"Chu Qianli, you've gone too far! You must apologize to Huaiyu now!"
Han Zhan chased after Chu Qianli.
Chu Qianli, however, continued walking towards the back gate, ignoring everything he said.
The moment she walked out of the Duke's mansion, Han Zhan stepped forward and blocked her path.
"Chu Qianli..."
"If I say the assassin was her, then it was her. You dare not look at the wound, but I saw it clearly. It was a fresh wound caused by corrosive powder, not a burn."
"You..." Han Zhan was truly angered.
He was angry that knowing she was such a vicious and indifferent person, he still held onto hope for her.
What was he hoping for?
"Han Zhan, we are not of the same path. You can pretend tonight never happened. Please go back."
She had things to do. She walked past him and continued towards the back mountain.
Han Zhan was very angry. He really shouldn't have paid attention to her.
But seeing her walk alone into the woods behind the mountain, he couldn't help but follow.
Chu Qianli began to get annoyed, "What do you want? I really don't have time for you!"
If he thought anything she said about Chu Huaiyu was slander, then they were on different paths and there was no need for further discussion.
Moreover, Chu Huaiyu's target was her, and she wouldn't deal with Han Zhan for now.
There was no need to force him to believe her.
"Han Zhan," Chu Qianli looked at him with a serious expression, "I really have something to do that cannot be delayed."
Chu Huaiyu's assassination attempt on her was an accident, and she had already wasted too much time.
"What are you going to the back mountain for?" Han Zhan could also see that she indeed had something to do.
But at midnight, going to such a desolate place as the back mountain, what was she doing?
"It's none of your business."
"You are currently living in the Duke's mansion, and I am responsible for the safety of everyone in the Duke's mansion. Your business is my business."
Han Zhan knew this was an excuse, but he was genuinely worried about letting her go to the back mountain alone in the middle of the night.
What if that ghostly assassin came again?
She was no match for that ghost alone.
Chu Qianli looked at him.
Han Zhan lowered his gaze, also looking at her seriously.
"Either you take me with you, or you tell me clearly." Of course, even after she told him, he might still follow.
"Can I trust you this once?" Chu Qianli narrowed her eyes.
This was also a question she asked herself.
"Forget it. If you come with me, at least you are not a bad person. But you must keep this a secret, not even telling Chu Huaiyu."
"As long as it's not something that harms Huaiyu, I have no reason to tell her," Han Zhan nodded.
Chu Qianli didn't want to waste any more time with him and walked quickly towards the back mountain.
Han Zhan soon knew what she was going to do.
"She's still alive?" How could this be?
Fu Ning, the maid beside Chu Qianli, had not actually thrown Qin Liuyan's "corpse" in the mass grave.
This was because Qin Liuyan was not dead.
She had just hit her head. For ancient people, without help and with continuous bleeding, it was indeed easy to die.
But for Chu Qianli, saving her was not difficult.
At that time, in the pharmacy, Chu Qianli went over, seemingly to check Qin Liuyan's injuries, but in fact, she was sealing her acupoints to stop the bleeding.
Afterward, she also sealed her vital energy points, causing her to enter a state of shock for a short period.
Therefore, Chu Huaiyu believed that Qin Liuyan was truly dead, and even the doctor found nothing unusual.
Fu Ning brought Qin Liuyan's corpse to the back mountain and immediately, according to the method Chu Qianli had secretly taught her, unsealed Qin Liuyan's vital energy points.
Qin Liuyan came back to life.
However, at this moment, she was also barely hanging on.
Chu Qianli immediately gave her an injection and cleaned up the wound.
Looking at her, she was still weak, but at least her breath was still there.
Chu Qianli gave a casual explanation, and Han Zhan did not ask further.
In his heart, however, he vaguely felt that perhaps things were not that simple.
"Miss Li, it's not easy to hide such a living person. What should we do now?" Fu Ning asked.
"The fact that she is still alive cannot be leaked, otherwise, someone will definitely come to kill her to silence her?"
Chu Qianli's words made Fu Ning glance at Han Zhan.
Han Zhan was a little annoyed, "I said I wouldn't leak it, and I will never say another word!"
He would never be so untrustworthy!
Fu Ning then withdrew her gaze and looked at Chu Qianli, "Where should we hide her?"
Chu Qianli couldn't think of a solution for the moment.
Fu Long knew many people and should be able to find a place to settle Qin Liuyan.
However, he was currently in the palace, so she had to find him first, wait for his arrangements, and then send the person over.
By the time she returned, it would be dawn.
Han Zhan glanced at Qin Liuyan lying on the ground, and finally looked at Chu Qianli, "If you trust me, I can help you settle her."
... Chu Qianli had no other choice and chose to trust Han Zhan this time.
Han Zhan settled Qin Liuyan in a small house belonging to a martial arts friend.
When he returned, Han Zhan couldn't help but ask, "Is she really your mother?"
Whether it was Chu Qianli's naturally indifferent nature or the fact that Qin Liuyan was not her mother at all, Han Zhan always felt that Chu Qianli's gaze towards Qin Liuyan was too detached and unfeeling.
There was no sense of familial affection at all.
"If I say she is Chu Huaiyu's mother, and that the two of them colluded to frame me..."
"Please don't slander Huaiyu anymore!" Han Zhan's expression changed instantly.
Thinking of the burn mark on Chu Huaiyu's chest, he felt extremely guilty.
Huaiyu treated him so well, but recently, he didn't know why, his mind was always thinking... thinking about...
Forget it!
He had wronged Huaiyu! Now, he absolutely could not let Chu Qianli humiliate Huaiyu like this anymore!
Not even behind her back.
Chu Qianli just sneered.
It was the same saying again: they were on different paths and could not work together.
They parted on bad terms!
... When Chu Qianli returned to her room, there was only a little over an hour left before dawn.
She quickly took a nap.
However, she was destined to not have much time to rest properly in the next two days.
Not long after dawn, an uninvited guest barged into her room.
Seeing him, Chu Qianli was slightly surprised, "Fu Long?"
Fu Long had always been in the palace and rarely left. Why had he come in person today?
Was there anything that Fu Ning couldn't convey?
"What's wrong? You look very anxious. Did something happen?"
Chu Qianli also became anxious because of his expression.
She quickly got out of bed.
Fu Long immediately turned his face away, just remembering that this was a young lady's boudoir.
He had been too anxious when he came and couldn't think of anything else.
"A'li, I have news for you, but... you need to be mentally prepared. It's not good news."
Chu Qianli had already gotten out of bed and put on her clothes.
Fu Long's low words made her heart skip a beat, and for some reason, she suddenly felt uneasy.
"What is the news? Tell me quickly!"
Fu Long took a deep breath and then said, "Prince Xuan was attacked by a large number of medicinal people last night and fell off a cliff... His life or death is unknown."