Ling Shan narrowed her eyes and scanned the field. Before she could spot Yu Shiwei, she ran into Concubine Cui.
"Concubine Cui, are you here for the same thing?"
Concubine Cui was as gentle as an orchid in a secluded valley. Her water - blue Hu suit set off her fair complexion, and there was a gentle smile on her face.
"Yes. I'm not bad at archery on horseback. I thought I'd try my hand today. I'll just ride around on the periphery. Maybe I'll be lucky and shoot a few prey."
"You're really good then. I'm even afraid to ride a horse."
Ling Shan also wore a kind and gentle smile on her face. From afar, they seemed to be having a pleasant conversation.
In fact, Ling Shan's eyes were constantly darting around, looking for the person she wanted to find.
"Lady Zhaoxiurong, are you looking for Lady Yu? I seem to have seen her choosing a horse in the stable just now."
Ling Shan nodded to express her gratitude. After chatting for a while longer, they went their separate ways.
"Your Ladyship, what do you think of Concubine Cui?"
After they walked some distance away, Banchun supported Ling Shan towards the stable. She was a bit puzzled.
It seemed to her that her lady was more amiable and close to Lady Yu, but when it came to Concubine Cui...
It wasn't that her lady disliked Concubine Cui, but there was always something missing.
Moreover, Banchun was also skeptical about Lady Yu.
Although Lady Yu seemed nice for now, what if?
In the harem, there was hardly any true affection.
Maybe there was, but she was determined to be the number one maid in the harem, so she must always stay calm.
In the stable, many people were choosing horses. When Ling Shan arrived, a crowd had gathered around one of the stables, and there were faint sounds of quarrels.
A bad feeling welled up in Ling Shan's heart, and she quickened her steps.
Banchun cleared her throat, straightened her back, and announced loudly, "Lady Zhaoxiurong is here!"
The noisy crowd instantly fell silent and quickly stepped back. But someone accidentally stepped on another person's foot in the chaos.
Like a chain reaction, one after another, they instantly got into a mess. People stepped on each other and pushed each other, and a large number of them fell.
Ling Shan was walking behind the crowd. Before she could get closer, she heard a loud cracking sound.
A violent scream of panic instantly seemed to pierce through the clouds.
The supporting columns of the stable suddenly collapsed, and the straw and wooden boards on the top came crashing down. It was about to fall on the crowd and Ling Shan.
In the already chaotic situation, the survival instinct made everyone want to be the first to run out, which made it even more chaotic.
Ling Shan turned around and tried to run, but the women behind her were too crazy. Even her fast - paced legs, which once held the 800 - meter record, couldn't get away in time.
In broad daylight, two secret guards were pretending to be maids not far away, but what happened in front of them was too sudden.
The two secret guards didn't have time to react at first. The large crowd was so dense that they couldn't even tell who was who.
At the critical moment, Ling Shan felt as if someone had grabbed her waist. In a blink of an eye, she was in a safe place.
The secret guards just caught up and surrounded Ling Shan and Yu Shiwei.
With a loud bang.
The stable collapsed. Along with the neighing of horses and the groans of people, dust flew everywhere, and the scene in front of them was blurred and chaotic.
The maids and officials guarding the stable turned pale. They quickly controlled the runaway horses, then hurriedly called for the imperial physician and tried to move the debris away with trembling hands.
All the noble ladies here were people these little folk couldn't afford to offend. If someone died here...
Wouldn't they all have to be buried with them?
But even if the noble ladies didn't die, such an accident would still cause countless people to be in trouble.
"Shiwei, are you okay?"
Ling Shan looked at Yu Shiwei, who was dressed in a purple - red Hu suit. A hint of admiration flashed in her eyes.
Sometimes, one had to admit that a person's temperament was impossible to change or imitate.
The styles of Hu suits were more or less the same, but on Yu Shiwei, it made her look like a cold - faced female general ready to go into battle, while on Ling Shan, she looked like a charming foreign beauty without any offensive power.
"I'm fine."
Yu Shiwei's cold eyes scanned Ling Shan up and down, and she quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Ling Shan also silently buried the scene just now in her heart. She showed a smile and pulled Yu Shiwei to watch the show.
The stable had suddenly collapsed. Was it really an accident or another malicious plot?
But no matter what it was, the unlucky ones at the moment were not them, but...
If the person behind this was among them, they would surely be furious!
Ling Shan and Yu Shiwei were both rare beauties. Standing there, one cold and the other lively, they were as dazzling as goddesses descending to earth in the midst of the mess.
Thankfully, although the group of concubines looked in a sorry state, none of them were seriously injured or dead.
After the maids had helped the noble ladies tidy up, the official in charge of the stable stepped forward to check. The cracks on the broken pillar were obviously man - made.
So, an accident that almost killed countless concubines unexpectedly turned into a premeditated murder.
Before anyone was sent to investigate thoroughly, the two "culprits" in the stable committed suicide first.
When Jun Wuyuan arrived, he quickly glanced at Ling Shan. Seeing this heartless little thing still smiling, he finally felt completely relieved.
Then he caught sight of a somewhat familiar figure beside Ling Shan, and his eyes flickered.
Ling Shan just happened to notice this, and her suspicion was confirmed.
Several concubines should have been happy to be able to get close to Jun Wuyuan, but thinking of their current disheveled appearance, they wished Jun Wuyuan would disappear immediately.
Unexpectedly, although Jun Wuyuan came, he didn't even look at them. His amorous peach - blossom eyes were only fixed on Ling Shan.
For these concubines who had just escaped death, in order not to delay the auspicious time for the hunt, he only left them one sentence.
"Those who are sick should go and get treated quickly!"
Even though he didn't finish the second half of the sentence, the concubines could still guess from his annoyed expression.
"If you have nothing to do, don't come out and spoil the fun!"
All the concubines: "..."
They were aggrieved and disheveled, but they didn't dare to say much. They could only endure their grievances, bow respectfully, and watch the backs of the emperor and Lady Zhaoxiurong leave.
Among the intertwined emotions of unwillingness, jealousy, and humiliation, there were a pair of cold and venomous eyes flickering, just like a demon from hell.
The most interesting thing was that after Jun Wuyuan appeared, Ling Shan and Yu Shiwei both didn't say a word and didn't even exchange a glance.
Yu Shiwei watched the backs of the two walking away hand in hand. A hint of nostalgia flashed across her cold eyes and then disappeared.
Suddenly, Ling Shan stopped.