Chapter Twenty-Three: Being Targeted
The autumn hunting feast is held in a yurt in the center of the camp, where candles and singing and dancing are in full swing.
In order not to be conspicuous, Su Wanning deliberately sat in the back row of the Zhongbohou Mansion District.
Mei Zhexu followed very consciously and gave a big gift to Princess Qingyun.
"Aunt Qingyun, I haven't seen you for a long time, my father is worried about you, so I must invite you to visit Shudi."
The eldest princess of Qingyun covered her mouth and chuckled: "Zhexu has grown up." When the canal is completed, my aunt will definitely go to Shu once. β
Mei Zhexu, who received an affirmative answer, was overjoyed and nodded seriously: "Okay, before this, I have to ask my cousin to accompany me on all my trips in the capital." After all, Zhexu has been away from the capital for too long, and he is always afraid that he will be bullied by people who don't know what to do. With the name of my cousin Zhong Bohou's daughter, I can also lean against the big tree to enjoy the shade, right? β
After saying that, Mei Zhexu turned his back to the eldest princess of Qingyun, showed his white teeth at Su Wanning, and grinned.
Su Wanning made eye contact with the eldest princess of Qingyun, who turned around to speak, and lowered her head in agreement.
"Little Ningzi, try this." Mei Zhexu at the banquet was not very keen on eating, but there were a lot of strange ideas.
Su Wanning saw an extra crystal box in his hand.
"This kind of box is the most moisture-proof, and it is a cumin dipping sauce inside, which is very popular in the land of Sichuan and Shu." Mei Zhesch thoughtfully sprinkled the brown powdered dipping sauce on the roasted whole lamb on her plate.
Su Wanning picked up a knife and stabbed the mutton and sent it to her mouth.
The meat is elastic and the moisture inside is not completely roasted, and the delicious taste of the lamb is further enhanced by the dipping sauce.
She couldn't help but scratch another small slice of mutton, sprinkle it with dipping sauce, and savor it.
Mei Zhexu proudly slapped Su Wanning with his elbow, "How is it, Xiao Ningzi." Following Cousin Mei can not only let you eat all the delicacies of the mountains and seas, but also take you to the rivers. That's a good errand, isn't it? β
Su Wanning tugged at the corners of her mouth and smiled copingly: "Cousin Mei, Wanning has written it down, and she all listens to her mother's arrangement." β
Although this is not necessarily an easy job, it is certainly more interesting than being trapped in the Zhongbohou Mansion all the time, and it is also a good choice for her to ask Mei Zhexu to do things for her.
"Xiao Ningzi, do you know what the color head of this hunt is?" Mei Zhexu mysteriously leaned into Su Wanning's ear, and covered her mouth with one hand.
"What?" Su Wanning intuitively felt that nothing was good, she was going to be dominated by Mei Zhexu again.
"I heard that when Your Majesty starts hunting tomorrow, he will announce that he will hunt three-colored deer, and those who catch it will be given the marriage of the Holy One! And you can choose by yourself. There was a hint of eagerness in Mei Zhexu's voice, and it seemed that he was also trying to get the news and prepare in advance.
"Hmm." Su Wanning's tone was normal, but her heart was full of waves.
It was not often that she had the opportunity to get married, and she had her own ideas.
It is better to take this opportunity to ask the saint for a marriage talisman, and in the future, the mother will force herself to do things she doesn't like.
Su Wanning suddenly felt a little ridiculous, others are all struggling to compete for the top prize when they have their favorite people, but she is desperate to avoid marrying someone she doesn't like.
Mei Zhexu saw Su Wanning pondering for a long time, and said, "Cousin, why don't we give it a try?" When others asked, they said that they were giving me a hand and a good omen. β
Su Wanning nodded cooperatively, because her focus had shifted to Yingge.
Yingge stood in the candlelight in the corner, her body shaking.
Su Wanning turned around to talk to Mei Zhexu, and at a glance she could see that Yingge was absent-minded, staring blankly at the ground under her feet, which was completely different from the state in the past when she wanted to imprint her every move in her mind.
She felt that something was wrong in her heart, but she didn't have time to think about it, and the jubilant dinner party and the tossing Mei Zhexu drew her eyes back.
Early the next morning, Su Wanning woke up from the tent and found that there was a black-rimmed golden butterfly next to the pillow.
It crawled quietly on the wooden frame, feeling the wind brought by someone passing by, flapping its wings and flying away into the distance.
"Little condensation? Did you wake up? Almost within a cup of tea, he asked in a loud voice outside the tent.
Su Wanning thought that he had attracted more strange eyes, so she quickly changed into civilian clothes and went out to welcome him in.
"Cousin Mei is really energetic, I don't know what to do today?" Speaking from the bottom of her heart, Su Wanning was looking forward to finding the three-colored deer, even if it was with Mei Zhexu.
Mei Zhexu was dressed in black leggings all over his body, and he looked like he was going to show off his boxer, and he also sold Guanzi: "Today we are going to explore the secret!" β
Su Wanning wrinkled her eyebrows, not knowing what to say.
Before leaving, she took the bow and arrow from the wooden frame and carried it behind her back, thought about it, and hid the special hidden arrow on her arm.
Yingge also accompanied.
"Xiao Ningzi, when you see birds and beasts later, don't be scared and cry." Mei Zhexu was going to take her to the river in the Lethe valley to pick grass.
Su Wanning couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard his words that seemed to be worried but were actually mocking.
She is not a weak woman who is powerless, and at the critical moment, compared with the pampered prince of Shudi, she still has some confidence that she can get out of trouble first.
"Cousin Mei, wait and see. However, to be on the safe side, we cut a knife in the trunk of a tree every time we passed a fork in the road. What do you think? In the eyes of outsiders, Su Wanning is the concubine of the Hou Mansion who does not eat the fireworks of the world, how can she have a sense of danger in the dense forest.
Mei Zhexu smacked his lips: "It's still Xiao Ningzi's preparation, I'm blessed." β
Su Wanning felt that he was pun intended, but she didn't know what he was still happy about.
"We'll cross the river later, and the boatman can only take two people to the other side at a time. Yingge, you wait in the grass, or wait for the second batch to be delivered. Su Wanning saw a big river in front of her that was the only way to go, and she secretly rejoiced in her heart, finally having the opportunity to get rid of her mother's surveillance.
Yingge looked at the sticky young master, and had to nod in agreement.
"Xiao Ningzi, you seem to be very afraid of that Yingge. What, what's going on? Do you need your cousin to come forward to settle for you? Mei Zhexu looked at Su Wanning and her subordinates' polite way of getting along with each other, and fell into deep thought.
"She has martial arts, and she was sent by my mother to take care of me, so I naturally can't be lazy. On the contrary, it will be more restrained. Su Wanning didn't want to talk to Mei Zhe a lot, seeing that the ship was about to dock, she still wanted to find the grass as soon as possible and complete the task. The view on the other side of the river was good, but somehow, she always felt a little cold.
Mei Zhexu is also a delicate person, seeing that Su Wanning is reluctant to say more, she doesn't ask anymore,
"Little Ningzi, do you feel like you're being followed on the road?"
Su Wanning pretended not to understand: "Is there one?" Maybe everyone wants to fight in order to get the three-color deer. β
She was indeed lying, Lu Jiarong looked at her silently at the banquet last night, and both of them understood what they were thinking.
Standing with Lu Jiarong openly, Yingge will report to her mother, so it's better to meet outside.
Su Wanning didn't greet Lu Jiarong in advance, and it was just a fluke to engrave a mark on the trunk, and Lu Jiarong might not arrive in such a timely manner.
"Cousin Mei, is this the weed?" Su Wanning bent down and ripped off one from the grass, picked it up and asked Mei Zhexu.
Mei Zhexu nodded incomprehensibly: "Not bad." It is this, it is better to pick more, so as not to lack of forage in the future and not attract three-color deer. β
"Makes sense." Su Wanning temporarily made a small volt low, and the speed of picking the grass in her hands did not decrease.
"Cousin, why is there a weird atmosphere?" MejΓΆsh soon noticed that something was wrong.
Su Wanning frowned, patted the dirt on her hands, and looked around.
The boatman docked on the shore was nowhere to be seen, and a white fog rose in the middle of the bank at some point, making it impossible to see the situation outside.
"Haha. My cousin is still too simple, why did she carry a broken bow and arrow to go out. Either you don't want to bring anything with me, cousin, or you just don't trust me! Mei Zhexu originally deliberately teased Su Wanning, but when he saw that she was serious, he immediately caught her and ridiculed her fiercely.
Su Wan said that it was not good, and quickly touched her back, and sure enough, it was an arrow that had lost its bowstring!
"Cousin, be serious. Your cousin, I'm not a careless person, and when I went out, I clearly brought a complete bow and arrows, otherwise I would have gone mad? Take a cumbersome outing. If you think about it, is that true? β
After hearing this, Mei Zhexu laughed dryly: "What my cousin said is reasonable. It's just that in addition to Yingge accompanying him all the way, who else can take the opportunity to damage the bow and arrow? β
Su Wan was stunned for a moment: "Maybe it wasn't done by people?" β
"Cousin, what are you talking about, isn't it a human being, is it ......" Mei Zhexu said more and more in his voice, and in the end he couldn't make a sound at all.
"A flying insect!" Su Wanning said firmly: "It is absolutely impossible to use a hidden weapon, otherwise the bowstring will stay on the bow and arrow after it is broken, and we will find out if we want to take the rest." Now there is no bowstring left on the bow, there must be flying insects attached to the bowstring, secreting its own venom and melting the bowstring! β
Su Wanning was methodical and reasonable, and Mei Zhexu also agreed again and again.
"Why did we go to such great lengths to assassinate us, and it hasn't happened yet. We're on a desert island now, and there won't be outsiders raiding us at all! Mei Zhexu was sure that there was no one else around, but in the next moment he was slapped in the face.
"Miss Su, don't come unharmed." Lu Jiarong came from the gradually thickening mist.
"Lu Jiarong, what do you think is the reason?" Su Wanning simply introduced Lu Jiarong to Mei Zhexu, and what she wanted to solve most was the problem at hand.
If the fog does not clear, they will not be able to cross the river and leave, and they will freeze to death at night if they stay here.
At the same time, there is also a person in the shadows, who does not know whether they are friends or foes.
"A butterfly, perhaps?" Lu Jiarong pulled out a dead leaf butterfly from the grass.
Mei Zhexu also shouted: "There is one here too!" β
"It seems that it is really this black-edged golden butterfly that is doing it! I remember one coming into the tent in the morning, and I didn't expect such a bizarre consequence. The bowstring has been completely melted, so how can you deal with the enemy without weapons? Su Wanning threw away the existing difficulties.