After Spending a Passionate Night with the Eldest Princess - Chapter 24

But no matter how afraid she was, she still had to save her life. Guo Xiaowu looked at Qin Muqiu, whose face was as dark and still as water, and mustered the courage to glance at the blade in Jiang Si’s hand.

Meaning: spare my life, and I’ll confess. Otherwise, I won’t say a word.

The room fell silent.

Inside her sleeve, Qin Muqiu unconsciously rubbed her fingers together. Then she suddenly curved her lips.

A beauty smiling—especially an extraordinarily beautiful woman—was truly dazzling.

Looking at the smile on Qin Muqiu’s lips, Guo Xiaowu secretly let out a breath of relief. The Eldest Princess really did love the people like her own children. She was still quite kind to her.

That murderous aura from just now must have been intentional, only meant to scare her.

As if to prove her guess, Qin Muqiu waved at Jiang Si.

Jiang Si instinctively moved the blade away.

Guo Xiaowu’s brows relaxed. “Your Highness, release me first. We can sit down and talk properly.”

Qin Muqiu ignored her. Instead, she looked at Jiang Si. The smile at her lips did not fade, but her eyes were icy cold.

“Kill her.” She slowly spat out two words. Her voice had no fluctuation, as if she were saying something utterly ordinary.

Jiang Si immediately raised his blade.

In her great alarm, Guo Xiaowu did not even think before urgently saying, “Your Highness, spare my life! Xin Yuan returned to Yongzhou last night. She is staying on the second floor, private room Yi, at the Haoyun Inn by the city gate.”

After blurting everything out in one breath, cold sweat instantly covered her forehead. She almost suffocated.

To hell with loving the people like her own children. To hell with being kind. This woman was simply a jade-faced female killer.

Jiang Si’s movement paused, and he looked at Qin Muqiu.

Qin Muqiu withdrew the smile at her lips, and a trace of genuine pleasure appeared in her eyes. “Bring her back.”

“Yes.” Jiang Si sheathed his blade, cupped his fists, and left quickly.

Qin Muqiu no longer looked at Guo Xiaowu either. She turned and left.

Guo Xiaowu suddenly let out a turbid breath. That was close. She had almost lost her life.

But her relief did not last too long. A few hours later, the door was opened again.

Qin Muqiu and Jiang Si walked in one after the other.

Guo Xiaowu’s heart leapt into her throat again. She did not know what her fate would be next.

Qin Muqiu looked at Guo Xiaowu’s deathly pale face and said faintly, “Jiang Si, speak.”

Jiang Si then said to Guo Xiaowu, “She was not at Haoyun Inn. The innkeeper said Miss Xin left right behind you early this morning.”

“Impossible!” Guo Xiaowu was greatly alarmed. Because of her tension, even her voice changed pitch. “Your Highness, spare my life. Everything I said was true. When I left Yongzhou this morning, Xin Yuan really did not follow me. I really came back alone.”

She looked at Qin Muqiu in panic, her eyes full of sincerity.

The Eldest Princess had to believe her. She truly had no idea Xin Yuan had been following behind her.

No, what exactly was that sister thinking?

Was it not just that she did not want to become a concubine? Did she have to be that cautious?

Wait. The Eldest Princess did not seem to need to go that far either. Who did not know that the current dynasty’s Eldest Princess was virtuous, talented, peerlessly beautiful, and perfect beyond compare…

If she wanted to take a concubine, then she could just take one. Why did it have to be Xin Yuan?

Most importantly, how innocent was Guo Xiaowu? She was only a passerby, yet somehow she had been caught between these two and dragged into an endless mess. There was nowhere for her to reason with anyone!

Qin Muqiu frowned slightly, turned, and walked out of the room.

Jiang Si hurriedly followed.

Guo Xiaowu let out a heavy breath, feeling dizzy before her eyes.

What sin had she committed? If this happened a few more times, sooner or later, she would be scared to death.

Outside the room, Qin Muqiu said calmly, “This palace wishes to help the princess residence’s honored guest, Young Master Guo Xiaowu, find her close friend, Miss Xin, within three days. On the way back to the capital, this palace also rescued a poor couple surnamed Xin and will help them find their daughter as well. Do you know what to do?”

Jiang Si cupped his fists. “This subordinate will spread the news at once and do everything possible to find Miss Xin.”

He understood Her Highness’s meaning. The news had to spread to every region as quickly as possible. If Xin Yuan did not appear within three days, then Guo Xiaowu and Xin Yuan’s parents would all die without a burial place.

Qin Muqiu rubbed her fingers together, her tone indifferent. “Alive, I want to see the person. Dead, I want to see the corpse.”

“This subordinate obeys.”

Qin Muqiu raised her head and looked at the clouds in the sky. Last night, she had not had that dream.

She would not naively think that the dream had ended. She was more inclined to believe Xin Yuan had deliberately avoided it, deliberately making her think the dream had stopped.

Qin Muqiu had not guessed wrong. Xin Yuan had indeed not closed her eyes all night, and she had left Yongzhou shortly after Guo Xiaowu.

She knew very well that because of that dream, Qin Muqiu would definitely think of every possible way to capture her and bring her back.

So she did not dare stay long in the city.

She had also decided that from now on, she would reverse day and night, trying her best to reduce the possibility of sharing dreams. Although this might not necessarily fool that woman, making an extra preparation was never wrong.

Xin Yuan left Yongzhou early in the morning and walked in the opposite direction from the capital. She did not know how to ride a horse, and she was reluctant to hire a carriage, so she traveled very slowly.

After half a day, she had only reached a town.

The town was not large and had only one small inn. Xin Yuan had stayed awake all night and was already extremely tired, so she settled there.

After entering her room, she casually ate a little, then fell asleep the moment her head touched the bed. In her daze, she heard the sound of a gong.

Xin Yuan abruptly opened her eyes. She opened the window and looked outside. Seeing nothing unusual, she then pretended to be curious and walked over.

“Innkeeper, what was that noise outside just now?”

The innkeeper was a kindly old man. Hearing this, he said with a smile, “Miss, you didn’t hear?”

Xin Yuan rubbed her brow in embarrassment. “I slept too deeply and didn’t hear clearly.”

The innkeeper looked at Xin Yuan and smiled. “Just now, the village chief ordered someone to beat the gong and notify every household of something. He said Her Highness the Eldest Princess is helping a young master named Guo Xiaowu find his close friend. Her Highness the Eldest Princess is truly benevolent. On the road, she even rescued a poor couple surnamed Xin and is also helping them find their daughter.”

After saying this, he pressed a hand over the abacus beneath his palm. There were some things he did not mention.

For example, that Young Master Guo’s friend was a delicate-looking young girl with a tear mole beside the bridge of her nose.

Another example was that the Xin couple’s daughter was eighteen years old, wearing green clothes when she went missing, fair-skinned and thin.

There was also the fact that anyone who could provide useful information would be rewarded with three hundred taels of silver.

Xin Yuan froze. “I see. I’ll go out and take a look.”

From those simple sentences, she thought of many things. That woman had not only captured Guo Xiaowu, but had also found the original owner’s parents. Helping them find someone out of kindness was false. Threatening her into showing herself was real.

“Miss, please wait. Although the people of our Hulu Village are simple and honest, many refugees have passed by recently. It is already dark now. It would be better if you did not go out.” The innkeeper glanced at the tear mole beside Xin Yuan’s nose and said this without showing any change in expression.

Xin Yuan nodded slightly. “Thank you for your reminder, innkeeper. Please send some hot water over.”

The innkeeper nodded. Watching that green figure enter the guest room, he quickly went to the back courtyard.

“Old woman, boil some hot water and send it to the young lady who checked in today. I’m going out for a while to find Dalang and discuss something.”