After Being Taken Away by the Princess I Became a Femme Fatale

Chapter 1

A pine tree stands tall in the bright sunshine, swaying gently in the breeze.

Qiu Lanxi stood at the window, gazing affectionately at the pine tree, wishing she could take its place.

Pine trees were often planted in mausoleums during the Ning Dynasty, which is why many people considered them unlucky. Even though scholars often used them to symbolize unyielding integrity, it did not change their 'unlucky' nature. However, Qiu Lanxi insisted on planting pine trees in her own courtyard.

The servants didn't find this strange. After all, given Qiu Lanxi's status, she probably wouldn't want to stay here if she had a choice. That's why they planted pine trees in front of the courtyard, implying that this was her grave.

In reality, Qiu Lanxi planted pine trees simply because she liked them. In her world, pine trees are also called evergreen trees, and her biggest wish now is to live a little longer, just like an evergreen tree.

“Miss, the sun is shining brightly outside. Why don’t I accompany you for a walk in the courtyard?” Ke’er knew why she had been frowning all day, and said in a low voice with heartache, “Miss, you’ve been in the capital for quite some time now. Princess Shaoguang probably hasn’t noticed yet. Miss…”

Before Ke'er could comfort Qiu Lanxi and make her smile, a round-faced maid rushed over anxiously: "Du An said that Princess Shaoguang has suddenly led her troops this way. Miss, let's run away quickly! It will be too late if we don't leave now!"

"Smack—"

Upon hearing the devastating news, Qiu Lanxi's hand trembled, and the precious white jade cup in her hand fell to the ground. Like anyone about to be caught in adultery, her heart pounded as if it would burst out of her chest: "Quick! Grab your bags! Let's go!"

Ever since she learned that the person who took her away from the battlefield was a married man whose wife was the famous Princess Shaoguang of the Ning Dynasty, Qiu Lanxi had been worried about this moment and had simulated the escape route more than once. Now, when she suddenly heard this bad news, she was still able to remain relatively calm.

Wang Baiying, who took Qiu Lanxi away, was afraid of gossip, so she didn't dare to put Qiu Lanxi in the home of a friend. Instead, she settled her in her own private property. The house was very big, but there was one problem: the house was close to the river and there were few routes. If you didn't want to jump into the water, you could only walk on the main road.

But Qiu Lanxi couldn't swim before she crossed the river, and she would never have considered jumping into the river to escape unless absolutely necessary.

Qiu Lanxi was unaware that the entire Xunyan Alley had been surrounded by Princess Shaoguang's troops. As a result, when she and her maid ran to the alley entrance, they saw the well-disciplined soldiers and Princess Shaoguang sitting on a stool, waiting for them to come to them.

Where can they escape to?!

The sight of the adulterers being caught in such a dramatic scene made Qiu Lanxi's legs tremble uncontrollably. She unconsciously touched her neck, as if she could already see herself bleeding on the spot.

Upon seeing the arrival, Princess Shaoguang slowly put down her teacup, her red lips slightly raised: "You are the concubine whom the prince consort keeps in his golden house. Come here and let me see what kind of beauty you possess that has captivated the prince consort!"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Lanxi turned pale with fear. After all, in this world, even if the other party killed her, there would probably be no one to seek justice for her.

She glanced at the blood-stained broadsword in the hand of the maid beside the other woman, which she had just used for something, and then at the gleaming red and gold whip on the table. She couldn't even make out what Princess Shaoguang looked like. She only felt that the sword hairpin on the other woman's head was so dazzling that she wanted to faint immediately to escape reality and not face the scene that was about to unfold.

But Qiu Lanxi was afraid that if she fainted, the other party would just chop her up, so she gritted her teeth and slowly moved over, racking her brains for a solution as she moved.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she walked at a snail's pace. The maidservant glanced at the princess and, seeing that she wasn't urging her, patiently stood in place and waited with her mistress.

Being stared at by a group of people like this is no different from being slowly sliced to death. No matter how much Qiu Lanxi delayed, she still walked up to Princess Shaoguang. Now she had no choice but to take a gamble!

She seemed to want to kneel down and beg for mercy, but perhaps her legs were too weak, and she fell directly onto Princess Shaoguang because she couldn't stand properly.

"Bold—"

Everyone was startled by Qiu Lanxi's sudden action, fearing she might be an assassin. Princess Shaoguang, however, remained unmoved, seemingly very confident in her safety.

Princess Shaoguang had come from the outskirts of town and hadn't had time to change her clothes. When Qiu Lanxi fell, she was hurt by the sharp pain. She didn't know what Princess Shaoguang was wearing under her robes, perhaps something like an inner armor. Without thinking, tears streamed down her face. She buried her face in the princess's lap, lifted her head, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and said in one swift motion, "Your Highness..."

The instant she raised her face, her snow-white complexion seemed to dispel all shadows, all light focused on it, and everything seemed to lose its color in an instant.

Yan Qingli paused for a moment as she looked into those misty eyes.

How could anyone be born with such beautiful eyes? They are like the misty, rainy lakeside of Jiangnan. Some people are captivated and intoxicated by them. Even the most hard-hearted person can't help but soften a little when she gazes at them.

However, before anyone could examine it closely, the other person suddenly lowered their head, and the light seemed to dim slightly as a result, making one involuntarily want to follow them.

Yan Qingli could clearly feel her body trembling slightly. Such a small amount of courage did not seem like someone who could do bold things. It was not hard to guess that she was acting against her will.

But she knew very well that the more harmless a person seemed, the more likely they were to lie.

She reached out and pinched Qiu Lanxi's chin, forcing her to raise her head. The girl looked at her in alarm, her small face, no bigger than a palm, was slightly cool, as if it would melt at the touch of her fingertips in the next second.

Princess Shaoguang's eyes darkened slightly. She reached out and slowly wiped away the tears from Qiu Lanxi's eyes, raising her eyebrows slightly: "No wonder the prince consort couldn't resist keeping her in a golden house. Even I can't help but feel pity for her. From now on, you will follow me."

Qiu Lanxi stared at her in astonishment, and for a moment she began to doubt whether she had used a sob story strategy or a deceptive tactic.

Their eyes met, and Qiu Lanxi saw a perfectly timed look of amazement in her eyes as she looked away in a flustered manner. She couldn't help but think that she had been overthinking things; her clear eyes didn't seem like she was bewitched.

Yan Qingli saw her astonishment but didn't seem to care.

She came in a grand manner, clearly not wanting the matter to be simply suppressed. She had originally planned to do them a favor if she liked them, and to leave it to her subordinates if she didn't. But now she had a better idea.

She stood up, ignoring Qiu Lanxi who had fallen to the ground because of her sudden action, turned around and got into the carriage, her voice drifting back: "Bring her in too."

The identity of "she" is self-evident.

The maid, still in a daze, immediately shoved the knife into the person beside her and pulled them up, saying, "Miss, please."

Qiu Lanxi boarded the carriage with a somewhat bewildered and fearful expression. Knowing that her life was saved, she felt even more uneasy.

Sitting idly by and waiting for death has never been her style. Since Princess Shaoguang did not immediately call for her to be beaten or killed, she was obviously not an impatient person. When she walked over, she didn't even glance at her. This was clearly not the attitude of someone catching a mistress.

However, she made such a big fuss that Qiu Lanxi boldly guessed that the other party was after Prince Consort Wang Baiying. Based on this, her life would have a chance to turn around, which is why Qiu Lanxi chose to take the gamble.

Her initial plan was simply to play the victim, hoping to gain sympathy from the servants in the courtyard and shift all the blame onto Wang Baiying, portraying herself as an innocent victim. However, before she could even get started, the other party suddenly caught her off guard.

This unexpected road left Qiu Lanxi completely bewildered. She had no idea what Princess Shaoguang was doing, so she could only cautiously get into the carriage.

Once inside the carriage, Qiu Lanxi found a corner and huddled up. Princess Shaoguang ignored her and picked up the book she hadn't finished reading.

Seeing that the other party really didn't intend to pay attention to her, Qiu Lanxi breathed a sigh of relief and then secretly glanced at her without making a sound.

Just now, Qiu Lanxi was so focused on surviving that she didn't pay any attention to what the other person looked like. Now she realized that Prince

……