“Hunting so many wild boars—what a story we’ll have to tell when we return!”
“Have some shame; did you even do anything?”
“I contributed at least one swing of my blade!”
The group joked and laughed, the atmosphere light and relaxed.
“Shame we didn’t come across other prey. I was really hoping to bag a tiger.”
“More likely, you’d end up as tiger skin.”
Amid the laughter, Duan Mingxi sat quietly in a corner. Yao Yunyi and Wang Daiying were gathered around Chu Qingying, fussing over her and sharing their fears from earlier.
Now that the danger had passed, Yao Yunyi muttered, “A bunch of braggarts—who knows how many of them were screaming earlier.”
Duan Mingxi glanced at her.
Still annoyed, Yao Yunyi added, “When Chu Qingying was in danger, none of these so-called heroes stepped up. Now they have the audacity to boast!”
Wang Daiying quickly tugged on her sleeve. “Keep your voice down. If someone hears you, it’ll stir up trouble.” Then, turning to Duan Mingxi, she said sincerely, “Thank you, Miss Duan, for saving Qingying.”
Duan Mingxi waved her hand dismissively. “It wasn’t me who saved her. I just pulled her out of harm’s way—it was nothing.”
“Even just pulling her was a life-saving act. How could it be ‘nothing’?” Wang Daiying said with a smile. “I froze earlier and couldn’t move. If something had happened to Chu Qingying, I wouldn’t have been able to face Xian Wangfei.”
“Daiying is right,” Chu Qingying added. “We should host a proper banquet to thank you.”
Duan Mingxi: …..
“That’s not necessary,” she replied.
“Nonsense! A life-saving debt deserves proper gratitude. It’s just a pity we’re both women—otherwise, I’d have to marry you as thanks hahaha!”
Chu Qingying shot her cousin a glare, then turned to Duan Mingxi and said, “From now on, we’re like sisters. I’ll remember the favor you did for me today.”
At the time, Duan Mingxi didn’t think much of it, only feeling that Chu Qingying had been quite pitiful in her previous life. Besides, in this lifetime, Chu Qingying had treated her kindly.
“Duan Mingxi, what are you doing hiding here? We agreed to compete on our hunting skills—where’s your catch?”
He Wanyi’s voice rang out, drawing the attention of everyone present, who all turned to look at Duan Mingxi.
Duan Mingxi stood up and turned toward He Wanyi’s direction, tilting her head slightly as a sincere smile curved her lips. “Miss He, are you referring to these wild boars as your catch?”
He Wanyi raised an eyebrow. “I contributed to that, but all I saw was you running away.”
“You’re spouting nonsense, He Wanyi! Mingxi was saving me at the time!” Chu Qingying nearly jumped in anger.
Xian Wang and Jin Wang, watching the two begin to quarrel again, exchanged helpless looks before each reached out to pull one of them back.
Chu Qingying was so angry that her eyes turned red. She turned to Xian Wang and said, “Brother-in-law, how can someone be so shameless? Duan Mingxi was busy saving my life. How could she have had the time to pretend by slashing a wild boar? Some people really have no shame.”
He Wanyi was nearly driven mad with anger. She shouted across the crowd, “You’re talking nonsense! I even shot arrows. Just because you can’t see properly doesn’t mean you can accuse others of not doing their part. You’re distorting the truth with your words!”
“Alright, alright, stop arguing,” Jin Wang quickly intervened to smooth things over. “It was all a misunderstanding. Let’s not bring it up again.”
Xian Wang glanced at Jin Wang, then turned to Duan Mingxi. “A few days ago, Wangfei mentioned you, saying that you have a straightforward personality. I didn’t expect that today, my sister-in-law owes her life to you. I will definitely mention this to Wangfei later.”
The implication was that the Wangfei would personally return the favor, bypassing the Jingyuan Marquis family.
Duan Mingxi understood the subtlety in his words. Given that Jingyuan Marquis household was run by a stepmother, any attempt at expressing gratitude could easily backfire and breed resentment.
Feigning ignorance, she replied, “Wangye is too kind. Qingying treats me sincerely. Pulling her out of harm’s way was simply an act of friendship between us. Please don’t worry about it.”
Hearing this, Xian Wang gave Duan Mingxi a long look before smiling and saying no more.
On the opposite side, Jin Wang also turned his gaze to Duan Mingxi. This was the same person who had caused embarrassment to both Duke Zhen’s family and Duke Gao’s family. She appeared calm and proper, but her actions were always unexpected.
He Wanyi, warned with a glance from Jin Wang, refrained from making more trouble. The group was preparing to descend the mountain when Liu Yan was carried back by his guards, causing a commotion.
Qi Wang was horrified and rushed over to check on his cousin. In a stern voice, he demanded, “What happened?”
Liu Yan was semi-conscious, having lost a significant amount of blood, and his wound had yet to be treated. Grasping his cousin’s hand, he tried to say something but fainted before he could.
The group hurried down the mountain to get him treated, and the hunting trip ended in a chaotic anticlimax.
Liu Yan’s injury immediately became the center of everyone’s attention, completely overshadowing the brief recognition Duan Mingxi had received.
On the way down, Chu Qingying asked, “How did Liu Shizi get so badly hurt?”
Wang Daiying’s expression was grave. She lowered her voice and said, “I sneaked over to take a look earlier. Liu Yan has a long wound on his right arm. It doesn’t look like it was caused by a wild animal.”
Yao Yunyi’s face turned pale. “If it wasn’t a wild animal… could it have been… a person…?”
She suddenly stopped speaking, afraid to continue.
The group’s mood grew heavier. After reaching the base of the mountain, the Wangyes left in haste, with Qi Wang personally escorting Liu Yan to Duke Rong’s residence. He had someone ride ahead to summon the imperial physician.
Even He Wanyi, who had previously been causing trouble, was whisked away by her entourage.
Duan Mingxi bid farewell to Chu Qingying and the others before reuniting with her younger sisters Duan Min and Duan Rong, along with Qiao Renshu and An Qiuzhuo. The four of them had already heard the news, and everyone wore serious expressions on the way back.
An incident like this, especially involving the fiercely protective Duke Rong’s household, would surely not end quietly.
“Did Liu Shizi offend someone recently? Who would go so far as to harm him?” Qiao Renshu wondered aloud.
“He has offended many people, but only a few would dare to strike so ruthlessly,” An Qiuzhuo mused.
The most likely suspect was Duke Gao Shizi, Gao Zhan.
But Gao Zhan hadn’t even been present that day.
When Duan Mingxi returned to the city, she parted ways with her companions at a fork in the road and headed back to her family estate.
Upon arriving, she went directly to pay respects to the Old Madam in the Rongan Hall. Surprisingly, everyone was already gathered there, having heard about Liu Yan’s injury.
The news traveled fast…
Duan Mingxi was thoughtful but answered the Old Madam’s questions carefully, omitting any mention of having saved Liu Yan. She shared only the necessary details and left out anything irrelevant.
Duke Rong’s family would likely be preoccupied with this matter for some time. Besides, she had already settled accounts with Liu Yan; there was no need to bring up any “life-saving debt.” Otherwise, some opportunists in her family might use this incident as an excuse to extort favors from Duke Rong’s household.
One had to be cautious.
Madam Jiang fixed her gaze on her eldest daughter before asking hesitantly, “Apart from Liu Shizi’s incident, did everything else go smoothly during your outing today? Did you have any disagreements with anyone?”
Duan Mingxi turned her head slightly to look at Madam Jiang, her eyes calm and emotionless, staring at her quietly.
