Su Yunmo had no choice but to let go and jump down just as she was about to hit the ground.
The raptor slid away, crashing into a tree and felling three or four.
It let out a screech and charged forward again.
A flash of red light crossed Su Yunmo's eyes as she swung her hand down forcefully.
The raptor immediately let out a pained cry, as if its head had been hammered, and fell to the ground.
From the shadows.
Linlang emerged, holding a short knife. "You really have abilities!"
The Princess was right; this girl must have used a secret technique to steal the Glazed Lock. No one in the capital possessed such skill.
She stopped about three meters away. "Hand over the Glazed Lock. That item doesn't belong to you."
Su Yunmo looked at her coldly, sneering, "Lin Yuning is getting more audacious by the day, coveting everything."
"I wonder where she found someone like you, someone with such abilities willing to risk their life for her."
In the capital, abilities were treated as sorcery, especially by the royal family. Anyone caught dabbling in witchcraft faced exile at best, and execution at worst.
Even she herself tried to avoid using her abilities whenever possible.
To be so blatant, once discovered, meant certain death.
Linlang understood Su Yunmo's implication. A glint flashed in her eyes as she tightened her grip on the short knife. "No one will know."
As long as this girl was dead, no one would trace it back to her.
The Princess had only recently begun to enjoy a good life, and she couldn't let this girl ruin the Princess's happiness. She had to eliminate all potential threats in advance!
Linlang threw her short knife, aiming straight for Su Yunmo.
Su Yunmo's hand closed, and a silver saber appeared in her palm.
The weapons clashed with a 'hiss'.
The blade sliced through, flashing with a cold light.
Su Yunmo retreated two steps, then gathered her abilities and hurled a broken tree trunk at Linlang.
Linlang whistled, and a giant bird leaped from the side, knocking the tree aside.
At the same time, sounds of wild beasts could be heard from all around.
Su Yunmo furrowed her brow.
The abnormal behavior of the beasts in the hunting ground before was indeed caused by her!
For a moment, Su Yunmo saw a red glow flash in Linlang's eyes, a sign that appeared only after using her abilities.
A thought formed in her mind.
"Ugh!" But before the beasts could charge out, Linlang grunted and knelt on one knee.
Su Yunmo frowned, catching a faint scent of blood.
This person was injured?
Linlang's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up at Su Yunmo. "This is impossible."
Even if she had used forbidden arts to steal abilities, she was still a fake. Logically, she shouldn't be unable to deal with a fake, let alone the master.
"There's movement over here!"
Torches flickered brightly at the foot of the mountain, and many people were running upwards.
Linlang gritted her teeth, flipped onto the giant bird, and was quickly carried away as the bird flew off.
A gust of wind swirled around Su Yunmo. When she opened her eyes, Linlang was no longer in the air.
"Little one." Ye Jingyu arrived with his men, followed by Ziyuan.
Su Yunmo clicked her tongue, thinking they had arrived at the worst possible time.
As soon as Ziyuan saw her master, she rushed forward. "Is Master alright? Are you injured anywhere?"
"When did you become as nagging as Luoluo? Don't worry, I'm fine." Su Yunmo waved her hand.
Then, with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised, she said to Ye Jingyu, "The Thousand Love Gu seems to have quite the effect."
They were not close to the capital, yet he could sense this. It was truly remarkable.
Ye Jingyu scanned the surroundings, his gaze finally settling on her. "What happened?"
Ziyuan had mentioned a giant bird, which was likely controlled by someone, possibly from Southern Xinjiang.
Su Yunmo yawned. "Just sleepwalking. Why all the fuss?"
Ziyuan glanced at her master with some confusion but said nothing.
The guards of Prince Yu's manor exclaimed in disbelief.
They had never seen anyone sleepwalk so far out of the city.
Since she didn't want to talk about it, Ye Jingyu didn't press. He reached out, grabbed her collar, and pulled her into his embrace, ordering everyone to prepare a carriage back to the capital.
In the carriage.
Su Yunmo lay lazily on the soft couch, propping herself up and kicking Ye Jingyu with her little feet. "The person Consort Liang had an affair with back then was Duke Ying, wasn't it?"
Ye Jingyu glanced at her, looking somewhat displeased. "If you're not sleepy, get down and run a few laps."
"I'm just asking, is it or isn't it?" Su Yunmo rolled from one end of the soft blanket to the other, ending up on Ye Jingyu's lap.
More than ten years ago, Duke Ying had led the troops to resist the Mingyi Kingdom. After a great victory, Mingyi, weakened, had no choice but to send a princess for a peace marriage. That princess was Consort Liang.
When the Emperor favored Consort Liang and wanted to make Ye Jingyu the Crown Prince, the ministers opposed it, and only Duke Ying strongly supported him.
The Empress, consumed by jealousy, wanted to eliminate them, mother and son. The harem used Consort Mei to slander Consort Liang for adultery, while the court used Lin Zequ to accuse Duke Ying of colluding with the enemy.
For this person to seek exoneration for Duke Ying was essentially to vindicate Consort Liang.
Ye Jingyu frowned, grabbed her small wrist, pulled her up, and placed her on his lap. "What have you remembered again?"
Su Yunmo just suddenly felt that his reaction when Lin Zequ was mentioned at Prince Yu's manor last time was very strange. She suspected that Lin Zequ's alliance with Ye Jingcheng had another reason.
If this person didn't want her to know, it must be related to her.
'You are truly just like your mother.'
'You know something, don't you?!'
The sinister face of Lin Zequ from that day suddenly flashed in her mind.
A sinister glint crossed Su Yunmo's eyes.
"I was just thinking that Lin Chenxi is dead, and Lin Zequ, as a father, doesn't seem heartbroken at all. But what if even Lin Yuning can't be relied upon?"
Ye Jingyu looked at her seriously, his expression somewhat complex. After a while, a hint of pity appeared on his face.
"Have you ever considered that there might be another reason why Marquis Lin isn't heartbroken by your deaths?"
Su Yunmo's eyelids twitched. "Don't tell me we aren't his biological children."
Ye Jingyu said meaningfully, "No, I think it's very possible he has illegitimate children elsewhere."
Su Yunmo: "..."
A moment later, the little person kicked him. "Get lost!"
By the time Su Yunmo was sent back to the capital, it was just dawn.
The night's events had made her forget her sleepiness.
Since Ye Jingyu was going to the palace to see Consort Liang, she accompanied him.
This palace visit was hurried, and Su Yunmo hadn't brought any food, only some provisions stored in the Glazed Lock.
Consort Liang was very happy to see her, as always welcoming Su Yunmo more warmly than her own son.
"Your Highness, look, I'll do a magic trick for you." Su Yunmo covered the Glazed Lock with a handkerchief and held it in her hand.
She asked Consort Liang to blow on it. When the handkerchief was removed, a small paper packet of pastries appeared in her hand.
Consort Liang had never seen anything like it and was delighted, examining the Glazed Lock.
Ye Jingyu watched them, a smile in his eyes.
Qianxue stood guard at the door, her gaze fixed on the Glazed Lock, a frown on her face as she pondered.
Although His Highness had asked her to examine the Glazed Lock carefully, every time she saw it, she felt as if she had seen it somewhere before, perhaps in the palace.