With her delicate face and slender waist, the royal uncle lost control.

A gray wolf led the way, its figure appearing and disappearing in the forest at dawn.

Yun Nian and Qin Jiuchen followed closely behind.

This walk lasted a whole day.

From sunrise to sunset.

The mountain path is rugged and difficult to traverse, sometimes requiring climbing steep slopes and sometimes wading through streams.

Yun Nian was extremely exhausted, but she gritted her teeth and remained silent.

During this time, Qin Jiuchen took out a water bottle and dry food from his bag several times.

He handed some to Yun Nian first, and then used some himself.

His expression remained calm and composed, showing no signs of fatigue; only his eyes would flicker with a slight ripple when they swept over her pale face.

As the sun sets in the west, the light in the forest quickly dims.

The gray wolf ahead suddenly sped up, running off in one direction and letting out a short howl.

The two perked up and quickly followed.

After passing through a dense thicket of thorns, the view suddenly opened up before us.

Beneath a steep mountain wall, there is a rather spacious natural cave.

At this moment, wisps of smoke are rising from the cave entrance, standing out prominently in the twilight.

someone!

Yun Nian was overjoyed.

"Qiluo! It must be Qiluo!"

She blurted it out and ran towards the cave.

"Yun Nian!"

Qin Jiuchen called out softly from behind her, immediately quickening his pace to catch up, his sharp eyes scanning the area around the cave, remaining vigilant.

Yun Nian rushed into the cave.

The cave was more spacious, dry and clean than I had imagined. There was even a simple stove made of stones with a small earthenware pot on it, which was bubbling and steaming.

A thick layer of dry grass covered one corner of the cave wall, on which lay a person with two long branches tied to their legs with bandages.

Yun Nian recognized him at a glance.

"Chensha!"

Upon hearing the sound, Chen Sha opened his eyes.

Upon recognizing Yun Nian, his dull eyes instantly brightened, and he struggled to sit up: "Miss Yun?! How did you find this place? The Prince, he..."

"The prince is outside."

Yun Nian quickly pressed him down, "Don't move! What happened to your leg? Where's Qi Luo? Where is she?"

She asked repeatedly, her eyes searching eagerly inside the cave.

"Miss!"

Just then, a familiar female voice came from the other side of the cave.

Yun Nian was startled and turned around.

Qiluo was seen carrying a worn-out ceramic bowl as she quickly walked out from around the corner on the other side of the cave.

"Kira!"

Yun Nian's tears instantly burst forth, and she opened her arms and rushed towards Qi Luo.

"Miss!"

Qiluo also dropped her earthenware bowl and ran over. The two, mistress and servant, hugged each other tightly and burst into tears.

Qi Luo cried, trembling all over. "Miss, I thought I would never see you again..."

"Silly girl, it's alright, I found you, we're all alright..."

Yun Nian also wept uncontrollably, stroking Qi Luo's back repeatedly.

It took a while for the two of them to calm down a little.

Yun Nian pulled Qi Luo up and down to check her over, making sure that apart from being a little disheveled, she was not injured, and then she breathed a sigh of relief.

Qiluo wiped away her tears and began to recount their experience: "That day, I took advantage of the chaos to hide in the haystack, and only sneaked out when there was no noise outside."

"I dared not return to the village, nor did I dare to wander around. Remembering the marks that Miss had taught me, I ran all the way into the depths of the mountains and forests, leaving star-shaped marks on trees or rocks every now and then, hoping that someone would see them... Later, I met Guard Chensha."

As she spoke, she glanced gratefully at Chensha on the stone bed.

Chen Sha weakly continued, "I was ordered to search and found the marks left by Miss Qi Luo. I followed them and found her at the northern foot of Ye Ling Mountain. I intended to bring her back immediately, but we were surrounded by a pack of wolves..."

He paused, somewhat embarrassed, "I was careless and slipped and fell down the hillside, breaking my leg. Fortunately, Miss Qiluo was quick-witted and lured the wolves away, and then managed to drag me to this relatively secluded cave."

Qi Luo quickly shook her head: "It was Guard Chen Sha who risked his life to protect me, which allowed me to escape. After finding this cave, I thought that Guard Chen Sha's injuries could not be delayed, and I dared not go out rashly to look for medicine or food, for fear of encountering bandits or wild animals again. So I could only try to settle down first."

Her gaze toward Chensha was filled with gratitude, and a hint of barely perceptible dependence and admiration.

Chen Sha, lying on the stone bed, felt a little uncomfortable under Qi Luo's intense gaze. She turned her face slightly away, and her ears seemed to turn red.

Yun Nian keenly observed this subtle interaction.

She blinked, a mischievous glint in her eyes, and deliberately drew out her words: "Oh, I see. So you two have been living together in this cave all these days?"

"Miss! No! It's not what you think!"

Qi Luo's face instantly turned as red as a ripe tomato. She waved her hands repeatedly, "It's Guard Chen Sha who's injured and can't move. This servant... was just doing her duty to take care of him. We didn't do anything! Really!"

The more she explained, the more confused she became, and in the end, she stomped her feet in frustration.

"Yes, I understand, I understand."

Yun Nian smiled even more brightly, and looked at Chen Sha meaningfully, "Guard Chen Sha, thank you for your hard work, and thank you for protecting Qi Luo as well."

Chen Sha's face also flushed slightly, and he said in a low voice, "It is my duty, Miss Yun, you are too kind."

Qin Jiuchen took in everything, his face expressionless. He glanced at Chen Sha briefly before walking to the stone bed to examine his leg injury.

"The treatment was timely enough, but the immobilization wasn't good enough; it needs to be re-set and re-bandaged. Have you run out of herbal remedies?"

Chen Sha replied with shame, "Yes, Master. This subordinate is incompetent."

"It's alright, it's already a miracle that we survived."

Qin Jiuchen spoke calmly. He looked around the cave and found a corner deep inside. The corner had been cleaned up and lined with dry grass, where Qiluo usually rested.

"It is too late to move today. Let us rest here for the night, and I will make arrangements tomorrow at dawn."

Upon hearing this, Qi Luo quickly wiped away her tears, ran to the stove, and carefully ladled a bowl of fragrant chicken soup from the earthenware pot, placing it in front of Yun Nian.

"Miss, are you hungry? Have some soup. This is a pheasant that Guard Chensha taught me to catch, and it's been stewing for a long time."

Her voice trailed off again when she talked about how Chensha taught her.

Yun Nian was indeed starving, but she looked at Qin Jiuchen and said, "Your Highness, please drink first."

Qin Jiuchen was bending over to tend to Chen Sha's injured leg, without even looking up: "You can drink it."

Yun Nian didn't stand on ceremony, took the bowl, and drank it in small sips.

The warm soup flowed into her stomach, dispelling the chill and fatigue, and finally putting her mind at ease.

As night deepened, a bonfire was lit inside the cave.

Yun Nian and Qi Luo slept on a grass mat deep inside the cave.

Qiluo, standing beside her, asked in a whisper, "Miss, how are things between you and the Prince?"

Yun Nian blinked in the darkness, recalling the events of the past few days.

"Progress... is not bad."

"only……"

She paused for a moment, then said, "Sometimes I have this feeling..."

"What illusion?" Qi Luo asked curiously.

"Initially, I wanted to seduce him and use him to achieve my goals. But why, after several attempts, do I always feel like he's leading me by the nose?"

"It always seems like I'm the one making the moves, but in the end he's the one who takes the initiative, and I end up losing out."

Recalling the kiss in the closet, Yun Nian couldn't help but feel her cheeks burning.

Qi Luo chuckled to herself, "Miss, perhaps the Prince has long harbored feelings for you?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Nian's heart skipped a beat, but she immediately shook her head in denial: "Impossible. A man like him, with unfathomable thoughts and high position of power, has seen countless beauties. How could he easily fall for me?"

"At most, they just think I'm a little special."

She sounded somewhat disheartened as she said this.

She was initially full of confidence, believing that her plan was well-thought-out, with each step carefully orchestrated to gradually break down his defenses.

But once they got to know each other, his eyes, which seemed to see through everything, and his calm and collected aura, always made her falter and lose her composure at crucial moments.

Qi Luo wanted to say something, but Yun Nian gently patted her hand: "Go to sleep, we have to travel tomorrow."

"Yes, Miss, you should also go to bed early."

Qiluo obediently responded.

Yun Nian closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

On the other side of the cave, the dim light of the campfire illuminated Qin Jiuchen's cold profile.

He leaned against the stone wall, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the figures sleeping side by side in the depths.

He finally landed on the leaping flames, his eyes deep and thoughtful.