Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 353 - 353 354 Turning the Tables_1

Chapter 353: Chapter 354: Turning the Tables_1 Chapter 353: Chapter 354: Turning the Tables_1 The guard hadn’t finished speaking when Muniang directly said, “Where is it? I will go there myself.”

The guard was flabbergasted and after a long pause, finally said, “Lady intends to pick the herbs herself? Isn’t that—seeking death?”

But these words he dared not utter, for he had just witnessed Qiao Muniang’s temper.

“You just lead the way,” Muniang said coldly. After speaking, she turned to leave.

The guard was astounded, initially thinking that after this lady arrived, she would at most cry beside the bed for a while, but instead, she did not shed a single tear and was unnaturally calm. If one were to say she did not care about the General, such behavior indeed seemed natural. However, she claimed she would risk her own life to gather medicine! Was she truly not afraid of falling to her death?

If something actually happened, they probably wouldn’t be able to escape the consequences. Thinking of this, the guard shivered and hurriedly stopped Muniang, saying, “Actually, these herbs don’t necessarily need to be personally gathered. The poison was administered by Qilian Kingdom, and they naturally have the antidote. Our envoy has already gone to negotiate; there may be some leeway.”

Even as the guard spoke, he felt uncertain, thinking it would be as rare as a red rain falling from the sky if Qilian Kingdom were actually willing to give them the antidote.

Suddenly, Muniang thought of Nangong Qian, and her heart seemed to clear up a lot, a cold smirk appearing on her lips. No wonder, no wonder he had gone out of his way to inform her of Yu Ze’s situation. So, he was waiting here for her!

How could a prince be so idle? To travel thousands of miles just to bring her the news, ha, she knew it couldn’t be that easy!

“Qilian Kingdom administered the poison themselves, would they be willing to give the antidote?” Muniang sneered, “Stop wasting time, hurry up and lead the way, I will gather the herbs myself.”

Was Nangong Qian waiting for her to come to him and beg? Muniang scoffed, if she were that easy to manipulate, would she still be Qiao Muniang?!

Nangong Qian had been waiting in Zhong Ling Town for quite some time now. This small border town had already regained its prosperity from before the chaos of war, with astute businessmen starting to conduct their trades, completely devoid of the lifelessness seen previously.

He had deliberately not returned to Qilian Kingdom, just waiting for Muniang, waiting for her to come to him for the antidote. Perhaps she would be angry, would lose her temper, even hate him, but none of that mattered. In the end, she would ask him for the antidote, and her heart would ultimately be disappointed by Yu Ze. With these, it was enough.

However, when the guard who went to scout for news returned, his expression was not very good.

“How is it? Has she come?” Nangong Qian said sternly.

“Master, Qiao Muniang does not seem to have any plans to come to you, instead—”

“Instead, what?” Nangong Qian’s brows furrowed.

“She intends to go to the cliffs to pick the herbs.”

Nangong Qian stood up with a “huh,” kicking over his chair: “What?! Has she gone mad?”

The guard’s legs went weak with fright, but he still mustered, “Every word I’ve said is true, she had no intention of coming to beg the master, perhaps she has guessed the master’s intention, so—”

Nangong Qian slammed a palm on the table, “She’s simply mad!” He knew all too well that with Qiao Muniang’s intelligence, she would surely see through his stratagems, but so what? In order to save Yu Ze’s life, she would still come to him, and his plans would proceed without any discrepancy. However, it seemed he had underestimated the woman’s stubbornness.

“Where is she now?”

“My subordinate rushed here to report that she was already riding hard when he left; by now she might have already—”

Before the guard could finish his words, they saw Nangong Qian curse under his breath and then vanished like the wind.

Atop the summit, Muniang stood against the wind, like a queen surveying her subjects. With some hesitation, a nearby soldier said, “Lady, this cliff is steep and treacherous. Even the most skilled martial artists have failed to gather herbs from these precipices and met their deaths instead. If you act recklessly, Lady, and something happens, when the General finally awakens, he will surely be filled with remorse. Lady, please reconsider.”

From the corner of her eye, Muniang caught sight of someone hurrying over in the distance, the corners of her mouth imperceptibly curved, and she said coldly, “Life and death hinge on a single thought. If fate does not bless me and I die here, then that will be the will of the heavens.”

Without further ado, she pretended to lean over the edge, but an intense force pulled her back, followed by an angry roar, “Are you insane?! This cliff is sheer; below lies not a river, but a deep abyss. If you fall, do you think you would survive?”

Muniang showed not even a hint of surprise, responding indifferently, “My life or death, what is it to you? If I do die, it will likely be because you drove me to death.”

Nangong Qian’s veins throbbed with fury, “Why would you rather die than beg me? Do you really care so little for your own life?!'”

Muniang let out a soft laugh, a fearless chuckle, “And what of death? Yu Ze is facing his final poisoning today. If he dies after today, I shall follow him. If the gods do not protect me and I go before him, so be it.”

Nangong Qian looked straight into Muniang’s eyes, only to find there was not a trace of hesitation, only resolute determination, and a bitter smile spread across his lips, “So you would rather die than beg me?”

Muniang scoffed, “Even if I begged you, would you help me? What kind of demands would you make? Let’s see, what do I have that you would go to such lengths to obtain? Oh, I know, you want to force me to marry you.”

Nangong Qian went pale; his intentions were so bluntly exposed, and Qiao Muniang’s taunting tone made him very uncomfortable inside.

“You know?”

Muniang lifted her head, “Yes, but let me tell you, as long as I am Yu Ze’s wife in this life, I shall never change. What does it matter if you hold his life as a threat? I hate being threatened the most in this life. I will say it just once; if he lives, I’ll live with him. If he dies, I won’t have a second thought, just like now, I’m being driven to a dead end, but still I will not turn to you.”

Nangong Qian roared through clenched teeth, “Why? He never saw you as his only one in his heart. He even risked his life to save He Suxue. Has he ever thought of you? Why then do you stubbornly cling to him?!”

Muniang met Nangong Qian’s gaze, firmly saying, “Knowing well that I do not love you, why must you cling to me with such obsession? Nangong Qian, when you yourself can’t let go, why question me? Ask yourself instead. Today, you either let go and let me gamble on life and death, or you step back, give me the antidote, and my fate will be in your hands.”

Nangong Qian fell silent for a long while before he began to laugh sadly, “Qiao Muniang, I really did underestimate you. Are you now using your own life to threaten me?”

He was cunning in his schemes, always in control, manipulating others, but today, he was once again bested by this woman. She turned the tables on him, seizing him by his weakness and now she was the one threatening him!