Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot-Chapter 311 - 291: The Hunt Begins

Faced with the impassive Meng Qianqian, Tao Shiyu felt her head throb.

Lowering her head, she took a deep breath, mustering her courage: "Even if you don’t want to hear this, I still need to say it. To be honest, the reason I’ve humbled myself this much is that I need your help. The Xun Family has politely rejected the marriage proposal between me and Chen Long, saying that now that Chen Long is your guard, they can no longer decide his affairs. Only if you approve can the marriage proceed. If I don’t get your permission, this marriage will fall apart!"

Meng Qianqian raised her eyebrow.

Oh, so the Xun Family is pushing the responsibility onto her?

Tao Shiyu choked on a sob and said, "I don’t understand. It was all fine at first. The Xun Family were the ones who came to propose the marriage. Why have they made it so difficult for me now?"

Do you really not know why?

You treated me as an imaginary rival and went against me in the Imperial Palace, only to humiliate yourself and become the laughingstock of everyone.

The Xun Family would never want a daughter-in-law with a tarnished reputation.

With red, swollen eyes, Tao Shiyu said, "I admit I’m trying to ingratiate myself with you, but as a woman, what’s wrong with fighting for my own future? Chen Long is a good man, someone worth entrusting my life to. If it takes pleasing others to marry him, so be it!"

Meng Qianqian snorted, clearly unimpressed.

Tears streamed down Tao Shiyu’s face like broken pearls, falling in big, heavy drops.

Not far away, some other women seemed to hear her sobbing and instinctively glanced in their direction.

Wiping her tears, Tao Shiyu stood up and walked away without looking back.

Princess Wanping’s eyes landed on Meng Qianqian’s face.

Meng Qianqian spread her hands, feigning innocence: "I didn’t scold her."

Princess Wanping’s expression was stern: "You made her cry; you comfort her."

"I—"

What a little tyrant!

With a dark expression, Meng Qianqian grudgingly followed suit.

Tao Shiyu had run quite far, but Meng Qianqian found her under a centuries-old locust tree.

She was sitting there alone, crying as if the sky were falling.

Meng Qianqian clicked her tongue: "Alright, fine. I agree to your marriage."

Tao Shiyu’s tear-streaked face lifted in disbelief. "Really?"

"Mm."

Meng Qianqian nodded perfunctorily. "Go home quickly, before the Princess gets angry."

Was she comforting Tao Shiyu? No, she was trying to appease that tyrant of a Princess Wanping!

Tao Shiyu’s face broke into a smile through her tears. She rushed forward and hugged Meng Qianqian. "I knew it... You couldn’t be so cruel... Thank you, Madam Lu..."

Meng Qianqian stiffened all over, deeply uncomfortable.

So this is what it feels like to be close to someone you dislike.

"Alright, alright, let’s go."

Meng Qianqian shoved Tao Shiyu away, afraid that if this charade went on any longer, she might pull out her blade.

The two of them began heading back.

Tao Shiyu suddenly cried out, "My earring!"

Meng Qianqian turned her head and saw that one of her red gemstone earrings was indeed missing.

"What do I do... That was passed down to me by my grandmother... She’s already passed away..."

Tao Shiyu, who had just calmed down, burst into tears once more.

Meng Qianqian’s head pounded. "If it’s missing, then look for it! What’s the point of crying?"

Grabbing Meng Qianqian’s wrist, Tao Shiyu pleaded, "Will you help me look for it?"

Meng Qianqian smirked. "Sure."

The two of them retraced their steps, searching carefully.

"Wasn’t it the other path earlier?"

Meng Qianqian asked.

Tao Shiyu pointed ahead. "Before you found me, I went over there too."

Meng Qianqian sighed. "Fine then."

They continued searching.

But after quite some time, they found themselves wandering deeper into the wilderness.

Meng Qianqian suddenly chuckled. "We’ve been at this a while and still nothing. Are you sure you didn’t get the direction wrong? East’s that way. Were you headed south, or was it east?"

"It’s east."

Tao Shiyu kept her head down, walking onward.

Meng Qianqian crossed her arms, squinting as she watched her retreating figure.

Noticing Meng Qianqian hadn’t followed, Tao Shiyu turned back in confusion. "Madam Lu, why aren’t you coming? Don’t you want to help me find my earring?"

Meng Qianqian replied frankly, "Of course not. If not for the Princess ordering me to bring you back, did you think I’d even bother with you?"

Tao Shiyu bit her lip. "I’m sorry for being a burden to you. But we’re close. We should find it soon."

Meng Qianqian raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then let’s continue."

Tao Shiyu pressed on, leading the way.

Winding back and forth for about a quarter of an hour, they arrived at an open cave.

Tao Shiyu wiped the sweat from her forehead and said to Meng Qianqian, "I’m exhausted. Let’s rest inside the cave for a while."

Meng Qianqian cheerfully laughed. "Alright."

Tao Shiyu said, "You go in first. I... feel a bit scared."

Without hesitation, Meng Qianqian crossed her arms and strode into the cave.

Tao Shiyu stood still, watching her with a fixed gaze. The warmth in her eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by a cold maliciousness brimming with jealousy.

Meng Qianqian, you have only yourself to blame for crossing me.

Let’s see, after today, how much longer can you hold your head high in front of me?

Wei Mingxuan has a knack for tormenting women. Enjoy yourself.

When you’re left in ruin, even the Grand Commander won’t want you!

With a cold laugh, Tao Shiyu pulled out an aromatic sachet hidden in her sleeve. It was filled with a potent sleeping powder that she had sprinkled on Meng Qianqian during her earlier embrace.

Knowing Meng Qianqian’s martial arts prowess, she had deliberately dragged her along for so long, ensuring Meng Qianqian had no time to notice the trap before the drug took full effect.

Discarding the sachet, Tao Shiyu smirked cruelly. "Such a lovely scene... How can I not let the Princess, noble ladies, and guards witness it too?"

High in the sky, a hunting eagle flapped its wings, letting out a sharp cry as it soared deeper into the hunting grounds.

-

"What’s going on here?"

Tan’er sat astride her steed, waving her bow listlessly. "Such a beautiful white fox, and I still lost it? Xiao Bai—Xiao Bai—"

"Great, lost my prey and Xiao Bai too."

Elsewhere, Bai Yuwei was also pursuing a white fox.

Earlier, she and Tan’er had stumbled upon a den of foxes. Both wanted to catch one, so they had split up.

Now, when she looked back, Tan’er was nowhere to be seen.

She frowned. "That girl was raised in the mountains. Could she still get lost?"

Although her martial arts were not as strong as Tan’er’s, Bai Yuwei’s knowledge of the wilderness surpassed Tan’er’s a dozenfold.

Decisively abandoning the fox, she turned back to search for Tan’er.

Before she had gone far, she noticed an enormous footprint in a puddle.

Retracting her reins, she backed her horse up cautiously, as if fearing to disturb something.

Suddenly, a menacing aura closed in. Instinctively, she leapt from the saddle and whipped the horse’s hindquarters with her riding crop!

The horse bolted, while she grabbed a branch overhead, swinging nimbly onto its sturdy limb.

An enormous black bear charged out, slamming into the tree.

If she hadn’t moved quickly, both she and her horse would’ve been doomed.

The bear clawed its way up the tree.

Bai Yuwei quickly leapt back down.

The bear lunged at her.

Rolling in the dirt, Bai Yuwei narrowly avoided its claws.

Before she could fully regain her balance, a second blow came hurtling her way.

At the last critical second, a figure in blue collided hard with the bear.

The bear was unharmed, but its attention shifted, sparing Bai Yuwei. Swiping with its massive paw, it sent the man flying.

The man crashed to the ground, spitting blood.

Bai Yuwei quickly hurled a poison bottle at the bear, then drew a flute from her waist and blew into it sharply.

In an instant, a swarm of venomous bees descended upon the bear, forcing it to flee in panic.

Hurrying to the man’s side, Bai Yuwei helped him up.

When she saw his face, her eyes widened in shock. "The Princely Heir of the Xun Family?"