Journey To Mt. Mu

Early morning, they headed off on the road again. Qin Xie De didn't make an attempt to talk to Da Ying when she passed by him. She too, didn't care to greet him. Half way through the day, they made a stop when the road came to a stop. The city road had stopped and ahead of them laid a forestry that connected to the mountain terrain.

In one corner were the empress, Wen Wan and Qin Xie De enjoying a full course meal. Ying Me, Yue Li and their mother's had their afternoon meal under a shaded tree. Da Ying was forced to have her meal with Consort Yao. Bei'er had laid down a thick blanket on the side of the grass before they sat down. Playing along with Consort Yao was much more tiring than she had expected. Along the way, she even wondered how these women in the palace could force themselves to act this way towards each other. Being this pretentious would drive her crazy.

Da Ying picked up a pork meat bun and started to take small bites. Consort Yao used this chance to strike up a conversation. She had already exerted much effort towards Da Ying, only a few more days, she thought. "Ying'er is the food not to your taste?" she asked in a very concerned voice.

"Everything is good. I just feel stuffy from being in the carriage all this time," both of them made small comments, finally stopping after a few minutes. Bei'er and Bai Zhi were both standing at the side, watching their Xiaojies. "Ying'er, you enjoy your food. I'll be right back," Bei'er quickly helped her madame up. Da Ying sighed in relief. Throughout this whole journey, that woman had talked nonstop; even Da Ying was getting tired of her. Her peace and quiet lasted no longer than a few minutes. Qin Xie De got up from across the road and headed her way with a bowl. Ying Me and Yue Li were both excited for a moment; he had to walk past their direction first to get to Da Ying. They were ready to get up and greet him, asking him what he brought for them when they were brushed off. Their faces turned sour when they realized where he was going.

Da Ying was too busy enjoying the scenery to realize he was making his way over to her. His shadow blocked the sunlight in front of her. She made a turn his way and frowned. "What are you doing over here?" He sat down across from her and made himself comfortable. Da Ying's lips twitched from irritation. "I heard from Consort Yao that you weren't feeling too well. I brought over a sweet walnut soup for you," he reached over with the bowl in hand and placed it in front of her lap. Da Ying looked at the soup in front of her and then looked up. "You and I are not in a situation to be nice to each other. Please take the soup and leave,"

"True, our current stand points are different but you haven't done me wrong yet. I'll continue to be on good terms with you until then,"

"But I don't want to be on good terms with you. You may leave,"

"EH!!! Why must you be like this? I saw that you weren't feeling well so I came over with good intentions. I won't let my good intentions go to waste. I'm not leaving until I see you eat that soup," he stood his ground as his arms were crossed. "How do I know you didn't do anything to it?" Da Ying didn't trust him. "Wow! You are suspecting me? I should be the one suspecting you. Fine, fine," he shook his head. "I'll drink half of it and you drink the rest. Will that work?"

"Fine," Qin Xie De took the bowl, placed the edge on his lips and drank half his portion before setting it back in its original spot. The whole time, Da Ying was inspecting his every move. He didn't seem to have any intentions of harming her. She picked the bowl up and also drank the whole thing in one gulp. This left Xie De shocked for a moment. She had no womanly features whatsoever. This was the first woman in his life to have used such vulgar manners in front of him. Normal women ate soup with a spoon, but she actually finished it in one gulp….too frightening, he thought. He was really taken aback and couldn't help but let out a small laugh, "You really have no womanly touches in you," this time it was Da Ying who crossed her arms and looked at him with a challenging stare. "You did it, why can't I? If I have no womanly touches, you have vulgar table manners,"

"I won't argue with you today, hmph!" Xie De quickly stood up and left. Bai Zhi walked over to her Xiaojie. "Xiaojie…"

"Don't worry, just from his face, I can tell he didn't do anything to the soup. Besides, he has no grudges against me, he wouldn't make a move." Da Ying didn't know why she chose to trust him.

After eating, they headed into the forest. Everything went by smoothly; there were no signs of bandits in the proximity. Da Ying had found it strange that Consort Yao didn't come back to her carriage after eating. She had gone to Consort Yu's carriage, leaving Da Ying in the carriage alone with Bai Zhi. No matter how strange it was, she didn't mind it. She was already prepared for Consort Yao's future plans. Not even after an hour, Da Ying's head started to throb with pain.

Qin Xie De, who was on a horse, leading from the front also felt his head throb with pain. At first, he thought it was from the long ride and heat but it got worst. He used his inner energy to slow down his headache.

Even after leaving the forest and entering the mountainous terrain, the throbbing never stopped for Da Ying. She was then left with no choice but to also suppress the pain with her inner energy too. "Xiaojie, are you alright?"

"I have been careful this whole time. There was no possible opening for Consort Yao to attack. When did she get an opening?" As they headed up the mountain, Da Ying could not figure out when Consort Yao had the chance to drug her.

Mt. Mu could be seen from afar. It would not take more than two hours before they arrived. They would just need to get passed the peaks. As long as nothing happened, they would not stray off the man-made path and head towards the cliffs.

Around this time, they would at least come across some people who were also heading towards the praying temple but no one. Qin Xie De felt it was too strange. He stopped his horse and told his men to be wary. Not long later, bandits hiding in the corners of the mountains rushed out. All four carriages were circled by the barbarians holding swords and spears. Wen Wan, who was the first to notice the carriages make a sudden stop lifted up the curtain. Her eye widened in fear, "Bandits," her heart was pounding with horror. Ying Me and Yue Li panicked when they had also figured out the situation. "Protect her highness," Qin Xie De told his men.