Who is the Prey
Venturing out at night would have surely drawn the attention of Concubine Xiao and her ilk, causing unwanted trouble. Thus, the following day, under the pretext of checking on her shops, she brazenly left the Duke’s residence. As she stepped out of the grand entrance, she detected a faint rustling sound from behind.
Having previously failed to notice she was being followed, this time she was observant and heard it clearly. Yet, she paid it no mind; she even bought a stick of sickly sweet tanghulu along the way.
The household had limited reliable staff, and she worried about Zhao Qingrou. Therefore, she left Qin Xin in the house to take care of her, specifically instructing Qin Xin to watch over Zhao Qingrou’s diet and even moved her into her own courtyard.
Passing through the Imperial Street, which she was now quite familiar with, Ye Youqing turned and pushed open the doors to Cuihong Zhuang, then firmly shut them behind her.
“Eldest Miss, you’ve arrived,” greeted a young boy, leaping out from behind the counter, doggedly handing her a bundled package. “Though there are few fierce beasts in the forests, dangers still lurk. Are you certain you don’t need me to accompany you?”
“Stay behind and continue with the tasks I’ve given you. No matter what, the reopening of the shop must not be delayed,” instructed Ye Youqing, as she unwrapped the package to carefully inspect its contents. Finding nothing amiss, she nodded in satisfaction.
The gift that managed to win favor in front of the Empress Dowager turned out to be a fox, leaving Ye Youqing unsure whether to feel relieved or concerned. If it was about difficulty, a single fox indeed seemed simpler than any rare treasure. Yet, finding a living creature in the vast woods felt akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
She hoped that Qin Wang had not truly caught the white fox yet. A wave of irritation crossed her mind, thinking that if she ever had the chance, she would relish the opportunity to give Qin Wang a good punch or two to alleviate her resentment.
After securing her items, Ye Youqing handed the unfinished candied fruit to the boy and changed into a blue-grey outfit with snug sleeves before briskly running upstairs and gazing out of the window.
Her legs felt somewhat weak.
“We definitely need to install a back door for the kitchen on the first floor,” Ye Youqing thought.
“Steady your breath in the Dantian, knees slightly bent, body leaning forward.” Suddenly, a casual voice came from behind. Ye Youqing abruptly turned around, meeting a pair of golden eyes.
It was Shi Li, standing with her arms crossed, lazily leaning against the door frame, yawning at Ye Youqing.
Ignoring the strong smell of alcohol, Ye Youqing turned her head back to look down the dimly lit alley below, cluttered with miscellaneous objects and garbage left from who knows when.
“You were taught by your master to fly over walls when you were eight, why are you now hesitating to jump out of a window.” Shi Li seemed somewhat dissatisfied. Her body flickered suddenly, moving as fast as lightning…
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And pushed Ye Youqing down.
A sense of weightlessness quickly took over, and before Ye Youqing could swear, she instinctively did a spin in mid-air, landing on both feet like a falling cat with agility.
The training from childhood really was the most reliable. Ye Youqing didn’t know if she was more scared or shocked, her heart racing wildly as she quickly got up and looked up to see Shi Li slumping to the ground, gradually falling into a drunken sleep by the window.
“Drunkard,” Ye Youqing cursed, irritated, brushing the dust off her body.
She dared not delay any longer and rushed forward into the rising sun.
Years ago on a winter day, the Empress Dowager, holding her beloved pet white fox, accompanied the Emperor on a hunting expedition in the woods. As dusk fell and heavy snow began to descend, during the counting of the game, a pheasant suddenly squawked, startling the white fox, which bolted into the twilight forest.
Distraught, the Empress Dowager was hardly consoled, her grief manifesting in silent tears. However, with the night’s snowfall covering the mountains, not one of the thousands of imperial guards dared to venture into the forest to retrieve the fox, and the matter was left unresolved.
According to the original story, it was Qin Wang who later remembered this incident and, after great effort, managed to find the white fox and presented it to the Empress Dowager. Naturally, she was overjoyed and promoted him on the spot, basking him in royal favor.
This inspired Ye Youqing to try her luck in the mountains as well. She hoped not only to snatch the white fox before Qin Wang could, thus blocking his opportunity for courtship, but also to possibly earn some silver to open a few more shops.
Lacking horse-riding skills, she rented a horse carriage and whipped the horses towards the hunting grounds located nearly a hundred miles outside of Bianjing. By the time the sun was setting behind her, she had arrived.
Jumping down from the carriage, she was momentarily stunned by the breathtaking scenery before her. Ahead lay a lake, looking like a mirror encased in the mountains, reflecting the sunset’s afterglow. A mix of brilliant yellow and ink-like green splashed across the lake’s surface, creating a beautifully marbled and picturesque view.
Beyond the lake were rolling, yet not steep, mountains covered with dense forests that seemed like a vast sea from afar. All that was visible from a distance were clusters of treetops, rustling with the wind.
The carriage driver, seeing that Ye Youqing was a young woman venturing here alone, kindly warned, “Miss, the sun is about to set. Though this is a hunting ground, it is not the season for encirclement hunting, and the nearby farmers often set traps. It’s very dangerous for a young lady like you to go into the mountains now.”
Ye Youqing waved him off without answering and briskly walked around the lake into the forest.
The further she walked, the less sunlight filtered through the branches, making her surroundings increasingly dim. Ye Youqing gauged the distance to the remaining hunting platforms and headed towards the nearby woods.
The Empress Dowager’s white fox had been domesticated since its youth. Its survival indicated that it didn’t live deep in the forest; otherwise, its snow-white fur would have made it an easy target for other animals, and it would have been devoured long ago.
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Therefore, she only needed to search the outskirts.
As the sun gradually set in the west and the last streaks of twilight disappeared, the sky turned a cold blue. The surroundings began to grey, but Ye Youqing was not afraid. She methodically took out flint from her pack, found a clearing, and started a crackling bonfire.
The flames snapped and popped in front of her, occasionally spitting out sparks that brought the warm scent of fireworks. Ye Youqing then took out a whole plucked chicken from her pack, placing it over the fire to smoke. Soon, the aroma of roasting meat spread through the woods.
Wild animals, fearing fire, dared not approach even if enticed by the smell. However, a domesticated white fox, being accustomed to humans, would not be frightened.
Meanwhile, a distance away, a group of people halted.
“In these deserted mountains, how can there be someone else?” a man in iron armor said gruffly, breaking a branch that obstructed their path.
“Maybe a hunter nearby,” laughed another man following him. “Brother Li, we’ve been searching for this little creature for two days. What reward do you think General Qin will give us?”
In his hands, he held the nape of a fox, which, having been in the mountains for a while, had its snow-white fur turned to a dusty grey.
“Whatever the reward, it certainly won’t be as much as that woman’s,” the man in iron armor glanced back, saying resentfully, “Taking a woman along for the mere task of catching a fox, General Qin surely has us hindered. Truly an inconvenience.”
His gaze indeed fell upon a woman trailing slowly behind them. She wore a short garment, her long eyelashes like feathers, veiling her eyes and making her face appear somewhat pale against the dim surroundings.
It seemed she heard the men’s unguarded words. Her delicate nails dug into her palm, supporting herself on a stick.
“The word is she once served in the palace, recognizes this Empress Dowager’s snow fox,” said the man holding the fox, stepping hard on a bush.
“But let’s not speak of it,” the man suddenly licked his lips and laughed. “This servant girl is quite the looker, much prettier than any top courtesan around.”
The two laughed boorishly, a flash of malice passing through Ci Ke’s eyes as she quickened her pace.
Before the man could continue, a cry of pain suddenly erupted from behind them, and before they could turn around, something hard collided with them. The man holding the fox stumbled, and the fox, seizing the moment, let out a wail and began to struggle, biting the man’s wrist.
The woods were suddenly filled with the startled cries of birds, the man’s screams, and the fox’s shrieks, resulting in utter chaos.
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Ye Youqing, upon hearing the commotion, instinctively jumped up and quickly hid in the bushes, slowly making her way toward the source of the noise.
“You troublesome woman!” shouted the man in iron armor, the fox that had been docile moments before had taken the opportunity to leap into the dark thicket and disappeared without a trace of its fluffy white tail.
The two glanced at Ci Ke, who had somehow fallen, cursed in frustration, and ultimately leaped up to chase after the fox.
Crouching, Ci Ke chuckled coldly, about to rise but suddenly caught sight of a figure out of the corner of her eye.
She abruptly stopped her motion to get up, her fingertips caressing the fresh mud on the ground, a struggle flickering through her eyes, her lips bitten into a distinct blend of red and white.
Then, as if making a firm decision, she fiercely kicked a sharp stone at her side.
Therefore, when Ye Youqing arrived at this chaotic woodland, what she saw was a woman, pressing on her wound, slumped on the ground.
