After becoming pregnant, the cold-hearted nobles all went mad.

Upon hearing this, Shen Lingyi also became serious. After all, her whole family was present. Whether Shen Tingjiao lived or died was irrelevant; what mattered was that her parents couldn't be harmed.

"What's the big deal?"

Wei Chengrui glanced at her. "I can't say."

"Then why did the young master come all the way to give me these instructions?" Shen Lingyi asked.

Since I've already said it, why should I care about so much more?

She was getting anxious, but Wei Chengrui refused to say anything, and Shen Lingyi couldn't do anything about it, so she could only guess.

The royal hunting grounds are not located in the capital. A group of palace servants guard and manage the area on a daily basis, but it is usually deserted.

Even Pei Heng only comes twice a year, for the spring hunt and the autumn hunt.

Occasionally, when the season is unfavorable or there are natural disasters or man-made calamities, hunting will be banned for one or two years to pray for the people's well-being.

In other words, it is entirely possible for someone to plant people in here.

The thought that popped into her head sent chills down Shen Lingyi's spine.

If she weren't still rational, she would want to go back right now and ask Pei Heng in person what happened.

But no.

"I can't do anything but wait?" Shen Lingyi said angrily. "Then you might as well not have told me!"

Wei Chengrui was speechless, not expecting her to be so angry.

Little did they know, Shen Lingyi disliked the feeling of exposing her neck while waiting for the guillotine to fall on her head.

Seeing that she was truly angry, Wei Chengrui was a little unsteady on his feet, and his voice was no longer as arrogant as before, "Women should not get involved."

"But if you're worried, I'll send people to protect your household. Is that alright?"

Shen Lingyi had actually calmed down a bit; she had been a little overwhelmed just now.

If you calm down and think about it, even if there are people in the hunting grounds with bad intentions, there are still so many guards who aren't dead.

Judging from Wei Chengrui's behavior, Pei Heng must have been prepared for this as well.

"I..." Shen Lingyi was about to speak when a loud wolf howl echoed from the forest.

The voice was very close, and her face turned pale instantly.

At this moment, pairs of eerie green pupils opened in the forest, one, two, a dense swarm.

Wei Chengrui reacted quickly, loosened his grip on his horse, and slapped it on the rump. The out-of-control horse broke free and charged forward, knocking down an impatient wolf.

Taking advantage of the wolf's dizziness from the impact, he grabbed Shen Lingyi, mounted Zhuxing, and fled several miles in an instant.

However, the wolf pack relentlessly pursued them.

Sitting on the horse, Shen Lingyi felt her stomach churn as the violent jolting made her vomit. She forced herself to hold it in.

Wei Chengrui moved closer to her, and the sweet fragrance intensified. He sniffed the woman's neck, his expression hardening. "What kind of perfume are you wearing?"

"I didn't put on any perfume!" Shen Lingyi shouted back.

Something was vaguely popping into her mind, but the situation was too critical for her to think about it further.

Wei Chengrui knew he couldn't outrun the wolves this way. "There's a ravine ahead. I'll throw you down there in a bit."

"You climb the tree as fast as you can, and I'll distract the wolves."

"How can that be!" Shen Lingyi said without thinking. "Let alone whether you can escape, who knows if those wolves won't turn around and chase me."

Wolves can't climb very tall trees, and she also has martial arts skills to protect herself.

But if the wolf pack lingers under the tree and doesn't leave until it gets dark, they'll still die.

The mountains and forests are home to more than just wolves; there are also snakes and bears.

Wei Chengrui heard this but thought she was worried about his safety, and the coldness on his face faded considerably.

But now is not the time to talk about that. He snorted and asked, "Then tell me, what should we do?"

"I've never been to this place before, but when I was riding horses just now, I saw a cliff in the distance with a tree growing on it."

Shen Lingyi quickly said, "Going there might offer a glimmer of hope."

Although the chances are slim, it's better than dying in the jaws of wolves.

Shen Lingyi couldn't help but curse inwardly. What bad luck! If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have come out to race horses!

This is going to cost you your life!

With no other options at the moment, the two agreed to run towards the cliff.

Fortunately, there was indeed a tree there, and even better news, the tree was sturdy enough.

Wei Chengrui carried a long sword and dagger with him. The cliff face was not a straight drop; it had a steep slope.

Even better news is that there is a cave at the bottom of the cliff.

The two jumped halfway down and found the cave, so they simply crawled inside.

Shen Lingyi remained tense until she heard the wolf howls above fade into the distance, at which point she finally relaxed.

I wanted to say a few words to Wei Chengrui, but he looked pale.

Shen Lingyi's expression changed slightly. "You were bitten?"

Just now, Wei Chengrui had been pressing her head down intentionally or unintentionally, and all Shen Lingyi could hear was the howling of wolves; she couldn't hear the muffled groans of pain at all.

It wasn't until now that we saw the deep, bone-revealing wound on Wei Chengrui's arm.

A piece of meat was bitten off, and it was bloody.

"I'm fine," Wei Chengrui said, blaming her, "It's just a minor injury, no need to make a fuss."

If this is considered a minor injury, Shen Lingyi wonders what kind of injury he would consider a major one.

Looking at the bleeding wound, she tore off the fabric from her body with her teeth. The boy initially tried to be defiant, but she forcefully suppressed him.

Shen Lingyi said, "I don't want you to die here, otherwise I'll be branded as someone who harmed the prince."

Wei Chengrui chuckled, glancing at the butterfly earring swaying by her ear, his gaze drifting into the distance. "Haven't you always wanted me dead?"

"If I die, you'll get what you want."

...

Inside a tent in the hunting grounds.

Shen Tingjiao paced anxiously back and forth. Finally, the maid she had sent out returned, and she went up to her and asked, "Have you found the person?"

The maid shook her head, thinking to herself, "Isn't it strange? Everyone says that the eldest young lady and the second young lady don't get along?"

Why is the eldest young lady so concerned about the second young lady?

Half an hour ago, Madam Jiang went to the tent to look for her daughter, but couldn't find her. She assumed that Shen Lingyi had gone somewhere again.

As a result, she didn't see him return for a long time, and couldn't find him anywhere. She became anxious and told Shen Su, who immediately sent people out to search for him.

We still haven't found them.

Shen Tingjiao thought maliciously, "It's great that we can't find anyone; it would be best if they were eaten piece by piece by wolves."

That way, her huge financial loss of several thousand taels of silver wasn't in vain.

You see, she had to hide from people every day to buy that thing, and she had spent most of the money she had saved over the years. She had no choice but to take the old lady's money to make up for it when she was sick.

Actually, she didn't want to be so cruel to her own sister.

Shen Lingyi always seems to have good luck. She managed to dodge the medicine last time, but let's see how she manages to dodge it this time!

Shen Tingjiao's venom was about to burst forth, but her face remained gentle and weak. "Come with me to see Father and Mother and comfort them."

Upon seeing the distraught Shen Su and Madam Jiang, Shen Tingjiao gracefully bowed and offered words of comfort, "Father, Mother, perhaps your sister Lingyi has been called out by someone."

"If we make a big fuss about finding her now, it might tarnish my sister's reputation. I think we should wait and see."