But the woman waved her hand and said, "Prince Nanping, wait. I will surely capture this little fox today!"
Seeing the determination on the woman's face in front of him, Helian Rong knew that it was useless to try to dissuade her. Moreover, since she was right in front of him, what accident could possibly happen to her?
So Dongfang Yi pushed aside the bushes and got inside. She saw the little white fox running not far away.
Hidden in the dark, Yaoji and Concubine Lian were overjoyed when they saw Dongfang Yi coming in alone without Helian Rong following. Their eyes were fixed intently on the distance.
When Dongfang Yi saw the fox stop moving, she was just about to draw her sword and shoot it. But then she thought that if the fox pelt was damaged, it would be a great loss. So she decided to catch it with her own hands.
She bent down and approached step by step, completely unaware of the impending threat.
Just as she was about to catch it, she suddenly felt her feet give way. Her body began to fall uncontrollably. To her surprise, the seemingly flat ground suddenly revealed a large pit, and she fell right into it.
The pit was extremely deep. On the way down, she hit the steep wall of the cave. When she fell to the bottom of the pit, she could only force herself to open her eyes for a moment before losing consciousness.
Seeing that her plan had succeeded, Yaoji, who was hiding in the dark, quickly ran out and peeked into the pit. Then she repaired the damaged trap and hid again.
Helian Rong, who was waiting outside the bushes, didn't see Dongfang Yi come out after a long time. A sense of worry welled up in his heart. He immediately dismounted and walked into the bushes.
"Empress Dowager?!" he called out.
Then he walked in but found that there was no sign of the woman on the vast open ground. Even the white fox had disappeared.
Could they have run somewhere else? he thought. Then he continued walking forward. Suddenly, he felt a blow on his back. Before he could turn around to see who had attacked him, he stumbled forward. Then his feet stepped into thin air and he also fell into the pit.
It was Yaoji who had come out in time and pushed him. She was afraid that with Helian Rong's alertness, he would eventually discover the trap they had set. If he found Dongfang Yi in the trap, their plan would be ruined.
After thinking this, she called Concubine Lian to help her tidy up the trap. The whole scene seemed as if nothing had happened.
But Concubine Lian was a little panicked. She didn't expect that the Prince Nanping, the emperor's younger brother, would be involved. She just wanted to gain fame and status, not to harm innocent people.
So she asked tremblingly, "We won't be discovered, will we?"
Yaoji just sneered and replied, "The pit is dozens of zhang deep, and there are poisonous snakes lurking. Even if they had ten lives, they wouldn't survive until they were discovered!"
As she said this, a murderous look flashed in her eyes. She didn't care about the Prince Nanping at all. If he died, it would be a good thing. With one less helper for the emperor of Dongsheng, it would be easier for them to achieve the great cause of the Southern Neighboring Kingdom.
After thinking this, she left calmly. Concubine Lian could only follow her nervously.
Helian Rong, who had fallen to the bottom of the pit, finally landed after several collisions. After rubbing his head to relieve the headache, he saw Dongfang Yi lying unconscious beside him.
He immediately realized that they had been tricked, but he couldn't figure out who had done it for the time being.
After thinking this, he began to shake the woman beside him and kept calling her name. But Dongfang Yi had obviously suffered a severe head injury, and calling her like this couldn't wake her up at all.
Just when he was at his wit's end, he heard some strange sounds coming from around. He frowned warily and drew out a short sword from his waist.
Then he took out a fire starter from his bosom and blew it open to light up the surroundings. After the area was illuminated, he found that there were so many snakes coiled around. Judging from their appearance, with black bodies and yellow flowers, and rattling tails, they were obviously poisonous.
After seeing this, his heart skipped a beat. He didn't expect to encounter such a dangerous situation here. So he took a deep look at the unconscious woman beside him.
Soon, all the poisonous snakes gathered around them, spitting their scarlet tongues and making a "hissing" sound. Then one of them rushed towards him.
Helian Rong immediately swung his knife and cut it off. Then he kept cutting the snakes that kept rushing towards him. The snake blood splashed all over his face and head, but because there were too many snakes, he couldn't kill them all.
But all the snakes that could rush in front of him were cut off by him. After about a quarter of an hour, no more poisonous snakes flew over, and Helian Rong could sit down and catch his breath.
But just when he had just relaxed, he suddenly felt a pain in his calf. Then he looked down and saw a poisonous snake biting his calf.
He immediately raised his hand and cut it off, but he couldn't stop the toxin from spreading in his body.
Soon, he felt a sharp pain in his head, and stars began to dance in front of his eyes. All the things in front of him became blurred. Then he tilted his head and fell to the ground.
The bottom of the pit was silent again.
As the sky gradually darkened, the moon climbed out. It was time for the hunting competition to end. Those who had entered the forest in the afternoon rode out one after another.
Helian Qi stared intently at the crowd, but even after everyone had come out, he didn't see Dongfang Yi's figure.
A sense of uneasiness welled up in his heart. He immediately asked Ru Yi beside him, "Have you seen the Empress Dowager?"
Ru Yi frowned and replied, "Your Majesty, I saw her going with Prince Nanping this afternoon."
"And where is Prince Nanping?" Helian Qi asked again.
He scanned the whole venue but didn't find any trace of the prince.
Ru Yi didn't know how to answer this time. He had thought that with Prince Nanping around, the Empress Dowager would surely be safe. But who would have thought that even the prince had disappeared.
"Send people to search immediately!" Helian Qi roared with cold eyes.
He had calculated everything, but he didn't expect such a thing to happen.
Ru Yi took the order and led a team of guards into the forest.
The people in the venue also felt the tense atmosphere in the air. Seeing the gloomy face of the man sitting on the highest seat, they all understood that something important must have happened.
Suddenly, the Minister of Works said, "The Empress Dowager is missing?!"
The crowd immediately boiled. They seemed to understand something and began to talk in whispers.
The Empress Dowager had disappeared!