Chapter 354: Ambush

Chapter 354 Ambush

After taking her leave from the Crown Prince, Ji Qingqing boarded the carriage back to the Marquis of Yongning's residence.

Along the way, she cursed nonstop under her breath, letting off steam at the fury burning in her heart.

"That bitch Ji Yuntang—how the hell did she get first place? What right does she have to win? That title should've been my third brother's!"

"If it weren't for me signing her up in the first place, what right would she have to take the crown? She took something that ain't hers, and sooner or later she'll get what's coming—"

Before she could even say the word "retribution," Ji Qingqing's head slammed hard against the carriage frame, her face twisting in pain.

She snapped at the driver outside, "You worthless piece of trash, are you blind? How the hell are you driving this carriage? You actually dared to hurt my head? Do you believe I'll have you killed?!"

No one answered her.

She yanked open the carriage curtain and found herself in the middle of nowhere—the driver was long gone.

The sky was dark and overcast, an eerie wind blew through, carrying a stench so foul it made you want to puke.

Every now and then, crows cawed in the distance. Everything around her felt creepy as hell.

"Ah! Where the hell is this? Why am I here?"

Ji Qingqing thought she was seeing things. When she turned her head, she saw mountains of bones piled up, blood seeping into the dirt, and everything around was dead silent.

Realizing she was at a mass burial ground, Ji Qingqing nearly scared herself to death. She scrambled back into the carriage, screaming at Cuiliu to get out and drive.

"You—hurry up and drive! I gotta get out of here!"

Cuiliu was scared out of her wits too. She couldn't figure out how they'd ended up here, especially since the coachman was specially arranged by the madam to take Ji Qingqing home.

Cuiliu's eardrums were ringing from Ji Qingqing's ear-piercing screams. Too scared to talk back, she steeled herself and crawled out of the carriage.

The second she stepped out, a pair of pale, bony hands lunged for her neck.

"Miss Ji, say your prayers!"

Given the creepy setting, Cuiliu's scalp prickled with terror. In a panic, she tumbled off the carriage and fell to her knees, kowtowing like crazy.

"Please spare me, Lord Ghost! I'm not Miss Ji—she's in there!"

As she said that, she felt the pale hand in front of her freeze for a second.

Cuiliu thought her words were working, so she kept going, "I'm just a maid serving the Second Miss Ji! I don't know anything! I'm not the one who did you wrong! Go after the right person—go after her instead!"

Inside the carriage, Ji Qingqing heard every word and wanted to kill Cuiliu on the spot!

What the hell was this bitch talking about?

She'd always treated Cuiliu pretty well, yet at the critical moment, the girl dared to sell her out?

Ji Qingqing completely lost it. She pulled a hidden dagger from under the carriage seat and stormed out.

"Let me see who's messing with me in broad daylight!"

Before she could even see what was going on, everything went dark.

When she came to, she realized she was trapped in a burlap sack!

She was even more sure someone was messing with her.

"Who the hell are you? Do you know who I am? You actually dare to kidnap me? Believe me, I'll have the Crown Prince wipe out your entire family!"

Luo Qingge ripped off her mask and rolled her eyes at her. "Wipe out my family?"

"Fine, go ahead and have the Crown Prince wipe out my family. Let's see whose family gets wiped out first—yours or mine."

Xie Liuzheng knocked Cuiliu out with a wooden stick and walked over just in time to hear that.

He was dying of laughter on the inside!

Ji Qingqing wanted Luo Jingshen to wipe out Luo Qingge's family?

Was she out of her mind?

Luckily, both he and Luo Qingge had taken voice-changing pills, so their voices sounded totally different. Xie Liuzheng wasn't worried about them getting caught.

Right now, they sounded like two rough, burly men.

Xie Liuzheng raised an eyebrow and suddenly felt like putting on a little performance.

He said to Luo Qingge, "Big bro, that maid just spilled everything. She said the young lady of the Marquis of Yongning's house is vicious and has done every evil thing you can think of. She wants you to do the right thing and punish her."

Luo Qingge's lips twitched, completely speechless at being called "big brother."

She shot Xie Liuzheng a look, and he just stared back at her all innocent.

Like he was saying: You know I can't touch women, so beating up Ji Qingqing is all on you!

Luo Qingge took a deep breath, realizing too late that Xie Liuzheng had played her.

No wonder he'd talked her into teaming up to beat Ji Qingqing to a pulp—he was looking for a hired hand!

Luo Qingge looked away and slammed a heavy punch into Ji Qingqing's stomach.

Even through the burlap sack, Ji Qingqing could feel how pissed off the attacker was. She doubled over from the pain.

Through gritted teeth, she said, "I'm the Crown Princess! If you know what's good for you, let me go now, and I'll spare your lives."

Xie Liuzheng leaned against a tree, looking all relaxed with a smug smirk on his face.

"You're the Crown Princess? Then my big brother here is the emperor himself. You sure can spin a good story."

Another kick landed on Ji Qingqing's leg, and she broke out in a cold sweat from the pain, but she forced herself to keep talking.

"I really am the Crown Princess! If you know who I am, you should know the Crown Prince has feelings for me."

"In two days, he'll have the emperor send a marriage decree to the marquis's house."

Luo Qingge's eyes turned cold, her face calm and unreadable.

"Oh, so that means you're not the Crown Princess yet, huh?"

Ji Qingqing's heart dropped. Before she could even process that, Luo Qingge went on:

"Since you're not, we've got nothing to worry about. We brothers just love doing the right thing."

"And don't think you'll ever track us down. We're not from Dongchen Kingdom—just passing through town, and since we'd heard so much about Miss Ji, we thought we'd stop by for a little chat."

A sudden idea flashed through Ji Qingqing's mind, and she shouted, "Then you've got the wrong person! The Marquis of Yongning's household has more than one miss—there's also one named Ji Yuntang, who is now the Princess of Prince Ye's mansion. She's offended a lot of people out there; she's the truly vicious one."

At these words, both Luo Qingge's and Xie Liuzheng's faces turned cold, dark clouds gathering.

Xie Liuzheng dropped his carefree demeanor, a crimson flash passing through his dark, phoenix-like eyes before vanishing without a trace.

"Even at a time like this, you can't help but drag others down with you. Others might be falsely accused of being vicious, but you're the real deal—genuinely vicious."

The next second, a barrage of fists rained down on Ji Qingqing's body.

She screamed in agony, "Ah! Stop hitting me! Please, just let me go!"

Luo Qingge showed no mercy. Earlier, she'd considered avoiding Ji Qingqing's face to save her some dignity.

Now, nearly every punch was aimed squarely at her face.

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