Running Away

After Afang called out, she retreated to the side, lowering her head in silence.

The crowd, however, was bewildered.

The Great King? The Queen?

The Great King was here, but where was the Queen?

Inside the palace room, Dowager Empress Huayang and Zhao Ji, along with the Princesses of the Six States, all looked towards the palace entrance. The princesses gazed at Ying Zheng and Verdant Green Maiden, whose arm he was holding, their expressions stunned. They had already inquired about the women around Ying Zheng when they arrived.

They knew of Afang, but none of them knew where Verdant Green Maiden came from!

Seeing Verdant Green Maiden in the Qin Queen's attire, the two dowager empresses gasped.

Verdant Green Maiden snapped back to reality, her right fist clenching as she prepared to strike Ying Zheng's head.

"Master... help me!"

Ying Zheng whispered quickly.

Upon hearing this, Verdant Green Maiden's eyes widened even further, and she cursed, "Help your Yellow Emperor's Grandfather! I, this snake, have lived for over two thousand years, and you're the first one brave enough! Help you? Help you with a punch!"

She punched Ying Zheng's crown off and turned to flee.

If it weren't for Ying Zheng being the future Emperor, and her needing him to ascend the throne and gather Dragon Qi, she would have punched his head in long ago!

Ying Zheng stood there with his hair unbound, his expression blank.

"Zheng'er, what is this?"

Zhao Ji frowned, looking at the fleeing Verdant Green Maiden and Ying Zheng, who stood dazed and at a loss.

Ying Zheng regained his senses, coughed lightly, and looked seriously at Zhao Ji and Dowager Empress Huayang, stating in a deep voice, "Dowager Empress, Mother, she is the Queen I have chosen!"

Dowager Empress Huayang's expression changed, and she exclaimed in shock and anger, "How can this be?"

"Does the Dowager Empress think Master is unworthy to be my Queen? If not for Master, I would have died in Handan long ago, how could I be here today!"

Ying Zheng met Dowager Empress Huayang's gaze and spoke these words without hesitation.

When these words were spoken, the one most angered was not Dowager Empress Huayang. The princesses of the Six States exchanged glances, filled with panic.

They had traveled thousands of miles to the Qin state just to witness this scene?

"But, Master she..."

Zhao Ji frowned. She had seen clearly just moments ago that Verdant Green Maiden had punched Ying Zheng, and now she had run off.

He has chosen?

What's the use of him being determined?

Can a mortal make an immortal follow his will?

Ying Zheng took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "I will handle this matter properly. You have all traveled a long way from your respective states, and my Great Qin will not neglect you. Please, all of you."

Can this meal still be eaten?

The Princesses of the Six States were even more depressed. Facing a table full of delicacies, they found them as tasteless as chewing wax. They stared at Ying Zheng, who was sitting on the High Platform, with different thoughts in their minds. Many of them looked wronged.

Qing Nü rushed back to the Jade Maiden Shrine. She kicked the door open and shouted at Hong Luan, "Hong Luan, let's go!"

"What's wrong?"

Hong Luan rolled over on the offering table and lazily raised its head. It glanced at Qing Nü's attire and exclaimed, "Your clothes are quite nice. Did Ying Zheng give them to you?"

Qing Nü flicked its head and cursed, "Hurry up and move!"

Hong Luan woke up a lot more. Seeing Qing Nü's haste, it was even more confused and asked, "Stupid Snake! What exactly happened?"

"If we stay any longer, the snakes will be packed up and sold!"

"Isn't that a good thing? You're so lazy, isn't it good to find someone to take care of you?"

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Hong Luan muttered.

"I'm so sorry for being so lazy!"

Qing Nü rolled her eyes at it and angrily said, "Get up quickly, hurry!"

Although Hong Luan didn't understand, it still complied. The One person and one bird sneaked out of the Qin Palace late at night and fled towards the outskirts of Xianyang. When Ying Zheng got away and came to look for Qing Nü, they had already left Xianyang, and the snake had entered the wilderness.

"Great King, I can't find Master anywhere! The offerings in the Jade Maiden Shrine are also gone..."

Afang said to Ying Zheng with a worried expression. She frowned deeply and hesitated, "Is Master angry with us and left?"

"Impossible!"

Ying Zheng frowned, his expression solemn.

"We were so naughty when we were kids, and Master still forgave us, didn't she? Why would she abandon us and leave!"

But no matter how many people Ying Zheng sent to search, they couldn't find any trace of Qing Nü.

When he heard these reports, Ying Zheng suddenly laughed, murmuring to himself, "Master is gone... Master truly doesn't want me anymore! Afang, was I wrong?"

"Great King is never wrong," Afang replied with her head bowed.

Ying Zheng was silent, not speaking for a long time.

Verdant Green Maiden fled under the cover of night. By dawn, Hangu Pass was already visible.

Hong Luan learned of the events from her and laughed the entire way.

Verdant Green Maiden was still muttering, "I've lived for over two thousand years, and this is the first time I've been outsmarted by a little brat! And one I raised myself! Sigh, it seems I've been living too peacefully these past few years, my reflexes are nowhere near what they used to be!"

Hong Luan tilted its head and said, "Aren't you often outsmarted?"

It was only in previous times that she could directly rely on her own martial strength to overcome obstacles; this time was simply different.

As they walked, Verdant Green Maiden suddenly stopped, looking at Hong Luan with a wronged expression.

"Hong Luan, I didn't bring my clothes..."

Her green robes were still in Ying Zheng's hands!

Hong Luan circled Verdant Green Maiden and said, "These clothes look good on you too! Take this opportunity to get some new clothes!"

"These are the Queen of Qin's clothes, they need to be changed!"

Verdant Green Maiden sighed. These clothes were nowhere near as comfortable as her own green robes, and they were inconvenient for movement. If she had been wearing her green robes, would she have only made it to Hangu Pass in one night? She would have already left the pass!

After crossing Xiao Mountain, Verdant Green Maiden entered the territory of the Six States of Shandong.

But she still didn't feel safe, and she continued eastward until she entered the Qi State and reached the coast before stopping.

Snake Girl, in the guise of a fisherman, temporarily settled on a small island by the sea.

However, this island was not chosen randomly. Qi Kang Gong Lü Dai, the nineteenth-generation descendant of Jiang Ziya, had died here. There was also a ancestral shrine he built here, which enshrined the thirty-one State Rulers of Jiang Qi, with Verdant Green Maiden's old acquaintance, Jiang Ziya, at the very top!

Unfortunately, after Lü Dai's death, the Jiang Qi royal clan scattered and fled, and the ancestral shrine here had long been neglected.

Verdant Green Maiden carried a stick, with a long string of sea bream hanging from the end. As she passed by the dilapidated ancestral shrine, she took one of the fish and tossed it onto the offering table.

"Don't say I don't cherish old ties down there!"

Hong Luan didn't recognize Jiang Ziya, but it felt that after eight hundred years, someone still came to sweep his grave, and they should be thankful!

It was over a year later when she heard news of Ying Zheng again.

He had married the Chu Princess, but had not appointed a queen. Furthermore, it was rumored that he had established an organization called the Black Ice Platform, whose members were as terrifying as ghosts, monitoring the world and gathering intelligence.

Snake Girl shivered, acutely realizing another purpose of this Black Ice Platform.

"Little brat, this is to search mountains and seas for snakes!"

Verdant Green Maiden hugged Hong Luan and cried, lamenting, "Snake is so ill-fated! Now that someone has their sights set on me, who knows when I'll be caught, boohoohoo..."

Hong Luan really wanted to roll its eyes. It retorted, "Oh, please! They want to catch you to be a queen, not to make snake soup!"

"Queen? That's worse than snake soup!"