The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Chapter 195 Danger Encounters at the Artificial Hill

Jing Anle deliberately left some space for Jing Fengyao and Qin Zhihua, while he himself went upstairs to leisurely drink tea.

"Princess, won't you go check on the small kitchen?" Afang was a simple-minded person and took every word Jing Anle said seriously.

Jing Anle shook his head; this little girl hadn't quite figured it out yet.

……

Outside the palace, at the secluded pavilion on Jiufeng Mountain.

"How did things go?"

Today was a day off, and with so many people and eyes in the palace, Xiao Heng decided to leave under the guise of sightseeing. His spies were currently reporting back to him.

"Madam Cao of the General's Mansion, whose original name was Wu Zheng, was the daughter of a noble family in the Dayun Kingdom. Twelve years ago, her family was persecuted and destroyed."

“She is currently on her way back to Dayun Kingdom,” the scout said.

Xiao Heng fiddled with the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand and then asked, "Since you are from the Dayun Kingdom, you must be related to the Dayun Kingdom. Do you know who is really behind it all?"

The scout replied, "We're still investigating."

Xiao Heng gazed into the distance without showing any emotion. Dark clouds loomed overhead, giving him a very ominous feeling.

"And what about Xie Bailing's investigation?"

"When I went to the manor to investigate, I found that the real young master of the Xie family had already died."

"His true identity is still unknown."

Xiao Heng paused in his movement of turning the prayer beads. Just as he had expected, Xie Bailing was indeed problematic.

"Then continue the investigation!" Xiao Heng stood up. This person was impersonating the young master of the Xie family and had infiltrated the General's Mansion to befriend Qin Xiuyuan, which was highly suspicious.

More importantly, he seemed to have other ideas about Jing Anle, and since it concerned Jing Anle, Xiao Heng had to be on guard.

"I understand," the scout said before leaping away.

……

That night.

One side of the palace.

Jingrong hid behind the artificial hill, her back drenched in cold sweat, wondering what she had just seen.

According to the customs of Jing Kingdom, the marriages of royal women must be approved by the Empress Dowager. Although Jing Rong is a concubine's daughter, she must still follow the law. Moreover, for Princess Qing, it is of no importance; she is merely going through the motions of entering the palace.

Besides Princess Qing, Jing Rou also entered the palace with Jing Rong.

The Empress Dowager valued Jingrou, and with the instigation of Princess Qing, she had no good feelings towards this concubine's daughter. She only gave her a few instructions and bestowed some gifts as usual, and then stopped paying attention to her.

Jing Rong dared not say anything. She took a break to use the restroom. Although she had been to the palace a few times, she was still not very familiar with it. In addition, it was already late at night, and she lost her way. She stumbled upon a rockery, and there was a pond around it.

The scenery in the palace was mostly the same. Jingrong was in a daze when she suddenly heard whispers of a man and a woman in her ear.

"You've made me wait so long..." The man's voice was deep and ambiguous.

The woman's voice was even more charming and gentle, "With Mother and the Empress Dowager present, I barely managed to escape..."

This sound...

Jing Rong cautiously peered through the artificial rockery and was shocked to see Jing Rou embracing a strange man. She covered her mouth in astonishment, unable to believe that Jing Rou would dare to have an affair.

Her mind raced. She wanted to call someone to expose Jing Rou's true colors and vent her anger. But she worried that if she called someone, they would already be gone.

Just then, Jingrong quietly took a step back, accidentally kicking a pebble and making a noise. She immediately realized what was happening and hid behind the artificial hill, trying to cover her mouth and praying that she wouldn't be discovered.

"who is it?"

Footsteps drew ever closer, and Jing Rong's teeth trembled as she gritted her teeth. Just when she thought she was about to die, a palace maid suddenly ran out from in front of her, knelt down with a thud, and begged loudly for mercy, "Princess, spare me! This servant didn't see anything! Please, Princess, have mercy!"

Standing next to Jing Rou was none other than Qi Zhi, dressed in a black robe, shrouded in the night, making it impossible to see his face.

Jing Rou stepped forward and asked, "Who are you?"

"Why waste your breath arguing with her!" Qi Zhi knocked her unconscious with a single chop to the neck.

Jing Rou was also taken aback. She had intended to question him thoroughly before making any plans, but she hadn't expected Qi Zhi to act so quickly.

In Qi Zhi's eyes, her hesitation made her seem like a gentle and kind woman.

"Rou'er, you go back to the Empress Dowager's palace first, leave this to me." In front of a beautiful woman, it was natural to show one's sense of responsibility.

Jing Rou glanced at the palace servant lying on the ground, pretending to be frightened, and deliberately leaned against Qi Zhi, "Brother Qi, what do you plan to do with him?"

Since their last encounter at the Jiying Hall, the two have become increasingly close. Whenever there is a suitable opportunity, Jingrou will spend time alone with Qi Zhi, just to hold on to this big tree.

With a beautiful woman by his side, her warm and soft body aroused Qi Zhi, who pulled Jing Rou into his arms and gently coaxed her, "Don't be afraid, I'm here." As he spoke, he touched Jing Rou's delicate hand.

A smile played on his lips; after all this time, he was finally tasting some sweetness.

Jing Rou, nestled in Qi Zhi's arms, deliberately trembled and cowered like a frightened little rabbit. "Thanks to you today, otherwise I would have been completely unable to handle this."

Jingrong, hiding behind the artificial hill, overheard their sweet nothings. She had no desire to tell anyone; she only wanted the two to leave quickly. Fear had soaked her clothes with sweat, but she dared not move for a long time, remaining curled up and frozen in place.

Finally, Jingrong heard the sound of footsteps leaving. She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go out when she was suddenly startled. Her intuition told her that she couldn't move yet, so she remained squatting there in the same position.

Sure enough, after a while, she heard footsteps again. Jing Rong mustered up her courage and looked out through the gap in the artificial hill. It turned out that Qi Zhi had not left at all.

Qi Zhi, being a martial arts practitioner, was naturally cautious in everything he did. He waited until Jing Rou left before staying a little longer, fearing that someone might slip through his net. Now, after waiting for a long time, he finally felt at ease.

He looked down at the unconscious palace servant, picked him up, and threw him directly into the pond next to him with a loud splash.

Jing Rong stared wide-eyed in fear, her strong will to survive forcing her to bite her hand hard to keep herself from screaming.

Even so, Qi Zhi did not leave immediately. Instead, he waited for the palace servant to sink and then float back up to confirm that he was no longer breathing before leaving.

Jing Rong had never seen anything like this before. All she wanted to do was run away, but her legs went weak with fear, and she couldn't move at all...