My Lord, the princess doesn't want you anymore.

Mei Xueer lay on the bed, staring at the exquisite curtains above her head.

She habitually felt around with her right hand but felt nothing. Then she remembered that she had let the "Dog Prince" out three days ago.

Nanxing, Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu... Where are you all? Are you still alive?

Fortunately, I didn't bring that girl An Ran with me on this trip. If something unexpected happened, how could I face Minister An and Madam An?

Li Mo, you always appear by my side when I'm in trouble. This time, why didn't you come to save me on a colorful cloud?

Liu Piaopiao, no, it should be Asarum, have you died of old age?

Dad, Mom...

At the foot of the mountain, Wen Bing and several secret guards from Prince Jing's mansion looked up at the forest in front of them.

The forests in spring are full of lush green, with different kinds of green making the entire mountain distinctly layered. At the foot of the mountain, all kinds of wild flowers, famous and unknown, are in full bloom.

"Bingzi, there is a villa on this mountain, named Tingsong Villa. It is said that it is used by a wealthy businessman to escape the summer heat. After crossing this creek is his private territory." said a secret guard.

"Merchant?" Wen Bing's eyes darkened. If the entire mountain belonged to this wealthy businessman, then the princess shouldn't be around here.

More than ten days ago, after Cui Hongjing learned that Mei Xueer was missing, he sent out almost all of his secret guards to search for her in several groups.

How could Wen Bing, Wen Wu, and Nan Xing, who were rescued by the secret guards and brought back to the real army camp, sit still? They insisted on going together to find Mei Xueer.

Finally, Wen Bing and Nan Xing followed three secret guards to find this place, while Wen Wu followed another route.

"Bingzi?" Nanxing, who was standing by, sobbed and searched anxiously everywhere, not missing a single blade of grass or tree. "Where is the young lady? Could she have already..."

Before he could finish his words, tears were streaming down his face again and he couldn't continue.

Wen Bing walked over, hugged her tenderly, patted her back gently, and said in a very gentle voice, "No, no, the princess is so smart, and she has many strange poisons, she will be fine."

Nan Xing buried her whole head in Wen Bing's arms until her tears soaked his clothes, and then she gradually stopped crying.

"I'll go wash up." Nanxing raised her head, her face full of tear marks.

"Yeah." Wen Bing then let her go.

The water in the stream is very clear. It flows down from the top of the mountain and forms a waterfall halfway up the mountain.

There is not much water in this season, and the waterfall is just a line, like a white ribbon hanging on the cliff.

Nanxing squatted by the stream and poured some water on her face.

The stimulation of the cold stream water made her mind clearer.

He took out his handkerchief to wipe the water off his face and was about to get up when he suddenly saw something moving in the water plants in the distance.

"There's a snake—" Nanxing jumped up suddenly.

Wen Bing rushed over at the fastest speed, pulled Nanxing over and protected him behind him, "Where is the snake?"

"Don't be afraid. At this season, the snakes in the mountains should not have come out of their holes yet." A secret guard came over.

Nan Xing finally breathed a sigh of relief, tugged at Wen Bing's sleeve, quietly poked his head out, and pointed at the clump of water plants, "No, isn't it a snake? I'm most afraid of snakes."

Wen Bing looked in the direction of her finger.

Suddenly, a light flashed in his eyes. He turned around and said to Nanxing, "I'll go over and take a look. You stay here and don't move."

His tone was calm, but his legs were shaking.

Is my eyes blurry?

Is that really a little turtle?

Wen Bing waded across the stream. The little creature in the grass on the other side became a little alert and lay there motionless.

Wen Bing gently pushed aside the water plants and tears almost came out.

He picked up the little turtle gently, as if it was the most handsome turtle in the world.

Nanxing's eyes never left him until she saw him running towards her with a silly grin on his face. One of his shoes was lost and washed away by the water, but he didn't care at all.

"Nanxing, look!" Wen Bing slowly opened his five fingers.

"Dog Prince!" The sudden surprise made Nanxing's voice a little distorted and he cried with joy.

The three secret guards were stunned: Lord Dog? ...

"Hey, look, there are words here!" Nan Xing cried and brought the "Dog Prince" in front of Wen Bing.

In an inconspicuous place on the edge of the tortoise shell, four tiny words were crookedly engraved: I am in the villa.

"Bingzi, the young lady is in the villa, which should be the Tingsong Villa we just mentioned! 'Dog Prince' climbs slowly, the young lady must be on this mountain, nearby, the young lady..." Nanxing cried with joy and rushed up the mountain while speaking.

Wen Bing grabbed her and shook his head gently, "Don't worry, now that we know the princess is on the mountain, we have to make a long-term plan."

"Yes, we know nothing about the situation in this villa. We must not act rashly, otherwise the princess might be put in danger." The secret guard at the side also said.

Only then did Nanxing calm down.

A secret guard took out a carrier pigeon he carried with him, wrote a note on it, and released it.

Soon, brothers will rush here.

"Tonight, the three of us will quietly go up the mountain to find out the truth. Bingzi, you and Miss Nanxing will meet us at the foot of the mountain."

"Okay!" Wen Bing thought for a moment, "I'll go up. The princess doesn't know you, but she is familiar with my voice. You stay here to protect Nanxing."

"Okay, that's settled then."

The time of waiting always passes very slowly. It seemed like several years had passed before the sun finally set behind the mountain.

It's windy on the mountain and a bit cold.

Mei Xueer hugged her shoulders and was about to go back to the house when suddenly a thick fur coat was draped over her shoulders.

The cloak has a hood to prevent cold wind from blowing into your neck.

Cui Hongqi walked up to her, adjusted her collar very gently, and tied a knot for her very carefully.

Then he leaned over and lifted her hood from behind and placed it over her head.

Along with this intimate action, Mei Xueer smelled a faint fragrance again.

Cui Hongqi lowered his eyes and stared at the person in front of him. He saw that her eyes were sparkling in the afterglow of the setting sun, her red lips were lightly closed, and her small nose was straight and stubborn. She was not wearing any makeup, not even her eyebrows. She was not stunningly beautiful, but she had a fresh and refined temperament that no one could compare to.

He looked a little dazed and couldn't help but reach out to tidy up the hair on her forehead that was messed up by the wind, and then pushed the strand of black hair into the hood.

The other hand gradually rose up, as if trying to hold her in his arms.

Mei Xueer took a step back, moved the hand hidden in her sleeve, and put the powerful weapon back into the space.

The martial arts skills of the man in front of her were unfathomable. Even with a pistol, she was not sure she could hit him with one shot.

Besides, even if she succeeded, she couldn't escape from this villa.

"When did the Lord come?" She lowered her eyes to hide her inner nervousness and asked in a low voice, "Do you always come and go without a trace like this?"

"It's windy on the mountain, be careful not to catch a cold." Cui Hongqi's distraction lasted only a moment.

He continued to adjust her cloak and said softly, "I have been tied up with some important matters these days, but I am worried about you, so I came here regardless of everything. The servants said that you were here to see the plum blossoms... When I was not around, did you come here often?"

Mei Xueer nodded meekly, "I like plum blossoms, especially red ones."

Cui Hongqi's lips curled slightly under the mask, and his extremely beautiful eyes seemed to be smiling. His voice was gentle and full of care, "As long as you like it. Are you used to living here?"

Mei Xueer shook her head slightly, "I like freedom, and I don't like being protected like this. When can you let me leave?"

The man sighed softly, "Once the people who want to harm you can no longer harm you, I will take you away. No rush, it will be quick."

"Are you talking about Helian Lanfeng?" Mei Xueer calmed herself down and looked up at the man's eyes.

The man paused and chuckled, "Including him."

"If I say I have the ability to deal with him myself, would you believe me?"

The man shook his head, took her hand, and wrapped her small hand in his almost flawless big palm, patting it gently: "Your hands should not be stained with blood, especially that dirty blood. They don't deserve it. Just leave these things to me."

"Who are you?" Mei Xueer's tone was very calm, and her face was also very calm, with no emotion visible.