pain she had, the soberer she was.
âAh!!â
âBoss, she, sheâs bleeding from her seven orifices!â The fat man was horrified.
The headed man was startled and looked back, only to see Su Mugeâs pale face covered with blood.
âQuick! Run! What are you waiting for? Run!â
The men rushed out of the wooden house hurriedly, leaving Su Muge lying there covered with blood.
After those men left, a black silhouette came out from the darkness. Under the sunlight, the dagger in his hand reflected a dazzling cold light. He walked into the house, looked at the motionless Su Muge, and raised the dagger high!