Chapter 99: Chapter 99: She Has a Backer as Great as the Emperor

A woman’s shriek then tore through the sky, even shriller than when she had been dangling from the cliff.

Li Chengxun and the guards all ran over.

Ji Qingwu feigned surprise, turning her head to gasp, "Your Highness..."

Princess Qingyun had landed right in a large pile of dung from some unknown wild beast.

The shocking sight made Li Chengxun instinctively take a step back. A few guards froze for a moment before rushing over to help the Princess to her feet.

The pampered princess had never encountered anything like this in her life. Her whole body was trembling, right down to the flesh of her cheeks.

Ji Qingwu pressed her lips together, fighting back a smile. The feeling of instant revenge was truly gratifying.

Just then, she saw more and brighter torchlights converging on their position in the distance.

Ji Qingwu covered the side of her face where Princess Qingyun had just slapped her and said, "Your Highness, your horse was startled and I saved you. Yet you repay my kindness with malice. I do not know what I have done to offend you."

Princess Qingyun pointed at her, her hand trembling uncontrollably as she tried to speak in a fit of rage.

The sound of hooves grew louder. Upon seeing the newcomers, Li Chengxun and all the guards immediately knelt in greeting.

Emperor Wu Su was dressed in a jet-black, collarless riding habit with horseshoe cuffs, adorned with dragon embroidery on the cuffs and lapels. He wore a light, white breastplate over it. A solid black longbow and a quiver of sharp, white-feathered arrows were fastened to his saddle.

Ji Qingwu shifted from her seated position to kneel, joining the others in welcoming the Emperor. She had already guessed who it might be.

Seeing that it was indeed him, a genuine sense of security finally washed over her.

Emperor Wu Su gently reined in his horse, which slowed to a stop beside Ji Qingwu. His gaze swept across the scene before his brow furrowed. "Qingyun, what is this state you’re in?"

The Princess was covered in filth. Someone had handed her a handkerchief, but wiping only seemed to spread the mess.

Li Chengxun kept his distance, whether because of the Princess’s volatile temper or the foul stench clinging to her.

With all eyes on her, Princess Qingyun grew both furious and frantic, pointing an accusing finger at Ji Qingwu. "This is all your fault! How dare you seduce the Prince Consort right in front of me? Do you even acknowledge my presence?"

Seated high on his horse, Emperor Wu Su ignored the crowd of people kneeling on the ground.

He turned a deaf ear to Qingyun’s wailing.

His gaze fell upon the woman kneeling in a patch of grass.

Her high ponytail had come loose, with several untidy strands straying across her face. Her riding clothes were torn in a few places, revealing a glimpse of fair skin at her knee.

From rolling on the ground, her face was smudged with dirt, and a few verdant leaves from the little tree on the cliff were caught in her hair.

Only Ji Qingwu’s eyes remained bright, and she appeared relatively calm.

Suddenly, a man’s derisive laugh came from behind Emperor Wu Su. Ji Qingwu looked closer and realized that Wei Chi Lianping and Eunuch Li were also in the Emperor’s retinue.

Princess Qingyun demanded indignantly, "What are you laughing at!"

Wei Chi Lianping surveyed the scene. There were at least a dozen guards who had arrived before them.

He said, "Your Highness ought to be more careful with your words. How could it be seduction in front of so many people? You must have been mistaken."

Princess Qingyun immediately retorted, "My eyesight is perfect! I couldn’t possibly have been mistaken."

Seeing the dark, gooey mess smeared on her chest and waist, Wei Chi Lianping could no longer contain himself.

His laughter boomed as he declared, "Your Highness should probably wipe that cow dung off yourself before you say another word. Anyone with such great eyesight wouldn’t fall face-first into a dung heap!"

Princess Qingyun stomped her foot in fury, but this man was the Prince Consort of Princess Hua Chang—her own brother-in-law. She was furious but dared not speak out against him.

She turned her anger back on Ji Qingwu.

"Fifth Cousin, you speak! What were you doing just now!"

Wei Chi Lianping looked so exasperated his mouth nearly twisted back to his ears.

’Anyone could see the Emperor was displeased. His expression was darker than the twilight sky, yet Princess Qingyun was still here, carrying on like a witless lunatic.’

「Half an incense stick ago.」

Emperor Wu Su had not joined the day’s hunt. He was in his main tent, practicing military tactics with the Eight Array Map, while Wei Chi Lianping stood guard.

When a Hidden Guard reported that Princess Qingyun had encountered a wild beast, the Emperor’s expression remained perfectly composed.

The Imperial Brush in his hand continued to trace the formations with unerring precision. He simply ordered a messenger to tell Li Chengxun to take some guards and handle the rescue, as his own presence would be of no use.

Before long, another report arrived, this time from the Imperial City Department. It stated that Fifth Miss Ji and the Princess were in peril on a cliffside.

The brush in Emperor Wu Su’s hand froze, and a drop of ink bled across the cream-colored silk scroll...

They had rushed over. The entire way, the Emperor’s expression was taut, his gaze terrifyingly deep. Even Wei Chi Lianping didn’t dare utter an unnecessary word.

As they crossed the hunting grounds and neared the cliff, they saw a figure in red squatting in the lush grass, hugging her knees and covering her face, muttering something.

Only then did the oppressive, stormy aura around Emperor Wu Su begin to dissipate.

Wei Chi Lianping looked at Ji Qingwu with a strange expression.

’The Ji Family’s delicate Fifth Missy... after such a terrible ordeal, it seemed she was arguing her case quite forcefully right before they arrived.’

’But now that they were here, she was silent in the face of accusation. Her large, dark, brilliant eyes darted about as if she were plotting something.’

’Was she scared witless?’

’With a powerful backer like Emperor Wu Su right before her, why wasn’t she rushing to his side for support? What was she waiting for?’

Ji Qingwu was indeed preoccupied with other matters.

’She knew perfectly well why Princess Qingyun was making such a scene. It was simply because Li Chengxun had saved her first, and the princess’s jealousy had curdled into hatred. Girls her age treat love as if it’s the most important thing in the world.’

’But if this ruckus continued, she’d never be able to clear her name.’

’She didn’t want everyone to misunderstand—especially not the man currently staring at her with that heavy gaze.’

’If the Emperor were to get the wrong idea and think she was having an affair with Li Chengxun...’

A chill ran down Ji Qingwu’s spine.

’Last time, Emperor Wu Su had thrown a massive fit, using the simple fact that a drunken Li Chengxun had briefly hugged her as a pretext.’

She suppressed her other feelings. ’Perhaps Princess Qingyun couldn’t see my situation clearly at the time, since she was hanging slightly above me.’

With a clear head, Ji Qingwu began to explain the misunderstanding.

"Your Highness, after we fell from the cliff, the tree I was holding onto was not as sturdy as yours. Its roots were already loose and about to give way. That is why Lord Li pulled me up first. It was not, as you believe, because of some secret affair between us."

Hearing Ji Qingwu’s explanation, Li Yuzong felt his heart pound with fear.

This was not just because he now understood the life-threatening danger she had just been in, but also due to the gloomy expression on the Emperor’s face.

Emperor Wu Su’s frown deepened.

The Princess, having lost all reason and consumed by jealousy, began to speak recklessly.

"Even so, you should have been the one to die!"

Ji Qingwu had nearly lost her own life saving the princess. While she hadn’t expected any gratitude from Qingyun, she also hadn’t expected to be slapped and then told she "should have been the one to die."

’If there weren’t so many people around, Ji Qingwu would have loved to shove this little princess—whose mind was consumed by nothing but love—face-first into the dung heap to snap her back to her senses.’

’But now,’ she thought, ’there was clearly a better way.’