Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 47: Escape

Upon seeing that it was the princess, the county magistrate immediately got off his chair and quickly walked past Ji Meiqing to her. "Your subject greets the princess. May I ask what brings you here?"

"I just came to take a look." She fixed her gaze on Ji Meiqing and said slowly, "What did this Miss Ji do wrong? How did you manage to bring her here?"

"Your Highness, this criminal woman murdered the village chief of Xiaohexi Village, so she has been arrested for investigation."

"Murder?" The princess looked at Ji Meiqing with great interest. "That's interesting. If the murderer isn't executed immediately, why is he sent to prison instead?"

"Your Highness...at present...there is no conclusive evidence..."

"Murder is murder, what need is there for evidence? Just kill him directly, isn't that enough? If such a scourge remains in the world, wouldn't it harm even more people?" The princess looked at the county magistrate. "Your Excellency is doing a service to the people by doing this. Besides, with me here, what are you worried about?"

"Yes, Your Highness is right." He bowed slightly, then had her led away. Ji Meiqing struggled, but she couldn't break free.

As they passed the two men, the princess suddenly called out, "Wait, let's leave this young master Lu here for now."

"This..." The county magistrate was somewhat puzzled. "This is a murderer."

"If I say you'll keep it, then you'll keep it. What, you can't bear to part with it?"

The county magistrate wiped the sweat from his brow and said cautiously, "I dare not. Guards, execute the criminal Ji Meiqing immediately, and imprison the suspect Lu Yu in the imperial prison for trial at a later date."

"Ha, is this your standard for judging a person's right or wrong?" Ji Meiqing raised her head and spat in the face of Princess Xunhua. "I've truly seen something new."

However, the princess was wearing a silly hat, and her saliva stuck directly to the veil. The surrounding onlookers were stunned, but Ji Meiqing stared at the person inside the veil, her expression changing drastically.

"You smell awful. Doesn't Your Highness know that mixing two extreme smells together only makes one feel like dying? Thank you for freeing me now!" She smiled, then said disdainfully, "You smell awful, just like you, as stinking as a rock in a cesspool."

"Guards, gag her! Cut off her tongue! Guards, guards, come quick!" The princess jumped up, ordering men to come and tear her to pieces.

Lu Yu slowly spoke up, "The country has its laws. The princess has disrupted military and political affairs. I don't know how to judge this. Moreover, without concrete evidence, executing us in front of all the people in this city doesn't seem to be in accordance with the law."

"Who do you think you are to dare criticize me, a princess!" she angrily swung her sleeve forcefully. "What I, a princess, do is none of your business, a lowly commoner. Guards, drag this woman out, rip out her tongue, and tear her apart by five horses!"

Enraged, she ordered her men to drag Ji Meiqing out to carry out her orders. Lu Yu tried to stop them, but thankfully they hadn't tied him up with ropes, otherwise they wouldn't be able to move.

Lu Yu used a lot of effort to push the person next to him aside, and then, with some unknown skill, twisted the person next to him to the ground.

With a cracking sound, he finally came to his senses, staring blankly at the person on the ground. Ji Meiqing, on the other hand, stared in disbelief as the person in front of her suddenly transformed into a peerless master and took down two strong men.

"Brother, you're awesome!" Ji Meiqing patted his shoulder and after a long pause, squeezed out these two words that were utterly cringe-worthy.

"If you take away your title of princess, what are you anyway?" Ji Meiqing squatted behind Lu Yu, swaggering around. She wanted to roll her eyes at him, but then she remembered that he was just a princess and couldn't go too far. Otherwise, what would she do if he held a grudge?

For people like them who have no power, no influence, and no money, they're just a fart; they'll be forgotten in no time.

"You...you dare disobey this princess's orders!" Na Xunhua stared at Lu Yu in disbelief, then tried to call for help. Ji Meiqing was the first to walk over and stomp between the legs of the person lying on the ground.

An unbearable scene unfolded right before their eyes. Ji Meiqing snorted coldly, "Those who don't seem destined to be childless, come up here!"

The guards, witnessing this scene, instinctively wanted to cover their vital areas, but due to the situation, they could only tremble, swallow hard, and watch them without daring to approach.

Just as Ji Meiqing said, she only held the title of a princess; apart from that, she was nothing. As for them, although they were ordinary soldiers, one person was nothing, but when dozens, hundreds, or thousands of them gathered together, they could overthrow the country.

No one wants to be childless and without descendants, and no one wants to harm themselves like this.

Seeing that no one dared to come forward, Ji Meiqing smiled and looked at Xun Hua, "Actually, Princess, there's no need to be angry. After all, you are a princess, and no one dares to disobey your orders. However, sometimes things still depend on the evidence. Since you don't have concrete evidence, then we'll leave first. If you still doubt me, you can ask the officials from the Dali Temple to come. If they find out it was me, I'll admit defeat. But if it wasn't me, then you'd better stay in your boudoir and do your embroidery."

She spoke tactfully, and seeing that Xun Hua had nothing to say, she pulled Lu Yu and swaggered away from there.

There were quite a few people present for the trial; a large crowd poured in as soon as the door opened. Ji Meiqing raised an eyebrow, then pulled Lu Yu towards a side path.

Seeing that no one was around, Ji Meiqing retreated and collapsed to the ground. Lu Yu panicked immediately upon seeing this. He placed his hand on her forehead, feeling a cold sensation on the back of his hand.

He helped her up and then carried her into the clinic in front of the building.

The doctor examined her for a moment before saying gently, "There's nothing seriously wrong. It's just that you've been under a lot of stress for a long time. If you're too tired, take a rest."

"Thank you." Lu Yu nodded, his gaze softening considerably as he looked at her on the bed. After the doctor left, he sat beside her, quietly watching her sleeping face.

She didn't wake up until dusk, around the time the wild geese flew south.

Upon seeing Lu Yu's face, Ji Meiqing closed her eyes again, took a deep breath, and said, "He's not dead. He's actually not dead."

"What's wrong?" Lu Yu looked at her anxiously. "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

“No.” She shook her head. “It’s just… I was too excited. I didn’t die. I thought I was definitely going to die.”

"It's alright now." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's go back. We've had a long day."